Josh Cook will join Speedworks Motorsport for the 2024 British Touring Car Championship, as the team moves to run a satellite team under the ‘LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ’ banner.
The two-car team will run alongside the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK team, as Speedworks has now acquired four TOCA BTCC Licences (TLBs) for the first time.
Cook, 32, has competed full-time in the BTCC since 2015, the past five years in Honda Civic machinery with the BTC Racing / One Motorsport outfit.
TouringCars.Net understands that with One Motorsport looking to take a BTCC sabbatical, Cook had to look elsewhere for a seat in 2024.
Cook will thus spearhead the team’s two-car assault, with the rest of Speedworks’ drivers, including those in the factory-backed cars, still to be revealed. Rory Butcher earlier this week announced he would not be returning to the BTCC this year.
Cook has twice won the Independent Drivers’ title, and has also finished in the top six in the drivers’ standings in five of the past six seasons, his best campaign yet coming in 2021 when he was a title contender.
“I’m delighted to be joining Speedworks to compete for LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ in the BTCC in 20204,” said 18-time race winner Cook.
“After sharing the paddock with them in recent years, it has been clear to see how professional and dedicated Christian [Dick] and the entire team are.
“The Toyota Corolla will be a new challenge for me, and one I’m very much looking forward to getting to grips with during the forthcoming campaign.”
Christian Dick, Team Principal, is excited about the prospect of expanding his team once again, having only grown to three cars for the first time in 2023.
“All of us here at Speedworks are really pumped to launch LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ alongside our existing Toyota Gazoo Racing UK programme for the upcoming BTCC campaign,” said Dick.
“Having expanded from two cars to three last year, to now take the next step up to run four Toyota Corollas in the series is tremendously motivating for the entire team and a hugely exciting prospect.
“It’s a well-proven package, and we know there is still more pace and potential to be extracted from it.
“By the same token, we’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing Josh on-board. Having raced against him since 2015, we know just how tough a competitor he is.
“He’s quick, switched-on and a first-class racer, and the kind of driver who is capable of extracting a result out of any given situation.
“He’s been a leading contender for the past six years and is very much ready to put together a proper championship push. Hopefully we can help him to achieve that.”