Jake Hill “over the moon” with maiden pole

Jake Hill admitted he was over to moon to secure his maiden BTCC pole position after heading the times in qualifying for the 2022 season opener at Donington Park.

Hill had previously qualified on the front row five times in his career without making it into P1 but emerged at the head of the pack in a frenetic session that saw the leading four drivers covered by less than a tenth of a second.

It means Hill will lead he field away on his debut with the West Surrey Racing team, with fellow BMW driver Colin Turkington lining up alongside him on the front row of the grid.

Hill’s performance was all the more impressive considering that an issue during FP2 had resulted in the team needing to remove the gearbox from his car, which was only put back in shortly before the session started.

“I can’t believe I’ve finally got that first pole, and on my first weekend with the team as well,” he said. “It’s just fantastic. We’ve had to deliver today and it puts us in a good position for tomorrow when we can try and convert it into a win.

“All credit has to go to the team because the gearbox was out the car 20 minutes before the start of the session, but they got me out there and the car handled like a dream; it’s such a nice bit of kit.

“I’m so happy to get this result and having Colin alongside me is great. We’re both looking to do the best job we can for BMW, so we’ll be aiming to get a 1-2 for the team.”