Motorsport News

COOK NOT GETTING CARRIED AWAY AFTER BRANDS HATCH BTCC HAUL

BTC Racing Honda man has feet on the ground despite double victory

- By Matt James

British Touring Car Championsh­ip ace Josh Cook says he is not considerin­g the points table yet despite outstrippi­ng his rivals with a double win at Brands Hatch last weekend and looking ahead to his favourite circuit Thruxton.

The 30-year-old was the highest points scorer across the three races in Kent. As well as his two wins, he banked eighth spot in the reversed-grid race after being drawn in 12th spot on the starting line up. Cook has now moved to within eight points of table-topper Tom Ingram (Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N).

Cook said: “While the wins are great, my focus us on a much bigger picture in terms of the championsh­ip points. We will now move on to the next round and just keep looking ahead. It is satisfying in as much as the wins mean it is job done for a particular weekend, but it doesn’t mean we will rest on our laurels.”

Cook has taken seven victories at the super-quick Hampshire race track, which is next on the BTCC roster on May 28-29. His first win at Thruxton came in 2018 in a Vauxhall and he claimed three wins for BTC Racing in the Honda Civic

Type R during the category’s two visits to the track in 2021.

“Thruxton has been a great track for me previously but that doesn’t really count for anything because we know how competitiv­e the touring car grid is,” added Cook. “I am not taking anything for granted. We just need to get the best out of all of it – the car, the team and me – at every round.

“I am not looking at the points table yet: it is about making sure we are consistent­ly quick everywhere.”

 ?? Photos: Jakob Ebrey, Motorsport Images ?? Cook became the first double winner of 2022
Photos: Jakob Ebrey, Motorsport Images Cook became the first double winner of 2022
 ?? ?? Josh Cook scored 50 points and two wins at Brands
Josh Cook scored 50 points and two wins at Brands

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