Ash Sutton wins race two at Oulton Park
- Michael Williams
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Following from race one, the top three on the grid, NAPA’s Dan Cammish, Speedworks Josh Cook and Team VERTU’s Tom Ingram, all started on the hard tyre for the second race of day, opening some opportunities for those behind. The only other driver on the harder tyre was Plato Racing’s Adam Morgan.
Cammish once more got away well from pole position, maintaining the lead into turn one, with Ingram moving past Cook as Ash Sutton made a cracking start and up to fifth in the opening corners. Árón Taylor Smith made quick work of Cook, moving up into the podium positions as the pack battled behind. Sutton moved past Cook for fourth at the end of the opening lap.
Taylor Smith attempted an ambitious move on lap two at Island Bend, but went wide and onto the grass, handing third place to Sutton, who instantly applied pressure to Ingram for second.
Meanwhile, Cammish had a sizeable gap as the race leader. Tom Chilton looked eager in fifth as Sutton pulled past Ingram for second into Cascasdes on lap three. PMR’s Aiden Moffat pitted after running wide earlier in the race.
At the end of lap three, Cammish allowed Sutton to make an easy overtake and therefore take an early race lead on the soft tyre. Chilton had a big moment, sliding through the grass into Casacades on lap four, narrowly missing the barrier after making contact with Taylor Smith. He rejoined, but massively down the order.
Moffat rejoined the race nearly a lap down after his visit down pit lane. Ricky Collard made a successful overtake on Cook to move into the top ten, a third of the way through race two. Daryl DeLeon and Mikey Doble began a hard fought battle, as the pair looked to overtake Taylor Smith, with his teammate, Gordon Shedden, and Chris Smiley also joining the battle for fourth. This battle continued onto lap seven, as Doble overtook DeLeon and applied significant pressure on Taylor Smith.
Meanwhile, Sutton had opened up a dominant gap out front as Ingram had caught up with Cammish and began his assault on second place. Collard then moved up to ninth, overtaking Smiley and joining the large pack battling for fourth. At the end of lap eight, Doble and Taylor Smith battled hard into the final corner, allowing DeLeon to move back up to fifth.
DeLeon attempted to go round the outside of the Toyota driver at Island Bend, but was unable to make it a successful overtake. Dexter Patterson joined the battle ahead of Collard and Smiley. Deleon ran wide at Island Bend once more, providing an opportunity for Doble, but he was unable to get through in his PMR Audi. Several drivers were on their final warnings for track limits, with five laps still remaining.
Sutton had now built a lead of over ten seconds as Ingram continued to pressure Cammish for second aboard his Team VERTU Hyundai. Patterson and Collard fell off the back of the battle fourth, but a train of cars behind them started a sizeable battle for eighth place.
DeLeon finally moved passed Taylor Smith for fourth place as Ingram meanwhile overtook Cammish for second as the race headed into its final laps. Taylor Smith dropped to seventh, losing positions to Doble and Shedden.
Taylor Smith fell into a battle with Patterson, with Collard looking eager to get past both drivers for seventh place. Charles Rainford overtook Smiley, but was repassed on the exit of the chicane as Collard moved ahead of Patterson. Heading onto the final lap Doble and Shedden battled hard for fifth place.
Rain began to fall on the final lap, but Sutton brought home a dominant fifth victory of the season, with Ingram and Cammish completing the podium ahead of DeLeon and Doble. Shedden, Taylor Smith, Collard, Patterson and Rainford completed the top ten.
The points were rounded out by Sam Osborne, Smiley, Dan Rowbottom, James Dorlin and Lewis Selby. Then came Cook, Max Buxton and Chilton, followed by Adam Morgan, Nicolas Hamilton and Moffat.
After a hectic race two, the final race at Oulton Park is due to get underway at 17:20 local time.
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