Dan Lloyd ‘heartbroken’ by missed win

Dan Lloyd admitted he was ‘heartbroken’ after missing out on a potential victory for Team HARD at Donington Park.

Lloyd had fought his way into the top twelve in the second race of the weekend to benefit from the BTCC’s reverse grid, which saw him line up on pole position for race three.

Keeping the lead at the start, Lloyd was comfortably clear at the front before a mid-race safety car and even after that, was holding the Toyota of Rory Butcher at bay.

However, driveshaft failure on the final lap saw Lloyd spin out of the race and into retirement to leave him wondering what might have been.

“It’s difficult to really find the words to express how I feel after the final race,” he said. “It’s just devastating to be so close to victory and then lose it in that way, and I’m heartbroken for the whole team as that would have been the first victory for the Cupra, and a first overall win this season for an Independent.

“For once, we actually managed to benefit from the reverse grid but we still had to work hard to make sure we were in a position to make the most of it. As a team, I think we did ourselves proud but with the win on the plate, the driveshaft snapped and it was game over.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow because even with the pressure Rory was putting me under, I was 110% confident that I’d be able to keep him behind me and bring it home.”

Lloyd did admit however that the result gave him confidence for the remaining rounds.

“Even with the end result, a performance like that shows the huge progress we have made with the car since we were at Donington Park for round one, and we now just need to pick ourselves up and go again at Silverstone next time out,” he added.

“There are more things we have found this weekend that are going to help us over the final two rounds and we have to take the positives and try – as hard as it is – to forget the obvious negative.”