[tbtstt]

Post on Facebook from Dan Rooke:

Originally Posted by Dan Rooke Facebook

**2017 UPDATE**

British RX Champion Rooke takes sabbatical to focus on future progress

Reigning MSA British Rallycross Champion Dan Rooke (19), the youngest ever title-holder in the 40-year history of the Championship, will take a forced sabbatical in 2017 and won’t defend the biggest prize in British RX as he focuses on the future.

Rooke scored three victories on his way to the Supercar title in his maiden season in the sport's headline category, and had hoped to defend his crown this year. However, due to a shortfall in budget, the rising star will now use 2017 to focus on progressing in rallycross long-term, with a clear target in his sights.

“I had an amazing year last year and in a way it’s still unbelievable what we achieved, especially considering that we’re just a small family team from Devon,” said Rooke. “But the reality is that we’ve been struggling to raise the budget for another full season in Supercar at this stage. Because we won the Championship in such a strong way last year, we don’t feel that it would be beneficial to my career to enter into the defense of the title and not be in a position to fight for wins and the Championship. Thanks to my great sponsors we have raised about half of the budget required, but not enough to commit properly.”

The MSA Academy member raced an LD Motorsports Citroen DS3 in 2016, with the assistance of multiple British Rallycross Champion, Pat Doran. “My goals haven’t changed. I still really want to progress in this sport and climb through the ranks into the World Championship. I’m going to work harder than ever this year to build my experience of the whole sport. I’m in talks about working with a team in World RX and I’m also having discussions about some potential one-off races in rallycross. I’m not leaving the sport at all, just trying to make best use of what we have. We’re going to do some karting and autocross to keep me race-sharp in the early part of the year too.”

Over the last 12 months, Rooke has also received invaluable support from Morris Lubricants, Outlaw Tools, AT Motor Repairs and his close-nit team, led by his mother and father. “The guys who worked so hard to achieve what we did last year are as disappointed as I am that we won’t be defending the title, but they have pledged their support to me going forward and that means a lot. There are several interesting and exciting things going on at the moment and I’m working hard on the physical and mental side of my game too, so we can come back even stronger, that is for sure!”

Real shame to read. I was hoping Rooke would at least return for the British Championship, if not make an appearance (or two) in Europe as well.