Ash Sutton took his seventh win of the season as he capitalised on title rival Tom Ingram’s retirement early in the race.

The dominant Ford driver took his 54th win of his career as the title now seems a foregone conclusion with the gap now 83 points.

Starting fourth on the soft tyres, Sutton was third by turn one as Rowbottom stole the lead from team mate Adam Morgan going into turn one. The Safety Car was deployed at the end of lap one as Aiden Moffat went across the grass into turn two. His car hit a dip and it caused irreparable damage to his Audi S3.

More importantly however, Tom Ingram, the man seemingly tasked with reeling Sutton in, was out by the end of lap one. Hehad an engine issue in race one which the Vertu mechanics worked on throughout the break, but he was in the pits at the end of the first lap. An innocuous tap into the back of Gordon Shedden seemed to break the engine again.

Lap six saw the restart as Sutton reeled in Morgan and took second on lap seven into turn two before hunting down Rowbottom. The sheer pace of the Ford Focus in the hands of Sutton meant he was on the tail of the Mercedes by lap 11.

Going into the hairpin Rowbottom went defensive but Sutton pulled a smart move to dive down the inside and take the lead, never looking back.

Ricky Collard continued his impressive weekend as he took third from Morgan and fought to take a hard earned podium.

While Sutton will take the plaudits, Charles Rainford was the star of the show. Starting 21st, Rainford stormed up the grid to be sixth by the chequered flag, an incredibly impressive race for the BMW man.

There was a second Safety Car period on lap 22 when Chris Smiley broke his left front suspension while trying to overtake. He went off at turn one and beached his Hyundai in the gravel trap.

The Safety Car pulled in on lap 27 to give us one last lap to sprint to the finish. Sutton pulled away while Rowbottom had to defend from Collard.

Sutton took the win to equal Gordon Shedden’s wins tally of 54, the most of any driver on the current grid. Rowbottom secured second and more points for Plato Racing with Collard third.

Mikey Doble took fourth for the Independents win, with Morgan, Rainford and Shedden close behind. Dexter Patterson was eighth ahead of the NAPA Ford trio of Dan Cammish, Sam Osborne and Lewis Selby.

Tom Chilton was 12th with Aron Taylor-Smith, James Dorlin and Josh Cook rounding off the points.

Tom Ingram secured his second win of the season with victory in a frenetic race three at Thruxton. In typical race three fashion there were thrills and spills and a prolonged safety car period.

Ingram had an excellent start off the line, but like Sutton in race two, it would be investigated post race. He passed polesitter James Dorlin for the lead. Sutton managed to be third by the end of the lap from sixth on the grid.

The Safety Car made its first appearance of the day as a couple of collisions at the end of lap one resulted in damage everywhere. Charles Rainford and Chris Smiley collided heading into the final chicane, before a three way collision between Josh Cook, Adam Morgan and Aron Taylor-Smith resulted in the latter pair in the wall with damage.

Ryan Bensley, replacing Max Buxton in the Toyota, was out collided with Lewis Selby on lap two before the Safety Car came out, with both suffering race ending damage to their cars.

After a seven lap period, the race finally resumed, Ingram pulled away from Dorlin in second as Sutton wasted no time in taking second, passing the Restart Hyundai on the back straight on lap nine. Cammish, Ricky Collard and Senna Proctor all passed Dorlin but he ended up sixth and the leading independent entry by the end of the race.

Josh Cook ended up retiring from the race due to the damage he sustained in the lap one altercation with Morgan and Taylor-Smith. Aiden Moffat the other driver to retire as his Audi gave up the ghost grinding to a halt.

Tom Ingram had built a hefty lead, ahead of Sutton by five seconds as he cruised to the win. Sutton finished second to consolidate some points and limit the damage to his championship lead.

Cammish came home third with Collard fourth from 11th on the grid. Senna Proctor’s one-off appearance resulted in two top five finishes as he came home fifth in the NAPA Ford.

Dorlin was sixth with Gordon Shedden seventh. Tom Chilton finished eighth with Power Maxed duo Dexter Patterson and Mikey Doble finishing ninth and tenth respectively.

Dan Rowbottom was 11th with Daryl De Leon, Chris Smiley and Charles Rainford taking points finishes. Nicholas Hamilton held off series debutant Lewis Gilbert for the final points place.

Sutton’s lead going to Knockhill sits at 59 points, with Ingram doing all he can to rein in the four time champion.

Ash Sutton took his sixth win of the season in race two at Thruxton. He took the lead on lap one and never looked back. His win under investigation however for a potential start line infringement.

He led home title rival Tom Ingram on the track but Ingram suffered a ten second penalty for track limits breaches, and dropped to fifth. Josh Cook inherited second and Dan Cammish third.

Off the start Sutton got round the outside of Cook into Allard, but the Toyota driver held firm to keep Sutton at bay for just a little longer. Ingram passed slow starting Senna Proctor for fourth while Sutton inevitably took the lead on the back straight, passing Cook.

Sutton led but Cook was keeping him honest, maintaining a gap of around 1.2 seconds. Dan Rowbottom, who started third, had Ingram breathing down his neck until lap five when coming out of the Complex, Ingram got a better exit and moved past Rowbottom’s Mercedes.

Cammish was the next to pass Rowbottom, taking fourth from the Plato Racing man while back at the front, Sutton was starting to pull away from Cook. Sutton’s investigation still looming over his head as he started to disappear.

Cook had fallen into the clutches of Ingram by lap 12, and when Ingram made a move around the outside into the final chicane, there was slight contact. Ingram went over the chicane while Cook held off a spin.

Cammish was next to challenge Cook, but the Ford man couldn’t emulate his team mate Sutton by passing the Speedworks driver.

On the penultimate lap, Ingram received a ten second penalty for track limits infringements. This would drop him from second to fifth and lose even more ground on Sutton in the championship race.

Sutton took a provisional sixth win of the season with Cook inheriting second and Cammish third. Rowbottom was fourth with Ingram now fifth. James Dorlin was an impressive sixth with Adam Morgan seventh. Mikey Doble finished eighth with Laser Tools duo Aron Taylor-Smith and Gordon Shedden rounding out the top ten.

Ricky Collard led team mate Tom Chilton home for 11th and 12th. WSR pair Daryl De Leon and Charles Rainford were next with Proctor, who was tagged coming out the complex earlier in the race losing ninth place, finished 15th.

*Tom Ingram given ten second penalty for track limits infringements.

Josh Cook led from lights to flag to secure his first win of the season at Thruxton. Despite late pressure from championship leader Ash Sutton, Cook held his nerve to take the win for Speedworks with Sutton second and Dan Rowbottom securing his best finish of the season with third.

From the start Cook got a good start, as did Tom Ingram in second and Sutton in third to go three abreast coming out of Allard. Sutton managed to pass Ingram for second before falling into the clutches of Dan Cammish close behind. The Ford man nudged the reigning champion wide and Ingram fell to ninth.

Rowbottom had an incredible start from seventh to be third by the end of lap one with Senna Proctor, making his first appearance of the season in place of the ill Sam Osborne, sitting fourth at the end of lap one.

Following his setback, Ingram started making his way up the grid, an issue for Gordon Shedden gifting him one place. He made it past Adam Morgan’s Mercedes as well as Cammish to sit fifth, chasing down Proctor in fourth.

Meanwhile up front Cook was holding off Sutton towards the end of the race, with the four time champion closing in on Cook’s Toyota.

The Speedworks man held on for his 22nd BTCC win, with Sutton close behind. Rowbottom took his first podium of the season. He won the first race to pole but this was his best Sunday result.

Proctor took an impressive fourth on his first outing since the end of 2025. Ingram recovered from his little off on lap one for fifth with Morgan sixth. Cammish finished seventh with Mikey Doble eighth ahead of the Restart Racing pair of James Dorlin and Chris Smiley.

Aron Taylor-Smith came home 11th with Daryl De Leon being the lead WSR BMW in 12th. Tom Chilton and Aiden Moffat were next with Dexter Patterson inheriting the last point for 15th by virtue of Ricky Collard’s ten second penalty for track limits breaches.

The King of Thruxton sealed another win, and will start from pole again for race two.

*Ricky Collard given ten second penalty for track limit breaches.

Charles Rainford took his second win of the season with a win in race three at Oulton Park. He held off Hyundai pair Ricky Collard and Tom Ingram to consolidate third in the championship standings.

Rainford made an excellent start from third on the grid to pass Osborne and go second into Cascades. The Safety Car was deployed when Aron Taylor-Smith and Adam Morgan collided. The Toyota left turn one sideways and collected Morgan’s Mercedes, summing up the latter’s atrocious weekend. Nicholas Hamilton impressively avoided the sliding Morgan.

On the restart, Rainford showed pace in his BMW as he took the lead of the race passing Smiley around the outside at Cascades. Ricky Collard passed Smiley for second at Lodge.

Smiley’s descent down the grid continued with both Ingram and Cammish moving past him at Lodge before the second Safety Car intervention on lap nine. Tom Chilton was trying to stay out the way of Lewis Selby’s Ford, but the pair collided going into Cascades and ended up beached in the gravel.

On the second restart on lap 13, Rainford pulled away from Collard in second. Ingram held his own in third as Cammish was being hounded by Josh Cook. The Toyota man started 15th and was impressively fighting for fourth.

Rainford held on for the win, with Collard second and Ingram third, cutting Ash Sutton’s championship lead down to 48 points. Cammish was fourth with Cook fifth. Dan Rowbottom and Chris Smiley had a titanic battle but the Plato Mercedes of Rowbottom prevailed.

Dexter Patterson, Sutton and Aidan Moffat rounded out the top ten. Mikey Doble was 11th with Nicholas Hamilton finishing an impressive 12th. The final points places went to Sam Osborne, James Dorlin and Daryl De Leon.

Ash Sutton dominated race two at Oulton Park to take his fifth win of the season. He won at a canter, taking the lead on lap three and strolling to a win by 19 ahead of second placed title rival Tom Ingram.

On the start Sutton surged from seventh to fifth, dispatching of the PMR pair of Mike Doble and Aiden Moffat. Josh Cook slipped down the order over the course of the race from second on the grid, with Ingram and Aron Taylor-Smith passing the Toyota man. Sutton then passed him at the end of lap one.

Taylor-Smith was Sutton’s next target, and he made it easy for the championship leader as he went wide at the Island hairpin to take third. Ingram was next in his hit list for second place and he wasted little time.

The Ford man passed Ingram into Cascades with an excellently crafted move. He got the better exit out of turn one and the run on Ingram gave him the best line for second place.

Sutton’s team mate Dan Cammish duly moved aside for Sutton to pass into the final corner at Lodge.

There was a hairy moment for Tom Chilton as he was fighting Taylor-Smith for fourth. Going into the high speed Cascades Chilton got onto the grass and slid at speed across the circuit. Thankfully the veteran missed the barriers and managed to continue.

Ingram, now seeing title rival Sutton pulling away, was keen to pass Cammish, but the Ford man was doing an incredible job defending for his team mate.

Taylor-Smith was fighting for his life to hold onto fourth. He had Daryl De Leon, Doble, and team mate Gordon Shedden on his tail as he made the Corolla as wide as he could.

On lap 11 De Leon passed Taylor-Smith for fourth as Shedden also made his way past. At the front Ingram finally made it past Cammish on lap 13 into Lodge but Sutton was long gone, 13 seconds down the road.

Sutton strolled to the win, largely unfazed despite rain starting to fall in the last two laps. Ingram finished second with Cammish third.

De Leon came home fourth with Doble and Shedden close behind. Taylor-Smith finished seventh despite some excellent defensive driving. Ricky Collard, Dexter Patterson and Charles Rainford rounded off the top ten.

Sam Osborne, Chris Smiley, Dan Rowbottom, James Dorlin and Lewis Shelby rounded off the points.

Dan Cammish inherited the Race to Pole victory at Oulton Park due to polesitter Aron Taylor-Smith being penalised mid-race.

The NAPA Ford driver started the race second behind Taylor-Smith, who secured pole in qualifying. Cammish kept the Irishman honest up front, and following a Safety Car period, Taylor-Smith weaved on the lead up to the restart, which is not allowed. He was handed a five second penalty and fell to fifth at the chequered flag.

Cammish, often the understudy to team mate Ash Sutton, gratefully inherited the win, with Sutton banking key points to extend his championship lead.

At the start Josh Cook made an excellent leap off the grid to be third, passing Mikey Doble to be third. Tom Chilton was in the wars, spinning off on the run to the island hairpin, he recovered to finish 12th.

Gordon Shedden and Dan Rowbottom collided at the Hislop chicane, effectively retiring Shedden and Rowbottom languished around the back of the pack.

Lap two saw the Safety Car come out as Nicholas Hamilton crashed on the way down to the Island hairpin, ending his race in the wall.

After a three lap intermission, battle resumed, once the Safety Car’s lights went out and peeled away, Taylor-Smith up front started weaving, which is often used as a method of distraction to make sure the driver behind can’t tell when you’re going to apply the throttle and restart the race. The stewards handed the Toyota driver a five second penalty, the second time in four Race to Poles that the leader wouldn’t win the race following Tom Ingram’s penalty at Donington Park.

On the restart Sutton squeezed round outside of Doble for fourth, with title rival Ingram soon following suit.

Lap eight saw a small flashpoint between Sutton and Ingram. Heading into the final corner, Ingram pushed into the back of Sutton and sent him wide. Thankfully the championship leader kept it on track and Ingram, perhaps fearing a hefty penalty, allowed Sutton back through.

There was a heart-in-mouth moment for Sam Osborne in the third Ford Focus Saloon as he got onto the grass at Cascades, bouncing and drifting across the grass and thankfully avoiding any other drivers.

Taylor-Smith was doing all he could to bridge the gap knowing he had five seconds to find. He couldn’t as Cammish inherited the win, with Josh Cook second, Sutton third and Ingram fourth with Taylor-Smith demoted to fifth.

PMR’s Mikey Doble and Dexter Patterson sandwiched Plato Racing’s Adam Morgan for sixth and eighth with Aiden Moffat in the third PMR Audi ninth and Chris Smiley rounding out the top ten in his Hyundai.

* Aron Taylor-Smith handed five second penalty, finished first but demoted to fifth.

image credit: Naveen Kumar