ROKiT MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill took his and the team’s second podium result of the season in tricky, damp conditions at Brands Hatch Indy.
In stark comparison to the sweltering conditions seen on qualifying day on Saturday, the weather on Sunday was decidedly more mixed - with dark clouds brewing overhead and the heavens opening just minutes before the start of the first race.
Forcing everyone into a rethink, the majority opted to start on the wet Goodyear tyres. Launching from the front row of the grid, driver Jake Hill entered the first corner side-by-side with WSR stablemate Colin Turkington - their pair of BMW 330e M Sport machines mere millimetres apart.
As the race wore on, tyre management became the main focus of the morning as those on wet tyres began to toil as the racing line dried. A small error from Jake at Clearways allowed the Honda of Josh Cook to sneak through before a trip through the gravel relegated the Brit to fourth place at the chequered flag.
A lightning start from fourth place on the grid in race two saw Jake climb into second place before even reaching Paddock Hill Bend, which placed him on the rear bumper of Cook.
Locked in battle, Jake ramped up on the pressure on the Honda throughout the race - maintaining a gap of around three tenths of a second with Dan Cammish also honing in on the action.
After an enthralling cat and mouse chase, too much kerb at Druids with two laps to go sent Jake into a spin - dropping him down the order to seventh place as the race reached its conclusion.
Lining up in sixth place for the final race of the day, a spirited Jake wasted little time in making his way to the podium places - making a sensational getaway from the line to surge past Lloyd and Gamble before the first corner. With his BMW finely dialled in, a number of decisive moves, including launching around the outside of Chilton and Thompson, soon brought him up to second place. Bunched back together following a late race safety car, Jake followed Turkington line astern to the finish to record his 20th career BTCC podium.
“It's great to be on the podium in the final race,” Jake said. “My ROKiT MB Motorsport BMW was fantastic in the last race. We've been quick all day and I'm glad that race was mistake free this time. I learnt my lesson and we've come home with a podium and a decent haul of points today and that will propel us forward to Thruxton later in the month.”
Mark Blundell, Sporting Director of ROKiT MB Motorsport added:
“The traditional British weather played its hand this weekend with scorching sunshine on Saturday followed by damp and drizzle on Sunday. However, that makes for some very exciting racing and that’s what we saw today. Mixed conditions can often throw up surprises and the team did well to manage the conditions. Two podiums in the first two weekends is a solid start for the team and we’ll be aiming for more at Thruxton.”
Leaving Brands Hatch, Jake moves up to fourth place in the championship standings with 69 points whilst ROKiT MB Motorsport place seventh in the Teams Championship. The championship resumes at Thruxton in Hampshire on the weekend of 28-29 May.
