Daniel Lloyd put in a battling performance on track at Thruxton to grab a brace of points finishes from the latest rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season.
Huddersfield racer Daniel headed into the eighth meeting of the year on a high having been boosted in the run-up to the event by the support of Bristol Street Motors which – alongside backing from BTCC fans who had purchased special packages launched last week – had ensured he would be able to complete the season.
Having spent Friday taking part in a special karting event with Bristol Street Motors alongside EXCELR8 team-mates Tom Ingram and Tom Chilton, as well as W Series racers Jessica Hawkins and Alice Powell, Daniel enjoyed a solid run through the two free practice sessions and went into qualifying with his eyes firmly fixed on the top ten.
Unfortunately, a small error at the final chicane on his quickest lap – which would have put him well inside the top ten – meant Daniel had to settle for 20th on the grid, leaving work to do in Sunday’s three races.
Forced to run without hybrid power in the opening race hampered Daniel’s chances of making up ground, but a battling performance saw him work his way up to 17th place by the time the chequered flag dropped.
Further progress in race two saw Daniel break into the points in 13th, and having just missed out on benefitting from the reverse grid draw, Daniel then ended the weekend with eleventh in race three.
It means he now sits tenth in the championship standings ahead of the penultimate round of the season, which takes place at Silverstone late next month.
Before then, Daniel will continue work to find the remainder of the funds required to fully settle the repair bill from the accident at Oulton Park earlier in the season, with a number of special packages still available to purchase for fans – which includes the opportunity to join him on track for passenger laps at Donington Park on 28 September.
“The results aren’t the most amazing this weekend, but the big thing to take away from Thruxton is how much better I feel compared to recent rounds,” he said. “Concerns about budget have been a huge weight on my shoulders since the accident at Oulton Park, but the support from Bristol Street Motors and the fans who have purchased my packages has been a massive help and it meant I could focus more on the job at hand.
“I really feel like I got my head back into gear and raced well, but unfortunately a small error in qualifying meant we were out of position on the grid and right in the middle of the pack.
“Not having hybrid in the opening race also didn’t help as I think we could have made more progress there and got higher up the order, which could have left us in a position to benefit from the reverse grid.
“I don’t think we had the ultimate pace this weekend but we were still able to make forward progress in all three races and got some points on the board. Work will continue to find the remainder of the money we need to fully settle the damage bill from Oulton Park but I’m in a much more positive position and am really looking forward to the final two rounds, particularly Silverstone next time out given I’m a member of the BRDC. Hopefully we can end the year on a high.”
