An incredible rebuild from the Matt Stone Racing team on Friday night has set the tone for a weekend of recovery for Cameron Hill at the VAILO Adelaide 500.
With the Repco Supercars Championship holding the final round of the season on the iconic streets of Adelaide’s Victoria Park, Hill endured a challenging weekend - finishing the weekend with P18 and P16 respectively.
Following a strong showing during both Practice sessions on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, Hill was one of three drivers to fall victim to the infamous Turn 8 during Qualifying in the space of a minute – the #4 SP Tools Chevrolet Camaro sustaining significant damage as a result of hitting the wall.
The incident required almost a full rebuild from the team, who worked late into the early hours of Saturday morning in order to get prepared for the day’s track sessions.
The incredible effort from the team saw Hill back behind the wheel of the Camaro in readiness of the event’s final practice session, before he was on the grid for the penultimate race of the season in P19.
Although he lost a couple of positions early on in the race, Hill made up those places again and showed plenty of promise throughout the outing, as he made up a number of places - however a lack of tyre life saw him settle for 18th.
On Sunday morning, Hill faced a physical battle after he continued to recover from Friday’s incident and qualified in P20.
The race proved far more successful for the Canberran though, as he took advantage of the chaos surrounding him to produce a handful of impressive passes - including one on the inside of turn eight.
Hill eventually reached the chequered flag in P17, but was promoted to P16 following post-race penalties.
Despite a challenging season finale, Hill still managed to end his second year in the championship 12th on the standings – 11 places higher than his maiden season.
Hill will now enjoy an extended break before the 2025 Supercars season opener at Sydney Motorsport Park on 21-23 February.
QUOTES
Cameron Hill
#4 SP Tools Chevrolet Camaro
“We're all done for season 2024 and it was a huge weekend in Adelaide, but a bit bruising for me,” said Hill.
“It was looking pretty good on Friday - we had a really fast car, and I was feeling so comfortable that I was actually quickest through turn eight, but then I got it wrong.
“That crash was probably the biggest I've had in my career. And it was a real bell ringer. I was a bit cut up because I just knew what it meant for the boys.
“But this team is incredible - they just got stuck in, worked on it and put the car back together. And honestly, when I rolled out for practice on Saturday, it felt really good.
"We had a real crack in the race and actually made up a lot of spots having pitted early, but the tyre life wasn't there for us and we finished 18th - but that was alright considering where we were 24 hours before.
"In Sunday’s race, I was really worried about going the distance and the first ten laps were quite painful. So I just sort of stayed out of trouble and then I got a bit better as the race went on.
"Then on the last 20 laps, I actually felt really good and we managed to punch out a few good times, and somehow we finished 16th and finished equal 12th in the points.
"All in all, it was a successful sophomore season for me in Supercars and I can't wait to come back next year with Matt Stone Racing.”
