Morgan wins Race 1, as five drivers are still in the title fight
In the first race of TCR UK’s finale at Donington Park, Alex Morgan took his first win of the season; as he was not eligible to score, Bruce Winfield beat Jac Constable to secure the 25 points for the victory.
The battle for the title has become red hot, with 52 points still on offer in today’s Race 2 and Race 3, Lewis Kent is still the leader, but his advantage went down to 18 points over his younger brother Bradley, while Dan Kirby slipped from second to third, one further point adrift. Max Hart and Winfield are also in contention as they lie in fourth and fifth positions with gaps of 26 and 27 points.
At the start, Winfield sprinted from the pole, but Morgan passed him and began to pull away. During the opening lap, Hart passed Bradley Kent for P4, and Constable passed Winfield for P2. Lewis Kent and Kirby, who had started from P16 and P13, had already moved up to 12th and 10th respectively; they soon advanced further to 7th and 10th.
In lap 2, Hart made a mistake and dropped to ninth; he quickly moved up to seventh and began chasing Kirby for P6, while Lewis Kent followed in eighth.
After a close fight, Hart overtook Kirby in lap 9 and began to close the gap to the fifth-placed Andy Wilmot that he passed in lap 16.
During the final two laps, Constable closed in on Morgan and tried to steal the lead from him, Morgan rejected the assault and Constable lost momentum, which offered Winfield the opportunity to pip him on the finish line by three tenths. Bradley Kent was classified fourth ahead of Hart, Wilmot, Kirby and Lewis Kent. After the race a 5-second penalty for track limit infringement dropped Wilmot from sixth to ninth.
The second race will start at 15:40 local time (16:40 CEST) with Kirby on pole of the top-six reversed grid and Hart alongside him; live streaming at www.tcr-series-com.
Donington Park – Race 1
1. Alex Morgan (Power Maxed Racing, CUPRA), 17 laps
2. Bruce Winfield (Area Motorsport, CUPRA DSG), 1.192
3. Jac Constable ((Power Maxed Racing, CUPRA), 1.448
4. Bradley Kent (Essex & Kent Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 1.801
5. Max Hart (Maximum Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 18.473
Championship points
1. L. Kent 214 pts; 2. B. Kent 196; 3. D. Kirby 195
Picture: TCR UK/Jakob Ebrey
