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Ashley Sutton, Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50
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Analysis

The making of the BTCC's newest superstar

Ash Sutton is on the verge of being crowned a three-time British Touring Car Champion; he seems to have it all. But life hasn't always been straightforward for this superstar of touring cars, as Marcus Simmons has been finding out

Judder-judder-judder. The left-rear suspension of this BMW M2 Competition, a passenger wagon made available for the day by the British Racing Drivers’ Club, literally has nothing more to give. British Touring Car Championship mega-talent Ash Sutton is at the wheel, beaming and laughing amid armfuls of opposite lock.

The addition of a middle-aged Autosport man (85kg-plus at last weigh-in) alongside him means he’s carrying even more ballast than the regulation maximum 75kg success weight he usually has aboard his Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50, and even rear-wheel-drive sorcerer Sutton can’t override the basic laws of physics and road-car design. We wave goodbye to any chance of ever seeing the inside of Silverstone’s Luffield turn again, and that left-rear only grips up again once we’re in a straight line and heading down towards Woodcote.

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