...THEN PASSES DRIVING EXAM ON 17TH BIRTHDAY!
Daniel Lloyd celebrated his 17th birthday in style this week – first by impressing during testing at Oulton Park at the wheel of his ELF Renault Clio Cup car and then passing his road driving test with flying colours on his birthday itself, after just two hours on the road!
Continuing preparations for the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup season with a terrific display at Oulton Park on Tuesday, 3rd March, the teenage racer enjoyed a full day of action at the Cheshire venue on both its Island and International Circuit configurations.
Marking his first serious wet weather running in his 200bhp, 2.0-litre Team Pyro run car, Daniel had the benefit of a huge amount of track time as one of just nine drivers on circuit all day. The West Yorkshire star was in great form throughout the semi-exclusive sessions and learned a lot about the handling of his Clio.
“The Oulton Park test was fantastic, I really enjoyed it and it was good to get some wet weather running as it has taught me a lot about how the Clio handles”, said Daniel, “Our Clio was the only one at the circuit and with so few other cars there it meant I could put in lots of laps. We’re very pleased with how everything went at Oulton, we’re definitely making good progress.”
On the day of his 17th birthday, Wednesday, 4th March, Daniel swapped his race suit and crash helmet for the Highway Code and, ironically, the keys to a somewhat less powerful 1.5-litre, diesel engined, road-going Clio. He then embarked on his driving test with Huddersfield-based Outlane Driving School.
Reaching speeds of over 100mph at Oulton Park on Tuesday, Daniel’s birthday saw him take to the roads around his home town at a far more sedate pace!
As soon as Daniel had passed his theory exam at 09.00 on Wednesday morning, his father Neil put a call in to the Driving Standards Agency to see if there were any vacant practical test slots available in the Huddersfield area. As luck would have it, there had just been a cancellation so after two hours of instruction from 11.00, Daniel took his test at 13.00 and subsequently passed.
“Obviously I’m really happy to have passed my driving test on my 17th birthday and at my first attempt too”, said Daniel, “I don’t know if this is a record with how quickly everything happened between the theory test and the driving test itself, we’re still trying to find out! It’s a great birthday present and I want to say a big thank you, not only to my Mum and Dad, but also to Martin Bell at the Outlane Driving School in Huddersfield who was a fantastic instructor.”
Returning to motor racing matters, Daniel’s next pre-season test outing is planned for this coming Wednesday, 11th March, at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent, the venue for the opening two rounds of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup on 4th/5th April. He will gain further experience of the 1.2-mile track three days later with additional testing on Saturday, 14th March.
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