Sutton Seals 4th Title To Join BTCC Elite in Season Finale

Photo courtesy of British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

Ash Sutton etched his name in the BTCC history books at the weekend by sealing his fourth championship in the season finale at Brands Hatch, in a monumental day all-round for the newly-named Alliance Racing and NAPA Racing UK.

Race One (Round 28)

Championship leader Sutton went into the weekend with a 45-point lead over nearest rival, defending champion Tom Ingram (BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 MOTORSPORT), and had already extended by a further point by virtue of his qualifying victory on Saturday which saw him take his sixth pole position of the campaign.

All the NAPA Racing UK man needed to do was avoid any drama and the title could be his by the end of the first race, and made his intention clear from the off by opting for the soft tyre option to give him more speed.

A good start off the line saw Sutton immediately retain his position at the front of the pack despite an early challenge from second-place Rory Butcher (TOYOTA GAZOO RACING) going into Paddock Hill Bend. Butcher was quickly knocked down to third by Ingram, who immediately began to tighten the pressure on the race leader.

On a day where numerous records were there to be broken, Ash Sutton set a new BTCC lap record at the famed GP circuit by lap four, making it very clear that he would be hard to beat.

Rory Butcher soon found himself having to defend his third position from Team HARD. Racing's Bobby Thompson, who returned to action for the team at Silverstone a fortnight ago. The two exchanged places back-and-forth  until Butcher was forced to head to the pits after picking up a puncture, handing the final podium spot to Thompson.

Elsewhere, the battle was still very much on for the Jack Sears trophy as Mikey Doble (CARSTORE POWER MAXED RACING) continued to challenge team-mate Andrew Watson. However, Doble's hopes were dealt a blow as he was forced to retire after crashing out into the tyre wall after contact from Stephen Jelley (TEAM BMW) on lap thirteen.

With the safety car being deployed, Ash Sutton's on Ingram was extinguished as the pack bunched back up for the following three laps.

Despite his fading chances to catch Sutton in the race and the championship itself, Tom Ingram saved his hybrid boost to the second-to-last lap after the restart but was unable to gain enough ground to stop Sutton crossing the line to claim not only his eleventh race win of the season but with it, his record-equalling fourth BTCC Driver's title.

The victory ensured Sutton also took the record for most race wins in a season for twenty years, breaking James Thompson's record of ten in 2003, whilst also becoming the first driver to win championships in both rear-wheel and front-wheel drive machines.

Ash Sutton, 2023 BTCC Champion, said: "It feels phenomenal, I don’t know what to say, I genuinely don’t know what to say. The car has been absolutely mega, I can’t thank NAPA Racing UK enough and everyone that’s involved. Four-time BTCC champion… come on!

"It's such a relief I’ll be honest, as much as we had a huge points gap, Tom [Ingram] was right, it has been all ours to lose. One bad race and it could have all suddenly swung round. 

"People have spoken about records and that’s great. We always want to keep fighting! But the special bit is being the first driver to claim it in both a front-wheel-drive and a rear-wheel-drive. That was what we were ultimately chasing because I don't plan to end on four."

Final Result - Top Ten – Race 1 – Brands Hatch GP 

1. Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK 18 Laps
2. Tom Ingram, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +0.603s
3. Bobby Thompson, Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown +2.236s
4. Colin Turkington, Team BMW +2.993s
5. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +4.569s
6. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport +4.839s
7. Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK +6.428s
8. Stephen Jelley, Team BMW +6.617s
9. Ricky Collard, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +6.783s
10. Adam Morgan, Team BMW +7.263s

Photo courtesy of Glenn Carr

Race Two (Round 29)

With the main Driver's championship now decided, the remaining races served to settle the remaining competitions including the Manufacturer's, Independent Team's and Jack Sears Trophy competitions.

Chaos ensued quickly after the start as Colin Turkington (TEAM BMW) made a great start off the line from fourth but just as quickly appeared to start losing places and in the same moment both Ronan Pearson (BRISTOL STREET MOROTRS with EXCELR8 MOTORSPORT) and Michael Crees (TEAM HARD. RACING) came together off the track. Footage replayed shortly after showed Turkington sustain slight impact from Bobby Thomson from behind, resulting in a broken rear suspension on his West Surrey Racing-run BMW 330i M Sport and in turn becoming an obstruction on track.

​As Ronan Pearson tried to avoid a collision, he unavoidably collided instead with Crees' Team HARD Cupra Leon, with both cars sustaining considerable damage and putting all three drivers (Turkington included) out of the race.

NAPA Racing UK's Dan Cammish took advantage of the restart after the safety car, cutting in on the inside of Bobby Thompson to move up to third. Ricky Collard (TOYOTA GAZOO RACING) and Jake Hill (LASER TOOLS RACING with MB MOTORSPORT) also took advantage of the move and cruised past Thompson into fourth and fifth respectively.

Sam Osborne's (NAPA RACING UK) own challenge for the Jack Sears Trophy ended abruptly on lap fourteen as his Ford Focus ST was clipped by the returning James Gornall (TEAM HARD. RACING), turning his car around into Gornall's path and surging off into the tyre wall at speed.

The safety car was deployed for the third time of the day, holding the pack for three of the remaining four laps of the race. Once again, Tom Ingram tried to take advantage of the restart and his one remaining allocation of hybrid boost to catch the newly-crowned champion but in the end had to settle for another runners-up spot behind Ash Sutton who crossed the line to take his second win of the day and twelfth of the season, equalling Alain Menu's 1997 record for most wins in a campaign.

Despite coming across the line in eighteenth place, Andrew Watson did enough to secure this year's Jack Sears Trophy, whilst Independent Driver's champion Josh Cook's seventh place and Aidan Moffat's eleventh helped One Motorsport with Starline Racing clinch the Independent Team's championship.

Final Result - Top Ten – Race 2 – Brands Hatch GP

1. Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK 18 Laps
2. Tom Ingram, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +0.703s
3. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +0.921s
4. Ricky Collard, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +1.699s
5. Bobby Thompson, Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown +3.328s
6. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport +3.579s
7. Josh Cook, One Motorsport with Starline Racing +3.678s
8. Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK +4.093s
9. Stephen Jelley, Team BMW +4.462s
10. Daniel Lloyd, Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils +4.886s

Photo courtesy of British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

Race Three (Round 30)

Team BMW's Stephen Jelley was given the final pole position of the season in the reverse grid draw, with NAPA Racing UK's Dan Rowbottom joining him on the front row and Josh Cook and Jake Hill behind in third and fourth.

Josh Cook went into the race chasing his first win of the season in an effort to avoid his first winless season since 2017, whilst Team BMW and Alliance Racing/Ford (NAPA Racing UK) battling it out for the as-yet-undecided Manufacturer's championship.

It was Jake Hill who made the best start and powered off the line into second as Dan Rowbottom immediately started dropping places. The safety car would make a return appearance soon into the first lap, however, as Aidan Moffat - making his 300th BTCC race start - was put out of contention after sustaining impact from Power Maxed Racing's Mikey Doble.

Within the early moments of the yellow flags being brought out, Josh Cook moved past Hill into second, fuelling debate as to whether the change would stick due to the imminent safety car conditions. As the safety car returned to the pits on lap five, however, Cook made a move on the inside to wrest away the race lead from Stephen Jelley. The two battled through to the next lap when Jelley reclaimed the lead, only for Cook to snatch it back soon after.

Further back, Ash Sutton was forced to pit to remove an advertising baord from the front of his car, which he had acquired after coming off worse in a tussle with Tom Ingram and his own team-mate Rowbottom, running wide onto the grass. Sutton would rejoin the pack but could only recover enough to claim a thirteenth-place finish.

On the same lap, controversy reigned once more as the race lead took another twist with Jake Hill running wide of the track limits to go three abreast at Dingle Dell with Cook and Jelley and taking the race lead.

The following two laps would claim more retirements as Bobby Thompson went off and there was heartbreak for One Motorsport's Jade Edwards whose race ended after contact from George Gamble (TOYOTA GAZOO RACING) broke the rear suspension of her Honda Civic. At the time of the incident, Jade was up to eleventh place and looking to grab her best result of the season.

In the end, it was Jake Hill who held fast and maintained the lead of Josh Cook to cross the line for his sixth race win of the season and ensuring the best possible result for the BMWs to close off the season.

Despite Hill's victory, the Manufacturer's championship went down to the wire and Dan Rowbottom's and Dan Cammish's fouth and sixth place finishes helped Alliance Racing win the title over BMW by only four points.

Final Result - Top Ten – Race 3 – Brands Hatch GP 

1. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport 18 laps
2. Josh Cook, One Motorsport with Starline Racing +1.278s
3. Stephen Jelley, Team BMW +1.794s
4. Tom Ingram, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +4.032s
5. Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK +5.356s
6. Ricky Collard, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +6.951s
7. Daniel Lloyd, Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils +7.914s
8. Adam Morgan, Team BMW +8.361s
9. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +8.714s
10. Colin Turkington, Team BMW +8.896s

Photo courtesy of British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

Championship Standings - Final Summary

Ash Sutton secured the 2023 Driver's championship with victory in the first race of the day, joining legends Andy Rouse and Colin Turkington as a record-equalling four-time champion. Sutton's two race wins on the final day ensured he finished 46 points ahead of Tom Ingram.

Alliance Racing edged out Team BMW in the final race to win the Manufacturer's championship by only 4 points, whilst NAPA Racing UK also claimed the Team's championship with a 149-point lead over Bristol Street Motors with Ecxelr8 Motorsport.

Josh Cook had already clinched the Independent Driver's title at the penultimate round at Silverstone, and OneMotorsport with Starline Racing added the Independent Team's championship after race two this weekend after a close battle most of the season with Power Maxed Racing in both competitions.

Power Maxed Racing's Andrew Watson ousted team-mate Mikey Doble in the race for the Jack Sears Trophy, winning the title after race two this weekend and finishing 29 points ahead of both Doble and Team HARD's Dexter Patterson.

Chris Tetreault-Blay
BTCC Journalist @ F1 Journal