Sutton Claims Third BTCC Title With A Race To Spare

Grid Talk Reporter 17:01 24/10/2021

Ash Sutton has clinched a third BTCC drivers' title after sixth place has seen him secure the 2021 championship with a race to spare at Brands Hatch.

The Laser Tools Racing driver carried forward a 33-point lead heading into the penultimate race of the year and needed to finish at least 23-points ahead of title rival Colin Turkington to wrap it up a round early. And despite falling behind Team BMW's Turkington after getting boxed in at the start of the race, Sutton kept his composure and settled for a sixth place finish to clinch a third BTCC drivers’ crown with an unassailable 30-point lead. Four-time champion Turkington did threaten to make things interesting after finally moving ahead of Dan Rowbottom on lap 11 of the race, but a late safety car dented any chance of the BMW driver making any serious progress, with Gordon Shedden holding firm directly ahead in third.

After wrapping up the title, Sutton admitted he had changed his traditionally hard-charging approach for this year, tempering his racing instincts and focusing on notching up consistent points finishes. “I want to go down as one of the greats of the championship and so if it means that we’ve got to go after the championships then we’re going to do it,” said Sutton. But with the title secure, Sutton promised he would revert to his usual style for the finale - and he didn’t disappoint. From fourth on the grid, Sutton battled past Rowbottom (Civic Type R) to take the lead, and then pulled clear into the distance.

The win was Sutton’s fifth of the year, tying him with Cook for the most this season. Rowbottom secured second despite a late charge from Tom Ingram (ExcelR8 Hyundai i20 Fastback N), who had entered with an outside chance of the title but struggled for much of the weekend.