Josh Cook continued his Thruxton kind to steer all the best way for victory within the first British Touring Car Championship race of the day.
The West Countryman is grasp of the Hampshire speedbowl, and ‘Mr Thruxton’ guided his Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla GR Sport residence for his eleventh full-points success on the venue, and twelfth if you happen to depend Saturday’s qualifying race.
Ash Sutton by no means let up in his pursuit, the four-time title winner extending his championship lead with second place in his Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus Titanium, 0.653 seconds adrift of the profitable Toyota.
Sutton wanted to battle his well beyond his most important title rival, reigning champion Tom Ingram, on the opening lap.
Ingram began his Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback from second on the grid and obtained a greater launch than Cook, however Sutton’s was higher nonetheless.
Ingram simply held on to the runner-up spot on the Complex, however a robust exit from Sutton allowed him to tug to the skin on the left-handed Noble kink, giving him the within line for the next Goodwood right-hander.
Josh Cook, Speedworks Corolla Racing Toyota Corolla GR Sport
Photo by: JEP
With Sutton’s team-mates Dan Cammish and Senna Proctor additionally bidding to get in on the act, the unlucky Ingram was frolicked to dry and dropped two wheels onto the grass on the skin, dropping him to ninth place.
These shenanigans additionally allowed Dan Rowbottom, who had began his Plato Racing Mercedes A35 Saloon from seventh on the grid, the momentum to one way or the other slot himself into third by the point the battle arrived at Church Corner.
Rowbottom stayed near Sutton early on, however fell away into his personal race whereas the Ford took the battle to the main Toyota.
Cook had the complete 10 laps of TOCA Turbo Boost, Sutton only one – which he saved till the ultimate lap. But Cook additionally had one lap of TTB in his pocket and held on.
“That was a tough race actually,” stated Cook. “I do know that from the skin it will possibly generally look boring, however I used to be having to make use of each ounce of brainpower and technique – and when to deploy TTB from Ash.
“I’m lucky that I had the TTB. Without it I would have struggled, as you’ll probably see in the next race!”
Senna Proctor, NAPA Racing UK
Photo by: JEP
Rowbottom completed third for the maiden podium for Plato Racing in a full-points race, after a interval within the doldrums since their debut win within the Donington qualification race.
Proctor, in his first BTCC race since final October, did very properly to assert fourth, whereas team-mate Cammish got here underneath assault from Adam Morgan and the recovering Ingram.
Ingram pulled off a ravishing transfer across the exterior of Morgan on the chicane on the sixth lap of 16, and 4 laps later dived down the within of Cammish at Segrave to take an eventual fifth.
Cammish additionally misplaced out to the second Plato Mercedes of Morgan, who claimed sixth place 4 laps from the tip.
Mikey Doble (Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon) and James Dorlin (Restart Racing Hyundai) ran in shut formation in eighth and ninth with out ever wanting more likely to combat about it, whereas the second Restart Hyundai of Chris Smiley was tenth.
All of them benefited when an off for Gordon Shedden despatched the Speedworks-run Toyota, which had been mendacity eighth, to the pits for grass to be faraway from the radiator.
BTCC Thruxton – Race 1 outcomes
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