Ash Sutton won his second British Touring Car Championship title as he finished sixth and did enough to take the title from Colin Turkington.
Rory Butcher won the final round of the 2020 championship with Tom Ingram and Jake Hill rounding off the podium in a rainy third race on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
The Scotsman took the lead and never lost it as he passed Aiden Moffat and Chris Smiley off the grid. Dan Cammish passed Sutton on the first lap to keep his slim title chances alive.
On lap four Stephen Jelley went off at Druids after a collision with Andy Neate, meaning both ended the season in retirement.
Cammish was driving quickly in his Dynamics Honda as he made a double move on Moffat and Ollie Jackson into Clearways. Meanwhile Turkington was passed by Ingram, who no longer could win the title so was free to race without that added pressure.
Lap 12 and Sutton was on the back of Turkington, but having lost points back at Croft for making a silly overtake, Sutton learned his lesson and was content to sit behind Turkington.
Up front Jake Hill and Josh Cook collided at Clearways, both losing positions with Cook coming off worse, falling from second to sixth. Adam Morgan, in his final race in the Mercedes A Class as Ciceley prepare to bring in a new car for 2021, was passed by Ingram. He was then tapped by Cammish as he made a clumsy move down the inside at Druids.
Hill recovered from his tap with Cook to pass Cammish into third place, while Sutton finally passed Turkington into Paddock after seven laps sat on the BMW’s gearbox.
Sutton then repeated this move as he passed Cook into Paddock for sixth place where he would finish, with Moffat passing Turkington too to compound the BMW driver’s misery.
Butcher cruised to the win in the end, with Ingram and Hill rounding off the podium. Cammish, Morgan, Sutton, Cook, Moffat, Turkington and Ollie Jackson rounded off the top ten.
Sutton took the title, adding to his 2017 triumph to become a double title winner in a hard fought campaign which went all the way to the 30th and final race of this truncated season.
It’s the first time the ToCA provided engine has won the title outright, and Sutton’s Laser Tools Racing is an independent outfit, which only makes Sutton’s victory all the more impressive.
Pos | Driver | Car | Interval |
1 | Rory Butcher | Ford Focus ST | |
2 | Tom Ingram | Toyota Corolla | +1.522 |
3 | Jake Hill | Honda Civic Type R FK2 | +7.679 |
4 | Dan Cammish | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +9.984 |
5 | Adam Morgan | Mercedes Benz A Class | +10.521 |
6 | Ash Sutton | Infiniti Q50 | +12.038 |
7 | Josh Cook | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +14.094 |
8 | Aiden Moffat | Infiniti Q50 | +16.133 |
9 | Colin Turkington | BMW 330i M Sport | +17.320 |
10 | Ollie Jackson | Ford Focus ST | +18.431 |
11 | Tom Chilton | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +18.764 |
12 | Chris Smiley | Hyundai i30N | +19.008 |
13 | Tom Oliphant | BMW 330i M Sport | +19.217 |
14 | Matt Neal | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +20.935 |
15 | Michael Crees | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +31.358 |
16 | Jack Goff | VW CC | +35.780 |
17 | Paul Rivett | Audi S3 Saloon | +36.679 |
18 | Glyn Geddie | VW CC | +38.623 |
19 | Senna Proctor | Hyundai i30N | +39.743 |
20 | Nicolas Hamilton | VW CC | +45.302 |
21 | Jack Butel | Mercedes Benz A Class | +46.119 |
22 | Brad Philpot | Vauxhall Astra | +47.175 |
23 | Carl Boardley | BMW 125i M Sport | +54.671 |
24 | Ethan Hammerton | Audi S3 Saloon | +3 Laps |
Retirements | |||
RET | Sam Osborne | Honda Civic Type R FK2 | Mechanical |
RET | Andy Neate | Ford Focus ST | Damage |
RET | Stephen Jelley | BMW 125i M Sport | Crash |
Image Credit: BTCC Media