Ash Sutton vows to come back fighting in second half of the season

Ash Sutton has vowed that the gloves will come off and he’ll be on maximum attack when the British Touring Car Championship resumes at Croft at the end of July.

The Alliance Racing driver endured a frustrating outing at Oulton Park as bodywork damage cruelly ruled him out of contention for strong results in races two and three at the Cheshire venue.

Sutton had tallied his tenth podium of the season in the weekend’s opening contest before misfortune struck, meaning he now heads into the summer break sitting third in the standings and 24 points off the summit.

“I think it’s fair to say that we’ve experienced the highs and lows of the BTCC this weekend; and it’s also clear that me and Oulton Park just don’t seem to get on at all,” Sutton said.

“To qualify on the front row given the hybrid we had and then claim a podium in race one was mega. Tom left the door open a little bit so I stuck my nose in and had a go but once the move was gone I just settled into a groove and brought it home.

“It’s frustrating that bodywork damage cost in races two and three but the luck just wasn’t on our side it seemed. To be fair, I did try to knock it off in the second race but the thing just wasn’t budging.

“Obviously the results this weekend has meant we’ve lost ground in the championship battle so we’ve got work to do in the second half of the season to make up a deficit of 24 points.

“Up until now we’ve been trying to go about winning the title in a different way, a more concise and consistent way. Heading to Croft though I think the gloves have to now come off and the old Ash on maximum attack will be coming out!”