ROKiT MB Motorsport's Jake Hill produced one of the standout moves of the season that fired him to victory in Round 26 of the 2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone.
Not only was Hill's masterful performance a huge standalone moment, but the triumph propelled him to within two points of the standings summit with just four races of the season remaining.
The #24 BMW lost out to Gordon Shedden in the Halfords Racing with Cataclean Honda in the opening laps, before Hill impressively reversed the positions around the quarter distance mark.
The move of the race came on lap 12 of 24 as Hill made the undercut through Luffield and Woodcote, completing the pass before Copse, as the huge crowd watched on.
Butcher managed to hang on from Shedden to complete the podium, but it was Hill that quite rightly took the majority of the plaudits.
Two further title contenders battled it out for fourth place with NAPA Racing UK's and new championship leader Ash Sutton fending off Tom Ingram's EXCELR8 Motorsport-run Hyundai.
The pair expertly nibbled away at each other in what was a respectful tussle, particularly when considering there's a potential title on the line.
Adam Morgan played his part in the top six scrap as the Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport man came home confortably ahead of NAPA Racing UK's Dan Cammish and Rich Energy BTC Racing's Josh Cook.
The Team HARD pairing of Bobby Thompson and Aron Taylor-Smith rounded out the top ten.
With the Silverstone finale to follow later this afternoon there are just 14 points separating the top four in the standings with Sutton leading from Hill, Ingram and Turkington, the latter having produced a comeback drive from the rear of the grid to claim 13th.
Jake Hill said: "That is possibly my most important win! It’s just such a nice feeling because I was so cautious coming into this weekend; I didn’t think the car would be where we needed to be pace-wise. In the past it’s not necessarily been a race-winning car, but we’ve come here, stuck it on the front row, got a second and now a win. I’m just super, super proud of everyone. They’ve done such a fantastic job. Craig continues to send that support from his hospital bed, we’re such a team here at West Surrey Racing and that’s what’s important.
"Both moves I made were good. Flash [Gordon Shedden] just left half a door open and that was enough, I managed to get up the inside. He put me on the grass on the inside a little bit on the exit, but I’m already there at that point. And then the move with Rory [Butcher] was totally fair, not a single touch. I really love racing Rory. He’s always been good to me and vice versa. That nice little cutback move filled me with joy."
Rory Butcher said: "To be honest [Shedden] is probably the guy I fear the most because I know he’s a hard racer. We’re mates, we’re family and we race hard together and actually it was good fun. Jake [Hill] just had a bit more pace and he did a really nice switchback on me, and I just decided ‘you’ve got this’ and it was a case of just trying to fend for myself and bring her home.
"I think [Hill’s] strengths were in the slow speeds and especially coming off the corner so when he went before Brooklands I think that was a smart thing for him to do. I’m quicker through turn one but he’s quicker through the final sector. He’s a smart little fox!"
Gordon Shedden said: "It was a little bit close at times but, having both cars a little bit stronger in different areas, I would’ve had to have moved him out the way I think. And then you’re playing a dangerous game. But we’re making progress as the day goes on, another podium’s great. Hopefully we can score a bunch more points in race three.
"There’s a few little niggles on the electronic side of things but we’re working hard at that. If we can get all our ducks lined up in a row, we’ll be okay. But I’ve got to say looking out of my rear-view mirror, there was a lot going on in that race! So, I think I’ll take my podium and we’ll move onto the next one and see how we get on with that."
2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Silverstone
1. Jake HILL (GBR) ROKiT MB Motorsport 25 laps
2. Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +2.092s
3. Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +2.452s
4. Ash SUTTON (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +2.886s
5. Tom INGRAM (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +3.078s
6. Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +3.412s
7. Dan CAMMISH (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +4.189s
8. Josh COOK (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +4.868s
9. Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +5.897s
10. Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +6.868s
11. Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +8.118s
12. Tom CHILTON (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +8.449s
13. Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +8.603s
14. Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +8.925s
15. Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +9.000s
16. Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +11.812s
17. Jason PLATO (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +12.980s
18. Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +13.639s
19. Michael CREES (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +13.885s
20. George GAMBLE (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +14.230s
21. Ash HAND (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +15.289s
22. Jack BUTEL (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +15.469s
23. Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +16.543s
24. Jade EDWARDS (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +19.145s
25. Will POWELL (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +20.728s
26. Rick PARFITT (GBR) Uptonsteel with Euro Car Parts Racing +22.168s
27. Ricky COLLARD (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +9 laps
28. Nic HAMILTON (GBR) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +13 laps
29. Dexter PATTERSON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +21 laps
