Double delight for Tony Lynch at Mondello Park
Wigan racer Tony Lynch strengthened his advantage at the head of the Retro Rallycross Championship standings with a double victory in the latest rounds of the season at Mondello Park.
Tony Lynch bids to retain advantage at Mondello Park
Wigan racer Tony Lynch will look to retain his advantage at the head of the Retro Rallycross Championship standings when the series heads for Mondello Park this weekend for rounds three and four of the campaign.
Tony Lynch flies Retro Rallycross flag in France
Wigan racer Tony Lynch helped to fly the flag for the Retro Rallycross Championship after heading to France for the inaugural Legend Festival event at Loheac.
Tony Lynch gets set for Loheac Legend Festival
Wigan racer Tony Lynch will head for European soil this weekend when he makes the trip to France to compete in the inaugural Loheac Legend Festival.
Double Lydden Hill podium gives Tony Lynch early advantage
Tony Lynch secured an early lead in the Retro Rallycross Championship with a brace of podium finishes at Lydden Hill – including a first victory of the campaign.
Tony Lynch confirms Retro Rallycross title defence
Wigan racer Tony Lynch will get his defence of the Retro Rallycross Championship underway this weekend after confirming his return to the grid for the 2023 season.
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.”