Ash Sutton says that his first experience of competing in a TCR series has made him ‘a bit more hungry for it’ after he topped both testing and practice at Oulton Park.
Sutton was comfortably fastest in Friday testing around the Oulton Park International circuit, going almost nine tenths clear of the competition.
The Honda driver then went four tenths faster in Saturday morning’s practice session to end up half a second clear of Pyro Motorsport team-mate Ollie Taylor at the head of the times.
Sutton told TouringCars.Net that he was pleased with his early performance in a TCR car, and he is expecting to find even more time in the car in qualifying, as he seeks to take advantage of the 40 kg compensation weight advantage he has over the Volkswagen Golf GTi drivers.
“Obviously, the car is very good; Verizon Connect Racing and Pyro have delivered another good car, so for me I’m just settling in and finding my feet,” said Sutton. “Today we know what to expect so we can push on and we’ve gone another half second faster.
“I still think there’s a little chunk in it to come. Every time I get in the car I’m learning new things and I can’t complain at the minute.”
The 24-year-old described the TCR Civic Type-R as being more stable than his regular steed in the BTCC, with him being particularly positive about the performance of the Yokohama tyres.
“They’re a little bit more forgiving [than a BTCC car]. From my front-wheel drive experience in British Touring Cars, the cars were quite nervous – even the rear-wheel drive Subaru is still very, very nervous.
“This Honda is quite forgiving on these tyres especially. The Yokohamas are a good step forward – you put a new set on and it’s like bolting a soft tyre on from the BTCC.
“Comparing the two, I’m loving both. It’s a different challenge each time, and we’ll see what the racing holds.”
Sutton is targeting a lights-to-flag victory in his first TCR race on Saturday afternoon, as he seeks to represent Finlay Crocker’s sponsors in the best possible way.
“I don’t know how it will square up. If we can grab pole then we’ll be going for a lights-to-flag victory, because at the end of the day I’m representing Verizon Connect Racing.
“I’ve got to think of Finlay. He’s the guy that’s put me in the car, and he’s got a lot of sponsors involved and I’m here being their brand ambassador.
“I’ve got to be clever in how I go about it. I don’t need to be causing any damage, so we’ll just play it safe and hopefully pick up some pots at the end.”
Sutton also hinted that he was looking to do more TCR in the future, with both himself and manager Warren Scott discussing it as one of his options.
“I’m interested in TCR for sure. Yesterday and today so far have made me a little bit more hungry for it, and from the phone call I had with Warren last night, from a manager’s point of view, it’s a good step for us.”