BTCC: Sutton wins race 2 at Snetterton to extend championship lead

Championship leader Ash Sutton takes victory in race two of the weekend at Snetterton after starting down the order.

Charles Rainford starts from pole ahead of Tom Ingram and Daryl De Leon while Josh Cook, Dan Cammish and Daniel Rowbottom complete the top six on the grid. Sutton started down in eleventh place but with a full set of turbo boost now instead of just one lap like in race one, he aimed to climb the order quickly.

Rainford would get away strongly having no contention into turn one from anyone behind while Ingram had to fend off De Leon as the BMW tried to storm by. While initially managing to do so, Ingram would manage to get back passed at the second turn to reclaim second place. Sutton would manage to get passed a couple of drivers on the opening few corners to move into ninth place. Ricky Collard would manage to get passed teammate Tom Chilton as they went onto Bentley straight before Sutton would also find his way passed Chilton to move into eighth place.

Ingram would mount an attack on Rainford on lap two, getting alongside at the second turn to make the move pass on the inside to take the lead of the race. However, with both drivers on the medium tyres as well as De Leon behind, the three would soon come under pressure from all the soft runners behind. Sutton would make up another place with Cook falling down the order having been passed by Cammish, Rowbottom and Collard on the opening two laps.

Collard would put pressure on Rowbottom for fifth place, making a move into the fast right hander of turn one, making the move stick so the Mercedes was unable to challenge for the position again. Sutton would continue his charge, passing Rowbottom using the turbo boost at the end of lap three to get into sixth place.  His next target would be Collard who would defend his position against Sutton taking the inside into both the first and second turns, making it impossible for Sutton to find a way by.

Both of them in this time had been catching the two WSR BMW’s and Cammish as the latter finally gets an opportunity to pass De Leon on the run down the Bentley straight. De Leon would drop two more places as Sutton and Collard use the boost to pass De Leon down the main straight to start lap six with Sutton managing to get passed both the BMW and the Hyundai in the process. Sutton would make up another position on teammate Cammish only half a lap later moving into the podium positions.

Sutton would move into second place at the first corner of lap seven passing Rainford on the surplus boost he has in comparison to the BMW. Soon, Ingram would be caught by Sutton who was on a charge on the softer tyres with more boost. Sutton would challenge Ingram forcing the Hyundai to defend into the second turn but Ingram would lock up and go off the circuit dropping the lead and also multiple positions dropping him down to fifth just ahead of Rainford who had also just been passed by Cammish, Collard and Chilton.

Cammish would have to defend into Nelson on lap eight of the race, but Collard would brake later around the outside to take second place away from the NAPA Ford. Meanwhile, De Leon would end up getting onto the grass in a battle over seventh place with the Plato Racing Mercedes of Dan Rowbottom and Adam Morgan as well as Gordon Shedden, dropping him to tenth.

Rainford and Ingram would battle it out over fifth place, costing the BMW positions to Rowbottom and Morgan all while Chilton pulls his way into the podium places passing Cammish at Nelson.

Disaster would strike for Ingram with the car losing all power late in the race throwing him out of the race and to the back of the grid for race three. The battle for fifth continued between the two Plato Racing Mercedes with Morgan managing to get passed his teammate Rowbottom to take fifth away from him.

Sutton had a commanding lead by the end of the race taking victory in race two of the weekend as he turns this weekend around for himself. Collard would finish second ahead of Chilton who competes the podium. Cammish would finish fourth ahead of Morgan and Rowbottom who were fifth and sixth. Shedden would finish ahead of Rainford while Chris Smiley managed to surge his way into ninth place ahead of De Leon who completes the top ten.

The reverse grid draw would be decided by Sutton who pulls out ball number seven meaning Shedden will start on pole for race three ahead of Rowbottom, Morgan and Cammish.