After securing a 4th pole position of his maiden TCR campaign during Saturday’s qualifying session – heading up a WestCoast Racing Team 1-2-3 for the Swedish-based squad – the ABRACS-backed driver staked his claim on the highly-coveted crown with a commanding eighth race victory of the year during an action-packed penultimate round.
A flawless drive from Lloyd in treacherous racing conditions on the Leicestershire circuit saw the Yorkshireman provisionally crowned the UK series’ first-ever Champion after race one. Following a textbook start, the 26-year-old took the chequered flag with an incredible 16 second lead over his rivals – securing an unbeatable 50 point advantage at the top of the standings.
Collecting his 4th podium during a scrappy season-concluding race 2, Lloyd once again showed true class and determination to fight his way from the back of the pack to cross the line in 3rd. With early contact knocking the #26 VW Golf GTI off track, the Yorkshireman pulled out of all the stops to battle his way back into podium contention.
The weekend’s results signed off an incredible record-making season for the Yorkshire Patron who amassed a first-class set of results in the WestCoast Racing Golf – taking 4 out of a possible 7 pole positions, 8 race wins and a further 4 podium finishes from the series’ 14 races.
“I’m absolutely over the moon” commented Lloyd. “It’s felt like such a long summer; we made a good start, but with a few things like ballast, penalty points and a failure at Croft, it started going the other way. But I kept positive, kept focused and just did everything I could and put everything into it.
“The team at WestCoast Racing have been faultless all season. I owe it all to them and especially to James Nixon and Dick Jonsson. I wouldn’t have had this opportunity without them. It was only supposed to be a one-race deal, and we’ve built from that.
“I also have to say a huge thank you to my sponsors, ABRACS, Mend-a-hose and Propack for supporting me this season. Without their backing, I wouldn’t even have made it this far. I’m so very grateful to them all, and I’m delighted that we’ve won the title. This is the best thanks I could give them.”
“On paper, everyone said I should win it, but it comes with a different type of pressure, it’s expected of you. But I’m pleased about what we’ve done this year, it’s had its ups and downs but without this championship, I wouldn’t have started racing anything this year.
“It’s led to other good things, it’s brought on new sponsors, so whether it’s a huge series or a smaller one, it is what you make of it. Thanks again to everyone for all their supportive comments.”
“Race two was one of those races; when you’re more cautious, you end up getting into more trouble! I think without the contact on the first lap, I might have had a chance of winning it, but there we go. I got a really good start, had a great opening lap and got up to the front and got two big hits – I was lucky not to end up in the gravel trap.
“It was great to end the season on the podium though, I’m really happy with how the day played out.”
2018 TCR UK Championship Results:
Daniel Lloyd; 8 Race Wins, 4 Pole Positions, 4 Podiums
2018 TCR UK Championship Standings:
Drivers’ Championship:
1st Daniel Lloyd – 514 points
2nd Ollie Taylor – 435 points
3rd Andreas Bäckman – 408 points
Teams’ Championship:
1st WestCoast Racing – 984 points
2nd Pyro Motorsport – 458 points
3rd Maximum Motorsport – 367 points
Full race coverage from the weekend’s season finale and all races from the 2018 season are available to view via the official TCR UK YouTube channel.
Full results and timings for all sessions from the season are also available via: http://www.tsl-timing.
TCR UK Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/
TCR UK website – http://www.tcruk.co.uk
TCR hub – http://www.tcr-series.com
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Motorsport TV online platform – https://motorsport.tv/
