INDEPENDENT WIN THE HIGHLIGHT OF TOUGH OULTON PARK WEEKEND FOR ONE MOTORSPORT

One Motorsport tallied a third Independent win of the season on what was an otherwise challenging weekend in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park.

Closing out the first half of the 2025 campaign at the Cheshire venue, Josh Cook snared silverware however both he and team-mate Stephen Jelley were left wanting more after battling the elements and mechanical issues.

Having endured a challenging pair of practice sessions in the morning, qualifying on Saturday afternoon saw Cook hustle his Honda Civic Type R into Q2 and ultimately into eighth on the grid for the first of Sunday’s three races. 

Engine issues in practice meant that Jelley went into the session with just a handful of laps under his belt but despite being on the back foot he produced a competitive lap to line up towards the rear of the midfield. 

Race day would prove to be one of attrition for Cook and it started with a feisty wheel-to-wheel battle with the Toyota of James Dorlin that would play out over a number of laps, halting his chance of making further progress. Cook ultimately come out on top to finish ninth. 

The 34-year-old then bagged more points and a third Independent win of the season in race two as he made progress up the order – all while nursing an ongoing electrical gear selection issue. 

Starting from third for a damp reverse grid finale, hopes were high that Cook could contend for outright honours however the car soon developed an ever-worsening throttle fly by wire problem, which left him at times just on tick over, and ultimately forced him into retirement at mid-distance.  

Things were sadly no better for Jelley on the other side of the garage as persistent engine issues and being on the receiving end of unnecessary contact scuppered his chances of points. 

With the team working tirelessly to get on top of a problem with his M-Sport / TOCA power plant throughout Saturday, the Leicestershire racer continued to encounter difficulties on Sunday which resulted in the team carrying out an incredible engine change in less than one hour between races one and two.

The second contest quickly became a glorified test session to ensure everything was rectified, and come race three Jelley was ready to make his mark – and he was on course to do so as he battled up to the fringes of the top ten and had a first Independent win of the season in his sights before being unceremoniously punted off.

Steve Dudman: “Without a shadow of a doubt this has been one of the most difficult weekend’s we’ve had since in the championship this year – and that says a lot when you consider what we faced at Thruxton. 

“Josh produced some strong performances on Sunday but it’s a case of what might have been as issues in races two and three more than likely ruled him out of challenging for what would have been two podium-contending finishes and top spot in the Independents’ Championship.

“Stephen meanwhile just had no luck. Issues with the M-Sport engine plagued him all weekend from the get-go and after a herculean effort to get things sorted he then gets unnecessarily damaged by another racer, ruining his chances of a first Independent win; he deserved far better. 

“I’ve got to say a huge thank you to the entire team in every department for their extreme resilience and hard work. I think it’s clear to see we can be a real threat to every competitor; we know the areas where we are weak and we’ll be looking to be as competitive as ever when we resume.”

Stephen Jelley: “There really are no good words to say whatsoever. It has been a truly horrendous weekend and one that I’d like to forget about pretty quickly.

“From the moment we hit the track we were battling issues with the M-Sport engine and it came down to the team producing an incredible full engine change in less than an hour to get the car working well. Then when it did we just got needlessly crashed into.

“Despite how bad it was I’ve got to say a massive thank you to the entire One Motorsport team because they never gave up and put in some long hours to give us the best chance in every single session. They’ve been brilliant and all deserve a well-earned rest over this summer break now.”

Josh Cook: “What a day! In race one we had to contend with some over defending and a few hard battles but we managed to bring it home in ninth, which was probably a bit lower than we expected to be.

“Then in race two we had an ongoing electrical gremlin that we had to nurse so it was a great effort by everyone in the team that we were able to bring the car home in seventh. In that last one we had a slowly degrading throttle which ultimately failed – and that’s a shame as I felt we could have been on for a good result.

“Everyone at One Motorsport – on both sides of the garage – deserve a lot of credit as they’ve had to dig deep this weekend. I’m hugely proud to be a part of this team and we go into the summer break looking to reset, continue developing the car and with the aim of fighting for some wins when we return to action.”

The 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season continues at Croft on August 2-3.