BTCC The Contenders: Tom Chilton

Tom Chilton will continue to race with Hyundai and the now Team Vertu in 2025 continuing a multi-year partnership with the team. He has claimed podiums in all but two seasons of his BTCC career and has claimed 16 wins during his time in the series and heads into 2025 looking to add to his record.

He started racing in the BRSCC T Cars Championship in 1999 and 2000 and showed decent performances and skill across his time in the series, claiming two third places in the standings by seasons end of each.

In 2002 he would make the jump to the BTCC where he would join Barwell Motorsport for the season. In his debut race he would claim an overall podium and go on to claim a number of Independent class podiums throughout the remainder of the season. He would even claim an independent class win at Knockhill before seasons end for a solid debut in the championship.

The following year he would move to Honda Racing where he would improve upon his first season with significantly more points finishes and another podium finish overall. He would finish the season 9th in the standings despite not starting three of the races that season. He would stay with Honda for 2004 where he would take his first victory in the championship at Silverstone before taking another win at the penultimate race at the Donighton Park finale. He would claim another three podiums on top of this and finish the championship in ninth place once more, just a single point ahead of Luke Hines.

2005 saw him remain in the Arena Motorsport Honda Civic but would lose factory backing after Honda dropped out from the series. He would miss the first round at Donighton Park but would have a strong season after that taking four wins throughout the year and a further five podiums. He would miss the final three races at Brands Hatch but would finish the season out in fifth place with many solid performances throughout the year.

2006 would see Chilton become a manufacturer driver once more joining VX Racing with the Vauxhall Astra. Chiton would show immediate pace as he claimed two podiums at the opening round at Brands Hatch before claiming another podium at Oulton Park. A further podium at Snetterton and two at Silverstone would take him to 7th in the standings. Despite going winless he only finished outside the top 10 once out of the races he finished and consistently brought home points for the team. He would stay with the team for 2007 claiming more podiums and having claimed points in 14 of the first 15 races. He ended the season ninth in the standings in what would be his final year with VX Racing.

For the following year he would move to Team Halfords to drive the Honda Civic once more. He would do decently once more claiming another couple of podiums that year, surpassing 30 total podiums in the process. At the final round that year he would take his seventh race victory in the BTCC to round out the year in 10th place in the standings.

2009 would be a difficult year for Chilton as he moved to Team Aon now driving the Ford Focus ST. Across the two thirds of the season, he would only score points in two races with a ninth and tenth. It wouldn’t be until the final part of the season where thinks would pick up for him. The final 5 races would be more of a return to form for Chilton where he would claim three podiums managing to drag himself to 13th in the standings by seasons end in what was his most difficult year. He would stay with the team for another season though and it would be a complete flip of a coin in comparison. Despite a difficult first six races, it would already be better than what had happened in the first two thirds of the previous year claiming an eighth at Thruxton and a sixth at Rockingham. However, Brands Hatch would see a turn of fortune for him with a win in the opening race of the weekend followed up by a sixth-place recovery drive in the final race of the weekend after a DSQ from race 2 sent him to the back. Points would start to come quite consistently once more with a double podium and a fourth at Snetterton followed up by a double race win in Silverstone, the second of those would be his 10th race win in the BTCC. Taking another two podiums in the final six rounds he would show the speed he had from years prior. From round 14 until the end of the season he would not leave the top 10 which would take him to fifth in the standings in a massive upturn from the year prior.

Staying with Team Aon for a third and final year in 2011 would see a still fairly solid year from Chilton. Claiming a podium in the opening round before putting it in the points for 12 of the next 15 races. He would go on to claim another win at Knockhill before once more winning the final race of the season taking him to seventh in the standings. Despite tying that dreadful 2009 season in the lead number of podiums Chilton has achieved since the introduction of the 30-race calendar and three race weekends, the season would be much more consistent throughout the year with a number of points paying races. He would finish the year 7th overall in the standings.

A change of scenery for the next few years would see Chilton move to the World Touring Car Championship for 2012. Remaining with Team Aon, he would find difficulty scoring points claiming only two top 10’s throughout the year where it was difficult to adjust. A switch to RML and Chevrolet for 2013 would see a massive change in his performances. Immediately taking a second in the opening round in Italy, a third place in Marrakesh would also boost him up the table. A consistent run of seventh place finishes would add to his points tally before adding another two podiums to his record in Portugal and Argentina. He would take his first win in the series at the US round in Sonoma before rounding out his season with another win at Shanghai to finish fifth in the standings.

2014 would see another fairly consistent year from Chilton, claiming another win in Belgium and following it up with a second at the Japanese round, he would finish the season in eight in the standings beating former champion Rob Huff. The next season would see him take another podium and continue to put in good performances with a number of points paying finishes.

2016 would see him switch to Sebastien Loeb Racing where he would have an upturn of performance. He got comfortable quite quickly as he would take a second place in Hungary before taking a double podium in Germany. Chilton would take another three podiums including a race win in Argentina rounding out the season in eighth place. His final year in WTCC would be in 2017 where he would also compete in the BTCC simultaneously. His WTCC season would be his best yet where he took three wins and another four podiums before seasons end. He would round out the season in third place in the standings.

Meanwhile, his return to the BTCC with PMR would see him once more driving the Vauxhall Astra. Starting out the campaign with three points finishes at the opening round at Brands Hatch which included a podium in race three. Throughout the rest of the year, he would claim points finishes on his way to taking 15th in the standings in a solid return.

The next year would be an improvement for him. Now racing in the Focus RS, he would stick with his form from 2017 with solid points finishes. He would then take a double podium at Oulton Park and another three points paying finishes before he takes another second at Croft. A further podium at Rockingham would then lead to his eventual first win since returning to the series at Knockhill. A final podium at Silverstone and more top 10 finishes would lead him to get his best championship position in the BTCC of third overall. He would also only finish 19 points off of rival and future teammate Tom Ingram in the Independents trophy, taking the runner up spot by seasons end.

The 2019 season would see Chilton remain in the Focus RS continuing from where he left off in 2018. He started the season with two podiums at Brands Hatch followed up by scoring points in all three races of the Donighton Park round. After a difficult round at Thruxton, he would bounce back with a podium and a race win later that same day at Croft. He would continue to pick up points throughout the remainder of the year and took another podium at the Brands Hatch finale. Despite an overall similar season in terms of results, the competition had grown significantly more intense at the top end of the field meaning that he would drop to 10th in the standings by seasons end.

A move to BTC Racing for 2020 did not seem to effect Chilton. Despite most needing time to readjust, Chilton continued to do what he needed to do and bring home points. Scoring three podiums that season, he would only finish outside the points once in the first 21 races of the significantly closed up calendar due to the pandemic. This consistency of claiming points would once more put him 10th in the standings by seasons end.

Another switch in 2021 really cost Chilton. He would move to the Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport team who ran the rear wheel driven BMW 330i. This became quite a difficult year for him as it would be his first time in the BTCC he would go without an overall podium and another move was needed to be made as he would go to Excelr8 and Hyundai for 2022. While it would be his second season in a row without a podium, he would show more promise throughout the year looking more comfortable and with a more consistent stream of points paying positions.

2023 would see Chilton go one better as he would return to the top step of the podium in race 2 of the season at Donighton Park as a decision to go to wet tyres at the end of the formation lap was pivotal. He would continue to bring home points results throughout the remainder of the season. He would finish the year 14th in the standings but looked much more comfortable than he had over the previous few seasons.

Last season he would score points in more than two thirds of the races he competed in claiming three podiums which included a race win at Croft. He would show he was more comfortable with the car then he had been in previous years and was able to run with the upper end of the field much more consistently. He finished the year 10th in the standings.

Heading into 2025, Chilton remains with the now Team Vertu Hyundai squad, partnered with Ingram once again. They are also joined by Chilton’s former teammate Adam Morgan as they look to bring Team Vertu and Hyundai their first championships while all looking to claim the driver’s championship.