Craig Cook aiming for glory in Cardiff

CRAIG COOK will be aiming for gold as the British rider tries to put a difficult start to his season behind him at the British FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Cardiff tonight. And after yesterdays practice, Cook sat down with TotalSport Swindon’s Ryan Walker to preview the action.

Having featured in the British SGP four years previously when either being given a wildcard or attending the meeting as a track reserve, Craig Cook says he knows what to expect from the biggest event on the GP calendar. But admits that the atmosphere still amazes him each and every time.

“It’s a meeting I’ve ridden in before so I know what this event is about and what to expect,” said Cook.

“I’m on the GP series full-time this year and although I’m still a newbie, I know how to deal with Cardiff.

“This GP is such a special event and I’m really looking forward to it,” he added.

“This Grand Prix isn’t just a race meeting, it’s a whole event spread across the weekend and it’s a phenomenal moment for British speedway.

“The fans are amazing here and it’s definitely the biggest event on the speedway calendar,” he said.

A disappointing start to his debut season as a full-time rider on the Grand Prix series has seen Cook drop to fourteenth in the competition standings. But the British racer insists he’s come to Cardiff aiming for glory, and admits anything less than the semi-finals will be seen as a failure.

“I’m a racer here and I’ve come to race,” said Cook.

“This series has been disappointing for me, but we’ve gone back to basics and I think things will start to now progress for me.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on myself and I’m focused on just enjoying my racing,” he added. 

“If I get to the semi-finals then Cardiff will have been a success.

“It’s only two races after that and then anything can happen,” said Cook.

And when asked on how he would deal with the mental pressure of the British GP, he said his main focus will be to just enjoy the event and his racing.

“There isn’t any pressure on me at all; I’m just here to do my job,” said Cook.

“I’m pretty confident in my ability to ride the bike, we just need to put everything else into place.

“We are now just to trying to revert back to what we were doing last year when things were going well.

“I’m going to keep my head down, rev it, drop the clutch and see where I end up,” he added.

Practice on Friday afternoon gave riders the chance to get to grips with the Principality Stadium’s indoor track, however Cook along with other riders said the track still needs work done to it before racing takes place.

“There is too much material on the track,” said Cook.

“They need to pack the track extremely hard over night in order to produce decent racing.

“If the track is like this on race-day then racing will be very one-lined and not much action will take place.

“The track guys know what they need to do, they are the best in the business and I’m sure Phil Morris will be cracking the whip tonight to have the track ready for tomorrow” he said.

And when asked on how his practice session went, Cook discussed how a noise coming from his engine was raising a few concerns.

“There is a noise in the engine and we just can’t put our finger on it,” said Cook.

“We will wait for the engine to cool down, and try to work out what’s wrong.

“We’re not sure whether it’s the engine making noise or the frame,” he added.

“The mechanics will strip the bike down and find out where the noise is coming from,” he said.