Ash Sutton made sure NAPA Racing UK took nine poles from ten in the 2023 British Touring Car Championship. The pole position left the championship leader feeling ‘mega’.
After what appeared to be a stressful morning Sutton put his Ford on pole once more. As it turns out, it was essentially all part of the plan.
“We were just going through things,” Sutton told TouringCars.Net. “We only had a run on medium [tyres] this morning. The mediums weren’t exactly new, so by the time they went into FP2 they were quite old, if that makes sense.
“So yeah, to finally bolt on some and get an idea of what we were dealing with, it was nice. It was a nice surprise, I think is the right way of putting it.”
Taking home six poles himself and the team taking nine out of a possible ten, it is certainly fair to say that the team have been supreme in qualifying. The gap in the end flattered the team once more.
“It was very good. The fact that we could go out initially on a set of used softs and find our feet with that, then jump from medium to soft and still be quickest, it was a bit of a surprise.
“Then to bolt new tyres on and know there was a bit more time there, it was a nice place to be, that’s for sure. It meant you could just relax and just focus on delivering the lap.”
After taking pole position, Sutton only needs 20 points to take home the title even if Tom Ingram gets a perfect score. That being said, it is certainly still not 100% nailed on for Sutton.
“If we can get off the line, that’s going to be the hardest thing. If we get off the line, we’re going to be in a really nice place.
“The car’s got the pace to go over the distance. We’re in clean air and if we can get the win, then it means we’ll wrap it up. So that’s the aim, but don’t get me wrong, if Tom looks fiery, we’ve got to be sensible.”
After that mathematical chance Sutton could very well become a four-time champion. He for one likes the sound of that.
“It’s got a mega ring to it. It’s more the fact of doing it in front-wheel drive is the bit that I like the sound of. Being the only driver to do that. So that’s the bit we’re chasing, but yeah, four titles would be nice.”