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Repco Supercars Championship rookie Cameron Hill has achieved personal bests in qualifying and finishing position in his maiden SuperSprint round in Perth.
Making a return to the scene of his first debut in Super2 last year, Hill made steady advancements across the weekend.
A first for Supercars was a 90-minute practice session on Friday afternoon, which played to the advantage of Hill as he continued to build up mileage in the Truck Assist Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
Qualifying 23rd for Race 7 on Saturday, Hill struggled for balance during the event and remained in the same position at the finish for the first of three 42-lap encounters.
Changes were completed overnight by Hill's Matt Stone Racing team and it paid dividends come Sunday. Improved performances in qualifying provided 19th and 12th for the afternoon’s two races.
Race 8 was compromised when the gearshift mounting broke on the opening lap forcing Hill to pit and lose seven laps as the problem was rectified, but crucial points were collected.
Starting from 12th in Race 9, Hill held his own against much experienced drivers as he entered his pit stop in the same position as Matt Stone Racing elected for an aggressive strategy. It proved successful as he emerged in an effective top 10 position once the pit shuffle played out.
Tyres played a factor during the closing stages and Hill dropped back to 16th, which is still his best finish of the season providing good momentum ahead of the next round.
The Apple Isle is the next stop on the Repco Supercars Championship as Symmons Plains hosts the Tasmania SuperSprint on May 19-21.
QUOTES
Cameron Hill,
#35 Truck Assist Racing Chevrolet Camaro
“We had a rough Saturday where we were lacking a bit of pace, so we made some changes overnight and we came out of the box a lot quicker on Sunday,” Hill summarised.
“I had my best qualifying in P12 for Race 9, but in the earlier event on Sunday we had a drama when the gearshift mounting broke and we lost a few laps trying to fix it. I still got out, finished and validated the car.
“For Race 9, I started quite far up and we had a good race. We were really aggressive on our strategy and came out within the top 10, but the tyres couldn’t quite hold on, so I dropped back to 16th.
“It was really cool to race against the drivers up there and it was my best result of the year.
“Thanks to all the guys at Truck Assist Racing for giving me a good car and can’t thank all my sponsors enough for putting me in this position.
“Eyes forward now for Tasmania.”
