BTCC: Cook wins opening race of the weekend at Thruxton in controlled victory

Josh Cook takes victory at Thruxton after a lights to flag victory while rivals caught battling behind.

Cook started on pole ahead of Tom Ingram, Ash Sutton and Dan Cammish as the three championship leaders look to put pressure on the Toyota. Cook and Ingram would get good starts, but it would be Sutton behind them would get the best initial getaway piling pressure on the Toyota and Hyundai who desperately box him in so he cannot get passed. Cook would maintain the lead while Ingram and Sutton would fight into the opening complex, but Sutton would make the move for second place on the exit making the pass through Noble while also opening the door for Cammish to pull alongside the Hyundai into Goodwood. Cammish would get a bit sideways forcing Ingram wide and tumbling down to the bottom end of the top ten as he tried to regain momentum. Cammish would also lose out to Dan Rowbottom in all this after an excellent start from the Mercedes.

Ingram would try to recover, initially having to try to pass James Dorlinon lap two but with the deficit in boost it was quite difficult to do anything until the exit of Church, getting the better run into the Club Chicane at the end of the lap. Cammish would lose another place to teammate Senna Proctor who moved up to fourth place and started to put pressure on Rowbottom who went wide on the exit of the first corner.

Ingram would mount pressure on Gordon Shedden, passing into Seagrave to move up to seventh place using the pack bunching up behind Cammish and Adam Morgan to make the move. Ingram would then go after Morgan for sixth place, taking the position around the outside of the entry into Club on lap six.

Shedden would unfortunately end up having to come into the pits after an issue with the car emerged, forcing him out the points and to the back of the grid.

Ingram would make up one more place before the end of the race, passing Cammish on lap ten, sending it up the inside into Cambell, forcing Cammish to leave space on the run through Cobb and completing the overtake at Seagrave in a great move from then Hyundai.  Cammish would lose another position to Morgan as the Mercedes made his way by on lap eleven using the slipstream to pass through Brooklands before hitting the brakes into Club.

Out front, Cook would take his first victory of the season ahead of Sutton in second and Rowbottom who completes the podium places, Proctor would finish fourth ahead of Ingram and Morgan while Cammish finished down in seventh. Mikey Doble would win the Independents Class with an eighth place finish ahead of James Dorlin and Chris Smiley who complete the top ten and the podium for the Independents.