Itwas another strong weekend for Tom Chilton in the British Touring Car Championship after Birch’s Commercial Director battled hard for a podium.
Norfolk was the venue for Bank Holiday weekend race action, and whilst racing elsewhere included F1 at Monaco, MotoGP at Silverstone and even 24 karting at Milton Keynes, the Birch brand was seen at speed at Snetterton.
Out in action for the third time this season after his race win at Donington Park and action aplenty at BrandsHatch, Tom put in a battling drive to third place in the second of Sunday’s three races for TeamVERTU in the Hyundai i30 Fastback N.
After a solid qualifying effort – ninth on the grid, just missing the Q3 cut –Chilton worked his way into the top seven in the opening race. This meant he was still able to use the soft tyre again in Race two, where he was truly able to unleash the Hyundai’s potential. After a clean run through the opening laps, he pushed forward to grab a hard-earned podium, climbing past Dan Lloyd in the final stages to seal third.
“Although we missed out on Q3, we had a good run in qualifying on Saturday and the first two races were great. We were able to make the most of the pace in the car to race forwards and I really enjoyed picking up some strong points for the championship.”
Then came Race three, where Chilton was saddled with the harder tyre and compromised by an early trip off-track, offered a lesson in damage limitation. Finishing 18th, he showed resilience – and importantly, added more points to his season total. That consistency now see shim sitting seventh in the Drivers' Championship standings.
“Race three was a different matter on the hard tyre, and whilst it’s fine at Thruxton as it’s what it is designed for, it was horrible at Snetterton. Being forced wide early on didn’t help as the tyres got covered in dirt and just didn’t clean, but by the finish, the only guys ahead were those I’d battled for the podium in race two. That showed we did what we could.”
After a Bank Holiday Monday to rest and reset, Chilton is now back in the Birch Gatwick office. As Commercial Director for Birch, Chilton represents the same values we stand for: passion for performance, attention to detail, and an appreciation of automotive excellence. Just as we care for everything from rare Ferraris to bespoke Land Rovers, Tom looks after his race craft with the same level of meticulous preparation and high standards.
Next up for Tom and Team VERTU is Thruxton on June 7-8 – the fastest circuit on the calendar and a place where experience counts for everything. And just like at Birch, where everything is engineered for long-term excellence, Chilton is showing that seasoned consistency is still one of the most powerful tools in the paddock.
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