Cupra class of 2007 test the SEAT Sport UK BTCC Leon
01 November 2007
The top three finishers in the New Leon Cupra Class of the 2007 Blaupunkt
SEAT Cupra Championship –Jonathan Adam, Fulvio Mussi and Carl
Breeze – together with the winner from the Leon Cupra R Class,
Harry Vaulkhard, tested SEAT Sport UK’s BTCC Leon at the Rockingham
racing circuit near Corby today, as part of their prize for a season
of success.
The 2007 SEAT Cupra Championship saw a record 28 drivers,
with seven different race winners in the New Leon Class and four in
the Leon Cupra R Class. All four drivers invited to the test at Rockingham
were there on merit. Adam dominated the 2007 series, leading the New
Leon Class from Round 2 onwards and winning nine of the 20 races, scoring
17 podium results and setting the fastest lap nine times. He wrapped
up the title on home soil at Knockhill in September. Mussi raced well
throughout 2007 to pip Breeze to 2nd in the Championship at the final
meeting at Thruxton, scoring eight podium finishes and one win. But
for accidents at Rockingham and Donington, it could have been a very
different season for Breeze, but he finished 3rd with eight podiums
and three wins. Vaulkhard joined the SEAT Cupra Championship at the
age of 19 in 2005 and finishing 9th overall a year later. He has been
a model of consistency this season in the Leon Cupra R Class, finishing
out of the points only once. A run of four wins and three seconds from
seven races saw him win the class title with two more podiums at Thruxton
on his 22nd birthday.
On a bright, dry and sunny day in Northamptonshire,
the SEAT Sport UK team approached the test as they would any other,
with a complete pit garage set-up, spare car, engineers and technicians,
the complete management team and drivers Jason Plato and Darren Turner
in attendance. The track temperature was cold (12°C in the morning
and 15°C in the afternoon) so getting sufficient heat into the
Dunlop tyres was difficult, and all four young drivers were faultless
in their approach to the tricky conditions.
As in previous years, each
driver underwent the same procedure; a pair of short runs in the morning
to familiarise themselves with the car, followed by a technical de-brief
with team engineers, before a simulated race-distance run in the afternoon – with
a 12 lap stint punctuated by a pit stop at mid-distance. The drivers
were also assessed on presentation, psychological approach and media
interview techniques, with the results collated into individual post-test
reports.
Adam attended the same test last year, after finishing 3rd
in the 2006 series, and was enjoying his return to the BTCC Leon. “Having
done this test last year, I was a lot more relaxed this time around,” said
the 23-year old driver from Kirkcaldy in Scotland. “The aero-package
on my New Leon Cupra is very similar to the works touring car and the
only real difference in driving style is that you don’t use left
foot braking in the BTCC car. This test has gone exceptionally well,
and I’d like to thank SEAT UK for giving me this opportunity.”
Mussi,
who clinched 2nd in the SEAT Cupra Championship by just half a point,
was another returnee from last year. “The test has gone really
well and SEAT has done an excellent job in organising everything,” said
the 21-year old from Colchester. “The Leon is superbly balanced
and has a lot of mechanical grip. It was a lot of fun to drive, but
racing is my career and I take everything very seriously – especially
days like this, which don’t come along very often. I’d
love to race the Leon in the BTCC next year, but having finished runner-up
this season I think I’ve got some unfinished business in the
Cupra Championship.”
Having tested a SEAT Sport UK Toledo after
finishing 4th in the 2005 SEAT Cupra Championship, Breeze was very
impressed with his first run in the BTCC Leon. “I’ve raced
in the BTCC before but it wasn’t in a competitive car, and the
Leon has shown me what a top flight car is like,” said the 28-year
old from King’s Lynn. “The main difference between the
Leon and my SEAT Cupra car is the brakes, because you can brake a lot
later, but power-wise the two cars are very similar. SEAT Sport UK
is one of the best teams in Europe and I’ve really enjoyed the
test.”
Vaulkhard had the biggest step to make, coming from his
class winning Cupra R to the BTCC Leon. “That was mint; the car’s
awesome,” said the 22–year old from Newcastle Upon Tyne. “I’ve
never really driven anything except my current racing car, and this
Leon is very well balanced and extremely predictable to drive. It has
a lotof grip, it’s just a case of finding where the limits are.
I’ve never used a sequential gearbox before, and it was amazing
how slick the gear change is.”
SEAT
See series calendar for SEAT
Cupra Championship 2007
Related Story 04.11.2007 - Leon Cupra R Title Goes Down to the Wire at Thruxton
