after a battling and bruising trip north of the border……………..
Team Aon’s Tom Chilton notched up 4th, 5th and 10th place finishes in his Ford Focus in the Scottish rounds of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. It should have been an even better performance had a last race collision courtesy of Gordon Shedden, not wiped out another probable top-five finish.
Tom was obviously disappointed after that result, which he achieved in spite of having to rejoin at the back of the field after the Shedden incident and having to drive on a shattered wheel rim with a deflating tyre for the whole of the 27 lap race.
Speaking after the final race on Sunday, he commented;
“It’s been a really tough weekend. Physically, mentally challenging. Knockhill is always a close encounter as it is such a short lap and our pace wasn't as strong as at Silverstone two weeks ago. But it was never going to be here. Even so, I still hoped for a better qualifying performance than we managed. I had to play catch up through the races and that all stemmed from qualifying. I chipped away at it and moved forward in each of the first two races and I was really hoping to get a podium in race three, but it wasn't to be. I was upset with Gordon after our incident; I felt it just wasn’t necessary – I gave him room. It’s disappointing, but at least I've scored points in each of the day’s races to keep my championship points ticking over.”
The Team Aon cars had only managed to take 4th row grid places after qualifying on Saturday, albeit by mere tenths of a second and aalthough Tom had been 2nd fastest in the morning’s practice, he couldn’t repeat the performance later in that afternoon’s half-hour qualifying session. The set-up was still a small way off from where they ideally wanted it, but even so, Tom hassled a lap just under two tenths of a second off the pole time and salvaged a 7th place grid slot for Sunday morning.
“Not really what we hoped for” was Tom’s response, “But hey, this is Knockhill and anything can happen in the races. It’s incredibly close in the lap times and it will be just as close in the races tomorrow.”
It certainly was in Sunday’s first race. A couple of safety car periods saw to that, bunching the field up around the already tight Knockhill track. Tom had got away OK at the start, holding his 7th place and waiting for the opportunity that inevitably would come. After the first safety car period he seized his chance, getting down the inside of his team mate at the hairpin. His next move presented itself courtesy of BMW driver Steven Kane getting alongside championship leader Jason Plato on the run down to the first corner. Tom sat right on the tail of the BMW and followed him through, muscling his way past the Chevrolet and up into 5th place, which he held to the chequered flag.
Tom went one better in the second race, bringing his Calor LPG powered Ford Focus home 4th after another typically close battle. He’d made an excellent start to take 4th place off the line and ran nose to tail with the leading bunch for most of the 27 lap race, setting the race’s fastest lap in the process. With just a few laps remaining however he ran a little wide at the hairpin which allowed Plato to get alongside and eventually pass Tom under braking for the first corner. For a couple of laps Tom chased the Chevrolet and the pair caught Kane’s BMW. Plato pushed his way through initially and Tom capitalised on his momentum to slide down the inside between the first and second corners to re-take the 4th place.
The final race outcome was obviously determined just seconds into the race when Gordon Shedden’s rash move put Tom off at the chicane, smashing a wheel in the process. Rejoining at the back of the field, Tom battled on and somehow got his damaged Focus back into the final points paying position – 10th place and a small consolation when more had definitely been possible.
The Championship moves south to Donington next, the three races that will almost certainly determine who’s left with a chance at the championship title. And for now that still includes, mathematically at least, Tom Chilton. It’s a long shot, the odds lengthened by the front runners needing to slip up at Donington or Brands in October. But with the BTCC who knows, Tom could still be lining his Ford Focus up on the grid for the 30th and final round with a chance at the title.
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