ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Chilton says he is happy to be “the best of the rest” after making it into Q3 for the second time this year in qualifying for the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in France.
Chilton put his Chevrolet fifth on the grid for race one after making it into Q3, being beaten only by the four works’ Citroën cars. The Brit felt like he was completely on the limit with his lap, which was 0.586 seconds slower than pole man Sébastien Loeb.
“It was pretty special,” said Chilton of his lap. “To be honest all weekend I thought we were struggling and I actually got in the car nervous before qualifying thinking there was a chance I could be P11.
“I hadn’t put new tyres on then [in Q2] because they [Citroën] are always a second faster. The circuit got a lot hotter and I think the circuit came towards my car. I did an actually perfect lap in Q2 and in Q3 I thought I had nothing to lose and had to absolutely go flat out because there was a chance I could get pole if it stayed his close.
“Unfortunately Sébastien did a blinding lap. I tried to improve everywhere but I was on the limit of my car and I couldn’t go an ounce faster. I actually overdrove and went two-tenths slower. I was completely on the limit of my car.”
Chilton praised the efforts being put in by RML and his team ROAL Motorsport, which allowed the 30-year-old to once again mix it with the manufacturer entries, despite being classified as an independent driver in the Yokohama Trophy.
“These boys are doing a fantastic job and I feel we’re doing a good job because I feel like we’re the best of the rest: there are no other Chevrolets, Hondas or LADAs in front of me,” added Chilton. “I am very happy with myself and my team for our performance but obviously our goal is to beat the Citroën’s. It’s the best car and we’re still trying to do everything we can to get close to them.”