Josh Cook will partner Chris Smiley by joining BTC Racing for the 2019 British Touring Car Championship season, completing the team’s line-up in a Honda Civic Type-R.
The team confirmed Smiley’s continuation with the outfit last week, and now Cook will move from Power Maxed Racing to join BTC.
“This is a really exciting opportunity for me as there is huge potential for us to get some great results for BTC Racing in 2019 and beyond,” said Cook. “The Honda Civic is a car that I’ve wanted to race for some time and BTC Racing is undeniably a team that has made an impressive entry to the BTCC in the last two years.
“Having met with Steve [Dudman, owner], Bert [Taylor, Team Principal] and the team at their impressive new facilities in Brackley, it’s already very clear that we all share the same objectives and desire to succeed this season.
“They have all the personnel and resources to give me a great chance to be fighting for championship honours this year and give me my best chance to-date at becoming a BTCC champion.”
Team Engineer Ben Taylor will be reuniting with Cook this year, with the 27-year-old having previously raced in Vauxhall Astra, MG6, Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze machinery.
“We are continuing our journey this year with more confidence and knowledge than we started with last season for sure, and Josh is now a race winner since I last worked with him,” added Ben Taylor.
“We are continually looking to improve our performance further after the bar we set ourselves during the 2018 season.
“After a good first season with the Hondas, and with support from Team Dynamics, we believe the car will be even better this year.
“Our aim is to close the gap and turn ourselves into front-runners every weekend and we are confident that together with both Josh and Chris on board we have the best line-up to achieve this.”
Team Principal Bert Taylor is looking forward to working with Cook, whose career he has followed closely.
“I’ve known Josh from day one of his touring car career, where he has consistently shown the same passion and desire that we have here at BTC Racing to succeed,” said Bert Taylor. “He’s already a proven race winner and signing him for this season fits the team’s ethos of hard work at every level as we strive for success. Josh has all the credentials to be a future BTCC champion.
“As a team, we love being part of the BTCC. It’s a highly competitive championship, with lots of top-class drivers and teams. We are a small privately-run outfit, but we feel we can improve on last year and make 2019 an even more exciting season with our two drivers.”