LLOYD CONVERTS POLE TO VICTORY IN INAUGURAL TCR UK RACE

Daniel Lloyd kept his composure to convert pole position into the inaugural TCR UK Series race victory at Silverstone, with Laser Tools Racing’s Aiden Moffat and the Pyro Motorsport-run Honda Civic TCR of Ollie Taylor completing the podium.

The highly-competitive nature of the category had already been made apparent during Qualifying with six brands represented in the top seven positions, and the first race of the 2018 season cemented that trend.

Lloyd made the perfect start from pole position and eased ahead of Moffat’s Alfa Romeo Guilietta on the run down to Copse, whilst further back a slow start for the SWR-run Honda Civic TCR of Howard Fuller enabled Taylor and the Hyundai i30 N of Lewis Kent to get the jump into third and fourth on the road respectively. Though Moffat put pressure on Lloyd throughout, the experienced TCR driver was able to hold on ahead of the Laser Tools Racing racer to earn himself a trip to the top step of the podium.

Moffat was initially given a five-second penalty for infringing track limits by the stewards, but this was rescinded after evaluation post-race and the Laser Tools Racing driver was handed back the runner-up spot.

Fuller would then entertain the crowd with a closely-fought battle for fifth with Finlay Crocker’s Honda Civic Type R FK7, the two making contact under braking on several occasions before the former eventually came out on top.

Andreas Bӓckman’s pace was evident as he scythed his way through the field from eighth on the grid, before matching the lap times of the race leaders once up into fourth.

Sibling Jessica was equally competitive, sustaining a thrilling contest for seventh with LMS Racing’s Olli Kangas for the near-duration of the race, but ultimately had to settle for eighth.

Stewart Lines capitalised on an early spin at Brooklands for Carl Swift to claim the bragging rights in the DSG Trophy stakes, and will start the second race from pole position courtesy of the top ten having their second-fastest qualifying times reversed.

Kent and Darelle Wilson (Vauxhall Astra) made contact under braking at Beckett’s whilst disputing position, sending the latter into the gravel and out of the race. Kent would continue and eventually round out the field in eleventh.

Derek Palmer was hit once again with a mechanical fault on the second Alfa Romeo Giulietta and retired at half distance, but will look to bounce back in the series’ second contest, scheduled for 16:05 this afternoon.

The race will once again be streamed live over the TCR UK website, the TCR ‘Hub’, the championships social media channels and through MotorsportTV’s on-demand online platform.

Daniel Lloyd (1st) said, “It feels awesome, I’m really over the moon with that. It was a tough race, as it always is at this circuit, and it was a long one too. I did a good job at the start and got a gap and then just controlled the pace from there, as well as looking after the tyres because the degradation is big here.

“It was only a last minute deal to get out here this weekend in the WestCoast Racing Volkswagen Golf GTi, we’re working really hard to try and come back for the rest of the season. The team have done a fantastic job, it’s my first weekend with them and I can’t fault them in any way whatsoever.”

Aiden Moffat (2nd) said, “The most laps we’d done on slick tyres before that race was about four, and it’s a half-hour race, so it was a bit of a step into the unknown. This weekend is a test session in some senses for us as we learn what the car is about, whereas others have done full seasons, so to finish second means I’m over the moon.

“We’ll go out in the second one and enjoy it and have some fun. It’s a great car, a great championship and we’re looking forward to some close racing.”

Ollie Taylor (3rd) said, “That was definitely what we wanted – points make prizes! We’ll take that and if you look at the two guys who’ve finished ahead of us, they’ve got more experience in these sorts of cars than I have; this was my first front-wheel drive race, so I’m quite pleased with that.

“If anything the second race is going to be even more exciting, the two guys that finished ahead of me are now behind. I’ll try to keep them at bay – I think the guys starting ahead are beatable, it’s going to make for an interesting race.”