Wigan's Tony Lynch edges closer to title glory
Wigan racer Tony Lynch moved a step closer to the Classic class title in the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship after an impressive weekend of on-track action at Lydden Hill.
Lynch and his Landsail Team Geriatric outfit made the trip to Kent having also signed up to contest the latest event on the Retro Rallycross schedule, where he has previously tasted championship success with his Toyota MR2.
With the Toyota still undergoing repairs after an accident at Blyton Park at the start of the year, Lynch continued at the wheel of the Peugeot 205 in which he had made his rallycross debut more than two decades ago.
Resuming battle with former Retro rivals Dan Swayland and Simon Hart, Lynch put in a strong performance through the three qualifying heats with a win and two second places being good enough to put him on pole for the final.
Although Retro Rallycross Championship leader Swayland would prove to be too strong at the wheel of his Ford Escort, Lynch put in a measured drive to keep Hart at bay as he took the flag in second spot to bag a well-earned podium finish.
Not only that, he also came home ahead of his BTRDA Classic rivals to score maximum points and strengthen his advantage at the top ahead of the Knockhill finale.
“It turned out to be a really good weekend, and theresults were probably better than I expected them to be,” he said. “Had we been going to Lydden Hill with the Toyota, I think we would have been expecting to challenge for victory but it was a bit more of a step into the unknown with the Peugeot.
“As it was, we had a trouble-free weekend and the car didn’t miss a beat, which is credit to the team for their hard work as always. We didn’t quite have the outright pace to challenge Dan for top honours but it was great to come away from the event with a second-placed overall finish, and with maximum points towards the BTRDA title.
“It leaves us in a really strong position with one round to go at Knockhill and we’ll be going there looking to try and wrap up the championship crown, which would be an amazing achievement given the position we were in earlier in the year.”