Daniel Lloyd Racing
Daniel makes his mark on Ginetta debut - 5th place on debut weekend
After strong performances in pre-season testing, Daniel and his Tockwith Motorsport team’s hopes were high ahead of his first race in the Ginetta Junior Championship at Brands Hatch in Kent (29/30 March)
However, his preparations were thrown into a momentary spin when an untraceable technical problem with his car forced a last-minute switch to a new one. And things had barely improved when the new car’s catalytic converter failed in practice, necessitating a new exhaust system.
Despite his dramas, Daniel qualified in a respectable 14th place - “I was a bit disappointed to be honest, because I really wanted to be in the top ten - but at least I wasn’t at the back!”
The damp, tricky conditions did little to calm 15-year old Dan’s nerves as he exited the pits to make his way round to the start for his first ever car race. Getting off the line cleanly he managed to work his way up to 11th place but a mistake saw him spin. Calmly keeping his engine running and with a sizeable advantage over the 12th-placed driver, Daniel rejoined the race, holding his 11th place to the flag - “I’m still learning the limits of the car and myself and just dropped it at Clearways. Still, I’m pleased to finish my first ever race in one piece.”
With crowds of 30,000 filling the grandstands on Sunday, Daniel admitted that he was “wetting” himself before the race.
Nevertheless he got a great start, passing three cars into the first corner. On the 2nd lap, two cars spun and he was up to 9th. Carrying better speed onto the start/finish straight, Daniel caught Cassey Watson on the approach to the fearsome Paddock Hill bend and dived down her inside. In fact he was so quick, that as he passed Watson, he so surprised Aaron Williamson ahead of him, that he ran wide, hooked a wheel in the gravel and speared off the circuit - once again bringing out the safety car and promoting Daniel to 7th. With the number of safety car periods affecting the drivers’ rhythms safe it was perhaps unsurprising that the two leaders collided and gifted Daniel 5th place. Now as the top rookie on the track Daniel delivered a solid, sensible drive to the chequered flag to delight both himself and his team.
Daniel said: “I’m glad to have got my first race meeting out of the way now and can’t believe how well it turned out. There’s plenty to build on and I’m confident that, as the season progresses, I can be challenging for podiums.”
With little time to savour the memory of his dramatic debut – Dan’s back in action next weekend (5 / 6 April) at the Ginetta Festival at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire.