Wigan racer Tony Lynch will return to the MSA British Rallycross Championship for the 2015 season after announcing plans to compete in the Super National Class this year.

Westhoughton-based Tony was forced to take a sabbatical from the British Championship in 2014 after a last minute regulation change that made his MINI Cooper S ineligible for the class he had planned to compete in.

Electing to switch to the Super Modified class of the BTRDA Rallycross Championship instead, Tony’s Lucas Oil Team Geriatric team quickly rose to the challenge with a series of impressive results as the year wore on.

Despite the season being the first step of a long-term development programme, and having missed the opening round of the campaign, Tony finished third in the Super Modified class and fifth in the overall championship.

Having retained the backing of his loyal sponsors, Tony will now return to the British Championship after a year away having taken the decision to enter the competitive Super National class.

Alongside his full season entry into the British Championship, Tony will also contest selected events in the BTRDA series during the course of the year to continue with development of his car.

“Obviously we were disappointed not to be able to compete in the British Championship last year but that is something we are putting behind us as we focus on the future,” Tony said. “We enjoyed a strong season in the BTRDA series and took huge strides with the development work on the MINI, and thanks to the hard work of the boys in my team, we made progress a lot quicker than we expected to.

“It was always our intention to return to the British Championship and I feel that we now have a package that can be competitive in the Super National Class. On top of the work we carried out last year, we’ve now added a limited slip differential and new close ratio gearbox to the MINI and are working to extract more power from the engine as we know that is an area where we can still make improvements. We’re also working with Avo on upgrades to the suspension, which will make the handling even better than it is now.

“We’re under no illusions about the challenge ahead, but we were in the same position last year when we switched to the BTRDA Series and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable years we’ve had. Our aim is to show that we can fight against the top boys in the class as the year goes on, and we want to be pushing for wins before the season is over, with our long-term target being a championship challenge in 2016.

“As ever, we have to thank our sponsors for their support as we wouldn’t be able to race without them, and I can’t wait for the new season to get underway in March.”

The announcement of Tony’s 2015 programme comes on the back of him playing a starring role in the recent Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC; which proved to be a sell-out affair attended by tens of thousands of race fans.

Appearing in the Live Action Arena, Tony was able to celebrate his new programme with a starring role in the various demonstrations that wowed those in attendance, with the Lucas Oil Team Geriatric MINI proving to be popular with fans across all four days.

Ahead of the start of his new racing programme, Tony will attend the BTRDA’s annual awards night to receive two awards for his achievements on track in 2014.

As well as taking the Super Modified over 2100cc sub class trophy, Tony will also pick up the silverware on offer for best-presented car; rewarding his team once again for its first rate presentation.

It marks the second time Lucas Oil Team Geriatric has taken the award.

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