Lloyd Makes Amends At Knockhill With Win

Daniel Lloyd raced to his third win of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship season at Knockhill yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 17th August, to fully make amends for the disappointment of crashing out during the earlier encounter at the Fife track.While an error from Lloyd in the first race of the weekend cost him dearly and gifted Dino Zamparelli the chance to extend his series lead over Thomas Carnaby, a mistake by the championship leader himself part way through round 18 gave Carnaby all the invitation he needed to move ahead into the lead of the driver standings by 12 points.Speaking after his latest success, Lloyd said: “It’s fantastic to win again, especially as we were so competitive all the way through the race. I made a mistake at Scotsman Corner which allowed Dino to get back ahead but going into the fast right-hander at Carlube I pretended to put a move on him which pressured him into the mistake.“I think I was quicker than Dino, when I was behind him I was just waiting there and I felt I could pull a decent move on him at several corners, I was just biding my time. The team made some changes to the car in between the two races and they worked brilliantly, so big thanks to Tockwith. If the car had been like that in the first race, the weekend would have been a lot different and we could have been celebrating a couple of wins.”Having been punished for a marginal false start during the first race, Lloyd was a little more cautious at the beginning of round 18 which gave Zamparelli the chance to hold the lead through SEAT and down to Leslie’s. Pettit maintained third off the grid while Walkinshaw moved up to fourth place.For Josh Hill, lap one was a disaster with a helping hand seeing him take a trip over the grass at the first couple of corners, dropping him to the tail of the field and giving him plenty of work to do.Into lap two, the top six read Zamparelli, Lloyd, Pettit, Walkinshaw, Richardson and Alice Powell. At the front, Lloyd started to apply huge pressure to Zamparelli and after getting a better run out of the Real Radio Hairpin at the end of lap two, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow winner moved ahead into the lead.Carnaby, again starting down on row four, began to make his move through the order on lap three with a pass on Jake Farndon for seventh place while team-mate Hill had climbed into 11th place at that point. Farndon and Carnaby, meanwhile, continued to trade places for a couple more laps too.On lap five, Zamparelli moved back ahead of Lloyd at the front after a mistake at Scotsman by the latter and around the same time, Pettit crashed out of third place, heading straight into the tyre barriers at the chicane.More incident followed at the end of lap five at the hairpin when Richardson, Walkinshaw and Powell were caught up in contact. However, the biggest moment came on the sixth tour when Zamparelli ran wide when under pressure from Lloyd and came to rest in the tyre barriers – an instant retirement.Lloyd, who had been all over the back of Zamparelli’s car just prior to his crash, gladly moved into the lead before the Safety Car was deployed in time for the start of lap seven. At that point, the race order was Lloyd, Alice Powell – who started seventh – Carnaby, Alex Austin and the recovering Hill in fifth place.Racing resumed on lap 11 of 12 and although Hill pressed Austin hard during the final two laps, the top five remained unchanged to the flag with Lloyd taking a well deserved victory, Powell making a very popular return to the podium and Carnaby taking his second podium of the weekend and, with it, the championship initiative.Proof of Lloyd’s pace was the fact he gained a bonus point for setting the fastest race lap of 1m 04.573 seconds (70.87mph) on his fourth lap.Speaking after round 18, new series leader Carnaby said: “Starting from seventh in the first race and eighth in the second, I never thought I’d be anywhere near third place in both races. I was aiming to get on the podium but we really didn’t think it would happen.“I think Zamparelli is on a bit of a downer now after the second race today and also what happened at Oulton Park so we’re in a good position right now. You have to cancel out the pressure of everyone around you and just race your own race at the end of the day and that’s what I’ve been able to do. The guys at Tollbar Racing have done a terrific job and I wouldn’t be on the podium without them, they’re a brilliant team.”There are now just two weeks to wait until the 19th and 20th rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship season take place at Silverstone National Circuit in Northamptonshire over the weekend 30th/31st August.Provisional 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship Positions (after Rd 18):1st Thomas Carnaby, 467pts; 2nd Dino Zamparelli, 455pts; 3rd Josh Hill, 364pts; 4th Daniel Lloyd, 327pts; 5th Jake Farndon, 304pts; 6th Dominic Pettit, 283pts

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