Josh Cook ‘in a decent place’ as he targets more Thruxton spoils

Josh Cook is targeting more strong results as the British Touring Car Championship sets course for the fastest circuit in the UK, Thruxton, this weekend.

Down the years the Speedworks Motorsport driver has earned himself the title of being the undisputed ‘King of Thruxton’ having scored a record 10 wins around the Hampshire track – a statistic he will hope to be able to improve on.

Cook heads to what has long been his home circuit in high spirits too after claiming a brace of podium finishes at Snetterton less than two weeks’ ago.

“I’ve always seemed to ‘click’ with Thruxton,” said Cook. I’m not too sure why, to be honest – I just really enjoy driving there. Its high-speed nature makes it so much fun, and the more risk you take, the greater the potential reward.

“It’s almost a lap of two halves, with a sharp contrast between the flat-out middle section where there’s hardly any margin for error and you’re just hanging on for dear life, and the first and last sectors, which are more technical. That means you inevitably have to compromise somewhere and decide where you really want to exploit the car to gain the biggest advantage.

“One unknown this year is how powerful the hybrid will be. I suspect it will be pretty useful out of the two low-speed acceleration zones at the Complex and the Chicane, so it’ll depend upon how much you can make up out the back of the lap by strapping in extra-tight and closing your eyes!

“While I clearly want to be winning races, my goal, ultimately, is to fight for the title, and having taken points away from the championship leader at Snetterton – which historically has not been my best track – now we need to try to do the same at Thruxton.”