Jake Hill confident of good weekend despite practice off

BTCC returnee Jake Hill says he’s confident of having a good weekend at Brands Hatch despite having his early running curtailed by an off in first free practice.

BRDC Rising Star Hill, who is replacing Nicolas Hamilton in the AmD Tuning Audi S3 this weekend, went off into the barriers on the exit of Graham Hill Bend early in the session.

Despite the setback, Hill says he was able to get to grips with the Audi and is optimistic about his chances on a track where he starred for Rob Austin Racing in 2013.

“It’s lovely to be back. Touring cars is the place to be in British motorsport and I’m loving every minute of it, but I just messed up a little bit in FP1,” said Hill to TouringCarTimes.

“I dropped a wheel on the grass and it threw me into the barriers. It’s not ideal at all but the good thing is the car’s not that hurt and we can go into FP2 and start again. I won’t be making that mistake again!

“It’s not that hurt and we can carry on with the programme. It was a square hit, a head-on shunt into the side of the barrier. But everyone makes mistakes and I’m only human!”

Asked if he was able to get a good read on the car, Hill added: “Yes, 100 per cent. We were struggling for rear tyre temperature which is partly to blame for me going off. The car feels good and I’m certain we will still be able to have a very good weekend.”