BTCC: Morgan takes first victory for Plato Racing

Adam Morgan leads home a Plato Racing one-two in first victory for the team in opening round of Knockhill weekend.

Morgan started from pole ahead of Gordon Shedden and Daniel Rowbottom while championship leaders Ash Sutton, Tom Ingram and Dan Cammish sit down the order in what would be wet weather conditions for the opening race of the weekend.

Morgan would maintain his lead off the opening sequence defending from Shedden early on before managing to pull a slender margin over the Toyota. Shedden would be forced to defend against Rowbottom throughout the remainder of the lap while behind them, Charles Rainford and Ricky Collard had managed to pass Chris Smiley to move into the top five.

Further back in the order, it would be Sutton progressing up the order making it up three places on the opening lap even passing Ingram. Lap two would give Sutton more opportunity to make places, making it three wide with Smiley and Daryl De Leon on the run down to the hairpin, completing the overtake on Smiley but has to remain behind De Leon.

Rowbottom and Shedden would continue their battle on lap three of the race, as the Mercedes passes the Toyota to take second place on the run into the first corner. Meanwhile, Sutton would gain another place, passing De Leon for sixth on the road on lap four of the race.

Ingram and Cammish were trying to make progress as well, passing Smiley who was struggling in these conditions and then both completing the overtake at the same time at the hairpin on De Leon. Cammish would be given a ten second time penalty for a false start.

Sutton would continue to make ground, passing Rainford to move into the top five at Clark. He would then make a move on lap ten, doing a switchback move through McIntyre to take fourth place into Butchers’.

Ingram would be the next to try to force his way through the pairing of Rainford and Collard, passing Rainford by getting a better run through the chicane and into Clark. Not long after this, Cammish would pass Rainford before the BMW would be forced into the pits with bodywork hanging off. Collard would also be passed by Ingram losing the position on the run to the hairpin.

A Safety Car would need to be called after Josh Cook spun off Lewis Gilbert and out of the race. The race would get back underway with the two Mercedes’ managing to get away cleanly while Shedden would have to put up a defence against Sutton, Ingram and Collard. Rainford’s day would go from bad to worse after spinning on the exit of Clark.

Out front, it would be Morgan who came home to take his first victory of the season as well as Plato Racing’s first victory and a one-two finish with teammate Rowbottom just behind. Shedden would hang on to a podium ahead of Sutton and Ingram who complete the top five. Collard would finish sixth ahead of Cammish but the latter would be dropped out the points after his penalty promoting Dexter Patterson to seventh while Mikey Doble would claim eighth and Aiden Moffat ninth while Sam Osborne completes the top ten.