Ash Sutton wins BTCC Knockhill Race 2 to extend championship lead as Ingram retires

Credit: British Touring Car Championship

Ashley Sutton won the second BTCC race at Knockhill after overtaking the two Plato Racing Mercedes cars of Adam Morgan and Dan Rowbottom, as championship rival Tom Ingram was forced to retire from the race due to heavy damage to the front of his Hyundai. Sutton extends his lead in the BTCC championship.

Dan Rowbottom managed to drive all the way around the outside of Plato Racing teammate Adam Morgan into Turn 1, leaving Morgan behind to defend from Ash Sutton early on.

Sutton used the Soft compound tyre which allowed the NAPA Racing Ford to get a strong launch and challenge the two Plato Racing Mercedes' early on, with Sutton attempting to get around the outside of Morgan into Turn 3, a move which did not quite pay off.

Just behind, Tom Ingram ran into the back of Gordon Shedden's Toyota Corolla. Ingram's Hyundai had extensive damage to the front of the car, with suspected radiator damage as well as exterior bonnet and bumper damage. This incident forced Ingram to retire from the race, which also puts him at the back of the grid for the third and final race of the weekend.

The Safety Car came out at the end of the opening lap after Aiden Moffat was pushed wide onto the grass at Turn 2, with Moffat's Audi getting stuck in the mud. The Safety Car being deployed allowed the field to bunch up again.

At the restart, Sutton wasted no time in getting through on Morgan into Turn 3, with the Soft tyre proving effective around the Knochill circuit, which had lower grip on the outside of the track due to wet weather earlier in the morning. Therefore, the Soft tyre was not only quicker, but it was able to find grip over a larger surface area, with the car able to run slightly wider and carry momentum.

Ricky Collard was able to dive up the inside of Gordon Shedden in a brave and daring move into Turn 1, braking late and hitting the apex effectively without running too far out. Collard moved into fourth position.

Sutton then set his sights on Rowbottom for the lead of the race. Sutton had the tyre and pace advantage, and dived down the inside of Rowbottom into the final corner, snatching the lead from the Plato Racing Mercedes car.

Credit: West Surrey Racing

Further behind, Dan Cammish and Charles Rainford had carved their way through the field like a hot knife through butter, particularly Rainford, who started from 21st place on the grid. Rainford eventually put his BMW ahead of Cammish, who started in 18th place. Rainford made the move on Cammish into the first corner, and then managed to find the grip to overtake Dexter Patterson into Turn 3, just seconds later.

Just one lap later, Rainford then stormed past Shedden down the front straight to take sixth place in an exceptional drive. Ricky Collard then managed to get past Adam Morgan into Turn 3 with an impressive dive-bomb, putting himself up into the podium places.

Daryl DeLeon and Dan Cammish then came together at Turn 8, with DeLeon smashing into the outside barrier. It looked as though a Safety Car may be deployed, but DeLeon was able to impressively navigate himself out of the barrier and gravel, and re-join the race.

Mikey Doble was then able to snatch 4th place from Morgan, by diving to the inside of the Plato Racing Mercedes driver into Turn 8, shortly before the Safety Car was deployed after Chris Smiley was stuck in the mud on entry to Turn 3.

The Safety Car came into the pits at the end of Lap 26, with just one lap of racing remaining. Sutton led the way and was able to successfully defend his lead from Dan Rowbottom and Ricky Collard, who completed the podium.

The charging Charles Rainford was under pressure from behind for the entire final lap, eventually coming across the line in sixth place, a thoroughly impressive result after starting from 21st place.

Sutton's victory and Ingram's retirement means that Ash Sutton is now 86 points clear in the championship. With Ingram starting from the back of the grid in the final race at Knockhill, Sutton's lead could hit triple digits by the end of the day as we move into the back half of the season.

The final race of the weekend at Knockhill gets underway at 17:20, where Ash Sutton looks to extend his championship lead, and Tom Ingram looks to come back through the field to fight.