Tom Chilton hopeful of return to form

Tom Chilton says he is hopeful of a return to front-running form when the new BTCC season gets underway this weekend at Donington Park on the back of a busy pre-season programme.

Chilton heads into 2023 armed with a brand new Hyundai i30 Fastback N built by EXCELR8 over the winter bidding to try and return to the podium for the first time since Croft 2020 – whilst he will be looking to try and a winless streak going to 2019 at the same circuit.

The 38-year-old has been hard at work in recent weeks putting plenty of mileage on the new car and he said he felt optimistic about his chances.

“The new car feels great and we’ve had a good testing programme over the off-season,” he said. “I think I’ve done more running than anyone else as we’ve had a lot of development work to do as things don’t stand still in the BTCC and the only real shame is that when we bolted on the hybrid kit for the season launch test – as you have to do – we ran into a number of issues that weren’t anything to do with the team.

“Despite that, we showed solid pace in the afternoon session before the rain and it leaves me feeling confident as I want to go out there this season and fight for podium finishes. Last year was tough because I didn’t get the results I was hoping for but we’ve worked hard to get to the bottom of some of the issues I faced and the team has done everything I’ve asked for – and more besides.

“What I really wanted was a car that I felt I could race with, and that’s what I now have – so I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Chilton’s best time during the afternoon session at Brands Hatch last week came whilst running on the medium compound Goodyear tyre – with drivers also turning laps on the soft tyre when conditions allowed ahead of a return of the option tyre choice this season.

With revisions also being made to the regulations around the hybrid system, Chilton said he fully expected more action-packed races on track and for things to be more ‘mixed up’ than in 2022.

“It’s going to be more exciting as a driver and a fan – it’ll be better,” he said. “It was a bit processional last year as everyone on the grid is very equal, but now we have the option tyre and the different rules around the hybrid which will mix things up and lead to fantastic racing.

“That is why people tune in to ITV to watch the series, as they want to see action-packed races, and it’s why I stay here despite the fact it’s starting to turn me grey at 38! It remains the hardest series and one where you can’t make a mistake.”