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Final 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship Positions (inc. drop scores):
Champion: Dino Zamparelli, 611pts; 2nd Thomas Carnaby, 595pts; 3rd Josh Hill, 471pts; 4th Dominic Pettit, 411pts; 5th Daniel Lloyd, 403pts; 6th George Richardson, 360pts

While Daniel has now concluded his track activity for this year, he is planning to be back at the wheel of his Clio in early February for pre-season testing. To find out more, please visit www.daniellloydracing.com

Daniel Lloyd - Ginetta Junior 

DANIEL LLOYD – 2008 SEASON REVIEW 

Daniel Lloyd arrived spectacularly on the car racing scene in 2008, quickly becoming a race winner during his first season of competition and marking himself out as one of the country’s most exciting young prospects in four-wheeled motorsport.

Graduating from karts, where he won the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship, the 16-year-old seamlessly moved into cars by stepping up to the Ginetta Junior Championship at the beginning of the year and rapidly established himself as a true talent. 

Claiming a maiden podium result at Donington Park during round eight, Daniel soon made his way onto the coveted top step of the podium with a double race victory at his ‘home’ venue, Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire, at the wheel of his Tockwith Motorsport entered car. 

Competing in Ginetta Junior as part of the incredibly high profile British Touring Car Championship package, Daniel’s maiden success instantly put his name up in lights as a driver with terrific potential as he bids to carve out a professional career in saloon car competition.

Before the end of the campaign, the West Yorkshire racer achieved a further win at Knockhill in Scotland and went on to conclude his first season in cars a highly creditable fifth in the Ginetta Junior Championship standings. Overall, he achieved a fantastic record of three race wins, two podiums and 13 other finishes inside the top six.  

“We had a great season in Ginettas this year, I really enjoyed the racing and to win three rounds in my debut campaign was fantastic”, commented Daniel, “At one stage the top three in the title race looked on the cards but we had some bad luck which meant that wasn’t to be. I was still very happy to end the year fifth in the championship though.  

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Carolynn Hoy and the Stars of Tomorrow karting series for giving me the chance to step-up to Ginetta in the scholarship car. It goes without saying I owe an unbelievable amount to my dad Neil, without his support I would never have started racing in the first place.” 

Since the conclusion of his first year of car racing, Daniel has confirmed he will make the step-up to the ELF Renault Clio Cup championship in 2009, another BTCC support class which has a huge reputation for producing the touring car stars of the future. 

Marking an increase in competitiveness and a rise in professionalism, the Clio Cup has produced some of Britain’s most successful saloon car and sportscar racers. In recent years, Robert Huff (Chevrolet World Touring Car Championship race winner), Tom Onslow-Cole (Vauxhall BTCC race winner) and Jonathan Adam (double SEAT Cupra Champion) have all gone on to greater things. 

Having already put pen to paper on a deal with Team Pyro – the team which steered Ben Winrow to the 2008 ELF Renault Clio Cup title – Daniel has a great opportunity to do well in his first year in the championship and has already impressed category insiders with his pace during his maiden test sessions. By no means, though, is he underestimating the challenge. 

“The Clio is a great car and I can’t wait for the 2009 championship to start”, added Daniel, “My first few tests have all gone really well and I’ve learned a massive amount already from the guys at Team Pyro. We’re working really well together and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve next year. 

“Clios is one of the biggest championships in the country so we know it’s going to be incredibly hard to repeat what we managed to do in Ginetta Juniors this year. We’re going to give it our all though. If I can end my first season inside the top 10 in the standings, I’ll be really happy.” 

Competing in front of up to 35,000 spectators at every circuit next year in the ELF Renault Clio Cup, Daniel’s race outings are expected to be screened on ITV4 during live Sunday afternoon broadcasts and through ITV’s Motorsport UK magazine programme.

LLOYD CONCLUDES GINETTA JUNIOR SEASON FIFTH IN CHAMPIONSHIP 

West Yorkshire’s Daniel Lloyd concluded his maiden car racing season fifth overall in the driver standings at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit this afternoon, Sunday, 21st September, after claiming a top six finish during the last race of the 2008 Ginetta Junior season. 

The 16-year-old, who is the only rookie in the championship to have taken a race victory this year, looked on course to double-up with his second podium finish of the weekend during today’s encounter but he had to settle for sixth position in the end at the wheel of his British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner car. 

Nonetheless, the Scammonden based racer ends the campaign having visited the top step of the podium three times, taking two other rostrum finishes along the way and with the knowledge he has produced a number of outstanding performances during the year. 

“Saturday was a good day, it was great to be back on the podium but I really wanted to have another top three finish today”, commented Daniel, “It would have been a nice way to end the weekend and the season but it wasn’t to be unfortunately. 

“Obviously this weekend marks my last ever race in Ginetta Junior so I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Richard Dean at Ginetta Cars, Simon Moore at Tockwith Motorsport and Carolynn Hoy of the Stars of Tomorrow Championship. It’s been a good season for me, I’ve learned a lot and it’s been invaluable for my racing career.” 

Starting round 24 from fourth on the grid, Daniel didn’t get away from the line as well as he would have liked and on the run through Paddock Hill Bend he lost out to a fast-starting George Richardson to slip to fifth position. At Druids Hairpin, he then dropped behind Josh Hill into sixth place. 

Through Clearways at the end of lap four, Daniel moved to the inside of Hill and managed to get ahead before then setting the fastest lap of the race on lap five with a time of 58.705 seconds – in the end, the Tockwith Motorsport racer concluded the encounter with the third fastest lap overall. 

Pressuring fourth placed Alice Powell while also coming under pressure himself from eventual champion Dino Zamparelli, Daniel ran strongly at mid-distance and with the pack tightly bunched a podium finish was certainly not an unrealistic prospect. 

On lap eight though, as Daniel attempted to make the most of a mistake by Powell out of Paddock Hill Bend, so did Zamparelli who held the inside line up to Druids. As the trio rounded the corner, Daniel was forced wide to slip back to sixth place. Trying ultra-hard to make the lost ground back up, he moved into fifth on lap 10 at Druids past Powell.

Pushing on, Daniel then had a moment at Graham Hill Bend on lap 11 which saw him run very wide onto the grass and the loss of traction saw him lose a couple of places to drop back into seventh position. He did, however, gain one spot back again following a spin by Richardson on the penultimate tour.
“Everything went wrong for me at the start of the race really”, said Daniel, “I didn’t get away from the line very well as the red lights were on for a long time and then I got hung out to dry around the first corner. I got myself together after that, passed Josh (Hill) and was then behind Alice (Powell) who isn’t the easiest person to overtake! 

“I got stuck behind Alice for quite a while but then she made a mistake at the first corner so I tried to go around the outside up to the hairpin but with Dino (Zamparelli) on the inside, he held the line on the exit and I had no option but to run wide. Then I ran wide at Graham Hill Bend a bit later on too which lost me a couple of places.”

DELIGHTED LLOYD BACK ON PODIUM AT BRANDS HATCH 

Daniel Lloyd made his fifth podium visit of the 2008 Ginetta Junior season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent on Saturday, 20th September, with an excellent second place finish during the penultimate race of the year. 

Lining up fourth on the grid after posting a best lap of 58.446 seconds (73.82mph) during this morning’s qualifying session, just a 10th of a second shy of pole position, Daniel made a good start to round 23 and ran side-by-side with third-placed starter Alice Powell through Paddock Hill Bend. 

As Powell passed Thomas Carnaby for second, so 16-year-old Daniel made his move too and slotted into third place behind Powell. Pressuring his former Tockwith Motorsport team-mate for the next couple of laps, the Huddersfield ace couldn’t quite find a way through before the Safety Car was deployed on lap four. 

When the race re-started on lap seven, Daniel made a good getaway and was almost glued to the tail of Powell’s car through Paddock Hill Bend. Carrying the momentum on the run up the incline to Druids, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner took the inside line and emerged from the turn in second. 

Better was to follow when race leader, and pole-sitter, Dominic Pettit ran wide out of the hairpin and Daniel wasted no time in moving to the front. On lap eight at Paddock Hill Bend, however, Pettit managed to get the lead back with a good move.

Although the race was scheduled to run over a distance of 14 laps, the chequered flag was shown at the end of the 11th tour due to a couple of cars being stranded in the gravel on the outside of Clearways after crashing out on lap 10.

“I didn’t know if the win was on or not really when I got into the lead”, said Daniel, “I knew Dom (Pettit) was quick and he got a good run on me into Paddock Hill Bend, I made a mistake by going the wrong side to defend as I didn’t quite realise how close he was. He didn’t put a foot wrong after that so the gap stayed about the same really. 

“I’m over the moon with second place though from fourth on the grid. Alice (Powell) defended well early on but I managed to get by at Druids after the Safety Car period. I ran up the inside into the corner, Alice was in the middle and then Tom (Carnaby) went to the outside while (George) Richardson had a look as well! 

“We all went in there trying to get second place and thankfully I came out of the corner with it which was great. The car was good, I feel comfortable with the track this weekend and I’m sure we’ll be able to challenge at the front again in tomorrow’s race.” 

Posting the third fastest race lap of 58.636 seconds, Daniel actually ended today’s race just eight 10ths of a second behind Pettit with an almost identical gap behind to third placed Powell. 

LLOYD CONSOLIDATES SERIES TOP FOUR AT MALLORY PARK 

Daniel Lloyd consolidated fourth position in the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship standings at Mallory Park on Sunday, 7th September, with a brace of solid performances during the second ‘Ginetta Festival’ of the season. 

At the wheel of his Tockwith Motorsport entered car, Daniel raced to a top six finish in round 21 at the Leicestershire venue at lunchtime before going on to take a fifth place result during a shortened round 22 later in the day. 

The second Ginetta Junior encounter was particularly frustrating for Daniel as he had made outstanding progress from 12th position on the grid and looked all set to challenge for the fifth visit to the podium of his debut season in car racing. 

Prior to the red flags being shown on lap 13, due to Alice Powell’s car having become stranded in the gravel on the outside of Gerard’s Bend the lap before, 16-year-old Daniel had Josh Hill and Jake Farndon under a lot of pressure but the stoppage ended his chances of a potential rostrum finish. Nonetheless, fifth was a terrific result. 

Daniel said: “The car was very good in race two but we only had about six or seven racing laps in total which was disappointing. I made up seven places in just four laps but there was nothing we could do after that because of the red flags. 

“I’m sure we would have had the podium if the race had gone the full distance, I’m confident I was quicker than (Josh) Hill and (Jake) Farndon and with (Dino) Zamparelli and (Thomas) Carnaby fighting over the lead they were slowing themselves up. Who knows what could have happened if we’d had a chance to fight them?” 

Qualifying threatened to put the West Yorkshire racer firmly on the back foot, a spin early in the session at the John Cooper Esses resulting in a heavy impact with the barriers on the outside of the circuit. Seriously damaging the rear of Daniel’s car, he did recover to the track but was soon forced to pull out of the action.

Handicapping his race chances, Daniel would line up an uncharacteristic 11th on the grid for round 21 and 12th on the grid for round 22. The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner, however, was more than up to the challenge and he produced a brace of strong race performances.

Even though he wasn’t happy with his car’s handling during race one as a decision to run with wet weather tyres and settings failed to pay off on a track which dried faster than expected following earlier rain, Daniel still managed to achieve a top six result with a determined drive.

Getting away from the grid well, Daniel made his way into the fight over 10th position as the field headed towards the Esses for the first time and at Shaw’s Hairpin he moved into ninth place with a neat piece of driving. 

Pressuring eighth placed Powell over the next couple of laps, an attempted pass on the inside through Gerard’s failed to reap reward but Daniel’s efforts paid off on lap seven when he gained two places in quick succession. The Tockwith racer then caught Farndon and passed him for sixth on the run out of Devil’s Elbow into lap 11.

Jake Batty crashed out of the top four on lap 14 at Gerard’s handing Daniel fifth place but a charging Dominic Pettit – running with a fully dry set-up on his car – managed to get past Daniel to push him back to sixth on lap 15. 

For the fully dry round 22, Daniel was much happier with his car’s handling and it instantly showed as he gained three places in the first couple of laps. On lap three at Shaw’s, Fergus Walkinshaw and Batty made contact while fighting over third. Daniel seized his opportunity and made up four places in one go to move into fifth. 

The Safety Car was deployed on lap five due to the incident at the hairpin and after the re-start on lap 11, only two more racing laps were completed by the front-runners before the race was stopped due to Powell’s aforementioned excursion into the gravel. 

On overall scores, Daniel is 26 points clear of fifth placed Jake Farndon in the driver standings but with the category’s ‘drop score’ ruling implemented – each competitor having to subtract their four worst scores at the end of the season – his nearest rival is Dominic Pettit 25 points adrift.

SUPERB SILVERSTONE START DOESN’T WORK OUT FOR LLOYD 

Silverstone National Circuit continued to be an unhappy hunting ground for Daniel on Sunday, 31st August, although the Ginetta Junior Championship racer did manage to salvage a top 10 finish from a very difficult outing. 

Hoping to bounce back nicely from the disappointment of being taken out of Saturday afternoon’s 19th round of the season – an incident which later resulted in a penalty for instigator Dominic Pettit – West Yorkshire based Daniel once again had the pace to win today during round 20. 

Immediately proving the point by climbing from seventh on the grid to second place with an awesome getaway, the 16-year-old from Scammonden looked likely to be the only driver able to mount a challenge on race leader, and pole-sitter, Dino Zamparelli.

Unfortunately, Daniel came to grief at the end of lap one following a spin at Luffield on the slippery surface of the wet track. Although seriously delayed, he did manage to recover and started to eat in to the advantage held by the cars ahead. 

By lap three, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner had climbed back into 13th place and he gained two more positions before the end of the lap. 

Moving into the top 10 prior to the appearance of the Safety Car on lap seven, Daniel had a great chance to make up ground in double-quick time at the re-start but the cautionary period lasted until the start of lap 10 – the final lap as it turned out.  

With just one racing lap possible in the allotted time, competitors did set off for one more tour of the 1.64-mile track but officials soon elected to declare the result as per the race order at the end of lap nine, after 15 minutes of action. Therefore, Daniel was credited with 10th place. 

“It’s been a very disappointing event but that’s the way it happens sometimes, we expected more and it’s frustrating as I had the pace to at least take a couple of podiums which would have been great”, commented Daniel. 

Battling hard all weekend with an injury to the metacarpal bone in his right hand, the demands of the wet conditions did make it more difficult for the Huddersfield racer but he is sure normal service will be resumed at Mallory Park next weekend, 6th/7th September, during rounds 21 and 22 at the second ‘Ginetta Festival’ of the season. 

“We’ve got to look forward to Mallory Park now next weekend where we’ll hopefully get our championship moving in the right direction again”, he added, “Mallory is the first track I ever drove a car on but I haven’t been back since so it should be interesting to see what we can do.”

BOLD PODIUM BID COMES UNSTUCK FOR LLOYD AT SILVERSTONE 

Ginetta Junior Championship podium regular Daniel Lloyd saw an outstanding race drive at Silverstone National Circuit this afternoon, Saturday, 30th August, ended prematurely after contact from rival Dominic Pettit saw an almost certain rostrum finish turn to dust. 

Although not quite hooking up a lap he was happy with during this morning’s 15-minute qualifying session, Scammonden based Daniel wasn’t perturbed by starting a relatively low ninth on the grid and knew he had the pace to come through the field during today’s 19th round to challenge for a potential podium. 

Having climbed from ninth into fifth place on the opening lap alone, the 16-year-old car racing rookie continued to make terrific progress – first with a tremendous pass around the outside of Aaron Williamson at Becketts on lap five to take fourth place and then, two laps later, he moved into second at Brooklands by overtaking two cars in one move! 

Heading into the complex behind George Richardson and Pettit on the seventh tour, Daniel serenely moved up the inside to pass both cars and although on the outside for the next turn, Luffield, the Tockwith Motorsport driver looked set to hold second position. 

Unfortunately though, contact from Pettit up the inside pitched Daniel into a spin into the gravel trap on the outside of Luffield. Forcing an immediate retirement, the incident also cost the West Yorkshire racer the chance of closing down third placed Josh Hill in the title battle – Hill having crashed out himself on the first lap of the race. 

Speaking on round 19, Daniel said: “I made a good start, (Simon) Austin blocked the inside so I had to go around the outside as I had such a good run on him. At the same time, Alice (Powell) was on the other side of me so I was boxed in between the two but I managed to get past them both through the first corner. 

“There was a bit of chaos at the second corner but thankfully I got through everything ok in about fifth place. A few laps later I was behind (Aaron) Williamson and as we went into the second corner he tried to slow me up but I went around the outside of him – it was a fantastic move! 

“Then, I hunted Pettit and Richardson down. They had a bit of a scrap, I passed them both into Brooklands on lap seven but then into Luffield I was in second place on the outside of Pettit but he hit me and I ended up in the gravel. That was the end of it!” 

He added: “It was really disappointing for the race to end up like that, to come through from ninth on the grid to second was fantastic and with Josh (Hill) not finishing the race we could have made up some good ground on him in the championship. We proved our pace though so hopefully tomorrow we’ll come through and fight for the podium again.” 

Arriving at Silverstone carrying a hand injury, which was sustained when playing football last weekend, there was some concern whether the damage to Daniel’s metacarpal bone would cause problems in relation to his pace and race performance. Clearly, after today’s excellent drive, any such fears have been fully allayed.

pic Jakob Ebrey - Words Marc Orme

LLOYD VICTORIOUS DURING MAIDEN VISIT TO KNOCKHILL 

Daniel Lloyd took his third race win of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship at Knockhill on Sunday, 17th August in the 18th round of the season – the Huddersfield driver’s first ever visit to the Fife venue. 

Lining up on the front row of the grid for the second of the weekend’s two Ginetta Junior races, having posted a time of 1m 04.926 seconds in qualifying on Saturday, Daniel made a good start to slot-in behind pole-sitter Dino Zamparelli and he immediately began to pressurise his rival. 

Getting a tighter run out of the Real Radio Hairpin at the end of lap two, Scammonden based Daniel moved alongside Zamparelli up the hill into lap three and took the lead for the first time.  

Keeping the then series leader at bay for the next couple of laps,16-year-old Daniel lost out to Zamparelli on lap five after making a mistake at Scotsman Corner. However, he instantaneously hit back and latched onto the back of his rival within just a few corners. 

Lap six would be the turning point of the race when, under intense pressure from Daniel, Zamparelli had a spin and crashed out into the tyre barrier. Unchallenged from that point on, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner eased to his third on-the-road win of his maiden car racing season. 

The Safety Car was deployed between laps seven and 11 and although the field bunched up behind Daniel for the two-lap sprint at the finish, he was never under serious threat and took the win by almost a second from former team-mate Alice Powell. 

“It’s fantastic to win again, especially as we were so competitive all the way through the race”, said a delighted Daniel. ““I made a mistake at Scotsman Corner which allowed Dino to get back ahead but going into the fast right-hander at Carlube I pretended to put a move on him which pressured him into the mistake. 

“I think I was quicker than Dino in the second race, when I was behind him I was just waiting there and I felt I could pull a decent move on him at several corners – I was just biding my time really.” 

Sunday morning’s 17th round saw Daniel fighting with an ill-handling car and he eventually retired from the race on the final lap. Having taken the lead with a fantastic getaway from second on the grid, the Tockwith Motorsport driver was soon served with a 10 second time penalty having been adjudged to have made a jump-start. 

Still running in first place on the road, with the corrected times applied Daniel was much further down the order and he had to push as hard as possible to extend the gap over his pursuers.  

Pressing on in the lead, even though the rear of his car was proving to be a major handful, the Ginetta Junior rookie had a spin on lap 10 as a result of the altogether too lively back end on his Ford Zetec powered machine. 

Recovering in sixth position, ninth place on corrected times, Daniel tried to limit the damage as much as possible but an unfortunate excursion on the 12th and final tour saw him retire from the race less than a lap from home at Scotsman Corner. 

Daniel said: “We made some changes to the car in between races and they worked brilliantly in race two. If the car had been like that in the first race, the weekend would have been a lot different and we could have been celebrating a couple of wins. I was under a lot of pressure all the time in race one as the car was sliding around a lot. 

“I was really disappointed not to win the first race but with the back end of the car stepping out all of the time, I really had to fight hard. As I pushed to make up the time after the penalty, I had a spin and that was it. We made amends in race two though so I’m happy.” 

POTENTIAL PODIUM TAKEN FROM LLOYD’S GRASP AT OULTON

Daniel Lloyd’s bid for an Oulton Park podium ended all too prematurely yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 27th July, during round 16 of the Ginetta Junior Championship – contact on lap two from rival Aaron Williamson ending the Huddersfield racer’s front-running challenge. 

Having qualified seventh on the grid for the second race of the weekend, Daniel had plenty of work to do but off the start he immediately gained a couple of positions and looked comfortably on course to challenge for his fourth podium visit of the campaign. 

Slipping to sixth at the hairpin on lap one behind Fergus Walkinshaw, Daniel wasn’t fazed and was confident he had the pace to work his way through into the top three over the remaining seven and a half laps. 

On lap two at the hairpin, however, Williamson tagged the rear of the West Yorkshire driver's car as he rounded the corner and the net result saw the 16-year-old pitched into a spin. Dropping way down the order, Daniel had a huge task on his hands to catch the front-runners but he worked hard to do just that. 

Into 13th place on lap three, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner had made his way back into the top 10 by lap four but was some 4.4 seconds shy of ninth placed Ashley Craig at that point.

By the end of the eight lap race, Daniel had closed to within less than a 10th of a second of Craig and so finished in 10th position. However, a post-race decision by the Clerk of the Course to take away Williamson’s fifth place – due to contact after the chequered flag with Walkinshaw – meant Daniel was promoted into ninth. 

Disappointed to lose ground in the championship, Daniel has already put this weekend’s less than favourable event behind him and is now looking forward to his first ever visit to Knockhill Circuit in Scotland three weeks from now, 16th/17th August, for the 17th and 18th rounds of the Ginetta Junior season. 

“I was really looking forward to this weekend’s event so it’s very disappointing to have come away without a podium finish at least”, said Daniel at the end of round 16, “We had such high hopes to begin with but qualifying didn’t work out for us and then I was hit by (Aaron) Williamson on lap two. By the time I recovered, the front-runners had long gone.

“It’s a shame but I did as much as I could to fight back into the top 10. We need to look ahead now though to the next races at Knockhill. I’ve never been there before so I don’t know what to expect but hopefully we’ll be back at the front and fighting for the podium.” 

LLOYD WORKS WONDERS TO SECURE OULTON PARK TOP SIX 

British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner Daniel Lloyd endured a very difficult 15th round of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire this afternoon, Saturday, 26th July – although a battling performance against off-set steering netted the 16-year-old a deserved top six finish.

Disappointed with his starting position of seventh on the grid, after posting a lap of 1m47.940 seconds (74.24mph) during the earlier 15-minute qualifying session, Daniel made a good start to round 15 and immediately challenged championship leader Dino Zamparelli on the run down the Avenue to Cascades for the first time. 

On entry to Cascades, the Huddersfield driver produced a great move up the inside to take sixth with a  car that had severely off-set steering which compromised his performance throughout the eight lap race. 

Even though fighting an ill-handling car, Daniel continued his march forward by taking fifth place from Fergus Walkinshaw at Knickerbrook Chicane, although the latter did manage to move back ahead before the end of the opening lap.

Running in sixth position for the next couple of tours, the Tockwith Motorsport racer then produced another good pass on Walkinshaw at Knickerbrook once again to grab fifth but as he also looked to move ahead of fourth placed Dominic Pettit, contact saw Daniel pitched into a spin. 

Down in 10th position as the race entered lap five, Daniel mounted a determined fightback and by lap six he was back up into the top eight. As the race entered the final tour Daniel, who had been putting seventh placed George Richardson under a lot of pressure for the previous lap or so, made a successful move at Knickerbrook for what became sixth place after a spin for Walkinshaw. 

Although contact from Richardson did occur as he tried to defend, Daniel managed to continue while his rival ended his race on the exit of the chicane. Coming home in sixth place wasn’t what Daniel wanted but the outcome could have been much worse. 

Bearing in mind the problems he had with steering, Daniel still managed to post a fastest lap of 1m 47.731 seconds, less than two 10ths of a second outside the best managed by pole-sitter and race winner Thomas Carnaby. All in all, the West Yorkshire driver served up an excellent effort but is hoping for much more during round 16 tomorrow.

“I’m really disappointed not to have been on the podium today”, said Daniel, “The car just wasn’t fast enough in qualifying, it slid around quite a lot and so we couldn’t get the sort of time we wanted. We made some changes before the race and the car felt better, but I had the problem with the steering so that compromised the entire race. 

"At least we’ve scored a few points today. It’s not what we wanted but hopefully tomorrow will be better. Even though we weren’t able to challenge as we wanted in qualifying for whatever reason, my pace in the race was a match for the leaders so that’s given me more confidence for Sunday afternoon’s race.”

SNETTERTON PODIUM SLIPS FROM LLOYD’S GRASP

Daniel Lloyd raced well in the 14th round of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk on Sunday,(13th July), but just fell short of achieving a desired podium finish due to problems with top-end speed. 

Although maintaining third position in the driver standings with a solid top five finish during the nine lap encounter, the Huddersfield racer was disappointed with the outcome having challenged strongly for a podium placing from the fourth lap of the race onwards. 

The decisive point for 16-year-old Daniel came on the final lap when both Josh Hill and series leader Dino Zamparelli managed to relegate him from third place to fifth position at the Esses by virtue of the duo’s greater engine speed down the lengthy Revett Straight. The result, however, means Daniel is still in the championship top three. 

“I’m quite disappointed we couldn’t be on the podium this weekend but we just didn’t have the speed down the long straight and that’s what hurt us”, said the Tockwith Motorsport racer, “We scored some average points and today’s race was good fun but we got the worst of the situation on the last lap. It’s a shame but we’ll be back!” 

Starting round 14 from sixth on the grid, Daniel made a great getaway and challenged title rival Zamparelli into the Esses although the latter managed to seize the position going through the Bomb Hole.

On lap two though, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner fought back well and struck at the same spot to take fourth place. Immediately, Daniel began to pull away from the pursuing pack and he then moved into third on lap four as Thomas Carnaby slipped back from the lead battle. 

The top four soon started to run nose-to-tail with Daniel in third place and pressing Hill for second. Although Carnaby pushed the West Yorkshire star back down to fourth on lap five, Daniel was soon back into the top three on lap seven after an unbelievably brave late-braking pass into the Esses on, then third placed, Hill. 

Slipping behind Hill on the exit and as they ran through the Bomb Hole, Daniel fought back once again on lap eight as they headed through Riches. Clearly with a slower car in a straight-line compared to his rivals, Daniel’s skill was remarkable to compensate for the obvious lack of top-end power. 

The titanic tussle for third place now only allowed the leaders to pull away, it also gave the recovering Zamparelli a chance to get back on terms. Heading into the final lap, Daniel was powerless to defend both Hill and Zamparelli into the Esses and, try as he might, he had to settle for fifth place at the finish. 

The Ginetta Junior Championship will return to action a fortnight from now on 26th/27th July at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire – very much a home event for Daniel with the track just over 60 miles from his home in Scammonden.  

Daniel said: “I’m really looking forward to Oulton Park. It’s a proper driver’s circuit and I think we’ll go well there. I want to be back on the podium but, more than that, I want to win again. That’s the aim, hopefully we’ll be able to make it happen.” 

LLOYD CONSOLIDATES CHAMPIONSHIP TOP THREE AT SNETTERTON 

British Racing Drivers’ Club Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner Daniel Lloyd consolidated his place in the Ginetta Junior Championship top three at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk this afternoon, Saturday, 12th July, after fighting his way through from sixth on the grid to fourth position during the 13th round of the season. 

At the wheel of his Tockwith Motorsport run car, the Huddersfield 16-year-old headed into this morning’s 15-minute qualifying session confident of a good performance having earlier topped the free practice times. 

Unfortunately for Daniel, qualifying didn’t quite go as he had hoped and he ended the session with the sixth fastest time of 1m 29.013 seconds (78.94mph). Nonetheless, he was confident of a good race performance during the afternoon’s nine lap encounter. 

At the start of round 13, Daniel maintained sixth position although there was some shuffling of the order on the opening tour as Aaron Williamson got ahead into fifth place while Dominic Pettit crashed out. 

Drama for championship leader Dino Zamparelli at the end of lap two saw him spin out of fourth position so Daniel gladly moved into the top five and continued to pursue Williamson ahead. Into lap four, Daniel took a look to the inside as the cars passed through Riches Corner but he had to tuck back in behind his rival. 

Glued to the rear of Williamson’s car for the next couple of laps, Daniel was clearly quicker and managed to make a successful pass midway through lap six. Instantly pulling clear of the pursuing pack, Daniel tried to make inroads to the top three but having been held up for the first two thirds of the race he had a mountain to climb. 

At the chequered flag on lap nine, the West Yorkshire racer crossed the line in fourth place almost nine seconds shy of the top three but 1.5 seconds ahead of the recovering Zamparelli in fifth position. 

Speaking after the race, Daniel said: “I got an average start really but I caught Aaron Williamson quickly. I finally got by him on lap six and I was able to pull away as soon as I had gone through into fourth place. I was catching the three in front, and leaving the ones behind, but I made a mistake at the chicane which put me back a bit. 

“The leaders had too much of a gap, I couldn’t do anything about it with the time we had left so I just held on to fourth. It’s disappointing as I wanted a podium at least but we’ve scored more good points for the championship. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll make a good start and have the chance to finish in the top three.”

DREAM WEEKEND FOR LLOYD WITH DOUBLE CROFT VICTORY 

Daniel Lloyd thoroughly dominated the 12th round of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Croft yesterday afternoon,(1st June) to get his  bid for the 2008 title up and running during his debut season.of car racing. 

Having claimed his maiden Ginetta Junior race victory on Saturday with a great drive from second on the grid, the 16-year-old from Huddersfield proved to be the class of the field once again on Sunday by converting his first career pole into a dominant win by over 11 seconds. 

“I didn’t expect another win today”, said Lloyd, “I said to my dad before the weekend I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular but what we have managed to achieve at Croft over the last couple of days has been unbelievable really.” 

At the wheel of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner car, Daniel led away cleanly from fellow front-row starter Dominic Pettit and then survived a bold passing attempt by series leader Dino Zamparelli at Tower Bend, the latter ending up sliding out of the race and into retirement on the grass. 

Following a short Safety Car period to recover Zamparelli’s stricken car, the race resumed on lap four – Daniel making an absolutely text-book getaway to open up a substantial margin through the first few corners. While the cars behind continued to trip over each other battling for position, Daniel coasted to a stunning win. 

“I got a good start initially and after the Safety Car I got a great run off the hairpin and from there just pulled away”, added Daniel, “I let everyone else battle among themselves behind me and then just concentrated on putting in good laps and trying to extend my lead which I did.  

“I’m so happy with the result, it’s been a great weekend for us and hopefully we’ll be able to carry on from where we are now when we’re back in the car in mid-July at Snetterton for the start of the second half of the season.” 

Nothing short of a perfect weekend at Croft, Daniel now heads back to his GCSE exams at Huddersfield Grammar School as the Ginetta Junior Championship takes a six-week break from action.

ROOKIE LLOYD EASES TO DEBUT GINETTA VICTORY AT CROFT

British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner Daniel Lloyd cruised to his first ever victory in cars at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire this afternoon during the 11th round of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship.

 

Maintaining the tremendous form he produced during pre-event practice on Friday, Daniel qualified on the front row of the grid for today’s race with a time of 1m 43.822 seconds (73.68mph).

 

The Huddersfield 16-year-old’s incredible consistency was such though that his second best qualifying time in the 15-minute session, 1m 43.976 seconds, was good enough to take pole position for Sunday afternoon’s 12th round of the campaign.

 

At the start of today’s race, the Tockwith Motorsport driver made a great getaway from the front row and after edging ahead of pole-sitter Dominic Pettit into Clervaux for the first time, Daniel was never headed on his way to the chequered flag which he took on lap eight just under five seconds clear of his closest challenger.

 

Lapping four 10ths of a second under the previous lap record and just seven 100ths of a second shy of George Richardson’s new benchmark time of 1m 43.221 seconds (74.11mph), the Huddersfield Grammar School student was utterly dominant today and is looking to double-up with a second win in as many races during tomorrow’s outing.

 

“I got a good break at the start, banged in some quick times over the first three or four laps and then I felt comfortable through to the end of the race”, said a delighted Daniel at the conclusion of round 11, “The car was very good, we haven’t changed a thing this weekend. Since the first lap in practice on Friday we were quick, I’m really happy.

 

“It’s a great feeling having won my first race in cars, I can’t believe it really! I did a couple of driving days four or five months ago at Croft and I wasn’t quick at all – the difference is just phenomenal. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s race now, it’s my sort of track and being on pole we’ll hopefully be able to fight for the win again. I’ll be trying hard that’s for sure.”

 

CONSISTENCY SEES LLOYD CLIMB INTO SERIES TOP THREE 

Car racing rookie Daniel Lloyd has moved into the top three in the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship standings after securing a brace of consistent results at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire over the weekend, 17th/18th May – the event marking the 16-year-old’s debut race outing at the UK’s fastest track. 

Driving the Tockwith Motorsport-run British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow scholarship car, the Huddersfield teenager headed into Sunday’s action just six points adrift of Josh Hill in the driver standings and with a great opportunity to move ahead of the son of 1996 Formula One World Champion Damon Hill. 

After making a good start to Sunday lunchtime’s 10th round of the season, moving into fifth position from sixth on the grid, Daniel soon made his way into the top four after passing Fergus Walkinshaw – another young driver with F1 connections, the son of former Arrows boss Tom – on lap three. 

As the race progressed towards mid-distance, Daniel managed to pull away from his pursuers but having been caught up in his battle with Walkinshaw for several laps it had allowed the top three to pull out what proved to be an insurmountable gap. 

Nonetheless, a strong fourth place result – added to sixth position during Saturday afternoon’s ninth round of the season – means the Huddersfield Grammar School student is now seven points clear of Hill in the championship title race. 

Commenting on Sunday’s action, Daniel said: “I didn’t have a great start and for the first two or three laps I was battling with Fergus which allowed the top three to break away from us. When I finally pulled out a gap, it was too late to do anything about trying to get on the podium.  

“The best thing to come out of the weekend is that we’ve moved ahead of Josh in the championship. If it wasn’t for that then I would have been a bit disappointed as I would have liked to have been on the podium this weekend. You’ve got to look at the bigger picture though, being third in the championship is good news.”

LLOYD CONSOLIDATES SERIES TOP FOUR AT THRUXTON 

Huddersfield’s Daniel Lloyd saw hopes of a second podium finish in as many race meetings snatched from his grasp with just two laps to go during the ninth round of the Ginetta Junior Championship on Saturday 17th May. 

Taking place at the ultra-fast Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, the quickest venue on the 2008 calendar, today’s nine-lap encounter saw 16-year-old Daniel race impressively from sixth on the grid to third position on the opening lap alone. 

Looking very comfortable, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner was confident of challenging for the podium to put pressure on Josh Hill’s third place in the championship standings. 

On lap seven though, following a see-saw battle with Jake Farndon over the final rostrum position, Daniel was pitched into a spin through no fault of his own and the Tockwith Motorsport driver had to battle back from seventh place, taking sixth on the last lap. 

All the more frustrating for Daniel was the fact he had just posted - at that point - a brand new lap record of 1m 36.297 seconds prior to the incident, underlining his pace. Nonetheless, the points for sixth position see him consolidate fourth in the title race on 161 points, just six shy of Hill in third. 

“I really thought we had a great chance to be on the podium again today”, said Daniel after the race, “Qualifying went well and everything felt good in the race. The car was a little bit of a handful through the fast turns but hopefully that will be better tomorrow and we’ll be able to finish in the top three.” 

Once again showing improvements in qualifying trim, Daniel produced a career best effort to take sixth on the grid for rounds nine and 10 – his best time of 1m 36.556 seconds (87.84mph) coming with his final effort of this morning’s 15-minute session. 

Although disappointed with today’s result considering what might have been, Daniel raced very well and can take a lot of positives from his first ever competitive outing at the super fast 2.35-mile Hampshire track. 

“I said before the weekend if I could be in the top eight during qualifying I’d be happy, it’s just a shame the way the race turned out in the end”, added Daniel, “I really think we had a great chance to be on the podium but it wasn’t to be. If I can make another good start to tomorrow’s race then I’m confident I’ve got the pace to challenge right at the front.” 

The 10th round of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship is scheduled to take place at approximately 12.55 tomorrow, Sunday, 18th May. Freeview, digital satellite and cable channel ITV4 will broadcast live from Thruxton tomorrow afternoon from 12.30 and it’s possible the Ginetta action will be screened as part of the programme.

pic - Jakob Ebrey Photography

MAIDEN GINETTA PODIUM FOR DELIGHTED LLOYD

Teenage racing driver Daniel Lloyd produced by far his best race performance of the year during round eight of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship at Donington Park yesterday, Sunday, 4th May, the 16-year-old securing his first ever podium finish in cars after a terrific drive.

Lloyd survives spills and thrills with solid performance 

Brace of top ten places moves Daniel up the table 

Just a week after his dramatic debut at Brands Hatch, 16-year old Daniel Lloyd was back behind the wheel of his BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship-supported G20 – at Cadwell Park –aiming to build on his impressive start to this year’s Ginetta Junior season, where he took an 11^th and 5^th position during the previous weekend’s racing. 

“It’s a big disadvantage if you’ve not been there before” Lloyd said candidly after Timed Qualifying and referring to the fact that he’d never even seen the Lincolnshire circuit before, let alone driven a car round it. Still, he managed to record the 10^th fastest time which illustrates the big strides he’s already taken in this, his rookie year in cars. 

In the first race, the Tockwith Motorsport driver got a great start and was up to 7^th place by the end of the first lap. One tour later and he was 6^th but an accident brought the red flags out and the race was stopped. Taking the drivers’ track positions from the previous lap to create the grid for the re-start, Daniel found himself back in 7^th place but didn’t stay there for long - “I’d got up to 6^th but span at the bottom of ‘the Mountain’ and dropped to last. I got the car going again and came through to finish 10^th. Apart from the spin, it wasn’t a bad drive” he said wryly. 

With the driver’s second best qualifying lap-time deciding their grid slot for the 2^nd race, Daniel found himself a little further back, on the sixth row. As the lights went out, he rocketed off the line and sliced past two drivers – going in between them. Lloyd then passed another two cars heading into the first corner, ‘Coppice’. On lap 2, he again made up places to find himself in 6^th place and bearing down on Damon Hill’s son, Josh.  

Suddenly, hailstones began to bounce off the bonnet and windscreen and the track quickly became slippery. “To be honest, I backed off when it started to snow and hail” Daniel explained with his customary honesty. “I’d not driven the car in those conditions before and decided that taking it easy was better than binning it.”  

It was a sensible and mature decision. As others began to get into difficulties, the Huddersfield teenager calmly waited for the track to dry before picking his pace up again. “Once the hail stopped, the track dried pretty quickly and I ended up matching the leaders’ times” he said with some satisfaction afterwards. Holding onto his place to the flag gave him more valuable championship points and moved him up the order to 7^th overall. 

“I’m enjoying the experience more now. I’ve realised that, unlike karts where I wanted to win every race I entered, I’m not expected to in Ginettas. This is my learning year, so the pressure’s off. I’m quite pleased with my performance at Cadwell. Okay, it was a shame about the spin (in the first race) but the team said I did really, really well in the second race. It was a nice, steady weekend.”

Daniel and the Ginetta Junior championship rejoins the British Touring Car bill at Rockingham Speedway, in Northamptonshire this weekend. Watch ITV4 from 12:30 to see Daniel in action live on your TV. 

pic Oliver Read