Ash Sutton vows to come back fighting in 2026

Ash Sutton says he is more motivated than ever to reclaim the British Touring Car Championship title after finishing second to Tom Ingram this season.

The Alliance Racing driver took the title fight down to the penultimate race of the season at Brands Hatch this past weekend but he was ultimately unable to overturn the significant points deficit to the now double champion.

Sutton’s season – which comprised of five wins and a further 12 podiums – saw him emerge as the only real challenger to Ingram, however the four-time champion was the first to admit that clinching what would have been a record-breaking fifth title was always going to be difficult.

“Well, we certainly gave it a good go,” lamented the Ford Focus ST driver. “I’ve got to say congratulations to Tom and everyone at EXCELR8 because they’ve done a mega job this season. That car has been in a different league and Tom has driven well so it was always going to be a winning combination.

“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved though because we’ve been the only ones that have been able to take the fight to him – and we’ve done that with one hand tied behind our backs effectively when you look at how strong the Hyundai has been.

“Ending the season with a couple of podiums and helping NAPA Racing UK win the Teams’ Championship for a fourth successive year is mega but I’m now really motivated to make sure we come back and are in a position to win that Drivers’ title next year.

“We’ve got a winter of hard work ahead of ourselves so in theory our preparation for the 2026 season starts right now.”