Ash Sutton triumphs as BTCC title race hots up

The battle for supremacy in the British Touring Car Championship took another twist in race two at Donington Park as Ash Sutton triumphed, Tom Ingram failed to finish and Jake Hill extended his lead in the standings.

In what proved to be a captivating race around the Grand Prix circuit, Sutton charged to his second win of the season in style after withstanding a torrent of pressure at one stage; with race one winner Colin Turkington and Hill completing the podium.

Sutton wasted no time in jumping into the lead as he took advantage of a slight moment that Turkington had exiting the Old Hairpin on lap one however he was kept honest as the chasing pack of Turkington, Ingram and Hill remaining within touching distance.

Armed with more hybrid deployment, Ingram was soon the driver to watch as he firstly dispatched Hill and then found a way past Turkington. Closing onto the back of Sutton, the Hyundai driver hounded the reigning champion for a number of laps before trouble struck.

Struggling with rising engine temperatures, Ingram soon dropped back from Sutton and in no time at all the BMW duo of Turkington and Hill were through. With coolant also dropping from his EXCLER8 machine, Ingram had no choice but to head for the pit lane.

Following Ingram’s departure, the race at the front settled down with Sutton claiming a pivotal win of his title rivals Turkington and Hill – who stretched his lead in the points to nine.

Behind the top three, Josh Cook enjoyed a trouble-free drive to fourth place while Adam Morgan dug deep to clinch fifth ahead of Dan Rowbottom.

Completing the top ten was Rob Huff, Aron Taylor-Smith, Mikey Doble and Sam Osborne.

Race three at Donington Park is scheduled to get underway at 15:25.