Toyota star proves why he is the King of Thruxton

Speedworks Corolla Racing’s Josh Cook claimed victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Qualifying Race earlier today (25 July), as the multiple race winner again proved his pace at Thruxton.

Cook has enjoyed no fewer than ten BTCC wins at the fastest circuit in the country, albeit with his most recent triumph coming back in 2022, but the Bath racer grabbed this latest success with both hands.

After topping the times in the earlier qualifying session, Cook controlled the ‘Race to Pole’ from start to finish, keeping Tom Ingram at bay as well as negotiating a Safety Car restart with complete composure.

Team VERTU’s Ingram got a good start as the reigning champion looked to out drag Cook’s #66 Toyota Corolla on the run down to the complex, before the #80 Hyundai settled into second.

In truth, Ingram went on to take a relatively lonely second place, but he will have been slightly frustrated to see title rival Ash Sutton in his mirrors.

Sutton again proved to be one the feistiest competitors in the contest as he disposed of Adam Morgan (Cataclean Plato Racing) and teammate Senna Proctor (NAPA Racing UK) with an opportunistic early move, before later going on to relinquish Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK) of third place.

Cammish held on to fourth from Proctor and the hard-charging Gordon Shedden (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport), as the three-time champion charged from 11th on the grid to claim sixth on-the-road – although the latter was demoted post-race after receiving a five second penalty.

Morgan had to settle for sixth after dropping down the order slightly, before eventually making his way back past Cataclean Plato Racing teammate Dan Rowbottom, when the latter had a wild moment through Church.

Mikey Doble endured a rather lacklustre encounter as he ended up ninth in the LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing Audi, whilst the Hyundai of Restart Racing’s James Dorlin rounded out the top ten.

The Saturday headlines, however, belonged to Cook, as he secured his first BTCC pole position in 700 days and will now look to reignite his championship campaign with a haul of silverware tomorrow.

Rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship take place at Thruxton tomorrow with the action getting underway in the UK on ITV4 from 11:00, with the races also being beamed around the world on Racer TV (North America) and the BTCC YouTube Channel (Rest of the World).

Josh Cook, Speedworks Corolla Racing, said: “That’s what we needed and it’s a good place to start for tomorrow. I’m pleased for the team with all the hard effort they’ve put in. They’ve just put in so much hard work and I’m glad we’ve managed to get the start of a good result for them – we now need to convert that on race day. The car was a beauty to drive. It was nice to go into a race run there, deal with the tyre degradation, manage the gap back to Tom (Ingram), and if there’s anything to learn ahead of tomorrow then I’m sure we will do.”

Qualifying – Thruxton – Final Classification: