In only his third TCR International Series appearance, Daniel Lloyd was clearly in the fight to make it into the second part of qualifying at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben earlier this afternoon (Saturday, July 9th), ending up third behind pole sitter Gianni Morbidelli and Jaap van Lagen for tomorrow’s first race of the weekend.
“I’m really happy with the result. I’ve shown my pace in the past two rounds but haven’t really come up with the goods in Q2, really,” admitted the Briton to TouringCars.net after qualifying, having come to a race track where he has previous experience.
“In testing I’ve been consistently in the top three, but for whatever reason, not being local or not putting it all together, it hasn’t really happened, so it’s nice to come to a circuit, do the job properly and put it up there.”
In terms of the 3.667-km circuit being a very challenging circuit, with its combination of straights and tight technical corners, he explained that there was further potential that could have been unlocked in his Craft Bamboo Lukoil SEAT León.
“I think it was in the car today to be a little bit higher, but it’s really tough around here – it’s such a challenging circuit. You have to get it perfect – people have been suffering with punctures today so you have to watch the track limits as well.
“With all that taken into account, to put it in the top three is something I’m really pleased about.”
The Briton, who made the switch from the British Touring Car Championship to replace Hugo Valente from Salzburgring for the rest of the season, is very aware that the challenge to fight at the front will not be an easy task.
“His [Morbidelli’s] pace is unbelievable today. I could have done a better lap, but I’m sure every driver on the grid would say that!
“I think the VWs are particularly strong this round – we thought they would be, and obviously they’re on the front row and Rob Huff isn’t too far behind either.
“It will be a tough day tomorrow as always, as it’s a challenging grid, but at least I’m up there with a fighting chance.”
Lloyd has raced previously at Oschersleben in the VW Scirocco R-Cup back in 2011, where turn one had a very different approach, with a heavy braking zone to be negotiated before turning left.
“It’s a completely different corner – I’ve had to learn it all again. I was still finding time there in qualifying. It’s a bit like Copse at Silverstone, as it’s so quick,” said the 25-year-old, who went on to explain that the emphasis is about carrying a lot of momentum through, before the sweeping right hand turn two.
“It’s more of a light brake – you don’t want to upset the car too much carrying a load of speed. There is quite a lot of grip going into that corner, but it’s quite off-putting as well with all the dust flying up.
“It’s a bit deceivingly grippy and also you can gain a hell of a lot of time in there. I need to learn it, but I think it should be a better format for tomorrow.”