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Sutton: BTCC driving standards "becoming a joke"
BTCC rookie Ash Sutton has hit out at the driving standards in the championship's most recent round at Knockhill, where he retired from two of the three races after contact on track.
Edited: Aug 16, 2016, 3:28 PM
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The MG driver has picked up just five points from the round, seeing his lead in the rookie Jack Sears Trophy cut to 24 points.
"It’s very frustrating but, again, they are incidents that are out of my control and it’s people driving into me," Sutton said.
"It’s becoming a joke as this is meant to be the pinnacle of British motorsport and, at the moment, it isn’t; we’re not putting on a good show.
"I will be the first person to hold my hands up and apologise if I do something wrong and am at fault, and will accept any penalty that comes my way, but there are people who are getting away with things that I have been penalised for and I don’t feel that is right.
"To get one DNF because of someone else is bad enough, but two is kick up the backside."
Harrison: No lessons learned from Snetterton
Sutton was not the only Triple Eight driver to run into trouble at Knockhill, with teammate Josh Cook parking his car on the side of the circuit in race three after a hit from one of his rivals.
The duo's team boss Ian Harrison, who had suggested some of the current BTCC drivers "just aren't good enough" after the Snetterton crashfest, was once again dismayed by the driving standards.
"Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything to you last time out, and I guess I have to wait and see what penalties are handed out by the organisers, but the fact is that we have a 50 percent finishing rate this weekend and it is because of other people driving into our cars," Harrison said.
"I have yet to see someone get a yellow or a red card for their driving and nothing has changed; it’s exactly the same as it was at Snetterton.
"Teams and mechanics have worked hard to get cars ready for this weekend but there are some drivers on the grid who don’t seem to respect, or aren’t bothered, by that fact. Maybe it doesn’t interest them or they don’t see it as their problem; I don’t know.
"There is no consideration for the long game and they just seem to look for instant gratification that comes from overtaking someone in a position where they can’t overtake at this corner on this lap, rather than thinking ahead and planning their move.
"We knew coming here that it was a circuit that hasn’t been kind to our MG in the past, but the championship seems to be at the stage where if you aren’t inside the top 10, you are at serious risk of not finishing through no fault of your own.
"Going to Rockingham, we have to make sure we qualify well so that we are in a position where we can actually race with people."
Matt Salisbury / TouringCarTimes
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