Current British Touring Car Championship star Jake Hill was just five years old when he watched Laurent Aiello win the BTCC title in 1999, but Hill himself became a Super Touring winner by securing a clean sweep at the inaugural Super Touring Power meeting.
The 20-car Super Tourers entry, including five machines from New Zealand, contested a pair of races on both of Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix and Indy layouts, with Hill, at the wheel of Richard Wheeler’s ex-Aiello Nissan Primera, pipped to Saturday pole by Stewart Whyte’s ex-Tom Kristensen Honda Accord.
But the eight-time BTCC race winner led from the rolling start and was barely headed for the rest of the weekend, although Whyte came closest to usurping him. The former SEAT Cupra racer exerted pressure in the opener but lost time in traffic, before his lower tyre pressure strategy in the rematch was hindered by a safety car, as Hill nursed a gearbox glitch.
OPINION: Why Super Touring Power should become a regular highlight
Second again in race three, Whyte jumped Hill at the start of the finale but, as Hill threatened to make a move at McLaren, the Honda’s back end snapped and spat Whyte into the gravel.
Hill held off Jason Hughes (Vauxhall Vectra) and period star Anthony Reid (1998 Primera) to complete his quartet. “It’s a real privilege to be here,” Hill enthused. While Reid battled electrical gremlins across the weekend, Hughes completed the podium in the first and third races. Surprise package James Kellett, the Porsche Carrera Cup racer in Allan Scott’s 1995 Mazda 323, scored a GP circuit podium after qualifying fourth fastest.
Multiple Bathurst 1000 winners Steven Richards (Volvo S40) and Greg Murphy (ex-Matt Neal Nissan Primera) enjoyed the challenging GP circuit on their Brands debuts. Richards claimed a fourth position on each layout while Murphy’s best was sixth after battling myriad issues in an ill-handling car. Fellow GP circuit novice Wheeler thrived on the more familiar short track, charging from ninth to fourth in Sunday’s opener before spinning into the gravel later on.
Source: Autosport