Tony Lynch was able secure championship silverware after an impressive performance in the final round of the BTRDA Rallycross Championship at Blyton.
Westhoughton-based Tony and his Lucas Oil Team Geriatric squad went into the weekend - where double points were on offer - in with a chance of taking the Supermodified title following a fine performance in the penultimate meeting of the campaign at Croft.
With another minor update to his MINI Cooper S, Tony went into the finale optimistic about his chances, and damp circuit conditions worked to his advantage in the opening two heats, where he made the most of the handling of his MINI to take victory.
Second place in heat three ensured Tony qualified on pole for the Supermodified class final but improved circuit conditions would play to the strengths of those cars with more power than his MINI.
Despite that, Tony brought the curtain down on his campaign with a fine third place finish to leave him fifth in the overall BTRDA Championship, second in the Supermodified Championship and second in the category for cars running to 2100cc+ by just a single point.
However, with rival Allan Tapscott finishing third in the overall standings, Tony will be awarded the trophy for the 2100cc+ category to add to his already impressive resume.
“The weekend was a great way to end the season, and I’m really pleased with how we performed,” Tony said. "I can’t praise my boys enough as they gave me a car that was absolutely fantastic on track. The conditions in the heats helped a bit, but the MINI was on rails and I was able to make up for the power deficit we still have to drive away from the pack behind.
"While the more powerful cars had the advantage in the final, third was a great result and we can be more than happy with where we’ve ended up in the standings. When you consider that we’d built a car for another championship and then had to change our plans, go back to square one and develop the car through the season, our performances have been an unexpected surprise.
"I can’t thank my team enough for everything they have done. They really raised their game this year and have embraced the challenge of running in a new class. I’ve also got to thank my sponsors for their support, especially when our plans were thrown into disarray and they stood by us, and the technical partners who have helped us in the development of the car through the season.
"We now need to work with our sponsors on our plans for next year and make a decision on whether we try to fight for the BTRDA title or whether we pursue a return to the MSA Rallycross Championship for 2015. Wherever we go, we’ve grown stronger as a team this year and with the improvements we know we can still make to the car, we are going into the winter in a great position.
“We’ve only started to scratch the surface with the MINI, and the future looks bright.
