Josh Cook will start Sunday’s opening Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship race from pole position after producing a faultless lights-to-flag victory in Saturday’s Qualifying Race at Thruxton.
The Speedworks Corolla Racing driver underlined his reputation as one of the masters of the Hampshire circuit by converting his earlier qualifying pace into victory, securing his first BTCC pole position in 700 days and giving his championship campaign a timely boost.
Having topped the timesheets in qualifying, Cook made the perfect getaway from pole position and immediately had to withstand pressure from reigning champion Tom Ingram. The Team VERTU driver launched well and attempted to out-drag the Toyota Corolla down to Allard on the opening lap, but Cook held firm to retain the lead.
Once in front, the Bath racer controlled proceedings with confidence. Even a mid-race Safety Car failed to disrupt his rhythm as he produced a composed restart before gradually edging clear of Ingram to seal another memorable Thruxton triumph – his 11th BTCC victory at the fastest circuit on the calendar.
“It’s what we needed and it’s a good place to start for tomorrow,” said Cook after climbing from his Toyota Corolla. “I’m pleased for the team with all the hard effort they’ve put in. They’ve just put in so much hard work and I’m glad we’ve managed to get the start of a good result for them – we now need to convert that on race day.
“The car was a beauty to drive. It was nice to go into a race run there, deal with the tyre degradation, manage the gap back to Tom (Ingram), and if there’s anything to learn ahead of tomorrow then I’m sure we will do.”
While Cook enjoyed a relatively controlled drive at the front, the battle behind provided plenty of entertainment.
Ingram settled into second after his opening-lap challenge and maintained a solid pace throughout, although he was never quite close enough to launch a serious attack for the lead. More of his attention was focused on championship rival Ash Sutton, who rapidly worked his way through the order.
Ash Sutton - NAPA Racing UK | Images by Dan Knight Automotive Media (Left) & Kai Harris (Right)
The NAPA Racing UK driver produced another trademark display of aggressive but calculated overtaking. Sutton first dispatched Adam Morgan and teammate Senna Proctor in the early stages before later finding a way past fellow title contender Dan Cammish to claim the final podium position.
Cammish crossed the line fourth ahead of Proctor, while three-time champion Gordon Shedden delivered one of the standout drives of the afternoon. Starting 11th on the grid, the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver charged through the field to finish sixth.
Morgan eventually recovered to seventh after slipping backwards during the race, reclaiming the position from Cataclean Plato Racing teammate Dan Rowbottom after the latter suffered a wild moment through the daunting Church corner.
Mikey Doble endured a frustrating afternoon in the LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing Audi, taking ninth, while Restart Racing’s James Dorlin rounded out the top ten.
With pole position secured and the Toyota Corolla showing impressive pace over both a single lap and race distance, Cook heads into Sunday’s triple-header full of confidence as he looks to turn Saturday’s perfect performance into a significant haul of championship points.
