Daniel Lloyd’s chances of claiming a second podium in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Spa-Francorchamps were dashed when a pit-stop mistake effectively ruled his #2 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 out of contention during Saturday’s (July 11) two hour race. In spite of minimal track time on the challenging Belgium circuit, Lloyd showed great promise during Friday’s qualifying session, posting an impressive 7 tenths lead ahead of his Silver Cup competitors; and hopes of challenging for an all-important podium finish were high with Lloyd and partner Ahmad Al Harthy securing a third row for the start on the grid with combined 6th place qualifying position. Al Harthy took the opening stint and managed to hold on to a top five place overall whilst fighting off challenges in the heavily weighted #2 Aston Martin. A number of on track incidents prevented the Vantage from moving up the field further and Al Harthy pitted under a safety car just before the halfway mark to hand-over to Lloyd. With the entire GT3 grid pitting at the same time, congestion played a part in holding up Lloyd’s changeover, unfortunately an error by the Oman Racing Team crew during the pit stop added to the 23 year-old’s troubles and Lloyd was forced to re-join at the race at the back of the grid. Having to contend with the additional 65kg of Silver Cup class weight on-board the Vantage, Lloyd’s race was all but over, but the Huddersfield-based driver showed true mettle to battle his way back up through the order to cross the line in 11th place overall, narrowly missing out on another points finish. Despite the frustrating outcome, Lloyd and Al Harthy still lead the Silver Cup class standings and the duo currently lie 4th in the overall championship standings. Lloyd remains upbeat as he makes the final preparations for his biggest race of the year – the Total 24 hours of Spa – on July 25/26. Meanwhile the British GT Championship has a short break in the calendar before reconvening at the Oman Racing Team’s home circuit, Brands Hatch on August 1/2.“A tough weekend all round really;” said Lloyd. “We lost a lot of time in the pits with the safety car and the double stack incident with the other car which held us back.“It was always going to be a challenge to come from the back but with the added weight on-board the car it was pretty much impossible;” he added. “On the plus side, it was all good practice for the 24 hour race that’s coming up. I haven’t raced much around Spa before so it was great to get some extra track experience ahead of such a huge event. Hopefully our next time out at Spa will prove to be more successful.”Channel 4 will feature a highlights programme of the race from 7am this coming Saturday, July 18th, with Motors TV showing later at 6.25pm. Further highlights broadcasts are planned throughout July and August and a full TV schedule can be found on the official British GT Championship website here.MotorsTV can be found on the following channels: Sky 447, Virgin 545 and Freeview 71 & 240.