Alex Morgan brought his Renault UK Clio Cup campaign to a positive conclusion with a pair of podium finishes in the final two races of the season, describing his results as ‘everything he wanted’ from the Brands Hatch finale.
Returning to the scene of a dominant double victory on the opening weekend of the season, Morgan was in desperate need of a strong end to the year having not picked up a podium finish for twelve races.
An impressive finale was exactly what the KX Akademy ace produced, despite qualifying only resulting in fifth and seventh place grid starts.
Fighting through the order in race one, Morgan passed eventual champion Mike Bushell late on to take third, while in race two he slotted his way past a dramatic first lap incident to take an eventual second place finish.
“I’d set up for the weekend to put the issues behind me, come here with a fresh mind and try and get two podium finishes,” Morgan told TCF.
“That’s what I said all along, I wanted to come out of the UK season on a high. Race one was a really difficult one in wet conditions, but I managed to fight my way through in a heavily damaged car after contact.
“Starting seventh wasn’t going to hold me back in the second race. I got a great start and missed the carnage to move into second. I was pushing so hard for the win, but I still achieved everything I wanted to from the weekend.”
Morgan feels the positive end to the year was influenced by some strong performances in the Eurocup Clio Championship, in which he’s been competing this year for Rangoni Corse alongside his UK commitments.
Morgan has two podiums finishes so far in the competitive Eurocup series at Paul Ricard and the Nurburgring, results he says have proved to be real boosts to his confidence.
“I had a mid-season lull with performance in the UK series due to a mysterious issue with the car, so it was really helpful for me to go to Europe and do a job out there,” he explained.
“It gave me confidence in myself that I could do it, and if it wasn’t for the Eurocup outings the end of the UK season would have been a much harder task.”
Despite his troubles during the year that left him sixth in the final UK championship standings, Morgan says that overall he looks back on the season with a positive frame of mind.
“The season has been a success all in all,” the Welshman reflected. “I had two wins at the start of the season, a podium at Donington and another two podiums to end it, plus I’ve had some podiums in the Eurocup as well.
“I finished on a high which is the key thing, it’s going to stand me in good stead for next year as I’ve shown I’ve still got the pace to fight for wins and that’s important.”
Morgan brings his Eurocup season to a close at Jerez this weekend (18/19 October).
