Charlie Cox (racing driver)

Charlie Cox
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1964-10-10) 10 October 1964 Gymea, Sydney, Australia
British Touring Car Championship
Years active	1995
Teams	Thames Ford Dealers
Starts	12
Wins	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	5th in 1995
Championship titles
1993, 1994 1993	National Saloon Car Cup - Class A BRDC National Sports GT Challenge - Class A

Charles Raymond Cox (born 10 October 1964) is a Senior Media Executive, as well as a former broadcaster and racing driver.

He was brought up in the suburb of Born and brought up in the suburb of Gymea in Sydney, New South Wales, Charlie now lives with his family in the UK.

Racing career

Charlie Cox's 1995 British Touring Car Championship Ford Mondeo.

Cox's earliest exposure to racing was in Australia in the late 1980s in the Production car-based "Street Sedans", raced on tracks in the Sydney area.

Cox raced a Ford Escort RS Cosworth in the 1993 National Saloon Car Cup in Britain, winning six races, including the Willhire 24 Hour at Snetterton, to clinch the Class A championship. Cox retained his title the following year, taking five wins during the season. He also claimed the Class A title in the 1993 BRDC National Sports GT Challenge.

For 1995 Cox moved up to the British Touring Car Championship in a Ford Mondeo for his recently formed Thames Ford Dealers team with sponsorship from the Evening Standard newspaper.

He caused a sensation in a wet race early in the season by finishing 5th, although behind both works Fords, choosing the correct tyres and recovering from an early spin.

However, a huge barrel-rolling crash at Thruxton left him with concussion, and caused him to miss several races. When he returned it was in a hatchback Mondeo, making him the first driver to race one in the BTCC.

He subsequently raced internationally in Sportscars as well as three appearances at the Bathurst 1000.driving the Vittoria Coffee Commodore.

From 1996 to 2001, Cox raced International Class GT sports cars in the UK, South Africa and across Europe. Notably, Cox raced a GT1 Factory Harrier in the 1997 British GT Championship.

Racing record

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	DC	Pts
1995	Thames Ford Dealers	Ford Mondeo Ghia	DON 1 18	DON 2 Ret	BRH 1 5	BRH 2 15	THR 1 13	THR 2 DNS	SIL 1	SIL 2	OUL 1	OUL 2	BRH 1	BRH 2	DON 1	DON 2	SIL	KNO 1	KNO 2	BRH 1 21	BRH 2 15	SNE 1 Ret	SNE 2 16	OUL 1 Ret	OUL 2 DNS	SIL 1 Ret	SIL 2 14	23rd	8

Complete V8 Supercar Championship results

Supercars results
Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	Position	Points
1999	Challenge Motorsport	Holden Commodore VS	EAS R1	EAS R2	EAS R3	ADE R4	BAR R5	BAR R6	BAR R7	PHI R8	PHI R9	PHI R10	HID R11	HID R12	HID R13	SAN R14	SAN R15	SAN R16	QLD R17	QLD R18	QLD R19	CAL R20	CAL R21	CAL R22	SYM R23	SYM R24	SYM R25	WIN R26	WIN R27	WIN R28	ORA R29	ORA R30	ORA R31	QLD R32	BAT R33 Ret	NC	0

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
1997	Challenge Motorsport	Holden Commodore VS	Chris Smerdon	17th	143
1998	Challenge Motorsport	Holden Commodore VS	Chris Smerdon	DNF	60
1999	Challenge Motorsport	Holden Commodore VS	Chris Smerdon	DNF	122

Commentary career

Following a career racing cars, Cox moved into the commentary box in 1997, commentating on BTCC in 1997 alongside the legendary voice of motorsport, Murray Walker.

Following Walker's departure in 1998, Cox was lined-up alongside 1982 Formula One World Championship runner-up John Watson. The BBC's loss of BTCC coverage, allowed Cox to move to motorbike coverage alongside Steve Parrish and Suzi Perry.

This move led to the BBC appointing Cox to commentate alongside Steve Parish on the MotoGP. Cox became known for his individual, comical and at times, tongue-in-cheek style, with catchphrases and one-liners expected as a staple serving for listeners.

An established and fondly remembered voice of motorsport, Cox frequently referred to co-commentator Steve Parrish as "Oracle".

Top Gear Australia

Named as one of the hosts for the first season of Top Gear Australia. Along with cartoonist Warren Brown and advanced driving instructor Steve Pizzati, Top Gear Australia premiered on SBS on 29 September 2008.

On the 19th December 2008, Cox announced his departure from Top Gear owing to a lack of time and opting to focus on his broadcasting career in the UK as BBC's MotoGP commentator until 2013.

Media

As well as racing and sports, Charlie Cox has become well known within the media and publishing industry.

In 1990, Charlie arrived in London to take over LBC radio, returning the company to a profitable state while launching new radio stations.

The former CEO of the UK's biggest circulation newspaper, The Metro, Cox has worked as an adviser to The Daily Mail Group since the 1990s. and is a Director on the board for ITN.