NAPA Racing UK achieves Thruxton Triple

06 Jun 2023

NAPA Racing UK achieved a triumphant victory at Thruxton winning all three races across the weekend. Ash Sutton maintained his impressive run of form winning race one and two before Dan Rowbottom added to the celebrations with a superb victory in race three and his first ever win for the team.

Qualifying

Sutton claimed his second pole position of the season during qualifying at Thruxton on Saturday, 3rd June, with a stellar lap time, blasting to pole position with a 0.210 gap over Tom Ingram.

Basking in the bright sunshine, drivers found it challenging to maintain the same level of grip and balance they had during earlier practice sessions. However, Sutton was wheel-perfect to set a benchmark time of 1:15.489.

Results

Ash Sutton – 1^st

Dan Cammish – 9^th

Dan Rowbottom – 14^th

Sam Osborne – 20^th

Race 1

A packed out crown on Sunday, June 4th at Thruxton witnessed Sutton’s outstanding performance in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car opener. Despite the scorching heat, he showed his remarkable skills and led the race from the beginning, leaving no chance for his competitors to catch up. His domination and impeccable driving skills were evident throughout the race, as he maintained his lead, crossing the line with a 2.5-second gap from second-place, Ingram.

After starting in ninth place, Dan Cammish quickly made his way through the field, eventually finishing in fifth. Despite great progress, Rowbottom experienced a late rare puncture dropping him down the order.

Meanwhile, Sam Osborne’s efforts were hindered by unavoidable damage, leading to a drop in his position to 21st.

Race 2

Sutton’s determination and skill were on full display in the second race as he once again started from pole. Despite the pressure of defending his previous victory, Sutton remained focused. With a powerful start, he quickly established a significant lead of over two seconds ahead of his closest competitor. His unwavering commitment to excellence paid off as Sutton secured yet another win, taking three consecutive double race weekend victories to extend his lead.

After starting near the back of the grid, Rowbottom drove an incredible race, making his way through the field, eventually finishing in P11.

Results

Ash Sutton – 1^st

Dan Cammish – 5^th

Dan Rowbottom – 11^th

Same Osborne – P18

Race 3

Rowbottom rounded out an incredible weekend for the team. Despite starting fifth after a three-place penalty from race 2, he wasted no time in working his way up the order and hunting down pole-sitter Adam Morgan before making the decisive move as they sped towards the fastest corner to claim the lead before Church, and headed to his remarkable first win of the season.

Results

Dan Rowbottom – 1^st

Dan Cammish – 8^th

Ash Sutton – 12^th

Sam Osborne – 20^th

Porsche Carrera Cup GB

After a few weeks break, Hugo Ellis was back out in his Porsche for qualifying on Saturday (3^rd June). With track temp of 40’c, the Porsche is notoriously difficult to drive with drivers building up speed to bank the perfect lap, with the chequered flag out, Ellis qualified in 11^th place.

As the second race of the day commenced, the track temperatures noticeably increased, presenting a new challenge for the drivers. As the lights went out, Ellis demonstrated some impressive driving skills moving his way up the field. Unfortunately, after some great battles, he succumbed to 11th place and finished in P5 in the Pro category.

MINI CHALLENGE Trophy

Cam Richardson and Callum Eason jumped back into action last weekend as the MINI CHALLENGE Trophy joined the TOCA package for the first time this year. As qualifying commenced, both drivers were setting some great times, eventually finishing in P21 for Eason and P22 for Richardson.

As race two began, both drivers got off the grid well with Eason flying past competitors and making some excellent overtakes to move up the field. Unfortunately, he was involved in an unavoidable accident that caused a DNF.

With his teammate out of the race, it was down to Richardson to bring the car home. From an extraordinary P16 on the grid, he fought his way through the field and into P10, finishing his best-ever career to date.

THE TEAM

OLY COLLINS – TEAM MANAGER

“What an amazing weekend. Thruxton is always a tough place to come to and we were well aware that qualifying was a key part towards a successful weekend. Ash did an incredible job when it mattered and continues his amazing run of form. I was really pleased for Dan (Rowbottom) too, he hasn’t been blessed with the luck this season and it looked to bite him again in Race 1. His comeback in race two was just brilliant and he really deserved that win! A really solid weekend for Dan (Cammish), slightly out of place in qualifying but came back to score some great points and then Sam just had terrible luck having a great start to the weekend ruined by getting caught in someone else’s incident.

As a team you always aim for this kind of success and you can’t do it without having the depth of talent that we have across our four-car team. Since we started this journey as NAPA Racing, everyone involved has constantly pushed to improve both as individuals in themselves and as a collective as a team and that keeps going. It’s almost contagious where the engineering department have improved the car, so has the reliability from the mechanics, and then the presentation, the promotion, the media and so on. It’s an absolute joy to be part of something so special and we’ll keep working hard to keep this momentum going.”

ANTONIO CARROZZA – CHIEF ENGINEER

“We’re in such a good place with the car at the moment and still trying to develop little bits here and there – everyone else should be working hard to catch up so we can’t sit on our laurels!”

Dan Rowbottom – NAPA Racing UK, NO.32

“I made up places at the start and then it was a good battle with Aiden [Moffat]. Aiden put up a great challenge, but our car was fantastic and so once we got clear and into second, I set about chasing Adam [Morgan] down. I didn’t plan to make the move into Church, but it was a great feeling to take the win.

The team have been brilliant all week – Ash [Sutton] won the first two races and we’ve won the third. I did not feel as positive at the end of Race 1 after the issue we had – I wondered if the weekend was finished – so to come back from that and show the pace that we had in Race 2 and in Race 3 is a great feeling. It’s a fantastic end to the day.”