Ash Sutton was in imperious form to claim pole position in Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship qualifying at Snetterton this afternoon. The three-time champion comfortably resisted pressure from his rivals in sunny conditions to secure the top spot on the 300 circuit.
The session was twice interrupted during the early running, firstly when fluid was deposited on track at Coram. The second of two red flag stoppages came dramatically when series leader Dan Cammish ran off the road before ultimately stopping on circuit to bring things to a halt once more.
Once Cammish's stricken NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST was recovered, the session resumed in anger with Sutton very much the driver to beat as the weekend pace-setter. A fast flurry of laps threatened to unseat Sutton at the top of the standings with Team BMW's Colin Turkington briefly going from Jake Hill's similar BMW 330e M Sport.
It wasn't long before Sutton was back on the attack though, setting a blistering pace to break the BTCC's Snetterton qualifying lap record. Nobody was able to match this as the NAPA Racing UK man built himself a margin of over three tenths from the chasing pack.
It was reigning champion Tom Ingram who came closest to the pole sitter, with a lap 0.342s shy of Sutton's best in his Hyundai i30N, but nobody was able to get any closer to the top. After briefly leading the way, Turkington settled for third, one place ahead of Hill with Ricky Collard's Toyota completing the top-five.
Adam Morgan was another BMW runner to enjoy a strong session in sixth ahead of Rory Butcher, and Daniel Rowbottom who completed the list of drivers lapping within a second of Sutton's pace on the challenging 2.97-mile layout. Stephen Jelley completed the top-10 to ensure all of the WSR-run BMWs will start towards the sharp end of the grid on Sunday.
Cammish's one and only registered lap was deleted after he caused a red flag which sets up an intriguing charge in race one. The championship leader will need to scythe through the pack rapidly if he's to limit the damage with his main title rivals starting at the head of the order.
Three BTCC races will headline a busy main event day at Snetterton tomorrow. Tickets are available on the gate and under-13s go free.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Snetterton, Qualifying
- Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, 1m54.526s
- Tom Ingram, Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8, Hyundai i30N, +0.342s
- Colin Turkington, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.428s
- Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.527s
- Ricky Collard, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.796s
- Adam Morgan, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.912s
- Josh Cook, One Motorsport with Starline Racing, Honda Civic Type R, +0.920s
- Rory Butcher, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.955s
- Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.992s
- Stephen Jelley, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +1.064s
Click here for full timings from this weekend's event.