BTCC Croft: Ash Sutton leads wet practice running for Team BMR
Ash Sutton continued his upturn in form in the British Touring Car Championship by topping the two wet free practice sessions ahead of the three races at Croft tomorrow
The Team BMR driver was nearly half a second clear in his Subaru Levorg in the opening session before heading the timesheets again in the second 40-minute period.
Sutton, who is sixth in the points after 12 rounds and won last time out at Oulton Park, said: "This is a circuit I have always clicked with, and it is where I took my maiden BTCC win for MG last year.
"I seem to have an affinity with the place.
"It is nice to be top of the times, but the weather is constantly changing, so it is hard to know how much we can rely on the order at the moment.
"If it dries out for qualifying this afternoon, it could all be different."
Sutton beat the Team Dynamics Honda of Matt Simpson in the opening session, with Jason Plato in third.
In session two, which featured slightly slower times due to heavier rain, Sutton was in front of factory Team Dynamics pair Gordon Shedden - carrying the full 75kg of success ballast - and Matt Neal, who survived a lurid spin coming out of the chicane half way through FP2.
The major casualty of the initial running was Tom Ingram, who came to the meeting in third place in the points standings.
His Toyota Avensis, which is carrying 57kg of success ballast, slewed wide on the exit of the chicane towards the end of FP1, and suffered significant damage.
Despite the best efforts of the Speedworks Motorsport team to get the car fixed in time for some track time in FP2, the damage was too much and he wasn't able to record a lap time.
PRACTICE RESULTS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ash Sutton | Team BMR | Subaru | 1m31.657s | - | 17 |
| 2 | Matt Simpson | Dynamics/Honda | Honda | 1m32.086s | 0.429s | 12 |
| 3 | Jason Plato | Team BMR | Subaru | 1m32.101s | 0.444s | 17 |
| 4 | Rob Austin | Handy Motorsport | Toyota | 1m32.277s | 0.620s | 14 |
| 5 | Gordon Shedden | Dynamics/Honda | Honda | 1m32.345s | 0.688s | 14 |
| 6 | Colin Turkington | WSR | BMW | 1m32.375s | 0.718s | 15 |
| 7 | Jack Goff | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 1m32.568s | 0.911s | 15 |
| 8 | Aron Taylor-Smith | Triple Eight/MG | MG | 1m32.605s | 0.948s | 17 |
| 9 | Josh Price | Team BMR | Subaru | 1m32.824s | 1.167s | 17 |
| 10 | Tom Ingram | Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota | 1m32.842s | 1.185s | 15 |
| 11 | Chris Smiley | BTC Racing | Chevrolet | 1m32.934s | 1.277s | 19 |
| 12 | Josh Cook | Triple Eight/MG | MG | 1m32.947s | 1.290s | 18 |
| 13 | Tom Chilton | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall | 1m32.970s | 1.313s | 15 |
| 14 | Mat Jackson | Motorbase | Ford | 1m32.976s | 1.319s | 15 |
| 15 | Michael Epps | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 1m33.000s | 1.343s | 21 |
| 16 | Matt Neal | Dynamics/Honda | Honda | 1m33.048s | 1.391s | 16 |
| 17 | Dave Newsham | BTC Racing | Chevrolet | 1m33.065s | 1.408s | 17 |
| 18 | Rob Collard | WSR | BMW | 1m33.120s | 1.463s | 11 |
| 19 | James Cole | Team BMR | Subaru | 1m33.220s | 1.563s | 17 |
| 20 | Jeff Smith | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 1m33.278s | 1.621s | 14 |
| 21 | Andrew Jordan | WSR | BMW | 1m33.293s | 1.636s | 17 |
| 22 | Ant Whorton-Eales | AmD Tuning | Audi | 1m33.325s | 1.668s | 18 |
| 23 | Jake Hill | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 1m33.593s | 1.936s | 13 |
| 24 | Dennis Strandberg | Maximum Motorsport | Ford | 1m33.694s | 2.037s | 17 |
| 25 | Senna Proctor | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall | 1m33.705s | 2.048s | 14 |
| 26 | Adam Morgan | Ciceley Racing | Mercedes | 1m33.710s | 2.053s | 12 |
| 27 | Aiden Moffat | Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes | 1m33.808s | 2.151s | 16 |
| 28 | Ollie Jackson | AmD Tuning | Audi | 1m33.820s | 2.163s | 15 |
| 29 | Will Burns | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 1m34.125s | 2.468s | 19 |
| 30 | Martin Depper | Motorbase | Ford | 1m34.162s | 2.505s | 18 |
| 31 | Luke Davenport | Motorbase | Ford | 1m34.173s | 2.516s | 17 |
| 32 | Stephen Jelley | Team Parker Racing | Ford | 1m34.177s | 2.520s | 16 |
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ash Sutton | Team BMR | Subaru | 1m32.254s | - | 18 |
| 2 | Gordon Shedden | Dynamics/Honda | Honda | 1m32.715s | 0.461s | 14 |
| 3 | Matt Neal | Dynamics/Honda | Honda | 1m32.953s | 0.699s | 14 |
| 4 | Jack Goff | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 1m32.989s | 0.735s | 15 |
| 5 | Jason Plato | Team BMR | Subaru | 1m33.046s | 0.792s | 15 |
| 6 | Andrew Jordan | WSR | BMW | 1m33.182s | 0.928s | 15 |
| 7 | Aron Taylor-Smith | Triple Eight/MG | MG | 1m33.236s | 0.982s | 16 |
| 8 | Josh Cook | Triple Eight/MG | MG | 1m33.303s | 1.049s | 17 |
| 9 | Chris Smiley | BTC Racing | Chevrolet | 1m33.321s | 1.067s | 17 |
| 10 | Mat Jackson | Motorbase | Ford | 1m33.387s | 1.133s | 16 |
| 11 | Colin Turkington | WSR | BMW | 1m33.408s | 1.154s | 18 |
| 12 | Dave Newsham | BTC Racing | Chevrolet | 1m33.549s | 1.295s | 16 |
| 13 | Matt Simpson | Dynamics/Honda | Honda | 1m33.584s | 1.330s | 13 |
| 14 | Ollie Jackson | AmD Tuning | Audi | 1m33.922s | 1.668s | 17 |
| 15 | Rob Collard | WSR | BMW | 1m33.933s | 1.679s | 18 |
| 16 | Jeff Smith | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 1m33.965s | 1.711s | 17 |
| 17 | Rob Austin | Handy Motorsport | Toyota | 1m33.997s | 1.743s | 16 |
| 18 | Aiden Moffat | Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes | 1m34.054s | 1.800s | 20 |
| 19 | James Cole | Team BMR | Subaru | 1m34.059s | 1.805s | 15 |
| 20 | Senna Proctor | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall | 1m34.087s | 1.833s | 16 |
| 21 | Adam Morgan | Ciceley Racing | Mercedes | 1m34.154s | 1.900s | 19 |
| 22 | Will Burns | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 1m34.191s | 1.937s | 19 |
| 23 | Michael Epps | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 1m34.391s | 2.137s | 17 |
| 24 | Jake Hill | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 1m34.502s | 2.248s | 12 |
| 25 | Dennis Strandberg | Maximum Motorsport | Ford | 1m34.524s | 2.270s | 18 |
| 26 | Martin Depper | Motorbase | Ford | 1m34.547s | 2.293s | 17 |
| 27 | Tom Chilton | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall | 1m34.579s | 2.325s | 13 |
| 28 | Josh Price | Team BMR | Subaru | 1m34.588s | 2.334s | 15 |
| 29 | Ant Whorton-Eales | AmD Tuning | Audi | 1m34.905s | 2.651s | 16 |
| 30 | Stephen Jelley | Team Parker Racing | Ford | 1m35.177s | 2.923s | 14 |
| 31 | Luke Davenport | Motorbase | Ford | 1m35.635s | 3.381s | 12 |
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