SEAT Upbeat After 100% BTCC Race Finish

11 April 2005

SEAT Sport UK made an encouraging start to its Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign at Donington Park, with all three of its Toledo Cupras finishing all three races. But the car’s performance was drastically impaired, however, as all three were obliged to run to the Super 2000 spec. base weight of 1140kgs – heavier than it has ever raced in the BTCC before.

Despite driving flat-out in all three BTCC races, Jason Plato could only record a best result of 5th in Round 2 to go with his two 6th places. Meanwhile, James Pickford made a promising debut in the BTCC with three very strong and stylish performances, while team-mate Luke Hines was equally at home in his new Toledo Cupra and started only his third race for SEAT on the front row of the grid.

Jason Plato raced like he only ever does, and that’s absolutely flat out – but the first race set the scene for what was to be a very frustrating day. Having qualified in 6th place, Jason finished the opening race in the same position, having watched the cars ahead of him pull five car lengths away from him down the straights. In the corners the Toledo Cupra worked well, but it couldn’t match its opponents for pace in its heavier guise.

The grids are not reversed for the second race this year, so Jason started from where he’d finished race one. He and Colin Turkington (Vauxhall) were side-by-side down the Craner Curves on lap one, and with only one racing line available Turkington ended up on the grass. Under grey skies and in front of a large crowd, Jason pushed hard but could only finish 5th.

He started the third and final race of the day from 5th on the grid, and after a brilliant start Jason led for four and a half laps. But with reduced performance and five cars jockeying for position right behind him, even the Donington Park circuit commentator said it was like the pace car was out on track! The inevitable happened when Matt Neal (Honda) overtook Jason at McLeans, and with the door forced open the throng of cars poured through. By the end of the 16 lap race, Jason was down to 6th – having driven his heart out.

Jason said: “Running with the Super 2000 base weight is beyond a joke. In all three races today the cars ahead were pulling five car lengths away from me coming out of the corners. I did my best, but what more could I do? All we want is a level playing field. Untie one of my legs and give one of my arms back! It was like a three-legged egg and spoon race for me today. It’s been a disappointing day for all the team, but I really feel sorry for the spectators, who had paid good money to watch us race and we weren’t able to do so.”

James Pickford’s BTCC debut in Round 1 turned out to be quite a lonely race for the 2004 SEAT Cupra Champion as he stalled on the grid. Within a few seconds he’d fired up the engine again and was on his way and chasing hard to catch the back of the field up. James overtook Mark Proctor (Vauxhall) and marked his first BTCC race with a solid top 10 finish.

Round 2 saw no such dramas for the 25-year old Macclesfield driver, as a good start saw him initially battle with former SEAT Cupra rival Gavin Smith (Vauxhall) before closing on his SEAT team-mate Luke Hines. When Luke ran wide on lap 14, James grabbed the opportunity to move into 7th, where he stayed to the chequered flag.

Starting the final race of the day from 3rd on the grid, James was squeezed to the edge of the track on the run down to Redgate corner. He was forced to back off the throttle, which saw four cars overtake him, yet James fought back and enjoyed a close battle with Colin Turkington (Vauxhall), who he finally overhauled on his way to a confident 7th position.

James said: “I’ve learnt more in one weekend here than I have ever done before in a whole year of motor racing. I’d only done one practice start in the Toledo prior to this morning, so sitting on the grid for my first British Touring Car Championship race was nerve-racking. I enjoyed the second race a lot more. I had a good battle with Luke, and I was pleased with the pace I was able to maintain compared to Jason, who I see as my benchmark in touring cars. I had another bad start in the final race and got squeezed towards the grass, but overall today was a great experience for me and I now know what to expect during the rest of the season.”

Luke Hines made a confident race debut for SEAT Sport UK and was delighted with the handling of the Toledo Cupra in all three races. Having finished the first race right behind Plato in 7th position, the 22-year old Essex driver tried a different set-up on his car for the second race which didn’t work quite as well as he’d hoped. For much of the race Luke was embroiled in a close battle with Pickford, in which his team-mate sneaked ahead with three laps to go.

As the grid for the third race of the day is determined by reversing the finishing positions of the top 10 in race two, Luke found himself on the front row for the start of the day’s final race. He had another bad start and was nudged sideways at Redgate corner and had to drive through the gravel trap to get back to the track. He recovered well and despite catching Colin Turkington (Vauxhall) Luke was unable to overtake him.

Luke said: “Personally I’m quite pleased with my performance in my first race meeting with SEAT and it’s good to come away from Donington with three race results. The Toledo is actually a very good racing car, although running with the Super 2000 base weight really affected us badly. I was hoping for a better start in the final race, but I got a bad one and then someone T-boned me going into the first corner and pushed me off into the gravel. It was a bit more than a friendly nudge and if there’d been a bigger grid it could have caused a nasty accident. I managed to recover and catch Colin Turkington, but with the base weight we were carrying I didn’t have the speed to pass him. It’s been a really tough weekend, but now I’m looking forward to Thruxton where I hope we’ll be able to show our real pace.”

Scott Dennis, SEAT UK National Motorsport Manager, said: “Taking the positives from a disappointing weekend, all three cars finished all three races and under the circumstances we couldn’t expect more than that. I think the third race demonstrated, when everybody overtook Jason so easily, how much off the pace the Toledo Cupra is when it runs in the BTCC on the Super 2000 base weight. Looking forward to Thruxton, we can only hope that sense prevails and the Championship organisers look at this issue.”

See series calendar for British Touring Car Championship 2005

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