Ben Winrow First to Sign for 2004 SEAT Cupra Championship

09 January 2004

Ben Winrow is the first driver to register for the 2004 SEAT Cupra Championship, signalling the return of one of Britain’s most promising young saloon car racing drivers to the exciting single-make series in his Telemecanique supported Leon Cupra R.

In only his second year of competition, the 2002 BARC's 'Newcomer of the Year' award winner underlined his enormous potential by battling with his more experiencedSEAT Cupra Championship rivals in 2003. He qualified his 250bhp turbocharged Leon sixth at Rockingham and despite a huge accident at Thruxton the talented 18-year old driver from Earls Barton in Northampton returned to perform well at the final race of the season at Brands Hatch.

Becoming the first driver to sign for the 2004 SEAT Cupra Championship will allow Ben the maximum amount of time to prepare the for series, which begins at Brands Hatch on April 24/25. With continued support from Telemecanique - the UK’s leader in industrial automation and control products and a brand of Schneider Electric - Ben is aiming to continue to develop his undoubted racing skills.

Ben said: "Everything was very new when I entered the SEAT Cupra Championship last year, not least front-wheel drive and racing on slick tyres. I learnt so much last year that we’ll start the 2004 season in a completely different position as we know exactly what to expect and can build on what we learnt. Having qualified sixth at Rockingham last year I know I have the pace and the aim during 2004 will be to finish in the top six as many times as I can."

Nigel Knapp, Marketing Manager of Schneider Electric, said: "Schneider Electric and theTelemecanique brand gained a lot more than expected from the 2003 series. Ben is a fantastic ambassador for us and we are delighted to be supporting his racing career development. Telemecanique and SEAT share many brand values and both arevery innovative and co-operative in our approach. These factors added together offer a complete package and we are looking forward to an exciting series for 2004."

See series calendar for SEAT Cupra Championship 2004

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