Well one of motorsports’ cliché sayings is that, ‘You don’t win the race on lap one,’ but Ash Sutton proved it completely wrong in in Race 2 of the BTCC at Thruxton over the weekend.
The four time champion had a perfect launch in his NAPA Racing Ford and claimed the lead of the race by the exit of the first corner. Sutton hit the front and didn’t relinquish the lead of the race, hitting back at Ingram after his race one win. Ingram did minimise the damage, bringing his Hyundai home in second place, making it two podiums for the day so far.
Cook disqualified from Race Two
Josh Cook took the chequered flag in another sensational third position in Race 2 of the BTCC at Thruxton. But the number 66 car was eventually excluded from the result after failing ride height checks in post race scrutineering. This promoted Dan Rowbottom to the third place spot and meant that Cook would have to start race three from the back of the pack.
Hall out of Race Two
Max Hall missed the second race of the day after a collision with Sam Osbourne in race 1. The two came to blows on the first lap at the complex. Osborne made it out for race two but Max Hall’s Cupra was absent from the grid.
Three way battle for the podium
Whilst there may not have been a battle for the lead, Jake Hill had his elbows out fighting off the NAPA duo of Dan Cammish and Dan Rowbottom. The trio were swapping positions for the majority of the race. With Rowbottom eventually pulling away and coming out on top ahead of teammate Cammish. With Cook’s disqualification, Rowbottom’s reward for winning the battle was a spot on the podium. Cammish would inherit fourth place, adding to his second place result in race 1. Hill’s BMW eventually fell backwards and settled for what would be fifth spot.
Taylor-Smith trundles home on three wheels
Aron Taylor-Smith suffered a puncture in the last few laps of the race which saw him drop to 17th place. Impressively, he still managed to finish the race on three wheels, albeit having to make use of the runoff at the complex.
Ash Sutton picked out the number seven ball for the reverse grid draw. That puts Toyota’s James Dorlin on pole for the first time in his career. He will have Team Virtu’s Senna Proctor alongside him on the front row who has had two top ten finishes so far today.
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Feature Image: BTCC
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