Josh Cook admits ‘big points’ crucial at Thruxton

Thruxton specialist Josh Cook admits that a big haul of points is crucial this weekend at Thruxton if he is to keep his hopes of securing the BTCC title alive.

The BTC Racing driver took a pair of wins at the high-speed circuit earlier in the season, with his nine victories in Hampshire being the most of any driver in series history.

Cook however has slipped down to fifth in the standings having endured a rough run of form and admitted he would need to push hard this weekend to try and get his campaign back on track.

“The secret to Thruxton is going there with a well-prepared car which can give you confidence straight out of the box to tackle the super-quick corners,” he said. “I have done my homework and the Rich Energy BTC Racing team has been flat-out in the background to give me just the kind of car I want around there.

“We are getting towards the business end of the season now with only three meetings left, and this weekend is going to be crucial to our hopes. We will leave nothing on the table, and need big points from all three races on Sunday.”

Team-mate Jason Plato meanwhile will look to build on his strongest showing of the campaign at Snetterton last time out, where a second place finish in race three maintained his record of scoring at least one podium finish in every season he has raced in the series.

“It was a really special reward for the work the team and the engineers have done to be able to score a podium at Snetterton,” he said. “However, we all know that we have to keep working hard with our partners and suppliers to make sure we are really on the front foot for Thruxton.

“The Honda Civic Type R chassis is one of the sweetest handling cars in the Kwik Fit BTCC line-up and that will be in our favour. If we can unlock the secrets of straight-line speed too, then it should be a highly profitable weekend for us.”