Westhoughton-based racer Tony Lynch romped to his first win of the 2012 Monster Energy MSA British Rallycros Championship season at Knockhill to move into a share of the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship points lead.
The Lucas Oil Team Geriatric driver went into the weekend looking to kick-start his championship campaign having only managed a fourth place finish in the season opener at Lydden Hill, but was on the pace from the outset when the action got underway at the Scottish circuit.
Despite starting from the back of the field, and with a damper failure mid-way through the race, Tony stormed to victory in the opening heat of the weekend only to then trail in fifth in heat two after he was caught up in an incident with Paige Bellerby on the Joker Lap part of the circuit.
A storming drive in the final heat saw Tony secure a second victory, picking up the bonus point for Fastest Time of the Day and putting his car on pole for the final in the process.
Leading when the lights went out for the start of the final, Tony survived a tap on the rear of the car under braking as the field streamed down Duffus Dip and turned onto the loose part of the circuit. Breaking away as the field behind was caught up in an incident behind, Tony completed his Joker Lap on the first lap and – as the remainder of the field followed suit – he was left out front to secure his first victory of the season.
As a result, Tony is now level on points at the top of the championship standings with Johnny Bean, but leads the title race by virtue of his superior win rate.
“After the disappointment of Lydden Hill, that’s the perfect way to bounce back,” Tony said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy weekend because Knockhill is a difficult circuit, and that was the case again as the bump as you came off the loose onto the bottom straight was really throwing the car around a lot.
“The boys did a great job to prepare the car and then worked really well to replace the damper in less than 20 minutes after the first heat. I was unlucky to get caught up in the incident in heat two and knew I had to push in the final heat but I didn’t expect to go so much quicker than my rivals did.
“I got a good start in the final to keep the lead but I did worry that they might throw the red flag when I saw the melee behind me on the opening lap. Luckily they didn’t, and even though doing my Joker Lap early meant I had to deal with traffic amongst those drivers who still had to do theirs, I was able to keep out front and get the victory.
“It’s just the kind of result we needed and I’m looking forward to another strong weekend when we go to Nutts Corner for the next round.”
