category - touring car

Adam, a race winner at Thruxton last year, went to the Hampshire speed bowl with high hopes, especially after a Herculean effort by the Accrington-based Ciceley Motorsport squad had rebuilt Adam’s car after serious damage at Donington three weeks before.

However, Adam struggled with the optimum set-up of the car during free practice, he still managed to qualify his Fuchs lubricants supported Mercedes 4th but, was one of a number of drivers who was adjudged to have exceeded track limits at the chicane and lost his best two lap times. He ended the session a flustrated 18th fastest but with an eye to improving his position come raceday. “The car just hasn’t felt as I wanted it to,” he said at the end of the day. “We tested here and went well, and we have won here so we know that the car works but today we just don’t seem to have found the sweet spot in the car. Others are saying the same thing so whether it is the new track surface bedding in and changing we don’t know, but we will analyse everything for tomorrow.”

Adam’s opening race began with him in the crowded midfield pack and he was briefly delayed at the chicane when he and Aiden Moffat made slight contact, which turned the Scotsman’s car sideways in front of him. Adam then found himself in a fierce battle with the Honda Civic of Chris Smiley but late race, the Mercedes was out-dragged into the chicane by the Ford Focus of Ollie Jackson, a car that is always quick in a straight line.

“The track seemed to change again,” remarked Adam. “The circuit seemed less grippy today and I really struggled with understeer. We will go with a more aggressive set-up for race two and see if that is the answer and hopefully that, plus the warmer weather now, will help us make progress.”

The Morganator started race two from 17^thon the grid but wrung the neck of the Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes-Benz A-Class to haul it up to 13^thplace after some gutsy driving that moved him past Chris Smiley, Ollie Jackson and the BMW of Stephen Jelley, before more ground was gained at the expense of Matt Simpson. Adam came home in 13^thplace, back in the points.

“The set-up was better,” he said post-race, “but we still felt that we were missing something, there was definite progress. That puts us in a better position going into race three because we are higher up the grid.”

Sadly, Adam’s optimism for the last race of the day didn’t last long as, at just the third corner, he was confronted by a car broadside cross the track. Rob Collard had spun his Vauxhall Astra on the opening lap of the race and as the pack darted left and right, Adam suddenly saw the stranded car and swerved left but whacked the Vauxhall breaking his right front suspension. Adam was out on the spot.

“I’m gutted because it has been a tough weekend. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time because I was tucked up behind another car and saw Rob too late, but I really felt that we could have made good progress in that race. We’ve had two tough BTCC weekends, Donington and now Thruxton and whilst all the Ciceley guys have worked so hard, we just don’t seem to be able to unlock the true pace of car at the moment. We will go away, repair and study data to work out what has changed and what we can do to get back to the front of the grid, which is where we know we should be. Croft hasn’t been that kind to us in the past but it has to be a brand-new start this year!”

Adam now lies 13th in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship and 6th in the Independents Trophy.