Josh Hill Ended The Year As The Highest Placed Manor Competition Driver - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Josh Hill wrapped up his first season in the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship as the highest place Manor Competition driver in the championship standings after a consistent final weekend saw him overcome team-mates Alice Powell and Jordan King.
The weekend's opening race, Round Nineteen, saw Hill start seventh on the grid with King eighth. The duo had a great battle over sixth place on the opening lap, with King just edging ahead. Both drivers later lost a spot to rival Mitchell Gilbert, so crossed the line seventh and eighth, while Powell had a largely uneventful race, coming home eleventh.
King started Round Twenty highest of the Manor drivers in eighth, with Hill behind in ninth. A great opening lap for the latter saw him climb into the top six, with King pitched into a spin after a hit from behind, dropping him to the rear of the field. Hill moved into fifth on lap two and remained there till the end, while King worked his way back through the field to eighth, two spots ahead of Powell, who was making great progress before a drive through penalty.
In the final championship standings, Hill ends the year in seventh position, eighth points ahead of King in eighth, who in turn is seven points ahead of ninth placed Powell. In the Graduate Cup, King finished third with Powell in fourth.
Manor team co-owner Tony Shaw said: “It really has been a very tough season, probably one of our most difficult ever. Josh, Jordan and Alice have all had their moments this year, and we've definitely had plenty of bad luck – such as Jordan being taken out while leading at Snetterton. In the end, it wasn't the season we hoped for so we're more fired-up than ever to do well in 2012.”
