BTCC: Sutton closes points gap at a crippling Knockhill

The British Touring Car cohort travelled to Scotland for Round 4 of 2020’s campaign.

The exhilarating Knockhill Race Circuit always promises to deliver, as the midway point of the truncated season looms.

After three events, Team BMW’s Colin Turkington led the championship standings, with nearest rival Ash Sutton only 19 points behind.

Race 10

In a qualifying session where all but one car were separated by a single second, Sutton sped to pole position. His rear-wheel-drive Infiniti Q50 naturally launched quicker than Jake Hill’s Honda Civic, who placed P2. Turkington’s BMW also sped away efficiently, inheriting second place.

A bold move attempted at Taylor’s Hairpin by Dan Cammish sent him down the order, preceding a scary incident at the hairpin for Josh Cook. Something appeared to break in the rear of his FK8 Civic, resulting in a high speed spin into the tyre wall.

Before the safety car returned to the lane, an intriguing smash between James Gornall and Andy Neate ensued. Despite the damage, racing resumed, and Sutton had his mirrors full of Turkington’s front bumper. The Northern Irishman was glued to the Infiniti, but couldn’t force an overtaking move.

Ash Sutton held on for a third victory of the year, narrowly closing the gap between himself and Turkington for title. Jake Hill performed an exemplary defensive drive for third, constantly bettering Tom Ingram in the corners. Rory Butcher finished 5th at his home circuit, with the Team Dynamics duo of Cammish and Matt Neal in P6 and P7, respectively.

After the race, Sutton said:

“It’s good obviously to get the win here for Laser Tools Racing. It’s fantastic to convert that pole into a win. Colin was there but we just managed to hold that sensible gap that we required so he couldn’t get a move in.”

Race 10’s Top 10:

1. Ash Sutton
2. Colin Turkington
3. Jake Hill
4. Tom Ingram
5. Rory Butcher
6. Dan Cammish
7. Matt Neal
8. Tom Oliphant
9. Aiden Moffat
10. Stephen Jelley

Race 11

With the two title-favourites occupying the front row of the grid, it was the Infiniti Q50 of Ash Sutton who got away best, with Turkington slotting second. On paper, it was a rather straightforward affair, with Sutton blocking the slightly quicker BMW 3 Series confidently throughout. However, action followed the race behind.

Josh Cook’s Honda was repaired swiftly for the second race, but only for it to be spun on the first lap, prompting a safety car. In addition to this, on lap 5, Butcher attempted a bold move on Hill through Leslie’s and Scotsman, consequently taking a trip through the gravel. This allowed Ingram up to third, with Cammish stuck to his rear.

Andy Neate’s off-road excursion later in the race also produced a safety car period, but it was not enough to deter Sutton from holding off Turkington. The pair crossed the line ahead of Ingram and Cammish, with Aiden Moffat securing his best finish of the year at his home circuit in fifth.

Race-winner Sutton said:

“I’m over the moon. I think I can say that it’s the best ever touring car I’ve driven. Obviously Colin put some huge pressure in at the start and we can never match what the BMW can do off the line, so that was my biggest concern. And from then on it was just a case of managing Colin from there.”

Race 11’s Top 10:

1. Ash Sutton
2. Colin Turkington
3. Tom Ingram
4. Dan Cammish
5. Aiden Moffat
6. Tom Oliphant
7. Tom Chilton
8. Jake Hill
9. Chris Smiley
10. Rory Butcher

Race 12

The reverse grid draw put the Hyundai i30N Fastback of Senna Proctor on pole. However, it was second-placed Rory Butcher who made the best getaway. A healthy selection of midfield scraps littered the opening laps before a sizeable pileup at the chicane, involving Ollie Jackson, Mike Bushell and Sam Osborne, brought out the red flag.

Despite restarting at a standstill, the order reshuffled itself similarly to before the interruption. Starting third, Chris Smiley’s Hyundai dropped quickly to seventh, but became a moving roadblock as Aiden Moffat attempted to get past. As a result, the heavy hitters of Turkington, Ingram and Sutton all got trapped in a long train of cars.

Butcher, however, could not be caught, and sped to the flag with ease. Proctor placed second ahead of Tom Chilton’s BTC Civic. Further down, Smiley executed the ideal defensive drive, and kept Turkington, Ingram and Sutton to ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively.

Race 12’s Top 10:

1. Rory Butcher
2. Senna Proctor
3. Tom Chilton
4. Tom Oliphant
5. Jake Hill
6. Dan Cammish
7. Chris Smiley
8. Aiden Moffat
9. Colin Turkington
10. Tom Ingram

Weekend Analysis

Thanks to wins in Races 10 and 11, Ash Sutton has narrowly reduced the deficit to Colin Turkington. In doing so, the two rear-wheel-drivers have pushed away from the likes of Tom Ingram, Dan Cammish and Rory Butcher. Unless someone below goes on the hottest run of form, we will have either a former or reigning champion crowned at Brands Hatch.

I have been really disappointed and saddened by BTC Racing’s performances this year. They have the equipment, but 2020 has been so very cruel on the team. Most notably, Josh Cook seems unable to shrug the bad luck off, with two incidents in this weekend’s first races. He had the pace at Oulton to win ‘illegally’, and looked good this weekend. It just doesn’t want to work out for Cook.

Heading to Thruxton in three weeks’ time, there is plenty of opportunity for the teams facing lengthy repairs to get their act together and put out a strong showing. It will be interesting to see Sutton at Thruxton in a car with decent straight-line speed – he’s used to dragging the slow Levorg to results above its potential.

Championship Standings:

1. Colin Turkington – 182pts
2. Ash Sutton – 172pts
3. Rory Butcher – 139pts
4. Tom Oliphant – 130pts
5. Dan Cammish – 125pts

Standout Performers:

1. Ash Sutton
2. Colin Turkington
3. Jake Hill

The next round of the BTCC is at Thruxton on 19-20 September.