Ash Sutton has taken a double race victory for the third consecutive Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship race weekend, as the NAPA Racing UK star continues his fine form so far this season.
Having already bagged a brace at both Brands Hatch and Snetterton, Sutton has now controlled proceedings in the first two contests at Thruxton as the Ford Focus racer recorded his sixth success of the campaign.
Sutton pulled a gap of nearly a second almost immediately as the likes of Tom Ingram (BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8), Josh Cook (One Motorsport with Starline Racing) and Jake Hill (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) squabbled behind for second.
An almost carbon copy getaway as the opening bout saw Cook and Hill go side-by-side going into the Complex for the first time, with Ingram's car also getting slightly tagged in the tussle.
When the dust settled it was the same quintet at the top of the order with the gaps between them remaining relatively stable until the finish.
Sutton secured the victory by 2.234s from Ingram, Cook and Hill, with the NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus of Dan Cammish coming home in fifth.
The fight for sixth provided the main bulk of the entertainment as Rory Butcher (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK) and Colin Turkington (Team BMW) battled throughout.
Butcher got by Turkington's BMW 330e M Sport early on and then defended from the four-time champion until the closing moments, when the latter reversed the positions with a slick move on the final lap.
Aron Taylor-Smith (CarStore Power Maxed Racing), Ricky Collard (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK) and Aiden Moffat (One Motorsport with Starline Racing) completed the top ten positions.
Round 12 of the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place at 1725 and will screened live on ITV.
Dan Rowbottom has been handed a three place grid penalty for today's final race, due to an incident involving Ronan Pearson in race two. Subsequently, Rowbottom will start from fifth on the grid and the front row will be occupied by Adam Morgan and Aiden Moffat
Ash Sutton said: "Making history – I just can't thank the team enough. The car is just phenomenal and is just a joy to drive. It's so rare you get this, I can't thank the boys and girls enough at Motorbase. It's just mega."
Josh Cook said: "I hope it was more exciting to watch from the sofa than it was in the car – it was pretty processional. We are just still not finding that sweet spot and the car was really, really hard to drive.
"I can't fault the effort that the team are putting in here. The guys were here until 11pm last night still working on my car. I know that I'm doing the job behind the wheel and we just haven't got the package quite right."
Tom Ingram said: "Look the car is feeling fantastic. I ended up with some contact on the first lap – I think Josh [Cook] was trying to get down the inside of Jake [Hill] or vice versa, it doesn't matter, and ended up tipping into a bit of oversteer and that let Ash [Sutton] get a second or so down the road.
"Even to be a tenth quicker over ten laps is a tough ask when Ash is as fast as he is. Very happy to have come in where we have. Good points as I say, and we just have to keep banking them where we can."
2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Thruxton
*Car 123 – 10 second penalty, exceeding track limits.
