Marking an outstanding achievement in the debut season of NAPA Racing UK, the team – comprised of drivers Ash Sutton and Dan Cammish – won the coveted crown 57 points clear of their nearest rivals. Motorbase Performance/Ford took second in the BTCC Manufacturers’/Constructors’ battle.

Additionally, Sutton ended his maiden campaign with Motorbase and NAPA, and his first since 2016 with a front-wheel drive car, as BTCC Drivers’ Vice-Champion having gone into the last race at the 2.43-mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit still with a chance of securing a fourth career title.

With so much at stake this weekend the action was always set to be peak BTCC and round 28 delivered from the outset. Sutton, from third on the grid, launched well with fellow second row starter Cammish attempting to keep Jake Hill’s rear-wheel drive BMW at bay.

Contact early on left damage which hampered progress, but Sutton held onto third and a pressure-filled race followed which was peppered with contact. Two early Safety Car periods punctuated the action and at the second re-start Sutton was the victim of another hit. In the end, having struggled with speed issues as well, he took fourth after Hill went past on lap 16 and Cammish finished ninth.

From the second row in round 29 Sutton made a great start to shadow title rival Hill, but after a handful of laps he began to lose ground and instead came under immense pressure from Colin Turkington. On lap eight, at Surtees, the BMW went through but Sutton did then somehow manage to maintain fifth to the flag despite more pressure from George Gamble and Adam Morgan’s BMWs.

In the sister NAPA Racing UK car, Cammish lost a couple of places on the first lap to drop to 11th but he fought back well to reclaim both. Climbing into the top 10 on lap four, Cammish took ninth from Bobby Thompson on lap six and then took eighth at the finish due to a time penalty for Gamble.

Going into round 30 third in the driver standings and 14 points shy of the championship lead, Sutton had a huge task ahead of him but he did all he possibly could and raced incredibly hard to battle back from a sluggish start, dropping from sixth to ninth, to climb into the podium placings. In the end, he had to settle for a fighting fourth place but it was enough to claim the Vice-Champion’s spot.

Cammish began the race from third on the grid and instantly grabbed second on the run into Paddock Hill Bend, but after contact from behind forced him wide he dropped to seventh. Again doing a fantastic team job, Cammish kept Sutton’s chief rivals at bay for some time but eventually finished the final round in eighth place.

Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan’s Ollie Jackson started race one from 23rd place in his Ford Focus, resplendent in its new NASCAR themed Valvoline livery, and he made progress up the order into 19th before the second of the Safety Car periods. Gaining another place on lap 14, his race was then run on the next tour when heavy contact at Surtees from one of the Infiniti drivers triggered retirement.

Jackson lined-up alongside his team-mate Sam Osborne for race two, starting in 24th spot, and made steady progress over the first few laps. By the fifth tour he was in 21st position, but soon after he was then on the receiving end of several attacks – dropping to 24th by lap seven but ultimately taking 23rd at the finish to follow Osborne home just 0.6 seconds shy.

Starting 23rd for round 30, Jackson raced well and gained places early on and was into the top 20 before mid-distance. With plenty of action and, unsurprisingly, some contact too he finished the last race of the campaign in 22nd place.

Sam Osborne started off the final weekend of the BTCC season on the backfoot, when a clutch problem ruled him out of the opening practice. With a knock-on impact to qualifying, he had to settle for 27th on the grid for round 28, but in the race he moved up towards the top 20 before an unfortunate excursion at Paddock Hill Bend on the penultimate lap.

In race two, Osborne put together a great first lap to move up from 23rd into the top 20 and he wasn’t done there after taking 19th on lap two. Edged back a position on lap four, Osborne then lost a couple more places during the second half of the 15-lapper to end the contest in 22nd, right on the tail of Michael Crees’ Vauxhall Astra.

The championship finale was the best of the bunch for Osborne with a terrific drive towards the points, just missing out on his second top 15 of the year by 0.6 seconds. Leaping into 18th place on lap one, from 22nd on the grid, Osborne was 17th during an early Safety Car period and raced very impressively to take 16th late on.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“Not quite the fairy tale ending we were all hoping for, but the whole team can hold their heads high this season. Winning the Teams’ Championship is a huge achievement in the BTCC and we proved numerous times this season to be the envy of others with our incredible team spirit. There were a lot of changes over the winter which can often take time to work effectively, but the mixture of the original crew and the new members to the team proved to create a winning formula – a team I’m incredibly proud to be a part of! Congratulations to Tom Ingram and his team on a job well done this season. We now get to concentrate fully on some exciting plans over the winter with NAPA Racing UK and we’re more determined than ever to come back and claim the number ‘1’ back from Tom next year.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“We gave it our all this weekend, it wasn’t enough unfortunately but the boys and girls at NAPA Racing UK, Motorbase and Mountune have all turned this package around. At the start of the year we had a qualifying car, not a race car, and I think everyone wrote us off to some extent. We’ve proved them wrong being in with a shout of the championship into the last race. We all want the Drivers’ title, but we’ve wrapped up the Teams’ Championship for NAPA and that shows what me and Dan have extracted from the car. I can’t thank everyone enough.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“This day got away from us in a way, I’m disappointed about that. In race one I sort of shot myself in the foot, I was so desperate to help Ash I just over-cooked it and then got caught-up in dramas. I turned the corner for the next one, drove really well and we were racey. Race three, starting third, I thought we’ve got a great chance but I didn’t even make it through Turn Two – you do everything right and then get hit so hard by someone. You think to yourself, what do I have to do? There’s too much lack of respect out there for my liking but, obviously, we’ve won the Teams’ title so there’s a lot to be proud of.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“I kind of thought we’d turned a corner, but we’ve just not had the sweet spot all weekend. I struggled to find a balance on Saturday and didn’t really hook it up for the races. I got beaten up in the first race and second race, I was hoping to make a bit more progress in the third race but it didn’t work out. It’s a shame to have ended the season this way after a positive upturn. There are some positives to take away, more lows than highs – it’s been educational!”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“I’m gutted really we didn’t quite get into the points. If you’d said at the start of the weekend we’d come away with 16th place I would have said ‘no way’. We missed FP1 with a clutch problem, which meant it was an engine-out job and a full strip down, so the guys did an amazing job to get me into FP2. From there, we’re on the backfoot and it was a knock-on effect all weekend. We went quicker and quicker each time we went out, so it’s a shame. I’m looking forward to 2023 now!”

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
2nd Ash Sutton, 382pts; 8th Dan Cammish, 207pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 33pts; 25th Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 717pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
CHAMPIONS: NAPA Racing UK, 582pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 40pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 329pts

The post NAPA RACING UK – 2022 BTCC TEAMS’ CHAMPIONS! appeared first on Alliance Racing.

The No.48 and No.77 Ford Focus ST cars of Ollie Jackson and Sam Osborne, run under the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan banner, are being given the full NASCAR treatment for the last three races of the BTCC season.

Mike McCabe, Valvoline Marketing Director:
“As Technical Partner to Motorbase Performance we wanted to do something special to recognise their amazing work this season, challenging for both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships with NAPA Racing UK.

“Using our iconic NASCAR livery is an exciting visual surprise for those attending Brands Hatch this weekend. Fans will also have the opportunity to win exclusive Valvoline merchandise by posting pictures of either car using the #ValvolineBTCC hashtag.”

Current NASCAR Champion Kyle Larson, racing for Hendricks Motorsport, used the Valvoline livery winning the 2021 title with a record 10 wins, equalling the legendary Jimmie Johnson from 2007. Valvoline returned to the BTCC this year after a period away from the championship, following many successes going back to the 1980s.

The post ICONIC VALVOLINE NASCAR LIVERY TO APPEAR WITH MOTORBASE AT BTCC FINALE appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Motorbase, situated a literal stone’s throw from the circuit in nearby Wrotham, goes into the last three races of the campaign with its NAPA Racing UK entry leading the Teams’ Championship and Ash Sutton heading the Drivers’ Championship, following a strong outing at Silverstone a week ago.

Additionally, the BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors crown is also up for grabs as the category makes its second visit of the year to Brands, with Motorbase Performance/Ford currently second in that particular title battle.

Sutton, the reigning BTCC Champion, has produced an excellent second half of the season which has included three wins. With a total tally up to now of 12 podiums for the year, the three-time BTCC title winner heads into the finale with a five point advantage at the top of the Drivers’ standings.

While facing a major challenge in his bid to win the UK’s premier motor racing championship in his first season with Motorbase, Sutton is confident going into the Brands finale. Notably, of course, if he can claim the coveted crown for a record-equaling fourth time, it would also be his first BTCC title in a front-wheel drive car – his first season in FWD since his touring car debut in 2016.

NAPA Racing UK team-mate Dan Cammish, eighth in the standings, is aiming for a big finish to his first campaign with the Motorbase-run squad and he certainly deserves it after a season which has been badly impacted by some outrageous misfortune.

Starring during the visit to Brands Hatch’s Indy Circuit configuration back in May, with his first two podiums of the year, Cammish then experienced some dreadful luck over the next five race meetings before finally getting the break he deserved at Thruxton in late August – taking NAPA Racing’s UK’s maiden BTCC pole position and converting that into a lights-to-flag victory.

Of course, aside from his undoubted ability, Cammish has also been an outstanding team player this year. Foregoing a second win at Thruxton to enable Sutton to claim the victory and extra points in race two of the weekend, he also moved aside to assist his team-mate at Silverstone. Relishing the trip to Brands GP, it’s a track where Cammish has won each time he has visited in the BTCC.

At Silverstone just over a week ago, Ollie Jackson produced some excellent performances on his way to a pair of well-deserved points finishes for Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan – the highlight being ninth place in the weekend finale, having finished 11th in the preceding contest.

Getting increasingly comfortable with the Hybrid-powered Ford Focus ST as the season has moved on, especially the change in driving style required to accommodate the additional weight the system adds to the cars, Jackson is determined to end the season on a high at Brands Hatch GP. He will be pushing to take his tally of points finishes into double figures during the last three races of 2022.

It’s been a character-building season for Sam Osborne in the sister Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan car, and he is long overdue a straightforward and trouble-free weekend. Silverstone was a case in point, a tough qualifying session followed by multiple occurrences of contact on raceday.

Like team-mate Jackson, Osborne has been making incremental steps with his understanding of the Hybrid car and the differences it has made to the Ford Focus. For the three Brands Hatch GP rounds he has his sights set on a return into the points-paying top 15 and a push towards the top 10.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“What a season! This season has had it all but, most importantly for us, we’re aiming for glory in the finale in our own back yard at Brands GP. Ash has been here before and so have a lot of the people in the team. We’re top of the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships going into that last round for a reason, so at this stage we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing this season and make our own luck going into the weekend. It’s the BTCC and so often things can swing one way and then completely the other. Whatever happens, I’m sure it will be a typically tense final BTCC weekend.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“I’m absolutely buzzing and can’t wait to get to Brands Hatch this weekend! If you’d have told me early on in the season that we’d be heading into Finals Day leading then I’d have bit your hand off. Everyone at NAPA Racing UK has done a mega job to get us to this point and now we need to get it over the line. Seven points between three of us is nothing, you really couldn’t script it. Anything can, and usually does, happen at the final round but I’m feeling very comfortable with the situation I’m in as I know the demands that come with the finale, both in and out of the car. I love the Grand Prix Circuit and I’m confident the car will be really strong. I’m just ready to go now!”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“I’ve gone well at Brands GP in the past, I’ve won at the track every time I’ve raced there in the BTCC and it is a circuit I really enjoy. Its obviously a massive weekend for Motorbase and NAPA Racing UK, in the Teams’ Championship, Drivers’ Championship and the Manufacturers’ as well, which is a great achievement in our first season together – and I’ll have a role to play there. From a personal point of view, I really hope I can end the season challenging for wins and back on the podium and I’ll be doing all I can for the team in the championship fight as I did at Thruxton and Silverstone. I can’t wait to get to Brands and get started!”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“I’m really looking forward to Brands after a stronger showing at Silverstone. Brands GP is definitely my favourite track of the year, so it’s always good to go back there – and especially with it being the team’s home track as well. Hopefully I’ll be able to continue on from Silverstone and be back up there to finish the season with some strong results, and support the overall team in the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“Brands GP is always a fun track, it’s a proper drivers’ track, and I’m hopeful we can have a good weekend there to finish the season off positively. You need good confidence from the car, if you have that you can throw caution to the wind a bit and really attack the circuit. We have been making positive improvements, it’s not completely there yet but we’re getting there and I hope we can make a bit of a breakthrough at the weekend and end the season back inside the points. The top 10 is always the aim, if we can get there I’ll be happy.”

Opening free practice at Brands Hatch GP Circuit will begin at 09.30 on Saturday, 8th October, with session two following at 12.05 and the last qualifying session of the BTCC season will follow at 15.40 – streamed live online at www.itv.com/btcc

On Sunday, 9th October, round 28 will get underway at 11.30, round 29 is scheduled to start at 14.30 and round 30 is timetabled to begin at 17.15. All three races will, of course, be screened live on ITV4 and streamed online.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
1st Ash Sutton, 345pts; 8th Dan Cammish, 184pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 33pts; 25th Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 648pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
1st NAPA Racing UK, 522pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 40pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 305pts

The post BTCC CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERS MOTORBASE RELISHING BRANDS GP HOMECOMING FOR TITLE DECIDER appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Following rounds 25, 26 and 27, the Wrotham squad’s NAPA Racing UK entry has opened a healthy 42 point lead in the Teams’ Championship while reigning BTCC Champion Ash Sutton has moved five points clear at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Motorbase Performance/Ford, meanwhile, is second in the BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors title battle.

Sutton initially took over the lead of the driver standings following an action-packed opening race, not least thanks to more selfless teamwork from Dan Cammish – just as he displayed at Thruxton. From fifth on the grid, Cammish made a good start and although slipping to sixth into lap two he moved up to fourth a couple of laps later as the action in the lead bunch became increasingly frenetic.

Sutton, who had slipped to ninth after a sluggish getaway, fought back through and by lap nine the two NAPA Racing UK Fords were sixth and seventh. After a mid-race Safety Car the pair ran nose-to-tail and on the final lap, at Brooklands, Cammish moved aside to allow Sutton to claim sixth and vital extra points – more crucial than ever with erstwhile series leader Colin Turkington not scoring.

Starting sixth and seventh for round 26, Sutton and Cammish immediately gained a place apiece off the line and Sutton then moved into fourth at the end of the first lap. Cammish, meanwhile, was shuffled back to seventh and remained there for the duration while Sutton challenged for third right to the finish, all the while having to soak up huge pressure latterly from title rival Tom Ingram.

Cammish started round 27 from second on the partially reversed grid, with Sutton starting fifth, but the former’s great start was badly hindered almost immediately when pole-starter Josh Cook moved sharply across to the right and Cammish’s Ford Focus brushed the pit wall.

Sutton was able to emerge through it all in second place at Becketts, with Cammish down to fifth, and Sutton remained there throughout for his 12th podium of the year. Cammish battled hard with Cook over fourth place on lap five and although gaining the position with some great determined driving, he was latterly edged to fifth by Jake Hill’s BMW on lap 18.

Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan’s Ollie Jackson experienced a mightily frustrating round 25, after a great qualifying run and a strong first few laps were compromised due to plenty of contact. Starting the race 13th, Jackson ran comfortably in the lead group and climbed to the cusp of the top 10 by lap four. After being put wide, though, and taking more contact he ultimately had to settle for 19th.

Race two went much more smoothly for Jackson, a fantastic drive from the 10th row of the grid almost delivering a deserved top 10 result. Slicing through the order superbly during the opening laps, by the fourth tour he was 12th and running brilliantly. Following the second of two Safety Car periods Jackson was 11th – due to Ricky Collard’s Toyota expiring in flames – where he stayed.

Round 27 was even better, Jackson moved up from 11th into seventh on a terrific opening lap and although passed by Tom Chilton into lap four Jackson managed to get ahead of Adam Morgan so remained seventh. Following the first of two Safety Car periods Jackson was challenged by Gordon Shedden and Jake Hill so slipped to ninth, but held off all other challengers to match his season best.

Osborne had a lot of work to do in race one from 26th on the grid but battled hard, and emerged from an incident-packed contest with a top 20 result just behind his team-mate. Gaining three spots on lap one alone, during the middle of the race the battle see-sawed but Osborne secured 20th with a couple of laps to go, and also his sixth top three result of the year in the Jack Sears Trophy class.

The start of round 26 didn’t go as intended for Osborne, dropping to almost the tail of the field after more contact not of his making. But from 27th place on lap three, he maintained his concentration and gradually worked his way back through to finish in 23rd position. In the final race he was again a magnet for contact from rivals, but eventually managed to bring his Ford Focus home in 21st place.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“Another great weekend as we get another step closer to the end of this season. There was some good teamwork on Saturday, the drivers and crews working together for a tow helped in qualifying which was important for this weekend. Then working together again in the races has ultimately given us a small edge over the competition going into the last weekend. In the BTCC the smallest margin can be just enough. As tight as it is, it’s awesome to be going into the final round leading the Drivers’ Championship and leading the Teams’ Championship. Now it’s our job to make sure it’s the same leaving Brands Hatch!”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“It’s like it’s been scripted all year hasn’t it, let’s be honest! It couldn’t be any tighter, you’ve got a great combination [at the top of the championship] of two front-wheel drive cars and a rear-wheel drive car. Brands is our home circuit for the team and we’ve had a mega weekend here, so I’m looking forward to Brands. We’re in a really good place with the car, the second half of the season I’ve felt at one with it. We’ve been able to dial it in, tweak it, chip away at it and it’s got us into the championship lead. I couldn’t have asked for any more going into the final round.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“This weekend reminded me of Oulton Park, we’ve been nicely well inside the top 10 all day but just not quite quick enough to mix it with the top four – we struggled to unlock that last little bit we needed. Race three was my big chance, it all happened so fast at the start and I think I did just brush the wall but Josh [Cook] apologised afterwards. Without that, it might have been different. I played the team role again in race one to help Ash [Sutton] and as a team we’ve scored really well with both cars, it’s been a great weekend again for NAPA Racing UK.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“I could’ve done without the punt in race one, but we’ve had good pace all weekend and I’m finally starting to get a handle on this Hybrid car. Races two and three were very strong. In the last race, when [Tom] Chilton got in front I decided I wasn’t going any further forward – I’d been up in sixth or seventh at one point – so I was a bit more defensive and playing the team game there to keep the other guys behind. We’re definitely getting better rocking up with a car that just needs tweaks, not major changes. I’m definitely feeling positive for Brands.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“There was so much contact this weekend, smashing the steering about in all three races. It feels like the more racing room you give, the more they take advantage and just don’t care about driving into you. I always pride myself on being one of the cleanest drivers out there, so it’s frustrating when things happen like that. It is what it is though. We’re still not quite there coping with the extra weight of the Hybrid, it’s only little steps we need to make though until everything clicks.”

Motorbase’s home track, Brands Hatch in Kent, will host the BTCC season finale over the weekend 8th/9th October. Rounds 28, 29 and 30 will be contested on the full length Grand Prix Circuit.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
1st Ash Sutton, 345pts; 8th Dan Cammish, 184pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 33pts; 25th Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 648pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
1st NAPA Racing UK, 522pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 40pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 305pts

The post SUTTON MOVES INTO BTCC POINTS LEAD AT SILVERSTONE AND NAPA RACING UK TAKES ADVANTAGE IN TEAMS BATTLE appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Following on from his third win of the campaign last time out at Thruxton, memorably achieved in his 200th BTCC race, reigning champion Ash Sutton is second in the Drivers Championship ahead of the penultimate event of the year after accruing a big haul of points.

Only six points shy of current leader Colin Turkington, Sutton’s season in the No.1 Ford Focus ST is really beginning to come together and a record-equaling fourth BTCC crown is an increasing reality in his first year with NAPA Racing UK, and his first season since 2016 in a front-wheel drive car.

Team-mate Dan Cammish was finally able to cast aside the misfortune which had blighted the bulk of his season during the second visit of 2022 to Thruxton last month, and in the best way possible too with NAPA Racing UK’s maiden pole position and a superb lights-to-flag victory in race one.

In the second contest, Cammish aced the start again and was on course to make it two wins from two. But as the incredible team player he is, the three-time Porsche Carrera Cup GB Champion enabled Sutton to move through on the penultimate lap to take the victory and the vital extra points for his title bid. Cammish heads to Silverstone eighth in the standings and eyeing more success.

Such was the points haul last time out in the NAPA Racing UK camp, the highest scoring team at Thruxton, the squad is second in the BTCC Teams Championship. Motorbase Performance/Ford is also second in the Manufacturers/Constructors Championship.

Ollie Jackson and Sam Osborne will both be pursuing consistent points finishes at Silverstone for Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, with Jackson looking to build on the strong drive to 14th place achieved in the last of the Thruxton races and also the season-best ninth place he secured during the previous race meeting at Snetterton. He is, of course, a former BTCC race winner at Silverstone.

Osborne had an unfortunate conclusion to the Thruxton weekend, with contact on lap two pitching his Ford Focus ST into retirement. While somewhat frustrated with the event’s results, as Thruxton is one of his least favoured tracks he is now relishing the trip to Silverstone where he will be targeting a return to the outright top 15 for the first time since the BTCC first visited Thruxton back in May.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“With two race meetings to go this is the time you have more than one eye on the championship standings. We had an outstanding weekend last time out at Thruxton, with multiple wins and podiums with both NAPA cars, and that’s put Ash right in the mix at the top end of the title fight. Hopefully we can replicate that form at Silverstone and make sure we go into Brands Hatch with a really good chance. Silverstone is always so close on times with such a short and relatively simple lap. We’ve been strong there in the past so we’re looking forward to seeing what the weekend will bring! The teamwork throughout the whole crew is very evident this year and that’s a big help when you’re in this position.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“I’m looking forward to Silverstone this weekend. We’re getting down to the climax of the season now and I’m relishing what lies ahead. Three wins in as many events means we head into the weekend with some real momentum behind us, and despite Silverstone being a completely different challenge to Thruxton I’m confident we can be in the mix. The car is feeling awesome so let’s get after it and see what we can do.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“I am feeling confident for Silverstone, we actually turned a corner at Snetterton but you just had to look a bit deeper. Then we turned up at Thruxton, put it on pole, won race one and had the speed to win race two. Winning a BTCC race is a huge achievement, so to give the [race two] win away like we did at Thruxton shouldn’t be underestimated. As a team we’re fighting for three titles though, so it was the right thing for me to do. It’s all about the bigger picture for NAPA Racing UK and Motorbase, not just this year but going forward. I’m excited ahead of Silverstone and looking forward to it.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“Looking forward to Silverstone, traditionally the car has been strong there and I’ve usually been competitive. We’ve been getting stronger and stronger in the second half of the season as our understanding of the car builds, so hopefully this is the one where we crack it and get back up into the top 10. Quali is the key so that’s what we’re going to be focusing on. If we get lucky on the reverse grid I could bring back some silverware, or perhaps even repeat my win!”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“I always look forward to racing, so looking forward to Silverstone! Since Thruxton I’ve spent some time on the sim, refining things, and it should be mega close in qualifying – just a couple of tenths lost and you’re way down the grid. Ash and Dan have their cars in a really good place, so we’ll try to work from their base and challenge for the top 10 – that’s always my aim. I think it’s achievable, there’s been a lot of ‘shoulda, coulda’ this season so we just have to make it all come together.”

Opening free practice for the touring cars will get underway at 09.25 on Saturday, 24th September, with the second session beginning at 12.05 ahead of qualifying at 15.05 – the latter to be streamed live at www.itv.com/btcc

On Sunday, 25th September, round 25 of the BTCC season will start at 11.40, round 26 will follow at 14.25 and round 27 will conclude the on track action at 17.10. All three races will be streamed online and screened live on ITV4.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
2nd Ash Sutton, 305pts; 8th Dan Cammish, 155pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 21pts; 25 Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 576pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
2nd NAPA Racing UK, 453pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 27pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 268pts

The post MOTORBASE AIMING HIGH FOR SILVERSTONE AS BTCC TITLE RACE ENTERS CRUCIAL STAGE appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Over the course of a fabulous couple of days in Hampshire for the Motorbase Performance-run team, Cammish finally achieved his long-awaited first win of the season, and in some style too, with a faultless lights-to-flag drive in round 22 at the wheel of the No.9 Ford Focus ST.

Converting his superb race one pole position, NAPA Racing UK’s first in the BTCC, into a textbook win, Cammish was on course to do the double in round 23 but played the perfect team game in allowing title contender Sutton – who also had fastest lap – to go through on the penultimate tour.

Sutton, who ensured a NAPA Racing UK podium double in race one with third place after an action packed first few corners where he was momentarily second having started fourth, duly took his third victory of the campaign in his landmark 200th BTCC race in the second contest. With team player Cammish following home in second, it marked the first one-two for NAPA Racing UK in the BTCC.

In round 24, Sutton charged through expertly from 11th on the grid to finish in fifth position and wasn’t all that far away from another podium. Cammish started in 10th place and did rise into ninth, but was edged back to 10th late on.

With just two race meetings remaining this season, at Silverstone National Circuit and Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, reigning champion Sutton is second in the championship and just six points shy of leader Colin Turkington. Cammish’s best weekend of the season has elevated him into the top eight.

In the BTCC Teams Championship, NAPA Racing UK is back into second place after Thruxton and only four points shy of the top of the table. Motorbase Performance/Ford is also second in the BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship.

It was a mixed weekend for the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan drivers, although Ollie Jackson did chalk-up more points with a competitive drive to 14th place in an action-packed round 24. Raceday began with Jackson 24th on the grid for round 22, after his best lap time in qualifying was debatably disallowed, and he made good early progress before finishing in a strong 18th position.

In race two, Jackson was in the thick of the action again and especially during the latter stages where he was embroiled in a very close battle with Jason Plato. He looked on course for potential points but had to settle for 17th after some contact. Aiming for more in round 24, he delivered with a great drive to 14th position – including a quality move on Aiden Moffat into the fearsome Church corner.

Team-mate Sam Osborne started off with 23rd place in round 22, an improvement of two positions on his starting slot. Moving up the order early on and progressing towards the top 20, Osborne lost out in a multi-car melee on lap 10 and ultimately ended the race in 23rd position.

In round 23 the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan racer chalked-up a top 20 finish after steadily working his way up the order but round 24 came to an early conclusion on only the second tour, after he was the helpless victim of contact into the complex which ruled him out on the spot.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“What a weekend! It’s been coming and this weekend it all came together. Highest scoring two drivers, team and manufacturer of the weekend, it doesn’t get much better than that! Dan has been exceptional all weekend and was rewarded with pole and his first win, he was unbeatable. It was also a fantastic weekend for Ash, a win, podium and top five in the reverse grid race has him right up there in the championship as we get closer to the decider. For my role in the team it’s essential to have a team and, in particular, drivers who are the whole package – they’re rarer than you might think. This weekend proved to me more than ever, I have the best in the pitlane!”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“If you need a teammate Dan [Cammish] is the man for that. He’s shown that he’s supporting the campaign and what we’re trying to do as an outfit and hopefully soon I can repay the favour. We got the fastest lap in at the start, I let Dan get some air, and then I tried to focus on getting a mix going on behind me. When [Gordon] Shedden and [Jake] Hill started battling I thought ‘right, let’s crack on’ and then the call came to switch positions.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“To finally take our first win of the season, and to do it in the manner we did from pole, is fantastic and especially after such a long time coming – it’s a great reward for everyone who has kept the faith. We took an amazing pole in qualifying, the first for NAPA Racing UK, and it was a great start to race one which I was really happy about. In race two, it was all about what was best for the team and for the championship. I did everything right, it would’ve been two wins from two, but at the end of the day it’s a team game and it was the right choice to make.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“We had a bit of a nightmare with qualifying, our best lap was disallowed – which really shouldn’t have been – and that altered the course of the weekend as we started further back than we should have. We struggled to find a balance, we only really got there for race three, but we still made some progress and then came away with a couple of points from a good final race. Thruxton isn’t my best track, so to still come away with some decent finishes is pretty pleasing.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“I didn’t qualify very well, unfortunately, and that set the tone for the weekend really. We didn’t race too badly in the first two, then in race three I got tangled up in someone else’s mess. Two cars a fair way behind me going into the complex tangled, there was nowhere I could go because of cars in front of me, and my right-rear got hit which caused a lot of damage and that was game over. It’s a shame it ended that way, onwards and upwards now for Silverstone.”

Rounds 25, 26 and 27 of the BTCC season, the penultimate race meeting of the campaign, will take place at Silverstone National Circuit in Northamptonshire over the weekend 24th/25th September.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
2nd Ash Sutton, 305pts; 8th Dan Cammish, 155pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 21pts; 25 Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 576pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
2nd NAPA Racing UK, 453pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 27pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 268pts

The post REMARKABLE WEEKEND AT THRUXTON FOR NAPA RACING UK WITH VICTORIES FOR CAMMISH AND SUTTON appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Travelling to the Hampshire speedbowl off the back of its second victory of 2022 with NAPA Racing UK’s Ash Sutton just over a week ago at Snetterton, the Wrotham squad is also returning to a track where reigning champion Sutton chalked-up a hat-trick of podiums during the previous visit in May.

Fourth in the championship ahead of the eighth race meeting of the campaign, Sutton is just a single point shy of third position and only 10 points adrift of second place. In total, the Ford Focus ST racer has nine podiums to his credit this year.

Dan Cammish was the fastest of the Motorbase qualifiers at Snetterton a week ago, and was on course for a strong event until being caught-up in a luckless incident early in race two. He will be more determined than ever to get back to where his ability and pace deserve – the BTCC podium.

Likewise, the NAPA Racing UK driver – who has been stateside in recent days working with Australian single-seater racer Marcus Flack – was the top Motorbase performer in qualifying at Thruxton in May, third fastest and just 0.081 seconds shy of pole. Cammish is long overdue some good fortune.

Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan’s Ollie Jackson produced a superb season-best result of ninth place in the third of the scorching hot Snetterton races the weekend before last, capping an impressive event where he made great progress across the board and raced well.

Off the back of his strongest showing of the campaign to date, Jackson will clearly be hoping to harness that and move further forward at Thruxton where there is unfinished business from the May visit – power issues and an enforced engine change badly hampering the third meeting of the year.

Returning to the scene of his first points finish of the season, Sam Osborne is hungry to add more in the sister Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan Ford Focus ST and goes to Thruxton increasingly happy with the direction of travel in terms of set-up

Getting the second half of the season off to a solid start at Knockhill at the end of July, almost making it back into the points-paying top 15, at Snetterton the end results may not have been what he wanted but Osborne raced well and was only prevented from more after some robust contact.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“We’re getting to the business end of the season now! Another win for Ash last time out was great, now we look to the final three events of the championship. It’s all pretty close at the top between ourselves, BMW and the Hyundais and the Focus was pretty good last time we were at Thruxton earlier this year. We’ve made some clear improvements to the cars since then, so there is no reason why we shouldn’t be right up there. It’s a unique circuit which all drivers seem to love, probably because it needs 100% commitment which, in turn, requires the drivers to have 100% confidence in the car being underneath them. We’re looking forward to it!”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“I’m looking forward to heading to Thruxton this weekend! We’re coming off the back of two wins in as many race weekends so confidence is high and everyone at NAPA Racing UK is pushing so hard. We were strong at Thruxton earlier in the year and came away with a hat-trick of podium finishes so I’m feeling confident, especially as we have really moved the car on since then. We’re at a critical point in the season now and we’ve got a little ground to make up so it’ll be maximum attack!”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“I’m really looking forward to heading back to Thruxton this weekend, we were fast there earlier in the season and it is a track I’ve always gone well at and really enjoy. We had some good speed at Snetterton and should’ve come away with much more than we did, but as has been the story this year it didn’t work out for us due to factors out of our control. We need a big, consistent weekend and that’s the absolute focus. I’m determined to be back on the podium and get some momentum.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“Hopefully we’ll be able to start where we left off at Snetterton with a good balance and competitive pace, although Thruxton is a very different track. Our last visit there earlier in the season was pretty challenging with some mechanical issues that set us back but, in reality, we had enough pace to stage a fight from the back of the grid almost into the points, so I’m optimistic. Our understanding of the Hybrid car is growing round by round and I’m now getting to grips with the driving style needed, so I’m positive about turning out some points finishes and stay in the running for the reverse grid.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“We’ve been making good steps recently, I’ve been racing well and we’ve had good pace in the car so hopefully that can continue at Thruxton. We obviously got into the points when we were there in the Spring, and had a good run into the top 12 at Thruxton last year, so we have put in some good performances there. There’s no other track on the calendar like Thruxton, you need the car working well to provide the confidence to take it to the limit – hopefully we’ll have that.”

Free practice at Thruxton will start at 09.30 on Saturday, 27th August, with the second session following at 12.05 and qualifying – which will be streamed live online at the www.itv.com/btcc website – getting underway at 15.25.

Round 22 of the season will begin at 11.45 on Sunday, 28th August, round 23 will commence at 14.35 and round 24 is set to start at 17.20. All three races will be streamed live online and screened live on ITV4.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
4th Ash Sutton, 257pts; 12th Dan Cammish, 109pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 19pts; 25th Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
3rd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 480pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
3rd NAPA Racing UK, 364pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 24pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 240pts

The post MOTORBASE CHARGING BACK TO THRUXTON WITH CONTINUED SUCCESS IN SIGHTS appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Starting the last of the weekend’s three races from pole position, Sutton made a good start but he was somehow edged back to second out of Riches by Dan Rowbottom’s Honda Civic. It didn’t take long for the response to come, though, with the No.1 Ford Focus moving back through at Agostini.

Never headed thereafter, his lead of 0.7 seconds at the start of lap two was built-on lap by lap and his eventual winning margin was 4.5 seconds for the Motorbase Performance-run squad. Sutton also claimed the fastest lap of the race.

Beginning raceday at the scorching hot Norfolk track with ninth place in round 19, having qualified 11th quickest, Sutton went on to finish ninth again in round 20 after battling back from a lap one incident which also involved team-mate Dan Cammish.

It really was a weekend of what could have been, not for the first time this season, for Cammish after a strong qualifying – the fastest of the Motorbase drivers with the eighth best time – and a solid and competitive seventh place in race one, achieved after passing Rowbottom on lap three.

Rightly aiming to push towards the podium in race two, and with the car to do it, everything went awry at the second corner while he was running in seventh place, contact triggering an incident which involved both NAPA Racing UK Fords.

Cammish came off worst, plummeting down the order outside the top 20 and eventually working his way back through to finish in 18th. Starting so far back in race three, he did all he could to take the chequered flag just outside the points in 16th position.

The sunshine at Snetterton certainly shone on Ollie Jackson who produced a fantastic season-best ninth place in the last of Sunday’s three races, the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan driver charging through from 13th on the grid after a similarly strong performance in the preceding contest.

In race one he gained six places on a superb opening lap, moving up from 25th on the grid – brake bias troubles limiting qualifying – into 19th place. Although edged back after an early Safety Car he fought back to 18th. Serving up another terrific start in race two, storming into 10th on lap one, he finished 13th and therefore only missed the top 12 ‘reverse grid’ draw for race three by one place.

Team-mate Sam Osborne was somewhat frustrated after qualifying, feeling he didn’t get the most out of the car that was available to him, but from mid-distance in race one he started to make some steps forward. Racing strongly, a late battle with Josh Cook was the highlight and Osborne only just missed out on a top 20 finish after trading places with the Honda driver a couple of times.

From 21st on the grid in round 20, Osborne didn’t have the best of the first lap and slipped back three places. Recovering to 22nd before a mid-race Safety Car, he broke into 20th position with a few laps to go. Starting on row 10 for round 21, he raced well into 17th place by lap six but on lap nine he was put off the circuit twice in succession – ultimately recovering to finish in 20th spot.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“It was great to finish the weekend off like that, a fantastic, dominant display from Ash in race three showing what could have been this weekend. That win keeps Ash in the title fight. Unfortunately, the RWD cars were untouchable again this weekend and played with us a bit, but we did have more pace than we got to show with numerous innocent incidents over the weekend preventing us from showing the full pace, which is frustrating. We’ve got nine races left with plenty to play for.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“If I’m honest we made the exact same settings in terms of changes for race two, but the contact and damage we had with Dan put all the alignment out and we were lucky to get back to P9. If I had that race car [from Rd21] in race two, it would’ve been a different story. It’s just mega, I can’t thank NAPA Racing UK enough. For the first couple of laps we set-up for the long term, long race, so she was a bit lively. I saw Jason [Plato] just closing the gap and I thought, I’ve got to be patient with this. Then his tyres fell away and we carried on – put the head down and set some quali laps.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“It’s pretty tough to take what happened this weekend, we had the speed and the car to really do something. We got everything we could out of the car in qualifying, seventh in race one was good and I really felt I could compete and everything was positive. We definitely had the pace to move forward in race two but then the contact happened at Turn Two and it all unraveled from there. I really feel we’ve got the car in a better place so I’ve just got to dust myself down and try and focus on the rest of the season.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“We’ve had some better luck this weekend and I’m a lot more used to the car now and the extra weight [from the Hybrid system], I like how the car is handling. We had a bit of a problem with the brake balance in qualifying, and we then realised it had been a problem in practice as well, so it’s quite gratifying to turn up with a few tweaks and come through with three strong races. It’s great to take the first top 10 of the season, it’s where I feel I should be and hopefully we’ve turned a corner now. We’ve definitely got a much better understanding of the car.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“I’m a bit disappointed really as we had some serious pace this weekend. The last race was looking pretty decent but then two of the rear-wheel drive cars decided to fire us off, which isn’t exactly what you need. We had some nice pace though, I was up alongside DanCam [Cammish] and [Gordon] Shedden and well up for it battling with them. We had some good pace in qualifying as well but just didn’t make the most of it. Overall, we made a step in the right direction.”

Thruxton Circuit will welcome the BTCC just a couple of weeks from now, over the weekend 27th/28th August, for the second visit of the season to the Hampshire speedbowl.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
4th Ash Sutton, 257pts; 12th Dan Cammish, 109pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 19pts; 25th Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
3rd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 480pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
3rd NAPA Racing UK, 364pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 24pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 240pts

The post SECOND VICTORY OF BTCC SEASON FOR SUTTON AT SCORCHING SNETTERTON appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Just over a week ago at Knockhill in Scotland, reigning and three-time BTCC Champion Ash Sutton brilliantly hustled his No.1 Ford Focus ST to a stunning win in round 17 – the first ever success in touring cars for entrant NAPA Racing UK.

Notably too, he will arrive in Norfolk a few days from now only six points shy of championship leader Colin Turkington and a single point behind second place. With four events still to run, including the visit to Snetterton, his bid for a remarkable fourth BTCC crown is very much a reality for Sutton in his maiden season with the Motorbase-run, Mountune powered Ford.

In the sister NAPA Racing UK car, class act Dan Cammish is still awaiting the turnaround in fortunes he so richly deserves after a character building season to end all character building seasons! As he proved at the mid-season Goodyear tyre test at Snetterton last month, where he was second fastest overall to Sutton but the quickest driver using the regular BTCC race tyre, Cammish has the speed.

While yet to truly unlock his potential in the No.9 Ford Focus, the reigning and three-time Porsche Carrera Cup GB Champion and multiple BTCC race winner is long overdue some good fortune and a competitive weekend, with a return to the podium, would be popular up and down the pitlane.

Sam Osborne produced some impressive drives at Knockhill, only just missing out on his second top 15 of the season, and the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan entered driver was happy with his own performance. Striving for a bit more pace from his set-up, Osborne is hoping to put into practice all he learned at the Snetterton tyre test where he was coached by Le Mans winner Nick Tandy.

Much-like Cammish, Ollie Jackson has endured more than his share of bad luck and Knockhill was no exception when a power steering issue spoiled qualifying and an incident in race two led to a pit visit. He hit back well, though, and a strong recovery gave a clear indication of his true potential. With positives to take too from the tyre test, Jackson is looking forward to Snetterton’s races and aiming for points.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“On the back of the win at Knockhill, we’ve had the taste and now we’re hungry for more. We know the 2022 Focus is good around Snetterton from the recent test there, now we have to back that up when it matters. The forecast is that temperatures should be similar to when we were there last month, so what we all learned will be valid. Hopefully, Snetterton will also fair better for FWD cars than Knockhill did – we’ll see. I think Hybrid will be quite effective at Snetterton too, with plenty of opportunities to deploy on a long lap, so that will be interesting to manage over the weekend.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“It was nice to kick-start the second half of the season in a nice way at Knockhill, it’s a track I like and we managed to get the car in a good place. We learnt things good and bad at the Snetterton tyre test so we’ll just make sure we avoid the bad and, ultimately, we need to look at it more with an eye to what Dan [Cammish] was doing on the race tyre as he was quickest. When we did our ‘standard’ tyre run, if you like, we weren’t a million miles away so hopefully it can be a good weekend.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“The tyre test at Snetterton a couple of weeks ago went well for us, two very good and positive days, so that should give us a strong base to build from at the weekend. I’m looking forward to getting back to Snetterton, it’s a circuit I enjoy driving and I’ve gone well there in the past so we’ll be aiming for everything to come together and deliver a strong weekend. We’ve had some knocks this season so far but we’re all staying positive, keeping our focus – no pun intended – and looking forward.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“During the recent tyre test at Snetterton we gained a lot of understanding of the set-up and so I’m hopeful we can put that into practice at the weekend. Knockhill was a disappointing weekend for us, but we had some terrible luck and it is such a unique track that it is always challenging to turn up with a fresh set-up and expect to hit the ground running. Snetterton is my old local circuit and has been one of my strongest tracks in the past with a win and a couple of podiums, so I’m optimistic we should get back up to where we deserve to be; in the points and challenging for the reverse grid.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“We had some good positives to take away from Knockhill, I was happy with how I was driving and the car was working well in the first two races. We did struggle for pace overall, though, so that’s something we need to try and change for Snetterton so we can get that much higher up the grid and have a fighting chance. We did make some good steps forward at the tyre test a few weeks back, so I’m hoping to put into practice what we learnt with Nick Tandy and push on from there.”

Free practice at Snetterton 300 will get underway at 09.30 on Saturday, 13th August, with session two following at 12.10 and qualifying commencing at 15.20 – the latter with live streaming online at www.itv.com/btcc

On Sunday, 14th August, round 19 is scheduled to start at 12.08, round 20 will follow at 14.15 and round 21 closes out the day’s track action at 17.10. The first two races will be screened live on the main ITV channel, with race three covered live on ITV4, and all will be streamed online as well.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
3rd Ash Sutton, 221pts; 11th Dan Cammish, 100pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 9pts; 25th Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
3rd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 414pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
3rd NAPA Racing UK, 321pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 14pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 205pts

The post MOTORBASE HUNGRY FOR CONTINUED PROGRESS AS BTCC HEADS TO SNETTERTON appeared first on Alliance Racing.

After delivering his best qualifying performance of 2022 with the second fastest time in Saturday afternoon’s session, his Ford Focus ST the only front-wheel drive car in the top six, Sutton served up a monumental drive in round 16 on Sunday. Pressuring pole qualifier Jake Hill from the outset, into lap two Sutton braked impossibly late on the outside into Duffus Dip and superbly grabbed the lead.

Staying ahead of the BMW for the next five laps, Hill got back ahead into Duffus on lap eight but Sutton refused to cede and with immense commitment he moved back ahead into McIntyres. On lap 10, though, Hill had the run into the first turn and Sutton had to give way, eventually finishing second on lap 24 after soaking up immense pressure later on from Colin Turkington’s BMW.

Lining-up on the front row again for round 17, Sutton held second off the start and after an early Safety Car period his opportunity came on lap five when leader Hill ran wide at the chicane. Sutton sliced past and was never headed all the way to the flag on lap 26 despite huge pressure, although contact from Hill’s BMW on the run uphill to the finish line did result in a heart-in-mouth moment.

In round 18, Sutton capped off the weekend north of the border with a top five result and he was in the mix for the podium again during the closing stages. He ends the event third in the championship standings and just six points shy of the series lead.

Just three tenths of a second in qualifying meant the difference between a front-row start for race one and 10th on the grid for Dan Cammish, and the NAPA Racing UK driver produced two clean and solid drives in races one and two. Climbing into eighth early in round 16, he was edged back to ninth by the Honda of Gordon Shedden around mid-distance and stayed there to the chequered flag.

In round 17 Cammish again made early progress, climbing into eighth on the first lap, before the Safety Car was required. After the resumption on lap four he moved up into seventh and pressured Shedden lap after lap, but late on he was bundled back to ninth place.

Hopes of a hat-trick of solid finishes were dashed almost immediately in round 18 when he was wiped out of the race at the exit of McIntyres on the opening lap. Starting well from ninth, as Cammish headed into the second corner his car was hit by Shedden’s Honda after it had been in contact with Tom Ingram’s Hyundai. Retirement for Cammish, with broken suspension, was instant.

Sam Osborne was close to points results in the first two races, strong drives in each bringing him 17th place in both encounters. Starting round 16 from 23rd on the grid, the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan driver made great progress during the first half of the race to move inside the top 20 and raced hard to take 17th position before the finish.

From the ninth row in round 17 Osborne broke into the top 15 on lap one before the Safety Car period, and although slipping back to 19th place a few laps after the re-start he fought back into 17th again before the flag on lap 26. Changes to his car’s set-up for round 18 didn’t work as desired, and so he had to settle for 23rd place.

Team-mate Ollie Jackson, who was 26th in qualifying after an engine bay fire late in the session, didn’t get raceday off to the start he wanted when contact on lap three undid early progress. He did work his way back into 21st at the finish, but a five second penalty dropped him to 23rd.

Race two delivered an improved 21st place result, a strong recovery from Jackson after having to pit at the end of lap one following an enforced excursion across the grass and through some advertising hoarding. In round 18 he moved from 21st into 18th on lap one, but slipped back to 21st during the closing stages.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“What a fantastic result for the whole team! We’ve been knocking on the door all season with a bunch of P2 and P3 finishes, but the win is what the whole team always want to be celebrating. Ash was outstanding all weekend, from that lap in qualifying through to raceday he was just on a different playing field to the other FWD cars. The RWD cars always have a bit of an edge at Knockhill, so to get the win like that at a RWD circuit hopefully bodes well when we get to a more level playing field. We’re looking forward to Snetterton already!”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“To take our first win of the season, and NAPA Racing UK’s first in touring cars, is fantastic and especially against all of the BMWs. It was made a little bit easier with Jake’s [Hill] mistake at the chicane, I think he was just trying to match what we were capable of doing through there and that’s been our strongest thing all weekend so I just focused on that and gave it full send every lap. Over the last few laps the front tyres had just had enough, and I was getting to that point as well! I was not letting that one go, I’m just pleased we got the first win for NAPA Racing UK.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“We just can’t seem to catch a break at the moment, no matter what we do we just can’t seem to get the car where I need it to be. We’ve shown on several occasions we’ve got the pace, the tyre test at Snetterton proved that, but in the races this weekend we struggled again to be able to compete how we should. I’m made up for Ash and everyone at NAPA Racing UK and Motorbase with the win, just disappointed the weekend on my side wasn’t better. Races one and two were solid finishes, nothing I could do in race three – again, wrong place at the wrong time. We’ll keep pushing!”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“Not the weekend we hoped for after a part failure put pay to qualifying which unfortunately set the tone for the weekend. We have definitely learnt more about the car since mid season testing and being my old local circuit, I look forward to going back to Snetterton in a couple of weeks time to hopefully get back on track. Great work by the Motorbase team as always and congratulations to Ash on a superb drive for the first win of the season for the team.

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“We just didn’t have the full-on pace in the car, we had the car – it was handling well and I could race with people – but just not the pace we needed. It’s been a bit of a gutting weekend really, the car felt pointy in the first race and we made some progress but when I realised we were 17th it was a bit disappointing. We regrouped for race two, same result, and so loosened the car up for race three but lost our way a little bit. I feel I drove the proverbial socks off it, a few airborne moments at Turn One which were spectacular for the pictures, but not so much for points and trophies!”

There is only a fortnight to wait until the BTCC resumes for rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the season, over the weekend 13th/14th August, at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
3rd Ash Sutton, 221pts; 11th Dan Cammish, 100pts; 22nd Ollie Jackson, 9pts; 25th Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
3rd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 414pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
3rd NAPA Racing UK, 321pts; 13th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 14pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 205pts

The post FIRST BTCC WIN FOR NAPA RACING UK AFTER SPECTACULAR KNOCKHILL PERFORMANCE FROM SUTTON appeared first on Alliance Racing.