Daniel Lloyd was pleased with his opening weekend of the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, although he admitted it had been tough after an issue with his car’s dampers in qualifying.
Having been fifth and seventh in the day’s two practice sessions respectively, Lloyd could only manage 12th in qualifying, some six tenths of a second off pole, after a damper issue.
The Excelr8 Motorsport driver made limited progress from there to take the chequered flag in race one in 11th place.
Race two was more promising for the Hyundai driver, as he gained four places with a fast start to run seventh early on, although he later lost a place to Team HARD’s Bobby Thompson and took the finish in eighth.
Being randomly drawn to start from second for the partial reverse grid final race, Lloyd lost out to NAPA Racing UK’s Ash Sutton early in the race, but then held the final podium position until the penultimate lap of the race, when BTC Racing’s Josh Cook claimed the position through the Craner Curves.
Despite missing out on a podium, Lloyd was upbeat about his results, and he heads to the second meeting in the championship in eighth in the drivers’ standings, 25 adrift from the top of the table.
“It hasn’t been the perfect weekend and we have had our problems, but there are plenty of other people who have been in the same boat,” said Lloyd.
“The damper issue in qualifying was unfortunate because it meant we couldn’t build on the pace from practice, but we worked our way forwards in the races and ended on a high – putting on a good show on TV for the fans and getting some good exposure for my sponsors.
“The final race was so tough, and I really had to be clever to try and keep Josh behind me. He was going for the switchback all the time, so I had to try and block him off and I’m proud of how I drove in that one, although I’m a bit gutted that he got me at the end.
“The hybrid has added a new element to the racing and there is a lot to think about, especially when you are limited on how many laps you can use it.
“If you are trying not to use it so you have it for later in the race and someone is putting you under pressure like Josh was, then it’s bloody tough!
“Overall, I’m really happy as it was a tough weekend, but we got on top our issues quickly and I was able to learn a huge amount.
“We’re eighth in the championship and there is still plenty more potential in me and the car. Bring on Brands Hatch!”