Reigning Kwik Fit British Touring Car Champion Ash Sutton is targeting his third successive title this year as he kicks off his championship defence at Donington Park this weekend (23/24 April).
Sutton moved to the new NAPA Racing UK outfit during the off-season, alongside series returnee Dan Cammish, as the Motorbase Performance-run squad boasts one of the strongest line-ups on the grid.
“I can’t wait to get started,” said Sutton. “We have the introduction of hybrid power in the BTCC this season so there’s a learning curve for everyone with that, but it’s been pretty faultless for us and we expect to be somewhere near the sharp end this weekend.”
A maiden Drivers’ title for Sutton with Subaru in 2017 was followed by a double in the Laser Tools Racing Infiniti in both 2020 and 2021, but this latest move represents another exciting challenge for the 28-year-old.
“Moving from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive is a big shift,” he continues. “I love the challenge though and things have gone well during pre-season. Dan [Cammish] is very fast and I expect us both to push the team forward. It’s a long hard season in the BTCC and there are lots of drivers that can win the title.”
The list of challengers continues to grow in the UK’s most competitive motorsport championship with Team BMW’s Colin Turkington arguably leading the line of likely candidates.
Turkington – a record holding four-time champion and runner-up last season – enjoyed a solid pre-season test programme as he also looks forward to this weekend’s curtain raiser.
“Donington Park is an awesome circuit and a superb venue for the season opener,” said Turkington. “It’ll be fascinating to see how qualifying plays out and how the new hybrid system operates in the races. At this stage it’s impossible to know where we’ll be.”
Josh Cook (Rich Energy BTC Racing), Jake Hill (ROKiT MB Motorsport), Tom Ingram (Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com), Jason Plato (Rich Energy BTC Racing), Rory Butcher (Toyota Gazoo Racing UK) and Gordon Shedden (Halfords Racing with Cataclean) are just some of the other standout stars looking to win the most coveted prize in British motorsport with a total of 28 cars on show this weekend.
A bumper crowd is expected to descend on the famous Donington Park circuit this weekend with many more watching the action live throughout Sunday on ITV4 from 1050.
