And now for something completely different.
April brings the anniversary of Morgan’s first entry into racing sports cars. That first year was messing around in John’s ITA CRX. It was in the second year, on his debut in the SRF3, that we realized we had to go All In with his career path.
On this particular anniversary, here in 2026, Morgan is again at a new racetrack. The ever advancing race car driver is always looking for new opportunities with new cars and new teams, even as he continues in his current place with CSM in Michelin Pilot Challenge. This time we are at The Circuit, the newest layout at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California. It’s also a new car to play with on this beautiful cool and sunny day in the Central Valley. Morgan is testing in an LMP2 car run by Brian Herta Autosport with PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. This is a very easy going, comfortable bunch to work with. To say that we are all excited about this opportunity is a massive understatement.
Where are we? A bit about the area before we get to the fun race car part. The intense flatness of the Central Valley is hard to comprehend. Back east, even the flat bits have rolling hills, but this is more level than a billiard table for tens of miles in every direction. It’s ringed by mountains, but they are far away, lurking hazily on the horizon. It’s dry, so dry, and yet it’s all fields. Lots of almond groves interspersed with cover crops, bare fields and cattle, with arrow straight roads. Did I mention flat? It’s freaking me out a little bit.
The race track would have no elevation change at all if it weren’t for the fill left from the drainage canal they dug around the property. As it is, there are two bumps where you go up, turn and come down again. Several turns are banked and there’s a good mix of fast sweepers, slow hairpins and multi-apex stuff with both short squirts and longer straights between. It seems to be a rather good training circuit and the new pavement is smooth enough not to tear up the floor of the car.
What this car like? That leads me to the LMP2 car itself. Similar to the SRF3, the bodywork comes off in three pieces. The similarity stops there. This has an enclosed cockpit and with both doors open, the car looks like it has little beetle wings. Underneath that carbon fiber body, it’s pure purpose built race car. Everything is efficient and minimalist, nothing extraneous at all. The cockpit is full of switches and dials and is rather claustrophobic. But you don’t notice that feeling when you are out on the track. At least everything you need to see or touch is within easy reach. It’s really quite elegant both inside and out.
This is the first serious race car with real downforce Morgan has ever driven but we have not the slightest concern about how he will adapt to it. He has obtained and studied every scrap of data he could get hold of ahead of the test to be as ready as possible for it. We are certain he will figure out very quickly how to use the big wings fore and aft and a flat floor that stick it to the ground.
Get it on the track already! When it’s finally time for his first run, he slides into the car and gets the final safety briefing. This is mostly about where the latches and fire system buttons are and what engine and tire system alarms need immediate attention. Odds are very low that any of that will come into play, but you need to know about all of it before you need any of it. The team will monitor the telemetry streaming from the car live to note any issues either with the car or with Morgan’s inputs. They can provide feedback as needed in real time.
Let’s go! Push the car out of the garage. Radio check and fire it up! That big V8 rumbles into life and a thrill goes through me just watching. The clutch is finicky, and stalling is easy, but Morgan pulls away pretty smoothly on the first try.
This first session is get acquainted time and he’s on old tires. He had a couple laps in a street car the day before (and a couple more with us this morning) so he has the layout down. Morgan is the only one out there in the still, cool air and it carries his sound crisply to us through every turn. We hear him snap quickly up through gears accelerating out of turns and the crackle and pop and he goes down them with the revs jumping up under braking. I hear no errors or hesitations.
With the flatness here, you might expect to see the car plainly all the way round the 2.5 miles of The Circuit but it’s bordered in many places by concrete and tire walls. In a lot of places, it’s just the roofline that’s visible. Or he’s in the section blocked by buildings. Still, the sound always tells us where he is. And it's clear that he’s happy! He’s a master of understatement, but we can tell he’s almost giddy.
"I've never had this much fun in a car before."
"Tons of fun. Tons of fun. I think I'm ruined when I get back in a tin top."
So yeah. Real race car good. This one has no body roll and it just does what you ask it to immediately. It does need you to go fast enough for the downforce to do its job and stick you to the pavement, so confidence and some bravery are rewarded. Being thoughtful about weight transfer is important and carrying momentum still matters, even in something so quick.
So, how'd it go, really? Over the course of the day, Morgan takes four more sessions on track, alternating with a debrief and review of video and data. In each debrief, the adjustments recommended were for smaller tweaks to his inputs and by the last session, laps were run to simulate consistency during a long run at a race pace. His laps were all within a few tenths spread, just what is needed.
Every item on Morgan’s list of things to achieve was fully accomplished.
- No offs
- No lock ups
- Didn’t stall it leaving the box (until the last session)
- No complaints about comfort or handling
- Gave good feedback on how it felt
- Adjusted his inputs as advised
- Thanked and appreciated each of the 8 crew there
The team lead was very complimentary to John and me of Morgan, not just as a talent, but as a human. I really don’t see how it could have gone better. It’s a perfect step on the pathway forward and we can’t wait to see what comes next.
So yeah… we continue to be All In.
