Speedworks Corolla Racing heads into its home event of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season this coming weekend full of optimism and determination, as the Cheshire-based squad prepares to tackle the iconic Oulton Park Island circuit this weekend (6/7 June).
Located less than 20 minutes from the team’s headquarters, Oulton Park has long held special significance for Speedworks Corolla Racing, with the team eager to deliver a strong performance in front of home support at one of Britain’s most challenging and characterful racing circuits.
Following a hard-fought weekend at Snetterton, where the team continued to demonstrate resilience and encouraging pace despite difficult conditions for the Corolla GR Sport package, confidence remains high heading into a venue that traditionally suits both the characteristics of the Toyota and the strengths of its driver line-up.
Fast, narrow and unforgiving, the Oulton Park Island circuit remains one of the most old-school layouts on the BTCC calendar. With minimal run-off, high-speed direction changes and the heavy braking zone into the Island Hairpin following the long acceleration run out of Cascades, precision and commitment are critical throughout the lap.
Encouragingly for Speedworks Corolla Racing, the Corolla GR Sport package has historically performed strongly around Oulton Park, where chassis balance and driver ability can often outweigh any performance deficit.
Josh Cook arrives at the team’s home circuit aiming to return firmly to the fight at the sharp end of the grid following several encouraging performances already this season. Having consistently demonstrated front-running pace throughout the opening rounds of the championship, the experienced campaigner will be targeting a strong haul of points around a circuit that rewards commitment and attacking race craft.
Meanwhile, rookie Max Buxton continues to make steady progress during his debut BTCC campaign. Following several encouraging performances at recent rounds, including impressive race pace and overtaking moves at Snetterton, the young charger heads to Oulton Park looking to continue building momentum and further establish himself within the ultra-competitive midfield battles.
With morale high inside the camp and confidence growing in the development of the Corolla GR Sport package, Speedworks Corolla Racing arrives at Oulton eager to convert potential into silverware in front of family, friends, partners and supporters.
Christian Dick, Team Principal, Speedworks Corolla Racing, said: “Oulton Park is always a really important weekend for everyone at Speedworks. It’s our home circuit, and naturally there’s a huge amount of pride in performing well there in front of our supporters and partners.
“It’s also a circuit that traditionally suits the Corolla package well. Oulton rewards driver confidence, commitment and a well-balanced chassis, and those are all areas where we feel strong. The atmosphere around the place is always brilliant and the whole team is looking forward to getting out there.”
Josh Cook, Driver, Speedworks Corolla Racing, said: “Oulton is one of those proper touring car circuits that every driver loves. It’s fast, narrow, unforgiving and there’s absolutely no room for mistakes, which makes racing there incredibly rewarding when you get things right.
“The Corolla has always felt strong around Oulton, and I think the characteristics of the circuit suit the package well. We’ve shown enough pace already this season to know we can fight towards the front, so hopefully we can put together a really strong weekend at the team’s home event.”
Max Buxton, Driver, Speedworks Corolla Racing, said: “I’m really looking forward to Oulton Park because it’s such an iconic circuit and one, I’ve always enjoyed driving. From everything I’ve experienced so far in BTCC, circuits like Oulton really reward confidence and commitment, so it should be an exciting challenge.
“I feel like I’ve continued to make progress every weekend so far this season and Snetterton was another important learning experience. The goal now is to keep building momentum, continue improving my qualifying pace and get stuck in again.”
