Daniel Lloyd enjoyed a day to remember in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship this past weekend (June 25/26) as the home hero produced a dominant double at Croft Circuit. 

Marking the halfway point in what has been an action-packed 2022 season so far, a bumper crowd flocked to the North Yorkshire venue to witness the Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com driver bounce back from his Oulton Park crash to win races one and two. 

Gordon Shedden signed off the weekend in style with victory in race three, with Lloyd’s team-mate Tom Ingram now leading the championship standings after scoring a trio of points finishes.

Saturday’s qualifying session saw a brand-new lap record set as the ‘King of Croft’ Colin Turkington lived up to his title to clinch pole position. 

The Team BMW driver – who was driving his 2019 title-winning 3 Series due to the amount of damage his latest car sustained in the aforementioned crash at Oulton Park – reigned supreme in commanding fashion.

Punching in a best time of 1:21.468 late in the session, the four-time champion headed Dan Rowbottom, Lloyd, Tom Ingram and Shedden to clinch a sixth pole at the circuit.

Race one saw Lloyd complete his fairytale turnaround of a crash to silverware as he charged to victory ahead of Turkington after producing a blistering opening lap. 

From third on the grid, the front-wheel-drive ace launched past Rowbottom into Clervaux for the first time and then passed Turkington heading into the Jim Clark Esses. 

Once out front, the Hyundai driver had to contend with two safety car periods and persistent pressure from Turkington but he didn’t put a wheel wrong to charge to a popular victory in front of a bumper home crowd. 

Turkington ultimately settled for second in his 330e M Sport whilst Rowbottom rounded out the podium positions in third. 

Lloyd’s dream day continued in race two as he doubled up with an emphatic lights-to-flag victory. Holding the lead off the line, the Yorkshireman soaked up an abundance of pressure to fend off team-mate Tom Ingram to clinch a third career win.

Despite his best efforts, Turkington found himself glued to the back of a Hyundai once again however he was unable to find a way past, leaving him to settle for third overall.

Halfords Racing with Cataclean’s Gordon Shedden brought the curtain down on the weekend’s action with a commanding victory in the reverse grid encounter, his second triumph of the current campaign. 

Launching his Honda Civic Type R off the front row, the three-time champion built a significant lead on the chasing pack on lap one and from there the Scotsman continued to pull clear to win by more than three seconds. 

The battle for second place had everyone on the edge of their seats as Josh Cook fended off both Rory Butcher and Stephen Jelley from start-to-finish. Cook would go on to clinch second – giving his championship challenge a much-needed boost – whilst Butcher netted third.

Heading into the annual summer break, Ingram holds a three-point advantage over Cook at the top of the BTCC Drivers’ Championship whilst Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com currently lead the way in the BTCC Teams’ Championship. 

Cook and Rich Energy BTC Racing top the standings in both the Independent Drivers’ and Independent Teams’ categories, with BMW setting the pace in the Manufacturer-Constructors’ leaderboard. Bobby Thompson is the driver to beat in the Jack Sears Trophy after five events. 

To view the full classification of results from all BTCC sessions at Croft, CLICK HERE.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship recommences on the weekend of July 30/31, where Rounds 16, 17 and 18 will take place north of the border around Knockhill.