TWO podium finishes in the final three races of the season left Tom Chilton feeling as though he had won the British Touring Car Championship.

The most popular driver on the grid - Chilton was constantly surrounded and pursued by fans - emerged the star of the weekend and laid down a marker for 2010.

Showing enough pace to put his Team Aon Ford Focus ST on pole for the first of three races, he was cruelly denied victory by the most agonising of margins, 15 thousandths of a second (0.015s): a mere blink of an eye, the closest ever finish in the championship.

If ever a driver deserved a race win this was it. Chilton will cringe when watching replays, but this was his defining moment.

Visibly disappointed at having to be the bridesmaid, Chilton revealed his power steering broke towards the end of the final lap as he held off the chasing Jason Plato, one of three drivers chasing the championship.

"My arms were shaking as I tried to hang on to the car, but I had to take one hand off the steering wheel to change gear and couldn't hang onto it, he said.

"We were so dominant today and that tiny slip gave [Jason] Plato the opportunity he needed. I am gutted but it was our best result of the season which was tremendous," said Chilton, 24.

The Reigate-based racer gave the Ford name its first pole position in the championship for almost a decade in qualifying at the front of the grid, further evidence of the progress the team have been making.

Chilton also led for 15 of the 18 laps in the second race, dropping back to sixth as his tyres lost their grip, but made up for that with a storming drive to take third place in the final race.

He was one of only three drivers, including new champion Colin Turkington, who had scored points in the last five races, again illustrating the consistency and reliability of the Focus and his skills.

Chilton had sprayed his hair pink for Sunday's races, supporting the Breast Cancer Care campaign with HiQ, official sponsors of the BTCC, and was certainly turning more than a few heads in and out of the car.

Starting second for the second race, he beat Plato off the line and looked set for victory that time, until losing momentum and falling back down the field to start third for the final race of the day.

He paid tribute to his team of engineers who had been burning the midnight oil on many occasions this season to get the car to the front of the grid.

And with eight years of Touring Car Championship racing under his belt, Chilton has always been a threat.

His results at Silverstone, Rockingham and Brands Hatch are proof, if ever any was needed, that talent is about to explode.

Always at the end of the season he seems to come good, winning the final race at Brands last season and being so close this time.

"The results this weekend make it feel as if we have won the championship," said Chilton, who had three podium results this season after a frustrating start.

"I led more laps than anyone today and still didn't win. The safety car was deployed yet again whenever I seemed to be in a strong position, but I have got used to that."

His team won the Manufacturers / Constructors Cup in all of the three races helped by strong performances from Tom Onslow-Cole in the second car.

Mike Earle, who has led the Team Aon programme from its inception, is optimistic for next season.

He said: "This has been our best weekend of the season and now we know we have a car that's capable of great success for next year.

"We have planned a huge development programme through the winter to build on the already strong performance of the Ford Focus," he added.

Chilton finishes 10th in the championship, despite only scoring points in nine of the 30 races.