Double P2 Success For Sutton

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13 Jun 2022

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NAPA Racing UK’s Ash Sutton continues momentum with double P2 at Oulton Park. Dan Cammish celebrates 100th BTCC start with impressive hat-trick of top sixes.

NAPA Racing UK celebrated consistently strong Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) performances from teammates Sutton and Cammish at Oulton Park on Sunday, 12th June, bringing NAPA Racing UK to second place in the Teams Standings.

Reigning BTCC Champion Ash Sutton continued his terrific podium momentum from the previous event at Thruxton, racing to the runner-up spot in rounds 10 and 11 in Cheshire and securing his double podium success. Qualifying fifth fastest for round 10, even with only 1.5 seconds of hybrid boost available due to his championship placing, the Ford Focus ST driver duly converted it into his fifth podium. He moved into fourth at Island Bend on lap one before an even more impressive pass on lap nine sealed third place. On lap 15, a stunning move on the outside of Cascades and into Island took Sutton into second.

From the front row in round 11, Sutton pushed hard over the opening laps to pressure pole-starter Tom Ingram. He ultimately settled for second but took the bonus point for fastest lap with a time of 1m26.132s (93.03mph). Tragically, round 12 didn’t go to plan when Sutton had to avoid a multi-car incident on the first lap. After an enforced pit-stop, he carved through to 16th position. Overall, he departed Oulton third in the driver standings.

Dan Cammish began race one, his landmark 100th BTCC start, seventh after having a top three time in qualifying disallowed for track limits — not that he could do anything about the clumps of mud dragged onto the circuit by another car before he arrived for his final flying lap.

He moved into sixth at the end of lap four and took fifth on lap 11, before he was edged back to sixth on lap 15. Post-race, though, a penalty for Gordon Shedden moved Cammish back up to fifth. Starting round 11 from the head of the third row, he maintained position until lap 10 when a forceful move and resultant contact from Shedden at Island Bend elbowed Cammish to sixth where he stayed.

Lining-up seventh on the partially reversed grid for round 12, the NAPA Racing UK driver started well. He controlled his Ford Focus ST impressively after taking a significant knock when competitors sought to avoid the lap one accident at Hill Top. He remained seventh to the flag on lap 18 but another penalty — this time for Ricky Collard — elevated him into sixth, securing Cammish three top sixes for the weekend. By the end of race day, Cammish raced his way into the BTCC Drivers Championship Top Ten.

The impressive driving from Sutton and Cammish saw Motorbase Performance take the lead of the BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship, and NAPA Racing UK take second place of the BTCC Teams Championship.

THE TEAM

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“Leading Manufacturer/Constructor, leading the Teams Championship, third overall and we came away with the Teams’ trophy for the weekend — I would say that’s a pretty good weekend! Dan took a great, solid trio of top sixes which was a nice reward after just missing out on his P3 pace in qualifying. It also shows how important qualifying results are, especially around Oulton.

“Mega for Ash getting two P2 finishes and pulling off some great moves in race one, only tarnished with a chunk of bad luck in race three avoiding the incident. That said, it could have been a lot worse, like everyone in the paddock we’re just glad to see all the drivers involved walk away relatively unscathed from a pretty big shunt.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“To score two podium finishes is mega but it’s a little bittersweet as the hard work of races one and two was slightly undone by the result in race three. That said, we’re still in the mix towards the top of the standings and that’s what it’s about at this stage. Huge credit has to go to the whole NAPA Racing UK team, that is the best the car felt in race trim this season — we’re really starting to find the sweet spot now with the Ford. I’m looking forward to heading up to Croft next as it’s a circuit I’ve always enjoyed and one that the car should go well around. I’m confident we should be strong, and I’ll be gunning for that first win of the season.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“The team has done a great, consistent job again this weekend and it’s great to get some points on the board with three strong results. We missed that last little bit of speed, but we made the best of what we had all weekend and we’ve moved up the championship which is important after so much bad luck so far this season. Hopefully we can make a bigger step at Croft and be back in the fight for the podium there.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Croft Circuit, near Darlington in North Yorkshire, will host rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the BTCC season just two weeks from now over the weekend 25th/26th June. During the two days prior to the Croft meeting, NAPA Racing UK driver Dan Cammish will appear at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed as part of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship presence at the world-renowned event.

THE STANDINGS

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
3rd Ash Sutton, 151pts
10th Dan Cammish, 72pts

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
1st Motorbase Performance/Ford, 301pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
2nd NAPA Racing UK, 223pts

Stay tuned for more NAPA Racing UK updates as the BTCC 2022 season unfolds!