Adam Morgan says Merc is “one of the best cars I’ve driven”

Adam Morgan has heaped praise on his Ciceley Racing team and his new Mercedes A-Class after a strong Snetterton weekend which saw him running at the sharp end throughout.

The 2011 Ginetta Supercup champion was tantalisingly close to a podium in the first race, after hunting down Honda Racing Team’s Matt Neal, and followed the fourth place up with a fifth and an eighth in the other two races.

Race one also featured one of the passing moves of the season, where the opportunist Morgan snuck down the inside of both Alain Menu and Aron Smith at Montreal, after the two Volkswagen CCs had made contact.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Morgan said: “The car handled really well and we were right on the pace. These lads have done a great job with the car – it is remarkably balanced all over.

“We can shift the weight around and the car is still nice and settled. It’s a great little car – it’s one of the best cars I’ve driven.”

With the A-Class comprising many of the parts run successfully on last season’s Toyota Avensis, the switch has given Morgan and his time plenty of comparison data to work through.

And while he’s not alone in wishing he had more straight-line speed, Morgan said he accepted this was due to the aerodynamic performance of the car, rather than any discrepancy in boost.

He said: “The car is fantastic and it is definitely capable of winning races. We just need a little bit more everywhere.

“Our main problem at the moment is straight-line speed. The aero of the car doesn’t work for us. We’ve compared data from the Toyota and we are carrying much more corner speed at the apex, then we get on the straight and we’re losing it.

“I don’t want to say how much we’re losing, but it’s quite considerable what we’re losing on every long straight.

“We’re on the same boost as Smith, Menu and Goff, but because of the aero package they have, I can see them pulling away down the straight.

“It’s a shame, but that’s the characteristics of our car. We’ve just got to work our way around it and be quicker in the corners.”