Dan Lloyd accepts responsibility for starting clash at Croft

Eurotech Racing’s Dan Lloyd accepts blame for the incident at the start of Race 1 at Croft, in which he was the only casualty, making contact with Colin Turkington’s Subaru Levorg into Clervaux which propelled the Honda driver off into the gravel.

Lloyd qualified on the front-row in the Swindon Engines-powered Honda Civic Type R, and got a lightning start in the front-wheel drive Civic to put his car ahead by a nose into Turn 1, but then clipped the front of Turkington on the turn in.

“I got a fantastic start of the line which was unexpected,” said Lloyd to TouringCarTimes. “(Before the race) I was thinking I’d end up going into the first corner in about fourth with all the rear-wheel drive cars around me. I had a great run, I was just ahead of Colin, I broke later than Colin, but I didn’t do a good enough job of turning in late enough to give him room.

“He clipped the back of my car which was well under load so that just spun me around. I think I did the right thing for going for it, I just didn’t do a good enough job, but if I hadn’t have gone for it I’d have been hung out to dry on the outside.

“I kind of wish I just had an average start, then I could have just tucked in behind him.”

Turkington went on to take his second win of the year, though the Northern Irishman had initial concerns after the contact.

“He seemed to go into the corner a bit deep and then cut across the nose of my car,” he said to TouringCarTimes. “When somebody’s coming across your nose it’s a concern, and we definitely picked up some damage on the car which made it more difficult for me, but we survived.”