Ashley John Sutton (born 15 January 1994) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the British Touring Car Championship with NAPA Racing UK, driving a Ford Focus Titanium Saloon. Sutton is the most successful driver in BTCC history, winning the championship on five occasions – 2017, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2026.
After winning the Renault Clio Cup UK in 2015, Sutton moved up to the British Touring Car Championship for the 2016 season with MG Racing RCIB Insurance. He won one race in his début season, before moving to Adrian Flux Subaru Racing for the 2017 season. Sutton failed to score a point in the opening meeting, but won six races thereafter to win the championship, the youngest champion since 1966. He moved to Laser Tools Racing in 2020, and would win the championship back to back in 2020 and 2021. He moved to NAPA Racing UK for the 2022 season and won the championship for a fourth time in 2023. He also scored 12 Wins in 2023, equalling Alain Menu's 1997 record. He was also the first driver since Menu in 2000 to win the BTCC title in a Ford.
Racing career
Sutton began his career in karting in 2000 and raced in karting up until 2009, when he switched to the 750MC Formula Vee Championship. He went on to win the Rookie of year award that season, finishing fourth in the overall championship with assistance from an established two-car team (AMP). He made a return to racing in the 2014 British Formula Ford Championship after having been forced to sit out two and half years of racing, following a road car accident. He finished third in the championship that year, taking five wins, 16 podiums, four pole positions and ten fastest laps. For 2015, he switched to the Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom, entering the championship with support from the British Touring Car Championship team, Team BMR. Winning the championship that year, with six wins, 14 podiums, four pole positions and four fastest laps.
In March 2016, it was announced that Sutton would make his British Touring Car Championship debut with MG Racing RCIB Insurance driving a MG6 GT. He finished fourth in the first race of the season and took his first win in a wet race three at Croft. He also won the Jack Sears Trophy, awarded to the top performing rookie.
For 2017, Sutton moved back to Team BMR. He failed to score a point at the first round at Brands Hatch but since has taken wins at Oulton Park, Croft, Snetterton, Knockhill and Rockingham. He held a ten-point lead at the summit of the championship heading into the finale. Sutton clinched the title in the final race of the season after rival Turkington had earlier won the second race from 15th on the grid to keep the championship alive. However, on lap 2 of race three, Turkington was hit, therefore ending his chances and confirming Sutton as the champion, the youngest since John Fitzpatrick in 1966. During his title defence in 2018, Sutton won six races, the most of any driver during the season but came fourth overall.
Sutton competed in the inaugural season of the TCR UK series, winning two races of a truncated campaign with Verizon Connect Racing.
Personal life Sutton was educated at Birchwood High School, where he studied auto mechanics and engineering.
Racing record
Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2010 750 Motor Club Formula Vee Championship 11 3 0 5 8 224 4th 2014 British Formula Ford Championship Meridian Motorsport 26 5 4 10 16 567 3rd 2015 Renault UK Clio Cup Team BMR Restart with Pyro 18 6 4 4 14 459 1st 2016 British Touring Car Championship MG Racing RCIB Insurance 30 1 2 2 2 162 13th2017 British Touring Car Championship Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 30 6 1 4 15 372 1st 2018 British Touring Car Championship Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 30 6 1 3 8 2564th TCR UK Touring Car Championship Verizon Connect Racing 2 2 1 1 2 9113th TCR Europe Touring Car Series WestCoast Racing 2 0 0 1 1 2717th 2019 British Touring Car Championship Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 30 1 1 1 6 233 8th TCR Europe Touring Car Series Team WRT 2 0 0 0 0 2924th2020 British Touring Car Championship Laser Tools Racing 27 5 1 10 10 350 1st 2021 British Touring Car Championship Laser Tools Racing 30 5 1 5 9 357 1st 2022 British Touring Car Championship NAPA Racing UK 30 3 0 4 12 382 2nd 2023 British Touring Car Championship NAPA Racing UK 30 12 6 12 20 446 1st 2024 British Touring Car Championship NAPA Racing UK 30 3 0 6 14 365 3rd 2025 British Touring Car Championship NAPA Racing UK 30 5 1 7 17 428 2ndGT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - BronzeParadine Competition10000832nd2026 British Touring Car Championship NAPA Racing UK 27 9 0 11 19 468 1st*GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - GoldParadine Competition 1 0 0 0 0 12 5th* * Season still in progress.
750MC Formula Vee Ash Sutton started his car racing career in the 750 Motor Club's Formula Vee Championship driving a Storm. He finished fourth in the championship, taking three victories, coming at Castle Combe, Brands Hatch and Pembrey. He took a further five podiums.
Complete Renault UK Clio Cup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Pos Pts 2015 Team BMR Restart with Pyro BHI1C BHI22 DON11 DON27 DON32 THR12 THR22 OUL15 OUL2Ret CRO11 CRO22 KNO12 KNO23 ROC11 ROC25 SIL11 SIL22 BRH11 BRH21 1st 459
Complete British Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded just in first race; races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races; * signifies that driver led race for at least one lap – 1 point given all races; Superscript number indicates points-scoring qualifying race position)
Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Points 2016 MG RacingRCIB Insurance MG 6 GT BRH14 BRH26 BRH310 DON15 DON213 DON35 THR1Ret THR215 THR35 OUL119 OUL227 OUL312 CRO13 CRO25 CRO31* SNE125 SNE2Ret SNE314 KNO111 KNO2Ret KNO3Ret ROC16 ROC25 ROC319 SIL1DSQ* SIL226 SIL310 BRH19 BRH2Ret BRH324 13th 162 2017 Adrian FluxSubaru Racing Subaru Levorg GT BRH116 BRH2Ret BRH321 DON113 DON23 DON33 THR16 THR28 THR36 OUL13 OUL21* OUL34 CRO11* CRO22 CRO32 SNE11* SNE21* SNE3Ret KNO12 KNO21* KNO34 ROC12 ROC21* ROC35 SIL15 SIL24 SIL311 BRH13 BRH212 BRH33 1st 372 2018 Adrian FluxSubaru Racing Subaru Levorg GT BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 DON1 DON2 DON3 THR1 THR2 THR3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 ROC1 ROC2 ROC3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 4th 256 2019 Adrian FluxSubaru Racing Subaru Levorg GT BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 DON1 DON2 DON3 THR1 THR2 THR3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 THR1 THR2 THR3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 8th 233 2020 Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50 DON1 DON2 DON3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 THR1 THR2 THR3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 1st 350 2021 Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50 THR1 THR2 THR3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 THR1 THR2 THR3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 DON1 DON2 DON3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 1st 357 2022 NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST DON1 DON2 DON3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 THR1 THR2 THR3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 THR1 THR2 THR3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 2nd 382 2023 NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST DON1 DON2 DON3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 THR1 THR2 THR3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 DON1 DON2 DON3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 1st 446 2024 NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST DON1 DON2 DON3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 THR1 THR2 THR3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 DON1 DON2 DON3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 3rd 365 2025 NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST DON1 DON2 DON3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 THR1 THR2 THR3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 DON1 DON2 DON3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 2nd 428 2026 NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus Titanium Saloon DON1 DON2 DON3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 THR1 THR2 THR3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 DON1 DON2 DON3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 1st* 468* * Season still in progress.
Complete TCR Europe Touring Car Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DC Points 2018 WestCoast Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR LEC1 LEC2 ZAN1 ZAN2 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 ASS1 ASS2 MNZ1 MNZ2 CAT1 CAT2 17th 27 2019 Team WRT Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR HUN1 HUN2 HOC1 HOC2 SPA1 SPA2 RBR1 RBR2 OSC1 OSC2 CAT1 CAT2 MNZ1 MNZ2 24th 29
Complete GT World Challenge Europe results GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos. Points 2025 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 Evo Bronze LEC MNZ SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR CAT 32nd 8 2026 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 Evo Gold LEC MNZ SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR ALG 12th* 12*
References
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