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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Final 2009
ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup Standings:
Final 2009
ELF Renault Clio Cup Standings:
pics . Jakob Ebrey Photography
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk DANIEL LLOYD – 2009 ELF RENAULT CLIO WINTER CUP CHAMPION!
In only his second season of competition in cars, and first year at the wheel of a Renault Clio, the Scammonden-based racer headed into the second of Saturday’s encounters in the middle of an intriguing three-way battle for the championship crown...and emerged with the title by a single point! “It’s fantastic to win the Winter Cup, I’m over the moon”, said Daniel, “This weekend’s results show what we’ll be capable of in 2010 if we can raise the budget to be back in Clios. We had a lot of bad luck in the main championship but this is a great end to the year and a good springboard for next season.” Daniel’s weekend didn’t start smoothly by any means during testing when a gearbox problem meant he would have to run in a different Clio during qualifying. Marking the first time he had ever driven this particular car, the Propack-supported racer did a fantastic job to adapt seamlessly and also come within a whisker of bagging a maiden Clio Cup pole position. His pace in race one was compromised by the decision to run on treaded tyres and although having led the race early on, as the track quickly dried he was reeled in by James Colburn who had gambled to run with slick tyres on his front wheels. Unceremoniously barging Daniel out of the lead on lap four, Colburn was served with a two point penalty for his actions but took the win to head the standings. Daniel’s second place in the opening 12-lapper was certainly hard-earned as he had to battle serious tyre degradation. On a level playing field in race two though he was able to show his true pace and do everything he needed to grab the champion’s trophy. Taking the lead after a great start, Daniel headed the pack and quickly began to punch in fastest laps but a small mistake on lap three at Yentwood enabled Tordoff to get ahead. With his tyres not offering full grip due to his minor excursion, Daniel had to bide his time before pushing to the maximum again but when he could he took the two crucial bonus points with a lap of 1m30.462 seconds (77.20mph). He said: “Today was the first time I’d driven this car, which obviously wasn’t ideal, but after race one I knew what I needed to do to win the cup. The team told me on my pit-board when I had the fastest lap, so at that point I knew I had to stay tight to the back of Sam’s car to pressurise him and make sure he didn’t have a chance to pull a gap and try and take the bonus points for fastest lap himself.
“When I got
the lead early on, I did make a couple of mistakes and ran on the dirt
so it took about three laps to clean the tyres up. As soon as I’d done
that I was able to push for the fastest lap and in the end I got it by
about 0.4 seconds which was fantastic – big thanks to TCR for doing an
amazing job with the car. Now the hard work starts to try and raise the
budget for next season!”
DETERMINED LLOYD ENDS SEASON WITHIN A WHISKER OF SERIES TOP 10
Visiting the Kent venue’s full 2.3-mile Grand Prix track for the first time this weekend, the 17-year-old headed into the season finale hopeful of a championship-best result having led a Clio Cup race for the first time at Rockingham a fortnight ago. While a tricky qualifying session on Saturday morning – in which he was unable to get a single clear lap – made the task in hand incredibly difficult, a superb drive from 12th on the grid in round 19 came to nothing at Druids Hairpin on lap 11 when contact from Aron Smith pitched Daniel into an immediate retirement in the gravel. The Irishman was later docked two championship points by race officials. Fighting over sixth position with Total Control Racing team-mate Sam Tordoff and Smith, Scammonden based Daniel was well placed to usurp Carl Bradley in the title race and also remain ahead of James Colburn in terms of points but the non-finish, only his third of the season, compromised his chances. Sunday’s final race of the season, round 20, provided an even sterner test for the former Ginetta Junior race winner with an under-steering car and an uncharacteristically low grid position making life very difficult indeed. Nonetheless, Daniel performed well with a determined performance to finish in seventh place, just 0.6 seconds behind Robert Gaffney. Lining up 15th on the grid, the young West Yorkshireman made a great start and gained a lot of ground early on to move into ninth place on the opening lap – a stunning effort. Luckily for him too, his good beginning to the race meant he was able to avoid a multi-car tangle a little further behind at Surtees. Following a three lap Safety Car period, the race resumed and Daniel gained another position when Tordoff was forced to pit with a mechanical problem. Struggling with major under-steer, especially at important left-hand corners such as Graham Hill Bend, Daniel worked wonders to pressurise the cars ahead and gained one final place on lap 11 following a retirement for Andrew Herron. Although disappointed to end the season with a problematic race meeting, the championship rookie has certainly impressed in his debut season and TCR team boss Lee Brookes is convinced Daniel has what it takes to be a major contender for title honours in 2010. Reflecting on the weekend and his first season of Clio racing, Daniel said: “It’s been a shame we’ve had to end the year on a bit of a downer but even with the problems with the car we still managed to pressurise the drivers ahead so I’ve no doubt, with everything working well, we could have taken a top five pretty easily.
“It’s a
disappointing way to finish my first season in Clios but it’s been a
good year and I’ve learnt a lot, especially since we joined TCR a few
events into the championship. We’ve had our ups and downs but we have
taken some good results. Hopefully we can raise the budget we need for
next year to come back and fight for podiums, race wins and maybe even
the championship.”
PUNCTURE COSTS LLOYD MAIDEN CLIO CUP WIN AT ROCKINGHAM
Starting round 17 of the season from a career-best third on the grid, the Scammonden-based driver managed to take the lead from 2009 Clio Cup Champion Philip Glew on the run from Deene Hairpin just two corners into the race. Immediately slotting into a tidy rhythm, Daniel looked confident and assured as he led Glew and returning 2001 Clio Cup title winner Danny Buxton. Setting a string of fastest laps during the early stages, the 17-year-old showed talent and skill belying his lack of experience and although Glew started to up the tempo on lap five, Daniel wasn’t rattled as the battle at the front intensified. Bitter disappointment came at the end of lap eight though when his Total Control Racing-run Clio under-steered into the wall on the outside of Turn 4 as Daniel exited Brook Chicane and the resulting damage meant an immediate retirement. Hugely frustrating for Daniel, it later emerged a right-rear puncture may have unsettled his car as he pressed on towards lap nine. “I’m absolutely gutted”, said Daniel following his retirement, “I felt really comfortable at the front, the car was great and my lap times were good. I didn’t feel under pressure, everything seemed to be going well, but then at the end of lap eight the car just under-steered into the wall on the outside of Turn 4. I didn’t do anything differently on that lap but now we think I’d already picked up a puncture.” With around four hours in which to try and repair the No.23 Clio for round 18, the TCR mechanics did an outstanding job to prepare the car as well as possible and even though it was far from 100 per cent, Daniel was able to run to an extremely impressive top five result – ironically his best result of the year. Starting in sixth position, he got away from the grid well and avoided a multi-car tangle at Deene Hairpin to emerge in fourth place. Following a three lap Safety Car period, the race resumed on lap four with Daniel working hard to try and stay with the top three. Adapting his driving style to suit the limitations of his less-than-perfect Clio, he pressed on and although losing a position to Andrew Herron on lap eight he maintained a top five placing to the finish to secure 20 very hard earned championship points with an incredibly impressive drive. Daniel commented: “The team did an absolutely fantastic job to get the car ready for race two, it was pretty seriously damaged after the race one incident but they worked wonders. Although the car wasn’t 100 per cent it was as good as it possibly could have been, the mechanics worked so hard to get me back out for race two so a huge thank you to all the boys at TCR. “Finishing fifth is a good result considering I had to change my driving to adapt to the car but it’s still disappointing to look back on what could have been my first win in race one. We again showed how quick we are and now I’ve led a race in Clios, it’s given me even more confidence for the final two rounds at Brands Hatch in two weeks even though I’ve never driven on the Grand Prix track before.”
LLOYD RETAINS CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 10 AT FRANTIC SILVERSTONE
Brilliantly battling his way into contention for the rostrum from sixth on the grid with impressive lap times throughout, the West Yorkshire 17-year-old was well placed in third position at mid-distance but it all went wrong for him four laps from the finish when contact dropped him down the order. Running in third position on lap 18 ahead of Tom Carnaby and Aron Smith, Scammonden-based Daniel was tagged from behind at Becketts which dropped him to fourth and then further contact at Brooklands forced the Total Control Racing star off the circuit, losing him more places. Rejoining the track in seventh position, Daniel remained there to the chequered flag on lap 21 but post race he was served with a 1.5 second penalty – a decision by the Clerk of the Course relating to an incident early in the race – which dropped him to ninth on the final classification. Even so, he retains 10th position in the driver standings, just a single point behind Carl Bradley. Obviously disappointed to see his chance of a first ever ELF Renault Clio Cup podium slip through his fingers, the category rookie was nonetheless very pleased with the pace he has produced all weekend at Silverstone and is now looking forward to the next two races three weeks from now. He commented: “Today showed again we have the pace to run at the front and we had a realistic chance to be on the podium. It’s a shame there was the contact but it was that kind of race, on almost every lap someone went wide, had contact or got into trouble. It’s good we at least took away another top 10 finish but really frustrating as that first podium could have been ours today.” At the start of this afternoon’s race, Daniel quickly climbed into the top four and managed to avoid a multi-car accident at Copse but in doing so it gave Andrew Herron the chance to carry better momentum through the corner and push Daniel back to fifth position. Due to the first corner collision, the Safety Car was deployed and the re-start came on lap six with Daniel staying tight to the rear of Herron’s car. Lapping as quickly as the cars ahead, the teenage sensation pushed on to try and force Herron into a mistake while also keeping an eye on his mirrors with Smith close behind in sixth place. On lap 10, contact between Daniel and Herron at Brooklands enabled Smith to get ahead of both but two circuits later, Daniel was on the receiving end of another shove at Becketts. On lap 15, the TCR ace grabbed third from Smith into Brooklands but on the 18th tour Daniel’s car was tagged from behind again with further contact compounding matters and dropping Daniel to seventh place. As during Saturday’s 15th round, today’s race underlined the progress the Clio Cup rookie is making with his best lap of 1m05.753 seconds just two 10ths of a second outside the new Silverstone National Circuit record.
. THIRD TOP SIX OF SEASON FOR LLOYD AT SILVERSTONE NATIONAL
The 17-year-old, from Scammonden in West Yorkshire, displayed outstanding pace from the minute pre-race testing began on Friday and during this morning’s all-important qualifying session he was the highest placed TCR driver with a season-best fifth fastest time of 1m05.285 seconds (90.37mph), just two 10ths of a second shy of pole position. At the start of round 15, Daniel initially got away from the third row of the grid well and looked all set to move into the top four before he received a tap to the rear of his Clio which pitched the car sideways and lost him several places. Managing to get the car pointing in the right direction nicely, he climbed back into the top six but on lap two Daniel was pushed wide at Maggotts and slipped to ninth. Determined to get back into the top six, the TCR ace set about his recovery drive brilliantly and on lap four he posted the third quickest time of 1m05.653 seconds – faster than the best managed by either eventual race winner Dave Newsham or championship points leader Philip Glew – as he moved into eighth position. After battling hard with Jake Packun and James Colburn during the mid part of the race, the trio trading positions more than once, Daniel emerged ahead on lap 12 and proceeded to close down fifth placed Lee Pattison. Between lap 14 and lap 17, Daniel closed the gap to Pattison from 1.2 seconds to just two 10ths of a second and just missed out on gaining another place before the finish. Speaking after the opening race of the weekend, Daniel said: “On the first lap I got a tap from behind as we went through Becketts and Maggotts, the car was sideways but I managed to get it back in a straight line although we did lose a few places. Then I got pushed wide at the same place on the second lap so it made the first half of the race very hard work. “Obviously a top six is a good result but it is a bit disappointing considering the pace we had, we easily had the speed to be on the podium for the first time. The car felt good and it was consistently fast all the way through the race, without the problems on the first couple of laps we’d have been able to challenge closer to the front. That’s what we intend to do tomorrow, we know we have the pace.” With team-mate Sam Tordoff and experienced competitor Carl Bradley both failing to finish today’s encounter, Daniel has closed to within 11 points of the championship top eight and has pulled seven points clear of Bradley.
LLOYD STILL INSIDE CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 10 AFTER TRICKY SNETTERTON WEEKEND
The championship rookie, who has been in front-running form over the course of the last few rounds, started the Snetterton weekend with blistering pace during Friday's practice sessions with a career best Clio Cup testing performance. Posting the third fastest time in the morning, he went on to consolidate his excellent effort with a top six lap in the afternoon, even though in the second session he only had three flying laps in which to set a quick time after problems with a cracked brake disc and a subsequent session stoppage. Heading into Saturday's qualifying period with deserved confidence, the West Yorkshire 17-year-old wasn't able to replicate his test pace due to a problem with the left-rear tyre on his car and so he ended up qualifying 14th fastest for round 13 and 12th on the grid for round 14. Although disappointed with the qualifying troubles, Daniel knew he had the pace to come through into the top 10 in the races but Saturday afternoon's opening encounter went awry at the very first corner when heavy contact from behind forced him off the track and into an immediate retirement. Marking his first non-finish of the season, the category rookie was intent on making amends in round 14. Lining up on row six for the second race Daniel got off the line well but on the outside around the first corner he was pushed back to 15th position. Quickly hitting back though, he gained three places in one move into Russell Chicane at the end of lap one. Running in 12th position into the second tour the Total Control Racing driver slipped to 13th place towards the end of the lap but struck back two laps later with an attempted move on Robert Gaffney at the Esses. On the exit, Gaffney edged back ahead but Daniel wasn't to be denied and he moved back into the top 12 on lap seven. With the midfield pack bunching up very tightly on lap eight out of Sear Corner , Daniel tried to move to the head of the group as the cars hurtled down Revett Straight and into the Esses but he was forced wide over the grass. Emerging out of the corner in 10th place, he pressed on and posted the fourth fastest race lap of 1m18.212 seconds on the 11th tour before grabbing ninth place from Jake Packun at the Esses two laps later. After the race, officials adjudged Daniel to have gained an unfair advantage following his enforced lap eight excursion at the Esses and the resulting time penalty dropped him to 11th position. Even so, he still holds 10th place in the driver standings with 155 points, just 13 points behind experienced saloon car campaigner Carl Bradley. "Obviously we're really disappointed with how things went in qualifying having been so strong in testing, after the practice sessions we had a lot of confidence", said Daniel, "Qualifying went completely wrong and we're not totally sure why but I wasn't happy with the left-rear tyre and I'm almost certain that's where the issue was. "The first race was a disaster but at least in the second one we scored some good points and set the fourth fastest lap, just a couple of 10ths of a second off the fastest lap of the race. We have to look at it as a positive weekend due to the pace we had in testing and race two but overall it has been pretty disappointing. We've managed to stay in the championship top 10 though so that's good."
BEST CLIO CUP WEEKEND YET FOR ‘DRIVER OF DAY’ LLOYD
Racing as part of the support package to the British round of the World Series by Renault, the West Yorkshire 17-year-old scythed his way through the order during race one with some outstanding driving to rise from an uncharacteristic starting position of 18th place into the coveted top six. Gaining an incredible 12 positions in one of the most fiercely contested Clio Cup encounters of the year so far, Scammonden-based Daniel equalled his career best category finish in front of a huge raceday crowd of 85,000 spectators – the combined weekend total of 135,000 fans easily breaking the previous World Series by Renault record set at Silverstone last year. In round 12, the Total Control Racing sensation backed up his earlier heroics with a very impressive seventh place finish from 12th position on the grid. Best of all, the ever-improving youngster raced wheel-to-wheel with, and defeated, reigning Clio Cup Champion Ben Winrow who made his return to the series this weekend. Added to this was the fact Daniel posted the second fastest race lap in round 11 with a tremendous time of 2m10.385 seconds (141.9km/h) and the sixth quickest lap in the second encounter, indicative of the terrific progress he is consistently making in the country’s most competitive one-make saloon car motor racing championship. Commenting, Daniel said: “It’s been a fantastic weekend, to take sixth place from 18th on the grid was unbelievable but to then get a seventh place in the second race and beat (Ben) Winrow in a straight fight really did cap things off brilliantly. We’re getting stronger and stronger all of the time. “I didn’t get a fantastic start to the first race, I got caught up in a big scrap but just managed to get in front of them at the first chicane and then broke away. From then on I just caught the people up ahead and we had the pace to pick them off one by one. It’s definitely my best drive in Clios. We did get a sixth place at Croft but that wasn’t from 18th on the grid! It’s been a superb weekend.” The build-up to the event wasn’t the smoothest for Daniel with Friday’s 40-minute free practice session ruined by multiple stoppages. During Saturday afternoon’s half-hour qualifying run, Daniel was unfortunately baulked on his quickest laps which resulted in the lower-than-expected starting slot of 18th position for round 11 and 12th on the grid for round 12. Although not making the best getaway from the grid at the start of race one, Daniel managed to gain four positions part way through the first tour and immediately set about catching team-mate Sam Tordoff ahead. Taking 13th place on lap two, he then passed fellow TCR driver Mike Robinson a lap later and moved into the top 10 on the fifth tour by deposing Aron Smith. In scintillating form, Daniel emerged from a multi-car tussle over seventh place and gained three more positions in quick succession. On lap nine, he crowned a tremendous performance by moving into sixth place and pulled out an advantage of some 3.5 seconds over his pursuers during the final stages. Lining up 12th on the grid for the second race, Daniel moved ahead of Smith on the opening lap to immediately gain a position and shadowed Robinson for the next two laps before making his move on the third tour to edge into the top 10. By lap five, Daniel was in eighth place and catching 2008 ELF Renault Clio Cup Champion Winrow as he lapped consistently faster than his vastly more experienced rival. On the penultimate tour, he then made his way past Winrow into seventh position to cap-off a truly remarkable weekend. After such a superb weekend, Daniel has further consolidated his placing as the best of the category newcomers in ninth position in the standings. He is now just seven points shy of experienced saloon car racer Carl Bradley in eighth place and an enhanced 21 points clear of his closest pursuer, TCR team-mate Tordoff.
IMPRESSIVE FIGHTBACK BY LLOYD MAINTAINS NINTH IN CHAMPIONSHIP
Tagged into a spin onto the infield grass at Hawthorn the 17-year-old from Scammonden, who started the race a highly creditable ninth on the grid, found himself down the order in 20th place by the time he managed to rejoin. He mounted a good recovery though to end the race in 14th position, less than four seconds outside the top 10. Commenting on the race, Daniel said: “I went to the outside around the first corner as a lot of cars were tripping over each other on the inside but, in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have done that. I got a tap from another car and that then put me off onto the grass. By the time I got going again I was down in about 20th place so it was tough to get a decent finish. We managed it though. “On the warm up lap the car felt good and after Saturday’s result I was confident of fighting for another strong result. It’s a disappointing way to finish the weekend but we’re still ninth in the championship so that’s something at least.” After recovering near the tail of the field Daniel set about catching the cars ahead. Moving into 19th place on lap two, he gained a couple more positions in quick succession and on the third tour he was already back past fellow Ginetta Junior graduate Tom Carnaby. Running in 16th place into the second half of the race, Daniel moved into the top 15 on lap seven and then gained another place soon after when Carl Bradley was forced to enter the pits after being shown the black flag due to bodywork hanging off his damaged car. Over the last few laps, Daniel held on to 14th and closed on the cars ahead but just ran out of time to make any further progress. Maintaining ninth position in the driver standings, still the best of the championship rookies, the Total Control Racing star also posted the seventh quickest race lap of 1m33.731 seconds – just six 10ths of a second shy of outright podium pace, a great effort considering his lap one troubles.
CAREER BEST CLIO CUP RESULT FOR LLOYD AT BAKING HOT CROFT
Improving all the time since joining TCR prior to the Oulton Park races a fortnight ago, the 17-year-old from Scammonden near Huddersfield concluded round nine of the 2009 championship easily the highest placed of the category rookies and heads into Sunday’s race – which will be televised live on ITV4 – an increasingly comfortable ninth in the driver standings. “I made a really good start today, got off the line well and then made another place at the first corner and one more at the second corner”, said Daniel, “In the top seven, I then had a lot of pressure from (Stephen) Tyldsley while I tried to think about attacking Dave Newsham ahead as well. Into the hairpin a couple of laps later I got Newsham with a really good move. “Then I caught Carl Bradley, it was very hard to overtake him. I did try but it didn’t really work out and then I had to defend Newsham again but managed that ok to stay about half a second ahead. The car felt good today, thanks to TCR for that, and sixth is a great result for us especially from 10th on the grid. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s race now, hopefully we can do the same again.” The West Yorkshire racer started the weekend very well indeed with the ninth quickest time overall during Friday’s practice sessions – eighth quickest of the championship regulars with series returnee Stefan Hodgetts setting the outright pace. During this morning’s 30-minute qualifying session, Daniel posted the 10th fastest lap of 1m32.786 seconds (82.44mph) while his second best lap – which sets his starting position for Sunday afternoon’s 10th round of the season – was good enough for ninth on the grid, a time of 1m32.845 seconds. After making a great start to today’s 12-lap encounter, the TCR ace stormed through into seventh position on the opening lap and soon started to put veteran racer Dave Newsham under a lot of pressure as he sought a way through into the top six. All over the back of Newsham’s Clio into the Sunny In and Sunny Out sequence of right-hand corners on the third tour, Daniel moved ahead into sixth place before the end of the lap and immediately set about his pursuit of Carl Bradley in fifth who was just over a second ahead. Closing the gap to Bradley at a rate of between two and three 10ths of a second per lap, he was in a position to attempt a pass on lap nine at the hairpin. Running side-by-side all the way across the start/finish line on lap 10 and into Clervaux Corner, Daniel was on the outside for the first turn and had to concede fifth position back to Bradley. This battle had enabled Newsham to close on the pair but Daniel drove brilliantly to maintain his sixth position and scoop his biggest single race points haul of the campaign. Beginning the weekend six points clear in the championship of nearest pursuer, and fellow rookie, James Colburn, Daniel has extended his advantage over the chasing pack to 13 points.
CLIO ROOKIE LLOYD MOVES INTO NINTH IN CHAMPIONSHIP AT OULTON
After taking eighth position in very hot conditions at the venue’s 2.23-mile Island Circuit on Saturday, 30th May, the 17-year-old from Scammonden went one better on Sunday, 31st May, during round eight where he equalled his season’s best finish of seventh in scorching temperatures. Driving for the renowned Total Control Racing team for the first time this weekend, having switched from his former squad after the Donington Park meeting a fortnight ago, Daniel lined up for today’s race from a career best Clio Cup grid slot of sixth place. Making a very good getaway, the teenage star quickly moved into the top five but a slight occurrence of under-steer at Cascades on the opening lap meant he ran wide onto the grass and the momentary delay was enough to drop him back to ninth place. Determined to press on and make his way back towards the top six, Daniel shook off the attentions of David Dickenson and closed on Lee Pattison ahead. Into lap six, the West Yorkshire driver was in the midst of an eight car train queuing up behind fourth placed Dave Newsham and on lap seven Daniel moved into eighth when Pattison ran wide at Old Hall. At the end of the same lap, Daniel showed great awareness by pouncing as Carl Bradley dived up the inside of Andrew Herron at Lodge Corner. Tagging on to the rear of Bradley’s car, Daniel managed to squeeze through the gap too to move into seventh position. On lap nine, the Safety Car was deployed after an incident near Hill Top resulted in two cars going off circuit into the tyre barriers and just one lap later the red flags were shown when Herron’s car went off the circuit at Druids. Securing a fine seventh place after another impressive drive, Daniel now heads to his second ‘home’ event, Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire two weeks from now, aiming to continue his progression and edge ever closer to consistent top six results. Speaking after round eight, he said: “I’m really happy with the weekend. We qualified well, had two good results and also moved up into ninth in the championship. Already this weekend, only our first with TCR, I’ve learnt a huge amount so I can’t wait to get back in the car at Croft. “I made a much better start today but just under-steered slightly wide at Cascades on the first lap. It was a shame as I was in fifth place at the time but to equal our previous best is good. Our pace this weekend has shown we’re definitely moving forward.”
LLOYD BACK INTO CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 10 AT OULTON PARK
Marking his first weekend with multiple championship winning squad Total Control Racing, the series rookie’s fourth top 10 finish of the campaign also enabled him to climb back into the coveted top 10 in the driver standings as the second highest placed newcomer. Furthermore, Daniel also posted the third fastest lap of this afternoon’s race to underline his terrific progress. During this morning’s half-hour qualifying session, the 17-year-old produced by far his best run of the season with a quickest time of 1m35.327 seconds (84.06mph). More impressive though was his stunningly accurate consistency with his second fastest lap – which sets the grid for Sunday’s eighth round of the championship – just five 100ths of a second shy, placing him sixth on the grid tomorrow. “I’m really pleased with the way the weekend has gone so far and I can’t wait for tomorrow’s race, starting sixth on the grid is easily the highest up the order we’ve been this year”, said Daniel, “The qualifying session went really well, the team gave me a great car which gave me a lot of confidence. “I didn’t make the start I wanted but we still managed to take a top eight finish so I’m obviously happy with that, especially as it’s moved us back into the championship top 10. As the race went on I felt more and more comfortable with the car, setting the third fastest lap shows what we can do. I’m really impressed with TCR, hopefully we can all have another great day tomorrow.” Lining up on the fourth row of the grid for this afternoon’s race, Daniel didn’t get away as well as he intended and lost a handful of positions heading down to Old Hall Corner for the first time. Emerging at the end of the opening lap in ninth place, the West Yorkshire racer set about catching the train of cars ahead and on lap five he gained a place when Aron Smith crashed out at Hislop’s. On lap six, a further incident at Hislop’s – this time a roll for Alex Osborne – resulted in the Safety Car being deployed in time for the start of lap eight. The race resumed on lap 11 and Daniel made a good job of the re-start, staying in touch with the cars ahead while maintaining a fair gap behind. Lapping quicker and quicker as the race continued, on the penultimate lap he posted his best time of the race, 1m35.739 seconds, which was the third fastest of any driver and just half a second shy of the quickest lap of all. The chequered flag fell at the end of lap 15 with Daniel a highly creditable eighth position, just six 10ths of a second shy of TCR team-mate Sam Tordoff but almost three seconds clear of ninth placed David Dickenson.
CHANGEABLE CONDITIONS COST DISAPPOINTED LLOYD AT DONINGTON
With tyre choice proving to be crucial to the outcome of the race for each of the 24 drivers taking part, 17-year-old Daniel was one of those who lost out when the circuit dried faster than expected and meant the competitors running treaded rubber were placed firmly on the back foot. Making a good initial start on the damp track from the eighth row of the grid, the Scammonden based driver gained three places on the run towards Redgate but an unfortunate moment at the Old Hairpin saw him drop to 20th position. As the track continued to benefit those with slick tyres more and more, Daniel didn’t look likely to make any inroads as he tried to recover but a determined effort still saw him manage to gain three spots before the finish – the four points achieved for 17th place proving crucial in his bid to remain in touch with the championship top 10. Obviously disappointed with the round six result, the West Yorkshire teenager nonetheless showed great tenacity and maturity throughout the race. With six rounds of the 2009 Clio Cup season now completed, the former Ginetta Junior Championship race winner is 11th in the driver standings, just five points shy of the coveted top 10. Speaking on Sunday’s run, Daniel said: “We’re really disappointed with the race as we shouldn’t have gone on wet tyres, slicks – or at least a mixture of slicks and wets – were the way to go. Thankfully, we still managed to take away a few points and we’re only just outside the top 10 in the championship. At Oulton Park, we definitely plan to be back inside the top 10 in the races at the very least.”
DONINGTON TOP SIX SLIDES AWAY FOR UNLUCKY LLOYD
Starting round five of the 2009 championship from 12th on the grid, the 17-year-old Team Pyro racer made a good start and threaded his way neatly through a three-car tangle at the Old Hairpin to emerge in an excellent eighth position, just ahead of Mike Robinson who started inside the top 10. The aforementioned chaos led to the Safety Car being deployed for three laps but at the re-start, Daniel pressed on and by the end of lap five he was in a position to challenge for seventh place which he gained at Goddards Chicane. Running in a very tight group of cars, all lapping with near identical times, Daniel started to pressurise sixth placed Lee Pattison and at the end of the ninth tour he took the position with a great move and proceeded to set his sights on experienced team-mate Aron Smith who, on lap 10, was just eight 10ths of a second ahead. Closing the gap to half a second by the end of lap 12, Daniel was also under huge pressure from Pattison behind just as the heavens opened and a rain shower made things very difficult indeed for the slick tyre-shod Clio Cup drivers. Holding off the charge of the more experienced Pattison well through Redgate and again at the Old Hairpin on lap 14, the West Yorkshire teenager finally had to succumb on the following tour at the first corner as the cars all scrambled for grip on the exit on the increasingly greasy track surface. Into the final lap, Daniel held seventh place with the coveted top six still within his grasp but a slide at the Old Hairpin forced him wide onto the grass through the exit of the turn, losing a fistful of positions. Luckily avoiding contact with the barriers and keeping his Clio pointing in the right direction, Daniel rejoined the circuit and managed to recover 13th place and take eight valuable championship points. “Obviously I’m absolutely gutted to have missed out on my first top six, it had been a really good race for us up until the last lap but the rain made it very tricky”, explained Daniel, “Our pace was really good, my best lap was within three 10ths of a second of the fastest, I just need more experience of the slick tyres. Starting 12th it wasn’t going to be easy but all in all I’m pleased with the performance.” Following today’s encounter, the Clio Cup rookie is 10th overall in the driver standings – the second highest placed category newcomer – with 54 points from the first five races of the season.
THIRD TOP 10 OF YEAR FOR CLIO CUP STAR LLOYD AT THRUXTON
Thoroughly enjoying the fast-paced action at the country’s quickest track, the Team Pyro driver fought tooth and nail with some highly experienced saloon car campaigners, including championship regulars Carl Bradley and Alex MacDowall, to emerge with a well deserved 10th place finish, cementing his growing reputation as one of the most promising newcomers in the category. Ninth in the driver standings after four of the 2009 season’s scheduled 20 rounds, 17-year-old Daniel was in great form during this afternoon’s 12 lap to encounter to maintain his impressive start to his debut year in Clios. Getting away fairly well initially at the beginning of the race from 13th on the grid, the Scammonden racer darted from his slot on the right hand side of the grid to the outside on the run into Allard Corner for the first time as he tried to find as much space as possible. Moving into 12th position on lap one, he unfortunately slipped back to 13th place behind Carl Bradley on the second tour but made his way back into the top 12 on lap seven. Passing Alex Osborne for 11th on lap nine, Daniel was determined to grab his third back-to-back top 10 finish of the season and did so after carving his way by Bradley on the final lap with a superb piece of driving. “It’s great to have finished in the top 10 again, it was a good race and it was important for us to score consistently to maintain our place in the championship top 10”, said Daniel, “I didn’t get away from the grid too badly this afternoon but it all got a bit tight during the first couple of laps and so I couldn’t make up as many places as I had hoped. In the end it didn’t work out too badly though.” With four solid results from the opening quartet of races, Daniel is just four points shy of eighth placed Mike Robinson in the championship standings who, in turn, is 20 points shy of the coveted top six.
LLOYD MAINTAINS CHAMPIONSHIP TOP EIGHT AT THRUXTON AS TOP ROOKIE
Although the 17-year-old category rookie was disappointed to have qualified an uncharacteristic 17th on the grid for the first of the weekend’s Clio Cup encounters, he raced brilliantly to record a ninth place finish just seven 10ths of a second shy of the top eight and half a second ahead of Clio Cup veteran Steven Hunter to add 12 points to his championship tally. “I’m really pleased with today’s result”, said Daniel, “We didn’t expect it after a difficult run in qualifying but in the end it worked it out quite well. It wasn’t an easy race and I did have some grip problems but it was good to race hard with experienced drivers like (Steven) Hunter. To come away with a ninth place today is great, hopefully starting 13th tomorrow we can be in the top 10 again.” The Scammonden-based youngster made a good start to this afternoon’s race and managed to avoid a tangle at the complex on the opening lap, which eliminated several drivers, to rise into the top 10. The incident, however, resulted in the deployment of the Safety Car which remained on track for five laps. At the re-start, Daniel ran well in a tight battle with Lee Pattison and Steven Hunter and as the laps ticked away, the Team Pyro racer began to apply more and more pressure to the latter as he looked for a way by. The breakthrough came a couple of laps from the finish when Daniel moved into ninth place with a good move on his vastly more experienced rival and he went on to take the chequered flag less than four seconds shy of the top six.
LLOYD DELIGHTED WITH TOP SEVEN FINISH DURING ROUND TWO
Battling hard with a number of much more experienced competitors throughout the second round of the new championship campaign, the Huddersfield teenager produced a sterling performance in only his second race outing in Clios to finish a mere three 10ths of a second outside the coveted top six. Daniel's efforts added to the 14th place finish he achieved during round one on Saturday afternoon, the 17-year-old is eighth in the driver standings. "I'm really happy with today's result, I know I drove a lot better than during the first round yesterday as I'm starting to get more used to this style of racing", said Daniel, "I think in Saturday's race I defended too much which stopped me from going forward. Today I concentrated on pushing forward and it worked well. "You can't make any mistakes in Clios, if you do you lose a load of positions. The reason I managed to get past (Andrew) Herron early on was because he ran wide at Graham Hill Bend, it's so hard to pass at Brands Hatch Indy but we did a good job today. Hopefully for the next round I can qualify a bit better and continue moving forward." Lining up 10th on the grid following a solid maiden qualifying performance yesterday morning, the Team Pyro racer made a good start to today's encounter and quickly climbed into the top eight but the action was soon curtailed when the Safety Car was deployed after a couple of cars made contact at Druids Hairpin. The re-start came on lap five and Daniel did a good job of getting back up to racing speed without losing ground and, perhaps more importantly, keeping Alex Osborne at bay behind. Seventh placed Andrew Herron then made a mistake going through Graham Hill Bend and Daniel needed no second invitation as he passed the former Clio Cup race winner on the run along Cooper Straight. On lap 12, the Safety Car was required again following a second incident. The re-start came on lap 17 and Daniel continued to press on as he strived to force sixth placed Lee Pattison into making an error. With overtaking at a premium on the 1.2-mile track though, Daniel was satisfied to end the race in seventh place just a few 10ths of a second behind Pattison. His fastest race lap, meanwhile, was a time of 53.263 seconds, just three 10ths of a second shy of podium finishing pace.
ACTION PACKED MAIDEN CLIO RACE FOR LLOYD BRINGS POINTS FINISH
After qualifying on the fringe of his target top 10 this morning with a lap of 52.767 seconds (81.77mph), the 17-year-old Huddersfield racer headed into the opening round of the season hopeful of remaining close to the top 10 and this he achieved with a determined drive. Right in the thick of the action throughout the 20-lap encounter on the Kent venue’s tight and twisty 1.2-mile Indy Circuit, Daniel battled hard with a whole host of experienced Clio Cup racers, including Alex Osborne, Carl Bradley and David Dickenson, before emerging with a 14th place result and also as the second highest placed rookie driver. “That was a really hard-fought race but I enjoyed it and we came away really pleased with our pace, I was just three 10ths of a second off my experienced team-mate Phil Glew who won the race”, said Daniel after round one, “The car felt good but it’s so difficult to overtake on the Indy Circuit, the key is to qualify as well as possible and to make up some ground at the start. “My lap times were quicker than several of the cars ahead of me but there’s only really one racing line at Brands so even if you’re faster it’s difficult to get by. Tomorrow we start from 10th on the grid and if I can get away from the line well, I’m sure our pace will let us fight for an improved result.” With light rain in the air during the half-hour qualifying session this morning, track conditions were slightly unpredictable in the early stages but Daniel ran strongly throughout and his best lap of 52.767 seconds was only three 10ths of a second away from pole position, such is the competitiveness of the ELF Renault Clio Cup. pics . Jakob Ebrey Photography |
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West
Yorkshire
ELF
Renault Clio Cup driver Daniel Lloyd ended his rookie campaign in the
hugely competitive British Touring Car Championship-supporting category
a mere four points shy of the coveted top 10 at Brands Hatch on Sunday,
4th October, following a determined drive during the final race of the
year. 
Daniel
Lloyd led an ELF Renault Clio Cup race for the first time in his short
career at Rockingham on Sunday,(20th Sept), but a suspected puncture
potentially cost the category rookie his maiden race victory in the
championship. 
Round
16 of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup was a case of what might have been
for championship front-runner Daniel Lloyd at Silverstone National
Circuit on Sunday, 30th August, when a potential maiden podium went
begging during one of the most frantic and robust encounters of the
season. 
Total
Control Racing’s Daniel Lloyd secured his third top six finish of the
2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup season at Silverstone National Circuit on
Saturday, 29th August, to move back into ninth position in the
championship standings following an excellent drive. 
Daniel
Lloyd was undoubtedly one of the quickest ELF Renault Clio Cup
competitors at Snetterton over the weekend, 1st/2nd August, during the
seventh race meeting of the season but a luckless qualifying session and
two tricky races prevented him from making the most of his obvious pace.
West
Yorkshire teenager Daniel Lloyd had to mount a determined fightback
during the 10th round of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup at Croft Circuit
near Darlington yesterday, Sunday, 14th June, after becoming an
unfortunate victim of a multi-car tangle at the first corner on the
opening lap. 
Total
Control Racing’s Daniel Lloyd produced a career best ELF Renault Clio
Cup performance at a baking hot Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire this
afternoon, Saturday, 13th June, with a superb drive into the coveted top
six from 10th on the grid. 
ELF
Renault Clio Cup rookie Daniel Lloyd took away his biggest haul of
points so far this year from the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2009
season at Oulton Park this weekend, 30th/31st May, to move into ninth
overall in the driver standings and become the highest placed of the
category newcomers. 
Daniel
Lloyd enjoyed an excellent start to his home event at Oulton Park Island
Circuit today, Saturday, 30th May, after backing up a career best ELF
Renault Clio Cup qualifying performance with a fighting eighth place
during the seventh round of the 2009 season.
ELF
Renault Clio Cup rookie Daniel Lloyd saw hopes of a potential top 10
finish during round six of the season at Donington Park this afternoon,
Sunday, 17th May, unfortunately evaporate when drying track conditions
rendered his wet-weather tyres a hindrance rather than a help. 
Daniel
Lloyd came within half a lap of achieving a career best top six finish
in the ELF Renault Clio Cup at Donington Park on Saturday, 16th May,
when a rain shower resulted in a very unlucky slide out of contention
five corners from home. 
West
Yorkshire
Daniel
Lloyd maintained his top eight position in the ELF Renault Clio Cup
driver standings during round three of the championship at Thruxton in
Hampshire on Saturday, 25th April, after producing an excellent
performance to claim his second top 10 race finish of the season and
emerge as the best of the newcomers. 
ELF
Renault CLio Cup racer Daniel Lloyd concluded the opening race meeting
of the 2009 season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit this afternoon, Sunday,
5th April, in fine style by securing a very competitive top seven finish
-- the second highest result of the rookie drivers. 
Team
Pyro’s Daniel Lloyd enjoyed an action-packed ELF Renault Clio Cup race
debut at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit this afternoon, Saturday, 4th April,
which culminated in a hard-fought top 14 finish on his maiden
competitive appearance in the category.