Hospital clears Cook to race after big shunt at Thruxton

British Touring Car Championship Thruxton wins record holder Josh Cook has been cleared to race after a massive shunt in qualifying at the Hampshire track.

Cook was pushing on in the first qualifying segment when his One Motorsport Honda Civic Type R went out of control in torrential conditions around the high-speed sweepers at the back of the circuit.

The Honda hit the tyre wall at Village curve, and Cook was sent to hospital in Winchester for a precautionary X-ray on his right foot before being passed fit for action.

“We’re pushing the car fairly to the limit in terms of balance for around here, and of course the benefit of that is that you can be very quick,” Cook told Autosport.

“So in the middle sector [where the accident happened] particularly we were very very competitive – one of if not the quickest car through those high-speed corners.

“The car was very lively, which is normally fine, but of course there was a little bit of standing water out the back, and as soon as I hit the first bit on the apex of Goodwood it was just a fight to try and keep it on the circuit. And then I hit the standing water on the edge of the circuit [the outside at Village] and I was on the grass.

“Ultimately the conditions were the same for everybody, but where we were running in the window of operation for the car, it was so lively to extract the performance out of it that there wasn’t much margin for error. As soon as I touched the grass I was just a bit of a passenger, and that was the result.”

Josh Cook, LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ Toyota Corolla GR Sport

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

With Cook’s quickest times deleted for causing the red flag, the 10-time Thruxton BTCC winner was ultimately eliminated from the cut to progress to the second phase of qualifying, but will still start the first race mid-grid in 14th position.

But that is only because of the work carried out by the One Motorsport crew to rebuild the car, with the chassis unscathed after the impact.

When asked whether he knew the speed at which he hit the tyre wall, Cook joked: “No, not particularly! It wasn’t the nicest of impacts.

“Often what happens is you run wide and before you know it you’re in a wall, but you’re travelling so fast for such a long distance I knew I was going in. I didn’t know which way and there was nothing I could do about it, so I had time to brace.

“It was a big hit. I can’t believe the job the guys have done on the car. It looks new. Luckily the shell was absolutely intact. It’s a strong car. But everything else is new – front subframe, engine, gearbox, upright. The lot has been replaced, so it’s good to go, it’s been set up, run up.”

Cook, who believes that he can add to his Thruxton wins tally in the reversed-grid race at the end of the day, added that the doctors at the hospital “were comfortable that there’s nothing in particular they can do about the damage, so I’m good to carry on.

“They were good as gold, and so were the medical team here at the circuit, the marshals as well – they were absolutely straight on the case.”