The South of France is the destination for Huddersfield’s Daniel Lloyd as the Blancpain Endurance Series reconvenes at the stunning Paul Ricard circuit this coming weekend (June 19/20).

 Round three of the European series sees Lloyd partnering Ahmad Al Harthy and Jonny Adam once more in the #44 Oman Racing Team Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 for the only six hour race of the season at one of the calendars most spectacular tracks. Billed as a ‘pre-warm’ to next month’s 24 hours of Spa, Sunday’s late afternoon race runs into the late evening, offering up a unique set of challenges for Lloyd as he deals with predicted temperatures reaching upwards of 50˚C in the cockpit and also dwindling light during his two hour stint in the Vantage. With a packed grid of GT3 cars representing entries from Bentley, Porsche, Ferrari, Audi, McLaren, Mercedes and BMW joining the Aston Martin on track, competition will be tough for Lloyd and his team-mates. However, based on their pace during the opening two rounds of the championship the Pro Cup challenger heads to France in confident mood.“It’s going to be a very busy race, with many teams using it as a warm-up to Spa;” said Lloyd. “I’m really looking forward to the event itself as well as the race. With it being a half night race, it makes it a little bit special.”The team tested at the high-speed French track before the start of the season and if qualifying goes well, hopes will be high for a strong race performance. Lloyd enjoyed a positive test with the Oman Racing Team at the high-speed French track before the start of the season and with qualifying key to success in the 1000km race, Lloyd remains hopeful of claiming a strong points-scoring finish.“We had a really good pre-season test here back in March;” added Lloyd. “We ended up in P3 on day one, which is encouraging pace wise. Obviously race day is a completely different animal but the Aston is suited well to the circuit and hopefully the longer race will give us more of a chance to show how competitive we can be.”