CHILTON ON POLE POSITION FOR THRUXTON TITLE-DECIDER
Tom Chilton has qualified on pole position for the first
of tomorrow’s title-deciding Dunlop MSA British Touring
car Championship rounds at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.
Chilton, aged 23 from Reigate, achieved his first pole of
2007 with a lap time of 1m17.269s to lead a Vauxhall team
1-2-3 ahead of team-mates, Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi and
Swiss Alain Menu.
SEAT’s Jason Plato, driving in pain with burns to his
hands, neck and face, qualified fourth fastest. Oxford-based
Plato will go into tomorrow’s races holding a nine-point
championship lead over Giovanardi with a maximum of 52 on
offer. Vauxhall and SEAT, meanwhile, are locked in combat
for the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ titles. Vauxhall
has drafted in past double champion Menu and SEAT Dutch driver
Tom Coronel to boost their chances.
Tomorrow will also decide the four-way scrap for the BTCC’s
Independents’ crown between Team Eurotech Honda driver
Mike Jordan and BMW rivals Colin Turkington, Mat Jackson and
Tom Onslow-Cole. Team RAC’s Turkington, three points
behind leader Jordan with 45 on offer, got the upper hand
in qualifying with the sixth fastest time.
Thruxton’s BTCC action will be broadcast live tomorrow
from 12.30pm-2pm on ITV4 and 3.30pm-5pm on ITV1.
Leading qualifying positions, Thruxton (provisional):
1. Tom Chilton (GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, 1m17.269s
(109.76mph)
2. Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, +
0.170s
3. Alain Menu (SUI), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, +0.342s
4. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +0.587s
5. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Civic, +0.618s
6. Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/BMW 320si, +0.660s
7. Darren Turner (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +0.678s
8. Mike Jordan (GBR), Eurotech-John Guest-Speedfit/Honda Integra,
+0.750s
9. Gordon Shedden (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Civic, +0.798s
10. Matt Allison (GBR), Motorbase Performance/SEAT Toledo,
+0.956s
Chilton, back in ninth in the points standings and yet to
win for Vauxhall, was ecstatic with his performance. He said:
“That’s my second pole here in two different cars.
I love the place. The buzz is even bigger knowing I’ve
beaten two world-class drivers. Vauxhall is very much in the
driving seat for tomorrow and the Manufacturers’ crown
could be going our way. Three good races could also get me
up to sixth in the points so I’m going for it.”
Giovanardi, with eight wins so far this season, was not giving
too much away. The Modena driver said: “I did my time
without having to do too many laps so we’ve kept our
tyres in good shape. My team-mates are around me so I’m
happy, but Plato is right there like normal so it will not
be easy.”
Plato, being tended to by a nurse when out of his car, remained
optimistic about adding a second BTCC title to that which
he won in 2001. He said: “I could have been right in
with the Vauxhalls – I was in the slipstream of my team-mate
Darren Turner but I had a big sideways moment through Church
Corner. So I lost the tow in the final part of the lap which
cost me maybe 3/10ths of a second. I’m feeling a lot
more comfortable in the car than I thought I would –
natural adrenaline is a great thing! I’m also confident
in our race pace which should be quite a bit stronger than
our qualifying form.”
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