SEAT Title up for Grabs as Cupra Championship Resumes at Croft

17 July 2004

The 2004 Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship resumes after a nine week break at Croft Circuit on Sunday 25thJuly, when Rounds 7 and 8 take place at the North Yorkshire track. In a season of two halves, six more races in just five weeks will produce Britain’s newest professional racing driver – for whoever wins the title will become a works touring car driver with SEAT Sport UK in 2005.

Tom Boardman (from Forton in Lancashire) leads the series on 81 points, with Gavin Smith (Dublin) just two points behind.  Boardman has finished all six races in his Exchange & Mart Leon Cupra, winning once and finishing 2nd  three times in his last four outings.  Croft is his favourite circuit, which should worry the opposition.

Gavin has scored a race win at every circuit so far this year, with three wins from six starts. The Supagard / Europcar / Smith’s Hire Centre backed driver is on top form and match fit, having raced in the BTCC at Mondello Park six weeks ago.

Third placed James Pickford (Macclesfield) is statistically the fastest driver in the series having qualified on pole three times, set four fastest laps and won twice in six races. Had a collision at Brands Hatch not dropped his Haribo / Vivaldi Leon from 2nd  to 12th  place, then James would be leading the series now.

A senior racing instructor at Knockhill, fourth placed Gordon Shedden (Dunfermline) is hot favourite to win both races in Scotland on August 8th , but he must also race well at Croft and Donington (on August 29th ). He was the only driver to finish on the podium in both SEAT races at Croft last year, and he remains a formidable competitor in his Scottish Sun / Tracker Leon - north or south of the border.

Racing Rivals Scholarship winner Oli Wilkinson (Solihull) travels to Croft 5th  in the series in his talkSport Leon.  In onlyhis third SEAT race (at Silverstone) he qualified on pole and finished 2nd .  He may be 24 points behind the leader, but with 111 points from six races on offer, setting his sights on winning the title is an achievable goal.

The same can be said for fellow SEAT rookie Lewis Carter (Edinburgh). He has qualified his Cobra Group / Europcar / Scottish Motor Option Group Leon Cupra on pole twice, with his best race result being 4th  at Oulton Park. A first podium cannot be far away, and while the title this year is within his grasp, Lewis is secretly going to use the second half of this year’s SEAT Cupra Championship to prepare himself for what he hopes will be a title-winning assault on the series next year.

With a grid of identical SEAT Sport UK prepared 250bhp turbocharged Leon Cupras lined up, there are plenty of other drivers aiming to make their mark and ruffle the feathers of the top six.

Rob Austin (Evesham) has never qualified his Mars-backed Leon lower than sixth this year and is determined to win races in his first season of saloon car races, while another former single-seater driver, Rui Chagas (Portugal), is looking for continued success in his Caremore Homes Leon. Ben Winrow (Earls Barton), has just celebrated his 19thbirthday, and the youngest driver in the series is on the verge of breaking into the top six in his Telemecanique Leon, while Daniel-Lee Stevens (Chelmsford) did precisely that in Round 5 at Oulton Park to prove what a talent the former Formula Student driver is in his RG Stevens Building Services / CB Tech Motorsport Leon.

Having finished her studies and successfully gained a HND in Motorsports Engineering from Brooklands College, Melanie Healey (Cheam) can concentrate on her racing, rather than spending the night before a big race studying in her hotel room.  The Spur Garage / Radio Jackie / Secure Valeting Cupra pilot is the only driver in the history of the SEAT Cupra Championship to finish every race (all 12 races in 2003 and all six so far in 2004), which included a top 10 finish at Oulton Park – her fifth points scoring result in her very promising SEAT racing career.

Emmet O’Brien (Monkstown) spun his Loaded / DABL Leon out of the lead in Round 4 at Silverstone and is aiming for better luck, while fellow Irish driver Lorcan Johnson (Malahide) is getting back into his stride having returned to racing in 2004 after a nine year break.

Simon Hepplewhite (Lindfield) has found the art of touring car racing completely different to motorbike racing, where even the faintest of contacts could end in two-wheeled disaster. He’s a quick learner, having already recorded a top 10 finish in his Auto Trader / TSR Performance Cupra.

Emmanuel Crouvisier (Cleveland, Ohio) displayed true grit at Oulton Park, as the undulating track reminded him of more familiar circuits back in the States.  Croft could suit him too, and with growing confidence in his www.racing4cancer.com Leon Cupra, he could spring a surprise.

Qualifying for Rounds 7 and 8 of the Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship takes place on Saturday 24th  July, with two 20 minute sessions beginning at 10.50 and 15.00.  Racing takes place the following day (Sunday 25th  July), with two 12 lap races starting at 13.20 and 17.35.

See series calendar for SEAT Cupra Championship 2004

Related Story 04.05.2004 - Gavin Leads SEAT Cupra Championship to Silverstone