Tony Lynch flies the flag for Lucas Oil at Race Retro

Wigan racer Tony Lynch kicked off his 2023 season with a racing experience of a different type after being invited to attend the annual Race Retro event with long-time partner Lucas Oil.

The event at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire was being held for the first time in three years after issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Lucas Oil amongst those to have a presence on site.

Having represented the brand at a number of events in the past, Tony was invited along to display the Landsail Motorsport Team Geriatric Toyota MR2 that carried him to the Retro Rallycross title on the Lucas Oil stand – meeting and greeting fans in his role as a Lucas Oil Ambassador.

Tony was also invited to set a time around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit on the Lucas Oil simulator before visitors were given the chance to try and beat his lap – with those who did taking home a free bottle of Lucas Oil Ethanol Safeguard.

“We’ve joined Lucas Oil at various shows through the years, so it was great to be able to head to Race Retro and show off the title-winning Toyota,” he said.

“Events like this are a great way to give something back to the partners who allow us to go racing, and also mean we can spread the word about the rallycross scene.

“The Toyota was certainly popular with people who visited the stand and it was good fun to have a go on the simulator to see what full circuit racing is all about. However, based on how it went, I’m not planning to give up the day job just yet!”

Tony’s appearance at Race Retro came ahead of the the start of his Retro Rallycross defence, with the new season set to get underway at Lydden Hill over the Easter weekend.

With a large gap then until the second meeting of the year at Mondello Park in early June, Tony will head for French soil in May after being invited to take part in the Lohéac Legends Festival – a special new event created to celebrate the history of the sport and featuring cars from the mid-1970s through to the turn of the century.

“It’s fantastic to have been given an invite to compete at Lohéac as it isn’t an event that is just open to anyone,” Tony added. “We’ll go there looking to fly the flag for the Retro Rallycross championship and all of our sponsors, and hopefully we’ll be able to come back home with some silverware.”

Tony Lynch officially crowned Retro Rallycross champion

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!”

Tony Lynch targets winning end at Lydden Hill

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.”

Team Geriatric set for Weston Park appearance

Wigan racer Tony Lynch will make a special guest appearance at the 2022 running of the Historic Rally Festival this weekend in Shropshire.

With a gap in the calendar ahead of the Retro Rallycross Championship finale at Lydden Hill next month, Tony and his Landsail Tyres Team Geriatric Toyota MR2 will head to the event to be part of a static display of cars based at Weston Park – which will host competitive stage action on both days of the event.

The opportunity to take the Toyota – which has carried Tony to the Retro Rallycross Championship’s retro class title this year – will provide Tony and the team to showcase historic rallycross competition to a new audience and follows on from a number of similar show appearances in recent years.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Team Geriatric were regular attendees at the annual Autosport International Show in Birmingham – where Tony has appeared in the live action arena a number of times – and would also be regularly called upon to help represent former title sponsors Lucas Oil at events across the UK.

“With a gap in the calendar before we head to the final round of the season, it’s good to have the chance to head along to the Historic Rally Festival this weekend,” Tony said.

“As someone who has done some stage rallying in the past, it’s always good to have the opportunity to see people throwing rally cars sideways on the stages – and this time there is the added bonus of being able to showcase the Toyota to a new audience.

“The fact that the organisers have invited us along is great and is a reflection of the work we’ve done as a team to make a success of our Retro programme in the last few years.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of people who are interested in the Toyota – particularly when they find out it was once a rally car – and hopefully they’ll want to come along and cheer us on in the future.”

Double delight for Tony Lynch wraps up Retro class crown

Wigan racer Tony Lynch wrapped up the Retro Rallycross Championship’s Retro class in fine style with a double victory on the penultimate weekend of racing at Pembrey.

Tony and his Landsail Tyres Motorsport Team Geriatric team headed for the Welsh circuit sitting pretty at the top of the standings, and looking to try and replicate the success it had enjoyed on a first visit to the venue earlier in the campaign.

With a number of changes having been made to his Toyota MR2 ahead of the weekend – which included tweaks to the suspension and the fitting of a new gearbox – Tony was optimistic about his chances on track.

After a solid run in practice on Saturday, Tony battled his way to victory in the opening heat of Round 6 and followed it up with two further top three finishes to earn himself second on the grid for the final.

Up against the rapid Mini of Terry Moore, Tony came through the final with an impressive victory having taken the lead at the start, with issues for Simon Hart giving him an unassailable advantage in the class points.

Celebrating in fine style in Round 7 on Sunday, Tony went unbeaten through the three heats before making it two wins from two in the final – meaning he would be unbeaten across the four rounds held at Pembrey over the course of the campaign.

With the Retro class crown now secure, Tony will go into the season finale at Lydden Hill in November looking to be crowned as the overall Retro Rallycross champion in a two-way battle with the Super Retro title winner John Cross, who also wrapped up his own title in Wales.

“Heading to Pembrey, the focus was firmly on picking up a strong haul of points so to come away from the weekend with two wins and having provisionally won the class title is fantastic,” Tony admitted. “The car was strong all weekend and we were able to show good pace in both rounds, which was reflected in the end results.

“To come away from Pembrey unbeaten across four meetings this year is something we’re very proud of, and a huge amount of credit for that has to go to my team. They continue to do a fantastic job in preparing the car for every meeting, and the effort every weekend to ensure we are able to fight at the front is second to none.

“I also have to thank Paul Waldron for the work he has put in alongside the boys this year on the Toyota as his support has been invaluable, as has the backing from all of our sponsors over the course of the year.

“When we made the decision to go down this route with the Toyota, our goal was to win the Retro Rallycross title and having won the Retro class crown, hopefully we can now secure overall honours when we head to Lydden Hill for the big finale.”

Tony Lynch bids to retain advantage on Welsh return

Wigan racer Tony Lynch will seek to retain his place at the head of the Retro Rallycross championship standings when the series returns to Pembrey this weekend for the penultimate race weekend of the season.

As was the case earlier in the year, the South Wales circuit will play host to two rounds with racing taking place on both Saturday and Sunday, with Tony seeking to try and replicate his double win from the previous visit in his Landsail Tyres Motorsport Team Geriatric-run Toyota MR2.

That double success played a big part in Tony hitting the front in the points standings and he was able to retain his advantage last time out in Belgium, where he celebrated his first ever appearance at the Glosso circuit with a hard-earned podium finish.

Since returning from European soil, Tony and the team have been hard at work on the Toyota, with work having been carried out on both the suspension and gearbox to leave the MR2 fighting fit for the weekend ahead.

With an increased field set to do battle this weekend in the Retro class, Tony makes the trip aiming to try and add to his victory tally but with one eye also firmly fixed on the bigger picture of maximising his score to keep his title bid on track.

“We had some great results at Pembrey earlier in the season and it would be fantastic if we can go back to Wales this weekend and repeat them,” he said. “We know that won’t be easy, but I’m hopeful we can in the mix for some silverware and hopefully push for a win.

“We’re at that stage of the season where the points are more important than ever, so it’s important that we stay out of trouble this weekend to retain our position at the front.

“We’ve put a lot of work into the car with our suspension partners AVO and Paul Waldron has assisted with the new gearbox so we should be in good shape, and I’ll be giving my all to deliver the results on track.”