Double delight for Tony Lynch in Ireland

Wigan racer Tony Lynch enjoyed a dream start to his 2024 season with a double victory on his return to the Retro Rallycross Championship at Mondello Park.

Tony and his Landsail Team Geriatric squad headed for Ireland having been forced to miss the opening two rounds of the season as Tony recovered from surgery during the winter, with plans to graduate to Super Retro having also been delayed due to parts supply issues with his new engine.

Despite his time out of the car, Tony wasted little time in getting back up to speed as he led the way on the opening heat of Round 3 on Saturday, edging ahead of the Escort of Dan Swayland at the start and then holding his rival at bay for the heat win.

The roles were reversed in the second heat as Swayland grabbed victory on the final lap but a slender win in heat three ensured that Tony would lead the field away from pole in the final.

Leading away from the start, Tony would once again find himself dicing with Swayland throughout but emerged victorious by less than half a second to kick off his 2024 programme with an impressive victory.

Round 4 would take place the following day, with the Retro field running on track alongside the quicker Super Retro machines in a larger combined grid.

A comfortable class win in the opening heat was a good way to kick things off before Tony produced an eye-opening run in heat two to beat a number of Super Retro cars in fourth place overall – nearly ten seconds clear of his closest Retro rival.

With the weather conditions worsening, Tony was in even more impressive form in the final heat as he not only took the Retro class win but also finished second overall to put himself at the head of the field for the final.

On a drying circuit, Tony raced away from the rest of the Retro field to secure a dominant second win of the weekend, once again finishing ahead of multiple Super Retro machines in third overall.

“It’s hard to really find the words to explain how I feel after the weekend,” he said. “Heading to Mondello Park we were confident that we would be in a strong position but at the same time, it’s been a while since I was out on track so didn’t know if I might need some time to get back up to speed.

“As it was, we were right on the pace from the start and even when there were a few little issues that needed to be looked at with the car, the team did a fantastic job – as ever – to make sure they were fixed as quickly as possible.

“Across both days, the little Toyota was in fine form and to mix it with the Super Retro cars and secure two class wins is a great way to kick off 2024. Hopefully we can replicate these results next time out.”