Jake Hill: King of the Hill
- therookiereporters
- Aug 23
- 2 min read
Just two weeks after being badly ill with labyrinthitis, Jake Hill, the reigning British Touring Car Champion, showed a stunning display of resilience by winning twice at Knockhill.
Recovering from illness
You’d expect someone coming back from illness to be somewhat slower than they were before, but I would argue Hill’s performance was just the opposite.
How did Hill do?
Well, Hill didn’t just finish inside the top ten, or the top five, or even the lower steps of the podium. He won. And even then, he did not win once, but twice.
In the first race, he showed why he was the reigning British Touring Car Champion. He took the lead from pole-sitter Charles Rainford and dominated, pure and simple. Even when there was a Safety Car, he restarted the race perfectly and took an inspiring victory.
Race two was also impressive. On the slower medium tyres, Hill displayed how good he truly was at Knockhill. The best way to determine a driver’s true ability, they say, is to put them in a situation in which they face adversity. Hill faced that adversity and used it as motivation. He finished in the top five and for the final race of the weekend, he would be starting in second behind Daryl DeLeon.
DeLeon didn’t get a great start, and Hill capitalised on that. He jumped ahead of him and dominated. He won by some distance from the two NAPA cars of championship protagonist Ashley Sutton and Dan Cammish, and Sutton’s title rival, Tom Ingram. It was a true performance that demonstrated his ability behind the wheel.
Overall thoughts
This performance was a joy to watch and I cannot wait to see Hill when he gets back to full fitness.
Whilst he is fifth in the standings and out of championship contention officially, he moved up from seventh with these performances and, if he can continue this sort of form into 2026, he could be a title contender against two drivers at the height of their powers in Sutton and Ingram and have a crack at winning his second British Touring Car title.
Article written by Liam Ploetner
