Former British Superbike champion Tommy Hill will make a star appearance on four wheels in October as he competes in the final two rounds of the APR Volkswagen Racing Cup at Donington Park.
Hill, who claimed a memorable British Superbike championship crown in a nail-biting 2011 season finale at Brands Hatch, will switch from two wheels to four as he joins the series on October 6 for the season finale, driving a Golf GTI run by JWB Motorsport.
The 28-year-old will join fellow motorcycle racer Josh Caygill on the grid for the Donington double-header, Caygill having switched to cars after a bone-breaking crash in the British Supersport Championship and since become the 2013 VW Cup’s leading rookie, lying 10th in the overall championship.
An excited Hill eagerly awaits a debut that he hopes can bring similar results, and is very keen on the challenge in store in a swap from his usual two-wheel escapades.
“I’m really looking forward to it”, said Hill.“It’s something different for me and I want to go and enjoy it. Running at the top of my game on bikes week in, week out adds a lot of pressure and a lot of the enjoyment goes out of the sport. I’m keen to give it a good shot.
“I’ve never raced a car but have always liked racing karts, which gives me a lot more of an adrenaline buzz than I get from racing a bike – I’ve been on bikes since I was six and it’s the norm for me. I’m pretty excited about it.”
Despite not lacking any knowledge of Donington Park from his years of success around the venue on superbikes, Hill admitted that he would need to start from a clean sheet with the VW machine, adding: “I know Donington well from bike racing, but I need to re-learn the lines in a car.
“I’m impressed by the Racing Cup; I popped along at Brands Hatch and saw the show, someone got in touch and we went from there.”
Hill will be guided through his pre-event preparation and testing by JWB team manager Nick Beaumont, who recently became a winner himself in the championship’s most recent meeting at Brands Hatch and believes that Hill can get a handle on the car fairly quickly.
“Tommy’s pre-race test at Donington Park will be his first time in a proper racing car, but we are pretty confident that with the help of JWB Motorsport he will learn the ropes quickly”, said Beaumont.
Hill will also be helping raise awareness of the CJ Riders Fund, a charity which provides safety equipment at BSB events and supports injured riders – set up in memory of 14-year-old racer Christopher Jones who was killed in a British Championship 125cc race in 1990.
