LYNCH SETS SIGHTS ON POINTS LEAD AT MALLORY

Wigan racer Tony Lynch will aim to close in on the championship lead this weekend when the Monster Energy British Rallycross Championship returns to Mallory Park for the fourth round of the year.

Tony makes the trip to the Leicestershire circuit buoyed by his strong showing in the previous round of the year at Knockhill, where he stormed to his maiden victory in the BMW MINI class.

The win in Scotland came on the back of extensive work from Tony's Lucas Oil Team Geriatric team to get up to speed with the new car, with the development work undertaken allowing Tony to challenge right at the sharp end of the field.

This weekend will be the first time that Tony will be competing at a circuit where he has raced in the MINI before, with Mallory Park having earlier played host to the second round of the year.

A fourth place finish was the end result back in April, but with a vastly improved car and confidence on a high, Tony's sights are firmly set on a second win of the year as he seeks to close the seven point lead currently enjoyed by Kris Hudson in the standings.

"The win at Knockhill was a huge boost for me and the team and it means our championship challenge is now on track," he said. "When we went to Mallory for round two, we knew that we were compromised as there was still a lot of work to do with the car, and we are going back with a completely different machine after all the work that the boys have done.

"We missed out on the podium on our last trip to Mallory but our aims are much higher than that as we return, and we have to make sure we are challenging for victory. It's vital we score well as Kris has a lead of seven points at the moment, and while that isn't a large amount, the fact that the MINI field is small and competitive means it won't be easy to overturn as we are all scoring closely on the points.

"Confidence is on a high and if we can get the car as good as it was at Knockhill, I'm sure we can be on for another strong weekend."