Brendon Cook

A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Brendon Cook
Nationality	Australian
Full name	Brendon John Cook
Born	(1970-12-27) 27 December 1970 (age 53) Belmont, New South Wales, Australia
Previous series
1989,96 1990 1991/92 1995-96 1998 2002 2003 2004 2005-07 2009 2011-12 2011 2013	British Formula Ford Championship Swiss Formula 3 Championship AUSCAR Formula Ford EFDA Nations Cup Australian Formula 2 Championship Australian Mitsubishi Mirage Cup Australian MG Trophy Australian Production Cars Australian Mini Challenge Australian Suzuki Swift Series Australian Manufacturers' Championship Australian GT Championship
Awards
2002	Australian Formula 2 Rookie of the Year

Brendon John Cook (born 27 December 1970) is a former race driver who raced mainly in Australia, but also in Europe.

Cook began racing at the age of 16 in Karts, where he won club titles, and then moved into Formula Ford in Britain. He raced four times in the British Junior series, which ran the same races as the outright series, but for different points. The highlight for him would have been out qualifying eventual Formula One driver David Coulthard. After an unsuccessful season of Formula 3 in Switzerland in 1990, he returned to Australia and competed in various club racing including Formula Ford, AUSCAR, HQ Holdens and Karts. He made a brief return to Europe in 1996 for British Formula Ford and 1998 to compete in one round of the Benelux Formula Opel series and the EFDA Nations Cup in the Netherlands.^[1] In 2002 he ran in the Australian Formula Two Championship^{[2][3][4][5][6]} where he finished eighth and took out the Rookie of the Year award. He returned for one race in 2011 in the Formula R class at Eastern Creek in a Reynard 913^[7] and the 2011 Asian Formula Renault Challenge but didn't start after an accident in qualifying. In October 2011 he raced in the final two rounds of the Thoroughbred Grand Prix series driving a Tyrrell 012.

Season 1995 saw an introduction to production cars in the Eastern Creek 12 Hour, but a blown head gasket saw them not start. He ventured to the Nurburgring 24 Hour in a Peugeot in 1996, but did not finish. From there he moved to the Australian Mitsubishi Mirage series and competed in the Bathurst 2-hour race finishing 3rd in Class B.^[8] 2004–05 he raced a Citroën Xsara in the NSW Combined Touring Car Championship, winning the state championship in his class. He raced a BMW in the 2006,^[9] and a Holden Vectra in the 2007^[10][11][12] Australian Production Car Championship. 2009 saw him join the Bargwanna Motorsport^[13] team in the Australian Mini Challenge.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19]}

2011 he raced in the final round of the Australian Suzuki Swift Series after practicing at the Eastern Creek and Sandown rounds without racing. He also participated in the Eastern Creek 6-hour, crashing out with two hours to go whilst leading Class E with co-driver Brooke Leech.^[20] He rejoined the series in 2012 for the fourth round at Sydney Motorsport Park finishing sixth for the weekend. In 2013 he raced in the GT Challenge class of the Australian GT Championship driving a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup. He finished 2nd in the championship.

He joined the AUSCAR ranks in season 1991/92 after being a finalist in the Fastrack Driver Program. In the summer of 2006, he returned the ranks of Street Stockers, running at Parramatta City Speedway over the 2006–2007 season. The summer of 2010 he ventured in a part season in Wingless Sprints mainly in New South Wales.^[21] In 2011-2013 he tried to break into American speedway by running in selected factory stock events with limited success.

† Team Result

Cook played both rugby league and rugby union in his early years as a utility back. Starting in league he represented Group 3 and Central Coast Juniors before going to Barker College and playing seven years of union there where he also became a certified referee. After leaving Barker, he played for Singleton Pirates, representing NSW Country Under 21s in 2 games off the bench in 1989 thanks to his family ties with Phil Hawthorne, before leaving for Europe. In 1990 after returning from Europe, he played for Sydney University Colts and at the end of 1990 Oak Bay Castaways-Wanderers in Canada. At the end of the 1992 season he switched to rugby league playing in the 1992 Pacific Cup for Norfolk Island. In 2005 he played a season in Manawatu, New Zealand.^[27] He retired from rugby after a knee injury.

Cook's parents were hotel owners, and he and his four sisters had a nomadic lifestyle. Thus he went to boarding school at Barker College and then Sydney University. He is married (2001), has one son (2004) and a daughter (2007) and now lives in the Brisbane suburb of The Gap. His father is John Cook. He is also a member of the Wiradjuri people.^[28]

• Brendon Cook career summary at DriverDB.com
• YouTube interview
• 2009 Mini Challenge Driver Profile
• Brendon Cook at ItsRugby.co.uk
• Brendon Cook at CricketArchive (subscription required)