After BMW dominated in qualifying, taking the top four slots, with Colin Turkington leading the way, it looked like it would be a weekend for the rear-drive 330e teams.
But Josh Cook had other ideas, grabbing a double set of wins at Brands Hatch that have left the Honda Civic Type R driver lying second in the championship, eight points behind leader Tom Ingram.
Cook masters the conditions
Sunday’s rainy conditions always threatened to shake things up a bit and so it proved, as the BMWs’ wet tyres faded as the race wore on.
Turkington and Jake Hill led from the start, building a slight gap to the battling pack behind as Cook got involved in a dice with Stephen Jelly.
But the gap for the leading two was never enough as their tyres started to fade, and it allowed the Honda driver to reel them in, going from third to first over the course of 10 laps.
Cook double the first of the 2022 season
Rich Energy BTC Racing’s Cook withstood sustained pressure from the Ford Focus ST of Dan Cammish to take his second win of the weekend, earning a lights-to-flag win.
The BTCC’s new hybrid rules came into play, as Cook had to manage his energy levels in case Cammish mounted a late-race push.
“I’m knackered. That was hard work!” said Cook. “For us, it’s about the point scores, we need to keep scoring big points. Last year, we lost out on the championship because of a couple of bad weekends, so we need to make hay while the sun shines and just grab as many points as we can.
“I was counting down the laps. Every single time I crossed the line, I was trying to save some hybrid for the end in case an assault happened.”
Turkington strikes back
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