Chilton joins Ciceley BMW BTCC squad for 2021
British Touring Car Championship race-winner Tom Chilton will switch to driving a Ciceley Motorsport BMW 330i M Sport this year, joining Adam Morgan in the family-run team
The 35-year-old, a 14-time BTCC race-winner and two-time Independents champion, joins his third different team in as many seasons having followed a personal best third for the Motorbase Ford team in 2018 with tenth in the standings last year in a latest-specification BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R FK8.
Ciceley will replace the venerable Mercedes A-Class it has campaigned since 2014 with two West Surrey Racing-built BMWs, the first customer examples of the car that Colin Turkington took to the 2019 title and finished runner-up with last year.
With ex-BAR Formula 1 and Jaguar Group C engineer Steve Farrell joining for 2020, Morgan finished eighth in the standings and took a first win since 2018 at Oulton Park.
For Chilton, who made his BTCC debut as a 17-year-old in 2002, it will be his first experience of BMW machinery in a career that has been largely spent in Ford and Honda and includes a six-year spell in the World Touring Car Championship.
He said: "I'm really looking forward to joining Ciceley Motorsport in their new era, they are a great team and the BMW will be ultra-competitive.
"Adam [Morgan] and I get along really well and we will work as hard as required with team engineer Steve Farrell to ensure we're at the front of the pack straight away.
"I've made no secret of my desire to change my lucky racing number 3 into the coveted number 1 and truly believe that the team and will provide me with the platform required to achieve my aim."
Team owner Russell Morgan added: "We have genuinely never been so excited going into a race season.
"I have only ever been racing because I enjoy it, it's something that I have always done, but we have made massive investment into the team this year and need results.
"Therefore, it was of the upmost importance that we secured a driver who brings experience, technical ability and is able to move us forward as a team.
"Tom is the perfect fit for Ciceley Motorsport, so both he and Adam should be fighting at front from the get-go."
The BTCC has confirmed its entries for the 2021 season with a 29-car field set to feature in the series.
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