NAPA Racing UK’s Ash Sutton further extended his points advantage in the British Touring Car Championship with victory in a dry race two at Knockhill, as rival Tom Ingram retired from the race with damage.

Following their historic 1-2 in the opening race, the Plato Racing Mercedes of Adam Morgan and Daniel Rowbottom started from the front row of the grid.

However, at the start it was Rowbottom who got away better and had his nose ahead going into Turn 1 on the outside line.

A pre-race agreement between the team-mates that whoever was in front by the first corner would assume the lead meant that Morgan eased off and Rowbottom took the lead through Duffus dip, as Sutton, already up to third and the top driver on the soft tyre, was challenging Morgan for second.

An early safety car period was then required after Power Maxed Racing’s Aiden Moffat went off at Duffus Dip and his car became stranded, requiring recovery as a result.

However, not before then the race was also over for Team VERTU’s Ingram, who had hit the back of Gordon Sheden’s Laser Tools Racing Toyota on the run to the chicane.

The damage to the front of Ingram’s Hyundai was such that he had to pit at the end of the lap, and after inspection by the team it was deemed to be terminal.

Racing resumed on lap six and for almost two laps it was again a Plato Racing 1-2, before Sutton caught Morgan napping into McIntyres and took second on lap seven.

The four-time champion then wasted little time in closing down Rowbottom’s one-second lead and into the hairpin on lap 11 he took the lead.

It was plain sailing for Sutton thereafter, as he collected his seventh winner’s trophy of the season, whilst Rowbottom held on to finish in second despite running the harder tyre.

Team VERTU’s Ricky Collard completed the podium in third, getting by Morgan late in the race before a late-race safety car was needed when Chris smiley beached his Restart Racing Hyundai in the Turn 1 gravel after a front-left suspension failure.

Whilst there was time for a final lap sprint to the finish, there were no significant changes, with Power Maxed Racing’s Mikey Doble finishing in fourth as the top Independent after passing Morgan for the place at Clark curve just before the safety car.

Morgan finished in fifth, ahead of WSR’s Charles Rainford in sixth, the BMW driver having charged from the back of the grid.

Shedden was the top Toyota in seventh, ahead of Power Maxed’s Dexter Patterson in eighth, whilst the top ten was completed by NAPA duo Dan Cammish and Sam Osborne.

The top 12 drivers were randomly drawn to by reversed for the final race, handing pole position to Team VERTU’s Tom Chilton, with NAPA’s Lewis Selby starting alongside on the front row.