Paula Cook
| Paula Cook | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 2 November 1969 Rotherham, England |
| Related to | David Cook Derek Cook Jake Cook |
| Previous series | |
| 2004 2003 2003 2003 2003 2002 2000 1998-99 1997 1995-98 1995 1994 1994 | British GT Championship FIA GT Championship SEAT Cupra Championship Porsche Supercup SEAT Cupra Superprix ASCAR Lotus Elise Championship British Touring Car Championship RAC Tourist Trophy British Formula 3 Championship British Formula Renault Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Series Formula Vauxhall Junior |
Paula Cook (born 2 November 1969) is a British auto racing driver. She is best known as an independent driver in the British Touring Car Championship competing for the family-run DC Cook Motorsports. She ran the family-owned DC Cook Direct dealership after her father's death in 2005 until its closure in 2009.
Racing career
Early career
Born in Rotherham,[1] Cook began her auto racing career in 1994, when she competed in both the Formula Vauxhall Junior and Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Series championships, finishing second overall in the latter.[2] British Formula Renault (becoming the first female ever to achieve a pole position in an international race),[3] followed by three years in the British Formula 3 Championship between 1996 and 1998.[4] In 1997, she drove for the works Nissan team in the RAC Tourist Trophy.[5]
BTCC
Towards the end of 1998 British Touring Car Championship season, Cook entered the final four rounds for her father's DC Cook Motorsport Team in a Honda Accord.[6] She entered once more with DC Cook in 1999, planning to compete in the entire season, the first woman to do so.[7] However, despite a reasonable start to the year, the season for Cook was cut short after round 16, after her team pulled out of the series due to financial difficulties.[8]
Later career
After the BTCC she raced in the Lotus Elise Championship and the SEAT Cupra Championship.[4] In 2002, she entered a one-off ASCAR race at Rockingham.[9] In 2003, she competed in the SEAT Cupra Championship for the first time,[9] before later entering two races for the Morgan Works Race Team in the FIA GT Championship,[10] Most recently she has competed in the British GT Championship in 2004, driving the Chevrolet Corvette C5R of the Embassy Racing team.[11][12] following an outing in the Porsche Supercup.[13]
Personal life
Paula was born into a racing family - her father, Derek, was a racing driver in the 1970s.[14] Her brother David also competed in motorsports, and was most notable for winning the 1996 British Formula Renault series.[3] In addition to this, her nephew, Jake, entered the 2013 Formula Renault UK series, with Paula employed as his manager.[3] She helped run the family-owned DC Cook Direct dealership franchise, taking over the company following the death of her father in a car crash in 2005,[15] and remaining in charge until the company was liquidated in 2009.[16]
Racing record
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position - 1 point awarded all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap - 1 point awarded)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | DC Cook Motorsport | Honda Accord | THR 1 |
THR 2 |
SIL 1 |
SIL 2 |
DON 1 |
DON 2 |
BRH 1 |
BRH 2 |
OUL 1 |
OUL 2 |
DON 1 |
DON 2 |
CRO 1 |
CRO 2 |
SNE 1 |
SNE 2 |
THR 1 |
THR 2 |
KNO 1 |
KNO 2 |
BRH 1 |
BRH 2 |
OUL 1 16 |
OUL 2 13 |
SIL 1 16 |
SIL 2 12 |
24th | 0 |
| 1999 | DC Cook Motorsport | Honda Accord | DON 1 14 |
DON 2 Ret |
SIL 1 Ret |
SIL 2 9 |
THR 1 Ret |
THR 2 13 |
BRH 1 10 |
BRH 2 Ret |
OUL 1 Ret |
OUL 2 Ret |
DON 1 15 |
DON 2 13 |
CRO 1 14 |
CRO 2 13 |
SNE 1 Ret |
SNE 2 14 |
THR 1 |
THR 2 |
KNO 1 |
KNO 2 |
BRH 1 |
BRH 2 |
OUL 1 |
OUL 2 |
SIL 1 |
SIL 2 |
19th | 3 |
Complete Porsche Supercup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Tolimit Motorsport | Porsche 996 GT3 | ITA1 | ESP | AUT | MON Ret |
GER1 | FRA | GBR 24† |
GER2 | HUN | ITA2 | USA1 | USA2 | NC‡ | 0‡ |
† — Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
‡ – Guest driver – Not eligible for points.
References
- ^ "Paula Cook career statistics". Driver Database. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ "Paula Cook: Biography". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ a b c "Famous Cook name returns to Formula Renault with Hillspeed". RenaultSport. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Paula Cook - Driver Profile". BTCC Pages. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ "BTCC: Tourist Trophy preview". BTCC.co.uk. 13 October 1997. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ "Touring Cars: Reid puts pressure on Rydell". Sunday Mirror. 13 September 1998. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ "PAULA COOK IN TORING CAR ACTION". Wirral. 18 March 1999. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ "Win VIP day at Touring Cars". WIRRAL Globe. 2 September 1999. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ a b "SEAT Cupra Championship Preview 2003". SEATCupra.net. 15 April 2003. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ "Morgan Works Race Team to contest two rounds". Motorsport.com. 24 June 2003. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ "BGTCL Silverstone race one notes". Motorsport.com. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ Havelock, Steve (21 April 2004). "Portrait of a driver: Paula Cook". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ "Paula Cook Joins Morgan Works Race Team". Carpages. 21 June 2003. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ "Derek Cook career statistics". Driver Database. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ "Car dealer dies in motoring crash". BBC. 3 May 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ "DC Cook companies to be liquidated". AM Online. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2013.