Jake Hill misses out on podium places at Thruxton as excellent post-summer break form stalls in British Touring Car Championship

Two fourths and a 12th-placed finishes were the best that Platt's Heath's Jake Hill could register as the British Touring Car Championship continued at Thruxton.

The ROKiT MB Motorsport BMW driver had outscored all of his competitors since the summer break and looked to continue his fine form after qualifying third to take the lead in the Goodyear Wingfoot Award - rewarded to the driver with the best qualifying performance throughout the season. However a combination of unfavourable tyre temperatures and forceful driving in the midfield hindered more progress.

Hill said: “This weekend was a case of damage limitation as we knew this circuit wouldn't favour us as much as it did our rivals but the team still did a fantastic job to give me a car capable of battling at the front.

"I was extremely pleased with my qualifying performance, I don't think there was anything else I could have extracted from the car in that session. The races were tough as getting the tyre temperatures in early was a challenge compared to the front wheel drive cars. The opening laps were like driving on ice but we managed to avoid any dramas and picked up some good points across the three races."

Hill though lost a place at the start of race one when he was squeezed with three cars battling for the same piece of tarmac. The top three pulled away as his tyres took time to reach optimum temperature and although he closed the gap he settled for fourth and 13 points behind race winner Motorbase Performance's NAPA UK driver Dan Cammish, Gordon Shedden and Ash Sutton.

Starting race two fourth, Hill was again at the mercy of tyre temperature, unlike the front wheel drive cars ahead, and faced a battle to keep his top-four spot. Once more the tyres improved