Ashley Sutton claims hat-trick of third-place finishes at Brands Hatch to go top of Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship standings

Ashley Sutton claimed a hat-trick of third-place finishes at Brands Hatch on Sunday (May 12) to move to the top of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship standings.

The Bishop’s Stortford-based defending champion produced three batting performances to maintain his record of stepping onto the podium in every race so far this term.

And the former Birchwood High School student is now two points clear of Colin Turkington at the summit and 10 ahead of third-placed Tom Ingram.

Sutton, who competes for NAPA Racing UK and drives a Ford Focus ST, got into the Quick Six shootout in qualifying, despite only having a limited amount of hybrid deployment at his disposal.

The four-time title winner then set a best time of 48.091sec around the short 1.207-mile track to clinch fourth on the grid for the first of Sunday’s three races.

In race one, Sutton went wheel-to-wheel with his former team-mate and old friend Josh Cook in what was an almighty scrap for second place.

He originally fought with stablemate Dan Cammish for the position before being forced to pit following a puncture and attention soon turned to the Toyota of Cook who, on the superior tyre compound, soon began to fill his mirrors.

Swapping paint for a number of laps, Sutton ultimately conceded the position to Cook but clinched a well-earned third place.

Sutton battled with Ingram for the runner-up spot in the second race and limited hybrid deployment culminated in him relinquishing it to his rival in the closing stages, however he had enough to hold on for third.

And he saved his best for the final encounter as he produced a charging drive to make it six podium places from as many races at the start of the campaign.

Starting in ninth and on the soft tyre, he made a number of early moves and soon found himself on the heels of Aron Taylor-Smith and Tom Chilton.

As the race entered its final few laps, Chilton’s late lunge on Taylor-Smith at Paddock Hill Bend opened the door for Sutton to power through into third place.

“It’s been another really good weekend, all things considered,” said Sutton. “To come away with three more podiums, which extends the streak to six, is pretty mega and we’ve now got the championship lead too, which isn’t to be sniffed at.

“Going into the weekend I didn’t really have any expectations because of the differences in hybrid deployment and varying tyre compounds, but the guys and girls at NAPA Racing UK gave me a great car that was able to fight at the front all weekend long.

“I really enjoyed the fights with Josh and Tom in races one and two and then when we bolted the softs on for race three it was game on. I was a little conscious about the punctures others had had, but we managed the tyres well and took our opportunity when it was presented.”

Sutton will be aiming to extend his lead at the top of the standings when the championship resumes at Snetterton on the weekend of May 25-26.

“As great as this weekend has been, we’re already starting to think about Snetterton and the impact that having relatively little to no hybrid is going to have,” he added.

“We’ll need to roll out a good race car and box clever!”