One Motorsport with Starline Racing claimed its first piece of silverware of the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch last weekend (6/7 May).
Josh Cook charged to an Independents Trophy victory in race two at the famous Kent venue, while team-mate Aiden Moffat claimed a brace of hard-fought points finishes. Will Powell, meanwhile, would battle his way forward in all three races, to just miss out on a maiden top 15.
After splashing his way to the eighth fastest time in Saturday’s wet qualifying session, Cook maintained his position during race one, before going on to guide his Honda Civic Type R to the Independents win in Sunday’s second bout.
In the thick of the action throughout the 24-lap contest, the reigning Independents Trophy champion muscled his way into seventh on the final lap to clinch his first win of 2023. Choosing the soft option tyre for race three, the 31-year-old then capped off his weekend with another top 10 drive.
“It’s great to have been able to claim a first Independents Trophy win, however, what we really want is to be standing on that top step of the podium,” said Cook, “This weekend had its challenges but we made the best of it and came away with some solid points and silverware.
“We’re still gaining an understanding of this chassis and engine package, but improvements are being made by the team all the time. We’ll keep our heads down and continue to chip away ahead of Snetterton in two weeks’ time.”
Teammate Moffat lined up on the 11th row of the grid for the weekend’s first race. However, he wasted no time in fighting his way forward, as he produced a number of eye-catching overtakes on his way to 13th at the chequered flag.
While race two saw contact drop the Scotsman down the order, he regrouped in the weekend’s finale to fight back up to 12th.
“I was relatively happy with how we ended the weekend as I felt we made some really good improvements to the car,” said Moffat, “Problem is when you’re in the pack you become a bit of a pinball and that’s what happened in race two, which dropped us back after a solid race one.
“We know that it’s going to take us a little while to get to where we need to be but everyone at One Motorsport with Starline Racing is working hard to ensure that happens as soon as possible and I’m confident we’re not far away now!”
While some mechanical problems would hamper Powell throughout the weekend, it wouldn’t stop him from a strong showing, as he made progress in all three races to just miss out on what would have been a maiden points-paying finish.
“There are certainly more positives than negatives to take away from the weekend,” said Powell, “ I’m optimistic that we can make another step forward at Snetterton.”
The next rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship take place on the Snetterton’s 300 circuit in Norfolk on the 20/21 May.
