Ash Sutton heads BTCC standings going into summer break

Ash Sutton heads into the British Touring Car Championship’s annual summer break with a 48-point lead after clinching his fifth win of the season at Oulton Park.

The Alliance Racing driver arrived at the Cheshire circuit with a commanding advantage at the top of the standings and despite seeing his lead slightly eroded by reigning champion Tom Ingram, he remains firmly in control at the summit.

Sutton secured a third-place finish during Saturday’s Qualifying Race but found himself in strife on the opening lap of race one on Sunday, which resulted in him finishing down the order in seventh.

With the soft tyre bolted on for race two, the four-time title winner stamped his authority as he charged to victory by more than 19 seconds. He then closed out his weekend with a top-ten finish in the reverse grid finale.

“It is a weekend that could have been better but we still have a healthy lead,” said Sutton. “I think had you told me at the start of the season that we’d be going into the summer break with a 48-point lead then I’d have snapped your hand off.

“We managed to salvage a result in race one but that sort of put us out of sync with Tom for the rest of the day. Race two was a mega result though, the car felt alive and it was the perfect combination of the soft tyre and having a good amount of boost.

“I think we were about five seconds clear and then my engineer came on the radio and said rain was on the way, so I focused on building a bigger lead just as a contingency if anything happened. That last race we managed to score another solid finish in ninth on the hard tyre.

“To be going into the summer break in the position we’re in is great. We can’t stand still though so we’ll see what improvements we can find to ensure we hit the ground running at Thruxton next month.”

Elsewhere, Sutton’s Alliance Racing/Ford and NAPA Racing UK top both the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ and Teams’ tables. In the Independents’, Doble and LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing continue to lead the way.

After claiming all three wins at Oulton Park, Dexter Patterson now tops the standings in the Jack Sears Trophy.