Quotes from the sixth race day of the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season at Croft.
Dan Lloyd: “Overall a really positive weekend for me. It was great to be running inside the top 10 for the vast majority of the weekend. We had great pace in the races and were moving forward all the time, it’s just a shame that contact in race one hindered our progress up the pack as we had the pace to hang onto the top 6.
Obviously, I’m gutted about the incident in Race 3, I’m 95% sure that I hit some oil which was dropped on the lap to the grid. Once the back end went, I was a passenger and there was nothing I could do to keep the car out of the barrier.
“We took a lot of positives away from the recent Donington Park tyre test and we have improved the car again this weekend at Croft which I’m delighted with. Luck is still not on our side as we missed out on the reverse grid draw for the fourth time in six meetings but I’m sure our fortunes will change soon and we will start to bank a much bigger points haul.”
Michael Crees: “A really solid start to life back in the BTCC. It’s great to be back and I’m loving being back with the team where it all started, they have come such a long way. It was always going to be tough jumping in the car with minimal running so to come away with points was fantastic and is a testament to how strong this package is and will be for me for the rest of the season.
“The team have been great; I have a really good crew on my car and I’m just happy I was able to reward them with a strong finish to the weekend. Let’s keep pushing at Knockhill!”
Creesy made his return to the BTCC after last competing in the 2022 season finale.
Dexter Patterson: “It was a weekend of what could have been, the pace in the car was strong and we were definitely on the right tyre strategy to maximise the three compounds.
“The weekend was going well until a driveshaft failure in race 2 really put us on the backfoot and meant we gave up our Jack Sears Trophy lead which is a shame.
“I had nothing to lose in the final race of the day and the car came alive on the soft tyre. We went from the back of the grid and into the points, climbing 13 places in the process which I’m proud of. We are going to my home circuit with a good feeling and I can’t wait to see all of the home crowd!”
Daryl DeLeon: “Wow, what an amazing weekend in the BTCC. You watch the series on TV, and you even compete in the support championships but nothing can quite prepare you for race day in this championship. Everything from the off-track activities to what happens on track is so intense but it was a situation where I really relished and loved every moment of it.
“I felt much more comfortable in the car today and felt that we did a good job in races one and two to make some progress through the pack, ready for race three with the soft tyre. The pace in race three was really strong and finding myself battling inside the top 10 was a dream start to my BTCC career. It’s such a shame that we incurred a drive-thru penalty for a grid infringement out of our control as that pushed us out of the points and with the BTCC being short sprint races, you can never make the time back up.
“A big thanks to the team for their hard work and commitment to helping me settle in so quickly, I hope I did them and my family proud on my first outing in the BTCC.”
Daryl put on a strong showing after running inside the top 10 in race three.
Jack Butel: “The weekend was actually really positive considering the outcome and the results we were left with. Saturday wasn’t the greatest but we found the setup issues and changed things after race two and suddenly the car came alive.
“Race three is where I really thought my fortunes had changed. Starting from 20th and making my way up to 11th and fighting for a place in the top 10 really showed how strong the pace was in the car. Unfortunately, the race ended with a DNF after being shoved off at the final hairpin whilst I was making a legitimate move on the outside.
“I feel we have a good setup for Knockhill and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in and putting all we have learnt into practice.”
Jack put in a strong showing on race day and was unfortunate not to score points.