Laser Tools Racing’s Ash Sutton took a maiden victory for Infiniti in the British Touring Car Championship in race three at Donington Park after storming through the field.
Starting from eighth on the grid for the reversed-grid encounter, Sutton made progress on the opening lap before scything through the field in spectacular fashion.
Notably, Sutton’s start remains under investigation so the result remains provisional.
Polesitter Chris Smiley would eventually take Hyundai’s – and Excelr8 Motorsport’s – maiden BTCC podium in second position, despite initially losing the lead to Motorbase’s Ollie Jackson.
He then set about regaining the lead, and managed to do so with a spectacular move on lap seven at the Old Hairpin which caused further changes behind as Sutton went three-wide with Ollie Jackson and Dan Cammish.
BTC Racing’s Josh Cook capitalised on the drama to take second position and would challenge Smiley for the lead before Sutton passed the pair, meaning they finished second and third respectively.
Adam Morgan continued a strong day of points finishes in fourth position while erstwhile leader Ollie Jackson completed the top five finishers.
Toyota Gazoo Racing UK’s Tom Ingram capped off a solid day in sixth position at the scene of the Corolla’s first victory in race three at Donington Park last year, managing to get past race one winner Dan Cammish late in the race.
Behind him was Halfords Yuasa Racing team-mate Matt Neal who played rear-gunner to the 2019 runner-up effectively, fending off the Team BMW duo of Tom Oliphant and Colin Turkington.
With the championship leader rounding out the top ten, he now sits atop the standings just six points clear of rival Dan Cammish, with race three winner Sutton nine points back despite only scoring two points in the season opener.
Rory Butcher, who doubled up with two podium finishers earlier in the day in the new-for-2020 Ford Focus ST, would go on to finish 11th place ahead of Tom Chilton.
Behind Chilton was BTC Racing team-mate Michael Crees in 13th position, while Carl Boardley and Bobby Thompson rounded out the points finishers.
The British Touring Car Championship returns to action next weekend [08-09 August] in Kent at the iconic Brands Hatch GP circuit.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 116 | I | Ashley SUTTON |  |
Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 17 | 20:38.798 | 1:09.628 | 8 |
| 2 | 22 | I | Chris SMILEY | |
Excelr8 Motorsport | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 17 | 2.28 | 1:10.406 | 1 |
| 3 | 66 | I | Josh COOK | |
BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 17 | 2.556 | 1:10.305 | 3 |
| 4 | 32 | I | Adam MORGAN | |
Carlube Triple R Racing with Mac Tools | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 17 | 3.524 | 1:10.148 | 5 |
| 5 | 48 | I | Ollie JACKSON | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 17 | 4.89 | 1:10.457 | 2 |
| 6 | 80 | M | Tom INGRAM | |
Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters | Toyota Corolla | 17 | 5.161 | 1:10.194 | 9 |
| 7 | 27 | M | Dan CAMMISH | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 17 | 6.247 | 1:10.321 | 7 |
| 8 | 25 | M | Matt NEAL | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 17 | 7.112 | 1:10.348 | 6 |
| 9 | 15 | M | Tom OLIPHANT | |
Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 17 | 7.629 | 1:10.110 | 10 |
| 10 | 1 | M | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMW | BMW 330i M Sport | 17 | 7.993 | 1:10.234 | 12 |
| 11 | 6 | I | Rory BUTCHER | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 17 | 12.317 | 1:10.436 | 11 |
| 12 | 3 | I | Tom CHILTON | |
BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 17 | 14.635 | 1:10.590 | 13 |
| 13 | 777 | I | Michael CREES | |
The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 17 | 17.127 | 1:10.642 | 14 |
| 14 | 41 | I | Carl BOARDLEY | |
Team HARD. | BMW 125i M Sport | 17 | 17.239 | 1:10.716 | 15 |
| 15 | 19 | I | Bobby THOMPSON | |
GKR TradePriceCars.com | Audi S3 | 17 | 21.984 | 1:10.821 | 17 |
| 16 | 180 | I | James GORNALL | |
GKR TradePriceCars.com | Audi S3 | 17 | 22.478 | 1:10.677 | 25 |
| 17 | 16 | I | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Infiniti Q50 | 17 | 26.247 | 1:10.924 | 20 |
| 18 | 12 | I | Stephen JELLEY | |
Team Parker Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 17 | 26.512 | 1:10.308 | 4 |
| 19 | 44 | I | Andy NEATE | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | 17 | 31.712 | 1:10.998 | 18 |
| 20 | 32 | I | Jack BUTEL | |
Carlube Triple R Racing with Mac Tools | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 17 | 43.719 | 1:11.823 | 19 |
| 21 | 28 | I | Nicolas HAMILTON | |
ROKiT Racing with Team HARD. | Volkswagen CC | 17 | 46.015 | 1:11.450 | 23 |
| 22 | 34 | I | Ollie BROWN | |
RCIB Insurance Racing with Fox Transport | Volkswagen CC | 16 | + 1 LAP | 1:11.635 | 24 |
| R | 18 | I | Senna PROCTOR | |
Excelr8 Motorsport | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | 16 | DNF | 1:10.324 | 26 |
| NC | 24 | I | Jake HILL | |
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square | Honda Civic Type-R | 14 | NCF | 1:10.039 | 21 |
| R | 4 | I | Sam OSBORNE | |
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square | Honda Civic Type-R | 10 | DNF | 1:10.572 | 22 |
| R | 31 | I | Jack GOFF | |
RCIB Insurance Racing with Fox Transport | Volkswagen CC | 4 | DNF | 1:11.456 | 16 |