Josh Cook claimed yet-another British Touring Car Championship Thruxton victory in Race 1, controlling the running in his Speedworks Corolla from lights out.
Cook found himself under immediate attack at lights out, with Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton either side of him through the opening complex.
The Corolla held the lead, but paved the way for a battle between the two championship rivals. Sutton got by Ingram after a few corners, and then Dan Cammish pushed Ingram wide into the dusty grass.
Dan Rowbottom enjoyed a fantastic start in his Plato Racing Mercedes, jumping from P7 to P3.
Having fallen down to P9, Ingram found himself behind a climbing James Dorlin and battling hard to try to recover positions. The Restart Racing driver could not hold him off for long and Ingram slipped by into P8. The Team VERTU man would climb further for P7, besting Gordon Shedden, and set his sights on Adam Morgan.
At the chicane, Ingram completed a brave move on the Mercedes to gain that position, looking like the raciest driver of the field.
After a Saturday that saw Laser Tools with MB Motorsport required to tape down his bonnet, an issue forced Shedden into the pits and out of contention for the race – though he did return to track.
Ingram sought revenge on Cammish on the lap 10, getting by at the end of the complex. Morgan attempted to follow, and would get by a few corners later before Cammish regained the position.
The battle wasn’t over there, however, as Morgan got by a lap later with Thruxton’s Race 1 looking to be the strongest Plato Mercedes Sunday showing yet.
Elsewhere, the high-speed circuit was offering little for viewers to enjoy. Its sweeping corners make overtaking rare and requiring plenty of bravery, with drivers settling in and waiting for their opportunity to strike.
One such individual was Sutton, who was slowly chipping away at Cook in front with three laps to go. The gap remained the same towards the last, though, as Rowbottom and Senna Proctor followed a couple of seconds behind.
At the flag, it was Cook claiming his 11th full-race victory in Hampshire. Sutton followed close, with Rowbottom, Proctor, and Ingram trailing.
Morgan, Cammish, Mikey Doble, Dorlin, and Chris Smiley rounded out the best 10.
Árón Taylor-Smith, Daryl De Leon, Tom Chilton, Aiden Moffat, and Dexter Patterson completed the scorers. Ricky Collard would have been part of that bunch, if not for a 10-second time penalty for track limits.
BTCC Thruxton Race 1 Results
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | |
| 2. | Ashley Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +0.653 |
| 3. | Daniel Rowbottom | Cataclean Plato Racing | +3.422 |
| 4. | Senna Proctor | NAPA Racing UK | +6.334 |
| 5. | Tom Ingram | Team Vertu | +7.005 |
| 6. | Adam Morgan | Cataclean Plato Racing | +8.451 |
| 7. | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | +13.797 |
| 8. | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +14.533 |
| 9. | James Dorlin | Restart Racing | +15.925 |
| 10. | Chris Smiley | Restart Racing | +22.262 |
| 11. | Árón Taylor-Smith | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +23.102 |
| 12. | Daryl De Leon | WSR | +24.104 |
| 13. | Tom Chilton | Team Vertu | +24.248 |
| 14. | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +25.211 |
| 15. | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +25.744 |
| 16. | Charles Rainford | WSR | +26.208 |
| 17. | Lewis Selby | NAPA Racing UK | +27.172 |
| 18. | Ricky Collard | Team Vertu | +34.487 |
| 19. | Ryan Bensley | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +46.843 |
| 20. | Nicolas Hamilton | Team Vertu | +48.098 |
| 21. | Lewis Gilbert | WSR | +48.390 |
| 22. | Gordon Shedden | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +1:08.970 |
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