British
Formula 3 Awards evening London England.
Cristiano
Morgado ended off the 2006 collecting his prize for
second position in the British Formula 3 National Class
for 2006. A season where he started of with a string
of second places (9 in total) and ended with 4 victories
as he and the team came to grips with the Lola car in
a field dominated by Dallaras. Present at the function
was Lindsey Allen - Team Principal, Roger Litten - Chief
engineer, Nick Silvester - Number 1 mechanic and of
course Rui Morgado the ever present father and manager
of his son Cristiano.
A fitting glitzy end to a very successful season, one
which produced great results in what was in essence
Cristianos 1st full season of single seater racing.
Cristiano
now looks forward to Renault World series testing in
the winter at Vallelunga and Valencia to decide where
his future lies. A very exciting and promising 2007
lies in wait.
Cristiano
Morgado British F3 - Thruxton
Cristiano
and Fluid Motorsport Development concluded a very successful
season of British Formula Three National Class racing
by claiming his 4th victory in the last 4 race weekends
at Thruxton last weekend.
In
very changeable conditions, the South African qualified
in 3rd place for both of the races, which were also
run in wet/dry conditions. Race One saw Cristiano make
a last minute switch to a wet set up. However, such
was the fickle nature of the weather that the Lola-Dome
driver’s charge was halted when the sun came through
and started to dry the track, meaning he had to settle
for 3rd position.
Race
2 also became a topsy-turvy race as the weather became
increasingly indecisive. However, the savvy Fluid crew
ensured that Cristiano had the best opportunity to keep
his winning streak going by bolting on slick tyres to
the Mugen-Honda powered Lola-Dome.
This
was to prove a masterstroke as Morgado tentatively started
the race despite the track still being very wet. His
renowned car control came to the fore as he cut through
the pack to take a convincing victory by almost 10 seconds
and take the chequered flag in 12th place overall.
After
victories at Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Mugello and
now at Thruxton, Morgado has finished the season with
a flourish to categorically prove that he and the Fluid
Lola-Dome have become the most competitive proposition
in the National Class.
"Cristiano
did another superb job this weekend," said team
owner Lindsay Allen. "You always get a real gauge
for how good a driver is when there are conditions like
they were last weekend."
"On
the whole it has been a very successful season and Cristiano
has developed the car superbly," continued Allen.
"In some respects it was a learning curve for Cristiano
who was in his first full single-seater season. Considering
how he has performed, that is staggering. The experience
of this season will put him in good stead for what we
hope will be a full blown Championship Class assault
next year."s
Cristiano
completes Hat-trick
Cristiano
Morgado and Fluid Motorsport continued to be the class
of the British Formula Three National class last weekend
when they scored a third consecutive victory during
the latest rounds at Silverstone.
Despite
the satisfaction of notching up a hat-trick of victories
there was still an air of slight frustration in the
ultra competitive Fluid Motorport camp after Cristiano
was only denied a double win at Silverstone by a mechanical
problem.
Qualifying
in a clear pole position for race one, Cristiano launched
his Lola-Dome down to Copse Corner to open up a clear
lead on his rivals. As has been the rule in the last
few races he also put some clear distance on his National
class pursuers by putting four Championship class between
them.
A
controlled and peerless drive to the chequered flag
saw Cristiano once again stand on the top step of the
podium. As ever he was delighted with his and also his
teams performance, saying: “It was just a bout
a perfect race for me. As ever the team were superb
and I think I have learned more this season than anyone
else as I have been developing the Lola on my own.”
Race
2 saw another dominant performance from Cristiano when
he made his customary rocket start to take a clear lead
in the National class. As in thee first race, the Lola-Dome
was in a race of its own, until on lap 21 when a driveshaft
breakage caused Cristiano to retire. It was a bitter
pill for the South African and the Fluid team as another
20 points was all but guaranteed.
Still,
team boss Lindsay Allen took more many positives from
the weekends performance and said: “It was a shame
that we could not achieve the double here as Cristiano
definitely deserved it. We have shown that we can win
on differing circuits like Brands, Mugello and now here
at Silverstone. Cristiano is without doubt the class
of the National class field just now and he is getting
better and better with each race that passes by. We
can now go to the final races this weekend to go for
the double win and to sign off a successful season in
the right manner.”
Morgado
wins at Mugello
Cristiano
Morgado and Fluid Motorsport Developments continued
their terrific form in the British Formula International
Series last weekend at Mugello in Italy.
The
rapid partnership claimed another win in the Lola-Dome
chassis to make it three wins from three events and
ensured that they are thee combination to beat as the
2006 season draws to an end.
Race
2 at Mugello saw Morgado completely dominate the National
Class proceedings. Morgado’s pace was such, that
in tricky conditions he completely out-performed his
opponents. Taking a clear pole position by just under
two seconds, Morgado made an impeccable start on the
wet track and drove a controlled but aggressive race
to lead home the next National Class car by almost three
seconds.
His
race included battles with Championship class cars,
such as Alberto Valerio and Stuart Hall. Not only did
the Lola-Dome racer take the top step of the podium
in the National class but he also finished 11th overall,
his best result so far this season.
“I
was very cautious at the start, got up behind Valerio
and I just followed him around, pushing the pace,”
said Morgado from the podium. “Then Hall came
up to me a bit later and after he got past I just was
able to cruise home.”
Earlier
in the weekend Cristiano had qualified alongside class
champion Rodolfo Gonzalez for the first of the 16 lappers
around the scenic Tuscan track. However, a coming together
by a group of Championship Class cars at the start of
the race forced the newly liveried Lola-Dome off the
track and the team were forced to change the South African’s
nosecone. This meant that Morgado had to make do with
4th place in class this time.
Overall
though, it was another successful weekend for the Fluid
team, whose reputation for preparing fast and reliable
cars is growing race by race.
“It
is proving to be a great end to the season for us,”
said team boss Lindsay Allen. “Cristiano has scored
2 wins in 4 races and if luck would have been n his
side it probably should have been more. He is showing
now that he can beat Gonzalez fair and square and has
the potential to be a major Championship Class player
next season.”
The
penultimate rounds of the Lloyds TSB British F3 International
Series take place at Silverstone this weekend.
MORGADO
CELEBRATES FIRST F3 WIN
Fluid
Motorsport celebrated their second win in as many races
during the latest rounds of the TSB British Formula
Three International series at Brands Hatch last weekend.
After
Martin Kudzak's superb win at Silverstone a fortnight
ago, Cristiano Morgado followed suit by claiming his
first victory in the series. It was a richly merited
success for the South African, who
had previously notched up nine second places in the
previous fourteen rounds.
After
finishing a close 3rd in the first race of the weekend
on Sunday morning, Morgado made a barnstorming getaway
at the beginning of race two, 'sling-shotting' past
Finnish racer Juho Annala in to Paddock Hill Bend before
latching on to National Class points leader Rodolfo
Gonzalez as they snaked up to Druids.
Under
braking for the infamous hairpin, Morgado dived for
the inside and pulled off a classy manoeuvre to take
the class lead. From there he managed to fend off the
advances of his Venezuelan rival and the resurgent Annala,
dealing coolly with a Safety Car period to win by just
three tenths of a second. Morgado also set the fastest
lap of the race with a best of 1m23.103s.
"It
was a long time coming," said a delighted Morgado
after thee race. "We've had a lot of chances through
the year, but things just didn't go our way. But I'm
really glad, because the team really deserves this,
the team's awesome. I'm really pleased to win with the
Lola and really happy to finally get this."
Team
boss Lindsay Allen was equally ecstatic with the result
and said: "Cristiano did an excellent job as usual
and to get the win he so fully deserves shows that his
hard work and determination have paid off. They say
that once you have taken the first victory it becomes
a habit and we are sure that the top step of the podium
will become the most natural place in the world for
Cristiano."
Double
Podium for Morgado at Silverstone
British Formula 3 - 30 July 2006
In
what was an ultra successful weekend for the Sudbury
based team, Cristiano Morgado claimed another two podium
positions in the two races, both of which were run on
the same bill as the Grand Prix Masters event.
In
race one Cristiano Morgado was once again left to rue
his misfortune after consistently proving to be one
of the fastest National Class cars on track during the
meeting. He duly turned his pace in to pole position
for race one and led away, but was rudely chopped by
Gonzalez’s Dallara.
With
damage to the nose of his car, Morgado pitted when the
safety car came out a few laps later, ensuring that
he was able to rejoin the back of the snaking pack.
During a remarkable recovery drive, the South African
showed terrific spirit to claim 3rd place at the chequered
flag.
Race
two saw the dayglo Lola-Dome tail class pole sitter
Rodolfo Gonzalez to the flag and claim 2nd place. This
was despite his best efforts in overtaking the Venezualan
but after one particularly bold lunge, Cristiano was
forced to back off and settle for 2nd place.
Fluid
Motorsport Developments Lindsay Allen was delighted
with his teams performances over the weekend and said:
“Cristiano just doesn’t have any luck at
all, he was certainly the quickest guy out there in
the National Class this weekend. He got pole, fastest
lap and deserved a win. But he is a really tenacious
driver and those wins will come soon.”
The
next event on the British F3 schedule is at Brands Hatch
on August 26/17.
Morgado
and Fluid show strong at Snetterton
The
Lola-Dome F3 chassis was in action at Snetterton for
the latest rounds of the British Formula Three Championship
this weekend. The chassis, which put Lola on the F3
map enjoyed more success with Fluid Motorsport, as South
African racer Cristiano Morgado collected two podium
positions to consolidate his second place in the National
Class points standings.
Qualifying
saw Morgado place 3rd for race one, albeit less than
three tenths of a second from pole sitter Rodolfo Gonzalez.
However, the 26 year old found a few extra tenths in
the second qualifying session to grab pole in his Mugen-Hondm
m m a powered Lola-Dome.
Race
one saw Cristiano make a superb start and soon started
to apply pressure to class leader Gonzalez. He vaulted
in to the lead on lap 8, making a clean pass on national
class points leader. However, on the very next lap Gonzalez
found a way through and despite being faster, Cristiano
was unable to retake the lead before the end of the
race. It meant another 2nd place for the fighting South
African.
Race
two saw Morgado lead from pole in the opening laps ahead
of Gonzalez and Annala until the safety car was deployed
on lap 9. At the re-start, with tyre temperatures having
dropped, the Lola-Dome got a wheel on the grass and
dropped down to 3rd. A couple of laps later he spun
at the first corner and rejoined in 4th place 6 seconds
behind the leading pair. Cristiano was soon back in
2nd place and closing on the race leader every lap to
finish just one second behind Annala and setting fastest
lap with Gonzalez coming in a distant third.
Morgado’s
two podium places means that he continues to have a
comfortable second place in the National Class standings.
Of the ten rounds held so far, he has scored eight podium
positions.
Fluid
Motorsport Developments Lindsay Allen said of the weekend:
“Ultimately, we should have won today because
Cristiano was as quick if not quicker than Gonzalez.
He did a superb professional job as always and deserved
to get more from the weekend. He had the pace throughout
the weekend but his time will come for sure. We can’t
wait for the next rounds at the great Spa-Francorchamps
track in Belgium.”
Cristiano
Morgado shines at street race in France
2004
Max World Champion Cristiano Morgado is competing in
the National British Formula 3 championship this year.
Durban's Cristiano raced in Pau a street circuit in
France similar to Monaco and qualified on pole by 0.500
of a second.
During the race there was a problem with over taking
under a yellow flag, Cristiano got a stop and go penalty.
Cristiano was about 20 second in the lead, came in for
the penalty and still won the race.
The
race stewarts disqualified Cristiano from the race as
he left the stop go penalty to the last lap instead
of within three laps of the penalty being advised.
Fluid
Motorsport Press Release
Cristiano
Morgado has become the latest driver to confirm his
entry for the 2006 British Formula 3 International series,
signing to race for Suffolk based Fluid Motorsport Development.
2003 Rotax Max World Kart Champion Cristiano Morgado
joins Fluid after recently taking a win and a second
place in the A3 support race to the A1GP in his home
town of Durban. The 26-year-old South African raced
in Formula Ford, taking pole position in the 2004 Formula
Ford Festival, eventually finishing 6th in the final
that year. Morgado is a multiple karting champion and
has been nominated for numerous awards, including the
Motor Racing Driver of the year award by South African
Guild of Motoring Journalists.
"We
are pleased to announce that Cristiano Morgado will
race for Fluid this season," said team principle
Lindsay Allen. Cristiano comes to us on a high after
his A3 wins last month in front of the A1GP teams. He
is capable of winning this year's National class and
the team will be giving him every opportunity to do
so." Morgado will compete in Mugen Honda powered
Lola Dome F106/4 Formula 3 race car in the British Formula
3 National class.
MORGADO
WINS INAUGURAL A3 RACE 28 January 2006
Local karter Cristiano Morgado scored a win and
a second in the A3 curtain raiser race at the
A1 GP. |
Local
hero Cristiano Morgado became the first VWA3 race winner
in a thrilling encounter around the streets of Durban
this afternoon. Morgado made the most of his opportunities
to lead home Belgian sensation Maxime Soulet and veteran
Reghard Roets after Gavin Cronje's dominant display
was cruelly denied by an overheating engine on the final
lap.
The
race was started amid some controversy as pole sitter
Soulet lost out to Cronje and Morgado at the run up
to the first corner in supposedly yellow flag conditions.
Rookie Eckhart Schoenknecht was squeezed into the wall
by the pack and played no further part in the proceedings.
While
Morgado held up the bemused Belgian Cronje was able
to make his escape and build what should have been an
unassailable lead. Behind Soulet Leeroy Poulter led
a train of cars comprising Reghart Roets, Marco Dos
Santos, Robert Wolk, Marco Da Cunha, Jimmy Auby and
Armani Jamrozinski. Wolk retired at the end of the lap
with a puncture and on lap 2 Poulter spun holding up
a charging Dos Santos.
Morgado
was able to keep Soulet at bay until lap 6 when Soulet
forced his way past in a daring move down the back straight.
With his sights cleared Soulet set off after Cronje,
setting a blistering fastest lap in the
process.
By
now Cronje was having to nurse an overheating car and
Soulet began to eat into his advantage. On the penultimate
lap Soulet spun entering the pit straight, allowing
Morgado past and giving Roets an opportunity into the
hairpin.
Soulet
was able to keep Roets at bay as he resumed the chase.
Over the final lap Cronje slowed dramatically and was
passed by Morgado, Soulet and Roets as he nursed his
car to the line. Fifth was Poulter after an impressive
recovery with Marco Da Cunha next up after a typically
workmanlike drive.
The
top ten was completed by Jimmy Auby, Marco Dos Santos,
Armani Jamrozinski and Marc Auby with Gordon Connelly
rounding off the finishers in eleventh. Tony Scott over-revved
his engine and retired while Gugu Zulu was sidelined
with a gearbox problem.
ROTAX
World Finals 2005 - Langkawi, Malaysia
Reigning
Rotax Max Challenge RM1 Champion Wesleigh Orr became
the first driver to ever win a Rotax World Final trophy
twice in the 6 year history of the event when he took
a decisive victory in Langkawi, Malaysia on Saturday.
Second
was 2003 Rotax World Champion Cristiano Morgado, but
unlike Orr, he was made to work hard for the result
by Austrian Ben George and later by Alexandre Engels
(Belgium) who eventually got third. At one stage of
the race it looked as though Michael van Rooyen might
make it an all South African podium. Places for the
podium changed several times but Morgado remained unchallenged,
and the loser was van Rooyen who dropped back slighty
near the end, but recovered to finish a very creditable
fifth in what was the hardest and longest race of his
career.
Rotax
Euro Challenge Round 4 - Genk, Belgium 15,16,17 &
18 September 2005
If
there is anybody anywhere in Rotax Land who doesn't
know which Nation dominates this particular category
of World Motor Sport, then they should have been at
this meeting. Out of a total of just over 100 entrants
from 5 different continents, it was South African drivers
who won the 3 Finals, and for good measure, took 2 of
the 3 Euro Challenge Titles for 2005.
Pride
of place should go to Cristiano Morgado who not only
won both the pre-final and Final of RM-1 Class at the
meeting, but also the Euro Challenge title with a near
perfect score. He had won all Pre Finals and was denied
a 100% score only when a puncture intervened in the
Final at Round 3 in Austria. In fact such was the former
World Champion's dominance that his only other anxiety
at these meetings has been how many more stray dogs
would he find that his Mum had taken in when he got
back home!
Having
doubled up in Rotax Senior class as well, he completed
an excellent weekend with 3rd place in this Final, and
a 5th place overall in the championship.
Round
3 ROTAX Euro Challenge - A1 Speed World Austria - 31
July 2005
KEN
WALKER WRITES FROM AUSTRIA
For
three and a half days of this 4 day meeting I was looking
forward to bringing you the good news of yet another
superb South African performance in international competition.
Then we reached the Finals, and, well what can I say.
Let's
begin by saying that the preliminaries confirmed beyond
any doubt, the superstar status in Rotax Karting of
the World Numbers 1 and 2, Wesleigh Orr and Cristiano
Morgado.
Cristiano
Morgado had not dropped a point in the 2 preceding Rounds
of the RM-1 Class, and was well on the way to a 3 Timer.
Fastest in time trials, Pole for the Heats, 3 Heat Victories,
and a win in the pre-final. I have to say that there
was virtually no anticipation on anybody's part as the
Final started, and sure enough the 2003/4 Rotax World
Champion shot into an easy lead. But just after half
race distance something seemed amiss. In no time at
all, Cris was racing 4 seconds a lap slower than everybody
else. Not only was he to lose the lead, with over 10
laps to go his eventual finishing position was as low
as 13th. The Cause? A puncture!!
He
then had to come straight off track and into the Rotax
Max Final. I have never seen him so fired-up. Indeed
he shot straight into the lead but ultimatelly finishing
4th in the end after carburettor problems look their
toll midway through the race.
The
4th round of the championship will be held in Genk Belgium
from the 13th to 18th of September.
Rotax
Mojo Max Euro Challenge Round 2 - United Kingdom 26/27/28/29
May 2005
Round
Two of the Euro Challenge was, from a South African
perspective, in some ways a repeat of Round One in France
two months earlier with some stunning success to savour.
PF International circuit welcomed many drivers from
all over the world and provided great Rotax Max Racing!
In
the RM-1 class Cristiano Morgado won both prefinal and
final extending his lead in the championship. Joining
him on the podium were James Tumulty from the Republic
of Ireland and Manolis Tzamariadakis of Greece.
The
next round will be at the A1 Ring in Austria at the
end July.
COMPETITIVE
RACING IN FRANCE AT EURO MAX CHALLENGE
Salbris,
France, March 28, 2005 - Sportimage.net - The circuit
of Sologne Karting, located in Salbris, France, just 90
minutes south of Paris, hosted this past weekend the opening
round of the 2005 ROTAX MOJO MAX EURO CHALLENGE. An impressive
field of 116 drivers coming from 23 different countries
competed in the Rotax Max Junior, Max Senior and RM-1
categories. The frequent showers complicated the life
of the competitors but the ever changing track conditions
seemed to have no effects on Christian Van Balen, Tristan
Oman and Christino Morgado who claimed victories in their
respective categories.
 |
The
Max Senior category was so popular that the series'
organizers had no choice but to limit the number of
entries. Out on the track, the action raged so intensely
that no one could make serious predictions about the
outcome of the final race. The ever changing track conditions,
alternating from dry to wet to dry, required consistency,
patience and smoothness. British driver Tristan Oman
performed extremely well in these treacherous conditions,
winning the finale ahead of South African Wesleigh Orr
and Portuguese Tiago Ribero. Frenchman Benjamin Salvatore,
the reigning Rotax Max Junior champion, experienced
some problems during the qualifying heats but managed
to cross the line in 5th place in the finale, beating
David Griffiths from Great Britain. Despite running
impressive drives, 2005 series' favourites Ken Alleman
of Belgium and Christiano Morgado of South Africa were
both forced to retire during the finale.
The Max Junior category welcomed a most unexpected winner
in Belgium's Christian Van Balen. Unknown by most, Van
Balen arrived in Salbris with just two titles in the
Anvers karting championship under his belt. Scoring
consistent finishes, and driving cautiously but aggressively
on the slippery track, Van Balen caused a major surprise
by finishing first in the pre-finale. Things turns out
to be a little bit more difficult in the finale, but
again Van Balen remained unbeatable and won ahead of
Mats Van den Brand of Holland and Riccardo Auteri of
Italy. Stéphane Richelmi of Monaco finished fourth
in the finale, missing third place by very little.
In the RM1 category, Christiano Morgano dominated the
field. The winner of all qualifying heats and the pre-finale,
Morgano also proved his talent in claiming first place
in the finale. Dimitris Diatsidis of Greece and Burt
Nartus of Belgium finished second and third respectively.
Karline Stala of Latvia, Marcus Scheidegger of Portugal
and Claudio Piazza-Musso of Sourth Africa also drove
strong qualifying races but were not part of the leading
pack in the finale.
World
Series by Renault Official Test 23 & 24 February
'05
Cristiano Morgado was invited to test with Eurotek Motorsport
at the 4.6 Kms.Catalunya Circuit Barcelona in a Formula
Renault V6 - as used in the 2004 European Championships
by Jenzer Motorsport.The first day, despite having no
previous experience in a 400bhp formula car, he achieved
a best lap time of 1' 37.8 on used tyres.Antonie Besstte
(CDN) testing with Eurointernational (2004 European
V6 Champions) did a best lap of 1' 38.6 with new tyres
and has 4 seasons of racing behind him in Formula Renault
2000 and Toyota Atlantic in the US.
On the second day Bessette improved his times with 2
additional sets of new tyres and Cristiano was unable
to improve his time with his tyre run due to a mechanical
problem with the rear wing support, which was changed,
and then changeable weather conditions prevented further
improvements.
Andy Welch Team Manager at Eurotek Motorsport comments
"Cristiano achieved 120 laps in total without incident
and set some competitive times in the process - this
was all the more impressive considering his lack of
time in a wings and slicks car with this power and grip.
We look forward to working with Cristiano in the future
and he is definitely a driver to watch for the future."
Cristiano
Morgado wins last round of ROTAX Euro Challenge, Danny
Bleek European RM-1 Champion!
14 November 2004
