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Josh Cook Edges Out Ash Sutton in Thrilling BTCC Pre-Season Testing Finale
Josh Cook emerged as the fastest driver on the last day of official pre-season testing for the 2025 British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, narrowly defeating four-time champion Ash Sutton by a mere 0.003 seconds.
Returning to One Motorsport after a year off, Cook showcased his skills behind the wheel of a Honda Civic Type R, gaining a competitive edge as the championship’s opening weekend approaches in just over a week.
This final day of testing continued a trend seen during the three-day event—Independent team drivers consistently leading the pack, following notable performances from Max Hall and Mikey Doble during the initial two days at Croft in early April.
Strong Showings from Independent Teams
Unlike the Croft tests, where record lap times were significantly improved due to a reduction in car weight through hybrid technology, Sutton’s benchmark from the previous year—a time of 1m07.570s—was largely unchallenged until the final moments of the session.
Using an Alliance Racing NAPA Ford Focus ST, Sutton was the first to break his prior record, clocking in at 1m07.508s on medium-compound Goodyear tyres.
Minutes later, Cook responded with a remarkable display on soft tyres, producing back-to-back laps of 1m07.438s and 1m07.447s.
Race Dynamics Revealed
Sutton, still operating on medium tyres, was able to slide between Cook’s top laps with a time of 1m07.441s. While Cook appeared to hold a tyre advantage, the real eye-opener was his exceptional performance in the second sector, where he recorded a time significantly faster than any other competitor that day. This performance suggested that under optimal conditions, his theoretical best lap could have been a staggering 1m06.895s.
“The car feels good,” Cook commented. “We made significant adjustments throughout the day and saw some positive developments. Our focus now will be assessing what changes worked effectively to ensure we return next week with a strong setup.” He expressed optimism about the competitiveness of the upcoming races, noting the inherent closeness of the field.
Alliance Racing’s Dan Cammish Impresses
Similar to Sutton, Cook’s teammate Dan Cammish also utilized medium tyres for a late run, which earned him a commendable third position, although he was positioned about 0.2 seconds behind the leaders.
Further back, Chris Smiley showcased encouraging form for Restart Racing while piloting the new Hyundai i30 N machinery, claiming the fourth spot on the leaderboard with a solid performance.
Teams from Hyundai’s ‘manufacturer’ side, Excelr8 Motorsport, led by 2022 champion Tom Ingram and Adam Morgan, demonstrated strong early performance by securing the top two spots in the morning session. While they didn’t improve in the afternoon, Ingram’s morning time held up for a fifth place overall finish for the day.
Sam Osborne delivered a notable performance in another Alliance Ford, finishing just ahead of Ingram in the afternoon session, while another Excelr8 Hyundai, driven by Tom Chilton, trailed closely behind in seventh. Gordon Shedden rounded out the top ten in his Toyota Corolla GR Sport.
West Surrey Racing’s Quiet Day
In contrast, the West Surrey Racing BMW team had a subdued outing, with reigning champion Jake Hill persisting to finish just outside the top 20. The team’s strategy leaned towards long-run tests rather than vying for fast lap times.
The session experienced two minor interruptions; one incident involved Aron Taylor-Smith’s Toyota getting stuck in gravel, while another halted after Nic Hamilton’s Cupra veered off track. Both drivers continued their testing after resolving the issues.
Among the 24 cars planned for the championship, only one—an Excelr8 Hyundai for Michael Crees—did not participate, although both Crees and his future replacement, Senna Proctor, were on site.
Source
www.autosport.com