Jake Hill says his aiming for his ‘biggest step forward yet’ as he heads into his fourth full season in the British Touring Car Championship in 2020, after moving to MB Motorsport in a Honda Civic.
Hill had his best-ever season in 2019 when he raced with AmD tuning-affiliated Trade Price Cars in an Audi S3, culminating in a maiden win in the reverse-grid Knockhill race and the 26-year-old ending the season 15th overall in the drivers’ championship.
Now at the wheel of one of MB Motorsport’s proven title-winning Honda Civics, Hill has set his sights high for 2020.
“Last year was a fantastic one for me and I owe a big thanks to the team at Trade Price Cars and everyone who supported me,” said Hill.
“Up until then, I felt like I had only had the opportunity to show glimpses of what I could do behind the wheel of a BTCC car.
“Last year gave me a consistent platform to show what I could do, and I think the benefit of that was clear to see.
“I’ve said it before though – this year is different for me. I’ve got proven championship-winning machinery underneath me and now is the time for me to take that next step in my BTCC career.
“I’ve got to go from the guy who everyone talks up as one of the grid’s promising youngsters to a proven and consistent contender, fighting it out at the front of the field each week.”
Hill performed well in official BTCC pre-season testing at Silverstone back in March when he posted the fastest time in the morning and the second fastest time in the afternoon, whilst Hill was also fourth fastest in the two-day test at Snetterton earlier this month.
“As with any season, there’ll be some surprises and probably even more so with the current situation, but we’ve got to take confidence from our preparation and the strength of our pre-season running.
“Not that that means we can stand still; we’re still looking for more every day and you really have to in the BTCC otherwise you end up going backwards pretty quickly.
“You never really know what anyone else is up to in testing so you can’t read too much into the shadow boxing of it all.
“We know we are in a good place, but race weekend is a completely different beast and I know I am going to have to be really on it against an incredibly strong grid this year.
“I feel like every year I’ve been in the BTCC, we’ve taken a step forward and this year has to be our biggest yet.
“I’m stepping into big shoes in terms of the Independent Team’s and Drivers’ Champions and there are plenty who are looking really strong this year.
“I’m confident and raring to go and feel like I have everything in me and around me to make this year the most memorable yet.”