Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport collected more silverware as Jake Hill drove superbly to score two podium finishes at Donington Park to remain 3rd in the Drivers' Championship.
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and Jake Hill were back in action for round eight of the championship as the series returned to the GP configuration of Donington Park for the first time since 2002.
Saturday marked a tricky day for Jake and the team as they struggled with pace and brake locking throughout the day, but managed to qualify in sixth place. After a penalty from Knockhill was applied, Jake lined the grid in his WSR-run BMW 330e M Sport for the opening race on Sunday in P9.
Wet conditions set the scene for race one at Donington Park, and from the off Jake was locked in a fierce middle-field battle as he looked to progress through the pack. Moving forward at the start and into 8th place, Jake then lost ground after contact from a rival, dropping to 11th place. However, Jake soon after delivered an overtaking masterclass as he carved his way up the order.
The quickest man on track, Jake progressed from 10th place through to 3rd place passing eight cars in ten laps, and was soon on the tail of reigning champion Tom Ingram. Battling until the final corner, Jake was on the outside coming out of the final hairpin, door-to-door with Ingram, when he soon found himself pushed onto the grass.
Crossing the finishing line 3rd, Jake was later promoted to 2nd place as Ingram picked up a penalty for the final corner incident. The result meant that Jake collected his 40th career podium in the British Touring Car Championship.
Making a superb getaway in race two, Jake drew alongside Sutton as they braked for Redgate, however, Ingram seized the opportunity to cut back inside and run side by side down to the Old Hairpin and edge past into second place, before quickly demoting Sutton and taking the lead.
This saw Jake now charging after the championship leader and as the race unfolded, Jake made several attempts to pass, drawing almost alongside on the final lap before Sutton squeezed across Jake’s nose and forced him to back out of the move, Jake ultimately taking home another well-earned podium, his 10th of the season.
For the final race of the day, the reverse grid draw saw the top 12 finishers reversed - with Jake handed a tenth-place starting finish for race three.
In another dramatic BTCC race, Jake got a good start off the line and found himself door-to-door with stablemate Colin Turkington throughout the opening lap! Jake eventually sealed the move on the entry to the Esses to put himself into ninth place.
With the top four in the championship all running together, Jake led the quartet of drivers before the drama began on the sixth lap. As the trail of cars ahead ran through the esses, Morgan clipped the tyre barrier and moved it onto the racing line, and Jake, a few cars back in the train was unsighted and clattered into the tyres, tearing off the front wing, headlamp and part of the bumper.
Remarkably he only lost one place to team-mate Turkington, but battled back past the four-time champion and began pressuring Rowbottom until he also hit the tyres at the chicane, forcing Jake to take evasive action but losing places to Sutton, Ingram and Turkington.
Somehow Jake managed to battle his tattered Laser Tools MB Motorsport BMW home to a very hard-fought P8, his 22nd points-scoring finish of the season
Jake now leaves Donington Park remaining 3rd in the Drivers’ Championship twenty points behind reigning champion Ingram, and 62 behind leader Sutton. The team returns to action at Silverstone in three weeks' time for the penultimate round of the season.
“Double podium at Donington! Really happy with how race day went, especially after struggling on Saturday with the car. We managed to get a P2 in race 1, and a P3 in race 2, followed by a P8 in reverse grid race 3. Some really enjoyable racing this weekend and a huge credit goes to everyone at Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, especially my engineer Craig Porley.
The team worked wonders to change the car from Saturday to Sunday and wow what a difference! We now head to Silverstone and I have always enjoyed racing there in the past so let's see what we can grab there. Huge thank you as always to everyone for all the support." - Jake Hill
“It was a weekend of ups and downs for us but a huge credit to Jake and the team for their efforts at Donington Park. Saturday was a tough day for the team, with a new configuration, red flag interrupted practice sessions, and tricky conditions - it was difficult for the team to find the sweet spot. Jake did a great job to secure P6 in qualifying but with the penalty from Knockhill, Sunday was going to be a big challenge!
I'm extremely proud of the work the team put in on the car to get it just right for Jake to do what he does best. Some fantastic race craft on Sunday rewarded Jake and the team with two trips to the podium and we now head to Silverstone still 3rd in the standings and hunting down 2nd.
A huge thank you to all of our partners and supporters this weekend, and of course WSR for their great work throughout the weekend. ” - Mark Blundell
