EARLY SUCCESS FOR LYNCH AND LUCAS OIL TEAM GERIATRIC

Wigan racer Tony Lynch was given added reason to cheer during the annual British Rallycross Championship awards dinner after his Lucas Oil Team Geriatric outfit was named as the best promoted team in the series.

The awards dinner saw Westhoughton-based Tony presented with his championship trophy following a hugely successful 2013 season that saw him secure the BMW MINI class title at the first attempt.

Alongside that, Tony was also handed the trophy for best promoted team for the second time in three years, having previously been given the award on the back of a strong season in the Suzuki Swift Sport category in 2011.

"The awards ceremony was always going to be a great night as I collected my championship trophy from last season, but to win the best promoted team in the British Rallycross Championship again was an unexpected bonus," Tony said. "Rallycross is something we do because we enjoy it, but we couldn't compete without the support of our sponsors and we know how important it is to give them something back in return.

"We worked hard to get them as much exposure as possible in 2013, as we will do again this season, and it's great to be rewarded for our efforts."

Alongside promotion of his own team, Tony also worked to help raise the profile of British Rallycross as whole in 2013, having been the driving force behind a special feature on the sport with BBC Breakfast.

The feature, which aired the week after Tony was crowned BMW MINI champion, saw BBC presenter Mike Bushell get behind the wheel of the Lucas Oil-backed car to show how accessible the sport can be to new blood.

"During the 2013 season, Team Geriatric consistently increased their work in promoting and raising awareness of the team in all areas of Rallycross," British Rallycross media officer Xavier McCarten said. "It has been a pleasure to work with them, and to be part of the superb effort the whole team made during the course of the year.

"It is very obvious that they all enjoy the sport, and for British Rallycross, it was a pleasure to present them with the award."

On the back of his success last year, Tony will seek to make it two championship titles in as many seasons with the MINI in 2014, albeit in a different class following the decision to make the move into the Hot Hatch category.

Having retained the backing of his long-standing sponsors, Tony and the team are now hard at work on developing the MINI to meet the different regulations of the Hot Hatch class ahead of the start of the new season at Lydden Hill in late March.