BTCC: Chilton claims victory in final race of the weekend at Knockhill

Tom Chilton wins his first race of the season with victory at Knockhill.

Chilton would start from pole ahead of Lewis Selby and Sam Osborne while Dan Cammish would start fourth ahead of Dexter Patterson.

Chilton would get a great start from pole, having an uncontested lead into turn one in which he would use to pull a small margin over the rest of the pack while the three NAPA drivers behind them contest the other podium spots. Further back, Gordon Shedden would end up with a puncture on his rear right forcing him into the pits.

Patterson would have to defend from Charles Rainford which would cost the BMW the position to Adam Morgan who passes Rainford for sixth place on lap two. In front of them, Cammish would pass Osborne for third place leaving him to go after Selby. Championship leader and teammate to them, Ash Suton, would be forced to defend against Rowbottom but the Mercedes was on the softer compound of tyre giving him the advantage to get passed.

Drama for Osborne after contact with Patterson would force him off the road and into the gravel, tumbling out of the points. Morgan would take advantage of this and move up to fourth place himself. The final podium spot would soon be taken by Morgan who passes Cammish down the main straight before having an opportunity to take second place away from Selby around the outside of the NAPA driver. Cammish would use this to also pass Selby to move back into third place while his teammates attention was on the Mercedes.

Sutton would struggle to keep cars behind on the medium tyre with limited turbo boost, dropping out of the top ten and behind Tom Ingram who was charging through the field. Sutton would be caught in a battle with the Audi’s of Mikey Doble and Aiden Moffat as the went three wide into the hairpin with Sutton be shuffled backwards. He would continue to struggle, losing positions to both Restart Racing Hyundai’s down the main straight on lap twelve before Sutton dived back passed James Dorlin to reclaim fifthteenth,

Lewis Selby would continue to drop back, creating a train behind him after Patterson and Rainford passed him before Rowbottom was the next driver to make an overtake down the main straight for sixth. Selby would also drop behind Daryl De Leon not long after before Josh Cook faked a move to the inside of the hairpin, causing Selby to run wide and lose the position.

Selby would defend well against Collard for a few laps as the Hyundai was unable to get passed, but on lap seventeen, Collard would finally get his chance to pass into the first turn. Ingram would try to get passed quickly as well but he would be forced to concede into the chicane and ultimately cost him a place to Doble as the Audi got passed. Soon Selby would be passed by the Audi and Hyundai on lap eighteen leaving Selby down in twelfth.

However, on his way to take victory would be Tom Chilton who claims his first win of the season. Morgan would finish second ahead of Cammish and Patterson while Rainford completes the top five. De Leon finished sixth ahead of Rowbottom and Cook while Collard and Ingram complete the top ten.

The Drivers Championship would see Sutton extend his championship lead by the end of the weekend to 81 points over Ingram while Cammish sits 13 points back in third. Collard moves to fourth in the championship ahead of Rainford and Doble who complete the top six, jumping Cook this weekend.

The Manufacturers standings see Ford lead by 160 points over Hyundai who just pip Mercedes by five points themselves. Toyota sit 74 points behind in fourth.

The Teams Championship sees a similar story with NAPA leading by 160 points from Team Vertu while WSR sit forty points behind. Plato Racing are a further ten points back while PMR sit fifth in the championship, just ahead of Laser Tools Racing.

The Independent Drivers’ championship sees Doble leading by 36 points over De Leon while Rainford remains only one-point furth back in third. Gordon Shedden claims fourth in the championship while Patterson completes the top five.

The Independent Teams Championship sees PMR lead by 17 points over WSR while Laser Tools Racing sit in third six points further back. Restart Racing sit 15 points further back in fourth but with only 38 points covering the four teams, the championship is all still to play for.

The Jack Sears Trophy continues with Patterson leading by 17 points over Dorlin while Osborn and Selby sit third and fourth respectively with Nic Hamilton completing the top five.