TOURING Car racer Adam Morgan will return to the British Championship next season – with a new car and a new team.

Blackburn-born Morgan will contest the 2013 BTCC with family-run squad Ciceley Racing using a Toyota Avensis.

The team is headed by Adam's father, rallyman Russell Morgan, who has bought the ex-Frank Wrathall machine from Dynojet Racing.

The decision means that Morgan will split from Speedworks, who ran him in his debut Touring Car season this year.

His drive with Speedworks was the reward for winning the Ginetta GT Supercup in 2011.

Morgan’s new car was driven by fellow-Lancastrian Wrathall in 2011, notching up a number of podium places.

And the car is now being prepared for the 2013 season at Ciceley’s workshops, with the aim of having it ready for winter testing.

“We are well on the way with the project and we are enjoying getting the old team back together around us and planning Ciceley Racing’s BTCC debut,” said Morgan senior of the new venture.

“This is a big step for us, and we are looking for an experienced race engineer to help us, but we are relishing the challenge.

“Our only sadness is that it means the end of our association with Speedworks Motorsport.

“Christian Dick and his team have worked tirelessly on Adam’s behalf throughout this season and have helped bring him on in leaps and bounds, for which we will be eternally grateful.

“This was not an easy decision for us and finances were the main consideration.”

Morgan has endured a tough debut in the British Touring Car Championship, widely acknowledged as the UK’s top racing series, but has gained a reputation as a fast qualifier – averaging an 11th place start on the grid throughout the year.

Although he had to wait until the middle of the season before he could collect his first championship points, Morgan went on to finish inside the top 10 in four races “Our aim for 2013 is for an improvement in Adam’s luck and to become a top-10 regular,” said Morgan, “then maybe to be able to snatch a podium.”

And Morgan junior, who was educated at Stonyhurst College and learnt his racing skills through karting, is looking forward to the new season.

“We have a lot of work to do, but it should be great and I am really looking forward to it,” he said.

“This is a family team and everyone really likes to get stuck in and to help out. We will be organising every aspect of every race weekend ourselves and that is something that we all enjoy doing.

“I’m sorry to be leaving Speedworks. They are a great bunch of lads and, despite me not having had the best season’s racing, they have been great at helping me out and keeping me focused and committed so I really want to say a massive thank-you to them.

“This year was a challenging one for me. I learned a great deal about the car and about the set-up.

“I believe I showed that I have the pace to compete in the top 10. Now it is all about getting the results.”

And he is already looking ahead to what he hopes will be a fruitful 2013.

He added: “We would like to get everything done well in advance and get five or six days of testing in the bag so that we are fully prepared and ready to go, and hopefully we can then hit the ground running.”