Josh Cook aims to maintain advantage as BTCC battle heads for Oulton Park

After three rounds full of drama, the fight for the British Touring Car Championship heads for Oulton Park this weekend for the fourth meeting of the campaign.

Josh Cook leads the way on the back of another fine weekend at Thruxton, where a double success made it four wins from nine starts in 2022. Those two wins made him the most successful driver in BTCC history at Thruxton, and it means the BTC Racing driver now leads the pack as the series heads to Cheshire.

Cook’s form this season has been impressive, but even though he has the equivalent of more than a win in hand over the pack behind, he will be aware of the fact he needs to push this weekend to try and maintain his advantage out front.

“Even though I am leading the table, it is too early to be conservative and look at the points situation,” he said “We still need to be gunning for wins and trying to maintain at least a 30-point average across each race weekend. It’s all about victories and podiums.

“Oulton is a driver’s dream and, although I might be giving away time on the straights to the other cars that have their allocation of hybrid power, it means I can simply focus on getting the most out of the car in the fast corners and make up my time that way. It will be more of a pure challenge for me, and that is something I love.”

Second in the points is Cook’s good friend Ash Sutton; the man who has won the championship for the last two seasons and who is chasing a fourth title in 2022.

Sutton has yet to make it onto the top step of the podium after his switch to Motorbase Performance but he arrives at Oulton Park on the back of a hat-trick of podium finishes at Thruxton last time out – showing the potential of his NAPA Racing Focus.

The defending champion would be a good bet to open his account for the season this weekend, but he won’t face an easy task with Oulton Park traditionally suited to rear wheel drive cars.

Sutton knows that first hand from his time in the Infiniti Q50 and the same is also true for Colin Turkington, who currently sits third in the standings after another solid weekend at Brands Hatch allowed him to regain points lost in the championship after the opening round.

Turkington is a past winner at Oulton and another strong result this weekend will help him to close the gap to Cook out front.

“Everyone is keen to shine and there’ll be no holding back,” he admitted. “I only have a little bit of hybrid to play with for qualifying. Three seconds is not a lot, but I’d rather have three seconds than none. The next four circuits are certainly four of my favourites, and it’s important I draw on that to find even just a little bit more than the others.”

Tom Ingram had led the championship standings after the opening meeting at Donington Park, but a tough weekend at Thruxton following an off-track excursion in race one saw him slip back to fourth going into this weekend.

That means Ingram will have at a small amount of hybrid power in qualifying for the first time since the season opener, and he will hope to make the most of that to qualify up the order in the Hyundai i30 Fastback N.

Ingram’s previous record at Oulton Park isn’t great and it’s the only circuit on the calendar where he hasn’t yet made it onto the podium. However, he has been quick there in the past – coming close to a top three finish with Speedworks and setting multiple fastest laps – including two last year .

With only five points between Sutton and Ingram, it’s close in the fight to be best of the rest behind Cook – and Jake Hill will also be looking to get involved after picking up a double podium at Thruxton.

Hill has already taken four podium finishes this season, but his exclusion in race one at Donington Park and then a failure to score in the final race at Thruxton means he has ground to make up in the title race.

Adam Morgan is another driver looking to make the most of his rear wheel drive car this weekend, and he arrives at his home circuit boosted by his victory in race three at Thruxton. Morgan is a past winner at Oulton Park and will be hoping to cement his top six position, with the likes of Gordon Shedden, Daniel Lloyd and Rory Butcher looking to close the gap to the Ciceley Motorsport driver.

Shedden will be eager to make the most of the pace of the Honda Civic Type R to add to the victory he scored at Donington Park, whilst Lloyd has his eyes on silverware for the first time this season having maintained a 100% scoring record so far in 2022.

“We’ve been finding our feet a bit in the opening three rounds and have been consistently up inside the top ten, and I feel this is the weekend where can start to reap the rewards of the work that has gone in so far,” Lloyd said.

“If we can fight in the top five or six this weekend then I certainly won’t be complaining about it, but I’m really searching for a trophy and I feel confident that we can be in the mix.”

Butcher meanwhile was a winner at Oulton Park last year in the Toyota, and is eager to add to his tally after a tricky start to the season with Dan Rowbottom in tenth – another winner at the circuit last season – hoping to kickstart his campaign with a first podium of the campaign.

Outside the top ten, there are plenty of other drivers looking to make an impression this weekend; not least Dan Cammish who dropped to 13th having failed to score in any of the races at Thruxton.

Jason Plato has more wins at Oulton Park than anybody else but is still seeking his first podium of the year with BTC Racing, whilst Stephen Jelley is another with work to do after a tricky start to his season in the BMW.

The likes of George Gamble and Ash Hand have shown their pace so far in 2022, and will have their eyes on bringing home top-ten finishes.