Lynch secures Supermodified title at Blyton

Wigan racer Tony Lynch battled hard on track to secure an unassailable lead in the Supermodified class standings as the Autosport International BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship in partnership with Toyo Tires headed for Blyton for the eighth round of the year.

Westhoughton-based Tony headed into the penultimate meeting of the year aware that a top three finish would be enough to earn him the championship crown, thanks to regulations that state drivers will only count their best seven scores from nine rounds across the season.

Wet conditions at the Lincolnshire circuit would play havoc with proceedings across the weekend, with only two of the scheduled three heats taking place to decide the all important grid positions for the final.

Having qualified on the front row in his Lucas Oil Team Geriatric-run Ford KA, Tony battled hard with title rival Patrick Ryan in the opening laps before finding a way through into a lead he would hold until the final lap.

Contact between the pair going into the final corner of the race would see Ryan find a way ahead before he was handed a time penalty post race that promoted Tony back into first spot.

Although an appeal into the incident means the result is yet to be made official, Tony can now no longer be caught in the Supermodified class standings with one round still to come at Croft later this month.

Tony also retains a chance of securing the overall title depending on the result of the season finale.

“It was a difficult weekend with the conditions on track, which certainly didn’t make things easy,” he said. “We knew what we needed to do in terms of the points, so the focus was firmly on making sure that we picked up the points that we needed.

“As has been the case throughout the season, Patrick was a strong rival on track and it’s unfortunate that there was contact in the final whilst we were dicing for the victory.

“To come away from Blyton knowing that we can no longer be caught in the Supermodified class means its mission accomplished in that respect, and we’ll have to see how things go at Croft in terms of the overall title.”