Cameron Hill ready for "gnarly" Surfers Paradise streets

The streets of Surfers Paradise await Cameron Hill this weekend as his confidence builds as his maiden Repco Supercars Championship season enters its penultimate round.

Coming off a Bathurst 1000 campaign where Hill and co-driver Jaylyn Robotham overcame an early challenge when a clutch problem emerged on the warm up lap to score a top 15 finish, which included running as high as third.

Attention turns to a fan and driver event on Surfers Paradise, which is also one of the toughest due to the heat, the close confines of the concrete walls in addition to the kerbs.

It’s back to single driver duties for Hill in his Truck Assist Racing Chevrolet Camaro for a pair of 85 lap, 250km races on Saturday and Sunday.

This means car preservation will be a key area to manage across the weekend and Hill continues to improve this as he gains more experience in a Supercar. As is his ability to push his Camaro to the limits as the Surfers Paradise layout in particular rewards risks being taken in hitting the kerbs, the close proximity to concrete walls and late braking.

There is no rest throughout the race either due to the constant turns of the 2.9km circuit making it one of the busiest on the Repo Supercars Championship calendar.

Hill is excited to make a return to the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit for the first time since 2019 when he contested the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia round there ensuring he has prior knowledge to call on this weekend.

Action begins with opening practice on 11:30am AEST (12:30pm AEDT).

QUOTES
Cameron Hill
#35 Truck Assist Racing, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

“I really enjoy the Gold Coast event,” Hill stated.

“It’s got a great atmosphere, obviously being right by the beach is pretty cool. I can remember when I raced in Carrera Cup our pits were literally right by the beach. It’s not how you usually go car racing.

“The track is a challenge, it’s gnarly and you’re jumping high on the kerbs. It’s definitely a driver’s track where you can make the difference. I’m looking forward to wrangling a Supercar around there.

“It does have a bit of everything, it is quite unique in a sense a lot of the braking zones aren’t straight where you’re at least turning or dealing with bumps. You’re managing a lot and doing a lap around there in qualifying trim is hair raising stuff. It’s a shorter lap, but it’s more challenging in a race because there’s no reprieve during a lap, the front straight is even a curve!

“It’s going to be pretty gnarly, I know a lot of the drivers say it is a physical race and I’m not expecting it to be a walk in the park.

“The back end of the season is certainly filled with some pretty tough events in the backend, but I’m definitely feeling more confident as the season goes on. Obviously, at the beginning of the year rocking up to Newcastle wide-eyed and green was a challenge, but even doing Bathurst now where I triple-stinted until the end is giving me the confidence to push this car closer to the edge. I feel like where I am now compared to the start of the season is already a massive jump.

“Managing the race is something you have to get your head around in Supercars as it’s not something you do in the support classes, which are normally short, sharp and just sprints. Having to manage the pace and the car is definitely really important in Supercars, but I’m feeling much more at home doing it now.”

SCHEDULE

Friday, October 27
Practice 1                        11:30am AEST (12:30pm AEDT)
Practice 2                        3:30pm AEST (4:30pm AEDT)

Saturday, October 28
Qualifying                        11:35pm AEST (12:35pm AEDT)
Top 10 Shootout              1:05pm AEST (2:05pm AEDT)
Race 25                           3:45pm AEST (4:45pm AEDT)

Sunday, October 29
Qualifying                        10:05am AEST (11:05am AEDT)
Top 10 Shootout              11:35am AEST (12:35pm AEDT)
Race 26                            2:15pm AEST (3:15pm AEDT)