Max Chilton and brother Tom aim for Le Mans Classic

Max Chilton could return to the circuit 24 Hours of Le Mans ten years after his only participation. It was at the time on the Nissan GT-R LM Nismo alongside the Frenchman Olivier Pla and Jann Mardenborough (withdrawal). Aged 33, the Briton with 35 starts in Formula 1 with Marussia in 2013 and 2014 was thus present at the tests organized on the Paul-Ricard circuit on March 4 and 5 in the company of his brother Tom. It was precisely at Le Castellet that we met the two men in front of an ex-factory Zytek 04S.

Max and Tom Chilton – Photo: Julien Hergault

« I bought this chassis, driving which I had won the 1 kilometers of the Nürburgring in 000. (with Hayanari Shimoda. Ed.), the older brother told us. I was twenty, I'll be forty in ten days... It doesn't make me any younger! It has no traction control, no ABS, no power steering. So I've been preparing for four months, with six hours of sport per week, to be able to withstand the 6 Gs it inflicts on us when braking. The more powerful Audi R8 LMP and Bentley Speed ​​8 take a 200-metre lead on us on the straight, but we manage to catch up on the bends thanks to its featherweight of 730 kg. I can't wait to do Le Mans Classic (3-6 July) at the wheel of it, because I've never driven on the big circuit! We'll also do the Barcelona and Paul Ricard rounds, but not the others because of my commitment to BTCC (on a Hyundai i30 from Team Vertu). »

Interview by Julien Hergault

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