2023
BTCC - Laser Tools MB Motorsport West Surrey Racing BMW 330e M-Sport
Donington Park National
Qualified P3 - strong start on a greasy track saw him immediately in the lead, after Sutton had moved across and contact had put the Ford Focus out. Lead most of the race until overheating tyres saw Cammish pass on the exit of Redgate - Hill ending up P2
Race two and with a 3 place grid penalty for the contact with Sutton - rain began to fall and Hill along with many of his rivals delayed pitting for wets too long - dropping to the rear of the field but fighting back up to P16, just outside the points.
Starting P16, just behind Sutton, and again on a greasy track, came through passing several cars - and setting fastest lap - to pass Turkington late on to take 4th position
Brands Hatch Indy
Qualified 3rd on a soaking wet track - race day dawned dry - lost out early on to a fast-starting Sutton and brought the car home 4th, repeating the result in race two, before starting P8 in race three, fighting through with some stunning passes on Cook and Butcher and up to 3rd, closing on Thompson when a puncture at Paddock Bend caused a spin and a pit stop ending in P22.
Snetterton
Qualified P4, immediately passing Ingram at the start then putting pressure on Turkington, pulling off a committed pass on the brakes into Brundle, then closing down relentlessly on Sutton, ultimately finishing just 0.2 behind in P2 in a breathtaking finish.
Race two saw a quiet run to P2, with race three seeing all four BMW’s running closely together and all on the ‘Hard’ option tyres, scrapping hard and eventually finishing P10.
Thruxton
P5 in qualifying, immediately passing Doble then running smoothly to the flag to finish P4, repeating the result in race two - despite a serious misfire affecting the car mid race. Race three saw a long battle with Cammish and Ingram, ultimately taking P10 at the flag.
Oulton Park
After a major set-up change, Qualified a season-best P2, immediately taking the lead from Sutton at the start, and after a close battle edged away, taking fastest lap en route to his first Win of 2023. Starting on Pole for race two, a swift start saw Hill lead from lights to flag - again taking fastest lap - and with it a New Lap Record at Oulton Park.
For the final race an early Safety Car after Sutton tangled with Ingram saw Hill immediately up to P3 behind Turkington, the pair passing team-mate Morgan and running together to the flag, Hill taking P2 and a hat-trick of fastest laps, plus a career-points-high of 62 points in a weekend.
Croft
Qualifying P6, a strong start and opening lap saw Hill pass Turkington, then pressure Cook to the flag to take P5. Running in P6 in lap two, an uncharacteristic mistake saw Hill spin and drop to P11 at the finish, then for race three fought through to finish P7, despite another spin late on.
Knockhill
After an off in qualifying damaged the car, the WSR crew worked miracles to repair the car in time for one run on a drying track, taking a superb P3 on the grid late on.
Starting on a dry track, running 3rd behind Sutton and Cook, mid race the rain began falling heavily, forcing a tyre change and ultimately Hill re-joining in P2 behind Ingram, taking the flag in P2 but promoted to race Winner as Ingram was disqualified for failing the ride-height check.
Starting on Pole, immediately pulled away from the pack, but mid-race was caught by Sutton, the pair battling hard to the flag in a race similar to the one they had in 2022, with Hill driving calmly to take the Win.
Final race saw heavy rain again, Hill running in the top-ten until being caught out by standing water at the hairpin and hit his team-mate Jelley, dropping down the order to P19, but recovering to take points with a P14 finish, although was issued a 3 place grid penalty for Donington Park.
Donington Park GP
Qualifying P6 but starting P9 after the penalty from Knockhill, on a greasy track worked his way through passing car after car until catching Ingram on the last lap, driving around the outside of the final hairpin to crosss the line in P3, but being promoted to P2 after Ingram was deemed to have given Hill insufficient room so the places were reversed.
Starting P2 for race two, Ingram immediately sliced past and into the lead, with Hill and Sutton battling hard to the flag, Hill ending up P3.
Race three saw a P10 start and battling past Turkington and then with Sutton, Ingram and Cook - mid race heavy contact with the tyre stack at the apex of the chicane saw Hill’s car severely damaged, but still running well until Rowbottom also hit the tyres and Hill was forced to swerve, dropping back and taking a remarkable P8 with half the front of the car missing.
Silverstone
In an incredibly close qualifying, ended up P4, then as the rain began to fall on the grid, gambled on wet tyres, this proving to be a genius move, immediately taking the lead and an unchallenged 5th win of 2023.
Starting on Pole on a now dry track, a perfect start an consistent set of laps saw a second win of the day in sight, when a late-race Safety Car saw Hill’s car begin to severely misfire, ultimately losing over 100bhp and dropping out of the points to finish P20 - this after being hit by Moffat.
Final race saw Hill drive superbly to work his way through to P8, its further progress being hampered by the misfire that hindered him in race two returning.
Brands Hatch GP
Qualifying P8, worked his way into the battle for 4th, being run wide at Paddock Bend but recovering to pass Rowbottom late on to cross the line in P6, then in race two drove a solid race to cross the line once again in P6, having lost out to Thompson on the line.
Starting P4 on the final reverse grid draw of the year, instantly passed Rowbottom off the line and passed Cook later in the lap, only for the Safety Car to be immediately deployed after an incident involving Moffat. At this point it appeared that Cook passed Hill after the Safety Car line, meaning that at the re-start it was Jelley and Cook battling for the lead, with Hill following closely.
As the leading duo fought into Westfield Bend, Hill dived to the inside of Cook, who moved across on Hill, who used his momentum to pass both drivers as the trio braked for Sheene Curve - in what many observers described as the move of the season.
Now in clear air, Hill charged away from Cook - setting his fifth fastest lap of the season - and took a superb 6th win of the season - and a very emotional win as it was his first BTCC win at his home circuit Brands Hatch, with it consolidating 3rd place in the points for the second year running.
BTCC 2023 - 6 Wins - 12 Podiums - 5 Fastest Laps - 372 Points - 3rd Overall
Historic Racing
Goodwood Members Meeting
1980 Ford Capri 3.0 - Gordon Spice Trophy - owned and prepared by Ric Wood Motorsport
Qualified Pole - Winner Heat One, P5 in Final despite pitstop dropping to P25 after oil leak
Jim Clark Trophy - 1964 Ford Lotus Cortina (sharing with Ollie Streek)
Car prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Mel Streek
Qualified P13 - Finished P8
Peter Auto - Spa-Francorchamps (both races sharing with Simon Watts)
Cars prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
BMW 3.0CSL - Heritage Classic - Qualified P4 - DNF Puncture - Qualified P4 - P8
Chevron B26
Qualified P3 in Class - Finished P5
Super Touring Power - Brands Hatch GP & Indy Circuits
Car prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Richard Wheeler
1999 Vodafone Nissan Primera GT
Qualified - Pole - P2 — Pole - Pole
Winner - All Four Races
Fastest Lap - Race 2 - 3 - 4
Goodwood Festival of Speed - Shootout
Calsonic Nissan R32-GTR - Owned and prepared by Ric Wood Motorsport
Shootout - Tin Top Heroes Class - Winner - New Hill Class record
Peter Auto - Paul Ricard - Heritage Classic 2
Chevron B26 - prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
Qualified Pole for Class - Finished P4 - Fastest Lap in Class (with Simon Watts)
Goodwood Revival - Freddie March Trophy
1954 HWM Jaguar - (with Gregor Fiskin)
Qualified P4 - Finished P2
Spa 6 Hours Classic
1966 Ford Mustang (Red Rooster)
Car prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by David Fenn
Qualified P2 - Finished P2 (with Rob Fenn)
Dubai Gulf Historic Festival - Dubai Autodrome
Formula 1
Tested 1987 Leyton House 871 F1
70’s & 80’s F1 Race
1973 Ensign N173 F1
Race One - Qualified P6 - Finished P5 (first 1970’s car)
Race Two - Qualified P4 - Finished P4 (first 1970’s car)
Historic GT 3 Hours
1963 Lotus Elan 26R (sharing with car owner Colin Sowter)
Qualified P13 overall (2nd in class) - Finished P8 Overall (2nd in class)
Also tested the following cars during 2023;
1980 Fittipaldi Formula One
2001 Panoz LMP07 - LMP900
1964 Jaguar MK2 - BTCC
1963 Ford Galaxie - BTCC
2023 BMW M4 GT3
2012 Dallara F312 Formula Three
1976 Nissan 240z IMSA
1992 HKS Nissan Skyline R32 Gr. A
1992 Taisan Nissan Skyline R32 Gr. A
2000 Lotus Sport Elise GT
Donington Park National
Qualified P3 - strong start on a greasy track saw him immediately in the lead, after Sutton had moved across and contact had put the Ford Focus out. Lead most of the race until overheating tyres saw Cammish pass on the exit of Redgate - Hill ending up P2
Race two and with a 3 place grid penalty for the contact with Sutton - rain began to fall and Hill along with many of his rivals delayed pitting for wets too long - dropping to the rear of the field but fighting back up to P16, just outside the points.
Starting P16, just behind Sutton, and again on a greasy track, came through passing several cars - and setting fastest lap - to pass Turkington late on to take 4th position
Brands Hatch Indy
Qualified 3rd on a soaking wet track - race day dawned dry - lost out early on to a fast-starting Sutton and brought the car home 4th, repeating the result in race two, before starting P8 in race three, fighting through with some stunning passes on Cook and Butcher and up to 3rd, closing on Thompson when a puncture at Paddock Bend caused a spin and a pit stop ending in P22.
Snetterton
Qualified P4, immediately passing Ingram at the start then putting pressure on Turkington, pulling off a committed pass on the brakes into Brundle, then closing down relentlessly on Sutton, ultimately finishing just 0.2 behind in P2 in a breathtaking finish.
Race two saw a quiet run to P2, with race three seeing all four BMW’s running closely together and all on the ‘Hard’ option tyres, scrapping hard and eventually finishing P10.
Thruxton
P5 in qualifying, immediately passing Doble then running smoothly to the flag to finish P4, repeating the result in race two - despite a serious misfire affecting the car mid race. Race three saw a long battle with Cammish and Ingram, ultimately taking P10 at the flag.
Oulton Park
After a major set-up change, Qualified a season-best P2, immediately taking the lead from Sutton at the start, and after a close battle edged away, taking fastest lap en route to his first Win of 2023. Starting on Pole for race two, a swift start saw Hill lead from lights to flag - again taking fastest lap - and with it a New Lap Record at Oulton Park.
For the final race an early Safety Car after Sutton tangled with Ingram saw Hill immediately up to P3 behind Turkington, the pair passing team-mate Morgan and running together to the flag, Hill taking P2 and a hat-trick of fastest laps, plus a career-points-high of 62 points in a weekend.
Croft
Qualifying P6, a strong start and opening lap saw Hill pass Turkington, then pressure Cook to the flag to take P5. Running in P6 in lap two, an uncharacteristic mistake saw Hill spin and drop to P11 at the finish, then for race three fought through to finish P7, despite another spin late on.
Knockhill
After an off in qualifying damaged the car, the WSR crew worked miracles to repair the car in time for one run on a drying track, taking a superb P3 on the grid late on.
Starting on a dry track, running 3rd behind Sutton and Cook, mid race the rain began falling heavily, forcing a tyre change and ultimately Hill re-joining in P2 behind Ingram, taking the flag in P2 but promoted to race Winner as Ingram was disqualified for failing the ride-height check.
Starting on Pole, immediately pulled away from the pack, but mid-race was caught by Sutton, the pair battling hard to the flag in a race similar to the one they had in 2022, with Hill driving calmly to take the Win.
Final race saw heavy rain again, Hill running in the top-ten until being caught out by standing water at the hairpin and hit his team-mate Jelley, dropping down the order to P19, but recovering to take points with a P14 finish, although was issued a 3 place grid penalty for Donington Park.
Donington Park GP
Qualifying P6 but starting P9 after the penalty from Knockhill, on a greasy track worked his way through passing car after car until catching Ingram on the last lap, driving around the outside of the final hairpin to crosss the line in P3, but being promoted to P2 after Ingram was deemed to have given Hill insufficient room so the places were reversed.
Starting P2 for race two, Ingram immediately sliced past and into the lead, with Hill and Sutton battling hard to the flag, Hill ending up P3.
Race three saw a P10 start and battling past Turkington and then with Sutton, Ingram and Cook - mid race heavy contact with the tyre stack at the apex of the chicane saw Hill’s car severely damaged, but still running well until Rowbottom also hit the tyres and Hill was forced to swerve, dropping back and taking a remarkable P8 with half the front of the car missing.
Silverstone
In an incredibly close qualifying, ended up P4, then as the rain began to fall on the grid, gambled on wet tyres, this proving to be a genius move, immediately taking the lead and an unchallenged 5th win of 2023.
Starting on Pole on a now dry track, a perfect start an consistent set of laps saw a second win of the day in sight, when a late-race Safety Car saw Hill’s car begin to severely misfire, ultimately losing over 100bhp and dropping out of the points to finish P20 - this after being hit by Moffat.
Final race saw Hill drive superbly to work his way through to P8, its further progress being hampered by the misfire that hindered him in race two returning.
Brands Hatch GP
Qualifying P8, worked his way into the battle for 4th, being run wide at Paddock Bend but recovering to pass Rowbottom late on to cross the line in P6, then in race two drove a solid race to cross the line once again in P6, having lost out to Thompson on the line.
Starting P4 on the final reverse grid draw of the year, instantly passed Rowbottom off the line and passed Cook later in the lap, only for the Safety Car to be immediately deployed after an incident involving Moffat. At this point it appeared that Cook passed Hill after the Safety Car line, meaning that at the re-start it was Jelley and Cook battling for the lead, with Hill following closely.
As the leading duo fought into Westfield Bend, Hill dived to the inside of Cook, who moved across on Hill, who used his momentum to pass both drivers as the trio braked for Sheene Curve - in what many observers described as the move of the season.
Now in clear air, Hill charged away from Cook - setting his fifth fastest lap of the season - and took a superb 6th win of the season - and a very emotional win as it was his first BTCC win at his home circuit Brands Hatch, with it consolidating 3rd place in the points for the second year running.
BTCC 2023 - 6 Wins - 12 Podiums - 5 Fastest Laps - 372 Points - 3rd Overall
Historic Racing
Goodwood Members Meeting
1980 Ford Capri 3.0 - Gordon Spice Trophy - owned and prepared by Ric Wood Motorsport
Qualified Pole - Winner Heat One, P5 in Final despite pitstop dropping to P25 after oil leak
Jim Clark Trophy - 1964 Ford Lotus Cortina (sharing with Ollie Streek)
Car prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Mel Streek
Qualified P13 - Finished P8
Peter Auto - Spa-Francorchamps (both races sharing with Simon Watts)
Cars prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
BMW 3.0CSL - Heritage Classic - Qualified P4 - DNF Puncture - Qualified P4 - P8
Chevron B26
Qualified P3 in Class - Finished P5
Super Touring Power - Brands Hatch GP & Indy Circuits
Car prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Richard Wheeler
1999 Vodafone Nissan Primera GT
Qualified - Pole - P2 — Pole - Pole
Winner - All Four Races
Fastest Lap - Race 2 - 3 - 4
Goodwood Festival of Speed - Shootout
Calsonic Nissan R32-GTR - Owned and prepared by Ric Wood Motorsport
Shootout - Tin Top Heroes Class - Winner - New Hill Class record
Peter Auto - Paul Ricard - Heritage Classic 2
Chevron B26 - prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
Qualified Pole for Class - Finished P4 - Fastest Lap in Class (with Simon Watts)
Goodwood Revival - Freddie March Trophy
1954 HWM Jaguar - (with Gregor Fiskin)
Qualified P4 - Finished P2
Spa 6 Hours Classic
1966 Ford Mustang (Red Rooster)
Car prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by David Fenn
Qualified P2 - Finished P2 (with Rob Fenn)
Dubai Gulf Historic Festival - Dubai Autodrome
Formula 1
Tested 1987 Leyton House 871 F1
70’s & 80’s F1 Race
1973 Ensign N173 F1
Race One - Qualified P6 - Finished P5 (first 1970’s car)
Race Two - Qualified P4 - Finished P4 (first 1970’s car)
Historic GT 3 Hours
1963 Lotus Elan 26R (sharing with car owner Colin Sowter)
Qualified P13 overall (2nd in class) - Finished P8 Overall (2nd in class)
Also tested the following cars during 2023;
1980 Fittipaldi Formula One
2001 Panoz LMP07 - LMP900
1964 Jaguar MK2 - BTCC
1963 Ford Galaxie - BTCC
2023 BMW M4 GT3
2012 Dallara F312 Formula Three
1976 Nissan 240z IMSA
1992 HKS Nissan Skyline R32 Gr. A
1992 Taisan Nissan Skyline R32 Gr. A
2000 Lotus Sport Elise GT
2022
Once again proud to be selected as part of the BRDC ‘Superstars’ Scheme
Rokit MB Motorsport with West Surrey Racing BMW - Kwik Fit BTCC
Winner, round three Donington Park after taking a career-first Pole Position for the opening round, finishing 3rd on the road but being disqualified for failing the ride-height checks, starting last and 29th and charging through to 9th, then being drawn for the reverse grid race on Pole Position.
Finished Second at Brands Hatch, and in the opening two races at the first Thruxton weekend in May, scoring points in 13 of the first 15 races in 2022 and lying P5 in points at the half-way point.
Goodwood Members Meeting - 1980 Ford Capri 3.0 (sharing with Ric Wood)
Gerry Marshall Trophy - Qualified P5 (fastest non-V8 car) and finished P4 (first non-V8 car)
Goodwood Members Meeting - Formula One 1990’s Demonstration
1993 Footwork FA14 Ford V8 F1 Car
Peter Auto Historic Series - Endurance Legends - 2002 Panoz LMP07 LMP900
Mugello (sharing with Simon Watts)
Pole Position, Fastest Lap, 3rd Position (including a penalty for a jump start)
Spa-Francorchamps Classic
Qualified P2 & P3 - 3rd Position in race one, leading the ‘Night’ race - retired with a tyre failure
Dijon- Prenois - Grand Prix L’Age D’Or - sharing with Simon Watts
1973 Chevron B26 - Classic Endurance - Qualified 7th in Class, Fastest Lap, P7 Overall
1975 BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’ - Heritage Touring Cars - Qualified P4, Finished P4
Knockhill
Starting the second half of the season after the summer break at Knockhill, a superb weekend saw Pole Position, Fastest Lap and a Win for the opening race after a fierce battle with Ash Sutton’s Motorbase Ford Focus, many observers calling it ‘the race of the season’
Race two again saw a close race with Sutton, this time after running wide at the chicane the positions were reversed, with Sutton taking the win, and Jake almost sneaking past at the line.
Race three starting P6 saw a tangle with Shedden and Ingram ahead immediately gain Hill two places, then worked on catching Turkington, with WSR team orders allowing Hill through to chase Butcher, catching and passing with two laps to go, and taking another fastest lap, plus a 59 point score - the highest of any driver in 2022.
Snetterton
Snetterton saw a front-row start, a close battle with team-mate Turkington resulting in two second place finishes, then a strong final race resulting in 5th place and another solid set of points.
Thruxton
Visiting Thruxton for the second time saw third on the grid, two solid fourth place finishes and then P12 after being edged wide on the grass on the opening lap
Silverstone
Silverstone saw Hill’s sixth front-row start of the season, a close fight with Butcher resulting in P2, then a superb move late on in race two giving Hill his third Win of the season. Starting P8, Hill was pushed wide on the opening lap and dropped to P11. However a battling drive saw him pass car after car until he was up to 4th - leaving Silverstone just 5 points off the Championship lead.
Brands Hatch GP
Brands Hatch’s final weekend resulted in P5 on the grid, a battling race passing both Cammish and Sutton and closing in on Butcher, and taking P3 behind Butcher and Winner Ingram.
A strong start for race two saw Hill close and pass Butcher early on, then chasing down leader Ingram, pushing hard to the flag to take a well-earned P2.
The final race of the season saw Hill start P9, and quickly work on making up time, ultimately battling with Ingram, Turkington and then Sutton, passing Ingram after Turkington gave Hill space, then with the top-three in the points running nose-to-tail, Hill tried a brave move at Paddock to take P4, but was run wide allowing Ingram, Gamble and Cammish through, gaining one place back from Cammish late on but crossing the line P7, and finishing P3 in points just one point behind runner-up Sutton, and 13 Points behind Winner Ingram - taking his career-best finish.
Winner - Goodyear ‘Wingfoot’ award for Fastest Qualifier of the season - taking 2 Pole Positions, 4 second places 1 third place en route to the title.
Total 3 Wins - 13 Podiums - 5 Fastest Laps - 2 Pole Positions - 381 Points - 3rd Overall.
Historic Racing
Goodwood Members Meeting
Gerry Marshall Trophy - 1980 Ford Capri 3.0 (sharing with car owner Ric Wood)
Qualified P5 - Finished P4 (first non-V8 car)
Demonstrated 1993 Footwork FA14 Formula One Car
Peter Auto - Mugello
2001 Panoz LMP07 - prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
Qualified Pole - Race One - Finished P3
Race Two - DNF (with Simon Watts)
Peter Auto - Spa-Francorchamps
2001 Panoz LMP07 - prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
Race One - Qualified P3 - Finished P3
Race Two - Qualified P2 - Leading when puncture caused retirement
Peter Auto - Dijon-Prenois
Cars prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
BMW 3.0CSL - Heritage Classic Touring
Qualified P4 - Finished P4
Chevron B26
Qualified P2 - Finished P4
Both sharing with Simon Watts
Rokit MB Motorsport with West Surrey Racing BMW - Kwik Fit BTCC
Winner, round three Donington Park after taking a career-first Pole Position for the opening round, finishing 3rd on the road but being disqualified for failing the ride-height checks, starting last and 29th and charging through to 9th, then being drawn for the reverse grid race on Pole Position.
Finished Second at Brands Hatch, and in the opening two races at the first Thruxton weekend in May, scoring points in 13 of the first 15 races in 2022 and lying P5 in points at the half-way point.
Goodwood Members Meeting - 1980 Ford Capri 3.0 (sharing with Ric Wood)
Gerry Marshall Trophy - Qualified P5 (fastest non-V8 car) and finished P4 (first non-V8 car)
Goodwood Members Meeting - Formula One 1990’s Demonstration
1993 Footwork FA14 Ford V8 F1 Car
Peter Auto Historic Series - Endurance Legends - 2002 Panoz LMP07 LMP900
Mugello (sharing with Simon Watts)
Pole Position, Fastest Lap, 3rd Position (including a penalty for a jump start)
Spa-Francorchamps Classic
Qualified P2 & P3 - 3rd Position in race one, leading the ‘Night’ race - retired with a tyre failure
Dijon- Prenois - Grand Prix L’Age D’Or - sharing with Simon Watts
1973 Chevron B26 - Classic Endurance - Qualified 7th in Class, Fastest Lap, P7 Overall
1975 BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’ - Heritage Touring Cars - Qualified P4, Finished P4
Knockhill
Starting the second half of the season after the summer break at Knockhill, a superb weekend saw Pole Position, Fastest Lap and a Win for the opening race after a fierce battle with Ash Sutton’s Motorbase Ford Focus, many observers calling it ‘the race of the season’
Race two again saw a close race with Sutton, this time after running wide at the chicane the positions were reversed, with Sutton taking the win, and Jake almost sneaking past at the line.
Race three starting P6 saw a tangle with Shedden and Ingram ahead immediately gain Hill two places, then worked on catching Turkington, with WSR team orders allowing Hill through to chase Butcher, catching and passing with two laps to go, and taking another fastest lap, plus a 59 point score - the highest of any driver in 2022.
Snetterton
Snetterton saw a front-row start, a close battle with team-mate Turkington resulting in two second place finishes, then a strong final race resulting in 5th place and another solid set of points.
Thruxton
Visiting Thruxton for the second time saw third on the grid, two solid fourth place finishes and then P12 after being edged wide on the grass on the opening lap
Silverstone
Silverstone saw Hill’s sixth front-row start of the season, a close fight with Butcher resulting in P2, then a superb move late on in race two giving Hill his third Win of the season. Starting P8, Hill was pushed wide on the opening lap and dropped to P11. However a battling drive saw him pass car after car until he was up to 4th - leaving Silverstone just 5 points off the Championship lead.
Brands Hatch GP
Brands Hatch’s final weekend resulted in P5 on the grid, a battling race passing both Cammish and Sutton and closing in on Butcher, and taking P3 behind Butcher and Winner Ingram.
A strong start for race two saw Hill close and pass Butcher early on, then chasing down leader Ingram, pushing hard to the flag to take a well-earned P2.
The final race of the season saw Hill start P9, and quickly work on making up time, ultimately battling with Ingram, Turkington and then Sutton, passing Ingram after Turkington gave Hill space, then with the top-three in the points running nose-to-tail, Hill tried a brave move at Paddock to take P4, but was run wide allowing Ingram, Gamble and Cammish through, gaining one place back from Cammish late on but crossing the line P7, and finishing P3 in points just one point behind runner-up Sutton, and 13 Points behind Winner Ingram - taking his career-best finish.
Winner - Goodyear ‘Wingfoot’ award for Fastest Qualifier of the season - taking 2 Pole Positions, 4 second places 1 third place en route to the title.
Total 3 Wins - 13 Podiums - 5 Fastest Laps - 2 Pole Positions - 381 Points - 3rd Overall.
Historic Racing
Goodwood Members Meeting
Gerry Marshall Trophy - 1980 Ford Capri 3.0 (sharing with car owner Ric Wood)
Qualified P5 - Finished P4 (first non-V8 car)
Demonstrated 1993 Footwork FA14 Formula One Car
Peter Auto - Mugello
2001 Panoz LMP07 - prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
Qualified Pole - Race One - Finished P3
Race Two - DNF (with Simon Watts)
Peter Auto - Spa-Francorchamps
2001 Panoz LMP07 - prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
Race One - Qualified P3 - Finished P3
Race Two - Qualified P2 - Leading when puncture caused retirement
Peter Auto - Dijon-Prenois
Cars prepared by John Danby Racing - owned by Simon Watts
BMW 3.0CSL - Heritage Classic Touring
Qualified P4 - Finished P4
Chevron B26
Qualified P2 - Finished P4
Both sharing with Simon Watts
2021
Continued to represent the British Racing Driver’s Club as part of their ‘Superstars’ programme
MB Motorsport powered by Blue Square with Motorbase Performance - Kwik Fit BTCC
Led the championship after the opening weekend at Thruxton after taking three podiums, ran in the top-five all season and took Wins at Croft and Thruxton plus seven further podiums, started on trhe front-row at Thruxton and Croft, and took fastest laps at Silverstone and Brands GP on to a career-best finish of 5th overall
Masters Historic - Brands Hatch GP Circuit - with Rob Fenn
Qualified P2 in 1966 Ford Mustang - Pole, Fastest Lap & Second place in 1966 Lotus Elan 26R
Masters Historic - Donington Park - with Roberto Giordinelli
1973 Chevron B26 - Qualified on Pole with Fastest Lap
Spa-Francorchamps Classic Touring Cars - 1992 Calsonic Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R
Winner (race one), Pole Position for both races, fastest lap in both races (with Ric Wood)
Spa 6 Hours Historic (with Lee Penson & Alex Brundle) - 1965 Lotus 26R
Started last (80th position) after mechanical failure…raced through ther pack up to Second Place overall and Class Leader before handing over the car, and mechanical issues forced retirement.
Goodwood Festival of Speed - 1992 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R (HKS)
Winner, Touring Car Class, Shootout
Goodwood Members Meeting - 1980 Ford Capri 3.0 - Ric Wood Motorsport
Winner, Gerry Marshall Trophy, Pole Position
MB Motorsport powered by Blue Square with Motorbase Performance - Kwik Fit BTCC
Led the championship after the opening weekend at Thruxton after taking three podiums, ran in the top-five all season and took Wins at Croft and Thruxton plus seven further podiums, started on trhe front-row at Thruxton and Croft, and took fastest laps at Silverstone and Brands GP on to a career-best finish of 5th overall
Masters Historic - Brands Hatch GP Circuit - with Rob Fenn
Qualified P2 in 1966 Ford Mustang - Pole, Fastest Lap & Second place in 1966 Lotus Elan 26R
Masters Historic - Donington Park - with Roberto Giordinelli
1973 Chevron B26 - Qualified on Pole with Fastest Lap
Spa-Francorchamps Classic Touring Cars - 1992 Calsonic Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R
Winner (race one), Pole Position for both races, fastest lap in both races (with Ric Wood)
Spa 6 Hours Historic (with Lee Penson & Alex Brundle) - 1965 Lotus 26R
Started last (80th position) after mechanical failure…raced through ther pack up to Second Place overall and Class Leader before handing over the car, and mechanical issues forced retirement.
Goodwood Festival of Speed - 1992 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R (HKS)
Winner, Touring Car Class, Shootout
Goodwood Members Meeting - 1980 Ford Capri 3.0 - Ric Wood Motorsport
Winner, Gerry Marshall Trophy, Pole Position
2020
Honoured to be selected as one of only a dozen Elite young drivers from the UK & Commonwealth, as part of the British Racing Driver’s Club (BRDC) ‘Superstars’ programme
MB Motorsport powered by Blue Square with AmD Tuning - Kwik Fit BTCC
Honda Civic Type-R (FK2)
Season started with three engine failures in four races, plus two further DNF due to mechanical issues…thereafter scored points in 20 of the remaining 21 Races, including Independent Driver’s Win at Snetterton, 6 Overall Podiums, started on the front row of the grid at Knockhill, Croft and Snetterton, ending 5th in the Independents Category and 7th overall in the points.
AMOC Trophy, Silverstone - driving with Paul Whight
Winner, Pole Position, Fastest Lap - 2009 Aston Martin Vantage GT2
Winner, Pole Position, Fastest Lap - 1965 Lotus Elan 26R
CSCC Thruxton
2018 VW Golf TCR Car - Slicks Series - Pole Position, Fastest Lap, Class Win with Jamie Sturges
1983 VW Golf MK2 - Verum Builders Series - P4 overall with Dave Hickton in ‘Gordon the Golf’er’
Goodwood Speedweek
Winner, Touring Car Class - 1992 Calsonic Nissan Skyline R-32 (Ric Wood Motorsport)
MB Motorsport powered by Blue Square with AmD Tuning - Kwik Fit BTCC
Honda Civic Type-R (FK2)
Season started with three engine failures in four races, plus two further DNF due to mechanical issues…thereafter scored points in 20 of the remaining 21 Races, including Independent Driver’s Win at Snetterton, 6 Overall Podiums, started on the front row of the grid at Knockhill, Croft and Snetterton, ending 5th in the Independents Category and 7th overall in the points.
AMOC Trophy, Silverstone - driving with Paul Whight
Winner, Pole Position, Fastest Lap - 2009 Aston Martin Vantage GT2
Winner, Pole Position, Fastest Lap - 1965 Lotus Elan 26R
CSCC Thruxton
2018 VW Golf TCR Car - Slicks Series - Pole Position, Fastest Lap, Class Win with Jamie Sturges
1983 VW Golf MK2 - Verum Builders Series - P4 overall with Dave Hickton in ‘Gordon the Golf’er’
Goodwood Speedweek
Winner, Touring Car Class - 1992 Calsonic Nissan Skyline R-32 (Ric Wood Motorsport)
2019
Elected as full-member of the British Racing Driver’s Club (BRDC)
Trade Price Cars Racing & AmD Tuning - Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)
AmD Tuning Audi S3
Drove through the pack in mixed conditions to take a a superb Second Place at Brands Hatch at the opening race of the year, qualified in the top-ten on five occassions, took a debut career BTCC Win with a lights-to-flag drive at Knockhill, and set Fastest Lap in the final race at Brands GP, en route to Fourth in the fiercely contested Independant Driver’s Championship
Masters Historic - John Danby Racing - Driving with Rob Fenn
Pre 66 Touring Car - 1966 Ford Mustang ’Red Rooster’
Winners; Silverstone Classic, Brands Hatch - Pole Position, Paul Ricard, Silverstone Classic, Fastest Lap Paul Ricard
Gentlemen Drivers - 1966 Lotus Elan 26R
Winners; Paul Ricard, Brands Hatch, Nurburgring Classic; Pole Position; Brands Hatch, Fastest Lap; Brands Hatch, Nurburgring
Endurance Legends - 2008 Aston Martin Vantage GT2 - driving with Paul Whight
Winner, Fastest Lap Snetterton (AMOC Series) - Pole Position, Paul Ricard (Masters Series)
Tested Tommy Byrne Championship winning Ralt RT3 F3 Car at Brands Hatch
Trade Price Cars Racing & AmD Tuning - Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)
AmD Tuning Audi S3
Drove through the pack in mixed conditions to take a a superb Second Place at Brands Hatch at the opening race of the year, qualified in the top-ten on five occassions, took a debut career BTCC Win with a lights-to-flag drive at Knockhill, and set Fastest Lap in the final race at Brands GP, en route to Fourth in the fiercely contested Independant Driver’s Championship
Masters Historic - John Danby Racing - Driving with Rob Fenn
Pre 66 Touring Car - 1966 Ford Mustang ’Red Rooster’
Winners; Silverstone Classic, Brands Hatch - Pole Position, Paul Ricard, Silverstone Classic, Fastest Lap Paul Ricard
Gentlemen Drivers - 1966 Lotus Elan 26R
Winners; Paul Ricard, Brands Hatch, Nurburgring Classic; Pole Position; Brands Hatch, Fastest Lap; Brands Hatch, Nurburgring
Endurance Legends - 2008 Aston Martin Vantage GT2 - driving with Paul Whight
Winner, Fastest Lap Snetterton (AMOC Series) - Pole Position, Paul Ricard (Masters Series)
Tested Tommy Byrne Championship winning Ralt RT3 F3 Car at Brands Hatch
2018 - 60th Anniversary Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship
Trade Price Cars Brisky Racing VW CC 2018 Edition with Team HARD
Brands Hatch Indy - Rounds 1,2,3
Race One
Issues in practice and qualifying meant P25, but a strong start in the wet opening race saw several places gained by Graham Hill Bend, but contact meant a front-right puncture and the pitstop meant a lap was lost, but continued to fight hard and finished P25 - still taking points for the Jack Sears Trophy.
Race Two
Starting P25 Jake and his team-manager Jamie (Warren) and team-boss Tony Gilham were of the opinion it was worth gambling on slick tyres, despite the track still being extremely slippery.
Rising temperatures and a slight breeze meant it was possible the track would dry quickly enough that slicks would be the quicker tyre before the end of the 22 lap race.
In all a total of 10 of the 32 drivers gambled on slicks - the highest on the grid being Ollie Jackson in 12th place - but most much further down and therefore with less to lose.
Early on a Safety Car was called, adding 5 laps to the race distance - giving the ‘slick’ runners a better chance of the track drying, albeit later on.
Up to lap 11 the cars on ‘wets’ were quicker…then Jake set a new fastest lap - almost a second faster than the race leader Tom Ingram, but the highest of the ‘dry’ runners was Jackson in 21st.
However the next few laps so the ‘switch’ - and the ‘dry’ runners start to make serious progress up the leader board.
Working as a pack, Moffat, Jackson, Butcher, Hill and now Proctor began to work there way to the front…by lap 16 they were up to 16th, lap 18 they were 10th, and by lap Proctor at the head f the pack was 5th….
A fierce battle between Proctor and Moffat saw contact, and then Hill chasing Proctor - who was on the faster ‘option’ tyre - the pair setting the fastest lap on the final tour, Hill finishing a career-best 2nd overall, and Winning the Independents Category…from 25th on the grid!
Race One
Issues in practice and qualifying meant P25, but a strong start in the wet opening race saw several places gained by Graham Hill Bend, but contact meant a front-right puncture and the pitstop meant a lap was lost, but continued to fight hard and finished P25 - still taking points for the Jack Sears Trophy.
Race Two
Starting P25 Jake and his team-manager Jamie (Warren) and team-boss Tony Gilham were of the opinion it was worth gambling on slick tyres, despite the track still being extremely slippery.
Rising temperatures and a slight breeze meant it was possible the track would dry quickly enough that slicks would be the quicker tyre before the end of the 22 lap race.
In all a total of 10 of the 32 drivers gambled on slicks - the highest on the grid being Ollie Jackson in 12th place - but most much further down and therefore with less to lose.
Early on a Safety Car was called, adding 5 laps to the race distance - giving the ‘slick’ runners a better chance of the track drying, albeit later on.
Up to lap 11 the cars on ‘wets’ were quicker…then Jake set a new fastest lap - almost a second faster than the race leader Tom Ingram, but the highest of the ‘dry’ runners was Jackson in 21st.
However the next few laps so the ‘switch’ - and the ‘dry’ runners start to make serious progress up the leader board.
Working as a pack, Moffat, Jackson, Butcher, Hill and now Proctor began to work there way to the front…by lap 16 they were up to 16th, lap 18 they were 10th, and by lap Proctor at the head f the pack was 5th….
A fierce battle between Proctor and Moffat saw contact, and then Hill chasing Proctor - who was on the faster ‘option’ tyre - the pair setting the fastest lap on the final tour, Hill finishing a career-best 2nd overall, and Winning the Independents Category…from 25th on the grid!
A number of ‘firsts’
First ever BTCC Podium - P2 Overall
Firstever Independent’s Class Win - and for the team.
Best team result - Hill P2 - Bushell P8
Best Jack Sears finisher
Fastest Lap - Independants
Race Three
On the warm-up lap, Aiden Moffat (who had stalled on the grid) was rushing to re-join his grid position and made contact with the right wheel, breaking the suspension and ending Jake’s race BEFORE the race had started!
Later Moffat was penalised for the incident
Donington Park - Rounds 4,5,6
Race One
An issue in practice meant time was lost, so a gamble on a set-up for qualifying was made.
A superb lap saw P10 with 5 minutes to go and no-one improving, when the session was stopped.
At the subsequent technical checks, the car failed the minimum ride-height check, meaning all lap times were removed, resulting in being forced to start at the back of the grid.
First ever BTCC Podium - P2 Overall
Firstever Independent’s Class Win - and for the team.
Best team result - Hill P2 - Bushell P8
Best Jack Sears finisher
Fastest Lap - Independants
Race Three
On the warm-up lap, Aiden Moffat (who had stalled on the grid) was rushing to re-join his grid position and made contact with the right wheel, breaking the suspension and ending Jake’s race BEFORE the race had started!
Later Moffat was penalised for the incident
Donington Park - Rounds 4,5,6
Race One
An issue in practice meant time was lost, so a gamble on a set-up for qualifying was made.
A superb lap saw P10 with 5 minutes to go and no-one improving, when the session was stopped.
At the subsequent technical checks, the car failed the minimum ride-height check, meaning all lap times were removed, resulting in being forced to start at the back of the grid.
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From 32nd place, a determined but measured drive resulted in an eventual finish of 17th overall.
Race Two A combination of running the slower ‘option’ tyre plus braking issues and contact from behind meant a frustrating result of 22nd overall. Race Three Changes to the car set-up, plus reverting to the ‘prime’ tyre and changing the whole braking system, meant that by lap 4 progress had been made from 22nd to 16th place. Some determined overtaking, and a major improvement in pace saw more progress and an eventual 10th overall, and 5th Independent driver. More importantly a visit to the Podium was had due to being the winning driver in the Jack Sears Trophy (for drivers who had not taken an overall podium finish up to the end of 2017)…completely unexpected…..AND for overtaking 28 cars over the three races, won the Dunlop #ForeverForward award for top overtaker….leading the standings in this series with 50 passes in 2018 so far! Highlights Winner - Jack Sears Trophy Winner - Dunlop #ForeverForward - Series leader after Donington |
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Thruxton - Rounds 7,8, 9
Qualifying - Difficult to get a balance hence P25. Race One - A determined drive saw a gain of five places - to end P20 - making up more places than anyone except jOSH Cook - a hugely satisfying drive in challenging conditions. Race Two - Again battling hard, delighted to have once again made progress to finish P18. Race Three - A superb start and some decisive overtaking saw progress up to P15 - and in the points - until late charges from Cammish and Butcher meant a final position of P17 - still making progress in every race. Highlights Progess in every race Dunlop #ForeverForward series leader Oulton Park - Rounds 10, 11, 12 Qualifying - A fiercely contested session saw the top 24 covered by a second! An eventual P21 was a season’s best qualifying so far - and best of the four Team HARD drivers. Race One - A gamble on set-up didn’t deliver - despite setting the fastest lap of all four Team HARD cars - was frustrated to finish an eventual P23. Race Two - As the car was pushed to the pitlane - it was clear that the differential had broken - hence frantic action from the crew - incredibly changing the ‘diff’ in time to start from the back of the grid. A blistering start and opening lap resulted in a remarkable 9 places gained - and more later on - resulting in a final position of P21… |
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Race Three - A major set-up change was made - but at the start a huge multi-car incident resulted in the race being stopped - fortunately all involved were unharmed - and a re-start some 35 minutes later.
Another strong start and determined opening lap saw Hill up to P13, then edging past Plato, Neal, Austin (who hit problems) and then a superb move to outbreak Proctor into the fast Old Hall bend and up to P10.
A final lap charge saw a bold move on Cole to move into P9 - but the positions reversed after the officials deemed the move too robust - but still leaving Hill delighted with a top-ten finish and crucially happy with his car.
Croft - Rounds 13,14,15
Despite a promising time set in free practice, chronic handling issues saw qualifying P25, a holed radiator forced retirement in race one, then major handling issues combined with high temperatures meant the car was the most uncompetitive ever. This combined with several issues off track, meant the decision was taken to part ways with Team HARD after Croft.
Silverstone Classic
Racing Richard Wheeler's Brisky Racing Lotus Elan 26R in the Pre 66 GT event, took class Pole Position and a remarkable 7th overall in a high-quality grid of 58 cars.
A storming opening set of laps saw Hill up to 4th overall, and a slick stop saw Hill up to 2nd and then take the lead from Ron Maydon late race.
Despite huge pressure from the charging AC Cobra and TVR Griffith, Hill held on to take overall Victory - the first ever by an Elan in this event!
Highlights
Best Qualifying of 2018
Leader of Dunlop #ForeverForward
More Points Scored
Another strong start and determined opening lap saw Hill up to P13, then edging past Plato, Neal, Austin (who hit problems) and then a superb move to outbreak Proctor into the fast Old Hall bend and up to P10.
A final lap charge saw a bold move on Cole to move into P9 - but the positions reversed after the officials deemed the move too robust - but still leaving Hill delighted with a top-ten finish and crucially happy with his car.
Croft - Rounds 13,14,15
Despite a promising time set in free practice, chronic handling issues saw qualifying P25, a holed radiator forced retirement in race one, then major handling issues combined with high temperatures meant the car was the most uncompetitive ever. This combined with several issues off track, meant the decision was taken to part ways with Team HARD after Croft.
Silverstone Classic
Racing Richard Wheeler's Brisky Racing Lotus Elan 26R in the Pre 66 GT event, took class Pole Position and a remarkable 7th overall in a high-quality grid of 58 cars.
A storming opening set of laps saw Hill up to 4th overall, and a slick stop saw Hill up to 2nd and then take the lead from Ron Maydon late race.
Despite huge pressure from the charging AC Cobra and TVR Griffith, Hill held on to take overall Victory - the first ever by an Elan in this event!
Highlights
Best Qualifying of 2018
Leader of Dunlop #ForeverForward
More Points Scored
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Since starting racing at 14 years-old in Ginetta Junior, has competed in a total of 170 races up to the end of 2017
25 Wins - 56 Podiums - 26 Pole Positions - 26 Fastest Laps 
2017
Second full-season in the BTCC - again with Team HARD - this time with the VW CC.
Qualified in the top-ten on five occasions - with a best of 5th at Silverstone - took points in 11 races - fastest lap at Silverstone (Independents Category) and scored points in all three races at Oulton Park and Snetterton - with a highest finish of 6th at Snetterton. Finished 3rd in the 2017 Dunlop ‘Forever Forward’ category - for most places gained over a race weekend Also raced with Richard Wheeler in Brisky Racing’s Ford Fiesta in the CSCC Series - taking Pole Position in all four events entered - winning at Thruxton and twice at Brands Hatch - setting fastest lap in every race entered. CSCC Meeting - Brands Hatch - 11th November - Brisky Racing Sharing with Brisky Racing’s Richard Wheeler, Hill took Pole Position by 1.3 seconds in the CSCC Swinging Sixties event in Richard’s 1970 Lotus Elan run by JDR, and then took Pole in the CSCC Tin Tops in the Brisky Racing Ford Fiesta, this time by just over a second. Wheeler started the Elan and was leading when oil dropped in the previous race saw the yellow Lotus skate off the track and into retirement. Shaking off the disappointment of race one, Wheeler took an understandably cautious approach to the opening CSCC Tin Tops race in the Fiesta, but quickly charged back through the pack, taking the lead in a superb move before handing over to BTCC Pro Hill. Taking a 30 second success penalty as a result of winning at Thruxton together earlier in the year, Hill calmly waited for the clock to tick by, before charging back into action now in 16th place and with only 18 minutes remaining. However Hill charged past car after car, taking the lead and eventually winning by over 15 seconds, and breaking the lap record in the process. Later on Hill and Wheeler took on the ‘Into the Night’ race….and despite a few early dramas for Wheeler, saw the pair win again, this time by over a lap and with a fastest lap over a second fastest than anyone, Hill lapping the whole field and dominating the race. 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - TAG Racing with Team HARD VW Passat CC Brands Hatch GP Mixed weather conditions meant unpredictable qualifying, ultimately resulting in P8 on the grid - the fifth time in ten qualifying sessions a top-ten result was achieved …. Race one saw a damp track and a dilemma as to whether to choose slick tyres or wets….wets were chosen….and were the wrong decision…resulting in lap times 6 seconds off the slicks…and a drive through penalty for rolling at the start merely made the situation worse. Starting 26th, a charging drive resulted in P16 in race one. Race three saw more progress on a slippery circuit, eventually resulting in a hard-fought P10. Silverstone Third fastest in practice, qualified a career-best P5 - just 0.184 off Pole Position….the team’s best 2017 performance in qualifying. A great start and a decisive move meant was running a career-best P3 at the end of lap one….then a split power steering hose resulted in instant retirement…. Starting P29 a charging drive resulted in P16…despite being pushed wide by Plato late on…. Up to P12 early on, contact ahead on lap 3 between Cook and Plato resulted in a puncture….after a quick stop to replace the tyre set the fastest lap of the Independent Drivers….then damage from the incident on lap 3 resulted in overheating and retirement. Rockingham The Penalty from Knockhill resulted in an enforced start from the back of the grid. Fighting forwards Hill made progress - eventually ending up P24 in race one. Race Two and on the ‘Option’ tyre saw more progress and a finish of P17. An up and down race saw some fighting moves and eventually P16. After the weekend the team identified an issue with the car’s Differential - a problem that had affected the car since Snetterton - so were confident the car should be faster next time out. Knockhill On a track that was drying by the lap, was consistently in the top-six until being blocked late on and qualifying a hard-earned P16. Problems with the differential meant the tyres were ‘gone’ early on and a frustrating P21 in race one. Set-up changes and a battling opening few laps saw progress up to P14 …then driveshaft failure resulted in retirement…. Charging through, was soon in the points until a safety car meant contact from behind pushed Hill back out of the top-fifteen and contact late on with Proctor resulted in a penalty from the stewards. Snetterton Fastest in testing in the rain on day two having finished just behind Jack Goff in P2 on day one. Qualified P11 - battled through to P6 - held off Colin Turkington to take a season-best P6 in race one! Up to P4 on lap one of race two but contact with Matt Neal resulted in damaged suspension, being pushed off - despite 33kgs success ballast and the ‘option’ tyre a fighting drive resulted in P11. Charging past Pole-Man Jack Goff in a decisive manouver on lap two, Hill gradually worked forward, eventually taking a hard-fought P7….career best overall points in BTCC so far. Croft - June 10/11th Heavy rain in practice and then into qualifying meant no real data acquired. In qualifying an 11 car accident resulted in the session being stopped after 8 minutes - Jake was P18 - as Luke Davenport, Jeff Smith and Aron Taylor-Smith were injured. Due to the three drivers being unable to start, Jake would start P16 for race one. Race One - A solid opening lap saw P14, a huge battle with Ollie Jackson, Jason Plato and Rob Austin saw bruising contact and ultimately a P13 finish - this became P12 when Jackson was penalised for cutting the chicane. Hence Jake continued his record of scoring points at every BTCC meeting in 2017 thus far. Race Two - A superb opening lap saw places gained on Plato, Austin and problems for Chilton and Ingram meaning P8 at the end of lap one. A charging Plato passed early on then was gaining on Jackson to challenge for the lead of the Independant’s Category. However Austin lunged from too far back and the contact broke the rear suspension putting him out. Race Three - Forced to start P25 some fierce battles with Ingram, Goff, Price and Simpson saw progress made to an eventual P19. THRUXTON - 20th/21st May 3rd and 7th fastest in testing… 12th in both Practice Sessions Fuel Pump failure in qualifying meant 24th on the grid. Race One - A remarkable first two laps saw progress to 17th place and challenging Chilton and Cook for 15th…contact at the ‘Complex’ with Cook resulted in retirement and starting at the back of the grid for race two. A red flag after Lloyd’s accident meant a huge delay and a significantly shortened race, hence P21 Starting 21st a battling drive resulted in P15 - and another drive into the points - the only points scored by Team HARD drivers all weekend. OULTON PARK - 6th/7th May Mixed weather conditions meant very little data was collected, and qualifying was an unknown quantity. In a very tight session, managed to take another top-ten qualifying position with P10, highest of Team HARD drivers. Race One, a solid drive on the ‘Option’ tyres saw challenges to Cook, and ultimately a P10 finish - first ‘race one’ finish of the season and more all-important points. Race Two - another quick and consistent drive resulted in P9, just ahead of team-mate Mike Epps. Race Three - Starting P9 just behind Mat Jackson. Jackson’s car was leaking oil on the grid, hence despite a superb getaway, the resulting lack of traction on Jackson’s oil meant huge wheelspin and a loss of two positions to Epps and Plato. Battling with double champion Turkington’s factory BMW and then Taylor-Smith in the factory MG, a late issue for Taylor-Smith saw Hill take P9 - and three top-ten finishes for the first time in his BTCC career. A combination of a top-ten qualifying and three top-ten finishes meant a career-best weekend. Donington Park - 15/16th April 2017 Free Practice - 3rd and 2nd in the two sessions Qualified a career-best P6 …..however post-qualifying checks saw the rear-wing 2 degrees outside the permitted settings - this meant all of his times were disallowed meaning he would start 32nd (last) for race one. Race One - Was hit on the opening lap and forced to retire with broken suspension Race Two - Made huge progress from last to 17th when damage caused the car to go into ‘limp’ mode and cross the line at walking pace, and in 26th place. Race Three - Rain meant the race was initially stopped, on re-starting a superb display of car control saw Hill take points in 11th place…his second points-scoring finish of the season. CSCC Tin Tops - Thruxton - 22nd April - Brisky Racing Ford Fiesta ST Jake raced with one of his sponsors, Richard Wheeler, at Thruxton on 22nd April in the CSCC Tin Tops series. In a 42 car grid and in one of the cars in the smaller classes - Jake took the Brisky Racing Fiesta ST to Pole Position by almost a second, qualifying ahead of former BTCC race winner and British GT Champion Mike Jordan - father of one of Jake’s BTCC rivals Andrew Jordan. Wheeler started the race and after a cautious start - mindful of not damaging the Fiesta’s driveshafts and transmission - the relative rookie took the lead and demonstrated superb car control and race-craft to bring the No.53 machine into the pits in the lead, and hand over to Hill after 11 laps of action. Instantly Hill began to work his way through the field, and within three laps was leading and edging away from the field. Putting in countless fast laps - including setting a new lap record - Hill looked completely in command when with just a lap to go the Fiesta began to misfire due to lack of fuel! Hill’s 45 second lead looked in jeopardy but using all of his skill and experience he nursed the car around the final lap, eventually taking a deserved Win by over 30 seconds from Jordan and Ainge’s Honda Integra. “The car is incredible, but credit must go to Richard for doing an amazing job at the start and handing the car over to me in the lead. The JDR guys have done an awesome job in preparing the car, it was a little lairy but huge fun to drive. Bit of a scare late on with low fuel, but I am incredibly pleased to have taken the Win, my first win in a while, and just what I need with the next BTCC race here in a couple of weeks!” smiled Hill. Brands Hatch Indy - 1/2 April 2017 Qualified P9 (6th in Independent Class) - Best ever in BTCC Round one - ran P8 - contact with Collard resulted in damaged suspension, retirement and was classified P28 Round two - running the ‘option’ soft tyre - progressed from P28 to finish P19. Round three - started P19 - came through to finish P10 - P4 in Independents Class - and is currently P9 in the Independents Championship - was fifth fastest lap in race three. 2016Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - RCIB Insurance Racing with Team HARD Toyota Avensis
Brands Hatch
Was fastest in practice in the wet …fuel surge issues meant only 20th on the grid. Race One - passed Abbot, Simpson, Ollie Jackson, Epps and Depper and took a hard-fought 15th and more points - despite running on the unfavoured ’soft’ option tyres. Race Two - Fought with Goff, Collard and Jeff Smith - moving up to 11th after Austin hit problems then was hit by Smith and pushed wide (Smith was given a verbal warning) and finished 12th. Race Three - Moved ahead of Jeff Smith then passed both Turkington and Plato’s Subaru Levorg’s….running between Collard and Plato caught Collard on the last lap and as he made a small mistake at the final corner of the final lap of the season drew alongside and snatched 8th position by 0.095 secs….!….Taking points in all three races… Silverstone Ran in the top six in practice - qualified 11th Race one - passed Matt Neal, Aron Smith late on and finished 5th - a career best Race two - made progress and passed Rob Austin and was running a highest-ever 4th! Late on was bumped by the factory Subaru’s of Turkington and Plato and also the factory BMW of Collard plus Motorbase’s Mat Jackson. Was running ahead of Gordon Shedden in 8th position and picked up a puncture and was forced to stop late on, finishing a frustrated 27th. Had he stayed in 8th he would have been on Pole Position for race three …. Race three started 27th and battled through to take more points and finish a hard-earned 14th. WAS VOTED ‘HiQ DRIVER OF THE DAY’ for Silverstone by the fans for his pace and race craft Rockingham Problems with fuel starvation meant the car had to be run with an additional 20kgs of fuel so the car car was over weight. Qualified P19 in torrential rain. Race one - fought through to P11 having passed Matt Neal and set fourth fastest lap before a broken component caused the car to overheat and force retirement Race two - Started 31st and last and despite mid-race contact causing the car to cut out, fought past Howard, Lines, Martin and Smith to take P16 Race three - worked his way past Jordan, Tordoff, Austin, Sutton and Newsham and almost passed Morgan on the final lap to take points for P8 Knockhill Qualified P19 - Just 0.3 off of P6 - the whole grid was covered by less than 1 second in qualifying Race one - progressed to P16 - Battle with Rob Collard passing and re=passing several times Race two - Good battle with Ingram and Cook ended up taking points in P13 Race three - Started strongly and again battle with Austin, Welch and Depper to take the final point in P15 Snetterton Qualified P17 Race one worked from P17 to P12 Race two an eventful race saw him move up several places but also be caught by championship contenders hence net result P12 Race three a fight with Tom Ingram meant P11 Scored points in all three races Croft Qualified P11 - Fastest Toyota Race One - made up four places at the start, passed Mat Jackson on lap 4, headed home Rob Collard to finish a career-best 6th and second Independent Driver, also set 6th fastest lap. Race Two - 33kgs ballast plus contact from several drivers meant P20 Race Three - Prior to start of race wheels were not fitted before the 3 minute to go board was shown on the grid, so given a 30 second stop-go penalty. Fought back from last to P20, passing James Cole at the last corner of the last lap. Oulton Park - Qualified P17 Race one finished P13 after a close fight with Jack Goff Race two - Good start but was hit by Rob Austin at the Island Hairpin at race one (Austin received 2 Penalty Points on his licence for the incident)…forced to pit with a damaged exhaust…lost two laps as a result…finished P26 Race three - Started P26…..Was P18 by the end of lap one! Gradually made progress - lapped as the 8th fastest driver (3rd Fastest Independent Driver)…..With five laps to go was 6.5 seconds behind P3 driver Ingram… Ultimately crossed the line a career-best P9…(3rd placed Independent Driver)….just 0.9 seconds behind P3 driver (Plato) Winner of Dunlop #ForeverForward Award for the driver who made up the most places from his grid start (21 over three races) Thruxton - Qualified P15. Race One worked his way up to 9th position then Matt Neal caused a multi-car accident, resulting in serious damage but still finished in the points in 10th place - Jake’s best-ever finish in BTCC. Race Two - team worked hard to repair the car, only just completing it in time for race two. Was forced wide early in the race and the lack of set-up meant he tyres worked too hard hence finished P17 Race Three - Set-up change meant an unbalanced car but still scored points in 13th place. Donington Park - Qualified 10th overall and 4th Fastest Independent driver. Race One -Immediately up to P8 having passed Matt Neal and Jack Goff but was hit at turn one, picked up a puncture and finished 26th after a pit stop. Race Two - Had progressed up to P16 from P26 on the grid and was hit and forced to retire with steering damage. Race Three - Involved in first corner incident and forced to retire. Brands Hatch Indy - Qualified 19th - Finished 13th race one. Retired from race two due to a faulty fuel pressure sensor. Race Three - spun off by Tom Ingram (who received 3 penalty points for the incident). 
Classic Sports Car Club Mintex Classic K Race - One Hour, Two Driver race - Silverstone National
Bill Rawles Classic Cars 1962 Austin Healey 3000 Mk2 sharing with Jack Rawles
Qualified 4th overall and 2nd in class in a field of 31 cars sharing with Jack Rawles (car qualified by Jack) Jack was leading the class by over 12 seconds after 15 minutes when forced to pit with loose wheel Handed over to Jake with 35 minutes remaining, dropped to 18th overall after slow stop due to loose wheel again Charged through to 7th overall and 3rd in class 
2015Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - AmD Tuning Audi S3 - Brands Hatch GP - 3 races
First sat in the car on Saturday morning only having got the drive two days earlier
Team experimented with set-up, mistake in FP1 lost track time, improvement in FP2 and on for a top 15 qualifying until team mate spun in front costing time hence 23rd Race one raced hard to 18th and then battled past Josh Cook, Mike Bushell and Alain Menu and Gordon Shedden and into the points until final lap incident passing Jeff Smith meant P19 Final race was forced wide at Druids and spun into a stationary car retiring - every session the car was changing and improving so Matt James from Motorsport News commented on ‘great application and natural speed, only misfortune prevented some great results’ Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup - British GP Silverstone - In2 Racing - 1 Race
First time in a Carerra Cup car since October 2015
Qualified P14 - Fastest Rookie - just 0.15 secs behind 2015 Carerra Cup GB Champion Dan Cammish and ahead of 2014 French champ Come Ledogar and 2014 British Champ Josh Webster Lost ground at the start but recovered to battle with Webster-Cammish-Sharp until Webster spun and was forced to drive off track losing time - recovered to slice past Sharp and Frommenwiler into Becketts, before Frommenwiler took them both out - however recovered from 23rd to 16th Avon Tyres British GT Championship - AmD Tuning Porsche 997 - GT4 Category (Part season - sharing with Graham Coomes) - 5 races
Fastest in free practice at Rockingham and Donington
Came from 9th to the lead the race at Silverstone Came from 11th to 4th at Brands GP when hit by a rival and forced to retire Came from last on the grid after problems in qualifying to finish 3rd at Spa-Francorchamps Tested for Villorba Corse at Paul Ricard in Ferrari 458GT3 - new track, team and car, was fastest rookie ahead of Euro F3 star John Bryant Meisner in the same car 2014Porsche Carerra Cup Great Britain - In2 Racing - 4 Races
Brands Indy - Qualified 4th - 3rd in Pro Class race one, 2nd in race two ahead of Josh Webster
Brands GP - qualifying accident meant starting from the back of the grid for both races - race one worked up to 8th overall, race two in damp conditions on slick tyres came through from last to finish 3rd behind Webster and Meadows |
Atom Cup - 4 Races
Coaching Martin James was asked at Rockingham to stand in after free practice. Despite never having driven the car qualified on Pole for both races, set the lap record, Won race one then started 6th on the reverse grid for race two and also Won.
Also stood in at Cadwell Park - never raced there before - Won both races. Tested for AmD Tuning at Snetterton in their BTCC Ford Focus 2013Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - Exocet Racing RAR Audi A4 NGTC - Brands Hatch GP - 3 races
Last minute call to step in first time in an NGTC spec BTCC car
Free practice one ran second fastest overall…ended 6th, ahead of team leader Austin. Qualified 10th - ahead of Austin, Mat Jackson, Dave Newsham…best the car had ever qualified Heavy Rain all day - Race one running tenth then was hit and spun off but recovered to score points - scored points in all three races, the first time that car had achieved that - finished ahead of team leader Rob Austin in every race Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - Motorbase Performance - Croft - Ford Focus S2000 - Jack Sears Trophy - 3 races
Debut in BTCC covering for Liam Griffin - fastest in free practice - qualified second in class
Race one - fought passed Leah Wood - fastest lap - Won Jack Sears Trophy Race two finished a close third and was leading in race three in the rain and was taken out 2012Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup - Ginetta G55 - Tollbar Racing - 18 races
Started the season at Oulton Park, so missed the first nine races
Victory at Snetterton - six further podium finishes and three front row starts Chosen by the BRDC Rising Stars to test for Mercedes-Benz supported Heico Motorsport in their Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 at Portico New to the circuit and car, was fastest of all three drivers testing and lapped within 0.9 seconds of Mercedes development driver and 5 time DTM Champion Bernd Schneider 2011Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup - Ginetta G50 - Optimum and Tollbar Racing - 27 races
First half of the season with Optimum, then with Tollbar Racing
4 Wins, 4 Pole Positions, 4 Fastest Laps, 17 Podiums from 27 races- youngest driver on the grid - fastest in testing in five of ten outings - on Pole at Brands GP by 0.8 seconds - 4th overall Shook down AmD Tuning’s VW Golf GTi BTCC car - first ever drive in a BTCC car 2010Ginetta Junior - Ginetta G40 - Tollbar Racing - 20 races
Last minute deal to race with Tollbar so only one day’s testing prior to opening round at Thruxton
Qualified on Pole for both races, Won race two with fastest lap, championship leader Went on to win 10 of 20 races, 8 Pole Positions, 9 Fastest Laps,13 Podiums fastest in testing 6 times from 10 meetings Series Runner-Up - was leading the championship but docked 42 points for a collision at Brands Hatch in race three….and lost the championship by 40 points Invited to join the BRDC Rising Stars programme - proud to still be part of this prestigious programme in 2016 Tested for Manor Competition in Formula Renault UK at Brands Hatch in December alongside BARC Formula Renault Champion Alice Powell and future British F3 Champion, GP2 Driver and F1 Test driver Jordan King….on a slippery circuit in December was 0.2 from Alice and 0.3 from Jordan…and equalled the time set by future IndyCar driverJack Hawksworth… 2009Ginetta Junior - Ginetta G20 - Tollbar Racing - 12 races
Raced in first five meetings, then forced to miss the next four meetings due to lack of budget, returned for final race weekend at Brands Hatch GP
Qualified on the front row of the grid in 11 of 12 races Led every race Took three podiums, and first ever win at Croft in June Returned after missing four months and eight races to Brands Hatch. Fastest in testing - Won both races - Fastest Lap in race two 3 Wins, 6 Podiums 5 Pole Positions, 5 Fastest Laps 2008Ginetta Junior Winterseries - Ginetta G20 - Tollbar Racing - 4 races
Learned to drive a car in his Dad’s 1.2 Renault Clio at the local trading estate!
Had a 20 minute session at Elvington in a Ginetta Junior - first time in a racing car Had one day’s testing at Mallory Park First race at Snetterton in November, qualified 8th overall, finished 9th and 7th Second race weekend at Rockingham, qualified 10th, finished 6th in race one….in the wet in race two went into the lead, finishing 3rd in second ever race weekend Karting - Total 15 race meetings
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None of this would have been possible without the support of some fantastic people, helping Jake with technical support, advice, opportunities and most importantly all-important funding…
“I have been so fortunate to have had some fabulous support since I started, without which I simply wouldn’t have been able to race once, let alone over 100 times, and in series such as BTCC, British GT, Porsche Supercup and more. I have been proud to be part of the BRDC Rising Stars programme every season since 2010, and have some fantastic offers to race both in the UK and Internationally into 2016 - but whilst the deals are really strong, there is still funding required.
So we are working constantly to seek new partners to join us on this exciting journey, so if you or anyone in your circle of contacts would be interested in finding out more, please get in touch”
Jake
So we are working constantly to seek new partners to join us on this exciting journey, so if you or anyone in your circle of contacts would be interested in finding out more, please get in touch”
Jake