As the 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship nears its climactic final weekend, we turn our attention to the victories that have defined the season for the chasing contender—Ash Sutton.
Sutton, the campaign’s first winner, could hardly have gotten off to a stronger start in 2025. Victory in the opening two rounds, followed by four total top-step finishes in the opening half of the season, saw the #116 take twice as many wins as any other driver come the mid-season mark. Since adding another success to his 2025 tally, the four-time champion heads into the final weekend firmly in contention for a record-breaking crown on Sunday, 5 October.
Here’s how the NAPA Racing UK star added each triumph to his BTCC legacy…
Donington Park National – Race 1
Sutton wasted no time getting back to winning ways in 2025, producing a commanding drive in the season’s opening race at Donington Park. After out-dragging pole-sitter and teammate Dan Cammish into Redgate, Sutton set about controlling the race from the front. Despite late pressure from Tom Ingram – who had conserved his medium tyres well – Sutton managed the gap to perfection, taking the chequered flag with a composed and measured performance.
Donington Park National – Race 2
Sutton doubled up in emphatic fashion in race two, executing another lightning start to surge into, and retain the lead on the opening lap. This time, with the medium tyre compound bolted on, Sutton demonstrated rapid pace and consistency to stretch his advantage over the chasing pack. A brief safety car intervention did little to slow his momentum, and the #116 Ford Focus stormed home for back-to-back victories – marking the perfect start to his fight for five.
Stat: Sutton’s Donington double to open the season is one of only two occasions in 2025 where one driver has won twice on the same weekend.
Thruxton – Race 2
Sutton returned to the top step at Thruxton, along with the first sighting of his black and gold NAPA centenary celebration livery, delivering a dominant drive around the high-speed Hampshire circuit.
Starting from fourth on the grid, he made an explosive getaway - one of the finest we’ve seen in recent years - and took the lead before heading into the complex.
Managing his tyres expertly over the course of the race – as is so often his trademark – Sutton never looked under threat, crossing the line unchallenged to secure his third win of the year. A win, at that point in time, that saw the #116 have three times as many as any other driver this season.
Oulton Park – Race 2
Arguably one of his finest drives of the campaign so far, Sutton claimed win number four with a strategic masterclass at Oulton Park. After slowing to finish fourth in the opening bout the championship leader would start the second race of the day on the soft tyres, Sutton carved his way past Chris Smiley and Cammish before chasing down Ingram, who all had to run the hard compound.
A smart move into Island Hairpin gave him the lead, and from there Sutton controlled proceedings to take a crucial victory – one that vaulted him back into the championship lead heading into the break.
Croft – Race 3
Topping his drive from Oulton Park, Sutton stood victorious after one of the most incredible races in memory as the action at Croft was rounded out in unforgettable style. Starting from fifth, the NAPA Racing UK driver settled into the race despite action coming from every angle around the #116.
Then came the incredible moment – almost inexplicable in its completion – as Sutton came from fourth at the final hairpin, had contact with Gordon Shedden's #52 machine in the process of the move, and the four-time champ then somehow slid his Ford Focus down the inside of Ingram's Hyundai and Moffat's BMW to emerge in front. The Hertfordshire-born driver would go on to take his 47th and most recent BTCC victory.
