SCC looking to field largest ever grid

[ZBOYD]

again news from Autosport..

The SEAT Cupra Championship is looking likely to have its largest grid ever, with upto 17 entrants already confirmed, with more expected before the championship begins at Brands Hatch in April.

Championship co-ordinator: Mark Turner is qouted:
"Things are shaping up really well for this season; all the drivers that finished last year's series are looking to come back this year and we've had a lot of interest from new ones as well. We're confident of fielding the biggest grid of Cupra's yet."

Total Control Racing driver, Fulvio Mussi added:
"Im really pumped up about the year ahead; its going to be so competitive with ex-touring car drivers and Clio Cup champions, as well as all the regular SEAT drivers. I'm up for the challenge, thoug, and looking forward to some strong finishes."

TCR are fielding four cars, with Jonathan Adam, Jonathan Fildes and Neil Waterworth joining Fulvio Mussi.

2005 winning Champion team Triple R Racing will also be fielding four cars, with Alan Blencowe, Jonathan Young, Harry Vaulkhard and Richard Dawson contesting.

Other drivers returning from last year include. Tom Ferrier, Carl Breeze who are running with Edenbridge Racing.

2005 runner up Mat Jackson will return with his Jackson Motorsport Leon Cupra R.

Mike Doble returns as do Ian & Adrian Churchill (Churchill Motorsport) and Henry Taylor.

Newcomers Matt Johnson & Robert Ross (Johnson Motorsport) and Tim Bevan complete the lineup so far.

Though as yet only Neil Waterworth is a confirmed entry by SEAT Sport UK.

Former SEAT racer and Clio Cup racer Ben Winrow is also looking to rejoin the series.

 

[IainW]

Looks promising. This is surely going to be the best season yet. I hope they all get their money into SEAT asap though.

 

[m0rk]

I hope it'll be good this year too!

Lots of talk, but only one confirmed I think?

 

[ZBOYD]

It looks fairly safe, considering Mark Turner's statement, but as we know, nothing is sealed in stone, in motor racing, they can fall off the horse the night before they are due to race.

So we'll see. but i'd read that the Clio's have taken a bit of a hit, in terms of returnees, and a lot have been rumoured to be looking towards SEAT's instead, which can only be good, as long as it doesn't turn into dodgems

 

[IainW]

2 Clio champs in that little list. Adam and Fildes, along with a load of other converts like Mussi (he'll keep the parts dept busy), Waterworth and so on.

I think the prize, plus the fact this is the last season of the current Clio Cup car is having an adverse effect on the Clios, which is a shame as they're both equally entertaining series. Perhaps the current economy has no room for two very successful saloon car series mind you.

 

[Muzorewa]

With so many ex-Clio cup drivers, the stewards may be busy examining driving standards, although it appears to be the better drivers who are making the switch. The Clio cup races were always good for a giggle, I remember last year at Brands they abandoned one of the races as they were sick of deploying the safety car

 

[ZBOYD]

That the race where Ben Winrow hopped over the barriers

 

[Muzorewa]

That's the one, at Paddock Hill bend, there were other incidents as well, and once they had cleared the wreckages and resumed, someone immediately went straight into the Paddock Hill gravel trap again.

My lad wants to become a marshall (I need to have a long talk to him about that...) and he attended a training day recently at Oulton Park where they went through the various circuits you may wish to marshall at, and the good & bad points of each. For Brands they said it was one of the best circuits to do, but "you won't get Paddock Hill bend as a trainee". I wonder why?

 

[ZBOYD]

Yer it was nuts that day. I know Phill who's on here was on Paddock Hill that day

 

[Timthebrief]

Perhaps they're swapping to SCC because I hear that this year they need a private pilots licence to "fly" those Clios

 

[Muzorewa]

Yeah, those Clio races were always spectacular, we normally used the Formula Renault and Formula BMW races for wandering round, ogling totty and sampling the purveyors of fine-quality burgers etc, and watching all the other races.

Good to see Harry Vaulkhard back as well, he didn't seem to have much luck last year but his dad was mental in a Mk1 Escort in the heritage touring car races, particularly at Snetterton where he managed a beautiful pirouette on the chicane.

 

[Vicky M]

it was the last race of the year, it had to be a demolition derby
Didn't really matter if the cars were so wrecked that they weren't even taken home !

Much more entertaining than the end of '04 season at Donnington.
Best race of the day were the "past masters"

Looking like a good season this year, lots of enthusiastic names, and remember "rubbing is racing"

 

[F2 Stu]

Seeing that most of the clio front runners switching to cupras I'm concerned about the numbers in the clo championship, I regard it the most entertaining support series of the lot.

 

[m0rk]

clio's will lower their budgets & run people no doubt. even partial seasons

 

[F2 Stu]

You can pick up a race winning example from last year for £11k!

Mind you most of their budget probably covers a couple of re-shells during the year

 

[m0rk]

I think a whole new one was only 12k plus vat

 

[IainW]

They were going for crazy money back in 2002-03 when it was running 30+ car grids. Some cars went for between £20k and £40k at that time.

Reshells cost around £2000, so most of the time a team will just reshell a car instead of trying a repair job. I doubt if any of the cars out there now are the original shell from 2000. But then around 3 of them were written off in the first ever race!