Renault UK Clio Cup front-runner Alex Morgan has expressed his delight and relief after securing a maiden podium finish in the Renault Eurocup Clio Championship this past weekend at the Nurburgring.
Morgan is dovetailing his efforts in the UK championship with an assault on the Eurocup series, where he competes against a competitive Clio field that includes reigning UK and Eurocup champion Josh Files and former UK Clio racer Finlay Crocker.
After a tough first Eurocup outing at Motorland Aragon in April with SV Racing, Morgan made a late switch to leading Eurocup outfit Rangoni Corse ahead of the Nurburgring races – with the switch paying instant dividends.
The 27 year old finished second and third fastest in the two collective test sessions ahead of the weekend, and carried that pace into opening qualifying to put his car second on the grid for the opening race.
Unfortunately for Morgan, a call by the team to run treaded tyres on a wet but drying track proved to be the incorrect decision in race one, with Morgan slipping to tenth at the finish as his slick tyred rivals capitalised on their clear advantage.
Morgan put himself third on the grid for race two, and was instantly in the thick of a thrilling battle for the podium positions. After moving up to second on the opening lap, Morgan was briefly shuffled back to third before he hit back and pulled clear to compete a one-two finish for Rangoni Corse behind winner Oscar Nogues.
“I did everything I needed to this weekend,” said Morgan. “We were in the top three in every session before the first race and I’m just really relieved to have gone out there and had such a good result. We’ve not had the best of runs lately in the UK championship, so it’s great to show I can do it in Europe against a grid of drivers just as competitive as those in the UK.”
