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Star-studded SEAT Cupra line-up aim for £100,000 first prize
£100,000 – the largest cash prize in British motorsport – has attracted a star-studded line-up of teams and drivers for this year’s 2006 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship, which gets underway at Brands Hatch this Sunday (9 April).
The SEAT Cupra Championship has already produced three worthy champions – Rob Huff (2003), James Pickford (2004) and Tom Boardman (2005) – and given away a prize fund worth over £1.2M. Two other drivers, Gavin Smith and Gordon Shedden, line up on the main BTCC grid, while last weekend former Cupra driver Emmet O’Brien became the first Irish driver to race in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
With a proven track record for developing aspiring young touring car talent, a total cash prize fund of almost £250,000 and a test in a SEAT touring car at the end of the season for the top four drivers, it’s not surprising that this year’s SEAT Cupra Championship has attracted such a fantastic grid.
Identical 250PS turbo-charged Leon Cupra Rs, all run by independent teams, will race over an 18 round series (16 scores to count) – taking place over all nine mainland Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race weekends.
The 2006 series has captured the imagination of a wide variety of teams, from the biggest independent to the small family-run outfits. For example, Edenbridge Racing is a team synonymous with the British F3 and F3000 Championships and is this year racing against Jackson Motorsport – a family-run team owned by Tony Jackson, father of Mat Jackson. The battle between David and Goliath is evenly matched. Mat won an unequalled eight races last year to finish runner-up in the series. He has a good chance to go one better in 2006, although the drivers who finished 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th – Tom Ferrier, Carl Breeze, Alan Blencowe and Henry Taylor – all return as well. Blencowe, now driving with Triple R, is even driving last year’s winning Leon Cupra R.
It’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that a newcomer to the SEAT Cupra Championship will take the title – and for that you have to look no further than Total Control Racing. The Wednesbury-based is running cars for former Clio Champions Jonathan Adam and Jonathan Fildes, former Clio hotshot Fulvio Mussi and former Fiesta Champion Neil Waterworth.
Having finished 2nd in the 2004 Spanish SEAT Supercopa, Matt Johnson knows the Leon Cupra R very well - and the former Clio, Fiesta and VR6 Champion could spring a major surprise on his racing return to the UK.
It’s great to see Ben Winrow (below) back in the SEAT Cupra Championship for 2006. The young Earls Barton driver has made wonderful progress since winning the 2002 Caterham Academy Championship in his first season of motorsport. He finished 15th and then 9th in the 2003 and 2004 SEAT Cupra Championships and 6th last year in the Clio Cup. Armed with all that experience, Ben will be looking for race wins this time in his CMS Motorsport run Leon Cupra R.
The Churchill brothers, Adrian and Ian, return in their pair of Churchill Motorsport Leon Cupra Rs. They are both former Super Coupe Cup and Rover Turbo Champions, and on their debut season in the SEAT Cupra Championship last year Adrian raced through the field to make more improvements on his starting position than anyone else in the series (five), while Ian scored a 3rd best podium finish at Oulton Park. Former VSR & Super Silhouette Champion Mike Doble also returns, while the series welcomes Robert Ross (Johnson Motorsport) and Tim Bevan (WAAP Promotions).
The 2006 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship begins on Saturday 8th April with two 20 minutes qualifying session for Rounds 1 and 2 at 13.40 and 17.10. On Sunday 9th April there will be two 20 lap races around the 1.226 mile Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, beginning at 10.00 and 17.10.
2006 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship – Teams and Drivers
Total Control Racing
Neil Waterworth
Jonathan Fildes
Jonathan Adam
Fulvio Mussi
Triple R
Alan Blencowe
Harry Vaulkhard
Richard Dawson
Edenbridge Racing
Carl Breeze
Tom Ferrier
Churchill Motorsport
Adrian Churchill
Ian Churchill
Johnson Motorsport
Matt Johnson
Robert Ross
CMS
Henry Taylor
Ben Winrow
WAAP Promotions
Tim Bevan
Doble Motorsport
Mike Doble
Jackson Motorsport
Mat Jackson
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