Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com hopes to end the first half of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season on a high during this weekend’s visit to Croft (25/26 June) for the final race meeting before the series’ annual mid-season break.
The Suffolk-based team makes the long trip to North Yorkshire at full strength after a herculean effort over the past two weeks saw the Hyundai i30 Fastback N of Dan Lloyd rebuilt following his race three incident at Oulton Park.
The 30-year-old will be keen to put the incident behind him and return to the kind of form that had seen him score points in every race to that point to sit ninth in the championship standings.
Lloyd has a strong record at Croft having scored his only BTCC victory to date at the circuit back in 2018, with his goal being to try and repay those who have helped to keep his championship campaign on track in recent weeks.
Tom Ingram hopes to continue his success after a fine double win at Oulton Park, making it three wins during the season so far and matching his tally for the whole of 2021.
The opening race on Sunday will also mark Ingram’s 250th BTCC start as he returns to the circuit where he’s secured a victory and three other podium finishes.
Experienced racer Tom Chilton is the third member of the team to have scored a win at Croft and heads into the weekend seeking to fight back after a challenging outing at Oulton Park.
The Reigate racer will hope to use this weekend to push back up towards the top ten and end the first half of the season on a positive note.
With Jack Butel unable to race this weekend, the four-car line-up is completed this weekend by former British GT Championship and MINI CHALLENGE title winner James Gornall as he steps in for a one-off outing.
“The results so far this season haven’t been what I was hoping for, but the team has put a huge amount of work in since Oulton Park to make improvements to my car,” said Chilton. “We’ve decided to go in a certain direction with it, and hopefully we’ll see that it is the right direction when we hit the track this weekend.
“Croft is a great circuit to race on and one where I have gone well in the past with a win and plenty of podiums. I can’t wait to get out on track as I’m sure that the car is going to be an improvement and I’ll be able to go into the summer break with three solid results behind me.
“Of course, as a driver, I want to be fighting for trophies, but I think the key thing this weekend is that we make progress from where we have been, and I want to be up there inside the top ten where I know we should be.”
“I’m really looking forward to the weekend and, if the performance at Oulton Park is anything to go by, I think we have genuine reason to be excited about what we can achieve,” added Ingram.
“We were hampered a bit last season because of the weight we had to carry in qualifying, but we showed as the weekend went on that the Hyundai was a strong package at Croft and we return this year with a car that we know is a step forwards.
“It would be nice if we could aim for a place on the front row of the grid again as that would put us in the best place possible for race day but as ever, we need to see where we stand once we hit the track – and there are also question marks over what the weather will throw at us.
“There is no real reason why we can't look to try and repeat what we did at Oulton Park and it would be a great way to celebrate 250 races in the BTCC. When I joined the series, it was always with a goal of being here for the long term so it’s nice to reach that landmark. Having scored plenty of wins and podiums so far, hopefully this is the year we can fight for that title."
“I have to give a massive thanks to the team for getting the car ready to race this weekend,” said Lloyd. “As the damage sustained in the accident turned out to be worse than we first feared.”
"They have done an astonishing job to get it prepared in such a short space of time and I’m going into the weekend more determined than ever to reward them with some strong results - along with all the other people who have sent messages of support.
"They have done an astonishing job to get it prepared in such a short space of time and I’m going into the weekend more determined than ever to reward them with some strong results - along with all the other people who have sent messages of support.
"Croft is a circuit that has fond memories for me as the scene of my first win in the BTCC, and hopefully this time around, we’ll once again be able to challenge towards the front as we were doing at Oulton Park prior to race three."
