Express & Star

Lloyd playing the waiting game with race season in limbo

Neil Lloyd is playing the waiting game – like every other racer – to see if he will be able to get out his motorbike at all this year.

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Having ploughed a lot of time, effort and money into his classic machine during the winter, the Wednesbury ace had been looking forward to a spring and summer of racing on the roads and circuits.

And the pinnacle looked set to be the Classic TT, on the Isle of Man, after his entry was confirmed for the first time earlier this year.

But with the main TT races already cancelled, as well as much of the Irish road racing calendar, the entire season remains up in the air.

Lloyd managed to get one visit to the Isle of Man in before the lockdown was enforced, enjoying the experience of his first 'newcomer's weekend'.

The weekends are organised for those making their debut on one of the world's most dangerous circuits, to make the racing as safe as possible.

The Black Country racer had decided to focus all his attention on his classic machine for 2020 as he aimed to seal more championships and keep improving on the roads.

Having bagged plenty of titles on his trusted Honda RVF 400 in recent years, he spent all his energy upgrading his Honda CB500/4, giving it the TLC such bikes so desperately need.

Lloyd had planned to compete at the Pre TT Classic, a weekend of races for classic bike racers, which is held each year before the main TT races.

The 49-year-old also hoped to be back competing in the East Midlands Racing Association (EMRA) championship, which is mainly raced around the famous Mallory Park circuit, in Leicestershire, but not defending his earlystock and EMRA titles.

Instead, he aimed to compete sporadically on the circuits, focusing his attention on the Irish, Scottish and Manx road racing scenes, including the Tandragee 100 meeting in Northern Ireland, which was one of the first meetings to be cancelled.

However, his biggest challenge of 2020 could still be competing at the Classic TT over the August Bank Holiday weekend as a newcomer, as it remains one of the few race meetings yet to be called off.

But now, like the rest of the racing fraternity, he is waiting to see if any of the season can be salvaged.

"Well, as you can imagine, we are really gutted with the news that the Tandragee, the Pre TT Classic and now the first round at Mallory Park has been cancelled," he said.

"Our second visit to the Isle of Man for the Classic TT newcomers weekend has been postpone until further notice, which is a pity as we have spent a lot of time and money over the past three months giving the bike a complete overhaul, including a new Davies Motorsport frame, full engine rebuild, new wheels as well as buying and installing many new parts in anticipation of a good season for Lloyds Racing.

"However, we did receive some great news last month that Bridge Aluminium, part of the Shield Group, had come on board as a tyre sponsor, which we were over the moon with.

"We now have a few anxious months awaiting to see if the Classic TT will go ahead. Our first race should now be May 16-17, at Darley Moor, in Derbyshire, but we'll just have to wait and see, and then keep everyone posted on our progress."

Lloyd had ended last year on a high, after bagging the Earlystock championship and East Midlands Racing Association (EMRA) championship, but then received some even better news in December.

“Our newcomer entry for the 2020 Classic TT had been accepted, after three years of trying," he said.

The Classic TT is raced around the same 37.73-mile road circuit as the main TT races, and Lloyd had travelled for his first newcomers weekend in early February, to begin getting to grips with a circuit that contains more than 200 corners, before the second was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He has also pencilled in a few Irish road races, including Cookstown, Tandragee, Skerries and Killalane for 2020 – which have all been cancelled – as well as the Bob Mac classic races in Scotland.

“As we’re only running one bike this year, it’s getting our full attention, although it will be stripped and checked again in July ready for the Classic TT – should it go ahead," he said.

“Our main goals for this season has to be with the Classic TT, to get a finish and finish in a better place than I qualify.

“I also want to improve my finish positions and lap times at road and circuit races that I’ve competed in before.

“I think one of our stand out meetings of last year would be Killalane, in Ireland.

“We had so much bad luck with an oil leak, which covered the back tyre in qualifying, then a puncture for the second qualifying sessions.

“It meant I started from the back of the grid in 23rd but got up to ninth by the end of the first lap, which placed me third in class.

“However, things went wrong again as we ended the weekend with a DNF following another puncture on the fourth lap.

“We were gutted but knew we had a decent pace and it was our first time there, so we’re looking forward to returning this year. We haven’t got any confirmed sponsors for 2020 at the moment, so there is plenty of room on the bike for advertising.”

To sponsor Lloyd and support his campaign, email neill_lloyd@hotmail.co.uk

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