Lynch battles Welsh weather for double podium

Wigan racer Tony Lynch fought hard in challenging conditions to secure a double podium finish from the latest rounds of the Toyo Tires MSA British Rallycross Championship at Pembrey.

Tony headed for South Wales looking to maintain his recent good form at the wheel of his Lucas Oil Team Geriatric Ford KA; which had allowed him to fight back from early season mechanical issues to challenge for the top three in the Supernational Class standings.

With Pembrey hosting two rounds of the campaign as a double-header, Tony was aware that a strong points haul would be vital for his championship hopes and he was on the pace from the outset in Saturday’s seventh round.

A solid performance in the three heats saw him take a win and two second places to earn second on the grid for the final, with conditions on track improving over the course of the day.

A battling performance in the final saw him take the fight to the quicker Renault Clio of points leader Tristan Ovenden before taking the chequered flag in second place.

Sunday would through up an additional challenge with the arrival of rain, but Tony again put up a strong fight in his heats to qualify on pole for his semi-final; which he duly won to earn second on the grid for the final.

As Ovenden romped away to victory, Tony would become embroiled in a heated battle with the Vauxhall Corsa of Allan Tapscott before eventually wrapped up second place to match his result from round seven.

It means that with only the season finale at Croft now left to run, Tony has strengthened his top three championship position and heads into the final just nine points behind second placed Paige Bellerby.

“I think we can happy with the way the weekend panned out and we’ve picked up two solid results in difficult conditions,” he said. “On Saturday, I think we did well to keep pace with the Renault and to finish as close to him as we did considering his power advantage was good, but Sunday would be more challenging with the worsening weather.

“The heats went okay but I didn’t get the best start and lost a place when the lights went out in the final. Paige then had a spin and I was able to hold off Tapscott to get second place, which means we’re now looking good to take a top three in the championship.

“Considering where we were after the opening few rounds with the issues we were having, that’s a fantastic achievement and I have to thank the boys for the work they have put in. They were superb again all weekend and got the car set-up just right for the changing conditions. We had no issues to worry about and I think we got the most we could have expected from the two rounds.

“Now we’ll aim to go to Croft next month and wrap up our place on the podium.”