ADAM Morgan was the toast of Thruxton after scoring his first victory of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship.

The Whalley-based driver was in scintillating form at the Hampshire track scoring a podium in the opening 16-lap race of the weekend.

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But he saved the best until last with a brilliant lights-to-flag victory in the final race of the day.

“It’s an incredible feeling to see the chequered flag,” said a delighted Morgan as he celebrated in the pitlane with his Ciceley Motorsport team.

“I won a BTCC race last year but that was inherited. This one feels very, very different, it feels amazing.”

Reverse grid seeding saw Morgan’s distinctive yellow WIX-Mercedes on pole position.

From the green light Morgan made the most of his track position to carve out a narrow lead.

But the combination of his super-smooth but forceful driving style saw him pull out a three-second lead over his rivals, before trouble struck when the safety car came out.

That wiped out Morgan’s hard-fought advantage but when the safety car pulled in and the lights turned to green with seven laps to go he pulled out a 1.5-second lead, which he held until the end.

“I had a plan for the race, which was to build up a gap,” said Morgan.

“When the safety car came out I knew that the lead would be destroyed.But while we we circulating behind it I worked out the best way to keep ahead in my head - and it worked perfectly. All credit to the team and all our sponsors, it’s only due to their hard work that we are here.

“We are only a small team and we are still developing but three podiums in three races isn’t bad is it?”

Morgan’s performance at Thruxton has signalled his elevation into one of the championship’s front runners.

He is now sixth in the driver standings, but there is little to separate the top six. The next race weekend is at Oulton Park on June 6 and 7.