It’s been a busy week for the NAPA Racing team, Tuesday saw Ash Sutton and Dan Rowbottom, dust off their clubs for a round of golf with BTCC sponsor Kwik-Fit. This was part of their annual charity golf tournament, to raise money for the Air Ambulance. Wednesday and Thursday saw Dan Cammish joining Dan and Ash at the Garage and Body-Shop show, NEC representing NAPA and a host of other sponsors in front of the UK automotive industry, with their BTCC-spec Ford Focus staring at the show on the NAPA stand.

It was back to serious business at the weekend as the team headed to Thruxton, the fastest circuit in the UK. Thruxton is a test of any driver’s commitment and nerves as much as it is the car’s performance. The combination of both saw NAPA Racing and Ash Sutton taste the victory champagne for the first time in 2024. Dan Cammish scored a hat-trick of 2^nd place finishes seeing him rise into championship contention with a fantastic weekend for the NAPA ace. These results were a testament to the whole team as both drivers overcame adversity on and off the track to enjoy NAPA’s most successful weekend of 2024 (so far).

Coming into the weekend under the weather, Cammish had been struggling in FP1 and FP2. But fuelled by the adrenaline of qualifying and some crucial set-up changes by his team, Dan pulled out his best qualifying performance of the year and put his NAPA Focus on the front row of the grid. Like Cammish, Rowbottom scored his best qualifying result with a 4^th place ahead of Ash in 5^th. Sam Osborne lined up 15^th in the fourth NAPA car.

Race 1 saw a double podium for Cammish headed home to Sutton to see NAPA 2^nd and 3^rd. Some “rubbing” was deemed to be illegal and the rule makers dropped Rowbo from 5^th on the road to 7^th place in race 1, with Sam finishing 16^th. Race 2 again saw a 3-car NAPA train battling at the front. Unfortunately, whilst battling for the lead,  Ash Sutton sustained some damage, seeing him finish behind Dan Cammish, who again scored a fantastic 2^nd place finish, with Dan Rowbottom 4^th and 15^th.

The damage sustained in race 2 to Ash’s Focus was a little more severe than cosmetic. With the short turnaround between races 2 and 3, the full NAPA team descended on the car to turn it around to get it back out, a true show of teamwork. Ash rewarded the incredible work from the crew with the team’s first victory of the season, heading Dan Cammish to the line in 2^nd. Dan Rowbottom was on the pace all weekend and set for a great race 3 result, but contact with a BMW sent the #32 into the barriers. Sam again brought the car home in the points with a 13th-place finish.

Leaving Thruxton, NAPA Racing leads the BTCC Drivers, Manufacturers and Teams championship. A huge thanks to all our partners, we look forward to Oulton Park in 2 weeks, where the BTCC will be joined by the MINI team again.