Tom Chilton's 20-season long BTCC career comes to an end in Brands Hatch
In 2002, a young 17-year old Tom Chilton from Reigate, Surrey stepped onto the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) grid for the first time. Now, after 24 years, 20 seasons and a championship title in 2010, the multiple-time winner has announced his retirement.
Early Career:
Chilton started his BTCC career in 2002 with Barwell Motorsport. Until Aiden Moffat in 2013, he was the youngest ever driver to race in the series. His first appearance in the series was during Round One at Brands Hatch, where he scored a P3 on debut - setting him up for an impressive career. Chilton finished his first season in 15th (overall), and 5th in the Independents’ Cup. After his rookie season had concluded, Chilton made the switch to Arena Motorsport for the 2003 season and remained with the British-based team until 2005. Despite the team only being able to fund running one car for Chilton during the 2004 season, he claimed his first victory during race 9 at Silverstone, making him the youngest winner of a touring car race.
For the 2006/7 seasons, Chilton moved to VX Racing, and raced alongside Fabrizio Giovanardi - however he chose to leave the team after the 2007 season and instead moved to Team Dynamics (known as Team Halfords). After a short stint racing alongside Gordon Shedden, Chilton returned to former team, Arena Motorsport between 2009-2011.
In 2010, during a rather dominant season for both Chilton and teammate Tom Onslow-Cole, Arena Motorsport took victory after victory. Onslow-Cole took the overall drivers’ championship, but it was Tom Chilton who took the glory by claiming the Independents’ Trophy by 2 points over Airwaves BMW driver Steven Kane.
Return to British Touring Cars:
After a nearly 10-year career in BTCC, Chilton took a hiatus and instead went racing with the World Touring Car Championship. This change saw him race at tracks all across the globe such as the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Marrakech Street Circuit and Suzuka Circuit. He raced in the championship between 2012-2017.
In 2017, Chilton made his return to the British Touring Car Championship, racing a Vauxhall Astra with Power Maxed Racing. He started from pole for Race 3 (in the opening round) of the 2017 season, finishing in 3rd place on his return. Deciding to focus on his racing career, he chose to switch to Motorbase Performance (due to sponsorship, known as Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher). In the 2018 season, Chilton took his first victory since 2011, winning Race 3 (Round 24) in Knockhill. At the end of the 2018 season, Chilton took 3rd place in the overall championship, further adding to his growing list of achievements. He remained with the team for the 2019 season but moved to BTC racing for 2020.
In 2021, he switched teams again to Bristol Street Motors, and remained there until 2024, where he took 2 wins and 4 podiums. Last year, Chilton moved to Team VERTU, claiming 2 wins and 6 podiums, placing him in 7th place in the overall championship. For the 2026 season, he was racing with Team VERTU and approached the end of his final season in BTCC with 1 win and 4 podiums.
After all racing action in the final 2026 Brands Hatch weekend, Tom Chilton’s British Touring Car Championship career came to an end. After more than 560 races, 19 wins, and over 70 podiums, he left the sport after an impressive career full of records and many memorable moments.
Written by Charlotte Taylor ©️ Charlotte Taylor 2026
