80th Goodwood Members’ Meeting: Jake Hill battles back after dramatic day at Goodwood

By Simon Hildrew

Platt’s Heath’s Jake Hill, one of the superstar drivers in the British Touring Car Championship, once again got an opportunity to demonstrate his magnificent racing skills, in an incredible weekend of motor racing at the 80th Goodwood Members’ Meeting.

Hill was, once again, competing in the Gordon Spice Trophy Race (previously, the Gerry Marshall Trophy), named in memory of the former multiple Saloon car champion, who died in 2021.

The race, for Group 1 saloon cars, of a type that raced between 1970 and 1982, featured a stellar cast of top class drivers, contested over two heats and a final. Hill, driving Ric Wood’s 1980 Mk3 Ford Capri 3.0S, had posted the fastest time during the opening minutes of the heat one qualifying session, claiming pole position.

The session was then red flagged halfway through, after an incident, and a couple of laps in from the re-start, Hill hit an oil patch at St Mary’s corner, losing the back end of the car, spinning onto the wet grass, and hit the tyre wall hard, on the left-hand side of the car. Fortunately, Hill was unhurt, but the car had extensive bodywork and front suspension damage. Hill was distraught, as it seemed the car would now be too badly damaged to start the race later in the day.

Ric Wood and his team pulled off a miracle, though, and managed to repair the damaged suspension, steering and even partly straighten a bent chassis leg, in a matter of a few hours, to enable Hill to make the start.

Hill made a cracking start from pole position and shot into a clear lead, with the two, more powerful, Chevrolet Camaro’s of Olivier Hart and Rob Huff, hot on his heels. For the whole 20-minute race, Hill managed to fend off, firstly, Hart and then Huff, as they battled