Ill Tom Chilton fighting against ballast and temperature in Slovakia

Tom Chilton was third fastest in the WTCC Trophy in today’s testing session. The Brit has a heavy cold and temperature, but his main concern is the ballast his Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën has to carry.

“The weight is for sure not helping the car,” said Chilton to TouringCarTimes. “I’m not sure how much it’s worth on the stopwatch, but that’s a lot. It’s something we just have to get through this weekend. I’m sure we will find something in qualifying but I think fundamentally we are going to lose a lot to everybody else this weekend.”

According to the Brit the problem is not over a single lap, but rather during the races: “It’s not necessarily about one lap, it’s about the race distance, because it affects the tyres. I think the car will have the potential in qualifying, and the Citroën is a fantastic car. I think it’s going to be alright over the single lap, unlike in Paul Ricard where I ended up P13.”

Speaking of Paul Ricard, Chilton admits he struggled in France: “It was my first proper running in the dry and also the first time my engineer was working on the Citroën, so it was a combination of me not driving really well, learning how to drive the C-Elysée, which is completely different from the Chevrolet, and my engineer learning how to set the car up, as it’s a different world on that side as well.”

Testing was really precious for Chilton, who welcomes the improvements made on the car after some setup changes: “We have made a couple of setup changes to back-to-back some things and for the first time I was quicker than my team-mates – actually half a second quicker than Mehdi (Bennani). It’s giving me confidence, because now that I’m beating the SLR cars I’ll be looking to getting to (Yvan) Muller and then (José María) López, which is my next goal. I need to go and study the data to see how I can improve both myself and the car, and tomorrow I will have to do better than today.”

Speaking of his illness, Chilton thinks it might affect him during the races, but hopes he will be fine by Sunday: “It’s a bit like the ballast, on one lap it doesn’t matter, but when you do a lot of laps it can make a very small difference. I just spoke to the doctor to see what I’m allowed to take and how much, and as long as I take my medications I will be okay. It’s also the third day I’ve been ill, so I should be fine by Sunday, which is when we have a long distance.”

The Brit is not focused on the WTCC Trophy, as his main goal is to find the sweet spot of the C-Elysée and be happy with the car: “At the moment I don’t have to think about anything other than setting up the car and driving at my best. Until I’m happy with the car points will come, you start gaining points when you are happy with the car. I think I am three quarters of the way there, so there’s more to learn and I think from Hungaroring onwards I’ll be fine. This weekend I am going to have a step forward, I have already beaten my team-mates, but I think there’s more to come from me and my car still.”

Chilton finished thirteenth overall this morning.