Tony Gilham: “This is the start of 2016”

Tony Gilham is treating his Silverstone return as a shakedown for 2016, following a major rebuild of his team’s Toyota Avensis.

Following an extensive rebuild of the Avensis after a heavy crash at Rockingham, Gilham was drafted in at the last minute to pilot the car in order to avoid losing his team’s TBL.

“I wasn’t planning on driving,” Gilham told TouringCarTimes. “But things happen and I’ve had to get back in the seat. For me it’s all about the TBL and keeping in touring cars, and we already have a deal for Swindon for next year, we’re trying to get things in place and this is essentially the start of 2016.”

Despite losing time in the pits with a black flag for track limits, Gilham set the 25th fastest time of the session, posting a 1:00.404 lap, 1.4 seconds off Mat Jackson’s session-topping time.

“It’s very good to be back,” continued Gilham, who last competed at the 2012 season finale at Brands Hatch. “To get back in to a competitive session was good to say the least. Just getting a feel for it really, we’re using it very much as a shakedown. Same old thing, all drivers say it, old tyres old brakes, that was literally installation for me, the car’s just been fully rebuilt so it’s a new car, new driver so it’s like a blank sheet of paper.

“I made a few changes beforehand based on data we’ve collected over the season, and I feel there’s definitely more to come from me, for sure, I’m a bit rusty. There’s more left in the car as well. It was a short session for me, had a couple of track limits so I had to sit in the pits for a while, it’s just a learning curve for me, you don’t forget how to drive, but you lose how to drive quickly and at the limit. I need to re-educate myself quickly, I’ve been away for three years now, I just want a fighting chance, I’m not expecting miracles.”

Gilham was quick, however, to praise his team for getting his car ready for the Silverstone weekend, rebuilding the car in just two days to get on the grid and not risk losing the team’s TBL.

“I just want to do a decent job for the team,” he concluded. “They’ve been flat out for two weeks since Rockingham. We only got the car back in our workshop on Monday and we had to leave on Wednesday night, so they’ve had 48 hours to rebuild the whole car from a bare shell. It’s possible with the NGTC rules but you’ve still got to be precise with it and then straight out in a competitive session.”