Chilton: I'm raring to go!

Motorbase Performance's Tom Chilton is arriving into this weekend's Brands Hatch British Touring Car Championship season opener in a 'very positive' mood after ending last week's pre-season test second fastest.

The Ford Focus RS driver posted the second fastest time during the official Brands Hatch pre-season test just 0.1s shy of Sam Tordoff's recording breaking benchmark.

Having finished third in last year's championship standings behind Colin Turkington and Tom Ingram, Chilton believes the Motorbase Ford has moved on a lot from 2018, something which the 13-time BTCC race winner also says is showing in the car's lap times.

“I’m so happy to be back for my second year with my favourite ever BTCC race team, and also my local team," said Chilton.

"After ending the official test day as second fastest last week, I’m feeling very positive for the weekend ahead. The guys at have done a lot of work on the chassis over the winter. The car has moved on a lot from last season and so far that’s showing in the times. 

"I’ve also been training hard and have dropped some weight to try and help improve the car’s performance further. It’s been a big effort from everybody involved, and we’re ready to start the year ahead. I’m raring to go!”

Indeed, following their 'most extensive pre-season session', Motorbase's team manager Olly Collins echoes his driver's sentiments and says his team feel 'more ready than ever' heading into the opening round.

“We’re just coming out of what was probably our busiest and most intensive pre-season test session;” said Collins.

“The guys have worked relentlessly on developing the Focus RS, and as a result we feel more ready than ever heading into the opening rounds.

“Our key staff behind the scenes remains unchanged. We’re also enjoying another year with Tom, which is so important to have that continuity off the back of a great season last year. It feels like Ollie never left. He’s settled into the team really well.

"They’ve both done a fantastic job in pre-season and we’re aiming to surprise everyone this year."