RAPIDLY-rising saloon car driver Daniel Lloyd has confirmed he will step up to the Ginetta G50 Championship in 2009.
The 16-year-old Scammonden racer is keen to remain as part of the Ginetta ‘family’ for his second year of action.
Graduating to the Leeds-based marque’s burgeoning G50 series – which is currently one of the support categories on the British International Formula 3 Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship bill – he is aiming to quickly become a front-runner in G50, having enjoyed a superb debut year so far in the Ginetta Junior Championship.
Having sampled a G50, so named to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ginetta Cars Ltd, for the first time a couple of weeks ago at Silverstone, he can’t wait to step-up.
“The G50 is an unbelievable car, as soon as I took it out on track I knew that’s where I wanted to be racing next year”, said Lloyd.
“We thought about some of the British Touring Car Championship support events like Renault Clios, they have their merits, but we think G50 is the way to go and it’ll be good to remain with the guys at Ginetta.”
While his current Junior car is powered by a 1.4 Ford Zetec engine, the G50 offers a huge increase in performance with a front mid-mounted, 3.5-litre Ford V6 engine, delivering 300bhp with speeds up to 160mph – not a bad piece of kit for a 16-year-old!
He added: “Now we’ve made the decision which path we’re going down we can focus a lot of effort into it.
“I’ve really enjoyed this season in Ginetta Junior so far and while it’s good to get our plan for next year confirmed, our current priority is to win more races in the Juniors and finish ‘top three.’
“Ginetta and Stars Of Tomorrow gave me a great opportunity with the scholarship drive this year and hopefully we can build on that in G50. Our aim is to arrive in the championship and hit the ground running, although we do need to secure extra backing.”
Lloyd’s graduation will be a major challenge, even for a driver with his undoubted natural ability, so to make the step as successful as possible, he is working hard to attract additional sponsorship and backing from local businesses.
Car racing is one of the most exciting sports around and, to that end, Daniel Lloyd Racing are confident they can offer a platform from which businesses can benefit, along with first-class corporate hospitality.
Lloyd added: “To make sure next season is as successful as possible we do need to attract extra sponsors.
“We have some great packages available and we’d like to hear from any local businesses who can see the benefits of supporting a young driver such as myself as I climb the motor racing ladder.”
For details, people should visit www.daniellloydracing.com
Lloyd’s next competitive action is on August 16 and 17 at Knockhill in Scotland.
In the meantime, he will be one of the representatives of Ginetta at the Kartmasters MSA Grand Prix event at Grantham this weekend.
Ginetta Cars Ltd are the chief sponsor of this year’s event.
