Ash Sutton extends BTCC points lead at Thruxton

Ash Sutton continued his relentless march at the top of the British Touring Car Championship standings at Thruxton this past weekend, with the Alliance Racing driver extending his lead over Tom Ingram to 59 points.

Picking up where he left off prior to the summer break, the four-time champion started Saturday’s Qualifying Race from seventh but wasted no time in fighting his way forward to take the chequered flag in third.

The Ford Focus Titanium driver then shadowed Josh Cook in race one to clinch second place, before then going on to tally a sixth win of the season in race two.

Sutton closed out his weekend around the high-sped Hampshire circuit by clinching yet another podium to ensure he heads to Knockhill in less than two weeks’ time with a healthy advantage in the standings.

“If I’m honest I didn’t expect us to extend the gap like we have,” Sutton said. “I thought that it may just go back and forth over the course of the weekend, so to have stretched it by another ten or so points is mega.

“The guys and girls at NAPA Racing UK gave me a great car and arguably the charge we put on in the Qualifying Race laid the groundwork for Sunday, as it enabled us to start towards the front of the field.

“To come away with another win and two more podiums is phenomenal. Everything is in a good place at the moment so I’m just gonna keep pushing; the moment you take your foot off the gas so to speak is when mistakes start creeping in.

“We’re just gonna keep attacking each weekend in the manner in which we have up to now and see what we can achieve. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing what we can do at Knockhill next time out.”