Photo: WTCC Media

Tom Chilton is aiming to be the last WTCC winner in Macau

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Tom Chilton will provisionally start from the front row for race two after securing the ninth fastest time in qualifying, and hopes to convert that into victory to aid his bid to be the highest ranked Chevrolet RML driver in the 2014 championship, and also to be classified as the last ever winner of an FIA World Touring Car Championship race in Macau.

Although there’s no official announcement as yet, there’s no secret of the fact that this weekend’s race will be the last for the WTCC in Macau, which is set to move its season-ender to the Middle East.

After qualifying, Chilton is five points behind his ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet team-mate Tom Coronel in the standings, and he’s hoping to overhaul the Dutchman this weekend using the reverse grid to his advantage, and hopefully take his second win of the season, a feat not achieved by anyone outside of Citroën so far this year.

“(P9) was what I was aiming for,” said Chilton to TouringCarTimes. “I knew I only had one flying lap at it, I needed to make sure that lap had no traffic, I had to make sure I didn’t lock up at Lisboa and didn’t hit the wall and do a steering arm. On the last run, if anyone was getting closer I could have pushed harder, but I didn’t have to, and I got P9 which was perfect.

“I’m so excited about getting a chance to win the last WTCC race in Macau, as it’s basically the Monaco Grand Prix of touring cars, I’m almost thinking about starting in the pits from race one and using it to set up the car, as at the end of the day we’re going for two points (starting from ninth in race one), and the risk of someone spanking you off, or a crash in front which you can’t avoid could make you wish you started from the pit lane and been sure of starting race two from the front and potentially scoring 25 points.

Although Chilton starts second, he will start behind Campos Racing’s Hugo Valente, with the 22-year-old driver chasing a strong end to a mixed season, where two potential victories at Spa and Moscow escaped the unfortunate Frenchman.

“I think second is the best place to be on the grid instead of pole, as you can do the first corner flat when you get a slight run at the start. (Polesitter) Hugo (Valente’s) in another Chevrolet, so he’s got similar speed to me, but I’ve been quicker in sector one and sector three, and sector one is where all the overtaking is.”