Tony Lynch wraps up BTRDA Supermodified title

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.”