Top Three Race for SEAT Cupra Title at Donington Showdown

20 August 2004

James Pickford, Tom Boardman and Oli Wilkinson will race for the biggest prize in British motorsport – a works touring car drive with SEAT Sport UK next year – when they go head-to-head in the final two rounds of the 2004 Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship at Donington Park on Sunday 29th  August.

Out of 18 registered drivers, three go to the final showdown with a chance of winning the title – but one driver has a better chance than most.  James Pickford has been the sensation of the Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship this year. Driving his 250bhp turbocharged Haribo / Vivaldi Leon Cupra R, in 10 races the 25-year old from Macclesfield has finished on the podium nine times, including a record three race wins, set the fastest lap of the race six times and qualified six times on pole.  He has a 20 point lead in the series and only needs to finish both remaining races in 5thplace to become a professional racing driver. And if that wasn’t enough to worry the opposition, James was also fastest in the final pre-season test session at Donington Park back in April.

James said: “I only need to stay close to Tom and Oli at Donington and the job’s done.  Other drivers could take points off them and help me, so on this occasion I’m not bothered about winning races or setting fastest laps.  I don’t need to take risks any more and I’m just going to make sure I finish the first race of the day in the points and see what the situation is then. I’m trying not to think of the ‘what ifs’ and concentrate on just doing all that’s needed to win the title.”

The last three races have seen Tom Boardman’s nine point SEAT Cupra Championship lead turn into a 20 point deficit.  He remains Pickford’s biggest threat and even having to start Round 11 four grid places further back from where he qualifies (having been penalised in an incident involving Daniel-Lee Stevens at Knockhill) Tom is determined to pile on the pressure.

Tom said: “Donington Park is one of my favourite circuits and it’s got lots of good overtaking opportunities.  My plan is to score two race wins and two fastest laps and see what happens. If James has a problem the title will fall into my lap, and if he doesn’t I want to have a good weekend and show everyone what I’m capable of out on the racing circuit.”

Oli Wilkinson won a place in the 2004 Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship by winning the Racing Rivals Scholarship, and he has verified the judges’ decision by scoring six podiums and by taking the fight for the title down to the wire.  In the wet at Silverstone he was sensational, qualifying his talkSport Leon Cupra R almost half a second clear of the field.  His race victory in the last outing at Knockhill proved that he’s not only good in the wet, he can also turn it on when the pressure is at its greatest.

Oli said: “It’s got to be maximum attack right from the word go. James has got a healthy points lead, but it’s not over yet.  I’ve raced at Donington plenty of times and I know the circuit well.  I had a good pre-season test there, and I’m returning for the final races with a lot more confidence in the car.”

Mathematically, Gavin Smith could also win the title in his Smiths Hire Centre / Supagard Leon Cupra R.  The Rathfarnham driver is 36 points behind the leader, and two race wins and two fastest laps at Donington would give him 37 points. The one time Championship leader is quite capable of scoring those results, but the big problem for Gavin is that he’s relying on Pickford to not score any points at all, which on current form is unlikely.

Gordon Shedden finished runner-up in the Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship last year and could do the same again this time.  With the disappointment of not going one better behind him, he will be a race-winning contender at Donington in his Scottish Sun / Tracker / BT Broadband Yahoo! Leon Cupra R.

Having swapped his 360 for a Cobra Group / Europcar / The Scottish Motor Option Group Leon Cupra R, LewisCarter, the 2003 Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge Champion, has quickly adapted to his new racing car. After qualifying on pole twice and finishing on the podium for the first time at Croft, Lewis is likely to finish his first SEAT season well within the top six – a great performance as he aims for the title in 2005.

Having never raced in the UK before, one of the stars of the 2004 SEAT Cupra Championship has been the former single seater driver Rui Chagas. The 25-year old Portuguese driver turned down Formula BMW and Formula Renault to race a Carehome Homes Leon Cupra R, and he has quickly acclimatised to saloon car racing with 4th  place at Croft is his best result to date.  Having done many laps around Donington in the SEAT Cupra Championship pre-season tests, he could challenge for his first podium result.

Don’t be fooled by Emmet O’Brien’s whacky hairstyle, for the spiked speedster from Monkstown in Dublin finished on the SEAT podium for the first time at Knockhill, and will be keen to end the season on a high.

At 19, Ben Winrow is the youngest driver in the series, but he’s been driving this year with all the pace and precision of a much more experienced racer.  There is a fine line between finishing 7th  and challenging for a podium in the SEAT series, and Ben made the breakthrough at Knockhill by finishing a superb 4th  in his Telemecanique Leon Cupra R.

Emmanuel Crouvisier is one of only a few Americans racing in Europe, and even though he’s more familiar with the Cannonball Run than racing in the UK, the driver from Cleveland, Ohio has made great progress this year.  Like Rui, prior knowledge of Donington will be an advantage, as he aims for his best result of the season in the www.racing4cancer.com Leon Cupra R.

Simon Hepplewhite spun his Auto Trader / TSR Performance Leon Cupra R into the barriers going down the Craner Curves at the final pre-season test at Donington.  He had been pushing hard to explore the limits, and since then the former motorbike racer has acquitted himself extremely well in his first full season of racing on four wheels.

Melanie Healey has finished three out of her last five SEAT races inside the top 10 and continues to catch and race with the cars immediately in front of her.  She went extremely well in pre-season testing, and her best result of the season beckons in her Spur Garage / Radio Jackie / Secure Valeting Leon Cupra R.

Daniel-Lee Stevens has shown amazing commitment in his RG Stevens Building Services / CB Tech Motorsport Leon Cupra R and was one of the most spectacular drivers at Knockhill.  The Chelmsford-based driver has been unlucky and his flamboyant style has not been rewarded with top results – with the exception of 6th  at Oulton Park.

Lorcan Johnson flew in from a holiday in Malaysia to test his Leon Cupra R for the first time at Donington, but now he’ll have a relatively short trip from Dublin to contend with. The amiable Irishman has done well in his first racing season for nine years, and despite a lack of knowledge of the circuits he scored points at Croft.

Rob Huff lends Cupra drivers his support

Rob Huff will be at the final rounds of the 2004 Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship to lend support to the drivers.  He knows all about the pressure of going into the final SEAT race meeting and the one weekend which could change your career forever.  Winning the series last year has given him the break into the British Touring Car Championship, and despite quickly making his mark as one of the top drivers in the series, he’s quick to acknowledge how important winning the SEAT Cupra title was last year.

Rob said:  “To be fair, there is no way I’d be driving for a works team in the British Touring Car Championship if it wasn’t for that prize. Entering the SEAT Cupra Championship was the best decision I’ve made in my life.  I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time and in the right championship – and then to be consistently faster than anyone else at the time. It’s crazy, it’s still like a complete dream and it’s difficult to get your head around the fact that you’re now coming to work and this is my job. Racing is what I’ve always loved and has a passion for doing, and I’m now being paid to do it, so it’s a strange feeling.  What’s nice is that it hasn’t taken the fun element out of racing, but it’s obviously become a lot more serious. It is different but you adapt to it. Being a professional racing driver is what I’ve always wanted to do and here I am. I doubt I could have ever done it without the Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship.”

The finale to the 2004 Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship begins at Donington on Friday 27th  August with two hours of free practice.  Qualifying for Rounds 11 and 12 of the takes place on Saturday 28th  August, with two 20 minute sessions beginning at 12.40 and 16.00.  Racing takes place the following day (Sunday 29th  August), with two 16 lap races around the 1.957 mile National Circuit, starting at 12.20 and 15.30

See series calendar for SEAT Cupra Championship 2004

Related Story 09.08.2004 - Pickford Closes in on SEAT Cupra Title