Jake Hill elated with ‘bloody awesome’ weekend
Jake Hill admitted he was delighted with a ‘bloody awesome’ weekend at Oulton Park after securing the first double win of his BTCC career.
The WSR driver had yet to taste victory this season in his Laser Tools Racing-backed BMW, but put himself in the ideal position to challenge at the front when he grabbed a front-row start in qualifying.
Beating Ash Sutton off the line in race one, Hill was able to keep the points leader at bay to secure a first win of 2023 and didn’t have to wait long for win number two as he led the second race from start-to-finish.
Taking advantage of some lap one confusion when the safety car was deployed to remove Sutton’s stricken Focus, Hill jumped up into third place and would then clear team-mate Adam Morgan to end up in second place.
Three fastest laps meant a career-best weekend score of 62, equalling the record set by Sutton earlier in the season.
“What a day and what a finish,” he said. “It’s been bloody awesome, and to score my first double win, set all three fastest laps and end with a second in the reverse grid race is mega. I thought Knockhill last year was good, but this was just mental.
“In the first race, Ash didn’t get the best start and I did, so he was easy pickings off the line. He pushed me hard in the first few laps before I managed to break away, but race two was a lot easier and I was able to control it from the front.
“In race three, I was able to take advantage of something that others didn’t seem to have noticed and it meant I made up a few free places to get onto the podium. I got the call on the radio that the safety car was coming out, but the rule is that you race to the safety car boards – and there weren’t any.
“That is something that they are usually hot on but for whatever reason, there was no safety car board out until we got to the start/finish line so I took advantage by making my moves before then.
“It has been a tricky first half of the season in some respects, so it’s good to end it on a high like this.”
