COOK MAXIMISES IT WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN
Josh Cook has increasingly come to be regarded as a BTCC champion in waiting. His speed and racecraft are not in doubt at all. The only shadow has been the apparent inability of himself and the BTC Racing Honda squad to maximise the weekends where he’s not the form man.
After the first three race weekends of 2022, Cook was alone in having won more than once, with a tally of four victories. Then came Oulton. He was quickest in the opening free practice session on a set of old Goodyears, but couldn’t match that time for the rest of the weekend, even on new boots in qualifying, where he ended up 10th.
“Something’s just gone away from us,” grimaced Cook. “We’re not sure what but it’s just so close – I’m only two tenths off third.” He added that there was a lack of grip in qualifying: “We’re not feeling the benefit of the new tyres.” It did seem that the hybrid boost penalties had a bigger effect at Oulton, but Cook responded: “It’s powerful, but not as powerful as making sure you have a well-balanced car.”
The chassis was nicely dialled in for the races, where Cook finished 8-9-3: “The chassis’s back where we wanted it, but we seem to have lost a load of straightline speed. As soon as someone holds us in the corners, I lose masses of time on the straights.
“We just needed to get some solid points – we need an average of 30 per weekend to be in with a shout, and that’s what we’ve done. Sometimes the tougher weekends are more rewarding. When things are stacking up against you and you don’t know why, those are the weekends where you have to dig deep.” There’s another box ticked then.