Thomas James Chilton was born on March 15, 1985. He is a British racing driver who will compete for Team VERTU in the British Touring Car Championship. Thomas has mostly competed in touring car racing throughout his career. His younger brother, Max, is also a racing driver.

Career

Chilton was born in Reigate. His father, Grahame Chilton, is a businessman who helped run the insurance company Benfield Group until 2008, when Aon plc bought it for £738 million. After the purchase, Chilton became vice-chairman of Aon and received about £77 million for his share of the company. Chilton attended Reigate St Mary's School and Shiplake College. He enjoyed racing from a young age and competed in the BRSCC T Cars Championship in 1999 and 2000. He later won the BRSCC Saloon Car winter championship in 2001. His brother, Max Chilton, is also a racing driver.

In 2002, Chilton joined the BTCC as a teammate to Aaron Slight, driving a Vauxhall Astra Coupé for Barwell Motorsport. At 17 years old, he was the youngest driver in the series until 2013. He was very fast, and even though he had little experience, he finished 15th overall and fifth in the Independents' Cup that season.

In 2003, Chilton drove a Honda Civic Type-R for Arena Motorsport and finished ninth overall. When Honda stopped supporting the team in 2004, Arena only had enough money to run one car for Chilton. Despite this, he won his first race at Silverstone during the ninth race of the season, becoming the youngest BTCC race winner. He won again at Donington in the 29th race.

For 2005, Chilton planned to join the DTM with support from MG Rover, but the program failed when MG Rover closed. He returned to the BTCC with Arena Motorsport and also raced for Zytek in endurance series. He won races in both ALMS and LMS. He finished fifth in the 2005 BTCC despite only starting 24 of 30 races. Chilton continued racing with Zytek, and he and his brother Max drove the car at Silverstone in 2007.

In 2006, VX Racing signed Chilton to drive a Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch. He did not win any races that season and finished seventh overall. VX Racing kept him for 2007, but the team focused on another driver, Fabrizio Giovanardi. Chilton finished ninth overall and decided not to stay with VX Racing in 2008.

In 2008, Chilton joined Team Dynamics to partner with Gordon Shedden, replacing Matt Neal. He won his first race since 2005 at Brands Hatch and finished 10th in the championship.

For 2009, Chilton returned to Arena Motorsport to drive a Ford Focus ST in the BTCC under the Team Aon banner. He spent much of the year developing the car and finished 13th in the drivers' standings.

In 2010, Chilton drove a LPG-powered Ford Focus ST. The car was competitive, taking four of the first five poles. His teammate, Tom Onslow-Cole, had better results early in the season, but Chilton won both races at Silverstone. Onslow-Cole finished higher in the overall standings, but Chilton won the Independents' Trophy by two points.

In 2011, Arena Motorsport introduced a new Ford Focus based on Super 2000 regulations. Chilton struggled early in the season but won races at Knockhill and Silverstone. He finished seventh in the drivers' championship with 197 points.

In 2012, Chilton made his debut in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) with Arena Motorsport, driving a Ford Focus S2000 TC. He scored points in races in Morocco and Slovakia. He received a five-place penalty for a collision in Austria and finished 19th in the drivers' standings. Arena Motorsport ended its WTCC program after losing Ford's support, leaving Chilton without a team for 2013.

In 2013, Chilton joined RML to drive a Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T with Yvan Muller. He finished second at the season-opening Race of Italy and won his first WTCC race at the Race of the United States. He had mechanical issues in the final race at Macau but finished the season in 8th place.

In 2014, Chilton drove for ROAL Motorsport with teammate Tom Coronel. He won the first race in Beijing and finished 8th in the championship. He continued with ROAL Motorsport in 2015.

In 2016, Chilton raced for Sébastien Loeb Racing in a Citroën with Mehdi Bennani. He won a race in Argentina and earned six podiums. He finished second in the Independents' standings after Bennani won the title.

In 2017, Chilton drove for Sébastien Loeb Racing in the WTCC. He won races in Monza, Motegi, and Losail. He claimed the Independents' title at the final race of the season. In the overall standings, he finished third behind Norbert Michelisz and Thed Björk. The WTCC was renamed the World Touring Car Cup after this season.

In 2017, Chilton returned to the BTCC, driving a Vauxhall Astra for Power Maxed Racing. He finished third in the opening race at Brands Hatch. On December 20, 2017, Chilton decided to focus on his BTCC career. He joined Motorbase Performance, named Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher due to sponsorship. He won his first race since 2011.

TV appearances

Chilton has participated in five episodes of Top Gear. In Series 5, Episode 5, he was one of the drivers in the People Carrier Race. He later appeared in the first episode of Series 6, driving in the Toyota Aygo football match. More recently, he took part in Series 10, Episode 6, where he raced a Chevrolet motorhome with other touring car drivers and Richard Hammond. In Series 12, Episode 5, he raced (and then rolled over) a Leyland Olympian. Earlier in that same episode, he competed against Jeremy Clarkson while driving a BMW M3. On December 6, 2009, he appeared in another episode of Top Gear, racing against other touring car drivers in airport vehicles. In Series 20, Episode 2, he raced a taxi cab against Hammond.

In 2009, Chilton appeared with Anthony Reid in a music video for singer and songwriter Andy J Gallagher.

Chilton participated as a single man in Episode 4 of the first series of the ITV show Take Me Out, which was hosted by Paddy McGuinness.

Racing record

Key: Races printed in bold indicate the driver started first (pole position). One point is awarded for pole position in all races. Races printed in italics indicate the driver set the fastest lap. One point is awarded for the fastest lap in all races. An asterisk (*) means the driver led the race for at least one lap. One point is given for this in all races.

Key: Races printed in bold indicate the driver started first (pole position). Races printed in italics indicate the driver set the fastest lap.

A driver who did not finish the race but completed more than 90% of the race distance received a position. Half points are given if the driver completed less than 75% of the race distance.

Key: Races printed in bold indicate the driver started first (pole position). Races printed in italics indicate the driver set the fastest lap.