Lynch flies to Lydden Hill podium
After a tough start to his 2016 MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with Odyssey Battery campaign at Croft, Wigan racer Tony Lynch bounced back in fine style with a stunning podium finish in the second meeting of the year at Lydden Hill.
Westhoughton-based Tony made the long trip down to Kent for the Easter Weekend meeting seeking to rebound from a retirement in the opening round of the year, when accident damage prevented him from making the most of the potential being shown by his new Super National class Lucas Oil Team Geriatric Ford KA.
With his team having worked hard to repair the KA ahead of the second meeting of the campaign, Tony went into the weekend in confident mood and was soon up to speed; going second quickest in class in free practice before the real action kicked off.
A solid second place in the opening qualifying heat was followed by an impressive victory in heat two; results that were good enough to secure fourth on the grid for the all important final despite a driveshaft failure on the last lap preventing him from finishing heat three.
Electing to take his joker lap – an alternative route that drivers have to take once each race – during the early stages of the final, Tony found himself battling for victory at the front and only a small mistake under braking prevented him from securing a first victory with the KA.
As it was, second place behind Stuart Emery was good enough to move Tony up to second in the Super National class standings ahead of the third round of the year at Pembrey in early May.
“It was a really good weekend for us; probably better than I expected it to be after Croft,” he said. “When we came away from the opening rounds, I felt that I still had a lot to learn when it comes to driving the KA but after this weekend, I think we’ve made a huge step forwards and can now really start to push on with the car.
“On track, the car felt much better than it did at Croft thanks to the work we have put in in recent weeks and we were right on the pace throughout the weekend. It was only because of a few small errors on my part as I was finding the limit of what the car can do that we didn’t come away from the weekend with more than second place, so I think we can be delighted with how its gone.
“Whilst it’s usually me who gets the attention as the man behind the wheel, this weekend I have to give extra credit to my team and my supporters for the work they have put in and the help they have given. People like my engineer Tony Rice really stepped up to the plate and without the help of Procare, who allowed us to borrow a van after an issue with our own, we wouldn’t have even been able to get to Lydden Hill to compete.
“It shows what a fantastic bunch of people I have around me, and there is no doubt that I owe them all a lot.”