Civic Cup: Morgan Bailey Kicks Off Thruxton with Pole

Morgan Bailey took a commanding pole position at Thruxton ahead of the opening Milltek Civic Cup race of the weekend. His time of 1:25.585 puts at the head of the 14 strong field. All drivers would set their quickest time in the opening 10 minutes as rain affected proceedings.

Championship leader Morgan Bailey was eager to prove he was still the man to beat, setting a lap in the 1min 26’s to go top by over a second and a half on their opening lap. Of course, this was just an exploratory lap and Bruce Winfield was quick to hit back. His initial flier was still slower by 0.02secs, but considering the #37 had not had a tow, seemed even more impressive.

Jamie Tonks needed a check over of his car after the initial run but was eager to show this was not a lasting problem jumping into the top five soon after.

The rain had stayed away all morning. Yet this sense of normality was soon shattered as the rain began to fall with three minutes still to run. Times would seldom improve with Paul Taylor the first to park it up once the flag had fallen.

Bailey had remained unchallenged in the closing stages, with his 1:25.585 enough to see off Winfield’s challenge. The pair had taken a race win a piece at Oulton Park and continued to lead the way in Hampshire.

Behind them 29-year-old Alistair Camp occupied third, looking to build upon his podium from Oulton Park. Max Lewis’ form also continued, taking fourth from the recovering Tonks, whose pitlane delay ensured he’d completed the least laps of any driver, setting his fastest on the fifth of his seven laps. More could yet come from the Worcestershire racer.

Sixth would be Taylor, saving his engine for an assault on the race. A second place during the soaked Oulton summer could yet play into his advantage if the dampness remained throughout the day. The fourth row is occupied by series rookie Ryan Bensley and David Buky. Buky would be frustrated to only line up eighth, but his entry is success after his team’s miraculous engine change on Friday night after practice, delayed his weekend set up.

Rounding out the top ten would be two other young guns; Welsh driver George Alp-Williams and new entrant Kevin O’Connor. Like Bensley, O’Connor was not present at the opening round and so will have it all to play for before race one at 14:25.