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Chilton has muted expectations for Vauxhall BTCC return
Tom Chilton has played down expectations for Vauxhall’s works BTCC return, saying he would be satisfied if he were in the top 15 at the Brands Hatch season opener.
Jamie Klein
Edited: Jan 31, 2017, 7:11 PM
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Vauxhall returns to the British series as a full works entrant for the first time since 2009 as part of a new tie-up with the Power Maxed Racing squad, which has signed Chilton and Senna Proctor as drivers.
It will mark Chilton's first season in the BTCC since 2011, as he has raced exclusively in the WTCC for the past five seasons, and will embark on a dual campaign in both championships in 2017.
But the 31-year-old, previously a works Vauxhall driver in 2006-07, says PMR only has two days planned prior to the official Donington Park test in March to shake down the new Astra.
He therefore expects the first round of the season to be an uphill struggle, and is merely targeting points finishes on his return BTCC weekend.
"I haven't tested the car yet, it's not been built," Chilton told Motorsport.com. "But we're on target for the car to be ready in the middle of February. The car has the shortest wheelbase on the grid, so for a circuit like Brands Hatch Indy, that's what you want to get the car turned in.
"I'm hoping the couple of test days we have planned aren't wet and aren't too busy, because they're general track days to keep the costs down. If we have two wet days with loads of traffic, we'll be heading to Brands Hatch with our eyes shut. But there's not much we can do about it.
"So I'm not setting my goals too high for the first round. If we were doing two weeks of testing in Spain, I'd be confident of being in the top six. But because we're doing only two general track days with the danger of bad weather, I'll be happy if we're in the top 15."
BTCC now a different challenge
Chilton also pointed out that the championship, which requires competitors to use a standard sub-frame and suspension componentry supplied by RML as part of its NGTC ruleset, is a very different proposition compared to when he left it – and that finding an advantage technically is now much harder.
He said: "It's not like the old days. With Triple Eight, we had lots of engineers designing new bits for the cars, and we did lots of testing, and a huge percentage of it was paid for by Vauxhall.
"Now everyone has to use the same sub-frame and the same suspension, so you can't really get an edge on anyone, besides the Subaru [Levorg, used by Team BMR] having a boxer engine sitting low down in the middle of the car.
"I will have done almost no testing, and I'll be racing against some of the best touring car drivers in the world. I know I'm going to be on the back foot, which is my expectations are not as high as they would be normally."
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