Tony Lynch and his Lucas Oil Team Geriatric Ford KA put behind the disappointment of the opening round of the 2016 MSA British Rallycross Championship as the series headed south to Lydden Hill for the traditional Easter weekend meeting.
After accident damage forced him out of the first weekend at Croft, the team worked hard to make sure Lynch would be in the running in Kent, a task that he got straight to as he finished second fastest in free practice.
Qualifying 1 saw Lynch take second place which lead to a victory in Qualifying 2, securing fourth place on the grid for the Super National class final, this was despite a drive shaft failure putting him out on the last lap of Qualifying 3.
Lynch took the joker lap early in the running of the final and found himself in the midst of a battle for victory, unfortunately a small mistake under braking would prevent him from taking the win and would have to settle for second place being Stuart Emery, the result however did move Lynch up to second in the Super National class standings.
“It was a really good weekend for us; probably better than I expected it to be after Croft,” said Lynch. “When we came away from the opening rounds, I felt that I still had a lot to learn when it comes to driving the KA but after this weekend, I think we’ve made a huge step forwards and can now really start to push on with the car.
“On track, the car felt much better than it did at Croft thanks to the work we have put in in recent weeks and we were right on the pace throughout the weekend. It was only because of a few small errors on my part as I was finding the limit of what the car can do that we didn’t come away from the weekend with more than second place, so I think we can be delighted with how its gone.
“Whilst it’s usually me who gets the attention as the man behind the wheel, this weekend I have to give extra credit to my team and my supporters for the work they have put in and the help they have given. People like my engineer Tony Rice really stepped up to the plate and without the help of Procare, who allowed us to borrow a van after an issue with our own, we wouldn’t have even been able to get to Lydden Hill to compete.
“It shows what a fantastic bunch of people I have around me, and there is no doubt that I owe them all a lot.” he added.
The championship takes a short break now before resuming in South Wales when it heads to Pembrey on 1/2 May.