One of the brightest rising stars in the rallycross world, Patrick O’Donovan, will graduate to the FIA World Rallycross Championship for his top-flight debut in Hong Kong, China, with the Hansen World RX Team next month.
19-year-old O’Donovan finished third overall in his maiden FIA European Rallycross Championship campaign in 2023, including claiming a historic maiden victory at Höljes in Sweden, with support from #YellowSquad.
That success came in only the British driver’s second-ever season in a rallycross RX1 (Supercar) machine, having become the youngest-ever British Rallycross Champion in 2022 driving with his family team.
Now, O’Donovan will join the most successful family-run rallycross team on the planet for the World RX season finale, as the series visits Hong Kong for the very first time on November 11-12, racing a third all-electric Zeroid X1 machine alongside the team’s regular drivers, Timmy and Kevin Hansen.
O’Donovan has previous experience with the QEV Technologies developed single-specification all-electric Zeroid X1 four-wheel-drive cars, having raced in the FIA RX2e category in 2021 and 2022, claiming a pair of wins in Latvia and Belgium in his second season.
With the Hansen squad entering the final double-header of the campaign on the back of a double-podium weekend for Kevin Hansen in South Africa earlier this month, the new driver and team combination are targeting success to round out the 2023 campaign in style.
Kenneth Hansen said: “This is the first-time a #YellowSquad driver has stepped up to the World Championship and it’s a fantastic opportunity for Patrick [O’Donovan] to be side-by-side with Timmy and Kevin in exactly the same vehicle – it’s an interesting thing for us to run three cars in the top category for Hong Kong, and we’re really looking forward to that. It’s a new track there, which means the opportunities are equal in terms of track knowledge, and I think that with three cars we can benefit more than having two cars. It will be great to work with a talented, motivated, young driver like Patrick, who we have already formed a relationship with this year.”
Patrick O’Donovan said: “It will be a childhood dream come true for me to make my World RX debut and even better to be doing it in a car that I know. I’m extremely excited to see how my pace fairs against some of the best rallycross drivers in the world, and to be working so closely with the Hansen Motorsport team. It’s also super cool to be part of the first ever World Rallycross inner-city race, especially in an exciting venue like Hong Kong. I can’t wait!”