Trophies the target for LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ at Oulton Park
Race-winning team has more silverware in its sights on home soil
Josh Cook a big fan of Cheshire circuit’s ‘relentless’ nature
Aiden Moffat expects hybrid and tyre choices to ‘mix things up’
Thruxton earlier this month was the first time LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ has not concluded a British Touring Car Championship event with at least one trophy in 2024 – but Josh Cook and Aiden Moffat are determined to return to podium-finishing form at Oulton Park this weekend (22-23 June).
The undulating Cheshire circuit is arguably the one the team knows best of all. It is, after all, home soil for Speedworks Motorsport, whose workshop is located less than ten miles up the road in nearby Northwich. That will serve as added motivation for a strong showing, with the British-built Toyota Corolla GR Sport having already proven itself as a race-winner at Oulton in 2021.
Cook will travel to the track sitting sixth in the Drivers’ standings in the UK’s premier motor racing series approaching the midway stage of the campaign, after scoring in all-bar one of the 12 races to-date.
The 33-year-old Bath-born ace – like Speedworks, twice an Independents’ champion in the BTCC – triumphed on the road at Oulton in 2020 only for his car to fail the subsequent ride-height checks, but he battled to a podium finish there two years later and was never outside the top seven at the circuit last summer.
Three spots further back in the title table, team-mate Moffat has achieved 15 points finishes in Cheshire – eight of them inside the top ten – and the Scot scooped the runner-up spoils at Oulton in 2022. The 27-year-old Dalkeith native scythed his way from 15th up to sixth in the final race there last season, posting the fastest Independent lap along the way.
Following Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session at 15:35 – streamed on ITV Sport’s YouTube channel – every moment of Sunday’s doorhandle-to-doorhandle action will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4, beginning at 11:45. All three races will similarly be shown on the ITV Sport TikTok channel, in the UK and globally.
Christian Dick, Team Principal, LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ, said:
“It’s funny – for a circuit we know like the back of our hands, Oulton was never particularly kind to us in the BTCC until a few years ago. We’ve usually had good pace there, but Lady Luck always stubbornly refused to smile upon us until we finally got a win under our belts at the track with the Corolla in 2021, which was a huge result for everybody in the team.
“It would be wonderful to achieve another victory this weekend. Aiden as well as Rob Huff in the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK side of the garage have already reached the top step of the podium this year, and there are a number of elements that I believe could work in our favour.
“The Corolla’s excellent chassis should prove well-suited to Oulton’s twists-and-turns, and going there with a little more hybrid than the drivers ahead of us in the classification should give us a decent chance of qualifying up at the sharp end. If we can achieve that and then play our cards right in terms of tyre choice – with all three Goodyear compounds back this weekend – anything is possible...”
Josh Cook, Driver, LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ, said:
“Oulton Park is obviously the home event for Speedworks, which means it’s a big one for the team and I’m really looking forward to it. As always, it will be incredibly close, so we will need to make sure we work hard to get the car into the window during practice as quickly as possible.
“Qualifying will be very important, and I think the hybrid will be very powerful at Oulton – much more so than it was at Thruxton. It’s also the toughest circuit we go to on brakes, and we notoriously see cars struggling in that respect – if it’s a warm weekend, that will be a big challenge for everybody.
“From a driving perspective, it’s a circuit I love. It’s narrow and very technical, with a lot of undulation to the lap – there’s no time for a rest at all, with no long straights where you can regroup and have a bit of a think. It’s just relentless, and I think it will suit the Corolla’s characteristics a bit more than Thruxton did so I’m excited to go and really put the car through its paces there. The target is to get back onto the podium – and ultimately, I want to be winning races.”
Aiden Moffat, Driver, LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ, said:
“I think Thruxton was always going to be a difficult weekend for us. It’s such a unique track, whereas Oulton Park is more conventional and a return to the kind of territory where we know the Corolla performs well, so I’m hopeful we will be back up towards the front again.
“It’s a great circuit to drive, and I’ve achieved some good results there in the past. It’s not easy to race around, but factoring all three tyre compounds and hybrid into the equation will mix things up, I’m sure.
“We know we need to get onto the pace sooner on Saturdays, but having four cars in the garage to experiment with different set-up options is definitely a benefit so the key will be to really capitalise upon that. Our full complement of hybrid should also theoretically help us in qualifying, so we will need to focus on working the tyres as hard as we can to switch them on quickly and get as far up the grid as possible, because we know we have good race pace.
“Like with every event we go to, I want to be fighting for the podium. Thruxton was the first time this season we’ve not managed that as a team, and we are determined to get back up there to reward all the guys and girls at LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ for everybody’s hard work.”
Images: MJP Media