MG Motor's and Triple Eight driver Ashley Sutton takes the jack Sears trophy at the final race at Brands Hatch.

Staff at MG Motor are celebrating this week, after British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) driver Ashley Sutton took home the coveted Jack Sears Trophy in his MG6 at Brands Hatch (Sunday 2 October 2016). The award, which recognises the highest scoring rookie driver in the championship, was especially poignant this year given the fact that Sears, who was the first ever winner of the BTCC Trophy, died in August aged 86.

The battle for the Jack Sears Trophy went down to the wire this year, with the Essex-born racer still unsure of clinching the title until the finish line. 

While he just had to complete the final race of the season to secure the title, with three laps to go Sutton experienced unexpected vibration issues. 

Taking no chances, the Triple Eight Racing team called the Number 116 MG6 back to the pits for a set of new tyres, allowing Sutton to re-join the race and complete the remaining laps more comfortably, before celebrations began.

Sutton commented: “I'm absolutely delighted. At the start of the season we set ourselves four goals - a first Pole Position, a first BTCC podium, a first race win and to win the Jack Shears trophy.

“We managed to achieve the first Pole Position second time out at Donington Park, which was amazing. The first podium and the win were ticked off at Croft and I'm so pleased to finish the season on a high with the Jack Sears Trophy. It took all 30 races to finally get it done and to do it in MG & 888's 150th race together was very special. Obviously trophies always mean a lot but to accept this one, named after the great Jack Shears, from his son David, in the year he passed away was very moving.

“I can't thank Triple Eight enough for making me feel at home in my debut year! I’d also like to thank MG and RICB for believing in me and giving me this chance to live and fulfil my dream. It has been a pleasure this year, and despite the bad luck I have still loved every minute of it!

“As always I'd like to thank my sponsors, family and friends as without their support then none of this would be possible. It's been a great first season for me in the BTCC - I just can't wait to get going again! Roll on 2017'"

Matthew Cheyne, Head of Sales and Marketing at MG Motor, added: "We're thrilled with the season's results and the success achieved by both Ash and Josh. We viewed BTCC 2016 as a bedding in season for both the cars and drivers, however, they delivered above and beyond expectations and achieved hugely impressive results.

"On behalf of MG Motor, I'd like to personally congratulate Ash on taking home the Jack Sears Trophy this weekend and look forward to watching both his - and Josh's - continued success in 2017.”

Demonstrating his fighting spirit and racing skill, 22-year old Sutton was the only rookie driver to finish on the main podium during the season. He stormed to his first ever Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship victory after producing an outstanding performance in the final encounter at Croft on 19^th June.

Ashley Sutton finished the Jack Sears Trophy competition with a final score of 442. His nearest rival was Michael Epps, who scored 424.

Subaru and MG are the stars at the weekends British Touring Car Championships at the Croft circuit.

Turkington and Collard also win during Croft BTCC thriller

Ashley Sutton stormed to his breakthrough Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship victory in a thrilling finale at Croft, with Colin Turkington and Rob Collard also taking wins on an exciting race day in North Yorkshire. 

Sutton’s success means that the BTCC boasts ten different winners from the opening 15 races of the 2016 season.

Turkington led home team-mate Jason Plato in the opener to score the first ever one-two finish for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing. It was a podium of firsts as Sutton took his maiden rostrum for MG Racing RCIB Insurance.

Double champion Turkington was in command for the duration although he had to contend with the attentions of Plato, plus three safety car periods and an early attack from fellow front row starter Daniel Lloyd.

Lloyd’s Eurotech Racing Honda made a great getaway off the line, which left him on the outside of Turkington going into turn one. When the young rookie turned in, however, inevitable contact followed, firing the Civic Type R into the gravel and out of the race.

Turkington dealt with each of the safety car interruptions consummately, and although Plato kept him honest after getting his own stellar start, the Ulsterman held him at arm's length to take his second victory of the season.

Sutton produced a defensive driving master class as Jack Goff’s Team IHG Rewards Club BMW searched for a way past for the entire 18-lap battle. Goff looked to have secured the deal on a number of occasions but Sutton would not be denied his first BTCC podium.

Collard claimed victory in the second contest after Subaru’s Turkington and Plato dramatically clashed while battling for the lead.

The duel between Turkington and Plato provided the main storyline throughout the race, which initially seemed to favour the latter. Plato made another brilliant start and was able to sail around the outside of his team-mate into Clervaux.

Turkington hounded his Silverline Subaru BMR Racing stablemate during the early stages and regained the lead at Tower on lap four, but the battle was far from over. The pair then made contact going into the same corner at mid-distance, sending both cars sliding wide, as the West Surrey Racing duo of Goff and Collard looked on.

Goff hesitated slightly in the melee but Collard needed no second invitation as he blasted his Team JCT600 with GardX machine from fourth to first in the blink of an eye. As the Subarus straightened out it was Plato in second with Turkington now demoted to third.

The incident seemed to stunt the pace and progress of both Subarus, leaving the top four places unchanged until the finish, handing Collard a well deserved victory and a landmark 50th podium in his BTCC career. Plato and Turkington completed the rostrum positions, with Goff taking a hard earned fourth.

The first wet BTCC race since Brands Hatch in 2014 – 44 races ago – left teams scrambling for Dunlop Blu Response wet tyres prior to the start of the final encounter, although the likes of Gordon Shedden and Mat Jackson gambled unsuccessfully on slicks.

Pole-sitter Sam Tordoff held station from Tom Ingram and Goff in the early running, with Sutton trailing Turkington’s Subaru in fifth as the rain lashed down at the 2.1-mile circuit.

Despite an early safety car intervention, the action resumed in enthralling style as Turkington flung his car around the outside of Goff’s BMW at Tower, with Sutton’s MG following suit at the next turn.

Sutton clipped Turkington at the Hairpin on lap nine to move into third, with Collard also slipping by his former WSR team-mate.

MG’s Sutton was soon past Ingram on the approach to the Esses and he immediately set about hunting down race leader Tordoff. He was further aided by a late safety car period, which gave Sutton two laps to make a move on the Team JCT600 with GardX BMW, and that’s exactly what he did on the penultimate tour.

Clearly carrying much more speed and balance than the rear-wheel drive BMW in wet conditions, Sutton flew by Tordoff at Sunny and never looked back as he claimed a famous first win.

Tordoff had to make do with second, extending his championship lead in the process, while Ingram joined him on the podium.

Collard continued his scrap with Turkington until the finish, with the latter being further forced down the order after a final corner nudge from Josh Cook’s MG. That allowed Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Ford to nip opportunistically by, eventually leaving Turkington down in seventh.

Tordoff now leads team-mate Collard by 12 points in the Drivers’ standings, rounding off a celebratory weekend for Team JCT600 with GardX on the 70th anniversary of sponsor JCT600. Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Matt Neal is a further three points adrift while Jordan and Goff sit fourth and fifth respectively.

West Surrey Racing extended its advantage over Honda/Team Dynamics in the battle for Manufacturers'/Constructors' honours, with the Japanese marque enduring a difficult weekend at Croft.

Unsurprisingly Team JCT600 with GardX leads the Teams’ order, whilst Jordan and Motorbase Performance top the respective Independents’ tables.

Sutton’s sensational day saw him take a hat-trick of Jack Sears Trophy wins, further cementing his overall control of that category.

A number of drivers also reached significant milestones at Croft today with a quartet of competitors having now clocked up 950 BTCC between them - Collard (400 races), Shedden (300), Rob Austin (150) and Goff (100).

Colin Turkington said: "It was great to come away with another pole position, podium and win and a good haul of points – if you’d offered me that before the start of the weekend, I would have been happy with it. We’re moving the Subaru Levorg package forward and definitely looking strong now. We knew this place would suit us better than some other circuits, but you can never be over-confident and I certainly didn’t expect to have such a big margin in qualifying. Our pace was good throughout the weekend, and we were able to capitalise on that – it really highlights all the hard work that everybody in the team has put in, and it’s very rewarding to see smiles back on faces. We’ve proved we can race up at the sharp end now."

Rob Collard said: "To bounce back the way we have here after Oulton Park – where we had cracking pace but came away with very little to show for it – is a massive result for the whole team. Qualifying at Croft dealt us another blow, but we fought like a lion in all three races and our reward is to be up to second in the championship, having halved the points gap to Sam [Tordoff] going into the summer break. To be first and second in the Drivers’ table now – on the weekend when I made my 400^th BTCC start and JCT600 celebrated its 70^th anniversary – is fantastic."

Ashley Sutton said: "What a weekend! I love Croft – it’s a fantastic track – and I’ve achieved good results here in other championships. We knew it was never going to be our best circuit of the season as a front-wheel drive car, so to score my first BTCC podium was already a great achievement but to then go and win my first race topped it all off. I knew the MG6 would be strong in the wet and I love conditions like that so I was doing a bit of a rain dance in the garage and when it came, I thought ‘game on’. We definitely showed what we are capable of, and even without the final safety car period, I was confident of catching [Sam] Tordoff – it just made the job a little bit easier. The car was on rails in that race – absolutely mega!"

Sam Tordoff said: "All things considered, it’s been a tough weekend. To qualify fifth on maximum ballast was a good start, but then it all went wrong in race one with the engine problem. I really thought it was going to go bang, so to get to the end and score some points was a real relief. The boys pulled off a complete engine change before race two which was the key to our weekend because it allowed us to finish eighth in race two, earning us the reverse grid pole for race three. Massive credit to the team for that turnaround. It was pretty frustrating to lose the lead so close to the end, but I knew Ash [Sutton] was driving quite aggressively and not holding anything back and had nothing to lose whereas I had everything to lose."

Jason Plato said: "It’s been a really successful weekend for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing. We made further progress with the car, and to come away with podiums in races one and two was great. Race three was my first in rear-wheel drive in the wet, and it took me a few laps to find my feet and understand the grip levels before I properly got into the groove, but it was a useful experience and now I know what to expect next time. We take some great data away from Croft and know what areas we still need to work on – we’re homing in."

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 13

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 29m56.374s

2 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.353s

3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +2.305s

4 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +2.689s

5 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +6.429s

6 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +7.136s

7 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +7.306s

8 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +8.025s

9 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +8.279s

10 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +9.191s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 14



1 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX 23m59.017s


2 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.341s


3 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +5.152s


4 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +7.038s


5 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +12.363s


6 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +15.335s


7 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +15.815s


8 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +16.062s


9 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +17.782s


10 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +18.117s

2016

Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 15



1 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance 32m50.206s


2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.337s


3 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +2.284s


4 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.860s


5 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +3.759s


6 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +4.324s


7 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +4.683s


8 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +4.947s


9 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +5.942s


10 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +6.290s

Penalties

Qualifying:

Matt Neal was officially reprimanded and received two penalty points for an incident involving Rob Collard

Race one: 

Gordon Shedden was officially reprimanded and received two penalty points for an incident involving Aiden Moffat

Kelvin Fletcher was officially reprimanded and received two penalty points for an incident involving James Cole

Race two: 

Kelvin Fletcher received a verbal warning for an incident involving Dan Welch

Rob Austin was officially reprimanded and received two penalty points for overtaking under yellow flag conditions

Race three: 

Chris Smiley was officially reprimanded for gaining an unfair advantage during an incident involving Jeff Smith

Subaru takes it's maiden BTCC win with three 3rd's 1 2nd and 1 win makes it the best subaru weekend so far.

Sam Tordoff and Matt Neal hit the top with a win apiece at Oulton Park

Colin Turkington scored Subaru’s first ever Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship victory, while wins for Sam Tordoff and Matt Neal pushed them to the standings summit at Oulton Park.

Having secured pole position on Saturday afternoon, double BTCC champion Turkington produced a lights-to-flag performance in Sunday’s opener.

The Ulsterman made a strong getaway and was able to resist the attentions from Tordoff’s Team JCT600 with GardX BMW in the early running, before gradually stretching his lead in the latter stages.

It’s an historic result for the Japanese marque, which had so far endured a baptism of fire on its introduction to Britain’s biggest motor sport series.

Challenging weekends at Brands Hatch and Donington Park were followed by the difficult decision to withdraw from the race day at Thruxton last time out, amid safety concerns with its fuel system.

New components, engine modifications and a two-day pre-event test seemingly had the desired effect on the all-new Levorg model, as Turkington’s success was bolstered by a hat-trick of podiums for team-mate Jason Plato.

The Surbaru man finished third in Cheshire’s curtain-raiser as the two Subarus sandwiched Tordoff’s West Surrey Racing BMW 125i M Sport for the podium positions.

Tordoff then ignited his championship charge with his first victory of the season in race two – incredibly becoming the ninth different driver to win a race so far in 2016.

The BMW blasted off the line, past pole-sitter Turkington, and never looked back. The unpredictability of this BTCC campaign continued as the Yorkshireman romped home to add his name to an ever-growing list of race-winning drivers.

Turkington and Plato finished second and third to make it a brace of double podiums for Subaru in the first two bouts. Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden and Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The result also fired Tordoff to the top of the standings, despite being only sixth in the table at the start of Oulton Park’s proceedings.

Tordoff and Neal then pulled further clear in the championship table after securing the first two podium positions in the final race of the day, with the latter taking a quite dominant victory.

Honda originally looked in place to notch a one-two finish after Shedden muscled his way past MG Racing RCIB Insurance’s Josh Cook on the opening lap. The two bright orange Civic Type Rs immediately pulled away from the rest of the field, but reigning champ Shedden was never close enough to challenge his team-mate. Disaster struck for the Scotsman on the penultimate lap when a puncture, after apparently hitting a kerb, forced him out of contention.

Cook – already reeling from the earlier attack by Shedden – was now embroiled in a fairly heated debate with Tom Ingram’s Toyota, as the pair tapped and nudged their way through the entire contest. The battle would eventually play into the hands of the experienced Plato, who snatched the final spot on the rostrum in dramatic fashion.

Ingram was edged onto the grass as the gaggle of cars ran down to Lodge for the final time. The Speedworks star was determined not to let Cook past, but in holding up his rival he merely opened the door for the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing car to run around the outside and steal the advantage.

Despite being shuffled slightly down the order, young gun Ingram still went on to take his third Independents’ victory of the day – matching his best ever weekend points haul in the process.

Tordoff tops Neal by just one point in the overall championship, with both drivers now pulling clear of the chasing pack headed by Shedden and Rob Collard.

Collard made his final move of the weekend on the run to the chequered flag, rounding off a staggering display from the Team JCT600 with GardX driver. The seasoned racer had seemingly carved his way through the field in each of the Oulton Park races, but misfortune had up to that point prevented him from scoring a real result. He would not be denied in race three, however, as he stormed from 25th to sixth – beating Turkington’s Subaru to the line by just 0.041s.

West Surrey Racing leads the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ points tally, whilst Team JCT600 with GardX top the HiQ Teams’ table.

Despite a relatively low key weekend for Motorbase Performance it still left the Cheshire track in command of the Independent Teams’ title, and its talent Andrew Jordan heads the Independent Drivers’ standings.

MG Racing RCIB Insurance driver Ashley Sutton maintained his advantage in the Jack Sears Trophy.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now moves on to Croft in Yorkshire in two weeks time (18/19 June).

Colin Turkington said: “I’m delighted for the team. This result is good for me, but it’s even better for all the guys who have put in so much hard work and until now got nothing back. To give them a victory and double podium is a great reward. The performance of the car has really progressed since the first three weekends; we’ve found the Subaru Levorg’s sweet spot and the whole package is really moving forward. I really enjoyed the race and felt comfortable in the lead and in the groove. We didn’t suffer from much tyre degradation, which allowed me to just do my thing.”

Sam Tordoff said: “It’s been an amazing weekend. To be honest, I’m a bit lost for words with how well it’s gone. We came here targeting a big points haul to move up the standings, but never in my wildest dreams did I think we would do as well as we have done. Being so hard to overtake at Oulton, qualifying was the key to our weekend – starting third on the grid for race one made our life a lot easier. The car was quick both with and without ballast on-board and to come away with a victory and two second places is just phenomenal. To be going to my home circuit of Croft – a track where the BMW has always excelled – as championship leader is fantastic.”

Matt Neal said: “It seems to be becoming a bit of a trend at the moment that we run under the radar in races one and two with the weight on-board and then win in race three! The ballast certainly hurt us in qualifying and race one, and race two got pretty fraught at times with some really robust driving – we really had to battle for every inch of track space! It was nice to have a more straightforward race three after that, although it was obviously a shame about Gordon’s puncture because it would have been great to take a one-two finish for the team. I was dead chuffed to get the win – I really don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that feeling!”

Jason Plato said: “I knew we were back in the game and that’s what makes me tick! We’re still not 100 per cent and still have a few tweaks to make, but the basics of the car are strong. It’s a fantastic achievement for the whole team and I’m absolutely chuffed for Colin and everybody involved. This project has been five years in the making and it’s been an epic journey. We’ve got something really special here – BMR isn’t a big team, but everybody has done a fantastic job and what they’ve achieved is the most beautiful piece of engineering I’ve ever seen in a touring car.”

Tom Ingram said: “I’m really chuffed – I think we did a cracking job. We were always going to struggle a bit against the rear wheel-drive boys here and the pace wasn’t necessarily there for the rostrum in today’s hotter conditions, but to be one of the quickest front-wheel drive cars was really satisfying. I fought as hard as I could in race three and it would have been nice to come away with an outright podium, but I was more than happy with three top five finishes – it’s the kind of performance we’ve been targeting all season. We ran up at the sharp end all weekend and achieved three really strong results entirely on merit.”

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Oulton Park

Race 1

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 21m56.702s
2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.424s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +9.954s
4 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +3.429s
5 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +16.249s
6 Dan LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing +16.388s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +19.119s
8 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +19.312s
9 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +20.395s
10 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +20.819s

Race 2

1 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX 24m15.404s
2 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.638s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.309s
4 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +5.544s
5 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +6.217s
6 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +12.302s
7 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +12.552s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +13.207s
9 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +13.848s
10 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +13.989s

Race 3

1 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 22m18.716s
2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +9.481s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +11.662s
4 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +11.760s
5 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +11.827s
6 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +12.015s
7 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +12.056s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +12.299s
9 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +12.494s
10 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +12.936s