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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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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk IMPRESSIVE CLASS WIN AND DOUBLE PODIUM FOR LLOYD ON GT DEBUT
Teaming up with fellow British GT rookie Julien Draper in a G4 Class Ginetta G50, run by the crack Barwell Motorsport squad, Daniel produced a typically competitive drive when he took the wheel for the second stint of round 12 and brilliantly worked his way to the front of the class. At one stage lapping with the same pace as the front-running GT3 Class Porsches of Philip Walker and overall championship leader David Ashburn, the Scammonden-based GT rookie grabbed the lead of G4 at Graham Hill Bend on lap 22 after reading the situation perfectly following a short Safety Car period. The result capped off a superb maiden weekend in British GT for Daniel with the talented racer securing a third place podium finish during the opening encounter after a sparkling first stint, in which he actually led the race outright for a handful of laps. “It’s been an absolutely fantastic weekend, we wanted to try and push for a podium but to actually take two, including a win, was unbelievable”, said Daniel, “I’ve had an amazing time and I want to say a huge thank you to Julien (Draper), Mark Lemmer and Chris Needell at Barwell, and to my manager Tim Sugden for helping put the deal together. Julien did a great job, especially in the second race; we couldn’t have wished for a better debut in GTs.” In race one, round 11 of the season, the 2009 Renault Clio Cup Winter Champion and Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship points scorer took the opening stint and immediately made an impression with an electric start. Lining up third in class on the grid thanks to a strong debut qualifying effort on Saturday, Daniel went around the outside of the Century Motorsport G50 at Paddock Hill Bend and remained on the outside line as he rounded Druids Hairpin, allowing him to edge ahead of Jamie Stanley’s Ginetta. Stanley got back ahead on the run to Graham Hill Bend but Daniel wasn’t to be denied and dived up the inside at Surtees to take the class lead within just four corners of his maiden GT outing! Having built up a four second cushion, his lead was eroded on lap four due to a Safety Car intervention but at the re-start he carved open an even bigger advantage of almost eight seconds. Following the opening of the pit-window for driver changes, Daniel remained on track and by lap 15 he was into the top three overall as several GT3 cars made their stops – having posted the quickest G4 lap of 1m34.581 seconds (87.57mph) in the process. Into lap 17 he led the whole race and before pitting himself at the end of the 19th tour, he established a cushion in G4 which enabled Draper to take over with a seven second lead in class. Although slipping back, Draper ended up third. “To come out of the first race with a podium was fantastic”, said Daniel, “At the start I went around the outside at Paddock and Druids and then had the inside for Graham Hill. I had a lunge at Surtees and that got me the lead of the class. I built a really big gap but then the Safety Car came out so I had to do it all again. It was great to lead for so long, I absolutely love GTs and I definitely want more.” Draper took the opening stint for race two, round 12, and he handed the Ginetta G50 over to Daniel with just over half an hour remaining. Joining the track fourth in G4, he quickly moved into third in class and then, after a short cautionary period to recover the Osborne Racing G50 from the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend, Daniel mounted his attack at the re-start. Running in the thick of the action with a mixture of GT3 and G4 cars, he moved into second in class past Jamie Stanley’s G50 at Druids Hairpin and then sliced past Vibe Smed’s Ginetta at Graham Hill when the latter got out of shape on the exit. Instantly building an impressive lead, Daniel charged away at the front of the G4 Class and eventually took the win by almost seven seconds.
2010 BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National Championship presented by Mazda. BITTERSWEET CONCLUSION TO SEBRING WEEKEND FOR RAPID LLOYD
After climbing through the order during round three on Thursday, 18th March, to claim a fine top five finish – mere 10ths of a second shy of a maiden single-seater podium – the Huddersfield teenager aimed for more during round four qualifying and duly delivered with his first pole position. Scorching to the top of the timesheets during the closing minutes of Friday morning’s session, Daniel improved yet further on his final lap to post a best time of 2m23.020 seconds (93.134mph) to clinch the prime spot on the grid for the second American Le Mans Series-supporting encounter. At the start, the 18-year-old led away well from the front of the grid and ran comfortably for the first couple of laps before dicing hard to remain on top in the lead bunch of cars. Well on course to challenge for his debut Skip Barber National Championship race win, Daniel’s bid was then dealt a bitter blow when a sudden loss of power led to significantly slower lap times. Unable to prevent a slide down the order due to a badly over-heating engine, which was the result of a clogged radiator, the reigning ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup Champion’s car at least managed to keep running for the scheduled distance, crossing the line in 11th position. “I’m really disappointed we had the engine problem as a podium at the very least was on the cards and, realistically, I think we could have won that race”, said Daniel, “Taking my first pole position was great and showed what I’m capable of in this championship. It’s just very unfortunate a problem with the car stopped me challenging for my first win – that’s motor racing though!” Beginning the second event of the 2010 season with an impressive top five performance during the first practice session on Tuesday, 16th March, the British racer could well have claimed his debut podium during the third round of the campaign on Thursday, 18th March. Producing a superb drive from 12th on the grid into the top three, Daniel just fell short of a rostrum finish at the final turn when edged back to fifth place by two rivals who managed to gain an advantage by ‘drafting’ his car on the run to the chequered flag.
Pic: BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National Championship presented by Mazda
PROMISING SINGLE-SEATER DEBUT FOR BRIT LLOYD AT HOMESTEAD MIAMI
Under glorious Florida sunshine, the Huddersfield racer adapted well to his new surroundings in double-quick time and produced two sterling race performances on the 2.21-mile road course – the first a battling recovery drive from the tail of the field into ninth position and the second a highly competitive 10th place finish a mere 1.6 seconds behind the winner! Sunday’s second round was certainly the highlight for Daniel in terms of competitiveness. Qualifying 11th fastest, he ran in the lead group of 10 cars throughout the race and in a tremendous grandstand finish around the final turn of the oval banking, the teenage Briton was little more than a second shy of the podium on his Skip Barber debut. He also posted the fourth best race lap of 1m31.8 seconds. “It’s been a fantastic experience racing in America for the first time, I think I did a good job on my championship debut”, said Daniel, “The finish to race two was unbelievably close, only a few 100ths of a second covered the top three and that proves the importance of slip-streaming on the oval turns. I’m pleased with what we’ve achieved so far and happy with how well I’ve adapted to single-seaters.” During his maiden run in a Skip Barber car on Thursday, 4th March – his 18th birthday – Daniel made a solid start by ending the first practice 16th fastest. Improving further on Friday, 5th March, he qualified in 10th place for his maiden single-seater race, just nine 10ths of a second shy of pole position. Making a great start to round one on Saturday, 6th March, Daniel gained two places in quick succession and by the beginning of lap three he was in seventh position. Unfortunately, the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup Champion was then forced off the track through Turn One and dropped a long way behind the rest of the field to 17th, and last, place. Mounting a sparkling recovery, the open-wheeler rookie carved his way through the order and prior to red flags being shown approximately five minutes from the scheduled finish – due to an incident involving two other competitors – Daniel had made his way back into the top 10 in ninth position. On Sunday, he ended the second qualifying session with the 11th best time and the race itself was much more straightforward than the first. Lapping with podium finishing pace, Daniel delivered a highly competitive performance with his second top 10 of the weekend.
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British
racer Daniel Lloyd endured a bitterly disappointing conclusion to an
otherwise enjoyable and rewarding race meeting at Sebring International
Raceway in Florida on Friday, 19th March, during the second event of the
2010 BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National Championship presented by Mazda. 
Daniel
Lloyd made a great start to his single-seater career at Homestead Miami
Speedway in America over the weekend, 6th/7th March, with a brace of top
10 finishes during the opening event of the 2010 BF Goodrich/Skip Barber
National Championship presented by Mazda.