READING driver Alex Morgan claimed his first podium finish of the SEAT León Eurocup with a hard-fought performance in his home race at Silverstone.

Following a frustrating start to the season in Estoril, Morgan gave a strong performance to qualify third, claimed his first podium of 2016, and secured a well-earned haul of points during the weekend.

With encouraging pace in the test sessions, Morgan translated his momentum to finish third in Friday’s qualifying, scoring three crucial championship points.

In Saturday’s race one, he had a difficult first lap, dropping back to sixth, but with great pace in the latter stages of the race, he managed to fight back to claim fourth.

Despite starting from eighth, things got better in race two.

A hectic first lap saw the 28-year-old forced wide to sustain suspension damage, but despite the contact at the start, Morgan (pictured above on right) took every opportunity with clean overtaking to move through the field.

After setting the fastest lap on lap five, he found himself fiercely attacking and constant pressure forced Della Motta in third to make a mistake, leaving Morgan to hunt down Beirao da Veiga.

After a close fight to the flag, he was unable to get past the runner-up, but claimed the bronze medal after a superb performance.

He said: “Taking the final podium position was a great way to end the weekend. I tried to take second, but I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy move. Securing the points and the podium was crucial for me and the team, so I am really happy.”

The next round takes place at Paul Ricard, France, on the weekend of June 4-5.