Chiltons money

[Neotax]

Is it tom chilton's daddys money talking here ??

race 1 the excuse of gear problem was it me or was it a already pre planned?

race 2 even more doubtful i feel

the ford is looking good bot T.O.C would of been 2rd in the championship ..

what they trying to do get T.C up there too ?

this post is not to offend or upset any1 .. just a question that was in my head

[cxx666]

I know this isnt designed to cause offense or anything, and I wouldnt say I was a Chilton fan, although I have nothing against him, however I cant be the only 1 on here getting a little fed up with the Chilton's wealth coming up on here surely?

For whatever reason TC won those 2 earlier races. Yes his fathers funding may have a part to play in it, however there is always the (in my opinion more likely) option that Arena want to get both their drivers up there in contention for the title towards the end of the year.

This isn't a personal rant towards Neotax, and I'm not saying people aren't entitles to their opinion, but i've just notioced a handful of differnt members on here making referance to the money which the family has, as if its a reason to dislike them or assume that everything that goes on is money related?

[Chris05]

I agree with CXX, I don't think that money even comes into it.

When you look at the points difference between 1st and 2nd place, it's only 3 points, give or take an extra 1 for leading a lap and/or fastest lap. TOC had also taken pole. I think they're just trying to get both drivers into contention, and it has worked. Do they sacrifice TOC losing 2/3 points or let Chilton jump about 6 places in the Championship, with them both being in with a shot of the title with 9 races still left to go?

AON must be doubting their decision to an extent though, given TOC could have won all 3 races today, and he'd be closer to Plato in 1st place.

[Neotax]

i know cxx666 you wasn't having ago !! also can i state that i wasnt trying to claim chiltons money will buy him wins

its just something that entered my head that chilton snr has ploughed a huge amount of money

and the fact his money has been mentioned here many times

just was intrested in peoples thoughts

im a big ford fan and the focus

i love the way it looks,(i think is the best looking car out there)(just my thoughts) sounds,and goooooo's

and what a great choice to get the 2 tom's involed

i know its been mentioned many times with the ford and the extra speed ..

but surely when we be at the twisty stuff will the take the restrictions off ??

surely every car has its strength and weakness's and the last few tracks have suited the fords? and other tracks suits other cars

i know the ford is fast butcome on :)

[cxx666]

i know cxx666 you wasn't having ago !! also can i state that i wasnt trying to claim chiltons money will buy him wins

its just something that entered my head that chilton snr has ploughed a huge amount of money


Don't worry about it, I'm sure its come into the minds of many on here.
On a side note its nice to see an actual Ford fan voicing a suspicion about tactics within the Arena camp, I admire that

[scurcic5]

Money has nothing to do with it. Favouritism towards your son does - which I can understand to a point.

But if it gets to the end of the season and TOC loses the title by a point or two, they're going to look pretty stupid. It's obvious to all who is the more talented driver (except in the Chilton household, perhaps).

[Bendanarama]

Money has nothing to do with it. Favouritism towards your son does - which I can understand to a point.

But if it gets to the end of the season and TOC loses the title by a point or two, they're going to look pretty stupid. It's obvious to all who is the more talented driver (except in the Chilton household, perhaps).

But at the end of the day, TOC is still in front. I reckon it was simply AON hedging their bets - at the end of the last meeting TC was mostly out of contention, but now they've brought him back into the fray. At this point in the season, two bets is better than one, and having both guys up their splits Plato and Neal's attentions. I honestly don't think it's nepotism rather than smart strategy. Even after the switch arounds, TOC is still within spitting distance of Plato's lead.

[spjames]

I have to say I was disgusted with what went on with the Fords today. I am speaking as someone who grew up loving BTCC Fords from the days of the Sierra's, through the Mondeos up to these Focuses. And I've also been a big Tom Chilton fan, despite him taking a bit of a kicking on these forums (mostly for how his racing is funded) but I've found him to be a breath of fresh air & a ****** quick driver too. However today I lost all respect for him & the team. Don't take us for mugs we all know what went on out there today & it was plain wrong, had it been chilton fighting for the title & only a couple of races left fair enough but when TOC is the guy leading it just makes a mockery of things & makes it impossible to defend Chilton from the accusations levelled at him. As a side note even my 14 year old son who is a massive Chilton fan said "that's not fair is it? It's basically cheating"

[Reidy_fan]

why is anyone surprised at this, we all know it is the Chilton's that rule at arena and it was a foregone conclusion that the wins would be handed to Chilton, I bet T O-C was happy to see owy in his mirrors in race 3,

I just dont see how anyone on here sees Chilton as a talented driver, he isnt, had it not been for daddy he wouldnt have made it beyond club racing

[Mondeo2]

AON obviously have their own game plan an yesterdays results have pulled Chilton back into the leading group and TOC is 2nd in the championship, just minus a few points from what he could possibly have got.
I don't see anyone moaning about MacDowell having to play second fiddle to Plato in race 1. Plato was running more ballast than TOC, Chilton and MacDowell both without ballast. PLato was holding MacDowell up, he was easily quicker than his team mate yet wasn't allowed to overtake. Had Plato and Chevvy allowed it, he could have battled with both Fords, possibly got past them and then backed them into Plato allowing Plato a chance to get through and fight for 1st.
I reckon this will cost Plato more dearly in terms of the Championship, than whatever results the Ford drivers got or could have had.

[dobbo]

IM SORRY but AON should be hanging there heads in shame

TOC is the highest in the rankings and always was and was quite clearly the quickest man on track
it simply makes no logical sence what they did

why bet on having two drivers there and there abouts when they could simply back one driver fully and make sure hes up there
it doesnt make sence
if chilton really is as good as they make us believe then he will make his own way up the leader board

[Rapid Fit Mondeo]

why is anyone surprised at this, we all know it is the Chilton's that rule at arena and it was a foregone conclusion that the wins would be handed to Chilton, I bet T O-C was happy to see owy in his mirrors in race 3,

I just dont see how anyone on here sees Chilton as a talented driver, he isnt, had it not been for daddy he wouldnt have made it beyond club racing

Whatever went on here, to say Chilton isn't a talented driver is ridiculous. He's very quick and has proved that as well as helping develop the Focus.

Personally I think the money factor is most likely to be the case (assuming TOC hasn't actually signed knowing that may happen at some stage). Although there have been occasions before where Chilton could have been let past but wasn't.

There's an outside chance of course that Chilton did save his tyres better so letting him past allowed TOC to get towed down the straight to negate the time lost in the corners and preventing him being sucked back into the pack.

[cxx666]

I just dont see how anyone on here sees Chilton as a talented driver, he isnt, had it not been for daddy he wouldnt have made it beyond club racing

Thats quite possibly the most stupid thing I've read on here in a long time. Yes without a doubt a wealthy family will have helped him to begin with, but to say he isnt talented is just plain wrong. Its clear TC and TOC have the quickest car out there, but it takes a good car AND a talented driver to rack up wins, poles etc.
Can I also add that he has been heavily involved in the development of the car, if he was talentless as you seem to believe, would Arena really have let him get involved in the development of their car?

[ktfcmatt]

Im not a fan of either of the Aon drivers but after todays fiasco, I actually feel sorry for TOC. He tried his best to convince us that a gearbox issue cost him the win, but it just reminded me of Massa a few weeks back.
TOC is clearly the faster, more consistent driver and for that reason I hope he wins the championship.
What will happen if, with just a lap to go on the final race, TOC is leating TC by 1 point and is 5 seconds ahead. Another gearbox issue perhaps?........

Platos comment summed it up nicely, "I though TOC was the leading Ford driver?"

[thommo_fan]

A quote from Mike Earle on the Team Aon website:

“A great weekend for the team; three wins, plus a second and a third, therefore five podium finishes – not bad! We've moved into the lead of the Constructors championship and both drivers have moved up in the championship standings. Having both of them up there is very important for us heading into the final three rounds of the championship, so all in all a great weekend.” “A great weekend for the team; three wins, plus a second and a third, therefore five podium finishes – not bad! We've moved into the lead of the Constructors championship and both drivers have moved up in the championship standings. Having both of them up there is very important for us heading into the final three rounds of the championship, so all in all a great weekend.”

Note the last bit.

Team Aon's main targets this year will be the manufacturers/constructors and the team's championships above the drivers championship.

IMO yesterdays team tatics were very tough on TOC but as i've said the drivers championship won't be the team's priority which is why they employed the tatics they did yesterday because its better for the team to have both drivers higher up the championship.

All this whinging from Plato is getting a bit tiresome now, was it not JP who had a TDI powered car in 2008 that no other car could pass down the straights because of its straight line speed, the words pot, kettle and black spring to mind.

And for JP to question Team Aon's tatics after race 1 is laughable considering he keeps saying there are no team orders when clearly there are after MacDowell wasn't allowed to pass JP despite clearly be quicker.

But Mike Earle called it exctly right in his interview before race 2 when he said JP is very good at winding people up.

[team freebie]

Team orders are permitted in BTCC and teams have always run things to best suit their own agenda hence we had 3 RAC BMs last season with two of them their to support one driver. Arena had a lot of sponsors out at the weekend and team points and 2 drivers near the top is better than 1. We may not like it but the teams need their sponsors to start commiting to next season and they will play tactics to get the deals done. It will be no different if Matt Neal needs the points in a race, Flash will have to step aside its just the way it is.

[team freebie]

Platos comment summed it up nicely, "I though TOC was the leading Ford driver?"

I wouldnt put much store in what JP says next he will be saying that there would never be team orders in the Chevys.:rolleyes:

[cxx666]

All this whinging from Plato is getting a bit tiresome now, was it not JP who had a TDI powered car in 2008 that no other car could pass down the straights because of its straight line speed, the words pot, kettle and black spring to mind.

And for JP to question Team Aon's tatics after race 1 is laughable considering he keeps saying there are no team orders when clearly there are after MacDowell wasn't allowed to pass JP despite clearly be quicker.

Well said, Anyone who goes through my posts will know I cannot be called a Plato fan, and to be honest would be genuinely offended if someone did call me that, however I think its fair to say he needs to give the whinging a rest now.
Almost every available opportunity he gets he rants and moans about that car, yesterdays outburst after race 1 was predictable and to be honest made me less inclined to listen to whatever else he had to say. Other drivers tough on how the Foci are in a class of their own, and its obvious they're not too pleased but are being much more dignified about it. Jason, you don't think its fair, we get it.

Regarding the Chevy garage, I can't be the only 1 who thinks they don't have 2 top line drivers for a reason can I? 1 former champ who is undeniably quick, but the other is rookie from clios who (in my opinon) is nothing more than average most of the time. Methinks more experienced, better drivers were deliberately overlooked so that there was no danger of the golden boy being outshon by a superior team mate

[redshoes]

Methinks more experienced, better drivers were deliberately overlooked so that there was no danger of the golden boy being outshon by a superior team mate
Rather an ironic statement considering the topic of this thread. The driver line-up at Chevrolet has nothing to do with who is or isn't experienced and everything to do with who brings sponsors money.

[Ogami]

Rather an ironic statement considering the topic of this thread. The driver line-up at Chevrolet has nothing to do with who is or isn't experienced and everything to do with who brings sponsors money.

And that would also apply to AON ... And Honda.

I do wish people would cease muttering about Chiltons money. There are other drivers on the grid who can be accused of just being there because their money bought their place/car/team.

P

[btccrox]

I'm just glad Chilton didn't do the three wins in one day, that would have been handing it to him on a plate, if the Aons had of stayed 1-2 in race 3 they would have made toc move over no doubt.

Th nasty horrid Ford farce as Plato was saying :p

[mattlovestbs]

Regarding the Chevy garage, I can't be the only 1 who thinks they don't have 2 top line drivers for a reason can I? 1 former champ who is undeniably quick, but the other is rookie from clios who (in my opinon) is nothing more than average most of the time. Methinks more experienced, better drivers were deliberately overlooked so that there was no danger of the golden boy being outshon by a superior team mate

And you're saying that Mat Jackson isn't experienced? Didn't he record eight straight podiums while alongside JP?

Yes - money talks - so does talent. That is why OC is at AON, he has talent and can bring money to the team.

[kezbabybabe]

I don't think we are on topic anymore....

[Mondeo2]

And you're saying that Mat Jackson isn't experienced? Didn't he record eight straight podiums while alongside JP?

Yes - money talks - so does talent. That is why OC is at AON, he has talent and can bring money to the team.

JP and Jackson were independants last year so Jackson was their by way of the sponsorship he could bring to pay for his drive. MacDowell is in a works drive, I dare say he has had to bring sponsorship to the team to ensure his place but it's not the same.
All drivers will have their own personal sponsors, even in works teams, it helps pay their wages at the end of the day.
Both Tom and his brother Max have been fortunate enough to have been able to race in their chosen championships by way of backing of their father. That just means that they don't have to run around looking for other big sponsors and I don't see anything wrong in that. Both my sons would love to race and as much as I'd love to be in a position to fund them, I'm not. How many of the Junior Ginetta drivers, are funded by their dad's money, does that mean they have no talent and shouldn't be out their racing?

[Editor1]

This one's going round and round in circles and will continue to do so... so time to close it.

Ed1