More success for Lynch on Pembrey return

Wigan racer Tony Lynch bounced back from disappointment in the opening round of the weekend to secure a fourth win of the Autosport International BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship in partnership with Toyo Tires season during a double header at Pembrey.

Tony and his Lucas Oil Team Geriatric team made the trip to South Wales keen to build on a third victory of the campaign at Blyton during round four – with the focus being to defend his lead in the Supermodified standings.

Saturday’s fifth round would prove to be a tough affair for Tony, who finished second to rival Patrick Ryan in the three qualifying heats to secure second on the grid for the points scoring final.

Contact on the opening lap would ruin his chances of fighting for victory as Tony dropped to the rear of the field with a damaged car, but he recovered well to cross the line in fourth spot; securing vital points to add to his championship tally in the process.

The damage sustained in the incident left the team with plenty of work to do ahead of round six on Sunday, but a supreme effort ensured that Tony’s Ford KA was ready and raring to go for the second day of competition.

Having been fastest of all in practice, Tony stormed to victory ahead of Ryan in the opening two heats to secure pole – even being able to miss the final heat so the team could carry out a precautionary driveshaft change.

From the head of the field in the final, Tony was then able to lead from start to finish to secure victory, managing the gap to the pack behind to ensure a fourth success of the season.

Tony retains his Supermodfied points lead at the end of the weekend.

“It was a mixed weekend in terms of the results but it was good to end it with a victory,” he said. “It was a close run thing with Patrick throughout Saturday and we were pretty even going into the final. I got the better start to lead into the first corner but then got a hit that put me off into the tyres and dropped me to the back of the field.

“In that situation, it was good to fight back to fourth as it meant we could salvage some points from it, and the boys did a fantastic job to repair the damage in time for Sunday.

“I was more determined than ever to fight for the win after what happened the previous day and from practice, we were right at the sharp end. We knew there was an issue with the driveshaft so it was good that we were able to sacrifice a heat to fix the issue and then reaped the rewards in the final.

“The results on paper will show it was quite close, but the reality is that I was comfortable out front and was doing what I needed to do to keep the field behind. I knew where I had to push and where I could take things a bit easier.

“I have to say a huge thanks to the team for their hard work this weekend as without them, I wouldn’t have been able to challenge for a fourth win of the season. It’s getting interesting in the title race and we’ll be ready to come out fighting next time out to add to our win tally.”