Daniel Lloyd Racing
Lloyd on a roll at the Rock
Daniel’s impressive debut season in the Ginetta Junior Championship is continuing, with another brace of top 6 finishes at Rockingham in Northamptonshire last weekend (12/13 April 2008).
Competing on Europe’s fastest circuit for the very first time, Daniel made a blistering start in the first race - “I made three places up by the time we got to the 1st corner. Half a lap later, I made a big lunge down the inside of another driver and that put me up to 5th.”
As the race progressed, Lloyd caught and passed George Richardson for 4th place, but a lap later ceded the place back. Attacking again, Daniel regained his 4th place just two corners later - and with Richardson defending from a gaggle of cars behind him, he was able to open a gap, which he held to the chequered flag.
Having scored his best finish to date, Daniel was understandably confident for the second encounter.
But another great start - from 9th on the grid - was quickly undone, when he received a shove at the circuit’s first hairpin bend. As he ran wide, several cars slipped past and the Huddersfield Grammar pupil dropped to 8th - “If that hadn’t happened, I’d have been 4th” he shrugged.
A collision between two cars fighting for second place saw one spin out, promoting Daniel to 7th. Passing KC Watson for 6th, Lloyd - who confesses to a weakness for Twix chocolate bars – was on a roll. He caught Dominic Pettit and the pair joined in a scrap that lasted to the end of the race, “I overtook Dominic at the Hairpin, but made a mistake on the next lap and he got me back. Whilst this was happening, the group ahead was fighting and a car spun in front of me. I dodged it and was pressuring Dominic again, but he defended like mad and held me off to the line.”.
Finishing 6th didn’t lessen Dan’s delight as it moved him further up the table. He said: “I’m very pleased as it puts me 5th in the Championship now, just a handful of points off 3rd. I wasn’t expecting to be this far up already”.
Indeed, with Rockingham being his 3rd ever race meeting in cars, Lloyd’s form is already getting him noticed - “I’ve made friends with some of the guys from a couple of the Touring Car teams and they’ve got behind me and cheered me on from the pit-wall. My team boss, Simon Moore (of Tockwith Motorsport) is over the moon with me too. He said after my first race that to go from 9th on the grid to 4th, was very, very good.”.
But Daniel says there’s still more to come: “I’m still learning. It’s not coming naturally to me yet, like it did jumping into a kart. I’m still finding my limits and those of the car but I’m on the pace now...”.
This Sunday (20 April 2008) Daniel will return to his karting roots, when he attends the opening round of the BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Championship at PFI in Lincolnshire, to show off his car and talk about his experience of making the switch from karts to cars.