Doug Hilliard

Doug Hilliard Nationality British Year Joined 2005 First Race 2005 Supercup San Marino Grand Prix Series Entered Supercup, Formula Challenge Current Team(s) Vod:Bul, Viking Racing Championships {{{Championships}}} Wins {{{Wins}}} Podiums {{{Podiums}}} Poles {{{Poles}}} Fastest Laps {{{Fastest Laps}}}

Formula Challenge Career (up to June 2013) Debut Year 2013 Associated Teams Tanskanen Racing Viking Racing Races 6 Championships 0 Race Wins 0 Podium Finishes 0 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First Race 2013 Challenge Australian Grand Prix

Supercup Racing Career (up to Dec 2005) Debut Year 2005 Associated Teams Vod:Bul Races 10 Championships 0 (Best: 7th) Race Wins 0 Podium Finishes 0 (Best: 4th) Pole positions 0 (Best: 2nd) Fastest laps 0 First Race 2005 Supercup San Marino Grand Prix

Doug Hilliard is a British sim-racer associated with the Vod:Bul team and is currently the reserve driver of affiliate-team Tanskanen Racing in the 2013 Formula Challenge season, taking part in two rounds of the season so far for the team, as well as one round for Viking Racing.

Hilliard previously competed in the GPVWC during the 2005 Supercup season, again racing for Vod:Bul.

GPVWC

The №32 Vod:Bul, driven by Hilliard during the 2005 season

2005

Hilliard was tempted into the Supercup series, then known as the "F2VWC", by Mike Pitman, for whom Hilliard was already racing in the HOWC leagues. Hilliard entered every race that season, though made a terrible mess at the French round meaning he could not start. Hilliard eventually finished 7th in the championship, with a best race finish of 4th, twice, at San Marino and at Monaco. At Monaco, he also started on the front-row, his best qualifying position. After a relatively successful start to the season, Hilliard slipped down the field somewhat, usually qualifying and finishing around 8th. After the season ended, Hilliard decided to focus exclusively on the HOWC leagues for the following year.

Hilliard at the Jerez test session

Race 2, Australia: Hilliard (right) defends against Emanuel Gaczella...briefly.

Hilliard driving for Viking Racing at Turkey

2013

Hilliard was contacted by Mike Pitman just before Christmas 2012 with an offer of a drive for Vod:Bul once more in the Formula Challenge series. Conscious of possible time restraints, Hilliard accepted the position of reserve driver only but also designed the team's livery and logos.

Hilliard represented the team at the official pre-season test session at a rain-swept Jerez. Hilliard completed 51 laps but was unable to set a competitive time when the track was still relatively dry and ended the session with the 20th fastest time. In two mock-up races at the end of the session, Hilliard brought the car home both times, mostly undamaged, despite the conditions. Thanks in part to an act of selflessness by Adrian McNaughton at the final corner, Hilliard finished 5th in the first race, having avoided the first lap dramas, and then 9th in the second race, having not avoided the first lap dramas.

Just days before the start of the season, Vod:Bul jumped ship from Formula Challenge, taking up a vacant slot in Supercup. Vod:Bul's slot was taken over by Tanskanen Racing, run by Juha Tanskanen, already part of the Vod:Bul setup. As the new team was an effective B-team, Hilliard remained in place, along with Mikko Jakonen. However with team-mate Dan Rusu moving with Vod:Bul to Supercup, the second race seat was left unoccupied, meaning Hilliard suddenly found himself down to race at the opening round at Australia.

Hilliard's return to competitive racing began with an unspectacular qualifying, starting the first race 34th. The race proved a disaster as Hilliard was shunted on the grid before the lights even went out, damaging the car and forcing a long, clumsy recovery to the pits for repairs. Unfortunately after making it back out, Hilliard then spun trying to avoid lead cars lapping him and collided heavily with Tuomas Koriala. Despite this, Hilliard was still able to recover to the pits, again, and the car was still drivable, and Hilliard drove a steady race to the end, albeit finishing last, 2 laps down. Race 2 would be a huge improvement. Largely benefiting from others' misfortunes, Hilliard was running as high as 12th by the middle of the race. However, he would eventually be caught and passed by faster, recovering cars and finished 16th, just outside the points and just behind his team-mate Jakonen.

Hilliard gladly made way for Ed Williams to become the second permanent driver in the team, but filled in for the Australian at the fourth round at Hungary. Despite turning in well over 100 laps of the circuit in preparation, Hilliard never found a competitive pace and was not in the slightest surprised to find himself down the back end of the grid in race one. Despite a ragged first race, Hilliard brought the car home without any significant damage, as he did again in the second. In Race 1, Hilliard spent several laps fighting with Simon Smith, but ultimately had to give up in the penultimate lap as his tyres cried their last. Hilliard finished 26th, having been lapped three corners before the end of the race, probably saving some embarrassment as the tyres may not have lasted another lap. Race 2 was less eventful, with Hilliard driving a slightly slower but more consistent race utilising a 1-stop strategy; Hilliard would eventually finish 22nd.

At Round 9 at Istanbul, Hilliard was, in effect, outsourced to Viking Racing, run by fellow Vod:Bul driver Morten Wernersen. Being able to use a much quicker setup than before, Hilliard was able to run a much more competitive pace, though still found himself 25th on the grid; that was however his best qrid slot of the year to that point. Both races however would be ruined by first-lap collisions; Hilliard hit a spun Scott Sovik on the exit of turn 1 in Race 1 and then hit a spun Alejandro Fernandez on the exit of turn 8 in Race 2. Both incidents resulted in lengthy pitstops for repairs which removed any chance of a decent result. Hilliard managed to finish both races, 28th and 24th respectively, though was lapped in both.

Racing Career Results

Supercup

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	WDC	Points
2005	Vod:Bul	SC-005	4	8	4	9	DNS	8	7	8	8	8	7th	80

Formula Challenge

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	WDC	Points
2013	Tanskanen Racing	FC-013	AUS 1 30	AUS 2 16	MYS 1	MYS 2	AUT 1	AUT 2	HUN 1 26	HUN 2 22	ESP 1	ESP 2	MON 1	MON 2	CAN 1	CAN 2	KOR 1	KOR 2			GBR 1	GBR 2	ITA 1	ITA 2	BEL 1	BEL 2	FRA 1	FRA 2	GER 1	GER 2	USA 1	USA 2	UAE 1	UAE 2	JAP 1	JAP 2	BRA 1	BRA 2	NC*	0*
	Viking Racing	FC-013																	TUR 1 28	TUR 2 24

* Season in progress.

Outside GPVWC

Hilliard has enjoyed sim-racing since childhood, being a faithful fan of Geoff Crammond's work, beginning with Revvs, followed by Formula One Grand Prix, and right the way through to Grand Prix 4. He has also been a keen artist for most of his life too.

Originally an active member of of the GP4 carpainting community, Hilliard was invited to take part in the HOWC league by Mike Pitman. Hilliard would go on to be a HOWC regular between 2005 and 2007, racing exclusively for Vod:Bul and taking part in several GP4 off-line championships before migrating along with the rest of HOWC onto rFactor. He ultimately won three official meetings, one in V8s and two at a special Rallycross round at Leinz; otherwise relying on consistency rather than blinding speed to earn points.

Hilliard designed the liveries for most Vod:Bul entries while in HOWC, and did a few liveries for other teams and drivers. Since his return to the GPVWC, Hilliard has again painted most (though not all) of Vod:Bul's entries, as well as painted cars for SlipStream Racing in WSS and GT as well as in the GRC league, and also painted Nordsjoen's entry into the GT.

From starting university in September 2007 to the beginning of 2013, Hilliard took part in no racing series at all, though he was an active member of the University of Nottingham's Motorsport Society, competing in two seasons of the British Universities Karting Championship. He even managed an overtake.

Since leaving University in 2010, Hilliard has been patiently waiting for rFactor 2 to be released, and has in the meantime has become a freelance graphic/web designer.