Tom Chilton says he is aiming to move ‘higher up the order’ in the second half of the British Touring Car Championship season, after missing out on the top ten for the third meeting in a row at Oulton Park.
Having struggled for pace in practice, ending the two sessions in 16th and 18th fastest respectively, the Excelr8 Motorsport driver qualified in a disappointing 21st, over a second from pole.
It gave Chilton an uphill task on Sunday around the notoriously difficult-to-overtake Oulton Park circuit.
Starting race one on the soft tyre, Chilton was able to progress up five places at the start, with the 38-year-old eventually finishing in 12th after a battling drive.
Progress thereafter proved more challenging in race two up against more experienced rivals – and contact from BMW’s Adam Morgan – and the only place Chilton gained on track was when Bobby Thompson retired, although he would ultimately be classified in 11th after Stephen Jelley was hit with a five-second time penalty.
In the final race, on the harder-compound tyre like most of the field, Chilton couldn’t make any progress, and also lost out to the soft-shod Aiden Moffat and Daniel Rowbottom, leaving him to take the chequered flag in 12th.
With the experienced BTCC racer now having failed to finish inside the top ten since the second event of the year at Brands Hatch, Chilton admits he is targeting stronger results in the second half of the year.
“After my recent run of bad luck, it’s good to come away from the weekend with three points finish, especially after a difficult qualifying session where we just weren’t quick enough,” said Chilton, who sits 11th overall in the drivers’ standings with 70 points.
“In race trim, the car was brilliant, and I showed that it is possible to overtake round Oulton Park in race one to come through to P12.
“I think a top ten was on the cards in race two before a push-to-pass move from Adam Morgan cost me time, and in race three, I suffered a bit with the brakes getting hot as we were running in traffic.
“Three points finishes is a good way to head into the summer break, but I hope to be fighting higher up the order when racing resumes and pushing to get back on that podium.”