Ash Sutton charges through to race three win after Collard heartache

Ash Sutton secured a second win of the weekend in the final race of the weekend at Brands Hatch after a late penalty cost Ricky Collard a maiden BTCC victory.

Sutton had started the race back in eleventh spot after the reverse grid draw but stormed through the field on soft tyres – moving up into fifth spot on the opening lap alone.

Picking off the cars ahead, Sutton soon found himself running second behind Collard’s Toyota, which had taken the lead from Bobby Thompson on the opening lap – with the multiple champion closing in on his rival as the race drew towards a conclusion.

With a handful of laps remaining and Sutton seemingly ready to pounce, Collard was handed a time penalty for exceeding track limits although Sutton would still attempt to make a move for position on track – taking to the grass at one stage exiting Clearways as he tried to squeeze through.

Sutton ultimately took the win ahead of Thompson by virtue of the penalty for Collard, with third going to Tom Ingram – who also worked his way up the order to grab a second podium finish of the weekend.

Ingram finished one spot ahead of Dan Cammish to take points out of his championship lead, with Colin Turkington and Adam Morgan rounding out the top six.

Collard’s penalty saw him demoted to eighth spot, behind the Hyundai of Tom Chilton, with Dan Rowbottom and Josh Cook rounding out the top ten – the latter having lost ground with a trip through the Paddock Hill gravel.