On any other day, last Sunday’s headlines from Donington Park would have most likely echoed plaudits to Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram, two remarkable champions of the current BTCC. However, nobody had reckoned on Dan Lloyd once again outdriving his machinery, this time from Race 3’s reverse grid pole position, only to be cruelly denied a sensational win when his Team HARD CUPRA suffered a driveshaft failure midway through its final lap.

Driveshaft failures on touring cars are not uncommon at the Leicestershire circuit (the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK squad suffered two during last year’s season opener), but for some, mechanical malfunctions and “technical issues” appear to becoming ever more frequent, raising questions and concerns over the standard of car preparation and the possible over-use of lifed components.

Lloyd certainly deserved better than the result suggested. He worked his way from P17 in Race 1 to P12 in Race 2, and whilst he was clearly lucky to be gifted Race 3 pole, his defence of the lead was superb; his subsequent charge to build it even better.

It was therefore only right that he should be applauded and cheered when the recovery truck delivered him back to his garage; but if you don’t have the budget to run with a top team, you have to understand that sometimes, this is the best you’re going to get.

Here are twenty of our favourite images from the weekend: Next stop Silverstone.

 

Images by Mike Hills and Steve Hindle

Lloyd leads the way down to the Melbourne Hairpin.
Rory Butcher (r) pressed hard for the lead, but was denied at every turn.
Lloyd talks with Louise Goodman after arriving back at the Team HARD garage in the recovery truck.
Ash Sutton leads Tom Ingram through the spray.
'Close encounter': Ingram and Sutton dice for position through the Melbourne Hairpin.
Ingram leads Race 2 whilst Sutton holds-off the challenge of Jake Hill for P2.
Despite leaving Donington with a points deficit, Hill once again proved himself to be the top scoring BMW from the WSR squad.
Dan Lloyd's last lap woes presented Rory Butcher with an unexpected win, his first for nearly a year.
The Speedworks team needed no other excuse to take to the podium and celebrate their first win of the year at Toyota UK's home race.
It was a long overdue return to the overall podium for Árón Taylor-Smith. P2 in race 3 was also his third Independent's win of the year.
Meanwhile, Taylor-Smith's Car Store Power Maxed Racing teammates found themselves in close company as they fought over Jack Sears Trophy placings.
Showing remarkable commitment, Andrew Watson came out jointly on top on the day ...
... shared with Sam Osborne, who happily killed another track marker in the pursuit of his teammate and points.
Despite a somewhat unconventional start to Race 1.
But for another NAPA man, the weekend ended before it really got started; Dan Cammish enduring a high impact shunt in Free Practice which he was lucky to walk away from.
Team HARD's Daryl DeLeon was another to find himself struggling with failed parts, making it four retirements from nine starts for the Scholarship winner.
Josh Cook will often race harder and faster than most, but One Motorsport's leading man made his feelings clear over the team's lack of testing on the Grand Prix layout.
Whilst Tom Chilton showed that he was loving every minute of it.
British F4 saw the stars of tomorrow enjoy four wildly intense encounters. Dion Gowda won this one after a side-by-side duel with Louis Sharp.
But a win and two thirds saw the New Zealander retake the championship lead by a single point with just one weekend remaining.
Ash Sutton British F4 btcc dan lloyd dion gowda donington park louis sharp Team Hard Tom Ingram