Jake Hill back on top after dramatic Donington Park race day

Jake Hill will head into the penultimate meeting of the 2024 British Touring Car Championship season sitting at the top of the standings after emerging unscathed from what was a dramatic weekend at Donington Park.

The West Surrey Racing driver – who was battling illness throughout the event – managed to keep out of trouble while misfortune hit a number of his title rivals around the Grand Prix circuit.

Arriving at the Leicestershire venue trailing Tom Ingram by three points, the BMW 330e M Sport driver scored a brace of third-place finishes and a fifth to leave with a nine-point advantage at the summit.

“I’m feeling pretty happy to be coming away as the points leader,” said Hill. “We’ve had a nice, steady day with two thirds and a fifth, which is great considering that we started back in seventh. Nine points isn’t much in the grand scheme of things but I’ll certainly take that advantage, especially as we’ve pulled a 12-point swing in total.”

Despite leading the way, Hill is already setting his sights on the annual visit to Silverstone and what potentially lies in prospect around the Home of British Motor Racing.

“I already know that qualifying and race one at Silverstone is going to be a struggle,” said Hill. “Going to a circuit that has three long straights with little to no hybrid is going to hurt so it will be about damage limitation on the Saturday and then into race one.

“Races two and three will be where we need to strike back as the balance of hybrid and option tyre should help us get back into the mix. There’s plenty of racing still to come so I’m remaining very calm at the moment because as we know in touring cars, anything can happen!”