10/07/2024 10:00
It’s a mark of the improvement for Tom Chilton in the 2024 British Touring Car Championship season that the Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS driver is already just three points shy of his points tally for the entire 2023 campaign.
In fact, Chilton has already surpassed his tally for both 2021 and 2022, and is well on course for his third highest seasonal score since returning to the BTCC at the start of the 2017 campaign.
A key part of the reason for Chilton’s upturn in fortunes was the effective merger between EXCELR8 – the team running the Bristol Street Motors-backed Hyundais – and Team Dynamics during the winter.
Chilton previously competed for Team Dynamics back in 2008, and the decision by the two teams to join forces provided an opportunity for him to rekindle his relationship with leading engineer Barry Plowman.
Despite a solid pre-season testing programme, the campaign didn’t start well for Chilton at Donington Park when issues in practice left him low on laps going into qualifying – meaning he had to settle for 13th on the grid for the opening race of the year.
After rain delayed the start of racing, Chilton battled his way to an eleventh place finish before a fuel pump problem put him out of race two, although he recovered well to end the weekend with another eleventh place from the back of the grid.
Qualifying tenth at his home circuit of Brands Hatch, Chilton showed his pace by fighting his way through to sixth spot in race one, a result that he then repeated in race two.
It was in the reverse grid finale where the most experienced driver on the grid was able to shine however as he battled through from P6 at the start to grab a 61st BTCC podium with second place.
Following another tricky qualifying session at Snetterton, Chilton benefitted from making the right call on tyres ahead of a wet second race to work his way up the order and secure a best finish of fifth from the weekend – one of two top six finishes he would score in Norfolk.
The pace in the #3 Hyundai was evident at both Thruxton and Oulton Park as Chilton added two more top six finishes to his tally, but three retirements – all of which were outside his control – mean he ends the opening half of the season sitting tenth in the standings.
Mid-season Facts & Figures:
Mid-season Landmarks:
| Mid-season Race Results | |||
| Circuit | Round | Start | Finish |
| Donington Park | Round 1 | 13 | 11 |
| Round 2 | 11 | DNF | |
| Round 3 | 19 | 11 | |
| Brands Hatch | Round 4 | 10 | 6 |
| Round 5 | 6 | 6 | |
| Round 6 | 6 | 2 | |
| Snetterton | Round 7 | 14 | 15 |
| Round 8 | 15 | 5 | |
| Round 9 | 5 | 6 | |
| Thruxton | Round 10 | 6 | 6 |
| Round 11 | 6 | 11 | |
| Round 12 | 11 | DNF | |
| Oulton Park | Round 13 | 4 | 6 |
| Round 14 | 6 | DNF | |
| Round 15 | 19 | DNF | |