Title Within Reach For Lynn
Alex Lynn can claim the CERTINA Formula Renault UK title at Silverstone, after the Essex youngster left the Brands Hatch circuit with a twenty seven point lead over nearest rival Tio Ellinas.
The 18-year-old suffered a disappointing weekend by his high standards, but it left him just one point away from claiming the title.
The weekend started well for Lynn, claiming a brace of second places in the two Saturday qualifying sessions behind team-mate Ollie Rowland, but more importantly ahead of title rival Ellinas.
“To be fair the first session was really good – Olly and I were quite a bit faster than the rest, so the Fortec cars are obviously working really well. Second is not the end of the world, especially being ahead of Tio.
“It was the same story in the second session. I might have been able to take pole but I didn’t have the best luck in traffic. Still, it was another good one championship-wise.”
In the first race, Lynn and Ellinas ran nose-to-tail as a titanic battle ensued between the title rivals.
“Tio was really racey,” said Alex. “He tried quite a few times to get me and I had to defend heavily. About three times he drew alongside on the back straight – he knew from the maths what he needed to do for the title. With Olly showing so much speed this weekend, I just had to play a defensive game.”
A second for Lynn and a third for Ellinas in race one meant that Lynn only needed a third place to secure the title.
However it wasn’t to be. After getting the jump on team-mate Rowland at the start, it emerged that Lynn had jumped the start leading to a drive-through for the Fortec Motorsport driver.
“I saw Olly twitch slightly on pole – I was a little tense and it was enough to put me off. Then I looked up and saw the lights still on, but knew I had to just get on with it and gunned it. I had a lot of fun with some overtaking manoeuvres and in the end I saved some pretty good points. The car was very fast.”
From the back, Lynn managed to cut through the pack up to ninth place. Heading into Silverstone he holds a twenty seven point lead over Tio Ellinas, meaning he need only one point to secure the title.
Mike Trusler
