Dan Lloyd doubles up in EXCELR8 one-two
Dan Lloyd made it two wins from two at Croft as he headed team-mate Tom Ingram to give EXCELR8 a first one-two BTCC finish.
Lloyd was able to get away well when the lights went out to lead the field into turn one ahead of Colin Turkington whilst behind, Dan Rowbottom found himself under attack from Tom Ingram – who went around the outside into turn one to grab third.
As Lloyd looked to scamper away at the front, Ingram then launched an attack on Turkington going into Tower, getting the cut back for for the run to the Jim Clark Esses where the Hyundai nipped ahead to make it into second.
Ingram’s charge forwards was the only change in position inside the top ten in the early stages, with the race going under caution after James Gornall’s Hyundai went off into the tyres at Hawthorn with broken suspension.
The race resumed on lap eight with the two Hyundais holding station ahead of the BMW at the front as the leading trio broke away from Rowbottom’s Honda to make it a three-way battle for the lead.
Further down the top ten, George Gamble’s BMW suddenly slowed coming out of the hairpin at the end of lap nine, dropping the Ciceley Motorsport driver out of ninth spot as he came in to retire.
As Rowbottom struggled to keep pace with the top three, he came under sttack from Jake Hill for fourth spot and going through Tower on lap eleven, Hill got the cut back and was able to complete the move going through the Esses.
Lloyd would edge away from Ingram at the front as he came under pressure from Turkington, but heading into the final two laps, the Hyundai pair were together at the front – with Ingram dropping Turkington and closing onto the rear of his team-mate.
There would be no last lap drama between the pair however, as Lloyd led Ingram home with Turkington taking the flag behind then in third spot.
Hill’s move for fourth on Rowbottom would prove to be the only other positional change inside the top ten, with Ash Sutton, Rory Butcher and Aiden Moffat all finishing where they started to round out the top eight.
Gamble’s mid-race retirement meant Tom Chilton took the flag in ninth, with the the top ten being completed by Stephen Jelley’s BMW.
Having picked up a single point in race one, Josh Cook battled his way up to eleventh place this time around but has now lost the points lead to Ingram, with Gordon Shedden showing overtaking is possible with a fine drive from the back the field after his race one retirement to take twelfth.
Shedden will start the reverse grid final race from pole.
