Photo: PSP Images

Ash Sutton extends advantage with comfortable race one win

Ash Sutton secured another victory to extend his advantage in the BTCC standings with a comfortable lights-to-flag success in the opening race of the weekend at Thruxton.

Sutton had started on pole and was able to retain his lead when the lights went out ahead of Tom Ingram, before easing away from the Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 Hyundai through the opening laps.

Even though Sutton admitted to easing off to save his tyres late on, the NAPA Racing Focus was untroubled out front as Sutton made it five wins for the campaign and extended his advantage over Ingram at the head of the points.

Ingram himself would face some early pressure from Josh Cook – who survived a challenge from Jake Hill on lap one – but edged away from Cook as the race wore on, with the One Motorsport driver having to settle for third spot having set a new lap record.

Hill would run in fourth place throughout to lead the rear-wheel drive challenge, with Dan Cammish behind after he cleared Colin Turkington’s BMW on the second lap of the race in one of the few moves inside the top six.

Rory Butcher’s Toyota would fight through to seventh place ahead of a huge battle for eighth that was decided in favour of Mikey Doble.

Although the Power Maxed Racing driver was unable to hold on to the fourth place he scored in qualifying, Doble was in the thick of the action throughout and managed to hold off team-mate Aron Taylor-Smith, Team HARD’s Bobby Thompson and the Toyota of Ricky Collard in the closing laps.

Adam Morgan had also been in that fight but was delayed ahead of the start of the final lap and would slip outside the top ten to finish back in 14th spot.