Chilton fastest for Motorbase on final day of BTCC tyre test

The seven-time race winner, who is eighth in the chase for the 2019 crown, relied on a 1m56.144s lap from Tuesday's opening session to put himself at the head of the pack.

"To be honest we really gave it some out there," said Chilton. "We're obviously testing different compounds and set-ups, but this is a real chance for us to push forwards with the car.

"We had a pre-season test in Spain but the conditions weren't great there, so this is a vital few days in preparation for the rest of the season."

The fastest man in the opening session of Wednesday was Chilton's Motorbase Performance team-mate Ollie Jackson, whose 1m56.290s was narrowly clear of the Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type R of Dan Cammish.

Jackson said: "My year so far hasn't really included the results we've felt we've deserved. We've had some bad luck and made a few minor errors that have been unduly punished, so overall we just haven't had the rub of the green.

"Of course topping the times in testing doesn't win you any points, but it's a good feeling and a great boost ahead of the event here in a few weeks' time."

The Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes A-Class of Adam Morgan was third in the morning's running.

In the afternoon, the timesheets were topped by the returning Rob Austin in the HMS Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

Although the car is not competing in this year's competition, Austin was permitted to take part to assess developments made to the hatchback racers over the beginning of the year. His lap time was 1m56.556s.

He finished ahead of Jake Hill (Trade Price Racing Cars Audi S3) and Jack Goff (Team Hard VW CC) in the final session.

Trade Price Cars Racing team boss Dan Kirby ran in one of his team's Audi S3 machines on Tuesday. Matt Neal's son Henry, who is racing in the Touring Car Trophy this season, also sampled a Team Dynamics Honda.

Renault UK Clio Cup graduates Max Coates and Ethan Hammerton both sampled Team Hard's VC CC machines alongside the regular drivers.