“A solid weekend” was how 25 year-old Jake Hill described rounds 7, 8 & 9 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire, having taken points in two of the three races for Trade Price Cars Racing, ending the weekend moving up to 4th in the Independent Driver’s Category.
After strong performances in both free practice sessions, finishing 4th and 7th, a session interrupted by Red Flags saw Hill qualify 14th, optimistic of progress forward.
A strong opening lap saw a place gained passing Smiley, then soon after Stephen Jelley and Josh Cook, gaining a further place when Oliphant was handed a drive-through penalty, Hill now up to 10th, and 3rd Independent runner.
Hill focussed on a series of quick, and error free laps as Cook was less than 0.5 away for 12 of the 16 laps, however an impressive drive saw Hill maintain 10th place at the flag.
“Really tough race, so much pressure from Josh, but really pleased with P10 and a great job by AmD Tuning and Trade Price Cars Racing to give me a car to fight with”
Starting P10 in race two, with some set-up changes made, Hill began battling with Ingram, the new Toyota Corolla edging past on the opening lap, before a long-battle resumed with rival Josh Cook, Hill holding the BTC Honda behind for half the race before Cook slipped through, Hill then maintaining 12th position to the end of the race.
With rain threatening for race three, Hill charged into the ‘Complex’ on Ingram’s tail, with Morgan pushing him into the braking zone. A spin by Collard meant Hill had to call on his lightening reactions to miss the stationary Vauxhall, being forced across the grass in the process, and being bundled down to 15th place, but hugely fortunate to avoid a collision.
“Suddenly the cars parted and Rob (Collard) was there! I’m still not sure how I missed him, and it was a wild ride across the grass after that – I nearly collected Jordan re-joining”
After a lengthy Safety Car period, Hill moved ahead of Simpson and Smiley and up to 13th, when a tangle between Jelley and Jordan saw him again forced wide, losing several places, and later a recovering Collard and Jordan passed, Hill ultimately finishing 18th – finishing all three races for the first time in 2019.
“That was wild! How I finished that in one piece is beyond me! I missed two potentially huge shunts, but somehow my little Audi S3 kept going and we got home together safely. Huge thanks to everyone at Trade Price Cars Racing and AmD for their amazing work as always, and to our guests from Aston Lark, Danfoss, ABGO, Smarrtrams and Logicall for joining us, and for Seaton Tramway for their support at Thruxton this weekend.”
Next weekend Hill will partner Rob Fenn at the Master’s Historic event at Brands Hatch, racing in a 1965 Ford Mustang and a 1965 Lotus Elan 26R.
“Looking forward to a change of pace next week, I love driving these cars with Rob, and for the first time at my home circuit Brands Hatch GP. Should be fun!
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