Round 3 - Donington Park

QUALIFYING

Despite the engine problems of earlier in the day apparently being cured, the engine steadfastly refused to cooperate with either of the Aero 8’s two drivers. “There’s no power at all,” said Oliver Bryant later. “ it was hard enough just moving off, but I was going through the chicane in second just to try and prevent the engine from stalling!” The Morgan would start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid.

WARM UP

A notable absentee was the Team Aero Morgan, the car being nowhere to be found in the paddock. Fortunately, the picture was not as bleak as it first appeared; “It’s on its way back from the engine builders,” explained Keith Ahlers. “The problem turned out to be faulty camshaft timing and the car was down 100bhp. We’ll be on the grid, but don’t know yet if it’ll be a two minute or two hour race for us.”

RACE

As the status quo was being maintained at the front, further back several cars were making progress; most notably the Morgan, currently being pedalled by Olly Bryant. The overnight work had apparently paid off and the car had at last found the pace that had been hitherto absent. By the end of lap four, Bryant had eight cars behind him. Hunter Abbott had been gaining confidence in the #17 RPM Porsche and had a lengthy battle with Oliver Bryant in the Morgan.

Two cars that notably did not stop on the hour mark were the #81 Mantis and the #99 Beechdean Ferrari. Behind them, Oliver Bryant had brought the Morgan up to an excellent fourth – where would they have been if the new engine had worked all weekend?

Keith Ahlers had taken over his Morgan with 40 minutes remaining, but misfortune struck once more. A gasket failed and oil started to spray onto the windscreen. In the cold and wet conditions, the spray emulsified and the unfortunate Jersey based driver was unable to see anything. He stopped twice before deciding to call it a day. After the team’s huge efforts this weekend, and after Bryant’s excellent stint, this was a bitter blow.

The next rounds are at Pau in the South of France on the 3rd to 5th of June. Both Bryant and Ahlers are racing there the weekend before in Historics so should be on good form!