Chilton Wins Race 1 at Silverstone
Tom Chilton claimed his fourth British Touring Car Championship win of the season in the first of today's (Sunday) triple-header at Silverstone
Chilton's Arena Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R headed the lead SEAT Toledo Cupra of James Pickford by 1.5 seconds after taking the lead from pole sitter Gareth Howell's Honda Integra Type-R off the line. Pickford came closest to taking the lead on the 18th of 25 laps after Chilton struggled through the hairpin at Becketts. Despite Pickford getting alongside into Brooklands, Chilton was late enough on the brakes to retain the lead.
Jason Plato made it two SEATs on the podium with an opportunistic drive from seventh to third. The 2001 champion relieved his old rival, Vauxhall's Yvan Muller, of third on the entry to Copse on lap 12, with the Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch driver unable to respond.
Muller was fortunate not to lose fourth to Howell, who endured a troubled race after claiming his maiden BTCC pole position in qualifying. Howell outbraked himself while shadowing Chilton in the early stages and was shuffled back in a fierce battle for third. Sixth at one point, Howell barged past the third SEAT of Luke Hines for fifth in the closing stages and was catching Muller when the chequered flag flew.
Howell's teammates, championship leader Matt Neal and Dan Eaves fared worse, however. Eaves was crowded out into the Brooklands gravel trap in the early stages, while Neal dropped to the bottom of the top ten after a big moment while trying to pass Rob Collard at Brooklands. Neal, carrying maximum ballast, could manage only two points for ninth place, allowing Muller to close the points gap to 24 with five races remaining.
Muller's Astra Sport Hatch teammate Colin Turkington ran as high as fourth, but slipped to seventh in the final reckoning, just ahead of James Kaye, who turned in another strong performance in the Synchro Motorsport Civic.
CLASSIFIED: Pos Driver Make Time 1. Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type-R 25:26.083 2. James Pickford SEAT Toledo Cupra + 1.505 3. Jason Plato SEAT Toledo Cupra + 3.378 4. Yvan Muller Vauxhall Astra + 6.691 5. Gareth Howell Honda Integra + 7.259 6. Luke Hines SEAT Toledo Cupra + 9.571 7. Colin Turkington Vauxhall Astra + 10.011 8. James Kaye Honda Civic Type-R + 11.210 9. Matt Neal Honda Integra + 13.283 10. Rob Collard MG ZS + 13.493 11. Gavin Smith Vauxhall Astra + 13.976 12. Richard Williams Lexus IS200 + 41.111 13. Fiona Leggate Vauxhall Astra Coupe + 53.156 14. Ian Curley Lexus IS200 + 53.995 NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS: Driver Make On Lap MarK Proctor Vauxhall Astra Coupe 7 Dan Eaves Honda Integra 2 Fastest Lap: Jason Plato, 1:00.927 on lap 10
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