Wolf-Power Racing’s Alex Morgan says he is “over the moon” with his maiden TCR Europe podium after what he described as a “confidence-boosting” result amid the rain-affected chaos in race two at the Red Bull Ring.
Morgan qualified eighth for the opening encounter at the Spielberg circuit and eventually finished 10th after he struggled with a broken rear hub for the race duration.
For the second contest, Morgan started from third position and enjoyed “fantastic pace” to finish fourth on the road in the “mayhem” of driving on slick tyres with variable rain affecting the track surface.
He had been battling with Tom Coronel’s Honda Civic on the final lap when the pair went wide at turn three, allowing Josh Files through to take what would become second.
Morgan was then quickly promoted to third as Coronel’s drive-through penalty was converted into a 30-second post-race time penalty.
“The race had everything, we had a pretty bad start,” Morgan told TouringCars.Net.
“I had fantastic pace before the safety car, got up into third. Then after the safety car restart all hell broke loose and we struggled to get any heat in the tyres.
“Until about three laps before the end it all came together and it was just a case of picking people off. Even onto the last lap it was just mayhem.
“I thought I had enough on track to get through into third past Tom Coronel but he tagged me in the braking zone and I hit the gravel and then Josh [Files] came through.
“I got fourth place then all of a sudden I see Filippi into the barrier so, highs and lows but a fantastic result for the team.
“It’s been a while getting here so I’m over the moon to be on the podium again.”
Morgan described the move to run a CUPRA instead of his usual Renault Megane RS as a “very last minute decision,” but one which paid dividends with his first TCR Europe podium.
“This was all a very last minute decision,” he explained. “We were hoping initially to be in the Renault and for various reasons we’re here in the CUPRA.
“From the get-go everything seemed to be quite good in testing and qualifying. We made the most of the situation and capitalised on it to get some points.
“So all in all it’s been a really good weekend. Obviously we’ve got to speak to the team and our sponsors about our next steps but I’m just happy to have got this confidence boost back and to have that good feeling because it’s been a long time coming!
“Hopefully we can carry that forward now and for the second half of the season just try to fight and get more points.”