World Touring Car Championship driver Tom Chilton sampled the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife with Rotek Racing last weekend, ahead of the series’ visit to the German circuit in May.
ROAL Motorsport driver Chilton joined forces with former WTCC and British Touring Car Championship driver Robb Holland and Grand-Am champion David Thilenius in Rotek Racing’s Audi TTRS. The trio were participating in the qualifying race for the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours race in May.
Chilton was entered into the event to gain experience of the 20.81 km circuit, and the Brit was immediately on the pace, posting the fastest-ever time for the TTRS on the 24-hour circuit to qualify in 21st.
“The car was amazing today,” said Chilton afterwards. “We’ve been working closely with Yokohama and the engineers at Rotek Racing to get the best set up for qualifying and it all came together really nicely.”
When the car was handed over to Holland, after Thilenius had a stint, the car was running in 18th. The American then set about improving to 14th, before Chilton took over for the penultimate stint in the car, and Thilenius the final run, bringing it home in 12th overall and taking the win in the SP4T class.
After the race, Chilton hailed the event and the circuit, and the Brit will next take to the German circuit when the WTCC visits in one month’s time, supporting the legendary 24-hour race itself.
“For me it was an amazing couple of days here at the Nordschleife with blue skies and fast cars,” said Chilton, who is racing in the WTCC in Marrakech this weekend. “I was very happy with the feel of the car and I was driving on the limit around here, and Rotek Racing did a great job with the car running the 6hrs seamlessly.
“The task was to learn the track ready for our race in the WTCC on May 16th, which is just before the start of the 24hr race. I now feel I have a great handle on everything and feel more than prepared.”