Adam Morgan backed up his Saturday Race to Pole victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with another lights to flag success in his CPRL Mercedes A35 Saloon this afternoon (Sunday). The commanding drive was the Lancastrian’s second victory in as many race weekends.
Morgan made a good getaway from pole position to lead into Redgate, while his CPRL teammate Dan Rowbottom lost ground from the outside of the front row. This meant the Mercedes were split by two cars with Josh Cook’s Toyota and series leader Ash Sutton slotting into second and third with Rowbottom fourth.
Rowbottom attempted to retaliate almost immediately with a hard-braking attempt to pass Sutton at the Melbourne hairpin. However, as this was happening, Lewis Gilbert’s WSR BMW left the road and made contact with the barrier at the same part of the circuit. The safety car was summoned, and Rowbottom ceded his position to Sutton’s NAPA Racing UK Ford, thereby protecting against the possibility of a penalty.
Full speed action resumed on lap six when Morgan backed the pack up before flooring it close to the line. But nothing much further could change before Tom Chilton’s car came to a temporary stop, before resuming. It halted just long enough for the safety car to be summoned for a further lap.
The brief safety car period ended on lap eight, with Morgan finally getting an opportunity to stretch his legs and pull a little further ahead. Behind him, Cook’s race ended when he slowed with a gear lever issue, promoting Sutton and Rowbottom into second and third. Rowbottom continued to hound the Ford initially, before dropping a little further back.
Morgan drove calmly on to the chequered flag from there, ultimately crossing the line almost three seconds ahead of Sutton, though his margin was bigger before he backed off on the run to the line. With Rowbottom’s challenge fading, Sutton was left to seize second and further extend his championship lead with title rival Tom Ingram only managing ninth.
Rowbottom slid a little further down the order, losing a spot to Gordon Shedden’s Toyota on the penultimate lap before being passed by Dan Cammish in the Valvoline-liveried NAPA Ford just a couple of corners from the end. This gave Shedden the final place on the podium, with Cammish fourth while Rowbottom completed the top five.
Behind that, Shedden’s teammate Aron Taylor-Smith was sixth, one spot ahead of Dexter Patterson. Ricky Collard was eighth on the road after crossing the line ahead of his title contending stablemate Ingram. Mikey Doble rounded out the top 10.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Donington Park, Race 1
- Adam Morgan, CPRL, Mercedes A35 Saloon
- Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +2.733s
- Gordon Shedden, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +6.802s
- Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +8.478s
- Dan Rowbottom, CPRL, Mercedes A35 Saloon, +8.953s
- Aron Taylor-Smith, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +11.155s
- Dexter Patterson, Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +11.644s
- Ricky Collard, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +11.922s
- Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +12.630s
- Mikey Doble, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +18.740s
Click here to view full times and results from this weekend's event.