Ash Sutton strengthened his early grip on the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship standings with victory in Saturday’s Qualifying Race at Brands Hatch, overcoming the disadvantage of running zero TOCA Turbo Boost to claim another important win for NAPA Racing UK.
The four time champion arrived in Kent carrying the momentum from a dominant opening weekend at Donington Park, where he secured two victories and a second place finish to leave the season opener with the championship lead. That success meant Sutton’s #116 Ford Focus Titanium headed into the Brands Hatch qualifying encounter without the additional power boost available to drivers lower down the standings, but the Ford still showed impressive pace from the outset.
Starting fifth on the grid, Sutton made immediate progress away from the line and quickly found himself in position to capitalise on drama ahead. Pole sitter Tom Ingram and Daryl De Leon went side by side through Graham Hill Bend on the opening lap after the BMW driver launched an aggressive move down the inside of the reigning champion’s Hyundai. The contact forced both cars wide and opened the door for Sutton, who threaded his Focus through the gap and emerged in the lead before the field had completed the first lap. De Leon was able to recover to second place ahead of Sutton’s team mate Dan Cammish, while Ingram slipped backwards after losing momentum in the incident.
Once in clean air, Sutton controlled the pace at the front despite the pressure from De Leon behind. The young BMW driver remained within striking distance throughout the contest and threatened a late challenge, only for a small mistake at the final corner on the last lap to end any hopes of snatching victory away from the championship leader.
Although De Leon’s late excursion through Clearways proved costly in his pursuit of the lead, he held onto second place to secure another strong result for WSR, while Cammish completed the podium to give NAPA Racing UK two cars inside the top three.
Behind the leading trio, Ricky Collard delivered a solid drive to fourth for Team VERTU and also recorded the fastest lap of the race, while Ingram recovered from the opening lap clash to salvage fifth place after starting from pole position. There was plenty of action further down the order as well. An early incident involving Adam Morgan, Charles Rainford and Tom Chilton shuffled several drivers down the pack and disrupted what had initially been a competitive start for all three.
Morgan eventually recovered strongly to bring his Mercedes home in sixth place, limiting the damage after the contact, while the Audi A3 Saloon pairing of Mikey Doble and Dexter Patterson added more points for Power Maxed Racing with seventh and eighth respectively.
Árón Taylor Smith and Gordon Shedden rounded out the top ten for Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport in a race that once again highlighted the competitiveness throughout the BTCC field. There was disappointment meanwhile for Josh Cook, whose Speedworks Corolla Racing entry suffered a late mechanical problem that denied the former race winner a chance of scoring a strong finish.
Árón Taylor Smith - Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport (Left) & Josh Cook - Speedworks Corolla Racing | Images by Olly Goodall
Sutton admitted afterwards that the opening lap incident between Ingram and De Leon played a major role in helping him move to the front, but the Ford driver was equally keen to praise the performance of his car after another convincing display.
“That was mega,” said Sutton. “It was the perfect getaway, I got Ricky off the line and then Dan into turn one. Daryl and Tom got into each other, the path opened up and that made it a little bit easier for me.
“The car is in an amazing place, I’m in a good place with the car, we’re singing in harmony. A bit of Lady Luck fell our way, but we’ll take that and it sets us up for tomorrow.”
The result gives Sutton further momentum heading into Sunday’s three race programme at Brands Hatch, where rounds four, five and six of the 2026 season will take place.
