Ashley Sutton kicks off defence of Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship crown with hat-trick of podium places at Donington Park

Ashley Sutton kicked off the defence of his Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship crown in style with a hat-trick of podium places at Donington Park on Sunday.

The Bishop’s Stortford driver, who competes for NAPA Racing UK, claimed two second-place finishes and was third in the other race.

Sutton, 30, is in pursuit of a record-breaking fifth title and ended the opening weekend nine points behind early leader Tom Ingram.

The former Birchwood High School student was involved in a captivating battle for pole position in qualifying - run under the new Quick Six format - and missed out on top spot by a mere 0.051sec to Ingram.

Sutton, who drives a Ford Focus ST, shadowed Ingram to the chequered flag in damp conditions in race one before a bold dive down the inside at the Old Hairpin netted him another second-place finish in the second race.

The defending champion arguably saved his best drive until last as he valiantly fought his way from eighth onto the final step of the podium in the reverse-grid contest - and with substantially less hybrid deployment than those ahead of him.

“To come away with three podiums is a really strong start to the season and a good base for us to build on heading into the coming rounds,” said Sutton.

“We had to wait a little while to get things up and running, but when we did the racing was fantastic.

“To end the day on the podium, given where we started and with the hybrid laps we had, was a bit of a surprise, but it’s a testament to all of the hard work that everyone at NAPA Racing UK and Alliance Racing has put in over the winter. The car felt absolutely phenomenal.”

The championship resumes at Brands Hatch on the weekend of May 11-12.

“It’s clear that everyone has upped their game and that we’re in for a really exciting season,” added Sutton.

“We’ve learnt a lot this weekend so we’ll get our heads down between now and Brands Hatch to see what more we can unlock from the car.”