Ash Sutton delighted to open Motorbase account

Ash Sutton admitted he was thrilled to secure his first win with Motorbase after emerging as the biggest challenger to the dominant BMWs at Knockhill.

Sutton was the only front-wheel drive car inside the top six in qualifying after putting his Ford Focus alongside Jake Hill on the front row of the grid, and he fought hard in the early stages of the opener to get ahead of Hill into the lead.

Hill would eventually get ahead to secure the win as Sutton was forced to fend off the advances of Colin Turkington, but in race two, it was the Ford that crossed the line first after a mistake from Hill at the chicane gave the defending champion a lead he wasn’t to lose.

That was despite the best efforts of Hill to find a way back ahead on the run to the line, with the pair almost ending up alongside each other on the blast out of the hairpin.

More points followed with a solid run to fifth in race three to ensure that Sutton now sits third in the points – just six points off leader Colin Turkington.

“It’s been a really, really good weekend!” he said. “To come here and pick up a win, second and fifth is a mega way to start the second half of the season and has allowed us to close right up in the points. I’m so pleased to have got the first win for NAPA Racing UK. 



“We came close in race one but we just didn’t quite have the pace to stick with Jake [Hill]. I gave it my best and got him at the start but we picked up a bit of damage from contact at the rear so I accepted second and focused keeping Colin [Turkington] behind. 



”Race two was a little bit easier as Jake made a small mistake at the chicane and I knew that was my chance. Across the chicane was where we were really strong so it was just about getting my head down and sending it. I was in full qualifying mode and thankfully we had enough in the tyres to get to the end; I was never going to give that one up!



“We’ve made some real progress with the car over the break and it’s now time my liking. I’m able to make it dance and move how I want. We’re in a good place so hopefully we can carry this momentum and form into Snetterton where we should be just as strong.”