Adam Morgan took his second successive British Touring Car Championship Race to Pole victory at Donington Park, with CPRL continuing their Knockhill pace.
Knockhill’s time-topper posted the fastest lap in the timed segment of qualifying, inside a Group 1 that also included teammate Dan Rowbottom, Dan Cammish, Ash Sutton, and Tom Ingram.
Josh Cook was the man to beat from Group 2, with Aiden Moffat and Gordon Shedden behind. However, their times came nowhere near the Mercedes of Morgan – with both CPRL cars sitting three tenths ahead of the field.
Despite Nic Hamilton peeling into the pits, the Race to Pole got underway and the Mercedes pair sprinted away, with Rowbottom pipping Cook before Redgate.
Sutton also started well, climbing up to P5 while Ingram climbed four to P13.
But, with Morgan and Rowbottom building an advantage, Mikey Doble’s Audi came to a stop on-track and pulled out the Safety Car.
Fortunately, Doble could get his car restarted and the race resumed on the fourth lap – with one added by the stewards.
Sutton took full advantage as running resumed, pipping Shedden through the Craner Curves with an excellent send. With Sutton climbing, Ingram also managed to pull himself up to P10.
In identical form to Doble’s issue, Daryl De Leon’s BMW ground to a halt exiting the Melbourne Hairpin and caused a second Safety Car. Unlike Doble, De Leon could not continue.
With the stewards extending running to 11 laps, Morgan took the field away again on the seventh – leading through Redgate despite challenge from Rowbottom.
Once again, a car threatened to stall – Tom Chilton’s – but he managed to fire it back into life, though he did fall all the way down the order.
Ingram benefitted as a result, and quickly dispatched Dexter Patterson down the main straight for P8 – having climbed nine spots.
The order settled as the Qualifying Race reached its latter stages, and it was Morgan who led the CPRL 1-2 to the flag with comfort.
He finished two seconds ahead of his teammate, with Cook, Sutton, and Cammish rounding out the top five.
Shedden, Árón Taylor-Smith, Ingram, Sam Osborne, and Patterson rounded out the best 10. Ricky Collard, Moffat, Chris Smiley, Doble, and Charles Rainford completed the points.
View the full BTCC Donington Park GP Race to Pole results below!
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Adam Morgan | CPRL | |
| 2. | Daniel Rowbottom | CPRL | +2.443 |
| 3. | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +3.033 |
| 4. | Ashley Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +3.987 |
| 5. | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | +6.190 |
| 6. | Gordon Shedden | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +6.370 |
| 7. | Árón Taylor-Smith | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +6.842 |
| 8. | Tom Ingram | Team Vertu | +6.933 |
| 9. | Sam Osborne | NAPA Racing UK | +7.316 |
| 10. | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +9.302 |
| 11. | Ricky Collard | Team Vertu | +9.428 |
| 12. | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +10.929 |
| 13. | Chris Smiley | Restart Racing | +11.254 |
| 14. | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +11.463 |
| 15. | Charles Rainford | WSR | +12.337 |
| 16. | Daniel Lloyd | Restart Racing | +13.532 |
| 17. | Lewis Selby | NAPA Racing UK | +13.824 |
| 18. | Ryan Bensley | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +16.605 |
| 19. | Lewis Gilbert | WSR | +17.564 |
| 20. | Nick Halstead | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +29.507 |
| 21. | Tom Chilton | Team Vertu | +33.148 |
| DNF | Daryl De Leon | WSR | |
| DNF | Nicolas Hamilton | Team Vertu |
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