Lukoil Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Daniel Lloyd admits he would be “over the moon” to secure a top-five finish from the opening TCR International Series race at Dubai Autodrome.
The former BTCC racer starts from eighth on the grid, and with M1RA poorly placed on the starting grid for the opener, Craft-Bamboo have an opportunity to prolong the battle for the Teams’ Championship.
However, with both Hyundai i30 machines set to make their way through the field after qualifying 13th and 14th due to their temporary homologation, Lloyd is also conscious of faster cars behind.
“Obviously I’ll give it my all in race one, but in the back of my mind I’m realising that the second race is the most important one, especially after what happened to me in Zheijang, a small incident in the first corner and that was both races over.” said Lloyd to TouringCars.net
“Eighth wasn’t great, but Pepe [Oriola] did a good job. We have good race pace, but we always say that – I’m sure everyone else does as well. You’ve got the two Hyundais which will come flying through. We’ll see how we get on.
“I’d be over the moon with a top five, but there are some really strong guys behind me that I’m sure will come through. There are some really strong starters off the grid and it’s a 700-metre run down to the first corner – the Hondas are notoriously known for a really good start, so we’ll see.”
The opening race from the United Arab Emirates gets underway at 07:20 GMT.