Adam Morgan put his all-new WIX Racing Mercedes A Class through its first full test at Silverstone yesterday (6 March) and the Lancashire racer was stunned with its performance.

The squad completed a trouble free shakedown of the machine at the home of the British Grand Prix last week, setting Morgan up nicely for his first run in anger at the same venue. Despite the low temperatures the weather remained dry throughout yesterday’s running, allowing the Ciceley Racing-run outfit to collect a comprehensive set of data.

“The car is Mega,” beamed Morgan. “The Car’s agility transferred to a fluid change of direction with ease and it just performed fantastically well. There is still a lot of work to do yet, but the first test proved we are developing and progressing the car on schedule. Paul Ridgeway and his team have done a fantastic job with this car and I am now even more excited about the season ahead.

“I am not underestimating the incredible competition that this year presents, but I am confident that I am ready physically and mentally, and I’ll have a mega car to compete with.”

Many within the team have praised WIX Racing engineer Ridgeway on his work over the winter, and the man himself was pleased with the Mercedes’ maiden run.

“The car’s performance and braking results were good – it was a very productive first test, giving an even stronger foundation to build on,” he said.  “We were running on the International circuit so we weren’t able to do any direct time comparisons to last season, but the test definitely delivered some very valuable data.”

Morgan completed a total of 75 laps of the International Circuit, but the team is well aware of the hard work ahead in preparing the A Class for its competitive race debut in the 2014 BTCC opener at the end of the month.

“I am happy with the car today, but mindful of the work still to be done,” Team Manager Russell Morgan concluded. “We collected a lot of great information and Adam really gave the Mercedes its first challenge. We are now focused on getting the car ready for testing again at Brand Hatch on Tuesday 11th, where we will be able to see how our race pace compares, leading up to the first qualifying of the season on the 29th March.”

The BTCC Media Team will be reporting live from the test at Brands Hatch next Tuesday (11 March) with more than a dozen BTCC cars expected on track – keep visiting btcc.net for more information.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Chris Wynne – Network Images