Croft BTCC: Dan Lloyd and BTC Norlin take first series win
Dan Lloyd secured his maiden British Touring Car Championship victory with a fine lights-to-flag drive in the final race of the weekend at Croft
Lloyd was drawn on pole having finished race two in ninth spot and made the perfect start to lead the field into Clervaux for the first time, with a fast-starting Tom Chilton moving into second spot.
No stranger to running out front this year during his dominant programme in the TCR UK series, Lloyd commanded the race from the head of the pack and gradually eased away.
It meant a first win for the Yorkshire racer at his home circuit and also a first win for the BTC Norlin just two weeks after both of its cars were heavily damaged in the startline accident at Oulton Park.
"I'm lost for words - I'm so happy," said Lloyd, whose BTCC season had only started at Oulton.
"It means so much to the team as we didn't know if we'd be out after the damage at Oulton and it's amazing to get a victory.
"This is just awesome. I know I'm quick and that I can do the job, and credit to the team. To get a win in my fourth day in the car is unbelievable."
After his strong start, Chilton ran in second throughout but couldn't match Lloyd for pace - instead being forced to drive with one eye in his mirrors in the closing stages after Senna Proctor closed in behind.
Ultimately the top three finished the race in the same order they finished lap one, with the focus instead falling on the battle for fourth behind.
Despite the maximum ballast on his car, race one and two winner Ashley Sutton seemed the man most likely to take best of the rest honours as he worked his way through the field from ninth on the grid.
But having battled hard to climb into fifth, he then came across the Honda of Matt Neal.
Reigning BTCC champion Sutton made his move at the end of the eighth lap, but a touch at Clervaux on the following lap sent him over the gravel and he brushed the barriers before rejoining.
Neal went on to take fourth spot, with Sutton then battling with the BMWs of Colin Turkington and Andrew Jordan in the fight to be best of the rear-wheel drive cars.
Turkington prevailed to maintain his points lead going into the summer break, with Sutton and Jordan following close behind.
Sam Tordoff completed a solid weekend with eighth place after holding off Tom Ingram on the run to the line, with Tom Oliphant breaking into the top 10 in his Mercedes.
Of the other main championship contenders, Adam Morgan took 13th place for his only points finish of the weekend but a miserable meeting for Jack Goff ended with no points on the board as he retired to the pits.
Race three result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Lloyd | BTC Norlin | Honda | 15 | 21m59.346s |
| 2 | Tom Chilton | Motorbase | Ford | 15 | 5.835s |
| 3 | Senna Proctor | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall | 15 | 6.326s |
| 4 | Matt Neal | Team Dynamics | Honda | 15 | 7.775s |
| 5 | Colin Turkington | WSR | BMW | 15 | 8.172s |
| 6 | Andrew Jordan | WSR | BMW | 15 | 8.906s |
| 7 | Ash Sutton | Team BMR | Subaru | 15 | 9.739s |
| 8 | Sam Tordoff | Motorbase | Ford | 15 | 14.330s |
| 9 | Tom Ingram | Speedworks | Toyota | 15 | 14.427s |
| 10 | Dan Cammish | Team Dynamics | Honda | 15 | 15.602s |
| 11 | Rob Collard | WSR | BMW | 15 | 19.657s |
| 12 | Adam Morgan | Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes | 15 | 19.797s |
| 13 | Rory Butcher | AmD Tuning | MG | 15 | 24.733s |
| 14 | Tom Oliphant | Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes | 15 | 24.804s |
| 15 | Matt Simpson | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 15 | 24.923s |
| 16 | Stephen Jelley | Team Parker Racing | BMW | 15 | 24.955s |
| 17 | Aiden Moffat | Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes | 15 | 25.208s |
| 18 | Josh Cook | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall | 15 | 25.228s |
| 19 | Jason Plato | Team BMR | Subaru | 15 | 28.177s |
| 20 | James Cole | Motorbase | Ford | 15 | 30.536s |
| 21 | Bobby Thompson | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 15 | 30.928s |
| 22 | Ollie Jackson | AmD Tuning | Audi | 15 | 35.055s |
| 23 | Tom Boardman | AmD Tuning | MG | 15 | 35.882s |
| 24 | Josh Price | Team BMR | Subaru | 15 | 36.361s |
| 25 | Jake Hill | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 15 | 38.767s |
| 26 | Sam Smelt | AmD Tuning | Audi | 15 | 40.137s |
| 27 | Michael Caine | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 15 | 41.919s |
| 28 | Brett Smith | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 15 | 46.227s |
| - | Jack Goff | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 10 | Retirement |
| - | Rob Austin | HMS Racing | Alfa Romeo | 7 | Retirement |
| - | Chris Smiley | BTC Norlin | Honda | 5 | Retirement |
| - | Mike Bushell | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 5 | Retirement |
Drivers' standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colin Turkington | 162 |
| 2 | Tom Ingram | 143 |
| 3 | Matt Neal | 127 |
| 4 | Andrew Jordan | 120 |
| 5 | Tom Chilton | 118 |
| 6 | Adam Morgan | 116 |
| 7 | Jack Goff | 112 |
| 8 | Ash Sutton | 111 |
| 9 | Josh Cook | 109 |
| 10 | Senna Proctor | 94 |
| 11 | Sam Tordoff | 94 |
| 12 | Rob Collard | 86 |
| 13 | Dan Cammish | 80 |
| 14 | Chris Smiley | 60 |
| 15 | James Cole | 59 |
| 16 | Matt Simpson | 54 |
| 17 | Rob Austin | 51 |
| 18 | Aiden Moffat | 47 |
| 19 | Rory Butcher | 46 |
| 20 | Daniel Lloyd | 37 |
| 21 | Brett Smith | 34 |
| 22 | Ollie Jackson | 32 |
| 23 | Jake Hill | 29 |
| 24 | Mike Bushell | 29 |
| 25 | Jason Plato | 19 |
| 26 | Tom Oliphant | 19 |
| 27 | Tom Boardman | 14 |
| 28 | James Nash | 6 |
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