Sutton: ‘The car felt phenomenal’ in strongest-ever season start

Ash Sutton enjoyed a ‘really strong start’ to the British Touring Car Championship season at Donington Park, with the four-time champion collecting more points in the opening round than he has done in any of his previous eight season starts.

Having qualified his NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus in second on the grid on Saturday, trading top times with rival Tom Ingram, Sutton secured a trio of podium finishes in Sunday’s races to ensure he is just nine points behind championship leader Ingram.

Briefly dropping to fourth at the start of the opening race, Sutton was quickly back into third, before the next 14 laps were held behind the safety car.

Racing resumed with only six laps to go, and with four laps to go Sutton reclaimed second from Jake Hill, but was by this stage two seconds shy of Ingram and had to settle for second.

Dropping behind Hill’s fast-starting BMW once again in race two, Sutton then shadowed long-time rival Ingram for much of the race, following him past Hill into the Old Hairpin five laps from the finish.

Although Ingram didn’t break free, Sutton couldn’t get close enough for a challenge for the lead and was again second.

From eighth on the reversed grid in race three, the 30-year-old made steady progress early on, gaining a place a lap in the opening three tours before the safety car.

Sutton then benefitted from the squabbling for the lead at the front to take third, where he remained until the chequered flag.

It is the first occasion the four-time champion has scored more than one podium in the first event of the season, and leaves him with his biggest points haul of a season opener and a strong start to the season.

“To come away with three podiums is a really strong start to the season and a good base for us to build on heading into the coming rounds,” said Sutton.

“We had to wait a little while to get things up and running but when we did the racing was fantastic, I really enjoyed myself out there!

“The ‘Quick Six’ qualifying was awesome for everyone and having that extra hybrid deployment certainly had an impact on the racing.

“In race one I had to claw my way back past the BMWs and I didn’t think we quite got the tyre pressures right, which hampered us ever so slightly.

“Race two was another strong drive as we had a great battle with Tom and then when he made the move on Jake I knew I had to follow immediately so I just sent it down the inside at the Old Hairpin.

“To end the day on the podium – given where we started and with the hybrid laps we had – was a bit of a surprise but it’s a testament to all of the hard work that everyone at NAPA Racing UK and Alliance Racing has put in over the winter. The car felt absolutely phenomenal!

“It’s clear that everyone has upped their game and that we’re in for a really exciting season. We’ve learnt a lot this weekend so we’ll get our heads down between now and Brands Hatch to see what more we can unlock from the car.”