Wigan racer Tony Lynch exceeded all of his pre-event expectations with a stunning performance in Ireland as he secured a first win of the 2015 MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with the Shannon Group season.

Westhoughton-based Tony made the trip to Mondello Park for the fourth and fifth rounds of the year eager to see what impact the latest updates to his Lucas Oil Team Geriatric MINI Cooper S would have – with specialist company 1320 having worked their magic on the engine to help improve performance.

While that work was expected to boost the torque in the car and increase acceleration, Tony was well aware of the fact that he was down on power to his rivals within the Super National class although the superior handling of the MINI left him confident of being able to challenge for honours.

Tony’s chances of success in round four of the year on Saturday were given a huge boost before a wheel had even been turned, with event organisers taking the decision to water the circuit to try and minimise the impact of dust for the drivers on track.

The slippery conditions that were created as a result not only played to the strengths of the MINI but also reduced the impact of any power deficit to his fellow British racers – who were running alongside their Irish counterparts on track.

Although the opening heat would be declared null and void because of an issue with the start lights, Tony was right on the money in heats two and three; with a brace of top three finishes being good enough to put him on pole position for the final.

A dramatic start to the race saw Tony hit heavily from behind into turn one but he was able to recover quickly and pushed hard from the front to claim top honours amongst the British championship contenders – giving him a first victory of the season.

Unfortunately, the win came at a cost as the gearbox on the MINI let go as he crossed the line, forcing the team to work into the evening to fit a replacement, standard ‘box in time for round five on Sunday.

It meant Tony had to settle for seventh spot in the second round of the weekend although he returned home buoyed by the team’s most competitive meeting of the year to date; with the promise of plenty more still to come as development work on the MINI continues.

“We wanted to put on a good show in Ireland after our recent misfortune, but I think I’d probably be lying if I said I thought we could come home with a win,” he said. “The decision to water the track really played into our hands because the real strength of our car at the moment is the handling, and the fact that the circuit was quite slippery meant that those who have a lot more power than us weren’t able to make full use of it.

“Even those the first heat was declared void, we ran at the front in the other two to take pole position and then had a bit of a scare at the start when there was some contact behind and one of the drivers got fired square into the side of my car. Luckily the damage didn’t affect the performance and to be first British driver home was absolutely fantastic and more than we could possibly have hoped for at the moment.

“Sadly there was an issue with the gearbox which meant we had to go back to a standard unit for Sunday’s race and while it meant we finished down in seventh, it’s difficult to be too disappointed when we look at the weekend as a whole. If anything, being forced to go back to the standard gearbox showed just how much we’ve benefitted from having a real racing gearbox in the car, and it’ll be fixed and back in place for the next round at Pembrey.

“The data we were able to collect this weekend will be going to 1320 to look over and then we can make a final decision on which approach we take with our engine development, but for now we just want to savour our first win of the year.

“It’s all down to the sponsors who have given us the support that we needed to race this season, and the boys in the team who work their fingers to the bone to get the car on track looking pristine every weekend. This win is for them all.”

See all news »