Josh Cook hailed his Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra as ‘the best car I’ve driven out of the box’ after taking his first British Touring Car Championship victory at Donington Park.
The 2015 Jack Sears Trophy winner looked to have initially been bested by the BTC Norlin-run Honda Civic of Chris Smiley, but reclaimed the lead through the Craner Curves and weathered a lively rear-end at the start to take the win.
It marks the second meeting in succession that Adam Weaver’s outfit have taken a race win in the UK’s headline tin-top series, their first in just over three seasons of competition.
“It’s a little bit easier starting from the front, that’s for sure!” enthused Cook.
“I’m over the moon for the guys and everyone who’s put all the hard work in. Senna (Proctor) got his last weekend and I needed mine.
“We were quick yesterday and I had to battle for the lead. The car was a little loose to start with and a slow start left me a little vulnerable. Chris (Smiley) gave me enough room and I managed to get the place back after losing out at the start.
“I’m really glad to have brought it home. As soon as the car settled and the rear calmed down, it was just a case of managing the tyres and managing the gap.”
The former Renault UK Clio Cup racer now hopes to put a spell of bad luck behind him, with the team confident in their qualifying setup and now looking to push on and increase their tally of wins.
Hopefully it’s the first of many! We’ve always had strong pace over the years but there’s been a bit of bad luck perhaps.
“We’ve worked so hard over the winter to make sure we’ve nailed our qualifying setup and the Vauxhall’s an amazing drive now – the best car I’ve driven out of the box and every thanks to my engineers for it!”