American Racer Returns to Touring Cars by Joining the SEAT Cupra Championship

22 March 2004

Racing driver Emmanuel Crouvisier, one of the few Americans who has been racing in Europe over the last two years, will compete in the SEAT Cupra Championship this year.
 
The 25-year old driver from Cleveland, Ohio, is well used to high-powered cars, having raced a 350bhp Lotus Seven, a 600bhp Nissan Skyline and a 700bhp Toyota Supra in the 'Michelin One Lap of America' (1999-2001), the legal version of its predecessor, the infamous East Coast to California Cannonball Run, which nowadays is a series of time trails, held in different parts of America over the space of one week. Emmanuel’s best result came in 2000, when he finished 4th out of a record 120 entrants.
 
An accomplished saloon car racer, in 2000 Emmanuel scored five race wins, eight podiums, six fastest laps and set two lap records (at Grattan Raceway, Michigan and at the Virginia International Raceway) in an SCCA T1-spec Dodge Viper GTS.  After racing a Nissan Skyline GT-R in the 2001 Racemark Challenge (finishing 2nd overall and 1st in class), Emmanuel concentrated his efforts on his single seater career, contesting the Formula Ford Championships in the US and Canada. In 2002 he packed his bags and left his family and home to move to Europe, the proving ground of the world’s best drivers. His new home became Le Mans, France, where he raced in the Formula Campus Championship, finishing 8th (out of 24), while last year he raced in the International Formula Palmer Audi series, finishing 11th (out of 30).  On track for a top five finish in the series, Emmanuel was forced to miss the final two races of the season when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had to undergo immediate treatment at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.  After a successful operation and three weeks of radiation therapy to effectively kill off the cancer, Emmanuel returns to racing this year in the SEAT Cupra Championship.
 
With a base in the village of Harrold in Bedfordshire, Emmanuel is looking forward to his first full season of motorsport in the UK – and using the SEAT Cupra Championship to raise awareness of testicular cancer as well as money for cancer research. Sponsors booq.com and Technical Translation Services are extremely pleased to be able to support the young American as well as his noble cause, and several additional sponsors will be announced shortly.
 
Emmanuel said: "I started racing front-wheel drive cars, so contesting the SEAT Cupra Championship is like getting back to my roots. I drove the Leon Cupra R last month and was very impressed with the car - it looks like a great championship and it’s sure to be good close racing.  My goal is to consistently finish in the top few spots and spend as much time as possible on the winner’s podium. With Palmer Audi I’ve raced at Brands Hatch, Silverstone and I’ve done a few laps of Donington, but Oulton, Croft and Knockhill will be completely new to me."
 
 
See series calendar for SEAT Cupra Championship 2004

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