TOP Gear daredevil Richard Hammond takes on a new challenge this Sunday on the BBC’s popular motoring programme – rally-crossing a bus – and among his opponents is Poole racing driver Tom Chilton.

Tom, 24, who lives at Salterns Marina and this year finished tenth in the British Touring Car Championship, was among several saloon car drivers invited to take part in the unique off-road challenge at the Lydden Hill circuit in Kent.

Sonic, as he is better known to his fans (because of his hair style), has been sworn to secrecy on who won the race, but said everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable time: “It was a great experience, it’s not often you get the chance to race a bus and do some damage,” he said.

“We had two-way radios on board so that we could talk to each other – that was really fun,” added Tom, who moved to Poole at the beginning of the year to be close to his personal fitness instructor, former SBS officer Bernie Shrosbree, as well as because he loves living on the south coast.

The “request” appearance is one of two that Tom makes on Sunday evening’s programme. In a separate segment he takes on Jeremy Clarkson is a head-to-head race around the Top Gear circuit at Dunsfold in Surrey with Tom driving a BMW M3 and front man Clarkson in a sporting Lexus IS-F.

“They had cameras inside my car so you can see me having a go at Clarkson and commenting on his driving. It should make good television,” he said.

Appearing in front of the cameras is nothing new for Tom, who has been on Top Gear before and has had a presenting role on a Channel 4 documentary.

The youngest-ever winner of a British Touring Car race, Tom also hit the motorsport magazine front pages this week when it was announced that he will be driving a Ford Focus ST in the 2009 British Touring Car Championship with the privateer Arena International team who are based at Littlehampton. This is the team that Tom drove for from 2003 to 2005 in a Honda.

The deal sees Ford returning to the premier British series for the first time since 2000.