Young Welsh racer Ella Lloyd built on her recent F4 British Championship promise with her best qualifying and race results as she travelled to Snetterton in Norfolk, at the weekend (May 24-26).
Finishing sixth fastest of anyone in the morning session of pre-event testing, the teenager was able to carry that performance into qualifying. Despite difficult, wet weather conditions, she finished eighth on fastest times, and seventh on second quickest laps.
Lining up seventh on the grid for the opening race, held later that afternoon, Ella started well in her JHR Developments machine, running comfortably in that position until a late Safety Car bunched the field up. That didn’t put her under pressure, however, as she pulled over a second clear of the car behind, scoring her best result so far in the series.
On Sunday morning the track was wet for the second contest of the weekend, with the partially reversed grid meaning Ella lined up fourth. Getting wheel spin off the line, she fell to ninth but quickly moved back up to sixth before the Safety Car was called again. Unfortunately, while trying to build tyre temperatures, she spun, falling back to ninth, where she crossed the line.
On slicks for race three, she took contact on the opening lap, bending her steering, she did well to continue, though had lost places in the process. After the third Safety Car appearance of the weekend, Ella battled with another driver, leaving fair room through the fast Brundle corner at the end of the Bentley Straight. Sadly, the car alongside then lost control, hitting the kerb at Nelson, taking Ella out on the spot.
Just as that happened, however, the red flag was shown as a thunderstorm swept over the circuit, making it unsafe to continue, meaning the final classification would be taken from the last full racing lap, leaving her 12th in the results.
Though the weekend ended on a lower note, it was another strong performance for the youngster, as she proved her ability to compete at the front end of a competitive British F4 grid. She will return to action in two weeks’ time at the UK’s fastest circuit, Thruxton, in Hampshire.
Ella Lloyd commented:
G1 – 7, R1 – 7
G2 – 4, R2 – 9
G3 – 9, R3 – 12
Championship: 11 (21 points)
“Qualifying was difficult in the wet, but P7 was my best result so far and I was pleased with that. In the first race I finished seventh as well, which was good, so it was nice to be back where we should be after a hard weekend at Brands Hatch.
“The conditions in race two were difficult, though the car was good. I started P4 and had a tough start with a lot of wheel spin. We were sixth for most of the race, catching fifth, and under the Safety Car I tried to give the rear wheels some temperature and spun, which isn’t ideal, but it was my mistake and I had to pay for it. P9 wasn’t a bad finishing position though. On the first lap of race three I had contact, which bent my steering, and the wheel was pointing to the left. Then someone went over the kerb and wiped me out, ending my race, just before the rain came.”
