SEAT Aims to Maintain its BTCC Lead at Knockhill

24 August 2006

SEAT will have one aim when Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship takeplace at Knockhill on Sunday 3rd September - and that is to maintain its lead in the Manufacturers' standings. With just three race meetings remaining, the races around Scotland's National Motorsport Centre come at a critical time, as SEAT aims to lift the prestigious title in only its third attempt.

Jason Plato won at Knockhill in 2004 and despite the picturesque 1.3 mile circuit's reputation for hosting incident-filled races, the 2001 Champion has finished all six races he's started there with SEAT over the last two years. Team-mate Darren Turner hasn't been to the Dunfermline track for 10 years, but the former McLaren F1 test driver can't wait to get back behind the wheel of his SEAT Leon, as he once again replaces James Thompson, who will be racing for SEAT Sport in the FIA World Touring Car Championship at Brno in the Czech Republic the same day.

Knockhill offers drivers a unique challenge, as its rollercoaster layout demands a brave and aggressive approach. As the track plunges, climbs and sweeps over blind crest, spectators get a VIP view of the most exciting BTCC racing of the entire season. An unpredictable micro-climate can add to the drama: the 2004 races were held in glorious sunshine, while last year teams had to face low cloud and torrential rain.

Starting from the front row at Knockhill is more important than at most circuits on the BTCC calendar, so a good qualifying session is vital. SEAT will be aiming to get both its Leons onto the first two rows of the grid – but there again, so will every other team! After qualifying on pole last time out at Snetterton and winning two out of the three races, Jason goes to Knockhill on great form, while Darren might only be six BTCC races old, but he heads to Scotland as a potential race winner.

Jason said: "The Leon should be good at Knockhill, because a lot of the corners are quite tricky and technical, which is where the SEAT is extremely good. It's a difficult circuit to get the car set up right, because there is also a very long uphill straight after a tight hairpin. If we can get the car set up right so it's good from the first corner, SEAT Curve, all the way back down to that final hairpin, and we can really perform over that ninety per cent of the lap, if we lose a little bit along the start/finish straight then it might not be such a problem.

"I do and I don't like Knockhill. You have to be a bit of a bull in a china shop there because you have to attack and launch the car off the kerbs. Its fun, providing the cloud isn't four inches above the ground and you can see where you're going! It's one of the best circuits to watch at and there is always a large crowd and a fantastic atmosphere on race day.

"After our great performance last time out at Snetterton, we'll be going to Knockhill confident and positive and looking for another good run. We need to keep the momentum going."

Darren said: "The last time I was at Knockhill was in 1996 with Formula Renault. I like the circuit because it's one of those tracks which makes for great racing. It's such a tight and twisty circuit that you can never afford to relax and you never get a race where it's just a clean run to the flag.

"I've only done two BTCC race meetings and it's the two where we as a team have struggled the most, so I hope the qualifying and race pace we had last time out at Snetterton carries on to Knockhill. At my first race at Thruxton we were a little bit further down the grid than where we wanted to be and at my other outing at Donington it was very disappointing all-round, so it would be nice to have a weekend when I'm racing that we have a good weekend because so far all the good weekends have been when James Thompson's been racing! The main priority is that the team comes away with as many manufacturer points as we can that at Knockhill."

The BTCC race weekend at Knockhill begins with two 40 minute free practice sessions on Saturday 2nd September, starting at 10.10 and 13.00, followed by a 30 minute qualifying session starting at 15.40. Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the BTCC take place on Sunday 3rd September, with the three 24 lap races starting at 11.10, 13.40 and 15.50.

SEAT

See series calendar for British Touring Car Championship 2006

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