Team Aon drivers James Nash and Tom Chilton qualified 14th and 15th at Monza this afternoon in their first-ever qualifying session for the World Touring Car Championship.
Nash had been the most competitive of the two British Touring Car graduates during the morning, setting times quick enough to put him 10th and 11th respectively in first and second practice. Chilton, meanwhile, had struggled more with the set-up on his Ford Focus S2000 TC and was 18th and 19th respectively in practice.
During qualifying the duo set similar lap times and qualified 14th and 15th. A late red flag scuppered any chances of further improving those times, with the session stopped with not enough time to go out and complete a final lap.
Said Nash after qualifying: “I think I could have found that extra couple of tenths during qualifying today to have made it into Q2 but obviously with the red flag there wasn’t the opportunity. It was a challenging session but every time we get out on track we were improving and I’m aiming to hit the track and continue to improve throughout tomorrow’s races.”
Chilton was happy with his progress given that the opposition have moved on since last season.
“I think we can be pleased to say that as a new team on our first event we’re close to last year’s pole position time, with no previous experience with this engine or around this track,” said Chilton. “I think we certainly have it in us to be further up there, it’s just a shame that the red flag towards the end meant that I couldn’t finish my fastest lap to see what else the car was capable of today.”
The two British racers will make their first starts in a WTCC race tomorrow, with Race 1 taking place at 1320 CET and Race 2 at 1705 CET.