Landsail Team Geriatric go for glory in Retro Rallycross finale

Wigan racer Tony Lynch will look to end his season on a high this weekend at Lydden Hill when the Retro Rallycross championship heads for the spiritual home of the sport for the 2021 season finale.

Tony’s participation in the final round of the year had been in doubt on the back of a dramatic weekend at Knockhill, where his Landsail Team Geriatric Toyota MR2 was left heavily damaged following a roll in the second meeting of the Scottish double-header.

That followed an engine fire in the opening round that had forced the team into a dash back down to Greater Manchester to carry out overnight repairs in a bid to retain the championship lead.

The unfortunate incident in the fifth round of the year saw Tony slip to second in the Retro Rallycross standings behind Simon Hart, and left him facing a race against time to get the Toyota prepared for the big finale.

Thanks to a monumental effort from the team – and the ever valued support of a number of key partners – the MR2 has been fully repaired in time for the trip to Lydden Hill, ensuring that Tony will be able to do battle on track.

Tony secured a podium finish at the Kent circuit earlier in the year, with a repeat this weekend being the target at the very least as Tony seeks to overhaul Hart and add a Retro class title to his already impressive resume.

“After the incident at Knockhill, I did wonder if we would be able to compete at Lydden Hill but I should have known better than to doubt whether the team would get it fixed in time,” he said. “I have to give massive thanks to everyone who has helped to get the MR2 into a position where it is now ready to race – particularly Paul Waldron and Wigan Car Paints – and it means out title bid is still very much alive at a time when it could easily have been dead in the water.

“Saying that, it has been a massive race against time to get ready and it means we go into the weekend having been unable to do the usual preparation we would do for such a big meeting. We will be on the back foot a bit going into practice and the opening heats as we check over the car and make sure everything is working as it should, but we haven’t put all this effort in to just to go to Lydden Hill and make up the numbers.

“We have no option but to go on the attack if we want to win this championship so that is what I’ll be doing on track, and I think I am more determined than I’ve ever been to try and end the year on a high.”