Photo: PSP Images

Ash Sutton happy to begin title defence with podium hat-trick

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Ash Sutton left the opening rounds of the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park in high spirits after beginning the defence of his title by clinching a hat-trick of podium finishes.

The NAPA Racing UK driver was one of the stars of the show in qualifying on Saturday as he blasted his Ford Focus onto the front row, missing out on pole position to Tom Ingram by a mere 0.051 seconds.

On race day, the four-time champion shadowed Ingram in races one and two to record a brace of second place finishes before concluding his weekend with a charging drive to third in the reverse grid encounter.

Those results leave the reigning title holder sitting second in the standings, nine points adrift of Ingram as the series moves to Brands Hatch in less than two weeks’ time.

“To come away with three podiums is a really strong start to the season and a good base for us to build on heading into the coming rounds,” said Sutton. “We had to wait a little while to get things up and running but when we did the racing was fantastic, I really enjoyed myself out there!

“The ‘Quick Six’ qualifying was awesome for everyone and having that extra hybrid deployment certainly had an impact on the racing. In race one I had to claw my way back past the BMWs and I didn’t think we quite got the tyre pressures right, which hampered us ever so slightly.

“Race two was another strong drive as we had a great battle with Tom and then when he made the move on Jake I knew I had to follow immediately so I just sent it down the inside at the Old Hairpin.

“To end the day on the podium – given where we started and with the hybrid laps we had – was a bit of a surprise but it’s a testament to all of the hard work that everyone at NAPA Racing UK and Alliance Racing has put in over the winter. The car felt absolutely phenomenal!

“It’s clear that everyone has upped their game and that we’re in for a really exciting season. We’ve learnt a lot this weekend so we’ll get our heads down between now and Brands Hatch to see what more we can unlock from the car.”