Car God Morgan motors to maiden BMW win.
Adam Morgan made history at Brands Hatch in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship yesterday by becoming the first independent driver to win a round of the championship in a BMW 330i M Sport. He thus gave the Ciceley Motorsport team their first win operating the BMW after previous successes in its Mercedes-Benz A-Class.
Starting from pole position in the reverse grid race, Adam blasted away from the line in his Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport BMW to head the pack throughout the 24-lap race chased by former team-mate Aiden Moffat (Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50) who became embroiled in a battle with Jack Goff’s Cupra Leon. That allowed The Morganator to break away and build his lead, even coping with late-race drizzle to take a ninth career win. Running new brake discs and pads for the race, Adam had to adapt to the feel of his Haydock Finance supported car on the opening laps, but after some guidance from Chief Engineer Steve Farrell, Adam majestically extended his advantage to take his first win in his Bowker BMW-backed 330i M Sport.
“I’m very happy. I started the first race 21st on the grid so straight away we had to think about our weekend and aim to get in the mix for the reverse grid race. I adjusted the balance in the early stages but I kept locking up and had to get on top of that. It is a brilliant way to end the weekend. It is only our third event with this car so it is fantastic to repay our sponsors and everyone in the Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport team with a win.”
Adam had missed out on a perfect lap in qualifying with the frantic nature of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit making him a martyr to traffic. As a result of not finding a clear lap, and losing one lap time for exceeding track limits, 21st was his reward. With his elbows out, Adam had two physical races, the first race netting 17th and the second 12th. That translated to pole position on the semi-reversed grid for race three and the maiden victory.
The second Car Gods, Mac Tools backed Ciceley Motorsport BMW 330i M Sport of Tom Chilton also struggled to find a clear lap in qualifying resulting in Tom starting 24th for the opening race. With everyone so evenly matched, progress wasn’t easy but he fought up to 19th place. Adjustments were made to the set-up of the car for race two which allowed Tom to charge further up the field to 13th place behind Adam, but just missing out on the cut for the reverse grid.
“The car was mega in race two,” opined Tom. “We worked on the set-up and it was so good that for race three we decided to go one more click. That, though, was one click too far so we ended up with a slower car for race three, but the positive aspect is that I know the limit of that set-up adjustment now. It is all about learning about a car that is new to me and the team, so I can’t wait for Oulton Park.”
Ciceley Motorsport’s Commercial Director Norman Burgess said: “Wow! What a result that is, so early in our association with BMW. Adam did a great job in race three, with the weather trying to trip us up and having the entire field breathing down his neck, but he didn’t crack, drove smoothly to build the gap and looked dominant up front. To prove that an independent team like Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport can win in these cars and they are not just the domain of a works team is really good for the championship. WSR deserve thanks for the build, but it was quite a moment to beat the masters of these cars! Thanks, should also go to Tom Chilton, Tom has been very unlucky with incidents and traffic so far this year, but his day will come. Tom is instrumental in the development of the cars along with Nick Sylvester his Engineer and of course Adam and Chief Engineer Steve Farrell. The whole team, sponsors, mechanics, chef’s, bottle washers and family deserve this win. We are blown away with the win so early in the year and, as always, go to Oulton Park in a really positive mood now and can’t wait to welcome more of our fans and guests back trackside to cheer on the Car Gods!”
