BTCC Croft – Rowbottom takes third win of season with Sutton cutting Ingram’s championship lead

Dan Rowbottom took his third win of the season with victory in race two at Croft. He took the lead on lap three and cruised to the win.

Ash Sutton surged through the grid, putting his race one puncture heartbreak behind him to finish fifth in race two and cut into Ingram’s title lead, albeit only slightly.

The top three in race one, Tom Ingram, Dan Cammish, and Senna Proctor were three of four drivers on the slower medium tyre – Nicholas Hamilton the other. Naturally these would be slower than the rest of the grid on the soft tyre.

Ingram led off the line, Rowbottom moved into third by the end of lap one. Sutton moved from 20th to 14th in a lap.

While Cammish and Proctor slid down the grid, Ingram was holding his own, surrendering the lead to Rowbottom on lap three going into the Complex. Sutton was in the top ten by now, showing his prowess as a four time champion.

The Ford driver continued his march up the grid, and Ingram’s slow descent down the order met when Sutton passed Ingram on lap eight. The Hyundai man didn’t make it difficult, with points finishes more important than fighting.

Out front, Rowbottom was controlling the race, with Tom Chilton and Daryl DeLeon fighting for second. Chilton put his 20 plus years of experience to good use, holding off the BMW youngster.

Proctor was hanging on to 15th, with Dan Lloyd and James Dorlin scrapping behind him to take that point away from him. While Senna was doing an excellent job, he was given a ten second time penalty for repeated track limits violations.

Rowbottom took the win, moving up to third in the championship standings, Chilton and DeLeon secured podium finishes. Adam Morgan secured fourth with Sutton’s fantastic race ending in fifth, reducing Ingram’s championship lead to 11 points.

Charles Rainford and Gordon Shedden were sixth and seventh respectively while Ingram consolidated his race with eighth place. Aiden Moffat was ninth while Cammish grabbed tenth, a solid effort on the medium tyre.

Dexter Patterson, Sam Osborne, Chris Smiley and Mikey Doble secured points finishes, and while Proctor finished 15th on the road, his penalty dropped him to 19th, Lloyd secured the final points finish for 15th.

Related posts:

BTCC Snetterton preview – WSR in form heading to power hungry circuit BTCC Oulton Park – Ingram takes dominant lights to flag win BTCC Oulton Park – Sutton’s tactical gamble pays off with race two win BTCC Croft – Ingram takes title lead with win after Sutton suffering puncture