Josh Cook - Speedworks Corolla Racing - Brands Hatch Media Day 7th April 2026

Josh Cook - Speedworks Corolla Racing - Brands Hatch Media Day 7th April 2026

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Josh, welcome to Media Day. Good to see you here at uh Brands Hatch ahead of the 2026 season. Um, exciting changes for you, looking forward to this year.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Yeah, I think um you know it's weird, it doesn't really feel like there's a lot of changes because obviously I finished the season in the Speedworks car at the end of last year and we had a really positive final couple of rounds. So um it's quite nice to feel like I'm coming back and just building on on where we left off.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Yeah, absolutely. Um just briefly for last season. I mean, there were some some good performances from you, ones that I'm I'm sure you were pleased with, but there was quite a bit of frustration knocking about. Have you managed to put that in a box and and come at it fresh for this year?

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Yeah, it's um it was actually you know, okay, there were there were a lot of challenges and there were a lot of uh I guess hurdles we had to get over sort of from from the midpoint onwards last year, but it's actually quite interesting because you know we do this year in, year out, and I've been lucky enough that I've been in the championship for a long time. And to have that sort of speed bump in the middle of the season where I've missed a couple of rounds and I watched the championship from another point of view, it sort of put a little bit of a speed bump in in the routine of what you sort of settle into. So for me it was quite nice to have those couple of weekends out, look at it from a different perspective, end up a little bit frustrated, coming back and finishing the season, I guess, really strong. And after we left here at race three, you know, normally you leave Brands Atch GP, end of race three, and you're you're glad to see the back of the season, you know. You're you're a bit worn out, it's been a long, uh long year. Um, but I felt nothing like that. Uh I was you know really revved up, really excited, you know, and it and it put me straight into the winter period, you know, hungry for for more, and I didn't need a I didn't need a rest, you know. I was um I was pretty disappointed to see the back of the season. So um starting this year, it I feel like I'm approaching it slightly differently, having come off the back of what was uh a very strange year last year.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Yeah. What has testing been like? What have you have you been pleased with what you've got out of out of your performance and the car?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Yeah, I think everybody uses testing for different things, and we certainly look at trying to achieve building up tools in our toolbox for when we're on race weekends. It's all very well putting new tires on, putting it in a quality mode, going out and trying to punch in some fast lap times. And you know, of course, sometimes that's important for sponsors, for you know, your own confidence, but that's not where we sort of were over the winter period. We've worked really hard, we've learned a lot. We're not sort of looking at flash in the pan, single races where we're good and then we struggle. We're we've really tried to put together a proper campaign, and I feel like preseason testing has been really useful. You know, of course, when you're getting quicker and quicker with the car, you know, things that you're trying, most of them, whilst you can learn something, you know, you're not just finding time in the car. Because again, when you look at the final round last year, we were we were really competitive, you know, winning the final race having started at the back of the grid in race one with a with uh an issue in qualifying out of our control. So I think it showed where we were with the car, shows really it was good to know the areas that we needed to improve. We've worked really hard on those, but we've worked on hard on on the car on a whole, and I think we're in a really good position.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

I mean, you're a you're a proven driver, you're quick, and uh, and you know, some amazing performances uh that everybody has watched. It just sometimes feels like all of the jigsaw puzzle pieces haven't come together at the same time. Is is this the season when all those bits are going to come together?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

I mean, I think you know, you don't really know how you're gonna get on in a season, and the goal as a driver is to rock up at every season more prepared than you were the season before. I feel like I am, I feel like preseason testing has gone better than it has done. We had no teething issues with the car whatsoever when we rolled out from the upgrades that we had. And I feel like we've just been building steadily into a very structured start of the season. Don't get me wrong, there's going to be speed bumps along the way, but not everything can go really well. You lose championships on your bad weekends, you know. We've had plenty of weekends where we've rocked up and put it on pole and won both races, race one and two, and you know, but those aren't the weekends that win you the championship. They're the ones where you've struggled and you qualify down sort of in the mid-teens, but you're able to turn the weekend around on raw pace and come away with strong points. So I think we need a bit of luck, as everybody does in a championship, and we just need to make sure that we concentrate on all the variables that we have control over.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Talking of variables, a new qualifying format.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Sounds fun.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

Yes. What have you made of this? I mean, I I will I will uh let you into the secret that uh across the grid, not everybody's re read exactly how it's going to work, and others have been burning the midnight oil on it. What about you?

SPEAKER_00 5:07

The good thing about driving the car is we've just got to get in it and drive when you tell us to. Do as you're told driving. It's the team and the engineers that need to read all the regulations inside out, and we've just got to just do what we're told.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

It is going to shake things up, though, isn't it, with just one uh free practice session and then the the qualifying race. It's gonna be sort of less time for that, what we used to call housekeeping in FP1.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

Yeah, it does change things slightly. Uh I think I'm a fan of it, but who knows until we really get into it. You know, I people don't often like change, and I think we saw from the first when we had the old qualifying where it was you know half an hour or whatever it was, where we all just went out and we got to keep throwing tires at it, and everybody was just trying to punch in laps, and you'd get lucky and you might get a lap in, or you get a big toe from somebody, and that was okay, but I think it was frustrating sometimes. I quite liked the format of the Q1 sort of Q2 quick six that we had previously because it it rewarded consistency of being able to put the lap in, not just a bandai one-off lap. So I enjoyed that, but again, a lot of people didn't really like that change to start with, and I think now the change to the new format again, I actually think is positive. Um, I enjoy that there's gonna be more for the spectators to watch on a Saturday. Yes, qualifying is fun, you know. We all love putting a new set of tires on and absolutely going for it and punching in the best lap that you can, but we love racing more, that's why we're in the British Touring Car Championship. So to have another race on the Saturday, and nobody's gonna be taking it easy in that race. You know, there's points on the table, it's not just a position starting for the Sunday, there's there's points, so we're gonna be pushing hard in every single race.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

It's gonna make it interesting, isn't it? And I know some of the other drivers have been sort of suggesting to me that just the build-up and the the feel of the way it's going so far is that this could be one of the best seasons for a long time.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Yeah, I mean, who knows? I know that the racing is gonna be gonna be great, there's gonna be a lot of uh lot of overtaking, it's gonna be great for the fans to watch. Uh, we just need to make sure that we put on the best show we can.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Is this the year that that you can get there, get within real proper hand, one hand on the trophy by the time we get to sort of the last couple of rounds?

SPEAKER_00 7:24

I believe so. You know, there's been multiple occasions we've gone into the final round in with a shout of the championship. Um, but this thing is so difficult to win, it's what makes it so rewarding. So uh we're gonna be trying as hard as always and uh yeah, giving it everything to try and win that championship.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

Absolutely. Um, along with the many thousands and thousands of funds that's uh that folly. I wish you the best of luck for the for the season. Have a good one. Um, as you'll know, as usual, I'd like to finish off with a couple of not BTCC related uh questions. I'm interested. Highway code this year. What's that? I can see we're gonna do well. Uh pick pick the first one, one, two, or three. One. Forty miles per hour in the dry. What is the suggested stopping distance in either metres, feet, or car lengths?

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Who's suggesting the highway code? What car are we in?

SPEAKER_01 8:14

It I it doesn't matter because it's an average uh for uh it's it's based on average, isn't it? The average reaction time and in the dry.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

So average. I'd like to see the science behind this. Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

Just go with your gut on this one and humour me.

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Okay. Uh I'll have it in can I have it in snooker tables, the length.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Is a snooker table the same length as a car? Or is it longer? Depends a bigger car, is it gonna be? Okay. Just just go for it because we'll run out of time in the city.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Let's go car lengths.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Okay, yeah. How many car lengths at 40 miles an hour do you need to make sure you don't hit the car in front?

SPEAKER_00 8:52

50.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

50? Yeah. Nine. Fifty-nine? No, nine. Right. Nah. There's always one. Pick another number. Two or three. Four. Two or three. Oh, two. What shape is a stop sign?

SPEAKER_00 9:08

What shape is a stop sign?

SPEAKER_01 9:10

That's what I just said, yeah. That's the question.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Is it triangle?

SPEAKER_01 9:14

No. I'll give you one more guess.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Um is it round?

SPEAKER_01 9:21

No, it's a hexagon. A what? A hexagon. So I did different. Anyway. Mr. Cook, I'm sorry to tell you you haven't passed.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Is that it? There's no more.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

No. Well, you can have one more if you want. Yeah, go on there. Right, okay. So you've stopped on the on the emergency refuge area. Yeah. Before you rejoin the carriageway, what must you do? Have a week. Which is one of the drivers said that. However, the highway code. The highway code, rule 278, is it put on your hazard lights, put on your headlights, use the emergency phone, or wave your arm gently out the window.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

It's put your lights on.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

No, it's not. You need to use the emergency phone to tell the operator your region and carriageway, and they will decide whether or not you need assistance.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Really?

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Rule 278 highway code.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

I bet you're real fun at a party, aren't you?

SPEAKER_01 10:09

I bet I hope you have a better season than you are at answering questions about the highway code.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Josh, the highway code is just a mere suggestion.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

And for any of the any of the traffic police listening to this, Josh will be going home on the have a good season, Josh. Thanks.