Driver Database News

Brands Hatch Indy Circuit welcomes the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup for its annual British round next Saturday, 3rd September, where category race winner and title contender Daniel Lloyd will be aiming for a big result on home soil.

Round seven of the 10 race series is without any doubt the most important event of the year for Huddersfield’s finest – not only is it likely to have a massive bearing on the championship, he will also have a 75-strong group of sponsors, guests and family cheering him on around the 1.2-mile track.

Furthermore, as the only British driver in the DTM-supporting championship he’s hoping for plenty of home support as he bids to close the gap to current series leader Mateusz Lisowski who at present has an advantage of 47 points.

Daniel’s first season of action in Europe has been a major success so far with one win, two other podiums and a pole position. Considering Brands Hatch will be the first circuit on the calendar which the 19-year-old has prior race experience of, his efforts to date have been all the more impressive.

“I’m really looking forward to next weekend, it’s fantastic to be back racing at home”, he said, “I want to go out there and win, that’s my focus for the rest of the season – just try and win every race as the points gap to Mateusz is quite big. I’m preparing as hard as I can, in the gym and with the guys at iZone Performance, to make sure I’m on top form for my home race.

“There will be a lot of pressure on at Brands and loads to do out of the car as well as we’ll have 75 guests there on raceday. I’m determined to try and have our best weekend yet as without the amazing support of my sponsors – especially Andy Goddard at TNT Post, Chris Brooks at TSD, Justin from The Print Academy and the guys from Balreed and Propack – I wouldn’t be racing at all.”

One of the most enjoyable facets of the VW Scirocco R-Cup for Daniel is the incredibly level playing field and the parity between cars. As one-make championships go, Volkswagen’s flagship series has set very high standards and it’s something the West Yorkshire teenager is thoroughly enjoying.

“The Scirocco is a great car, I’m having a fantastic time this season racing it and one of the best and most important things is that all of the cars are exactly the same”, he added, “There are loads of one-make championships out there but this one really is down to your own performance and ability. The guys at Volkswagen Motorsport do an amazing job, it’s great being able to work with them.

“Even though it is only my first year in the R-Cup I will be disappointed if I don’t win the championship, that’s my goal but it is going to be very tough. All things considered though I think we’ve had a really fantastic year and I’m loving every minute of it.”

Pre-event practice at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit will take place at 14.50 next Friday, 2nd September, with qualifying and round seven of the 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup set to follow on Saturday, 3rd September, at 12.50 and 17.30 respectively.

Digital satellite and cable channel Motors TV will broadcast the race action live – for more details please visit www.motorstv.com – while the official Volkswagen Motorsport website will also feature live streaming at www.volkswagen-motorsport.com/livestream

In addition, iPhone, iPad and iPod users can access live footage and other great content thanks to the new app from Volkswagen Motorsport which can be downloaded free of charge at www.volkswagen-motorsport.com/R-Cup_iPhone

To keep up with all the latest news regarding Daniel’s participation in the VW Scirocco R-Cup, please visit his official website www.daniellloydracing.com, follow him on Twitter @Daniellloyd23 and check out his exclusive blog at the Motors TV website www.motorstv.com

Provisional 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup Driver Standings (after Rd6):
1st Mateusz Lisowski, 248pts; 2nd Daniel Lloyd, 201pts

Photo by Volkswagen Motorsport.

Britain’s Daniel Lloyd faces yet another fresh challenge next weekend, 4th/5th June, when the 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup resumes for the second and third rounds of the season at the recently rebuilt and renamed Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.

The 19-year-old, from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, delivered a sensational debut performance in the DTM-support category during the championship curtain-raiser at Hockenheim, Germany, last month and is currently second in the standings after a memorable maiden weekend in VW Sciroccos.

Dominating qualifying to secure pole position by a huge 0.6 seconds on his first competitive run at the home of the German Grand Prix, Daniel went on to take a well deserved second place finish in the race itself and is aiming for more podium success in Austria just over a week from now.

The 4.3-kilometre (2.67-mile) Red Bull Ring, formerly known as the A1 Ring and, before that, the Österreichring, will be a new experience for all of the VW Scirocco R-Cup drivers so the playing field should be as level as possible going into the event.

“I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be up there like we were at Hockenheim, I didn’t know the track and we still did a really good job so everything is the same for me on that front”, said Daniel, “I don’t think any of the others should really have any experience of the track this time. That wasn’t the case in Germany but, even so, we still managed to have a really strong weekend.”

Such was Daniel’s pace in Germany, he came within just 0.050 seconds of snatching the race’s fastest lap away from ex-Formula One driver, World Touring Car Championship front-runner and former DTM star Nicola Larini – who, incidentally, finished behind Daniel in third position.

Marking the first ‘double-header’ of the season, only half-points will be available during round two next weekend – as was the case at Hockenheim – as part of a move by Volkswagen Motorsport to ensure no driver starts the year with a significant advantage.

In round three though, maximum points will be up for grabs for the first time making it the most important race yet of 2011. With the finishing order of the first encounter setting the grid for the second though – with the exception of the top eight which will be reversed – anything could happen!

Daniel adds: “You can’t start holding back and playing tactics so early in the season so I’ll go out and give it my all in the first race and then see what happens for race two. One thing we will have to be sensible with though is tyres, it’ll be really important to look after them. I have had a look at the track on the i-Zone simulator and it does seem quite tricky, it should be a great challenge.”

To add extra flavour, the non-scoring ‘Legends’ class will feature some stars of the ski-slope rather than the race track. Olympians Sven Hannawald, Thomas Morgenstern and Adam Malysz will join the grid along with Alpine downhill World Champion Michael Walchhofer and Super G Olympic silver medallist Hans Knauß. Hannawald – the latter a car racer in his own right in the ADAC GT Masters.

Following free practice on Friday, 3rd June, qualifying and round two are scheduled to take place on Saturday, 4th June, at 12.10 (local time) and 17.10 respectively with round three following on Sunday, 5th June, at 16.10.

Round two will be screened live on digital satellite and cable channel Motors TV from 15.55 UK time on the Saturday with round three on the Sunday to be shown delayed as-live at 20.10. Please check listings and www.motorstv.com for up-to-date broadcast schedules.

To keep up with all the latest news regarding Daniel’s participation in the VW Scirocco R-Cup, please visit his official website www.daniellloydracing.com, follow him on Twitter @Daniellloyd23 and check out his exclusive blog at the Motors TV website www.motorstv.com

Provisional 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup Driver Standings (after Rd1):
1st Mateusz Lisowski, 30pts; 2nd Daniel Lloyd, 24pts

Photo by Volkswagen Motorsport.

West Yorkshire’s Daniel Lloyd sealed the first title victory of his short car racing career at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit this afternoon, Saturday, 7th November – two podium finishes and an all-important fastest race lap enabling the teenager to clinch the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup.

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 today’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!”

For more information about how to become commercially involved with Daniel Lloyd’s 2010 ELF Renault Clio Cup bid, please visit www.daniellloydracing.com

Final 2009 ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup Standings:
Champion: Daniel Lloyd, 58pts; =2nd Sam Tordoff & James Colburn, 57pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Total Control Racing capped off a hugely successful year in the best way possible this afternoon, Saturday, 7th November, with Daniel Lloyd clinching the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup title and team-mate Sam Tordoff securing his second career category race victory.

“I’m obviously delighted for Daniel and Sam, they both performed fantastically this weekend and have proven they can be serious championship contenders next year in the main Clio Cup”, said team principal Lee Brookes, “It’s been a great weekend for TCR, the team did a terrific job.”

Racing at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit in Northamptonshire, the pre-eminent Clio Cup squad locked out the front row for both of the day’s races with Tordoff taking pole position for each encounter two 10ths of a second ahead of fellow first-year Clio driver Lloyd.

While qualifying took place on a mainly wet track, the outcome of the opening race was determined by tyre choice as the circuit began to dry fairly rapidly. Both TCR drivers chose wet-weather rubber and while 20-year-old Tordoff held the lead for the first couple of corners, Lloyd fought his way by into Chapman Curve.

Split by just a couple of 10ths of a second, the team-mates looked very well placed but as early as the third lap it was clear James Colburn’s gamble on slick front tyres was coming into play. While Lloyd still held first place, Colburn nudged Tordoff back to third position on the fourth tour through Turn 1 and then, into Deene Hairpin, he barged Lloyd out of the lead.

Recovering in fourth place, the 17-year-old mounted a solid comeback while Tordoff moved into the lead due to the delay Colburn brought about for himself. Into lap five, the TCR man led by well over a second but both he and Lloyd were struggling with tyre degradation as the track dried quicker than expected. That said Lloyd did manage to move back into third place at Brook Chicane.

On lap six, the inevitable lead change occurred when Colburn dived up the inside of Tordoff into Tarzan Hairpin but the Leeds-based racer then lost another position – this time to Lloyd – at the same part of the track when running into the gravel trap under braking as a result of the lessening grip from his tyres. Recovering in fourth, Tordoff did manage to grab third before the finish.

After the first encounter, Colburn led the standings by six points from podium debutant Lloyd with Tordoff a further three points adrift. Post-race though, Colburn was handed a two-point penalty for his overly robust overtaking manoeuvre on Lloyd at Deene.

Winter Cup goes down to the wire
With everything to play for heading into the afternoon race, Lloyd got the jump on Tordoff at the start to lead while the latter kept Colburn at bay for second. Pressuring his Huddersfield-based team-mate hard, Tordoff managed to move ahead on lap three at Yentwood following a mistake by Lloyd which led to him running slightly wide off the track.

Tordoff immediately tried to press home the advantage and posted the fastest lap of the race on lap three to help build a 1.2 second buffer. Lloyd hit back though and on lap six posted what would prove to be the quickest lap of all to secure the ultimately crucial two bonus points.

Running mere 10ths of a second apart for the remainder of the 12-lap encounter, Tordoff took the win for his Wednesbury-based team while second place for Lloyd – coupled with the points for fastest lap – gave him the Winter Cup crown by a single point. Tordoff ended the campaign tied on points with Colburn in the Vice-Champion’s position.

Reflecting on the weekend, Lee Brookes added: “Qualifying went really well, Sam and Daniel were very evenly matched and we definitely had the pace on everyone else. The guys took the decision to go with wet tyres for the first race but we all supported that choice. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right call but they still rescued podium finishes.

“In the second race, they turned it around well and either one of them could have won the race and the Winter Cup. It was great to see Sam back on the top step of the podium and I’m really pleased Daniel had some good luck for a change to win the title – both of them did the team proud.”

Final 2009 ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup Standings:
Champion: Daniel Lloyd, 58pts; =2nd Sam Tordoff & James Colburn, 57pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Teenagers Sam Tordoff and Daniel Lloyd both produced outstanding performances for Wednesbury-based Total Control Racing at Rockingham on Sunday, 20th September, with Tordoff claiming his third ELF Renault Clio Cup podium of 2009 and Lloyd unluckily missing out on his maiden category win.

Lining up second and third on the grid respectively for the 17th round of the season, Leeds-based Tordoff and Huddersfield racer Lloyd each made good starts to the first Clio race of the weekend at the venue’s International Super Sports Car Circuit to get on terms with pole-sitter Philip Glew.

Into Deene Hairpin for the first time, Tordoff ran slightly wide on the exit and lost some momentum but Lloyd got good drive out of the turn and managed to pass Glew at Yentwood to lead a Clio Cup race for the first time in his short career.

Into lap two Lloyd held a reasonable lead over the rest with TCR team-mate Alex MacDowall in fourth place, Tordoff in 11th after his lap one moment and Mike Robinson in 13th position – the latter starting lower down the order than he would have liked after a tricky qualifying session on Saturday.

Driving impressively, Lloyd looked comfortable at the front ahead of Glew and returning 2001 Clio Cup Champion Danny Buxton but at the end of the eighth lap, his car under-steered wide out of Brook Chicane and made heavy contact with the retaining wall at Turn 4.

Meaning an immediate retirement, Lloyd was bitterly disappointed and post-race investigations by the team pointed to a possible puncture which caused the 17-year-old’s car to become unsettled.

With Lloyd out of the race MacDowall, Tordoff and Robinson each moved up a place, the latter making the best progress of all to actually get ahead of Tordoff before the finish, grabbing a well deserved seventh place result – just a couple of 10ths of a second ahead of his team-mate. For MacDowall, fifth position was a good return to maintain his Vice-Champion’s spot in the standings.

Round 18 produced a welcome podium for Tordoff with a fine drive to third place behind newly crowned 2009 Clio Cup Champion Glew and former title winner Buxton. Running just a 10th of a second or so shy of the pace of the top two, Tordoff’s result moved him to within 23 points of the championship top six – the spot currently held by team-mate Robinson.

For Surrey-based Robinson, race two was made more difficult after he was caught-up in a tangle at Deene on lap one but he came through to finish 10th, a couple of spots behind MacDowall who, even though not enjoying one of his better weekends, is still on course to be 2009 runner-up.

For Lloyd, a career-best top five result was just reward for a great drive and also incredibly hard work by the TCR mechanics to get his car repaired after the round 17 accident. With just four hours in which to get the car anywhere close to race-readiness, the team did a superb job and although the Clio wasn’t anything like 100 per cent Lloyd still managed to secure an impressive finish.

“Sam and Daniel have come to the top again this weekend which is great to see”, said team principal Lee Brookes, “For Daniel to lead the first race ahead of Glew and Buxton, two highly rated drivers, without feeling any pressure was fantastic. It’s just such a shame what happened but we think he’d probably picked up a puncture which unsettled the car.

“The team did a fantastic job to get the car back out there, they worked unbelievably hard and it paid off with a good result. Sam’s podium in race two was obviously fantastic, he’s proven again he’s a genuine front-runner with a bright future. Alex and Mike were both unfortunate this weekend but they’ll bounce back at Brands Hatch where we’re aiming to try and win the team’s championship.”

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography

Teenage saloon car star Daniel Lloyd led an ELF Renault Clio Cup race for the first time in his short career at Rockingham in Northamptonshire today, Sunday, 20th September, but a suspected puncture potentially cost the category rookie his maiden race victory in the ultra-competitive championship.

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 the West Yorkshire racer, 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.”

Looking ahead to the season finale at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit a fortnight from now, 3rd/4th October, Daniel is just a single point shy of the 200 point barrier in his first season of Clio competition and will be aiming to end the year on a high at the Kent venue. Following this weekend’s action, he maintains 10th place in the driver standings, 12 points clear of his closest pursuer.

2009 Provisional ELF Renault Clio Cup Standings (after Rd18):
Champion: Philip Glew, 528pts; 2nd Alex MacDowall, 385pts; 10th Daniel Lloyd, 199pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography

ELF Renault Clio Cup front-runner Daniel Lloyd cannot wait for the penultimate event of the 2009 season at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit next weekend, 19th/20th September, as he seeks his elusive first podium finish in the British Touring Car Championship-supporting category.

Daniel, who lives in Scammonden near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, has been a revelation in the hugely competitive Clio Cup this year after graduating from the Ginetta Junior Championship at the end of 2008. Against some of the quickest and most talented saloon car drivers in the country, he has most certainly acquitted himself well and is currently a highly creditable 10th overall in the standings.

With a string of excellent points finishes over the course of the first 16 races, including three top sixes and eight other top 10 results, Daniel has really come into his own since switching to the Total Control Racing team ahead of rounds seven and eight at Oulton Park in May. Since that time, he has finished inside the top nine on all but two occasions and one of those was an enforced retirement.

Unfortunate to miss out on a maiden Clio Cup podium during the last event at Silverstone a fortnight ago, Daniel has proven time and again he has the pace to challenge right at the front. Rockingham is actually one of his favourite tracks and although he’s only ever driven a Clio there once before, the 17-year-old is hoping the Northamptonshire circuit could provide a breakthrough moment for him.

“I’ve only tested a Clio once before at Rockingham and that was during the winter series test day last November ”, commented Daniel, “I don’t know what to expect totally as we’ve only had that one run before but I do like Rockingham, it’s a good track and I’m really looking forward to the races.

“We’ve proven the pace is there to run at the front and be consistently in the top six and to be in the top 10 of the championship with just a couple of events to go is great for our first season in Clios. If things go our way at Rockingham we should have a good chance of taking our best result of the year. The car has been great and the team is doing a fantastic job so I’m feeling very positive.”

Pre-event testing for the penultimate event of the season will take place on Friday, 18th September, at the Corby track with qualifying for rounds 17 and 18 currently timetabled to get underway at around 14.45 on Saturday, 19th September.

Both races will be held on Sunday, 20th September, with round 17 beginning proceedings at 10.00 and round 18 following at approximately 15.15. Live television coverage of the second race, at least, will be screened on Freeview, digital satellite and cable channel ITV4. Please check listings for further details.

2009 Provisional ELF Renault Clio Cup Standings (after Rd16):
1st Philip Glew, 462pts; 2nd Alex MacDowall, 351pts; 10th Daniel Lloyd, 181pts

Total Control Racing’s Daniel Lloyd secured his third top six finish of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup season at Silverstone National Circuit in Northamptonshire this afternoon, Saturday, 29th August, to move back into ninth position in the championship standings following an excellent drive.

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.

Round 16 of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup will take place at Silverstone National Circuit tomorrow, Sunday, 30th August, at approximately 12.00 and will be screened live on digital satellite, cable and Freeview channel ITV4. Daniel will start the race from sixth on the grid thanks to his second best qualifying time from today of 1m05.447 seconds.

2009 Provisional ELF Renault Clio Cup Standings (after Rd15):
1st Philip Glew, 430pts; 2nd Alex MacDowall, 351pts; 9th Daniel Lloyd, 175pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Daniel Lloyd was undoubtedly one of the quickest ELF Renault Clio Cup competitors at Snetterton in Norfolk 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.

The Scammonden-based championship rookie, who has been in fantastic 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 stunning 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, which was screened live on ITV4 across the UK, 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.”

ELF Renault Clio Cup action now takes a four week break with rounds 15 and 16 of the season taking place on 29th/30th August at Silverstone. Marking the second time this year the championship will have visited the world famous Northamptonshire venue, the eighth race meeting of the campaign will be held on the shorter National Circuit rather than the full Grand Prix layout.

2009 Provisional ELF Renault Clio Cup Standings (after Rd14):
1st Philip Glew, 402pts; 2nd Alex MacDowall, 326pts; 10th Daniel Lloyd, 155pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk proved to be a very happy hunting ground for crack motor racing squad Total Control Racing earlier today, Saturday, 1st August, with the team winning not only round 13 of the ELF Renault Clio Cup but also the 15th and 16th rounds of the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup.

On a simply outstanding day for the Wednesbury-based outfit, Carlisle teenager Alex MacDowall claimed his third victory of the year in an action-packed and rain-shortened Clio Cup encounter and he was also joined on the podium by rookie team-mate Sam Tordoff, the Leeds racer taking his first ever podium with a superb second position and backing it up with the fastest lap of the race.

After taking pole position for round 13 with a fastest time of 1m17.872 seconds (90.23mph) during this morning’s qualifying session, at the start of the race MacDowall made a textbook start to lead as light rain started to fall and threatened to make conditions very tricky indeed.

Behind, championship leader Philip Glew managed to get ahead of Tordoff at the start – the TCR ace having qualified second on the grid – while Mike Robinson held on to his starting place of ninth.

For rapid rookie Daniel Lloyd, what started as a very positive weekend during testing soon became a luckless disappointment when he was punted out of the race at the first corner. Third fastest during the opening pre-event practice and then finishing sixth in session two, a tricky qualifying session placed him mid-grid but he was hit at Riches Corner and forced into an immediate retirement.

Following a couple of laps behind the Safety Car to enable Lloyd’s car to be retrieved, at the re-start MacDowall got away well and led in worsening conditions all the way to the Bomb Hole on lap 10 when Glew managed to slither past.

Less than a lap later though, Glew pushed too hard at the Esses to try and fend off MacDowall and got his car sideways as the TCR star moved ahead once more. He was followed through by team-mate Tordoff and the pair remained first and second to the finish on lap 14 when red flags were shown due to the increasing rainfall.

Therefore, the finishing order was taken from the positions on lap 13 which still meant MacDowall won, Tordoff was second and Robinson came through to finish in eighth position, also moving him up into the championship top five.

Commenting, MacDowall said: “The conditions were very tricky, the rain got quite bad as the race wore on and it was especially slippery at the Esses. When (Philip) Glew got by me I tried to get back at him as quickly as possible and at the Esses on the next lap he just went in too hot and I was able to get back ahead. I’m really pleased with our third win, the team did a great job with the car.”

Podium debutant Tordoff added: “It was a very hard race but I kept it all together and managed to stick with Alex (MacDowall) and Phil (Glew). It was a case of waiting for either of them to make a mistake really. We’ve had the pace all weekend and considering it’s my first year in cars, let alone in Clios, I think we’re doing a good job.”

Breeze returns to winning ways with memorable Snetterton double
Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup title challenger Carl Breeze was in totally dominant form at Snetterton today, taking three pole positions in qualifying for rounds 15, 16 and 17 of the season and backing them up with victory in the first two races.

After an unbelievably difficult couple of months, namely a huge accident at Oulton Park at the end of May and a subsequent crash at Croft in mid-June which did little to aid the healing process, Breeze arrived at his home track this weekend fully recuperated and immediately returned to winning ways.

Dominating qualifying, the TCR star pressed home his advantage with two fantastic performances in rounds 15 and 16 to close to within 27 points of current series leader Nathan Freke. Challenged fairly hard by Christian Dick in the opening encounter, the team mechanics made some changes to Breeze’s car for race two which he won by 11 seconds and in which he also posted a new lap record.

Team-mate Fulvio Mussi finished a fine fifth in round 15 after a good drive from eighth on the grid while in round 16 a potential career best finish of second place behind Breeze was taken away after Mussi was adjudged to have lined up in an incorrect position on the grid. Although taking the chequered flag in second position, a 10 second penalty was added to his time dropping him to sixth.

Danish racer Joachim Ritter, meanwhile, finished ahead of former British Touring Car Championship driver Charlie Butler-Henderson in ninth place during the first outing and managed another top 10 in round 16 to consolidate 10th overall in the championship standings.

Speaking after his double win, Breeze said: “It’s good to reward the TCR boys with a couple of wins and great to bounce back after the disappointments of Oulton and Croft. We made some changes to the car for the second race to find some more speed and the team deserves all of the credit as it gave us an extra three 10ths of a second. It’s been a great day, hopefully tomorrow will be too.”

Reflecting on TCR’s day in both the Ginetta G50 Cup and Clio Cup, TCR team principal Lee Brookes commented: “We’re absolutely made up with Carl’s two wins in the G50 races today, he performed very well indeed, and in the second race Fulvio did a great job as well. It was just a shame he was out of position on the grid at the start, he was gutted about that. Joachim had a couple of good runs too.

“In Clios it was a very bad day for Daniel, we’re so disappointed for him. On the other side of things Alex did everything right to win again and Mike took another solid finish. The day belonged to Sam though, out of all of the drivers I think he surprised people the most and to take his first podium and be on pole position for Sunday’s race is a great achievement.”

Round 14 of the ELF Renault Clio Cup is timetabled to take place at 11.55 tomorrow, Sunday, 2nd August, with round 17 of the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup set to begin at 13.35. Please check listings for details of live television coverage on Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4.

Provisional 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup Standings (after Rd13):
Drivers: 2nd Alex MacDowall, 302pts; 5th Mike Robinson, 195pts; 9th Sam Tordoff, 154pts; 10th Daniel Lloyd, 145pts
Team: 2nd Total Control Racing, 570pts

Provisional 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Standings (after Rd16 – Rd11 yet to be rescheduled):
Drivers: 2nd Carl Breeze, 410pts; 5th Fulvio Mussi, 228pts; 10th Joachim Ritter, 160pts
Team: 1st Total Control Racing

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.