Daniel Lloyd clocked up his first kilometres of 2021 on Leicestershire’s historic Donington Park circuit yesterday (23 March) as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship driver kicked off his pre-season test programme with Power Maxed Car Care Racing.

Taking to the tarmac in the Vauxhall Astra for the first time since announcing a campaign with the Warwickshire-based squad, the 29-year-old joined team-mate, Jason Plato, for a full day of running in preparation for the series’ opening round at Thruxton on 8/9 May.

“It was great to get back on track and to meet the team,” commented Lloyd. “Being an open test day, the circuit was incredibly busy and we had to work around quite a few reds flags, but we managed to get some decent mileage under our belts.

“This is the first time that I’ve managed to have a full pre-season testing programme in place ahead of starting a full season. It’s a real bonus to have the time and opportunity to get to grips with the car before we go racing.

“The day was really beneficial. It was busy as we had a lot of ground to cover, experimenting with different set-ups and components on the Astra. Although I’ve come from a front-wheel-drive car, the NGTC Astra is a very different animal compared to the TCR machines. It’s much more of a handful.”

Reflecting on the day, the Huddersfield-racer concluded, “overall, it was a very successful day. We found some promising pace. The team made me feel welcome. Jason was really positive and open with his feedback and I left the track feeling comfortable and dialled into the car.”

Lloyd and the Power Maxed Car Care Racing team head to North Yorkshire in April, with Croft circuit playing host to the outfit’s next pre-season test day. The 2021 season gets underway at Thruxton on 8-9 May, just over two weeks after Silverstone hosts the Season Launch official pre-season test.