Archives October 2020

Wigan racer Tony Lynch added to his podium tally to wrap up the Autosport International BTRDA Rallycross Championship presented by Cooper Tires Supermodified title in the season finale at Knockhill.

Tony made the trip to Scotland leading the class standings at the wheel of his Ford KA – being run by Paul Waldron Motorsport alongside members of his own Team Geriatric outfit – after podium finishes at both Lydden Hill and Blyton, and with confidence high about lifting the title.

The size of the field for the season finale saw the Supermodified field split in two for the qualifying heats, with the times from the two races being added together to determine the winner of each heat

Although he was first on the road in his opening heat, Tony would end up second once the times from the two races were combined behind the Vauxhall Astra of Sam Bovill but he then turned the tables in heat two, where he won on the road and across the heat as a whole.

Second place overall behind Bovill in the final heat ensured that Tony secured a front row start for the final, where he would line up in the middle of the front row.

There was drama before the lights went out however, as the power steering on the KA failed as Tony headed for the grid – adding an extra challenge to his quest to wrap up the championship title.

Despite that, Tony got away well to challenge Bovill into the opening corner but slight contact between the pair saw his KA then get sideways as he went down Duffus Dip to head onto the loose part of the lap.

Struggling to control the car through the loose part of the lap behind Alan Crockett and Todd Crooks, Tony knew he needed to get back ahead of Crooks in order to lift the Supermodified crown and battled hard to overhaul the BMW MINI to move up into third spot.

Second in his class as a result, Tony duly wrapped up the Supermodified title but will have little time to celebrate before he switches focus back to his Retro Rallycross Championship title bid next month at Lydden Hill.

“Heading to Knockhill, we felt confident that we could wrap up the title, but also knew that it wouldn’t be easy,” Tony said. “I didn’t get to race wheel-to-wheel with Sam in the three heats and I was ready for a battle with him in the final, but as we went out to the grid, the power steering suddenly failed on me.

“Off the line, the sensible thing to do would have been to let him go but the racer in me took over and I tried to get the lead into turn one and we had a bit of contact and I got sideways going onto the loose stuff.

“As soon as I hit the bumps, it was really difficult to control the car and I dropped places, but I managed to get into a groove and fought ahead of Todd to get the points we needed to take the title.

“When I came back to the paddock, the team looked at the steering and it took about 20 seconds to solve the problem, which was one of those caused by a 50 pence part – so I’m glad that it didn’t end up costing us.

“Overall, it’s been a shorter return to the BTRDA scene than we expected because of the situation with COVID but I’m delighted that we’ve been able to pick up the Supermodified title. I have to thank the team for the hard work that they’ve put in on the car, and also thank all of our sponsors for sticking by us in these difficult times.

“With one title secured, our focus now turns to the Retro scene and hopefully we can add some more success before the season is over.”

Wigan racer Tony Lynch will hope to end his shortened campaign in the Autosport International BTRDA Rallycross Championship presented by Cooper Tires on a high this weekend when the season draws to a close at Knockhill.

Tony makes the trip to Scotland leading the Supermodified class standings at the wheel of his Ford KA – being run by Paul Waldron Motorsport alongside members of his own Team Geriatric outfit – and is one of half a dozen drivers who could also secure the overall championship title.

Last time out at Blyton, Tony proved to be the class of the field at the wheel of the KA and secured a strong maximum points score to add to an impressive podium in the season opener at Lydden Hill – achieved despite the fat that he was battling against a misfire on the car.

Those results leave Tony in an unexpectedly strong position ahead of the season finale, with the multiple champion having gone into the 2020 campaign unsure of what to expect – given that he hadn’t competed in the KA since 2018, and given the highly competitive nature of the Supermodified field.

Tony hasn’t competed at Knockhill for a number of years, but has enjoyed success at the Fife circuit in the past, including a victory in 2012 whilst competing in the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship, and a similar result the following year in the BMW MINI class.

The picturesque circuit overlooking the Firth of Forth will provide a unique challenge, with the rallycross layout incorporating the challenging right-hander at Duffus Dip to start the lap before drivers head onto the loose section of the circuit, before joining the Knockhill tri-oval to complete the lap.

In a huge boost for the season finale, and for the first time in series history, the key action on Sunday will feature live coverage online, with the third qualifying heats and the finals being shown on the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship facebook page and YouTube channel, as well as on Motorsport.TV platform – opening up the racing action to a worldwide audience.

The live stream is due to begin at around 13:30 on Sunday.

“We haven’t had to do much to the car since Blyton and this looks set to be our final outing in Supermodified as we focus on the Retro scene in the future with our Toyota,” Tony said. “We’ve won everything there is to win in Supermodified, and it would be great if we could add to that this weekend when we head for Scotland.

“Knockhill is a circuit that I love and one where I have gone well previously, so I’m feeling confident despite the fact that the grid is going to be very competitive once again. Hopefully we can replicate the kind of results we have had in the past to fight for the championship, which isn’t something that I necessarily expected when we signed up for the BTRDA series at the start of the year.

“The fact that our sponsors and fans will be able to watch us in action this weekend through the live stream is fantastic, particularly in these challenging times when they haven’t been able to come to the racing in person. Hopefully we’ll be there in the final so they can cheer us on, and it would be great if this kind of stream is something that can adopted more in future, even when the currently situation passes.”

Following the Knockhill meeting, the KA – already a multiple title winner – will be available for sale, Please contact Tony for more details.

Wigan racer Tony Lynch was able to enjoy a fine weekend on track as the Autosport International BTRDA Rallycross Championship presented by Cooper Tires headed for Blyton for the second round of the year.

Tony headed for the Lincolnshire circuit looking to add to the podium finish he secured in the season opener at Lydden Hill after the Paul Waldron Motorsport team – running the car alongside members of Tony’s own Team Geriatric outfit – worked hard to resolve a misfire on his Ford KA.

With further work having gone into the KA in the weeks following the season opener, Tony went into the Blyton weekend hoping to challenge for more silverware in the highly competitive Supermodified class and showed his pace from the outset in the opening heat.

There, he posted the fastest time to win his heat by more than seven seconds and then dominated his second heat – winning by more than eight seconds and once again posting the fastest time.

The double victory meant that Tony was able to sit out the final heat safe in the knowledge that his place in the points scoring final was already secure.

When the lights went out for the final, Tony was beaten off the line by the fast-starting Vauxhall VX220 of Jason Bleasdale and then set about trying to find a way back ahead of rival.

Although Tony managed got alongside more than once, Bleasdale was able to hold on after a race long battle that would prove to be one of the highlights of the day to secure the win by just three tenths of a second, despite Tony posted the fastest lap.

However, with Beasdale not registered to score points, Tony secured a maximum score in the Supermodified class to come away from the weekend leading the championship standings ahead of the season finale at Knockhill later this month.

Tony also retains a chance to securing the overall championship battle, with no fewer than half a dozen drivers firmly in the mix ahead of the Scottish race meeting.

“We were on the back foot all weekend at Lydden Hill and managed to pick up a trophy, so we were confident that we would be in the mix at Blyton with our issues all resolved,” he said. “From the moment we headed out on track, the car never missed a beat and, that is thanks to the team for the hard work that they put in.

“The first two heats went exactly to plan and it meant that we didn’t need to do heat three because our place on the front row for the final was already secure. I knew Jason would get away well off the line in the final with his car being mid-engined and rear-wheel drive, but I was confident that we’d be able to find a way back ahead to get the win.

“He didn’t make any mistakes despite the pressure I was able to put him under and it was a great battle that ended with us split by under half a second at the end. I was also conscious of the fact that he wasn’t going to be scoring any points and I didn’t want to do anything stupid with the championship to consider.

“It’s probably the most satisfying second place I’ve had in my career and to take a maximum score away from the weekend is fantastic. It puts us in a great place for the final round at Knockhill and we’ll go there looking to defend our lead.”

Wigan racer Tony Lynch will hope to add to his podium tally this weekend when the Autosport International BTRDA Rallycross Championship presented by Cooper Tires heads for Blyton for the second round of the year.

Tony kick-started his BTRDA campaign with a third place finish in the Supermodified class at Lydden Hill last month on what was his first outing in the series since the 2018 season finale.

That podium finish came despite Tony being forced to battle against a misfire on his Ford KA, with the Paul Waldron Motorsport team – running the car alongside members of Tony’s own Team Geriatric outfit – working hard across the weekend to resolve the issue.

In the weeks since the season opener, further work has gone into the KA to provide Tony with the best chance possible of fighting for more silverware when he heads across the Pennines to the Lincolnshire circuit.

Blyton should provide Tony with a different challenge to Lydden Hill, with the circuit featuring a mixture of high speed straights and tight turns – including a number of hairpin bends.

Having enjoyed successful results at the circuit in the past, Tony heads into the weekend in confident mood although well aware – as with round one – that fighting for honours in the highly competitive field will be far from easy.

“We had a few problems that we had to deal with at Lydden Hill in the first round, which was to be expected considering it was the first time we had competed with the KA for a while,” he said. “Despite that, hard work from the team meant we were able to pick up some silverware, which was a great way for us to kick start the season.

“Since Lydden, the boys have been hard at work on the car to make sure that we don’t suffer a repeat of the problems we faced during round one. With that in mind, the goal for the weekend ahead has to be to try and at least replicate the results we enjoyed in round one and challenge for another trophy.

“It isn’t going to be easy given how strong the field is, but if we can stay out of trouble and focus on the job at hand, I’m hopeful we can be right in the mix for the podium places.”