Max Cook has been taken to Southampton hospital following his crash in the opening British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Thruxton.
Cook was battling with Leon Haslam for sixth place when the incident occurred. The AJN Steelstock Bimota rider, who ran a little too deep into the Club Chicane, touched the rear wheel of Haslam on the exit of final turn, which resulted in Cook crashing out.
“Following an incident during the British Superbike race at Thruxton, Max Cook crashed exiting Turn 14 following contact with another rider,” an official statement from the BSB organisers said. “The race was immediately red flagged. Max was attended to at the scene by the BSB Medical Team.
“Max experienced a brief period of unconsciousness following the incident and was transferred to the Circuit Medical Centre for further evaluation.
“Following further assessment by the BSB Medical Team, Max was transferred to Southampton hospital for definitive investigation and specialist review.
“We wish Max well and will provide further information regarding his condition when appropriate.”
It’s the second race weekend in-a-row that Cook has suffered a huge crash, having endured the same fate at Cascades at Oulton Park earlier this month.
This latest crash is a huge blow to Cook’s hopes of finishing third in the championship, with the Bimota man now 55 points behind Bradley Ray. Cook is also 28 points behind Haslam.
Cook’s teammate Joe Talbot finished his first-ever superbike race at Thruxton in ninth, whilst the race was won by championship leader Kyle Ryde . Rory Skinner and Ryan Vickers both celebrated their first podiums of the 2026 season.
Sunday’s BSB races at Thruxton are scheduled to take place at 13:20 and 16:15.
Sports Reporter - Motorcycle racing enthusiast Josh joined the MCN team in 2019. He studied Sports Journalism at the University of Sunderland, leaving with a 2:1 and a Gold Standard Diploma in Journalism from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). Introduced to the world of motorcycle racing by his dad as a youngster, Josh became a fan of MotoGP, WorldSBK and BSB. Like many, Josh became a huge Valentino Rossi supporter…little did he know that years later he would ask a question or two to the man himself.
Sports Reporter and fan of all things motorsport