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Tom Chilton plans to go one better than stand-in Rob Huff

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Tom Chilton says going one better than his Silverstone stand-in Rob Huff is at the forefront of his mind ahead of Brands Hatch race day, after giving Power Maxed Racing their best qualifying result of the season.

Chilton put the new Vauxhall Astra fifth on the grid for Sunday, describing his best time set in the final minutes of the session as “genuinely a perfect lap.”

The former independents’ champion says his thoughts have now turned to aiming for victory on Sunday, to better the second place Rob Huff achieved at Silverstone two weeks ago.

Chilton sat out the Silverstone weekend after an operation on his gall bladder, with Huff taking the team’s second podium of the season in his absence.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Chilton said: “I always go well around here, I’ve always been fast. Last time I was here I won, and held the lap record for three years or so. I gave it a really big effort in qualifying and everything came together.

“I thought it was there the lap before but then felt ‘there’s a little bit more here’ and got another two tenths out of it – which makes something like a 10-place difference on the grid!

“It was genuinely a perfect lap. I’m really happy with how the team performed because there was the whole wet/dry scenario, and it’s not just as simple as bolting on wet tyres.

“We’ve made lots of setup changes from the start of the day, but we’ve got there. It wasn’t just a case of throwing on what we had at Silverstone.”

Looking ahead to the final three races of the season, Chilton says his aim is simple – to stand on the top step of the podium.

He said: “It’s our best qualifying this year, and I’m in this to go for the win – nothing else!

“It’s the last round of the year and we all want to end on a high. It was great what Rob did last time out but I want to go one better.

“I got a third earlier this when the car was miles away, just because it’s my circuit. I’m hoping I can go for first tomorrow, but I may have to go for it on the reverse grid!”