Wilson Racing youngster takes on cream of Europe

The 14-year-old Cook was given a wildcard entry into the ADAC North European Moto3 Standard Class Championship at Donington Park. He defied exhaust problems to finish third in the opening race and then recorded his fastest-ever lap around the track when finishing fourth in the second race.

“It was another successful weekend for Wilson Racing,” said Gary Wilson. “Max was riding against some top-quality riders from across Europe. He was unfortunate in the first race but, overall, we are really pleased for him.”

The ADAC NEC is a similar championship to the British Superbike Moto3 support series that Cook is currently dominating. While there were a few familiar faces also wildcarding in the event, most of the riders were unknown to the team.

Cook competed against Dirk Geiger, who races for Keifer Racing in the ADAC series and, like Cook, has won all his races this year. His teammate, Toni Erhard, is also very competitive, as is Simon Jespersen, a Danish rider who also won a race in the European Talent Cup in Albacete earlier in 2017.

The Wilson rider was suffering some sickness as the event got under way, but did well to qualify 12th on the combined GP and standard class grid and third overall for the standard class.

In the first race, he made a fantastic start and was leading the standard class by the end of the first lap. He managed to break away, opening a gap of more than four seconds over his nearest rival before, unfortunately, his exhaust broke and he lost the lead with just two laps remaining.

The second race saw Cook lose touch with the leading group early on. However, he fought back to the front group and tucked in behind Jespersen. As the race

closed out, he made his move to take the chequered flag in fourth.