Jake Hill says he will be disappointed if he does not win his first race in the British Touring Car Championship this year.

The Goudhurst racer, 24, will handle a refreshed VW CC in the series this season, which starts at Brands Hatch this weekend.

Hill re-signed with the Strood-based Team Hard squad in the winter and will start his third campaign with the outfit on Saturday.

"Everything has changed on the car - it looks the same, but it definitely isn't," Hill said

.

"So much has changed I can't even compare it to how it was before; it has been re-engineered and redesigned.

"If I don't win a race this year, I will be disappointed."

Experienced engineer Geoff Kingston joined Team Hard in the off-season, having played a key part in the success of Hill's former Ginetta rival Tom Ingram in the past two campaigns.

Hill added: "My confidence in the car is huge and that is something I haven't had before.

"It feels ready for action and it is very well behaved.

"It is better through the slow corners and I can get the rotation in the car I need now."

Hill - whose best finish was a fifth-place at Silverstone in 2016 - is eligible to compete in the Jack Sears Trophy this season, which is open to all drivers starting the 2018 campaign without an overall podium in the championship.

He hopes to win the Jack Sears crown and finish in the top three of the independent drivers championship.

Alongside team-mate Mike Bushell, from Tunbridge Wells, Hill is also targeting success in the independent teams contest.

Meanwhile, Motorbase Performance team principal David Bartrum says his squad enters the new campaign on the back of their "best-ever" pre-season.

The Wrotham-based team will run three Ford Focus RS machines in the championship this season for Tom Chilton, Sam Tordoff and James Cole.

Bartrum says his team has completed more testing than ever before during the off-season.

"We have done a lot of work over the winter," he said.

"It has been the best pre-season we have ever had and we have been fast and consistent.

"We will not know where we are until we get to round one when everyone has taken the weight out and declared exactly where they are, but we have had a good winter."

In January, Motorbase announced the return of series stalwart Mat Jackson for his ninth consecutive year with the team, but then parted company just a month later.

Bartrum said: "I never wanted Mat to leave, but it is a business and you have got to take the view that drivers come and go and good teams race on.

"I have had 53 drivers race for Motorbase and I still feel we have a very strong driver line-up.

"We had the strong line-up, but we have still got a strong one - James is looking good and he has come back from Subaru a far better driver.

"He is more positive and his confidence is up a lot."

Action starts at 9am on Saturday and 10am on Sunday. Tickets cost £16 on Saturday and £34 on Sunday, with under 13s going free. Visit www.brandshatch.co.uk for details.