Josh Cook produced one of the finest opening laps in recent memory as the LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ driver blitzed from eighth on the grid to lead Round 14 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park.
Running the Goodyear soft tyre, Cook avoided a melee at turn one that left Team BMW's Adam Morgan stranded in the middle of the circuit, and he was soon running around the outside of the leading quartet at the hairpin.
Now up to second, race one winner Tom Ingram simply had no answer as Cook's #66 Toyota sliced down the inside on the Hyundai before the gaggle of cars had even reached the start/finish line for the first time.
Cook gradually edged clear of the pack to take his first win in Toyota machinery, ahead of Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS' Ingram, whilst the scrap for the final place on the podium turned one way and then the other.
The triumph for Cook also represented his first win since Thruxton in 2022 and the 19th victory of his BTCC career so far.
NAPA Racing UK's problems with flailing bodywork reared its head again, this time hitting Ash Sutton's #1 machine, forcing the reigning champ to pit and drop from third to the rear of the order.
The issue looked to have handed team-mate Dan Cammish a fifth successive podium, but Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport's Jake Hill had other ideas as he fired his BMW around the outside of the #27 car on the final lap of the race.
The Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing duo of Árón Taylor-Smith and Mikey Doble were fifth and sixth respectively, as the Vauxhall Astra team continue to dominate the Independents honours. There was a further boost post-race when the reverse grid draw confirmed an all-Vauxhall front row for the finale later this afternoon.
Team BMW's Colin Turkington began his fightback in fine style - having faced clutch issues in race one – as the four-time champion surged from the back to take seventh, ahead of hugely impressive runs from Chris Smiley, Dan Rowbottom and Daryl DeLeon
The results were a huge boost for the rookie Restart Racing and Duckhams Racing with Bartercard outfits, with Smiley and DeLeon scoring their best results of the season so far - the latter equalling his race two result at Snetterton.
Josh Cook said: “It’s nice to be back winning races. It makes it a lot easier when you’re on the soft tyres and those around you are on the hards. I got off to a really good start on lap one and the doors just opened up around me, and I ended up in a good position. I got my head down and just focussed on banging in some quick laps. It probably wasn’t overly interesting to watch, but I’ll take that any time and congratulations to everyone in the team.”
