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Ashley Sutton endures frustrating Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship weekend at Thruxton




Ashley Sutton has vowed to keep fighting in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship ahead of the next race day in Scotland.

The 2017 champion produced another battling performance in rounds 19, 20 and 21 at Thruxton, but ultimately endured a frustrating time as he came ninth, 11th and ninth.

The 25-year-old Bishop's Stortford driver, who competes for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing, is now preparing for the trip to Knockhill, over the weekend of September 14 and 15, sitting sixth in the rankings.

Ashley Sutton at Thruxton. Picture: Jakob Ebrey Photography (15545484)
Ashley Sutton at Thruxton. Picture: Jakob Ebrey Photography (15545484)

Sutton, at the wheel of his Subaru Levorg, set a best time of 1min 16.362sec in qualifying to secure a 12th-place start for the opening encounter.

The Go Homes-sponsored ace ended a race-long scrap with the likes of Matt Neal, Andrew Jordan and Tom Ingram to move up to ninth.

In the second race, Sutton pushed himself and the car to the limit, running as high as ninth before a big moment at Village on lap 11 left him to call upon his supreme car control to keep his Subaru on the circuit and ultimately hold on to 11th place.

And he rounded off another gritty performance in the rain-affected third race as he made progress to secure another ninth-place finish.

"That was another tough day at the office," said Sutton. "From the start of the weekend I was on the absolute limit and I think the only way I could have gone any quicker was if the track was a bit wider!

"Coming into the weekend we knew it was going to be difficult, but there really was nothing more to extract from it; our qualifying trim is our race trim. I had to really get my elbows out to stay in the fight, and that huge moment in race two was quite something as well.

"One-lap pace is what kept us in the mix, and through the corners we were able to remain in the hunt as the chassis is mega - it's getting swallowed up on the straights that just makes the racing that much harder.

"Everyone at Adrian Flux Subaru Racing is doing an amazing job and we will keep going. I'm not sure how Knockhill will go for us, but we will give it everything we have; the saving grace there is that the soft tyre will be available to use and we're normally strong on that."



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