Race 3: Chilton's maiden win

The drama started before the start when series leader Yvan Muller failed to make the start. The Vauxhall driver had a clutch problem in race two, and the team elected to change the engine for race three. But on his out lap, the Astra lost most of its oil, and Muller had no choice but to head back to the pits and watch the race from the pit wall, and watch his rivals close the gap.

So, Thompson had the front row to himself, as well as the knowledge that teammate Muller would not be scoring any more points at Silverstone.

Thompson took the lead at the start, but the success ballast he was carrying made him something of a sitting duck. Anthony Reid grabbed second, and immediately started piling the pressure on Thompson. On lap 3, Reid made a bold move at Priory, firing up the inside of Thompson with all four wheels on the grass, and bumping the leader out of the way to take the lead.

As Thompson regained his momentum, he dropped to fourth place, with Rob Huff and Matt Neal moving by. Also on the move was Chilton, who was already up the order from his 10th starting position.

Jason Plato was next to 'rub' Thompson, knocking him back two more places, while Muller, in the pits, must have been rubbing his hands with glee as his teammate lost more points. This put Chilton up to fourth.

As the race reached half distance, the order settled down, with Reid holding a 2.3sec lead over Neal. But on lap 12, the MG driver's lead evaporated, and Neal was right on his bumper. The pair had already fallen out after a free practice incident on Saturday, so we knew we could expect fireworks...

Sure enough at Island corner, Neal got alongside, and the pair speared off on to the grass, allowing Chilton into the lead, the youngster having passed Huff on the previous lap.

From there is was plain sailing for Chilton, the 19 year old crossing the line to become the youngest ever winner in the BTCC. Reid held on to second, but Neal suffered damage in his of course moment, and dropped to eighth at the flag, just behind Thomspon.

Thompson's finish was enough to put him back to the top of the points standings on 93pts, four ahead of the non-starting Muller. Reid, in the privateer MG, is third on 75pts, with Matt Neal and Jason Plato completing the top five.


1, Tom Chilton, Honda Civic Type-R, 24m03.116s
2, Anthony Reid, MG ZS, 24m04.302s
3, Jason Plato, SEAT Toledo Cupra, 24m08.196s
4, Robert Huff, SEAT Toledo Cupra, 24m08.730s
5, Carl Breeze, Alfa Romeo 156 GTA, 24m14.398s
6, Dan Eaves, Honda Civic Type-R, 24m14.65s
7, James Thompson, Vauxhall Astra Coupe, 24m15.452s
8, Matt Neal, Honda Civic Type-R, 24m16.486s
9, James Kaye, Honda Civic Type-R, 24m17.605s
10, Michael Bentwood, Vauxhall Astra Coupe, 24m18.012s