FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) driver Tom Chilton joined forces with Robb Holland and Grand-AM Champion David Thilenius in Rotek Racing’s Audi TTRS to score a dominant class victory and P12 overall in the SP4T class at the ADAC Zurich 24h Nürburgring – Qualifying race.
Chilton, who was entered in the event to gain experience prior to WTCC’s debut at the notoriously difficult German circuit, started the event in P21 after a strong qualifying lap that saw him post the fastest time ever set for the TTRS on the 24h circuit. “The car was amazing today. We’ve been working closely with Yokohama and the engineers at Rotek Racing to get the best set up for qualifying and it all came together really nicely.”
After losing a few spots on the start to the higher horsepower GT3 Cup cars, Chilton set about methodically moving through the field, before turning the car over to Nürburgring debutant, Thilenius, who did well to hold position and turn the car over to Holland in P18. “Racing at the Nürburgring for the first time is a bit overwhelming, but the car was so well sorted that it gives you huge levels in confidence to push harder and harder, as my stint went on.”
Holland then took over from Thilenius, and the American driver, who makes his home part-time at the Nürburgring, proceeded to use his experience of the circuit to run consistently quick laps in traffic to move up to P14. “Right now the Rotek Racing TTRS is the best its ever been at this track. We spent a lot of time fine turning the set up to the Yokohama tires, which are relatively new to us. Tom (Chilton) and our race engineer Nick Silvester’s experience with these tires was invaluable in order for us to get the most out of them.”
Chilton got back in for the second-to-last stint, moving the car a further spot forward, before Thilenius got in for the closing stint, bringing the car home in P12 overall, ahead of many of the higher class SP9 and GT3 cars. A strong showing for the 380hp front-wheel drive TTRS.
Chilton, who’s sole aim for the weekend was gaining the experience he needed to be competitive at the WTCC race at the Nürburgring in four weeks, time summed up his experience at the legendary circuit, “For me it was an amazing couple of days here at the Nordschleife with blue skies and fast cars. I was very happy with the feel of the car and I was driving on the limit around here, and Rotek Racing did a great job with the car running the 6hrs seamlessly. The task was to learn the track ready for our race in the WTCC on May 16th, which is just before the start of the 24hr race. I now feel I have a great handle on everything and feel more than prepared.”