Ash Sutton quickest in first practice despite oil leak

Outgoing British Touring Car Champion Ash Sutton set the pace in the opening practice session at Brands Hatch despite being forced to return to the garage prematurely with an oil leak.

The Subaru went quickest after a red flag stoppage for Bobby Thompson’s stranded Volkswagen CC at Dingle Dell, posting a 1:31.090 around the 2.8 mile Grand Prix loop.

That proved enough to best Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek-backed BMW 1-series by 0.126s, with WSR similarly showing their hand after the intermission.

But Sutton was then forced to pull off at the end of Cooper Straight with visible smoke from the front-right of the Levorg GT, and fluid leaking upon his return to the garage.

Tom Chilton was the leading title protagonist on his local circuit behind Jack Goff – a race winner in Kent at the season opener in April.

Adam Morgan’s Mercedes A-Class came next, heading Tom Ingram, with championship leader Colin Turkington down in 15th.

Team Dynamics pairing Matt Neal and Dan Cammish, Chris Smiley and Mike Bushell round out the top ten.

The weekend continues with second practice at 12:05 BST.

Session results

POS	NO	DRIVER	NAT	ENTRANT	CAR	LAPS	TIME	GAP
1	1	Ashley SUTTON		Adrian Flux Subaru Racing	Subaru Levorg GT	10	1:31.090	0.000
2	77	Andrew JORDAN		BMW Pirtek Racing	BMW 125i M Sport	17	1:31.216	0.126
3	31	Jack GOFF		WIX Racing with Eurotech	Honda Civic Type R	17	1:31.282	0.192
4	3	Tom CHILTON		Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher	Ford Focus RS	14	1:31.409	0.319
5	33	Adam MORGAN		MAC Tools with Ciceley Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz A-Class	19	1:31.447	0.357
6	80	Tom INGRAM		Speedworks Motorsport	Toyota Avensis	16	1:31.453	0.363
7	25	Matt NEAL		Halfords Yuasa Racing	Honda Civic Type R	13	1:31.454	0.364
8	27	Dan CAMMISH		Halfords Yuasa Racing	Honda Civic Type R	14	1:31.474	0.384
9	22	Chris SMILEY		BTC Norlin Racing	Honda Civic Type R	17	1:31.541	0.451
10	21	Mike BUSHELL		Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing	Volkswagen CC	15	1:31.542	0.452
11	26	Daniel LLOYD		BTC Norlin Racing	Honda Civic Type R	16	1:31.545	0.455
12	39	Brett SMITH		WIX Racing with Eurotech	Honda Civic Type R	17	1:31.559	0.469
13	18	Senna PROCTOR		Power Maxed TAG Racing	Vauxhall Astra	17	1:31.617	0.527
14	16	Aiden MOFFAT		Laser Tools Racing	Mercedes-Benz A-Class	17	1:31.661	0.571
15	2	Colin TURKINGTON		Team BMW	BMW 125i M Sport	17	1:31.682	0.592
16	99	Jason PLATO		Adrian Flux Subaru Racing	Subaru Levorg GT	14	1:31.846	0.756
17	66	Josh COOK		Power Maxed TAG Racing	Vauxhall Astra	12	1:32.002	0.912
18	48	Ollie JACKSON		AmD with Cobra Exhausts	Audi S3	17	1:32.015	0.925
19	15	Tom OLIPHANT		Ciceley Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz A-Class	19	1:32.172	1.082
20	11	Rob AUSTIN		DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing	Alfa Romeo Giulietta	16	1:32.186	1.096
21	60	Stephen JELLEY		Team Parker Racing	BMW 125i M Sport	17	1:32.247	1.157
22	6	Rory BUTCHER		AmD with AutoAid / RCIB Insurance Racing	MG 6	14	1:32.250	1.160
23	20	James COLE		Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher	Ford Focus RS	14	1:32.450	1.360
24	600	Sam TORDOFF		Team GardX Racing with Motorbase	Ford Focus RS	14	1:32.505	1.415
25	19	Bobby THOMPSON		Team HARD. with Trade Price Cars	Volkswagen CC	15	1:32.527	1.437
26	303	Matt SIMPSON		Simpson Racing	Honda Civic Type R	18	1:32.676	1.586
27	23	Sam SMELT		AmD with Cobra Exhausts	Audi S3	17	1:33.252	2.162
28	55	Ricky COLLARD		Team BMW	BMW 125i M Sport	16	1:33.450	2.360
29	32	Ethan HAMMERTON		Team HARD. with Trade Price Cars	Volkswagen CC	13	1:33.658	2.568
30	54	Josh CAYGILL		AmD with AutoAid / RCIB Insurance Racing	MG 6	14	1:35.860	4.770
31	43	Ollie PIDGLEY		Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing	Volkswagen CC	6	1:38.771	7.681