The 32-year-old reigning Independents champion is the first driver confirmed for the Cheshire squad’s expanded four-driver line-up, and heads there after five years with Honda Civics fielded by the team now known as One Motorsport.
Cook scored 16 of his 18 BTCC race wins to date with that team between 2019-22, when it was BTC Racing, but failed to add to his tally last year, during which he had no real testing programme beyond the pre-season media day.
The West Countryman has been linked to Speedworks ever since Danny Buxton, who was appointed to take charge of BTC early in 2022, upped sticks in late summer last year to join the Toyota operation as head of racing.
Cook finished runner-up in the 2014 Clio Cup UK with Buxton’s SV Racing squad, launching himself into the BTCC, and the two have remained good friends ever since.
The Corolla GR Sport that Cook will race will be one of two entered under the banner of LKQ Euro Car Parts with Synetiq, with the remaining pair to be fielded under Toyota Gazoo Racing UK nomenclature.
LKQ also backed the Civics with which Cook and Aiden Moffat scored podium finishes with One Motorsport in 2023.
“It’s obviously been a great few years for me with One Motorsport,” Cook told Autosport.
“I want to give a nod to them and to Steve Dudman [One owner] for the amount of years we spent together, because if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have been on the grid for all these years.
“But the new challenge is exciting. It’s a bit of a change, and it gets me driven and excited to come back this year and put together a campaign to go for the title.
“I’m excited to work with Christian [Dick, Speedworks team founder and principal], Danny and John [Gilbert, major shareholder].
“They’ve got a fairly comprehensive testing plan in place, and they’ve done a lot of development of the car over the winter.
“That was important for me in making the move, because the results at the minute from testing look positive. We should have a competitive package in 2024.”
The plan is for Cook’s long-time engineer, unrelated ex-Super Nova F3000/GP2 techie Mick Cook, to make the move with him to Speedworks.
“That’s the intention,” he added. “The relationship we’ve got, the experience we’ve got together, is really quite extensive, and it would allow us to short-cut getting familiar with the car because we already know how each other works.”
“Having expanded from two cars to three last year, to now take the next step up to run four Toyota Corollas in the championship is tremendously motivating for the entire team and a hugely exciting prospect,” said Dick.
“It’s a well-proven package, and we know there is still more pace and potential to be extracted from it.
“By the same token, we’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing Josh on board.
“Having raced against him since 2015, we know just how tough a competitor he is. He’s quick, switched-on and a first-class racer, and the kind of driver who is capable of extracting a result out of any given situation.
“He’s been a leading contender for the past six years and is very much ready to put together a proper championship push. Hopefully, we can help him to achieve that.”
