A determined comeback performance from Huddersfield’s Daniel Lloyd and the Oman Racing Team during round 3 of the Blancpain Endurance Series was rewarded with a top ten Pro Cup class spot at Paul Ricard this weekend (June 20).
Technical issues during Friday’s test and warm-up sessions had all but ruled Lloyd and the Oman Racing Team out of contention for Saturday’s 6 hour race, with the #44 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 settling for P34 in qualifying, despite being just 1.3 seconds off pole. But 23 year-old Lloyd and team-mates Jonny Adam and Ahmad Al Harthy battled back against the odds to secure the team’s first points finish of the season.
“We started on the back foot in testing with a couple of issues and unfortunately only managed an average of about 7 or 8 laps each, so qualifying was always going to be difficult;” said Lloyd. “It was so competitive and close out on track and that was evident in the testing and qualifying times, but we made some quite big changes to the car ahead of the race hoping for a much stronger race pace.”
Against the strongest Blancpain GT3 grid to date, Al Harthy took the opening stint as the team focused its efforts on moving through the mid-pack. Unfortunately early contact from a wayward BMW caused wheel damage to the #44 Vantage, forcing an unscheduled pit-stop. Picking up a drive through penalty for a technical infringement linked to the pit-stop, Al Harthy re-joined the race at the back of the grid – having lost 3 laps in the process.
“We didn’t get the best start to the race, dropping back a bit but then the BMW hit us and ruined the wheel forcing us back into the pits. The drive through penalty set us back either further – so we were two maybe three laps down at that point of the race;” added Lloyd.
Al Harthy managed to battle his way back up into 46th place overall before handing over to Lloyd just after the 90 minute mark. Intense heat conditions at the mid-race point added to the almost unsurmountable task ahead as air temperatures of 30˚c pushed the Vantage cockpit upwards of 50˚c+. Despite the scorching heat, Lloyd delivered an outstanding performance during his two hour stint, being the fastest car on track at one point as he made his way past 21 cars to hand over to Aston Martin works driver Jonny Adam in 25th place overall as dusk settled in.
“Ahmad did well to get back into the race and I was really pleased with my stint. The Aston was really strong and our pace was mega, I just got my head down and was constantly overtaking. I think the only car that got past me was the Bentley on the restart, which ended up finishing second!”
Adam continued the push into the late evening, taking up the challenge in the closing two hour stint and the Oman Racing Team’s efforts were finally rewarded with a 10th place finish in the Pro Cup class (16th overall) to secure the squad’s first point of the season.
“Jonny had a great time, was really quick in the night and managed to get us up to 16th overall, which after the start was a great result for us;” explained Lloyd. “It was a bit of a rollercoaster of a race but a fantastic experience for Spa as my first proper double stint in a GT3 car in those conditions and pressure from so many other cars on the grid.”
“It was such a shame we got hit as I think we would have been well in the top 8;” continued Lloyd. “Without the contact and drive through we would have saved a good 2 minutes plus but there are loads of positives we can take from the weekend, I just hope we can stay out of trouble at Spa as I think we could do well with a clear run.”
Lloyd and the Oman Racing Team now have a quick stopover before heading straight to Belgium for an official timed test session on Wednesday (June 24), a warm-up to the biggest event of the Blancpain season – The Total 24 hours of Spa – which takes place on July 25/26.