Jake Hill pleased to open podium account

Jake Hill said he was pleased to rebound from a tough start to the 2020 BTCC season with a first podium result of the year at Oulton Park.

The MB Motorsport driver had secured just one points finish from the opening six races after suffering from a range of technical issues in the first two rounds, leaving him firmly on the back-foot heading to the Cheshire circuit.

Qualifying saw Hill put his Honda on the third row of the grid with the sixth quickest time and he produced a strong drive in tricky wet conditions in race one to cross the line in fourth having been forced to battle ahead of the likes of Matt Neal and Colin Turkington.

When Josh Cook was then excluded from the result for failing the ride height test, Hill was promoted into third spot for his first podium with the team.

Hill would then overcome further technical gremlins to take seventh in races two and three, with a misfire in the second encounter and then a battery problem in the finale that saw him lose engine power and caused the power steering to cut out.

“We had a bit of luck in race one to get the podium with what happened to Josh, but I feel I drove well in that race and the car was fantastic,” he said. “It showed the pace we knew was there and that we have had all year, but it just added the reliability into it.

“The other two races were good although we had a bit of a misfire in race two and then a battery voltage issue in race three so there could have been some more silverware, but it’s great to have three solid points finishes and we can go home happy.

“Next week we are at Knockhill and I won my first ever BTCC race there last year so it holds special memories and I love the place! Rory [Butcher] got the car working brilliantly there last year, so let’s see what we can do. I always enjoy the trip to Scotland, and I’ll enjoy it even more if we get some more silverware!”