Adam Morgan claimed pole position for Donington Park’s Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship main race day tomorrow, following a commanding drive from lights to flag in the Race to Pole. Morgan led home CPRL Mercedes teammate Dan Rowbottom in a team one-two to secure a front row lockout for the outfit for the first of three Sunday races.

Morgan led from the off, after taking the initial pole in the traditional qualifying segment earlier on. And, after guiding the Mercedes A35 Saloon into the lead through Redgate he never looked back. The main challenge came from Rowbottom, who briefly challenged his stablemate following two brief safety car periods, but he was forced to settle for second.

Rowbottom slotted past Josh Cook, whose Toyota had started from the outside of the front row, at the start and duly latched onto the bumper of the sister car ahead. The duo circulated comfortably before the pack was bunched up when Mikey Doble’s Audi came to a halt on lap two and the safety car was called for. This was repeated a couple of laps later when Daryl De Leon’s BMW ground to a stop.

Both times, Morgan left it late before accelerating back up to full speed, with Rowbottom eyeing up a move before dropping into second. Morgan backed up his earlier qualifying performance by surging off to win by just over two seconds from Rowbottom. Cook held on to third, resisting a period of pressure from series leader Ash Sutton in his NAPA Racing UK Ford to get the job done.

Sutton started just seventh, but offered a solid reminder of why he leads the standings after quickly scything through to fourth. He was fifth by the end of the opening lap, and passed teammate Dan Cammish late on to secure a spot in the top four. With main title rival Tom Ingram crossing the line eighth, this was another small extension of the four-time title winner’s points lead.

Behind Cammish in fifth came the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport Toyotas of Gordon Shedden and Aron Taylor-Smith. The latter fended off a last gasp challenge from Ingram to just hold his position. Sam Osborne and Dexter Patterson completed the top 10.

Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Donington Park, Race to Pole

1. Adam Morgan, CPRL, Mercedes A35 Saloon
2. Dan Rowbottom, CPRL, Mercedes A35 Saloon, +2.443s
3. Josh Cook, Speedworks Corolla Racing, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +3.033s
4. Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +3.987s
5. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +6.190s
6. Gordon Shedden, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +6.370s
7. Aron Taylor-Smith, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +6.842s
8. Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +6.933s
9. Sam Osborne, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +7.316s
10. Dexter Patterson, Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing, +9.302s

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