Mr Morgan as a youngster, where his love of motorsport began
A Shropshire racing car driver has been congratulated by the F1000 championship for officially winning the title – after his engine passed the eligibility test.
It’s the second time Lee Morgan, of Perpetuum Motorsports, has been crowned the F1000 champion – which is incredibly rare.
Mr Morgan, whose team is sponsored by D4Drivers, based in Shropshire, said it was a relief to hear his engine had been given the final seal of approval.
Although Mr Morgan, from Telford, knew he had won the championship after the race at Snetterton, it wasn’t official until his engine was examined.
He said: “My engine was sealed after the race at Oulton park so for the final two rounds of the championship. This means we are not allowed to remove the engine or take the engine apart without permission from the scrutineers.
“This process is done as part of the eligibility test that the engine meets all the requirements to run in the championship and that your engine isn’t illegal.
“My engine has now passed its eligibility test. They check things like the bore and stroke of the engine.
“They make sure all the parts inside the engine, such as cams, are standard parts and not replaced with performance cams.”
On its Facebook page, officials for the F1000 championship congratulated Mr Morgan.
They said: “To be an F1000 Champion is rare, to be it twice even more so.
“It’s taken him eight years to repeat this and on such an ultra competitive grid is no mean feat.
“There has been a fair bit of heartbreak of second and third overalls in the intervening years and it was a tough battle in the last round to win this 2021 title.
“Congratulations to Lee, his family, team, sponsors and all those who have supported him onto this top step.”
Mr Morgan began racing when he was six-years-old and raced superkarts successfully in the UK and Europe, amongst many other karting adventures.
He said: “My love of motorsport began early in life when,at the age of three, I got a quad-bike for Christmas. When I was four, I had a kart made by cutting down an adult kart to suit my size.”
But by the age of six, Mr Morgan had swopped his cut down kart for a professional zip kart and started to practice at local tracks in the north of England.
And by eight-years-old, Mr Morgan had passed his ARDS test to obtain his MSA National B kart licence and began to compete at his local club championship as a novice, where he won three times in his first six races to gain his full National A licence.
This was all done on a limited budget with his dad Steve as his mechanic.
Mr Morgan went on to compete at club, national and European championships in karts.
But when he was 18, Mr Morgan was involved in a horrific crash while competing in Europe, breaking his pelvis and ribs.
After nearly a year out of racing recovering, the urge to get back on track and compete was stronger than ever and, on his first race back, he took victory in the prestigious UKCup at Anglesey.
In 2012, Mr Morgan made the step up to single seaters in the Formula Jedi Championship (now F1000 championship), taking his first wins in the class at the final two rounds of the championship at Donington Park and securing third in the championship.
A year later, Mr Morgan would go two places better, taking nine wins on his way to the Jedi Crown.
Mr Morgan said: “I was so delighted that eight years later, I took the crown for the second time and it is also fantastic to hear the engine passed its eligibility test. I wasn’t worried but it’s great to receive official recognition.”
Ryan Vaughan, of D4Drivers, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Lee’s engine passed all the rigorous tests. We have already celebrated his win but it’s brilliant for it to be declared official.”
D4Drivers completes motorsport medicals at times to suit drivers, including evenings and weekends, at 85 locations across the UK.
In partnership with Motorsport UK, the firm also offers discounted medicals to members.
Mr Vaughan added: “We are looking forward to working with Lee and the Perpetuum Motorsport team next season. It’s certainly very exciting for all of us to follow their success.”
