Old Cupra Rivals Set the Pace at Brands Hatch

03 April 2007

Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing) and Carl Breeze (CMS Motorsport/ Blue Chip) look set to reignite last years’ battle in the new-look 2007 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship. With both drivers in the New Leon Cupra, they were setting quick times in qualifying and taking those into both rounds of racing at Brands Hatch. Adam ended up with a 1st and a 2nd place to take the early lead of the series, just ahead of Breeze, and claimed “this weekend showed that we’re strong and we should be strong throughout”.

Round 1
The SEAT Cupra Championship got off to a dramatic start. With newcomer Gareth Nixon (Nixon Motorsport) starting on pole, it was BSCC veterans Breeze and Adam that came through the first corner incidents to eventually clinch 1st and 2nd spots respectively.

Adam made a poor start with Fulvio Mussi (Total Control Racing) darting down the outside and Daniel Welch (Welch Motorsport) trying to sneak past on the inside. But following a tap from Adam, Welch’s car span and slamming Mussi into the gravel before Paddock Hill Bend. Adam remained intact while both the Essex-based Mussi and 24-year old Welch went out.

Freddy Nordström (Advent Motorsport), the frontrunner on the grid in the Leon Cupra R class, faired only a little better. Avoiding Mussi and Welch’s incident he then came across Stewart Whyte in a spin and had to try to steer clear of that too, ending up on the grass and at the back of the pack as a result. Likewise Ray MacDowall (Total Control Racing) and Guy Halley (CMS Motorsport) couldn’t avoid each other, spinning together but returning to the race under the guidance of the safety car.

So it was Breeze at the front, followed by Adam, Oli Wilkinson (CMS Motorsport/ Sureterm Direct) and Nixon when the safety car dropped off at the beginning of lap six. Breeze and Adam set the pace making a decent gap for themselves at the front while behind them Alan Blencowe (Triple R), who had started from 10th, was putting continual pressure on Nixon for 4th spot.

In the Leon Cupra R class, Ian Churchill (Churchill Motorsport) was making some space for himself too, letting his brother Adrian Churchill (Churchill Motorsport) get involved in a three-way tussle behind him with Harry Vaulkhard (Triple R/ Volkis Boozer’z) and Mike Doble (Doble Motorsports). Vaulkhard was setting some great lap times and was side by side with Adrian Churchill through the Graham Hill Bend in the eighteenth lap before passing him on the inside into Surtees to put him in tenth spot overall.

Further up the field Blencowe had squeezed past Nixon and was making time on the leaders. By lap 21 he had Wilkinson and 3rd spot in his sights. It looked like Wilkinson would hold him off, but through Clearways in the final lap he showed Blencowe an opportunity and they raced towards the finish line in an exhilarating neck and neck finish. Blencowe just snatched it, giving him 3rd spot on the podium behind Breeze in 1st and Adam in 2nd. Ian Churchill finished in 9th spot overall giving him a Leon Cupra R class win, with Vaulkhard and Adrian Churchill taking 2nd and 3rd spots in that class respectively.

Mussi, who didn’t even get to race one corner said he was “just gutted really, for myself, the team and my sponsors. People need to realise you can’t win a championship in the first race. But my damage will be fixed and I’m looking forward to making up for it in the next race.”

Similarly Breeze was excited by racing again. “I think the race was won in the first couple of yards, it was slippery after the restart though as there was turf all over the track. I’ll be happy with another podium finish in the next race.”

Round 2
But Carl’s hopes of a second victory in the 2007 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship, or even a podium finish,were dashed thanks to a disastrous start from his pole position in Round 2. Both he and Blencowe had similar problems on the start line, meaning that it was Mussi and Adam that were first to enter Paddock Hill Bend. They were neck and neck coming out of Druids, but it was Adam who just had the legs to stretch out into the lead.

In the chasing pack Guy Halley (CMS Motorsport) led from Neil Waterworth (Total Control Racing) closely followed by Nixon and Welch. By the second lap Welch had inched past Nixon into 5th place and had his sights firmly set on Waterworth. Nixon continued to look for a way back but had Breeze all over his rear bumper. Breeze had fought his way up to 7th spot from 12th and was also looking like a driver with his mind set on a higher finish.

In the Leon Cupra R class, Ian Churchill was setting the pace as he had done in the first round. Youngster Nordström again found his strong qualifying position wasn’t reflecting itself in the race as a few knocks in amongst the pack put him back down to 6th in the class. Vaulkhard continued his impressive knack of driving hard from lower down the order to move into second spot in the class.

By the half way point Adam’s lead looked unassailable and Mussi was looking comfortable in 2nd. The real battle was for 3rd as the now 4th placed Welch closed in on Halley having seen Nixon get spun out behind him. An incident that had also seen Breeze benefit and move behind Waterworth into 6th. Breeze was now lapping quicker than both the third and fourth placed cars as the Norfolk driver desperately aimed for a second podium finish of the weekend.

On lap 17 Welch and Halley made contact in Clearways, Halley’s Leon getting spun and Welch pushing on into 3rd. Halley did his best to recover but at Paddock Hill Bend it was clear he’d sustained damage and was soon way back in 14th.

Entering the penultimate lap Adam was 8.899secs ahead of 2nd place Mussi, with Welch behind him and Breeze still pushing from his now improved 4th position, but the positions stayed the same as the cars crossed the finish line. With a 1st and 2nd place on the day and the quickest lap on both races, Adam ended the first weekend of the 2007 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship at the top, Breeze’s battling 4th place earning him 2nd spot overall.

In the Leon Cupra R class, Ian Churchill had led throughout and once again it was Vaulkhard who took the honours for 2nd place and Ian’s brother Adrian Churchill taking 3rd. “I made a good start,” admitted Ian Churchill of his second victory. “I couldn’t be happier, apart from maybe having a little less damage. One of my wing mirrors was bent back so I wasn’t sure what was happening on one side of me, but I think the fact we’d saved a set of tyres for that race gave us a bit of an upper hand.”

Mussi was also more pleased with his performance. “It certainly made up for the rubbish in the first race. I wanted to put on a good show for the sponsors and I made a good start and just kept it going.”

And while Adam may have been celebrating with his championship leading position, Breeze sent some words of warning. “I had the same problem as Blencowe at the start of the second race. I think I would have won if it wasn’t for that. It’s certainly not over though.”

Brands Hatch was a difficult weekend for the drivers, many getting used to their new cars and having to do battle with some terrible weather during qualifying. But they all know there’s everything to play for in the SEAT Cupra Championship, so Rockingham at the end of the month should throw up some great racing.

Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2007 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship takes place at Rockingham in Northamptonshire on April 21-22.

See series calendar for SEAT Cupra Championship 2007

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