Daniel Lloyd has signed a deal to race with Team HARD in the 2023 British Touring Car Championship, where he will race a CUPRA Leon for the first time.
The announcement means that Lloyd will once again change teams – he has never contested back-to-back full seasons with the same outfit – for what will be his seventh season in the BTCC, but only his third full campaign.
The 30-year-old raced with Excelr8 Motorsport in 2022, enjoying his best-ever season in the championship as he went on to win three races on his way to tenth overall in the drivers’ standings.
However, the Huddersfield racer’s season was marred by a huge shunt at Oulton Park in June, which left him chasing the budget for completing the year for months afterwards.
Team HARD has already confirmed two of the drivers who will be team-mates to Lloyd, with the Kent-based outfit retaining Bobby Thompson and also signing Dexter Patterson for next year.
The team has also recently confirmed the signing of renowned race engineer Kevin Berry, who also has experience in the World Touring Car Championship.
Despite changing teams for the third time in as many years, Lloyd hinted at a longer-term deal.
“At this stage of my career, I’m looking for continuity and the chance to stay with a team in the long term,” said Lloyd. “After a successful year in 2022, I was working on a deal to try and remain with EXCELR8 for another season.
“Unfortunately, an increase in the required budget meant we weren’t able to make the numbers work.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the team and we scored some fantastic results, and I wish them all the best for the future.
“Having looked at the various options elsewhere on the grid and having spoken to a number of teams, I’m really excited to have agreed a deal to join Tony and Team HARD.
“I was really impressed with what the team achieved with Bobby this year, and the steps forward they have taken in recent seasons.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of helping them to continue making forward progress with the CUPRA during the year ahead.
“The fact that they have someone with the knowledge and experience of Kevin Berry to head the engineering team is a major plus point for me, as is the fact that I’m going to have a top-class engineer on my car in the shape of Adam Tanner, who I worked with successfully during my time with Eurotech.
“With a strong pit crew around me, I feel the ingredients are in place to build something good in 2023, and I’m confident of another strong season on track.”
Tony Gilham, Team HARD Racing owner, described four-time BTCC race winner Lloyd as a ‘major’ signing for the team.
“This is a major coup for us,” said Gilham. “Dan did a fantastic job last season and was a real thorn in our side at the start of the season as he and Bobby seemed to be glued together.
“When I heard that Dan might be available to take over the wheel of one of our CUPRAs for 2023, it was an easy decision to get him into our camp for this season.
“Behind the scenes, our BTCC project is really starting to move through the gears and this acquisition is another demonstration of how far we have come as a team over the last two to three seasons.
“There is a great buzz in camp, and we are all delighted to have Dan join the team.”