Josh Cook pleased with maiden pole position

Josh Cook admitted he was pleased, but not surprised, to secure his maiden pole position in the BTCC after topping the times at Donington Park.

Cook had been quickest in the second practice session at the wheel of his Power Maxed Racing-run Vauxhall Astra and then emerged on top in a closely-fought qualifying session – putting a Vauxhall on pole for the first time since 2012.

The former Jack Sears Trophy winner will now seek to try and repeat the success enjoyed by team-mate Senna Proctor at Brands Hatch, with the 26-year-old eager to try and win from the front on race day.

“I feel good,” he told TouringCarTimes. “It’s not a total surprise as we knew we had a quick car, but we still had to convert it into something in qualifying.

“I knew it was a good lap going onto the back straight but I had no idea what others were doing. I didn’t know it was pole until I got out of the car but we’ve put ourselves in the best position and the team are over the moon.

“The team has given me a great car and my focus going into race day is on me, and not on the others around me. I’ll prepare the best I can and do my best to deliver. There are three races and we need to make sure we are in contention in them all.”