Josh Cook claims lights-to-flag victory in Thruxton Qualifying Race

Josh Cook will start Sunday’s opening British Touring Car Championship race at Thruxton from pole position after scoring victory in a frenetic Qualifying Race.

After snaring the fastest lap time during qualifying around the high-speed Hampshire circuit, the Speedworks Motorsport driver made no mistake out front to convert it into a lights-to-flag triumph.

Cook – who holds more race wins around Thruxton than anyone else – was pushed all the way though as remaining within touching distance of him throughout the contest was reigning champion Tom Ingram.

Completing the top three was championship leader and four-time title winner Ash Sutton, who enjoyed a sublime opening few laps to move forward from seventh on the grid to finish third.

Sutton’s Alliance Racing team-mate Dan Cammish had ran as high as third during the early exchanges of the bout but once passed by his Ford stablemate, he settled into a groove to cross the line in fourth.

Senna Proctor made it three Ford Focus Titanium machines inside the top five as he narrowly pipped three-time champion Gordon Shedden and the dicing Plato Racing Mercedes’ of Adam Morgan and Dan Rowbottom.

Completing the top ten was Power Maxed Racing’s Mikey Doble and Restart Racing’s James Dorlin.

Further down the order, Nicolas Hamilton and the WSR duo of Charles Rainford and Lewis Gilbert found themselves in strife as they all got caught up in an incident during a safety car restart.

Elsewhere, Ryan Bensley, Ricky Collard and Tom Chilton also endured their own travails along the way.