Jake Hill targets personal best after strong practice

Jake Hill will look to secure his best qualifying result to date in the BTCC on the back of a strong showing in free practice at Oulton Park.

The Trade Price Cars Racing man headed into the weekend seeking to bounce back from a disappointing Croft meeting, where engine failure after a trip off track in race two resulted in him being forced out of two of the three races in North Yorkshire.

Having finished opening practice in 17th spot in his Audi S3, Hill would improve by half a second in the session to vault up the order to finish third behind the two Team Dynamics-run Hondas of Dan Cammish and Matt Neal.

A similar showing in qualifying would see Hill beat his previous best qualifying result of fifth, which he secured at Silverstone back in 2017.

“I’m really pleased with that,” he said. “We only made a few little changes after FP1 but those little changes made a big difference and were just what we needed to really improve the car and get it more in the window. Big thanks to the team as they gave me just what I needed.

“I think we still have more to come as even though we did a new tyre run, I think that a newish tyre that has been a scrubbed a little might actually be quicker because of the conditions. We’re in a decent place and I’m hoping to put in a competitive showing in qualifying and get as far up the grid as we can.”