Dan Lloyd edging closer to inaugural TCR UK title in penultimate round at Croft
WestCoast Racing’s Dan Lloyd could become the first TCR UK championship drivers’ champion this weekend as the series heads to Croft in North Yorkshire for the penultimate round of the season.
Lloyd has been the dominant force all year, and despite suffering from what he deemed a poor weekend last time out at Oulton Park, the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR driver stands on the verge of the championship title.
Lloyd leads the points from Ollie Taylor (Pyro Motorsport Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR) by 78 points with 182 still available from the final two meetings. With 91 points available at each round (40 points for a win and 11 points for pole position), Lloyd merely needs to left Croft with a lead of 13 points or larger to be crowned.
With seven wins so far this year, Lloyd is almost certain to claim the title, while Taylor is close to securing second in the standings. Similarly, Lloyd’s WestCoast team-mate Andreas Bäckman is sitting comfortably in third place, ahead of Lewis Kent’s Essex and Kent Hyundai i30 N TCR.
Despite a conflicting STCC round at Rudskogen in Norway, both Andreas and sister Jessica Bäckman will be present at Croft this weekend. WestCoast Racing has entered all three drivers for the UK championship, while regular STCC driver Fredrik Ekblom will be on his own in Norway.
This allows Andreas to consolidate his position in the standings, and gives Jessica a chance to leapfrog back past Kent into fourth in the table.
Kent, courtesy of a strong weekend at Oulton Park which included a podium in Race 2, sits on 204 points, just four clear of Bäckman.
Also returning this weekend is former Super GT racer Sean Walkinshaw in the Sean Walkinshaw Racing Honda Civic Type R FK2 TCR. It is Walkinshaw’s second appearance of the season, having made his debut at Knockhill in May.
Darelle Wilson is another to make his comeback after missing the previous round at Oulton Park. The DW Racing Vauxhall Astra TCR driver sits at the bottom of a five-car battle for sixth in the standings on 93 points.
That battle is led by Maximum Motorsport’s Stewart Lines, on 100 points. The Birmingham driver recorded a seventh and sixth place finish in the two races at Oulton Park.
Reigning BTCC champion Ash Sutton was the start of the show at Oulton Park, claiming pole position and a pair of victories. He is replaced by Pyro Motorsport’s regular driver Finlay Crocker for Croft.
There will only be one DPE Motorsport Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR this weekend, in the hands of Derek Palmer Jr, with Robert Gilmour’s car having suffered severe damage in the collision with Maximum Motorsport driver Carl Swift, who is also forced to miss the event.
The weekend will start on Saturday with the first of two warm up sessions at 09:30 BST, with the second coming at 11:15. The official practice session begins at 13:50 and qualifying at 16:30.
Race 1 takes place on Sunday afternoon, starting at 12:25 BST and lasting 30 minutes. The second race will start at 15:15.
Timetable
Saturday 8th September
09:30 – Warm up 1
11:15 – Warm up 2
13:50 – Free Practice
16:30 – Qualifying
Sunday 9th September
12:25 – Race 1
15:15 – Race 2
