Superb Sutton secures second successive pole position with Thruxton honours

NAPA Racing UK‘s Ash Sutton continues to set the pace and has sealed a second successive pole position claiming the honors on Saturday (3 June) at Thruxton on the BTCC’s visit to the Hampshire circuit.

The so-called King of Thruxton, Josh Cook looked potentially set to resume his dominance on the circuit topping both practice sessions and was P1 halfway through qualifying before Sutton set an effort of 1:15.489s to seal the top spot.

Tom Ingram snuck into second to keep pace with his championship rival. Five minutes remained but no effect was really made on the order after a restart following the tyre stack going out of place from Dan Cammish.

One of the main stories of the session came from the Power Maxed Racing squad with series rookie, Mikey Doble producing a stellar effort to sit inside the top four behind Sutton, Ingram, and Cook. Jake Hill and Colin Turkington for Team BMW followed, but Andrew Watson and Aron Taylor-Smith finished in seventh and eighth to complete a great day for PMR.

Cammish settled for ninth after his previous moment with Rory Butcher rounding out the top ten positions. Track limits also dominated again with many falling foul again and losing potentially their best lap times.

2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Qualifying – Thruxton

1. Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK 1:15.489s
2. Tom Ingram, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +0.210s
3. Josh Cook, One Motorsport with Starline Racing +0.246s
4. Mikey Doble, CarStore Power Maxed Racing +0.406s
5. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport +0.439s
6. Colin Turkington, Team BMW +0.528s
7. Andrew Watson, CarStore Power Maxed Racing +0.545s
8. Árón Taylor-Smith, CarStore Power Maxed Racing +0.618s
9. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +0.623s
10. Rory Butcher, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +0.699s
11. Ricky Collard, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +0.724s
12. Daniel Lloyd, Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils +0.882s
13. Bobby Thompson, Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils +0.938s
14. Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK +1.079s
15. Adam Morgan, Team BMW +1.096s
16. Stephen Jelley, Team BMW +1.129s
17. Aiden Moffat, One Motorsport with Starline Racing +1.180s
18. Tom Chilton, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +1.418s 
19. Ronan Pearson, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +1.451s
20. Sam Osborne, NAPA Racing UK +1.483s
21. Dexter Patterson, Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team HARD +1.517s 
22. George Gamble, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +2.041s
23. Jack Butel, Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown +2.105s
24. Will Powell, One Motorsport with Starline Racing +2.478s
25. Nic Hamilton, Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown +2.616s
26. Jade Edwards, Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team HARD +2.951s
27. Nick Halstead, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 +3.637s