Archives November 2022

Wigan racer Tony Lynch has belatedly been crowned as the 2022 Retro Rallycross Championship title winner after the cancellation of the planned season finale at Lydden Hill.

Tony and his Landsail Tyres Team Geriatric outfit had made the trip to the Kent circuit on the weekend of 5/6 November having already wrapped up the Retro class title, and with an advantage over Super Retro champion John Cross in the battle for overall honours.

On his first outing on the revised Lydden Hill layout, which underwent extensive work earlier this year to re-profile the opening turn and install a new jump, Tony enjoyed a solid start to the weekend when he led the way in the opening qualifying heat.

Weather related issues then prevented the field from being able to run the planned second qualifying heat on Saturday evening, with plans to run the remaining qualifying heats and the season finale on Sunday.

Unfortunately, worsening weather conditions overnight would leave event organisers with no option but to abandon the meeting before any track action was possible on the second day, with no decision taken on how the abandonment would impact the championship standings.

After initial suggestions that points may be awarded based on the results of the qualifying heats run, it has now been confirmed that the Lydden meeting would be declared null and void, with the championship instead being decided based on the standings following the penultimate weekend of action at Pembrey.

As a result, Tony and the team were able to celebrate a second championship victory of the year to add more silverware to an already impressive resume.

“Obviously it isn’t the way that we wanted to wrap up the championship title, but at the same time, we’re delighted to have clinched the overall Retro Rallycross crown,” he said. “We’ve had some fantastic battles on track in our class this season, particularly with Terry Moore and Simon Hart, and it’s been a really enjoyable year going up against them.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the various sponsors who have backed us this year, and of course, without the hard work of my team behind the scenes to continually improve the car and get it into a position where we could consistently push for wins.

“Now we know the title is secured, we can start to focus on 2023, and hopefully we’ll be able to return to try and defend our crown!”

Wigan racer Tony Lynch will look to end his racing year on a high this weekend when the Retro Rallycross Championship season draws to a close at Lydden Hill.

Tony and his Landsail Motorsport Team Geriatric outfit make a long trip to the Kent circuit – widely regarded as the birthplace of the sport – looking to try and secure the overall Retro Rallycross title.

Last time out at Pembrey in Wales, Tony scored a double win at the wheel of his Toyota MR2, which allowed him to successfully secure the Retro class crown.

Whilst that championship is now secure, Tony could still take the overall Retro Rallycross Championship crown, with Super Retro class competitor John Cross being the man he is bidding to beat during the weekend ahead.

In the time since Pembrey, Tony and the team have been hard at work on the Toyota to ensure it is in the best shape possible for the final meeting of the campaign, where Tony will be part of an expanded Retro class field.

This weekend features just one round, with Tony bidding to give his all to end the year with more silverware to add an already impressive collection from the 2022 campaign.

“It’s been a while since we last raced at Pembrey, but we’ve spent the time busy working on the car to make sure we are as ready as we can be for the final round,” he said.

“Although we managed to wrap up the class title with a round to spare, there is still the overall championship to consider and if we were able to beat John to the title, it would be a great achievement.

“As we aren’t directly fighting with John on track, we just have to focus on doing the best job that we can and hopefully it will prove to be enough.

“Off track, recent weeks have seen team member Tony Wylde get the all clear in his cancer fight which is something that has given us all a boost.

“We’ll be racing this weekend for him, for Tony Rice who is currently undergoing treatment, and for anyone else who has been affected by the disease in the past.”