Home hero clinches maiden title at Brands Hatch
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill won a maiden Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Drivers’ title after a breathtaking and unforgettable final day of racing at Brands Hatch (6 October).
Hill came into the weekend level on points at the top of the table with rival Tom Ingram, and the pair were separated by just one point after the first two races around the legendary 2.43-mile Grand Prix circuit.
BMW star Hill gained the early advantage with victory in the opener, whilst Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS’ Ingram remained within five points of the championship summit after completing the podium.
The pendulum swung back towards Ingram during the second encounter, as the 2022 champ won from Hill and his WSR stablemate Colin Turkington.
Incredibly, it would come down to one race, a one-point gap and ultimately one champion.
Hill clinched the crown in the only way he knows, with a top-class clinical drive, as he passed Ingram on-track to triumph in front of a highly charged and passionate home crowd.
The performances of Hill and team-mate Turkington throughout the weekend also helped BMW clinch the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ title – a record tenth time that the Bavarian marque has won the honour in the BTCC.
NAPA Racing UK became Teams’ champions for the third successive season – celebrated in style following Ashley Sutton’s win in the finale.
Árón Taylor-Smith (Independent Drivers’ Champion), Mikey Doble (Jack Sears Trophy winner) and Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing (Independent Teams’ Champions) also enjoyed their own trophy hat-trick to cap off a brilliant campaign.
The BTCC returns in 2025 with the season getting underway at Donington Park in April.
Hill wins as Turkington plays rear gunner
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport's Hill claimed his eighth victory of the season in a dramatic opening contest.
The title showdown kicked off in frenetic fashion on the opening lap with no fewer than three of the championship contenders tangling at Druids.
Ingram's Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai bogged down off the line and immediately had the NAPA Racing UK Ford of Sutton up the inside. Josh Cook tried to follow suit on the entry to Druids but the LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ Toyota slid luridly under braking before making contact with Sutton while also collecting Ingram.
Ingram somehow continued, but way down in ninth, whilst Sutton's title hopes were in the gravel and out of the race.
In the meantime, Hill had moved into second behind Turkington, which soon became first once WSR orchestrated the switch following the restart.
Ingram was busy producing his own masterclass fightback drive through the order, scything his way past car-after-car. That was until he arrived on the rear bumper of Team BMW's Turkington, who then showed some of the best defensive driving we've seen in recent times.
Turkington's rear gunner brilliance was enough to allow his BMW colleague Hill to scamper clear for victory. The triumph – his eighth of 2024 – also meant Hill would definitely win the title should a tie in the points occur at the end of the day, with Ingram having scored five successes this season.
Ingram's podium meant it was all still to play for with five points separating what was now a head-to-head for the crown between him and Hill.
One point gap as Ingram fights back
A stunning sixth victory of the season for Ingram in the second contest cut the deficit to just one point, with one final race of an incredible season remaining.
A blistering opening lap for the 2022 Champion saw Ingram's #80 Hyundai blast past Turkington's BMW around the outside at Hawthorns, before he then dived down the inside of title rival Hill at Paddock Hill Bend on the second tour.
Whilst the result may not have been a surprise, the speed in which Ingram moved from third to first was jaw-dropping, whilst Hill and Turkington rounded out the rostrum positions.
The NAPA Racing UK duo of Dan Cammish and Sutton enjoyed a good battle for fourth and fifth, with both now embroiled in a three-way tussle for third in the standings with Turkington – just ten points blanketing the trio going into the finale.
In what was one of closest championship battles in BTCC history the huge trackside crowd and the many more watching the action live on ITV4 were left guessing if it was to be a maiden title for Hill or would Ingram reclaim the crown?
All would be revealed just a few hours later…
Jake is king of the hill
Kent driver Hill was crowned 2024 BTCC Champion after producing a sensational drive in a nail-biting classic.
With just one point separating Hill and title rival Ingram going into the finale, the pair duelled on-track from sixth and seventh on the grid of the reverse grid race.
Ingram seemed to have the upper hand early on, but Hill kept his power dry despite the wet weather conditions as the tyre temperatures on his BMW 330e M Sport gradually came in.
The season defining moment happened on lap five as the star duo fought over fourth place. The #24 ran around the outside of Surtees, getting a great slingshot alongside Ingram, as Hill completed the move on the run down to Hawthorns.
Hill never looked back as he gradually made his way up to second, whilst Ingram eventually had to settle for sixth and runners-up laurels in the championship battle.
NAPA Racing UK's Sutton signed off his title defence in fantastic fashion by winning the final encounter, with Hill and LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ's Cook completing the podium.
Cammish and Turkington nipped by Ingram before the finish, the latter helping to propel BMW to Manufacturers'/Constructors' glory.
Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport – 2024 BTCC Champion, said: “2024 BTCC Champion sounds amazing. It just hasn’t sunk in yet, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted and more. I’m overwhelmed, the support has been incredible, I’m speechless.
“The emotions started to hit me as I made my way to the last corner at Clearways, I was getting a bit teary eyed there – we just brought it home. As we crossed the line it was just an amazing experience.
"We’ve had a great race and an amazing weekend, and it happened when I needed it most. It’s made everything worth it; it has been such a fight the last 15 years to even stay on the grid and now we’ve made it happen!”
