The three-time champion worked his Motorbase Performance Ford Focus ST around the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N of reigning title holder Tom Ingram on the second lap, and disappeared into the distance.
Ingram ran a solid second for most of the race, but only just fended off the West Surrey Racing BMW 330e M Sport of a charging Jake Hill in a near-photo finish.
Sutton had qualified on pole, but a poor getaway allowed fellow front-row starter Ingram in front, while third-on-grid Ricky Collard also got ahead of the Ford in his Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla.
Ingram got a bit of a slide on at the Old Hairpin, and this appeared to check Collard’s momentum, allowing Sutton to accelerate ahead of the Toyota and into second place.
One and a half laps later, Sutton got down the inside of Ingram at the Melbourne hairpin to grab the lead.
Sutton set a succession of fastest laps as he built up his advantage, and eventually crossed the line 7.178 seconds to the good.
“I couldn’t afford to back off because then you make mistakes; you have to stay in the zone,” said Sutton.
“As we saw at Knockhill race three in the rain, this car’s so good it’s like someone’s cut a groove in the track and away we go.
“I cocked the start up so I had to fight for it, but once I got ahead I got my head down and I was away.”
Source: Autosport