Ashley Sutton maintains his place at the top of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with Silverstone comeback
Ashley Sutton completed a sensational fightback at Silverstone to secure a podium finish in race three and maintain his advantage at the top of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship standings.
The Bishop's Stortford driver charged from the back of the grid to third in the reverse-grid encounter to retake his place at the summit having lost it in race two.
But there is all to play for with three rounds remaining after the former Birchwood High School student saw his overall lead cut from 16 points to four, with Colin Turkington breathing down his neck.
Sutton, ladened with 60kg of success ballast, produced a lap good enough for seventh on the grid in qualifying and was not quite able to get past Turkington as he had to settle for a fifth-place finish in race one.
Losing a small amount of weight for the second race, the Laser Tools Racing competitor was looking to move further up the order but a lock up and inadvertent contact with Rory Butcher on the first lap scuppered his chances.
Dropping to 10th, Sutton nursed his front left tyre for the majority of the race before it finally punctured, forcing him into the pits and out of the points. Bolting a new tyre on, the 2017 champion, who came 26th, rejoined the fray to net the fastest lap and, crucially, an additional point.
Free of ballast for race three, Sutton stormed into the top 20 before the red flag was shown following an accident for Butcher.
Lining up 14th on the restart for a 12-lap sprint to the finish, the former Jack Sears Trophy winner picked his way through the top 10 before making a crucial move on Turkington.
Sutton then found himself in a battle for the lead with Ollie Jackson and Tom Oliphant before ending in third spot.
"As I've said before, anything can happen in the BTCC and I think Silverstone has proven just that. Things didn't look great after race two but we threw everything at in race three and reaped the rewards to come away still leading the points," said Sutton, who heads to Croft for the next round on the weekend of October 10-11.
"Seventh in qualifying wasn't too bad considering we had a few little issues and race one was all about banking some points and putting myself in a position to get some weight out of the car, which we did.
"In race two I locked up heading into Becketts and from then on it was a matter of when, not if, the tyre would go. Getting the weight out of the car transformed everything, it was phenomenal. I can't get over how good the car felt.
"That last race was by far the best race of my career so far. To start at the back of a BTCC grid and get to the podium is very rare.
"A lot of things fell our way, with the re-grid and the restart, as well as a few people getting caught out by the oil too. I just took every opportunity that presented itself and went for it.
"We now head to Croft, a circuit I love, with a small lead so we will see how things play out there. We're getting towards the business end of the season now so every point will be crucial."