Ashley Sutton claimed his seventh podium of the season in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton this past weekend (May 25/26) to open up a ten-point lead at the top of the standings.
On what proved to be dramatic third meeting of the campaign in ever-changing weather conditions, the NAPA Racing UK driver found himself in the thick of the action across a trio of blockbuster races in Norfolk.
Arriving at the 2.97-mile circuit sitting at the top of the standings after claiming six podiums from the opening six races, the reigning champion headed into Saturday’s qualifying session somewhat on the back foot with just a single second of hybrid deployment available to him.
Grabbing his Ford Focus ST by the metaphoric scruff of the neck, the 30-year-old delivered yet another remarkable performance to haul himself up to second place and secure a spot on the front row of the grid.
Race one would see Sutton enjoy a relatively untroubled drive as he powered his way to a seventh podium finish in-a-row, which in-turn tied the record for consecutive top-three finishes that was set by Mat Jackson back in 2009.
Holding firm behind race leader Jake Hill during the early going of the bout, the front-wheel-drive racer dropped back to third place at mid-distance after a brief battle with the BMW of Bobby Thompson.
Sutton’s podium streak would sadly come to an end in race two as the four-time title winner saw his gamble to run slick tyres ultimately not pay off after the circuit had been hit by a brief but heavy thunderstorm.
With standing water causing a delay in proceedings, bright sunshine soon filled the skies and with a dry line developing, Sutton rolled the dice to pit at the end of the green flag lap to switch from wet to dry tyres.
Forced to run the hard Goodyear compound, the Alliance Racing driver valiantly fought inside the points-paying positions early on but when the rain returned, his chances of a strong result were extinguished.
Tasked with starting race three at the back of the grid on the medium tyre, Sutton was a man on a mission in the finale as he carved his way up the order – despite having to battle the ill-effects of fumes filling his cockpit after sustaining contact to his exhaust in the early exchanges.
Getting his head down, Sutton showed his fighting spirit with a number of bold overtakes on his way to fifth place.
Ashley Sutton: “That was a bit of a rollercoaster weekend – both in terms of the racing and the weather – so to have come away with another podium and having extended the championship lead is mega!
“Going to Snetterton we knew that we were gonna be up against it in terms of hybrid deployment but we managed to maximise absolutely everything to stick it on the front row for race one. To convert that into a seventh consecutive podium was pretty special.
“Obviously race two we took a gamble on switching to slicks and I really thought that given how quickly the track was drying that we’d made the right decision. That wasn’t to be the case when the heavens decided to open again.
“Race three wasn’t much fun if I’m honest, despite us getting all the way up to fifth. We had contact on the rear passenger door and exhaust early on, which then meant that for the rest of the race I had fumes pumping into the cockpit; to get to fifth was some achievement!
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship next heads to the fastest circuit on the calendar, Thruxton, for Rounds 10, 11 & 12 on June 8/9.
