BTCC: Sutton maintains slender lead at Silverstone, as Jackson claims maiden win

September 28, 2020 September 28, 2020

A second consecutive British Touring Car Championship weekend was held at Silverstone’s National Circuit.

Having capitalised effectively on Colin Turkington’s technical gremlins at Thruxton, Ash Sutton now led the points standings with four rounds to go.

Tom Ingram and Dan Cammish also drove strongly at the previous round, tightening the top order, and widening the title charge.

Race 16:

Cammish claimed another pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session. Despite launching well, his Civic Type R went wide at both Copse and Becketts, allowing Ingram to slide past. However, Cammish would regain the spot at Brooklands.

Just behind, Butcher and Turkington were scrapping for the final podium spot, with contact between the two allowing Tom Oliphant to overtake his teammate for fourth. Consequently, Sutton latched on to the rear of Turkington’s BMW 3 Series.

A tangle between James Gornall and Michael Crees at Becketts on lap 5 brought out the safety car. Ingram had seemingly passed Cammish at Luffield before the boards emerged, but was forced to give up the position two laps later.

When the racing resumed, Oliphant retired with broken suspension, owing to an excessive use of the curb at Copse. This bunched Butcher, Turkington and Sutton together, entertaining all the way to the chequered flag with close, tense racing. There was no catching Cammish and Ingram, however, with the former winning by over a second after 25 laps.

After the race, Cammish said:

“It means a lot to lead off the front and soak up the pressure and, to be honest, to get it off the line. After three terrible starts last week, 95% of that race was done in the opening corner, that could have been very different. But it’s not over yet, still got more to do and keep it consistent.”

Race 16’s Top 10:

Dan Cammish
Tom Ingram
Rory Butcher
Colin Turkington
Ash Sutton
Adam Morgan
Jake Hill
Matt Neal
Stephen Jelley
Josh Cook

Race 17:

A frantic first lap ensued for the weekend’s second race – Cammish and Ingram accelerated well, with Sutton beating Turkington when the lights went out. However, come Maggotts and Becketts, the points leader out-braked himself, and punted Butcher into a spin. Before the opener finished, Ingram also passed Cammish at Luffield.

Sutton would drop down the order come the end of lap 2, rounding out the top 10 with suspected damage. The second Infiniti Q50 of Aiden Moffat, on the other hand, was enjoying a stellar race, forcing his way up to seventh by lap 7.

By lap 14, Turkington was finally close enough to Cammish to mount a serious challenge, and successfully completed the move for second at Copse.

With only five laps left to be completed, Sutton, who was defending a reverse grid spot, pulled wide with a puncture, demoting him by multiple positions. Only a couple of minutes later, race-leader Ingram suffered the same fate, and joined fellow heavyweights Sutton and Butcher at the tail-end of the field.

Turkington was left at the front come the chequered flag, placing him top of the pile points-wise. Dan Cammish followed through in second, with Adam Morgan rounding out the podium, and topping off a great drive for Cicely Motorsport. Another standout drive came from Turkington’s teammate Oliphant, who climbed 16 spots to finish ninth.

Race-winner Turkington said:

“You see how quickly things can change. I’d been watching footage this morning from last year, the 2019 coverage, and saw that two cars had got front left punctures going through Brooklands so I was mindful of that and to try and stay away from it. It’s great to get my car home in one piece.”

Race 17’s Top 10:

Colin Turkington
Dan Cammish
Adam Morgan
Matt Neal
Aiden Moffat
Josh Cook
Jake Hill
Ollie Jackson
Tom Oliphant
Senna Proctor

Race 18:

Turkington drew his teammate’s number for the reverse grid race, but could not capitalise on the pole as Motorbase’s Ollie Jackson inherited the lead from launch. Ingram was an early casualty, as contact at Luffield speared his Toyota Corolla into the wall. Andy Neate made it three from three as he once more tangled controversially with BTCC newcomer Jade Edwards.

By lap 5, Sutton had already forced his way into the points before a sizeable crash at Maggotts between Matt Neal and Butcher brought out the red flag. The Ford Focus ST slammed into the wall backwards and rolled into the path of oncoming cars, thankfully avoiding further damage.

With a 12 lap sprint to be fulfilled, every driver upped their efforts to bag as many points as possible. Jackson once again beat Oliphant off the line, with Josh Cook losing third to Morgan. Without any weight onboard, Sutton’s Q50 was on rails, and had already overtaken championship rival Turkington’s BMW by the end of the opening lap.

Sutton was then let through by teammate Moffat, posting the fastest lap of the race, too. Up ahead, a slight touch by Oliphant on Jackson’s rear unsettled the leader’s car, and had seemingly allowed the BMW through, but Jackson held first into Copse.

Sutton, who had overtaken Cook for third by lap 8, was immediately on the heels of the front two. Multiple scraps between them, and the following drivers behind, produced some amazing racing, with Sutton’s lighter Infiniti finally besting Oliphant’s 3 Series at Becketts thanks to an astounding piece of driving.

Ollie Jackson, however, could not be caught, and claimed his maiden win in the BTCC. Post race, Sutton and Oliphant switched positions, as the former’s overtake was deemed illegal with excessive track limits at Copse.

Race-winner Jackson said:

“I’m really really emotional. It was terrible obviously for Rory, thankfully it sounds like he’s okay. Amazing day, after not a brilliant qualifying, and to make it back up, to get a good start and to actually take the win is amazing – I’m living the dream.”