Ash Sutton produced yet another fine drive at Brands Hatch to claim his 50th career victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship in the first race of the weekend this afternoon (Sunday). His victory at the wheel in the NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus Titanium comes a day after he crossed the line first in the qualifying race.
Sutton took the lead from pole position, and it was his teammate Dan Cammish who initially slotted into second after Daryl De Leon’s anticipated quick start in the WSR BMW didn’t materialise. But conditions were slippery, and Cammish ran wide just moments later at Graham Hill Bend. With De Leon bogging down and dropping out of the hunt at the front, it was Ricky Collard who moved into second as Sutton’s nearest challenger.
While conditions were greasy, the short Indy circuit lap didn’t afford any opportunity to pit for wets. Nic Hamilton and Max Buxton tried, but both dropped off the lead lap, forcing those at the front to press on. And this cost Adam Morgan at the start of lap two when he slid off the road from fourth and into the Paddock Hill gravel trap in his Cataclean Plato Racing Mercedes.
This brought things to a temporary halt as the safety car was summoned, but full-speed action soon resumed on lap nine, with the race distance extended from 24 to 27 laps. Collard attacked immediately, with his Team VERTU Hyundai gently nudging Sutton at Clearways. The loss of momentum briefly allowed his reigning champion teammate Tom Ingram to get alongside, but Collard held on and the recovering Cammish slipped through behind Collard to take third.
In the laps that followed, Collard briefly took the lead at Paddock Hill Bend after a rapid run over the start-finish line. But Sutton was back past by Surtees and, even though Collard attempted to repeat the move, he could never quite find a way to pass the Ford. Following a series of mid-race attempts, Sutton settled into a rhythm as the race reached the midway point and drove home to the flag.
For a time, Collard dropped back into Cammish’s clutches, but the other NAPA Racing UK entry couldn’t find an opening either. This allowed Collard to secure second place, though Ingram did sneak past Cammish three laps from the end to guarantee a visit to the podium. Cammish had to settle for fourth, with the watchful Tom Chilton who circulated behind the leading quartet for much of the race rounding out the top five.
Behind them, Sam Osborne completed an all Ford and Hyundai top six. Mikey Doble was another to bag a solid haul of points after guiding his Audi through the drama to seventh, just ahead of Chris Smiley and Charles Rainford. De Leon passed the flag in 10th, recovering a strong finish after losing ground rapidly early on.
After the race, Cammish and Chilton were both handed penalties for separate incidents. However as they were both for five seconds, they essentially canceled each other out on the results. De Leon was also docked five seconds, promoting Cook to the top 10.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Brands Hatch Indy, Race 1
- Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium
- Ricky Collard, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +0.974s
- Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +3.298s
- Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +8.953s
- Tom Chilton, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +9.290s
- Sam Osborne, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +11.120s
- Mikey Doble, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +12.490s
- Chris Smiley, Restart Racing, Hyundai i30N, +12.795s
- Charles Rainford, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport, +13.079s
- Josh Cook, Speedworks Corolla Racing, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +17.107s
Click here for full results and times from this weekend's event.