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It was a frantic weekend for Cameron Hill as he not only drove his first laps of the legendary Mount Panorama circuit in a Supercar, but to add to the challenge he’d be making his debut in Australia’s Great Race, the Repco Bathurst 1000.
Continuing his pursuit of the Dunlop Super2 title in his Supaglass Industries Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore, Hill completed double duty as part of PremiAir Racing’s inaugural Repco Bathurst 1000 driver line-up partnering Chris Pither in the Coca-Cola entry.
Sitting fourth in the Dunlop Super2 standings in his rookie season, Hill stated prior to the weekend his change of mindset as he targeted victories in pursuit of series leader and teammate Declan Fraser.
This aim got off to the best start as Hill set the fastest time in his debut session at Bathurst in a Supercar before backing it up with third in the next to enter qualifying for the opening race confident.
Replicating his performance in the final practice session in qualifying to start the opening race third, in the two laps run under green Hill dropped to fourth as the conditions were some of the most challenging experiences in his career.
A foggy windscreen in addition to spray and the persistent heavy rainfall ensured a treacherous race, which finished under a lengthy safety car period.
The weather cleared on Saturday morning for qualifying and Hill was on the pace banking a time fourth quickest, however his final flyer went purple in the middle sector after a personal best first until he caught traffic at The Chase and scuppered his pole chances.
It was all for nothing, though, as the race was cancelled due to the heavy rainfall to hit the circuit before it was scheduled to start.
In between his Super2 sessions, Hill juggled successfully his co-driver duties at PremiAir Racing, which included two sessions where he took the reins solo of the Coca-Cola ZB Commodore.
Finishing the first session 20th and the next 24th ahead of more experienced co-drivers set-up a strong run on Sunday as Pither qualified the Coca-Cola entry in 21st.
Swapping with Pither for the second stint, Hill continued the entries momentum through the field to be just outside the top 10. This position was maintained until a power steering leak forced the team to pit due to a mechanical black flag.
In the end, 21st was the result although it didn’t tell the full story.
Hill now focus now turns to the final round of the Dunlop Super2 Series in Adelaide on December 1-4.
QUOTES
Cameron Hill
#111 Supaglass Industries Triple Eight Race Engineering
#22 Coca-Cola PremiAir Racing
“What an awesome weekend, it was just incredible to get so many laps around here in a Supercar,” said Hill.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this weekend and I can’t wait to get back here to do more!”
“In Super2, it was really good. We rolled out fastest in the first practice session and had good pace all weekend. I had some really strong qualifying performances, but both races were severely weather effected. I couldn’t see a thing in the first race, I was kind of glad it finished behind the safety car and in the second event the track was a river.
“It was great to roll out and be competitive.
“We finished the Bathurst 1000 in 21st, but that’s not the full story. When I handed the car over to Chris at the end of my second stint we were in 12th place and we were trucking along well. Chris was doing a great job, but unfortunately a power steering problem caught up with us forcing a pit stop.
“The race was probably crazier than I was expecting. Certainly, watching that first stint, Chris having to dodge multiple incidents I had my heart in my mouth for all of it.
“I’ve taken so much away from a driving point of view, I really feel like when I come back and get to do the 1000 again, I know what I’m in for, I know the level that I need to compete at and I can’t wait to get stuck in.
“Credit to the crew for fixing the car and finishing. I can’t thank the team at PremiAir and Coca-Cola enough, it’s been an awesome weekend.”
