Cook wins at Brands Hatch in 2025 BTCC finale

Josh Cook Claims Victory in Dramatic British Touring Car Championship Finale

Josh Cook secured a thrilling victory in the final race of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season at Brands Hatch, marking a remarkable comeback after starting from the back of the grid. The Speedworks Motorsport driver faced early adversity, including an oil pressure issue that kept him out of the first phase of qualifying. However, he showcased incredible determination, fighting his way through the field in the first two races to earn a front-row position on the reversed grid for the finale.

Cook, like poleman Aiden Moffat and third-on-the-grid Jake Hill, had saved his soft tyres for the final race. Despite this, he found himself overtaken by the rear-wheel-drive West Surrey Racing BMW 330i M Sports at the start, with Moffat leading the pack and Hill following closely behind.

The race took a dramatic turn on the second lap when Cook executed a spectacular launch over the kerbs at Paddock Hill Bend, gaining momentum to squeeze past Hill at Druids and take second place. Ash Sutton then passed the outgoing champion for third at Surtees. Cook continued to push forward, grabbing the lead at Surtees on lap four before the safety car was deployed due to a collision between Dan Cammish and Dan Rowbottom’s NAPA Ford Focus STs.

Once the race resumed, Sutton quickly overtook Moffat at Druids, setting the stage for a fierce battle with Cook. Although the Toyota Corolla GR Sport did not match the pace of Sutton’s Ford Focus ST, Cook’s use of TOCA Turbo Boost helped maintain a consistent gap. Sutton set the fastest lap on the TTB, but Cook managed to hold onto his lead, crossing the finish line 1.043 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

“It’s the best way to end the season, isn’t it?” Cook reflected. “We’ve had a lot of pace in the car all weekend, and obviously yesterday didn’t go to plan. We knew we could fight back during the day, and there was a possibility that the win could happen. I wanted to keep away from [Sutton] because I could see he had strong pace. I just hung on for dear life and tried to keep my gap.”

Hill, who had been closing in on the leading duo, ran out of laps to make a challenge in his farewell race. Moffat conceded another position on the penultimate lap to Gordon Shedden, who completed a strong race for the Cheshire squad. Moffat narrowly held off Tom Ingram for fifth, while Ingram’s teammate Adam Morgan finished just behind.

Rowbottom finished eighth, followed by Senna Proctor and Sam Osborne, though Rowbottom was later excluded from the results due to the incident with Cammish, elevating Dexter Patterson’s Cupra to the top 10.

Patterson led his Independent rivals Dan Lloyd and Chris Smiley, with the trio locked in a tight battle for the Indie crown. Smiley initially ran second, but Doble appeared to be pushing Lloyd into a vulnerable position. This strategy paid off late in the race when Lloyd was demoted by Nic Hamilton, who enjoyed what may have been his best BTCC race yet. Despite finishing fifth in class, Lloyd secured the title by four points over Doble, with Smiley just one point behind.

Meanwhile, Daryl DeLeon claimed victory in a tense struggle for the Jack Sears Trophy title over West Surrey Racing BMW team-mate Charles Rainford. The Anglo-Filipino driver emerged victorious by three points after a hard-fought battle against JST rivals Osborne and Patterson.

BTCC Brands Hatch – Race 3 Results