Paula Cook

{{Infobox racing driver

| name = Paula Cook

| image =

| caption =

| nationality = {{flagicon|GBR}} British

| related to = David Cook
Derek Cook
Jake Cook

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|11|2|df=y}}

| birth_place = Rotherham, England

| last series = British Touring Car Championship

| years active = 1998–1999

| teams = DC Cook Motorsport

| starts = 20

| wins = 0

| poles = 0

| fastest laps = 0

| best finish = 19th

| year = 1999

| prev series = 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

| prev series years = 2004
2003
2003
2003
2003
2002
2000
1998–99
1997
1995–98
1995
1994
1994

| titles =

| title years =

| awards =

| award years =

}}

Paula Cook (born 2 November 1969) is a British motor 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,{{cite web |url=http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/paula-cook/career/ |title=Paula Cook career statistics |publisher=Driver Database |accessdate=13 April 2013}} Cook began her motor 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.speedsport-magazine.com/race-driver-database/biography/paula-cook~169.html |title=Paula Cook: Biography |publisher=Speedsport Magazine |accessdate=13 April 2013}} British Formula Renault (becoming the first female ever to achieve a pole position in an international race),{{cite web |url=http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/championships/formularenaultbarc/news/famous-cook-name-returns-to-formula-renault-with-hillspeed_6261/default.aspx |title=Famous Cook name returns to Formula Renault with Hillspeed |publisher=RenaultSport |date=21 February 2013 |accessdate=14 April 2013}} followed by three years in the British Formula 3 Championship between 1996 and 1998. In 1997, she drove for the works Nissan team in the RAC Tourist Trophy.{{cite web |url=http://www.motorsport.com/btcc/news/btcc-tourist-trophy-preview-2006-04-10/ |title=BTCC: Tourist Trophy preview |publisher=BTCC.co.uk |date=13 October 1997 |accessdate=13 April 2013}}

=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.{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Touring+Cars%3A+Reid+puts+pressure+on+Rydell.-a060653343 |title=Touring Cars: Reid puts pressure on Rydell. |publisher=Sunday Mirror |date=13 September 1998 |accessdate=14 April 2013}} She entered once more with DC Cook in 1999, planning to compete in the entire season, the first woman to do so.{{cite web |url=http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/archive/1999/03/18/Wirral+Archive/7433199.PAULA_COOK_IN_TORING_CAR_ACTION/ |title=PAULA COOK IN TORING CAR ACTION |publisher=Wirral |date=18 March 1999 |accessdate=14 April 2013}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://archive.wirralglobe.co.uk/1999/9/2/14023.html |title=Win VIP day at Touring Cars |publisher=WIRRAL Globe |date=2 September 1999 |accessdate=13 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20070623220703/http://archive.wirralglobe.co.uk/1999/9/2/14023.html |archivedate=23 June 2007 |df=dmy-all }}

In her 20 BTCC race starts, she scored 3 points and 2 Independents cup race victories.

=Later career=

After the BTCC she raced in the Lotus Elise Championship and the SEAT Cupra Championship.{{cite web |url=http://www.btccpages.com/driv/cookpaula.php |title=Paula Cook - Driver Profile |publisher=BTCC Pages |accessdate=13 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010150619/http://www.btccpages.com/driv/cookpaula.php |archivedate=10 October 2008 |df=dmy-all }} In 2002, she entered a one-off ASCAR race at Rockingham.{{cite web |url=http://www.seatcupra.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=109&Itemid=5 |title=SEAT Cupra Championship Preview 2003 |publisher=SEATCupra.net |date=15 April 2003 |accessdate=14 April 2013}} In 2003, she competed in the SEAT Cupra Championship for the first time, before later entering two races for the Morgan Works Race Team in the FIA GT Championship,{{cite web |url=http://www.motorsport.com/fia-gt/news/morgan-works-race-team-to-contest-two-rounds/ |title=Morgan Works Race Team to contest two rounds |publisher=Motorsport.com |date=24 June 2003 |accessdate=13 April 2013}} Most recently she has competed in the British GT Championship in 2004, driving the Chevrolet Corvette C5R of the Embassy Racing team.{{cite web |url=http://www.motorsport.com/all/news/bgtc-silverstone-race-one-notes/?v=2&s=1&q=paula%20cook |title=BGTCL Silverstone race one notes |publisher=Motorsport.com |date=15 August 2004 |accessdate=13 April 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2727788/Portrait-of-a-driver-Paula-Cook.html |title=Portrait of a driver: Paula Cook |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=21 April 2004 |accessdate=14 April 2013 |first=Steve |last=Havelock}} following an outing in the Porsche Supercup.{{cite web |url=http://www.carpages.co.uk/morgan/morgan_paula_cook_joins_race_team_21_06_03.asp |title=Paula Cook Joins Morgan Works Race Team |publisher=Carpages |date=21 June 2003 |accessdate=13 April 2013}}

Personal life

Paula was born into a racing family - her father, Derek, was a racing driver in the 1970s.{{cite web |url=http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/derek-cook/career/ |title=Derek Cook career statistics |publisher=Driver Database |accessdate=14 April 2013}} Her brother David also competed in motorsports, and was most notable for winning the 1996 British Formula Renault series. In addition to this, her nephew, Jake, entered the 2013 Formula Renault UK series, with Paula employed as his manager. 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,{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/4508387.stm |title=Car dealer dies in motoring crash |publisher=BBC |date=3 May 2005 |accessdate=13 April 2013}} and remaining in charge until the company was liquidated in 2009.{{cite web |url=http://www.am-online.com/news/story/DC-Cook-companies-to-be-liquidated/42899152 |title=DC Cook companies to be liquidated |publisher=AM Online |date=9 January 2009 |accessdate=13 April 2013}}

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 the driver led the feature race for at least one lap - 1 point awarded)

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Team

! Car

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8