SEAT Leon TDI Scores First BTCC Diesel Victory
04 May 2008
Jason Plato smashed
the Donington Park lap record on his way to giving the Leon TDI its
first HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship race win – and
in doing recorded the first victory for a diesel engined car in the
50 year history of the series. He then finished 2nd and 3rd in the
next two races to move from 6th to 2nd in the BTCC Drivers’ Championship.
Team-mate Darren Turner had a great weekend too, running 2nd in race
one, coming from 19th to finish 4th in race two and scoring his first
victory of the season with a fabulous drive in extremely slippery conditions
in the third and final race.
SEAT Sport UK got its BTCC campaign back
on track with a strong display around the 1.96-mile National Circuit.
The two race wins and four podiums sees SEAT half the gap with Vauxhall
at the top of the Manufacturers’ Championship and move ahead
of Team Halfords in the Teams’ standings.
Race day got off to
a fantastic start when Jason won an incident filled race and smashed
Yvan Muller’s 2005 lap record by 0.212 seconds with a 1:12.677
(96.95mph). Jason fought back from 5th and took the lead when pole-sitter
Tom Onslow-Cole (Vauxhall Vectra) ran wide at McLeans Corner on lap
14. As Onslow-Cole, Matt Neal (Vauxhall Vectra) and Gordon Shedden
(Honda Civic) battled for 2nd position, Jason was able to open a gap
and eventually beat Neal to the chequered flag by 1:309 seconds. Darren
had been running in 2nd place when the intercooler air intake hose
came loose. He came into the pits, and after some repair work he returned
to the track 2 laps down. He eventually finished 20th and last, scoring
valuable Manufacturer points for SEAT in the process.
Jason’s
Leon TDI was the heaviest it has ever been in race two, as the 1180kgs
minimum base weight had 45kgs of success ballast and 22kgs of fuel
added, making it a super-heavyweight 1247kgs. Having started from pole,
he did superbly well to finish 2nd , 2.880 seconds behind Giovanardi.
Darren started from 19th on the grid and had to take to the gravel
at Redgate Corner as his path was blocked when Martyn Bell spun his
Astra and was hit by Stuart Oliver (SEAT Toledo) and John George (Honda
Integra). From last place, Darren launched a stunning comeback. He
was 9th after five laps and 5th after 10 and moved up to 4th with a
great overtaking manoeuvre on Neal at Coppice on lap 13.
After a great
start in race three, Darren moved up to 2nd after a brave move around
the outside of Redgate and then took the lead on the opening lap when
pole-sitter Shedden slid off. A dry line appeared in the middle sector
of the race as the drizzle temporarily stopped, and this allowed Onslow-Cole
and Giovanardi to close in on Darren – until the two Vectra drivers
collided at the chicane on lap 11. This gave Darren the breathing space
he needed, and whilst others around him spun, locked up and bounced
off each other, the Leon TDI driver never put a foot wrong and scored
his first win of the season. Jason had been a strong 3rd , but on a
full wet weather set-up the dry mid sector really hurt him and having
been passed by Giovanardi he dropped back off the leading trio in 4th
. But he fought back and a brilliant move on Giovanardi at McLeans
saw Jason snatch 3rd place and complete a wonderful 1st , 2nd and 3rd
set of results.
Jason Plato (1st /2nd /3rd ): “It’s been
a great day in the office – for me, Darren and the entire SEAT
Sport UK team. We’ve got some direction on the car and although
the set-up we’ve found is a bit wild and makes the car tricky
to drive, we know we have a theory that we’ve now proved makes
the car quick. We’ve taken some gambles with set-up in recent
weeks and it’s beginning to pay dividends. Now we have to refine
that and take some of the nervousness out of the car, because at the
moment it’s very snappy at the rear. We’ve scored a lot
of points today and I’m now only sixteen points behind Fabrizio
in the Drivers’ Championship and we’ve gained ground in
the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ tables. Finishing first,
second and third is good in anyone’s books and the Leon TDI has
been very strong today. Everyone in the team has a smile of their face
tonight, and that’s important because even though Darren and
I get to spray the champagne, it’s been a huge team effort and
a great day for all the lads at SEAT Sport UK.”
Darren Turner
(20th /4th /1st ): “Victory is just a great way to end the weekend.
Race one was going well and then we had a technical problem, the second
race was great fun because I came from the back of the grid and finished
fourth and race three fell into my hands. I had a good start, moved
up to second early on, Gordon Shedden then made a mistake and I had
the lead for the majority of the race. I was under a lot of pressure
from the two Vauxhalls behind and I was really pleased to see the chequered
flag at the end of the race. It’s just been a great race weekend
for the team. Jason had the first win for the diesel Leon TDI in race
one and has had strong races all weekend and both cars have been competitive.
We’re honing in to where the sweet spot of the car is and I can’t
wait for the next race. Donington, Thruxton and Snetterton are all
circuits where we think the Leon TDI will be at its best. We’ve
been proved right at Donington and the whole team can’t wait
to get to Thruxton to continue from where we’ve left off here.”
Scott
Dennis, SEAT UK Motorsport Manager: “SEAT Sport UK has returned
to winning form in some style and I’m so proud of the whole team.
Once again we faced the challenge on Saturday of finding the best set-up
for the Leon TDI in the limited time available and our drivers and
engineers rose to that challenge. Our results this weekend have enabled
us to close the gap in the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championships
and we’ll arrive at Thruxton looking to maintain the momentum
we’ve built this weekend.”Rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the BTCC
take place at Thruxton in Hampshire on May 17/18.
SEAT
See series calendar for British
Touring Car Championship 2008
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