Silverstone: Chilton makes history, Reid at centre of controversy

Tom Chilton became the youngest ever BTCC race winner when he took victory in round nine at Silverstone, but the race, and indeed the whole weekend, was packed full of controversy.

With Jason Plato having taken a last gasp pole position in qualifying on Saturday, the Seat Sport UK driver defended a strong start by Matt Neal to lead the early laps of round seven. However after a couple of laps, both Neal and James Thompson passed Plato’s ETCC-spec Seat, before a close battle ensued between Plato, Thompson and Yvan Muller. At the end of the race, it was Neal at the front, followed by Muller, Plato, Thompson and Eaves.

Controversy 1: Reid hits team-mate Turkington on opening lap

In race two, it was Robert Huff on pole position, but on his BTCC return, Team Sureterm’s Kelvin Burt took the early lead. Huff and Reid took up the chase, and it was not long before there was contact between Huff and Burt, with the Seat driver moving in to the lead. James Thompson then passed both Burt and Huff to take up position at the front of the pack whilst Yvan Muller enjoyed a strong run, fending off the advances of Anthony Reid to finish in second.

The drama continued to a peak in race three. Ahead of the race, Yvan Muller’s Astra Coupé dropped oil on the track on exiting the pits, and was wheeled off the grid. This left Thompson alone on the front row and he capitalized to convert his pole position to the race lead. Anthony Reid settled in to second position before closing on Thompson over the course of the opening laps. On lap four, Reid hit Thompson as he passed him to take the lead, causing the VX Racing driver to drop back.

Then second placed Matt Neal closed on Reid over the following laps, with Tom Chilton not far behind in third. Reid and Neal clashed a couple of laps before the end, causing both to run off the track and allowing Chilton through in to the lead. The 19 year-old did not look back en route to his maiden BTCC victory, becoming the youngest ever race winner in the series.

The action was far from over at the chequered flag. There was contact between Neal and Reid as they slowed down to come in to the pits, and then the pair also squared up in the pitlane. The BTCC stewards were also called in to action to review the race incidents. Stay tuned for the final outcome…