Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS' Tom Chilton took a hugely popular win in Round 18 of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Croft, claiming a lights-to-flag triumph in the reversed-grid finale.
Chilton has shown great speed throughout the weekend – setting a new qualifying lap record in the opening segment yesterday, before having to settle for eighth on the grid – and he continued to plug away during race day.
It all culminated in pole position for race three and the experienced Chilton duly delivered, putting in a sublime performance to take the 17th BTCC victory of his career.
NAPA Racing UK's Dan Cammish was second, securing his second podium of the day and arguably firing himself right back into championship contention.
Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS' Tom Ingram wrestled his way to third but it wasn't without drama, the #80 Hyundai enduring mid-race contact with Colin Turkington's #20, which fired the latter into the barrier.
Fellow title contenders – Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK) and Jake Hill (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) – were fourth and fifth respectively, the latter driving brilliantly through the field from 16th on the grid.
Toyota duo – Rob Huff (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK) and Josh Cook (LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ) – had to settle for sixth and seventh, although it has been a good day for Speedworks Motorsport following its one-two finish in the second encounter.
Dan Rowbottom (NAPA Racing UK), Adam Morgan (Team BMW) and Ronan Pearson (Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS) rounded out the top ten.
Tom Chilton said: "A watery eye moment. This championship is the hardest championship in the world. When you do well it just feels like the best feeling. These are the greatest drivers and teams in the world, and it means so much.
"Saturday felt like a dream until we had the problem in Q2, I feel like we’ve been chasing that in race one and race two. We got the car back to where it needed to be for race three and I’ve just gone and proved the pace and potential."
Croft – Race 3 – Final Classification
| P/ | No/ | Name/ | Entry/ | Laps/ | Time/ | Gap/ | Best/ | On/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Tom CHILTON | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 15 | 20:56.324 | 1:22.538 | 4 | |
| 2 | 27 | Dan CAMMISH | NAPA Racing UK | 15 | 20:57.828 | 1.504 | 1:21.989 | 3 |
| 3 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 15 | 20:58.465 | 2.141 | 1:22.060 | 3 |
| 4 | 1 | Ashley SUTTON | NAPA Racing UK | 15 | 21:04.543 | 8.219 | 1:23.206 | 5 |
| 5 | 24 | Jake HILL | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | 15 | 21:05.084 | 8.760 | 1:23.181 | 3 |
| 6 | 12 | Rob HUFF | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | 15 | 21:07.475 | 11.151 | 1:23.137 | 4 |
| 7 | 66 | Josh COOK | LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ | 15 | 21:08.874 | 12.550 | 1:23.443 | 3 |
| 8 | 32 | Daniel ROWBOTTOM | NAPA Racing UK | 15 | 21:09.043 | 12.719 | 1:23.379 | 8 |
| 9 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | Team BMW | 15 | 21:13.843 | 17.519 | 1:23.419 | 5 |
| 10 | 14 | Ronan PEARSON | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 15 | 21:20.661 | 24.337 | 1:23.484 | 4 |
| 11 | 222 | Chris SMILEY | Restart Racing | 15 | 21:20.907 | 24.583 | 1:23.466 | 4 |
| 12 | 77 | Sam OSBORNE | NAPA Racing UK | 15 | 21:22.703 | 26.379 | 1:23.503 | 4 |
| 13 | 40 | Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing | 15 | 21:25.166 | 28.842 | 1:23.159 | 5 |
| 14 | 20 | Colin TURKINGTON | Team BMW | 15 | 21:25.275 | 28.951 | 1:22.406 | 4 |
| 15 | 88 | Mikey DOBLE | Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing | 15 | 21:25.478 | 29.154 | 1:23.356 | 4 |
| 16 | 29 | Scott SUMPTON | Restart Racing | 15 | 21:25.962 | 29.638 | 1:23.703 | 4 |
| 17 | 18 | Daryl DELEON | Duckhams Racing With Bartercard | 15 | 21:30.213 | 33.889 | 1:23.061 | 3 |
| 18 | 22 | Nick HALSTEAD | Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS | 15 | 22:01.547 | 1:05.223 | 1:26.412 | 4 |
| NC | 11 | Andrew WATSON | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | 11 | 21:48.905 | 4 Laps | 1:23.327 | 6 |
| DNF | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ | 3 | 4:34.328 | 12 Laps | 1:24.639 | 2 |
