Macau mishap costs Hywel dear


WRDA member Hywel Lloyd had his chances of ending the season on a high snuffed out as he crashed out of the Macau Formula Three Grand Prix qualifier in China. The 25-year-old Formula Three International Series racer had been going well in practice and in early qualifying when he was the leading British driver in a race which has been a nursery event for top Formula One drivers.

On the former Portuguese colony just across the bay from Hong Kong, he started the qualifying race in 14th place and was going well on the difficult street circuit until a mishap on the third lap cost him dearly.

Lloyd said: 'The weekend was going well. We had good pace in practice and I really liked the circuit. We were 14th on the grid for the qualifying race and I was the fastest Briton which was great and I felt the car could have gone quite a bit faster too. There was quite a lot left in her. The circuit was really exciting but there was only one place you could really overtake and I had a good tow at the last corner and I just hit the brakes and lost the rear a bit but I felt I could control it but as I turned in the rear swung out and tapped the tyre wall. It wasn't a big impact but it was enough to break the suspension and that made the car undriveable.'

It also meant that Lloyd began the Macau Grand Prix at the back of the grid and on the tight, twisting, hilly circuit and he did well to bring his Dallara Mercedes in in 23rd position in a race won by Swiss driver Edoardo Mortara.

He said: 'We were on the back foot then, starting last and something seemed to break on the first lap or even on the way to the grid so even though we'd fixed the
original problem it wasn't quite right. It made the car really difficulty to drive and hard to get any real speed. It was hand ling quite badly and so I couldn't push because on a street circuit you're never very far from the concrete and I had my hands full trying to keep it off the walls.”

Lloyd and his CF Racing Team had already had the disappointment of seeing the second leg of their Far Eastern tour cancelled as the Korean Superprix, scheduled for this weekend was called off. There was a legal technicality with the use of the new Yongam Circuit which recently hosted the first ever Korean Grand Prix, won by Fernando Alonso: @'It was a big disappointment, Lloyd said: We were really looking forward to racing there.But the trip has been a great experience. The Macau circuit is the best I've ever driven. It's really exciting and spectacular and I have learned a lot from racing there.

Lloyd's season is now over and he will be looking at his options ahead of next year: There is no hurry to make our minds up and we have got a few possibilities
including F3 and also the Superleague Formula which we had a taste of this year with Welsh-based Atech Reid, he said.

For more on Hywel Lloyd and his CF Racing team go to http://www.f3racing.co.uk

http://gp.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/app/home/gp57/en