SCAMMONDEN driver Daniel Lloyd kick-started his 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship bid with victory at Thruxton.

The third meeting of the season saw Lloyd power to his first victory of the year in race one before backing that up with a strong second place in the second race at the Hampshire track.

“The start was the main focus, and we knew if Michael Meadows got ahead it would be really hard to try and get in front of him, so I put everything into making a great start and it paid off,” explained the 21-year-old.

“For the first few laps I did struggle. I had quite bad understeer, so just tried to maintain the lead and do whatever I could.

“Through the middle of the race, as the rear tyres got worse, the car became more balanced and it was absolutely great then.

“I just tried to be consistent after that to bring it home.

“It really was fantastic to be back on the top step of the podium, especially at Thruxton.”

It was easily Lloyd’s most impressive drive of the campaign so far, and he prospered again on the Hampshire circuit almost exactly one year on from claiming his first ever Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship win.

Unlike the rain-affected outing in 2012, the races took place under bright skies and in warm conditions and Lloyd has rocketed up the championship standings from seventh place into the top four due to his podium finishes.

Making a blistering start to race one, the Team Parker Racing driver moved ahead of pole-sitter Michael Meadows on the outside line through the Allard corner and scorched into a 1.2 second lead on the first lap alone.

Knowing the importance of conserving his Michelin tyres as much as possible, with the high-speed nature of Thruxton notorious for causing punctures, Lloyd struck a fine balance of not taking too much out of them while continuing to maintain strong pace at the front.

Despite an early threat from Jonas Gelzinis and then a challenge from Rory Butcher, the latter running on brand new tyres, Lloyd didn’t make any mistakes with an inch-perfect performance.

Just after mid-distance, with Butcher having asked too much of his tyres, Lloyd increased his lead again and he went on to win by 2.3 seconds with a faultless drive.

Lining-up second on the grid again for round six, Lloyd got away cleanly from the line, but Meadows managed to convert his pole position into the lead.

Running in second place throughout, Lloyd took the chequered flag little more than a second behind Meadows.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB takes a five week break with races seven and eight of the season taking place at Oulton Park’s Island Circuit on June 8 and 9.