Cook looking to progress in maiden BTCC campaign

Josh Cook is aiming for progression in 2015, as he prepares to make his debut in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The 24-year-old, who finished 2014 as runner-up in the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup, has joined Power Maxed Racing in a two car assault on the championship, alongside former Clio champion and reigning Jack Sear's Trophy holder Dave Newsham.

Cook, though, is excited about the new campaign: "It's going to be tough, I haven't really had much running in the car until today, but it feels good, the first impressions of the touring car are good; I've never driven an NGTC car before so I don't have anything to compare it to but out of the box it feels like a stable car - it hasn't got any of the really weird characteristics that anybody's spoke about, it's comfortable to drive and I'll have to try and get a few more laps under my belt and see how it goes really".

"The cars are very different to the Clio, but it is a good training ground for touring cars. There are some big names on the grid this year but I'm not fazed by any of it, I've just got to get my head down and get on with what I've got to do and hopefully we can get this Power Maxed team to the front of the grid".

Reflecting on last season, Cook believes that events in the 2014 Clio Cup will help him progress in his maiden BTCC outing: "Last year obviously didn't go to plan, but it did it's job. We took six wins, the most podiums, the most laps lead, there were a lot of positives and we clearly had the pace but it just didn't go our way. This year we're going to bounce back from that and work as hard as we can to make sure that we can finish as high up the grid as we can".

Looking ahead to 2015, Cook's ambitions are modest: "I just want to crack on with it, learn as much as I can, and as long as we're progressing every time I get inside the car then I'll be happy".

Written and interviewed by Alan Faulkner
Photo Credit: Alan Faulkner

  

Goff raring to go for 2015 season

Jack Goff is hoping for a competitive campaign in the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, after making the switch to Triple Eight Race Engineering.

Speaking at testing at Donington Park this week, Goff, who will be entering his third season in the championship after previously racing for Team HARD and Chrome Edition Restart Racing, is confident he can go head to head with the front runners and believes the MG will help push him further up the grid.

"I can't wait to get going now, it's my first day in the car today so it's all new to me; new team, new personnel at the team so for me it's a matter of getting into the car, getting used to everybody, getting to know how each other work and start clicking basically.

"The MG's a proven car and it's a proven package with Triple Eight, so if we come away at the end of this year and have not been fighting for podiums regularly I'll be disappointed in myself. The rules are changing this year too, we're going to have more ballast which is going to mix things up a little bit so I think it'll be an exciting year".

After an impressive maiden test at Donington, Goff is confident that he can build on his first run out in the car, as he gets to grips with the MG6.

"I had my first run out this morning and then went into a bit of a race run after that, and everything was good; it's a bit different to the car I'm used to so it's a matter of getting used to it all again, it's been a long winter so it's about getting my head back in it and learning about this new car.

"The MG differs in lots of ways really to what I've been used to driving in the past, it's different to the VW as that had a lower roof line, but the MG feels stronger all round really.Temperatures are quite cold today so we're struggling a little bit with rear tyre temps but it feels good".

Goff's move to Triple Eight saw him complete an impressive driver line-up, with him joining 2013 champion Andrew Jordan, something which gives him a confidence boost going into the new campaign.

"We can both work together, that's the plan anyway, and hopefully push the car on from where Jason [Plato] and Sam [Tordoff] had it last year; obviously it was quick last year so we're trying to work on a few bits and pieces of pace where it struggled last year, so fingers crossed we can put our heads together with the engineers and make it a package that's really going to be one of the top running cars".

With it being his third season in the championship, Goff is setting his sights high after impressive pace over the last two seasons.

"My main goal this year is to win some races, and then maybe the championship after that, we'll see what happens; if you'r winning races and are consistently at the front then in theory the championship should come to you, but who knows? We'll give it a good go and hopefully we'll be consistent".

Written and interviewed by Alan Faulkner
Photo Credit: Alan Faulkner