Tony Lynch moves second with Pembrey success

Wigan racer Tony Lynch made it four wins for the season at Pembrey to maintain his challenge for the 2024 Retro Rallycross Championship title.

Having been forced to sit out the opening two rounds of the campaign, Tony headed for Wales in a fine run of form having scored three successive victories at the wheel of his Landsail Team Geriatric-run Toyota MR2 – leaving him sitting third in the title race.

Tony took something of a step into the unknown in round six of the season, with his team having been forced to work hard to rebuild his damaged car after an incident at Lydden Hill in the previous event.

Despite having no chance to test the car before the weekend, Tony was on the pace from the outset and finished as runner-up up in the opening two heats on Saturday before winning heat three – which meant he would line up in second spot for the final.

Starting behind points leader Dan Swayland, Tony was able to hit the front and then had to fight hard to keep his rival at bay before scoring a fourth successive victory – a result that moved him up into second place in the standings.

Sunday’s event would see the circuit run in reverse, and with the weather taking a turn for the worse with the arrival of rain.

Second in the opening heat, Tony then fought his way to victory in heat two, with another runner-up finish in the final heat meaning he would once again line up in second spot for the final.

As had been the case the previous day, Tony was able to hit the front in the Toyota and looked set to extend his astonishing unbeaten run before Swayland managed to grab the lead as the pair simply drove away from the remainder of the field to enjoy their own private battle for victory.

Tony remains 13 points off the championship lead with just two rounds left to run at Lydden Hill in early November.

“Pembrey was another strong weekend for us and to come away with a win and second place was a great way to reward the team for their efforts in preparing the car after the incident at Lydden Hill,” Tony said.

“It was also a great way to welcome Autolac onboard as our newest partner after their help over recent weeks to make sure the Toyota was looking as good as new.

“Obviously it would have been nice if we could have come away from the weekend with two wins to maintain our unbeaten record but it’s hard to be disappointed with the results. I’ve said all along this season that the focus isn’t on the title after missing the opening rounds and to now be up into second with just one round to go exceeds the expectations we had.

“The goal now is to fight hard to finish on a high when we get to Lydden Hill next month.”