Cupra Quartet Impress in SEAT Touring Car Test

07 November 2005

The top four finishers in the 2005 Smartnav SEAT Cupra Championship were rewarded with a test in a top flight touring car around the 2.45 mile Rockingham International Circuit near Corby, when they all drove a SEAT Sport UK Toledo Cupra.

As part of their Championship prize, Tom Boardman (22, from Forton, Lancashire), Mat Jackson (24 , from Henley-in-Arden, West Midlands), Tom Ferrier (23, from Bletchingley, Surrey) and Carl Breeze (26, from King’s Lynn, Norfolk) will also race at the SEAT European Masters Race at the Circuit de Catalunya next weekend (November 12/13) in Leon Cupra Rs.

Each successful SEAT Cupra Championship driver enjoyed 20 laps in the Super 2000 spec. Toledo Cupra touring car that James Pickford drove in the Dunlop MSA 2005 British Touring Car Championship. Split into three sessions, each driver was also able to discuss in detail all aspects of the car and his performance with senior management, race engineers and lead team driver Jason Plato.

The early sessions were held on a wet track, with heavy showers of rain and strong gusts of wind making driving conditions very difficult. The track dried a little in the afternoon, although it remained bitterly cold with occasional showers – making it difficult to get optimum heat into the tyres. Whilst no times were recorded, SEAT Sport UK was delighted with the way each driver had performed.

Tom Boardman said: “It’s been an amazing experience and I’d love the opportunity to race something like this in next year’s British Touring Car Championship. It’s either that or defend my Cupra title, because that’s the most competitive single-make championship around.”

Mat Jackson said: “I want Jason’s job, because the SEAT is an incredible piece of kit! The car is very refined, advanced, balanced and progressive. It’s the first top flight touring car I’ve ever driven and I’m seriously impressed with it.”

Tom Ferrier said: “I’ve never been to Rockingham before and it’s the first time I’ve driven a Toledo Cupra, so it’s all new – but I’m not complaining! The SEAT is just like you’d expect a proper top of the range touring car to be - fast, precise and fun. The sequential gearbox and brakes are awesome. I just want to race it now!”

Carl Breeze said: “Things have changed a lot since I drove an Alfa in rounds of the 2004 British Touring Car Championship. The brakes in particular on the SEAT are amazing and the overall package is very good. After my first session I got out of the car and asked ‘where do I sign?’, because I’d love to be racing it next year.”

Scott Dennis, SEAT UK Motorsport Manager, said: “All four drivers have contributed greatly to the success of the day, having approached it in a very mature and professional way. The difficult weather conditions provided an additional challenge which they all dealt with extremely well. We were very impressed by the amount of technical feedback they were able to give us and I trust that they in turn got the most out of the day.”

The four SEAT drivers will now travel to Spain to contest the SEAT European Masters Race against the top four Cupra Championship drivers from Turkey, Spain and Germany. None of the UK drivers have raced on the Circuit de Catalunya before, but all have experience of racing abroad. With limited track time available before qualifying on Saturday (November 12) and the single race the following day, all the drivers are busy learning the layout of the Spanish Grand Prix circuit on their Sony PlayStations!

See series calendar for SEAT Cupra Championship 2005

Related Story 03.10.2005 - Boardman is the 2005 Smartnav SEAT Cupra Champion