Talented British racer Daniel Lloyd is celebrating this week after winning a prestigious spot on the 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup grid - a chief support series to the high profile and hugely popular DTM 'Deutsche Touring Masters' touring car championship.
The 18-year-old earned his place in next year's VW Scirocco R-Cup after making a fantastic impression on the Volkswagen Motorsport bosses during a two-day assessment in mid-November at Oschersleben in Germany. Pitted against 30 other contenders in race-prepped VW Polos, he delivered an incredibly strong performance to secure one of just a handful of part-funded drives.
Off the back of a season in which budget restrictions prevented him from putting together a full campaign in any championship, Daniel can now focus on 2011 knowing he has a berth in one of Europe's most impressive one-make categories. That said, he still needs to raise 50,000 Euros by the end of February to seal the deal.
"This is an amazing opportunity", said the Huddersfield driver, "Volkswagen is a massively prestigious brand and it's an honour to have been selected to be on the grid in 2011. This year was tough as we weren't able to put together a full season in anything due to a lack of funding. Thanks to Volkswagen I've got a great chance to show what I can do again over a full campaign.
"We still have to raise 50,000 Euros though so we're working incredibly hard to do that. It's a massive challenge, especially as we need to secure the sponsorship and funding by the end of February. But as the only British driver set to be in the championship I'm in a unique position. We're keen to identify businesses with commercial links in Germany as a partnership with us could be very beneficial."
Although 2010 was tough in terms of lack of budget, Daniel cemented his place as one of the UK's top young drivers with sparkling debuts in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship and the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Stunning the BTCC paddock on his maiden outing with a pair of points finishes, he went on to win the G4 Class during the British GT finale in his first ever endurance event.
"We did a good job in the BTCC and British GT, we had a couple of opportunities to try and impress and seized them with both hands", added Daniel, "Now, it's a fantastic feeling knowing Volkswagen has put faith in me for the Scirocco R-Cup next year and I intend to repay that. The test days with VW were hugely professional, I had a great time and I hope we can now secure the funding we need."
Eco-conscious approach sets Scirocco-R Cup apartVolkswagen is unquestionably one of the most prestigious brands in motorsport and currently enjoys huge success with the Scirocco R-Cup, in GT competition, in the world-famous Dakar Rally and as a title winning engine supplier in Formula 3. One of the most important facets of the marque's flagship Scirocco R-Cup is that it has broken new ground as the most 'environmentally friendly' and eco-conscious one-make category in global motor racing.
The car itself is powered by a 275bhp engine which runs on bio-CNG (compressed natural gas), meaning it emits 80 per cent less CO2 than cars utilising conventional racing petrol. Entering its second season next year, the category will once again run as support to the world famous DTM championship - a race package which attracts, on average, an incredible 70,000 spectators to each venue on the calendar.
Based largely in Germany, the tour does visit the UK as part of the British round which, in 2011, is expected to be held over the weekend 3rd/4th September at Brands Hatch. So the race is now on for Daniel to fully secure his spot as the sole British driver in the Scirocco R-Cup.
Any prospective sponsors who would like to take advantage of the opportunity to be involved with his career, as he gets set to enter one of Europe's most professionally-run championships, are invited to contact manager Tim Sugden on 01274 662538 or by emailing daniellloydracing@googlemail.com
