Top Welsh racing driver Hywel Lloyd survived a high speed crash at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit at the weekend.
The Formula Three International Series driver was shaken in the shunt which left his Sino-Vision Racing Dallara Mercedes a mangled wreck after it ploughed into the wall at 130mph.
It came on the first lap of the feature race of the weekend when Brazilian driver Yann Cunha smashed into the back of Lloyd’s car, leaving the 26-year-old Welshman from Corwen fuming.
“It’s the third time he’s hit me,” said Lloyd: “He hit me twice in Germany at the Nurburgring and he nearly took out my team-mate, Adderly Fong, at Paul Ricard but he did a proper job this time.
“I spoke to the race director at the Nurburgring and warned that he needed to be told. The way he drives leaves a lot to be desired. I thought he’d do something like this and he did it to me.
“He took me off at the Nurburgring and this time it happened in the last sector of the first lap. It was a stupid move and it destroyed my car.
“I ran wide and he had a run at me but I’m allowed to make a move to defend so I made it early and he just rammed me from behind and smacked me into the wall.
“I was in sixth gear and doing about 130 and the car spun and crashed into the wall.
“I was a bit shaken and my leg was hurting but it’s lucky the cars are so strong – it was still a bit of a mess.”
It was a weekend when Lloyd again showed his potential at a circuit where he was the driver of the meeting last year but more problems with the set-up of his car hamstrung his chances.
It rained ahead of qualifying and on a damp track with slick tyres Lloyd was one of the quickest, qualifying sixth fastest and tenth but on his final lap he was flying and heading for a pole when he got caught in traffic.
His manager, his father , Harry Lloyd, said: “Hywel was actually the fastest man on the circuit but the stewards started putting yellow flags out and he slowed thinking there had been an accident.
“But the problem was the car still wasn’t quick enough when the track dried out. Hywel was in sixth and tenth but other cars were passing him because he was struggling for grip and speed.
“It’s disappointing because it’s a circuit he has done well on before and with the right car he could have done well again but he just didn’t have the right car this weekend.”
Lloyd did pick up some points from the weekend, nursing his car into ninth and tenth places in the first two races but in the live, televised race his involvement was brief as the impact of the collision with the wall ripped the front left side of the car off.
He said: “When the pace isn’t there you end up in positions you don’t want to be in and in accidents that do a lot of damage and cost a lot of money.
“We’ll have to review what’s happened and then do some testing this month ahead of the next race at Rockingham in September.”
That meeting is on September 3 and 4 with a visit to Donington on September 24 and 25 before the International Series finishes at Silverstone on October 8 and 9.
Highlights of the meeting at Spa are on Channel 4 at 7am on Saturday, August 6, and on Motors TV at 3.15pm the same day.
For more on Hywel Lloyd go to www.f3racing.co.uk
