WIX Racing’s Adam Morgan left the opening three rounds of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship feeling elated with what he described as a “great start” to his fifth consecutive season in the championship, with the Mercedes A-Class driver claiming a race win and two further top ten finishes en route to third in the Drivers standings.
Morgan, who fought off stern competition in the weekends finale from the WSR duo of Sam Tordoff and IHG-backed Jack Goff, crossed the line with a margin of 0.136 seconds to claim his third career victory after 27 nail-biting laps. He passed Tordoff for the lead in the early stages of the race, with the BMW 125i M-Sport taking longer to warm up its tyres due to it’s rear-wheel drivetrain, but Morgan’s own soft rubber began to wear in the latter stages of the contest and the BMW’s closed to within striking distance, but were ultimately left frustrated.
Commenting on the race, Morgan admitted he had expected to be out of the running by the first corner with the infamous starting prowess of the BMWs, but once he had gotten past Tordoff the strategy was just a case of managing what gap he had established.
“It’s been an unbelievable finish to the weekend,” acknowledged Morgan.
“Our pace was reasonable in races one and two, and then obviously the reverse grid played out in our favour. I was certain I was going to be down in third by the first corner with two BMWs around me, but I got probably the best start of my life and managed to hold off Jack [Goff],”
“I knew I needed to get past Sam [Tordoff] as soon as possible because the rear-wheel drive cars take a bit longer to warm up their tyres, and after that it was a case of managing the gap.”
He also paid tribute to his family-run Ciceley Racing team for a competitive weekend and was elated with his position in the standings after the opening exchanges of the new season.
The whole team has done a superb job – the new engineers and all the mechanics have been brilliant. To leave Brands Hatch third in the points is a great way to start the season.”