BTCC Snetterton Test: Chilton tops first day as Infiniti hits track

The Motorbase Performance Ford Focus RS driver said that his 1m56.144s lap was done on a full qualification simulation run during the cooler temperatures in the morning, but other work had been done during the day that meant it was productive.

He finished 0.118s clear of Team Dynamics' Dan Cammish, driving the Honda Civic, with Sam Tordoff (AmDTuning.com Honda Civic Type R) in third place.

Chilton said: "We have done a lot of running today. We have done a lot miles today: I have been though six sets of tyres, plus old ones too.

"It is interesting to see how the tyres work. We haven't only done set-up work for here [Snetterton], we have tried to understand what the differences are between the soft and the hard tyres. I am really happy with the balance of the car."

All of the 30-car field took part in the running apart from BTC Racing duo Chris Smiley and Josh Cook. The team was busy repairing its Honda Civic cars after the last meeting at Oulton Park.

Jake Hill's seat in the Trade Price Cars Racing Audi S3 was taken by team boss and Porsche racer Dan Kirby, who recorded the 28th fastest lap.

Former BTCC battler Max Coates, who races for Team Hard in the Renault UK Clio Cup, had the chance to sample one of the squad's Volkswagen CCs. He was unable to set a representative lap time.

Aiden Moffat made his debut in the revamped Infiniti, which the Laser Tools Racing squad will run for the remainder of the year.

The car currently lacks a proper ducting system to deliver power to the turbo, but the outfit says this will be corrected for the next race meeting at Snetterton on August 4-5. He was 29th.

HMS Racing's Alfa Romeo Giulietta also rejoined the BTCC group at the test, and driver Rob Austin posted the 15th best time.