Red Hot Race Action for SEAT Cupras at Croft
17
July 2006
Mat Jackson (Whale Tankers/Jackson Motorsport) extended his winning
tally to five in the 2006 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship, as he took
an emphatic win in the first race at Croft. Ben Winrow (CMS) took a
well-deserved maiden win in the second of the day's two races,
bringing the number of different race winners in this year's championship
to four.
All the drivers got a clean start for race one, with Fulvio Mussi (Total
Control Racing) and Winrow leading the field into the first corner.
However, Jackson mounted a charge straight away from fourth and by the
mid-point of the second lap, had passed Winrow and set about catching
Mussi. At the end of the second lap, Mussi left too much room going
into the Hairpin onto the main straight and that was all the space that
Jackson needed, to force his way through. Once out front, he didn't
look back and the leading trio, Jackson, Mussi and Winrow settled into
a rhythm for the remainder of the race.
Behind them though, things weren't quite so calm. Carl Breeze
(Blue Chip/Edenbridge Racing) had made changes to his car overnight
and climbed two positions on the start, to enter the first corner in
sixth. He then squeezed past Alan Blencowe (Triple R), promoting himself
to fifth and set about catching Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing).
He subsequently passed the young Scot towards the end of the first tour,
to climb four positions in the opening lap.
Adam wasn't taking it lying down though and came back at Breeze
almost immediately, piling the pressure on, with Blencowe doing a similar
job behind him. The three ran line-astern for two laps, before Adam
out-braked Breeze on the entry to Tower bend but found himself on the
outside. He ran wide onto the grass, which cost him time and allowed
Blencowe to go through and claim the position. Blencowe went on to keep
the pressure on Breeze but was unable to gain the place. Adam also stayed
close and tried to squeeze past Blencowe in the Complex but couldn't
make it stick and instead, the two came together but continued.
The second race saw the fourth winner of the season climb onto the
top step, with Ben Winrow taking a well-deserved win from pole position,
despite intense pressure throughout the race from Jackson and Jonathan
Adam.
As the lights went out, Jackson again made a storming start from fourth
on the grid and passed Fulvio Mussi and Adam into the first corner,
to follow Winrow. Mussi, starting third, tucked in behind Adam but it
wasn't long before the lead three began to pull away from the
pack. As the race went on, the pressure mounted, with Jackson trying
every trick in the book but ultimately, was unable to pass Winrow and
the three finished in that order. However, it wasn't without its
drama, as Jackson slid wide on the last corner and he and Adam drag-raced
to the finish line, Jackson holding second place by just 0.01sec.
Behind them, Alan Blencowe (Triple R) was putting incredible pressure
on Fulvio Mussi but Mussi resisted every attempt. However, Blencowe
was initially awarded a drive-through penalty and was then shown the
black flag, for an alleged jump start. Mussi saw the signal and pulled
over, allowing Blencowe through to see the board himself. But Mussi
would also get caught out, as he touched the tyres going through one
of the chicanes and broke a wheel. He managed to cross the finish line
but was classified in 11th place.
Further back, Carl Breeze had another encouraging race, starting ninth
on the grid and forging his way through to finish fourth, picking up
an additional place at the end as Mussi fell back. Behind him, Robert
Ross took 5th while Jonathan Fildes came home in 6th , despite an excursion
onto the grass and a huge slide at Sunny 1 and 2.
Winrow was clearly delighted with his weekend: "The whole second
race is a bit of a blur. I'd saved my tyres in the first race
when I knew I wouldn't gain an extra position and the most important
thing in the second race was to keep Mat behind me. I tried to get my
head down and build a gap but Mat was there for the whole race, pushing
me hard. I've been on the podium every round, so third earlier
today then the win, it couldn't be much better really. I can't
put into words how I feel – it's unbelievable."
Jackson was also pleased with his performance over the weekend, having
extended his lead at the top of the championship points table. "The
first race was fantastic; a lot of really good moves and lots of respect
between the drivers, from Fulvio and Ben. That's just how racing
should be. It was hard but once we'd got that gap, it was a case
of maintaining it. Ben also drove a great second race. There were sections
where I was quicker and others where he was but it's championship
points I'm after and there was no point in trying something that
could have taken Ben and I out. We've taken a good points haul
this weekend and for the championship, that's what we need."
The next round of the Cupras takes the teams to Donington Park in Leicestershire,
on the weekend of 29/30 July.Donington is considered by many as the
spiritual home of touring car racing and the action is sure to be as
frantic as ever, as the drivers vie for more championship points.
See series calendar for SEAT
Cupra Championship 2006
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