Chilton ‘lays down’ the gauntlet

Three drivers warmed up for Brands Hatch’s rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship on 24 September with a fun promotional race in ‘lie-down’ pedal karts around the Kent circuit yesterday against riders from the British Superbike series.

Vauxhall’s Tom Chilton, Brands’ BTCC lap record holder, finished a close second to BSB rider Shane Byrne. Chilton was the highest placed of the BTCC’s drivers – SEAT’s Darren Turner retired with mechanical failure while gear selection problems dropped Motorbase Performance’s Dave Pinkney from second to last position.

The one-lap sprint, held on three-wheeled KMX all-terrain karts in front of invited media, helped promote Brands’ forthcoming BTCC (four wheels) and BSB (two wheels) race meetings, on 24 and 1 October respectively.

Chilton said: “The karts were loads of fun, but you don’t want to go too fast though, because they shake a bit! I was going for the win, but I braked at the bottom of the hill and everyone got a massive run on me. I was flat out to make up for it but I think I popped my legs a bit too early.

“It’s all uphill from Graham Hill Bend and I was in the highest gear at the top of Clearways. You just don’t realise how steep it is in the car. You can’t feel the climb at 100mph!”