“Big changes” help Josh Cook to second win

Josh Cook admitted that “big changes” to his Honda Civic Type R had allowed him to fight for a second win of the BTCC season in the final race of the weekend at Thruxton.

Despite being quick in the pre-event test, Cook and BTC Racing team-mate Chris Smiley had struggled for outright pace when the race weekend got underway and both qualified outside the top ten.

After tenth and eleventh place finishes in the opening races for Cook, the team made a number of changes to the Civic for the reverse grid final race and he was able to secure a second win of the season as result – jumping ahead of Ash Sutton on the run to the complex and then fending off the challenge of Rory Butcher.

It means he sits third in the standings, just two points off top spot, heading into round four at Croft.

“Race one and two were tough as we weren’t comfortable with where the car was and we made some big changes for race three and took a bit of a gamble,” he said. “It worked well and we took a leap forward with the car and put some good points on the board.

“To be honest, we had hoped to do it earlier in the weekend and we expected the car to be quick in race two without the weight we had to carry in race one, but we struggled. All credit to the guys for the work they put in ahead of race three, as they did a great job.

“Whilst I wouldn’t say we had been slow in race one and two, we didn’t have the strength we needed in certain areas. We found those for race three and the points we scored could prove to be vital. We need to make sure we remain in the mix when it gets towards the business end of the year.”

Cook dedicated the win to team manager Zoe Timbrell, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer and was taken to hospital for checks after feeling ill following the opening race of the weekend.