27 September 2026. Ash Sutton needed only a point to make British Touring Car Championship history at Silverstone. He secured the title with a victory instead, charging from 12th on the grid to become the series’ first five-time champion.
The NAPA Racing UK driver wrapped up the 2026 championship in the second race on Sunday 27 September, leaving the final meeting at Brands Hatch still to come.
It moved him clear of Andy Rouse and Colin Turkington, whose four-title benchmark he had matched in 2023. The record-breaking fifth crown was confirmed by the BTCC on the day and by the British Automobile Racing Club in its coverage on 28 September.
A title won on the attack
The BTCC’s Round 26 report describes Sutton starting on the sixth row and reaching the lead by lap nine of the 22-lap race.
His move on early leader Daryl De Leon put the Ford driver in front on the run to Copse. He went on to claim his ninth win of the season and the 56th victory of his BTCC career.
Adam Morgan finished second and Charles Rainford third, while De Leon took fourth. For Sutton, the result settled the championship with three races remaining.
Why the fifth title stood apart
The British Automobile Racing Club said Sutton had arrived at Silverstone with a 115-point advantage. It also noted that he was the first driver since Alain Menu in 1997 to secure the championship before the final meeting.
That gives the September result two places in the record book: a new outright total of drivers’ titles, and an early finish to the championship battle that had not happened for nearly three decades.
The season still had its final chapter in Kent. The BTCC’s October finale report subsequently confirmed Sutton as drivers’ champion, NAPA Racing UK as teams’ champions and Alliance Racing/Ford as manufacturers’ and constructors’ champions.
For the moment the record was secured, though, the date to circle is 27 September, and the race is Silverstone’s second encounter.
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Ash Sutton and Chris Smiley in race one at Silverstone on 27 September 2026. Sutton clinched the title in race two later that day. Photo: BWard 1997 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Resized by WordPress; no editorial alteration.