Ash Sutton “on a knife edge” to secure Donington Park pole

Ash Sutton admitted he has been driving ‘on a knife edge’ after securing an unexpected pole position for the second meeting of the BTCC season at Donington Park.

With Team BMR firmly on the back foot after a tough weekend at Brands Hatch, Sutton emerged as the quickest Subaru driver in the opening practice session of the weekend but then ended FP2 down in 29th spot having managed just eleven laps.

Come qualifying however, the reigning Jack Sears Trophy winner produced the quickest lap of the day to storm to pole by a tenth of a second – with Subaru team-mate Jason Plato a full half a second further back in 17th.

Despite admitting that he hadn’t used new tyres during practice, Sutton said he hadn’t expected to be so quick in the session as he snared the Donington Park pole for a second straight year.

“I’ll be honest with you, we didn’t throw new tyres at the car in either FP1 or FP2,” he told TouringCarTimes. “We worked hard and dug deep during the two sessions, looked back at Brands Hatch and what we had there, and then it all got thrown into the pot.

“We tried various different things and the last part was bolting on new tyres. The car was on rails and we got the lap hooked up, but I don’t think there was anymore time in it. We were on the knife-edge and it really was all or nothing.

“I can’t thank the boys enough for their hard work. I’m a bit surprised at the gaps, but I feel more at home in a rear-wheel drive car and I’m delighted to be at the front.”