Ash Sutton expecting tough start at Thruxton

Ash Sutton admits that the start of the weekend at Thruxton will be tough as he seeks to maintain his lead in the BTCC standings.

The Team BMR driver moved to the head of the field at Donington Park last time out and holds a slender lead over three points over Josh Cook.

It leaves Sutton in unchartered territory heading to the fastest circuit on the calendar, with BMR having struggled in the opening rounds in recent years, and Sutton admitted that the additional weight on his Subaru Levorg GT would work against him.

“Heading to Thruxton as championship leader is great but it also has its disadvantages,” he said on the blog of team sponsor Adrian Flux. “I have a small passenger onboard at the start of this weekend and that is going to hurt us come qualifying and also in race one

“Despite that, I feel we had a good feeling from the car at the test there a few weeks back and look to improve on that.

“So far this season couldn’t have gone any better. We are sitting in the strongest position yet, compared to the last few years. A lot of that has come down to a little bit of Lady Luck on a Saturday. Having the mixed and damp conditions has given us a leg-up. It’s just been about maintaining that pace come Sunday!”