James Cole: “I’m pleased to show I can do it”

James Cole said he was pleased to have proved his doubters wrong after securing his maiden BTCC victory at Rockingham.

The Team BMR driver had endured a challenging start to the campaign before finally turning a corner at Knockhill, where three strong results saw him battling in the top ten throughout the weekend.

There was still an element of surprise when the former single-seater racer became the first driver to secure pole position at Rockingham in a rear-wheel drive car, although he produced a fine performance when the lights went out to lead from the front – never being headed as he picked up his first win.

Although races two and three would yield just a 13th place finish – with contact putting him out of race three – Cole now sits inside the top 15 in the championship standings and said he was pleased to have shown he was capable of running at the front.

“I’ve always felt that I could do it [win a race] so I’m pleased to get the monkey off my back and achieve it,” he said. “I didn’t feel a lot of pressure going into race one as I knew we had a quick car; it wasn’t like when you get pole on a reverse grid and line up at the start knowing you have quicker guys behind.

“The focus at the start was to keep the front-wheel drive cars behind; particularly Jack [Goff] who is good on the brakes. I knew the tyres would come to us, and when Jack started to struggle, I could break away at the front and it also helped Ash [Sutton] to get him on the final lap. To lead a 1-2 for Subaru is great.”