Two steps forward and one back. It is a painful way to try and win a British Touring Car Championship, but it is a habit that title chaser Ash Sutton has seemingly slipped into.
The NAPA Racing Ford Focus man was at it again at Croft, rattling off two strong podiums – including a win – before a points-draining retirement following contact in the reversed-grid finale. It was the same reason for retirement at Oulton Park before the summer break too.
His team-mate Dan Cammish had led him over the line in race one, while Colin Turkington powered his WSR BMW 330e M Sport to a triumph to contrast with Sutton’s despair in race three.
But it was the diligent points-collecting work of Excelr8 Hyundi i30 N driver Tom Ingram throughout the weekend that really kept the heat on serial winner Sutton.
The Focus man had headed to North Yorkshire with a six-point buffer at the top of the table. Remarkably, after the trucks rolled out of the Darlington track, the gap was exactly the same…
Race 1
The qualifying session pointed to the fact that the NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus machines were again the weapons to have in North Yorkshire, although it was a surprise that it wasn’t Sutton leading the line.
The Bishop’s Stortford man had twice gained
