Ashleigh powers ahead to take top spot at Knockhill
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REAY racing driver Ashleigh Morris had her best results of the season so far when she was crowned the ladies' winner in the David Leslie Super Touring Festival at Knockhill.
With a hectic weekend schedule, Ashleigh had to make her two 20-minute test sessions count.
After issues with the rear wheel bearing were temporarily rectified for session two, Ashleigh returned solid, consistent times and to the her delight she managed a lap quick enough to qualify P10 – the best she has done in 2018 so far.
Holding her nerve in race one as she came three abreast up the start/finish straight, she crossed the line fifth overall.
In race two Ashleigh admitted that her nerves were even worse, but it was a day of firsts as she lined up P5 on the grid.
She said: "I let my nerves totally get the better of me as I got myself in a bit of a flap and struggled with my start."
As a result she slipped down to sixth place where she remained the whole race despite chasing hard throughout.
She admitted: "I played it safe on the last couple of laps to make sure I took it home, securing another good result."
Things were tense back in the paddock as the team waited for the pole position announcement, and unfortunately the Reay driver missed out on P5 by just one place.
Race three proved exciting with Ashleigh having to take evasive action, cutting over the grass at one point to avoid an incident on the track.
Unfortunately there was a restart due to another incident and, much to Ashleigh's disappointment, she chose the wrong gear for the restart.
However, she managed to hold on to her position and gain ground up the main straight.
As she rounded Clark's she saw dust as another car spun off which her pushed her up to P3.
A split-second decision saw Ashleigh opt out of defending too hard as she didn't want to jeopardise the potential ladies' win. She crossed the line in P5.
Ashleigh said: "Initially, I was a tad disappointed as I could have had a P3 overall podium. However, coming into Parc Ferme and being asked to pull over for the podium presentation, I really didn't have much to complain about – I was taking home silverware after all!
"I felt good, but seeing everyone's faces, being greeted with congratulations and hearing the enjoyment in their voices made it all the more worthwhile.
"The cherry on top of the cake – no battle scars this time! Number 77 was coming home as immaculately as it arrived."
