Weve just had this press release sent to us by Jakes father, Simon Hill, it gives a great account of Jakes efforts in the Exocet Racing Audi at Brands Hatch, in the BTCC Finale Hill stars at Brands BTCC Finale 19 year-old British Racing Driver’s Club Rising Star Jake Hill starred at Brands Hatch in his debut in the Exocet Racing Audi A4 run by race winning team Rob Austin in the final meeting of the 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Hill raced to victory in the Jack Sears Trophy category of the series on his debut driving Addison Lee Motorbase’s S2000 Ford Focus at Croft in June, and had not been expecting to race again in the series this year when the call came last week. “The deal was only available the weekend before Brands so it has been a mighty effort from my Dad (former racer turned TV commentator Simon) and John Miskin from Sportif to get in touch with people to see if they would be interested in supporting me for Brands. In the end 26 different people have helped out so I am incredibly grateful to everyone for getting me on the grid” smiled Jake. After a brief run on Wednesday at ‘shakedown’ Jake’s first proper run was in Saturday morning’s free practice session at Brands, where on a damp circuit he put in a stunning time to sit second overall for most of the session, ending up a still impressve sixth as the circuit dried and others chose slick racing tyres. Another good run in the second session saw Hill begin the afternoon qualifying session confidently and immediately running near the front, setting a time that put him sixth overall. A mistake on his final flying run saw him run wide whilst on schedule to improve, however a superb tenth on the grid in his first run in an NGTC (New Generation Touring Car) exceeded many people’s expectations. “I am so pleased with the time we did, even though I should have gone a bit faster! To be ahead of drivers like Dave Newsham and Mat Jackson – and 3 time champ Matt Neal is incredible. A huge thanks to all the guys at Exocet Racing for their help” Sunday dawned wet adding to the challenge faced in the three races, and in race one Hill started soidly and was running an excellent tenth when the safety car came out. At the restart Ollie Jackson was punted into Jake at Graham Hill Bend forcing Hill’s black No. 9 Audi into a spin and down the order into 19th place. However Hill charged back into the fray and worked his way back to a hard-fought 14th place, despite fighting with bent suspension after the contact. “That was frustrating and the car was pretty tricky after I was hit. But I passed a few cars and kept it on the road and even picked up a couple of points in the end” Starting 14th this time Hill got a much better start and was immediately past Dan Welch and going forwards. Drama for Neal, Wrathall and championship leader Andrew Jordan saw Hill work his way forward up to tenth, only for Wrathall to sneak past late on, still seeing Hill finish in the points, this time in an excellent eleventh. “The weather was still horrible but I managed to keep going forwards and put in some good lap times. I had a much better start that time, so got past Welch quickly. I enjoyed that a lot!” For the final race of the day – and of the 2013 BTCC Series – the weather remained the same and Hill started 11th and determined to put in a strong performance, mindful of the need to not impede Andrew Jordan and Matt Neals charge from the back of the grid. Another solid start saw Hill immediately in the mix with Wrathall and Morgan as Sam Tordoff spun on the exit of Druids, before five or six cars, including Matt Neal all charged into Surtees and Hill was pushed wide and down to 14th place. As the race unfolded Andrew Jordan – determined to make it up to the eighth place he needed to clinch his first BTCC crown –sliced past and Hill set about putting in strong lap times. Incedibly for his first time in the car, in treacherous conditions on a demanding circuit such as Brands GP, the Kent-based teenager was on the tail and challenging Matt Neal, and lapping as quickly as the leaders….! Ultimately it was a 15th place finish – just finishing all three races was the first time all season that the car had done that – and all three times in the points. The team, sponsors and the media were quick to praise the job Jake had done. “I was hugely impressed with Jake” said team boss and winner at Rockingham Rob Austin. “He was ahead of me on the grid and did a superb job in very difficult conditions. Our sponsors Exocet and Wix, and all of Jake’s supporters were really, really pleased. All the lads on his car have worked really hard and he’s repaid them with his performance on track, and his attitude off track. Really proud” Final word goes to Jake. “This all came together so late, so I wasn’t 100% sure I was even racing until Friday nite! Thanks to everyone who made this possible, but I am very proud of the performance this weekend, I think a few people have taken notice, and hopefully it may have helped my chances for a drive in 2014”.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 09:30:50 +0000
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