Tom Chilton rues DNF in first race in Morocco

Tom Chilton dropped from second to fourth in the drivers’ standings after the second race weekend of the WTCC season in Marrakech, after being forced to retire with damage in the first race when he hit the rear of team-mate Yvan Muller’s car.

Speaking after race two, when Chilton was able to work his way forward from sixth on the grid to third behind the SEAT of Pepe Oriola and team-mate Yvan Muller, he said:
“Around here, you have to be careful. Me and Yvan worked together to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes especially after race one when I damaged the front-end under brakes at Turn 3 and had to come in and DNF. So I was actually trying to get points rather than try and be a hero.”

Chilton believes that more was possible from the RML Chevrolet Cruze this weekend, but missed out after an error at the hairpin in qualifying which saw his best lap scuppered.

“Street circuits are more about qualifying than any other circuits,” said Chilton.

“Because of the walls there’s no room for error, so overtaking is a lot harder, so if I could have put it on the front row in qualifying it would have a big difference in the race for sure. In the warm-up I was fastest, and in the last race when I got some clear running and the car was straight I was fastest again, so our pace is there for sure and I just need to make sure that I keep finishing races.”