Thailand, FP2: Chilton charges in Buriram

Tom Chilton stole the show in Free Practice 2 for rounds 21 and 22 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship by setting the pace at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram this evening.

In temperatures just below 30 degrees centigrade, Chilton posted a best lap of 1m38.881s around the 4.555-kilometre track, which is hosting the inaugural WTCC Race of Thailand this weekend.

“It was a mega middle sector,” said Chilton, who is chasing Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy honours in his Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1. “It’s where all the corners are and is very technical. Up until now I’ve had problems with the car with dampers, the differential and the clutch and I’d only done two flying laps before FP2 with a car that was working. I was still learning the circuit so stayed out, pushed as hard as I could and got P1. Now I need to carry that into qualifying.”

Gabriele Tarquini was second quickest for Honda, 0.078s down on Chilton, with Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro next up in their Hondas. Mehdi Bennani was the top Citroën runner in fifth followed by Hugo Valente, John Filippi, José María López, Sébastien Loeb, Grégoire Demoustier, Ma Qing Hua and LADA’s Rob Huff as less than a second covered the top 12 drivers to underline the serious competition in the WTCC.

The next track action is at 10h00 on Sunday when the battle for the DHL Pole Position gets underway with Qualifying.