In the cool conditions of the opening session, the West Countryman whisked his BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R around the UK’s fastest circuit 0.111 seconds quicker than the best anyone else could manage.
Second fastest the sister BTC Honda of veteran two-time champion Jason Plato, who appears in his strongest position to date this season to edge closer to the magical 100-wins mark from his current tally of 97.
Conditions warmed up slightly for the second session, in which the quickest contender was the West Surrey Racing-run BMW 330e M Sport of Jake Hill, although the bearded Kentishman couldn’t quite match his earlier-session best, which put him third fastest overall.
Cook was third in the later period behind the Motorbase Performance-run Ford Focus of Ash Sutton.
“The car feels really nice,” Cook told Autosport after emerging from the Honda following the second session.
“It’s always a lot better when you come out of the box well, and we’re slowly getting small improvements – I’m hanging on but it’s a real pleasure to drive, the circuit’s in great condition, and at the moment it’s all going to plan.
“Everyone will go faster when it counts in qualifying, and if we get in the top five that’s good [because he’s second in the championship, Cook is allowed just 1.5 seconds of hybrid use per lap].”
Hill set two laps quicker than the best anyone else could manage in the second session, in which he beat Sutton by 0.174s – Sutton returned to the pits with grass in his radiator on a subsequent effort, but his performance was good for fourth overall.
Jake Hill, ROKiT MB Motorsport BMW 330e M Sport
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
A trio of Dans were next up, with Rowbottom’s second-session time in his Team Dynamics Honda putting him fifth overall after a tidy lap, followed by late improver Lloyd’s Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N and the second of the NAPA-liveried Motorbase Fords in the hands of Cammish.
Colin Turkington was there or thereabouts all morning in his WSR BMW to end up eighth across the two sessions, while fellow multiple champion Gordon Shedden put the second of the Dynamics Hondas into ninth, with both of the West Midlands squad’s Civics stepping up the pace in the second session after doing long 18-lap race runs in the morning period.
The top 10 overall was completed by championship leader Tom Ingram’s Excelr8 Hyundai.
Ingram was just half a tenth down on Hill’s best in the dying stages of the second session when the red flags appeared with less than 90 seconds on the clock to retrieve the Laser Tools Racing Infiniti of Aiden Moffat.
Apart from Ingram, most of the leading contenders sat in the pits for the final period of running, since Thruxton is the only circuit where the hard-compound Goodyear tyre is used and, with another event at the Hampshire speedbowl coming up in August, they are mindful of saving carryover rubber for later in the season.
BTCC Thurxton - Practice results
Friday favourite: The ‘expert sandbagger’ who became a BTCC legend
BTCC Thruxton: Circuit specialist Cook romps to pole ahead of Hill
BTCC Thruxton: Circuit specialist Cook romps to pole ahead of Hill
Hayward hares up to second in Autosport National Driver Rankings
How the BTCC's new hybrid era aced its first test
BTCC Thruxton: Circuit specialist Cook romps to pole ahead of Hill
BTCC Thruxton: Cook fastest from BTC Honda team-mate Plato in practice
Friday favourite: The ‘expert sandbagger’ who became a BTCC legend
BTC team hail Cook’s Brands Hatch BTCC defensive masterclass
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