Tom Chilton: Raring to go with VXR

Tom Chilton says he wants to break more records in motorsport, with the BTCC title and winning Le Mans top of his list.

The 20-year-old is already the youngest person to have started a BTCC race, the youngest to win a BTCC race and the youngest to win a major sportscar race, after he and Hayanari Shimoda drove a Zytek to victory in the ALMS at Laguna Seca in October.

"I want to be the youngest to win the Le Mans 24 hour and the btcc title," says Tom, who turns 21 on March 15th. "If all goes well I can do it at 21, which is younger than [current BTCC record-holder] James Thompson when he won his first title."

To achieve the touring car part of that ambition, Tom will this season drive for VX Racing, the team with which Thompson won both his titles.

"While I was in the USA, at Laguna Seca, at the end of the season, Ian Harrison from Triple Eight was on the phone every couple of hours and the day I landed at Heathrow my manager picked me up and drove me to their factory. I signed the contract a week later."

"I'm glad to be at Vauxhall, they are a fantasatic manufacturer. They've been champion for the last five years. Triple Eight have won four times, it's like the Ferrari of Touring Cars and I'm privileged to be part of it."

Some praise from a driver who six months ago was convinced his future lay in the world of endurance racing.

"I love Touring Cars. It's sideways, it's close, it's enjoyable. I love sportscars and endurance racing too; It trains me in a different way. I'm not taking it out of the equation and I spoke to Mike Earle at Arena and he says I'm the first person he'll put in the car."

So does that mean the Surrey driver will be combining the two disciplines again this season?

"Yes. My contract with Vauxhall leaves me free to race in anything else, as long as it's outside the UK."

"...it's like the Ferrari of Touring Cars and I'm privileged to be part of it."   - TC

The move to VXR from Arena means one major change for Tom. After two seasons of running in a one-car team, he will have two team-mates in 2006.

"I've been part of a three car team before, in my first year at Arena aged 17 or 18. I learned a lot then off Matt [Neal] and Alan [Morrison] and moving to Triple Eight is like moving to another company which is as good."

"Fabrizio's going to be a bit rusty on a few of the circuits but as I've proved in sports cars, for example at the Nürburging, we did about four or five laps and were top of the times. It proves you don't need hundreds of laps to learn a circuit."

"As I've always said, motor racing is a natural ability: You've either got it or you haven't and Fabrizio obviously has it. At the same time, if he asks, then I'll help him because it's all about getting the team back on top."

"The team have developed little bits on the car through the winter and all those bits add up to a bigger chunk of time. We'll try them out in Albacete."

"We've got a couple of weeks testing lined up in Spain and we may do some in the UK, but there's a long way to go."