Encouraging 150 Mile Test for SEAT's BTCC Toledo Cupras

17 March 2004

SEAT Sport UK's Toledo Cupras completed 150 miles of trouble-free testing at Donington Park yesterday, when they made their British track debut at the launch of the 2004 Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).

The aim of the test session was to experiment with different suspension set-ups, camber settings, ride heights and rear wing positions.  Several key members of SEAT Sport in Spain, including its chief engineer Benoit Bagur, flew in from Barcelona to attend the test.

Team drivers Jason Plato completed 31 laps of the 1.957 mile Donington National Circuit (a total distance of 60 miles), while team-mate Rob Huff completed 46 laps (totalling 90 miles).  Both Toledo Cupras, running to 2004 ETCC specification, enjoyed a trouble-free UK debut outing.
 
SEAT Sport UK will now conduct a three day test in Albacete in Spain next week, where both drivers will continue to prepare for the opening race of the BTCC, which takes place at Thruxton on April 11.
 
Plato said: "We have had a very encouraging first BTCC test at Donington and the Toledo Cupra proved very reliable.  We experimented with set up and found some interesting things which we are quite optimistic about"
 
Huff said: "Having never driven the Toledo Cupra in the UK before, I’m pleased that I had so much track time in the car.  We experimented a lot with set-up and often went out on the circuit at the same time as Jason, but with a completely different set-up so we could instantly analyse the results back-to-back in the pits.  It was a good test all 'round really – for the car and the driver!"

See series calendar for British Touring Car Championship 2004

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