SEAT Sport UK to race Leon TDI in 2008 BTCC

SEAT Sport UK will field a pair of Leon TDIs for Jason Plato and Darren Turner to race in the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship, as SEAT becomes the first manufacturer to enter the series with diesel-engined cars.

Two new race-prepared Leon TDIs are being built at the team's workshop in Northampton, and an intensive pre- season test programme will begin as soon as the first engines arrive from SEAT Sport in Spain.

SEAT Sport UK will be boosted by the data already gathered by the Barcelona-based team's participation in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, where SEAT Sport has achieved two poles, three wins and seven podiums in just 10 races.

Introduced into the WTCC mid-way through the 2007 season, the 280 PS Leon TDI race engine is still being developed.  It has yet to be tested on the BTCC Dunlop control tyres and, despite their vast experience, neither Jason or Darren has raced a diesel-engined car before.  SEAT Sport UK is confident that it can conquer the technical challenges that lay ahead and be ready for the opening round of the 2008 BTCC at Brands Hatch on 30th March.

SEAT Sport UK will also keep the two Leons raced by Jason and Darren in 2007. Â One will be reserved as an emergency spare shell whilst the other will become the race car for the winner of the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship.

SEAT UK recently announced a significant 5.9% hike in new car sales in 2007, with the Leon overtaking the Ibiza as the most popular model for the first time. And, in a market where more than 40% of all new cars sold last year were diesels, the sporty FR TDI was the biggest-selling Leon derivative.  The sportiest Leons - FR and Cupra - together accounted for more than 35% of all Leon sales.

Jason Plato said: 'I'm going to have to go back to basics and learn how to drive the Leon TDI because, having spoken to some of SEAT Sport's WTCC drivers, there is clearly a different style required.

'We also have some technical challenges ahead as the heavier engine will change the dynamics of the car. But I enjoy new challenges, I can't wait to drive the Leon TDI for the first time and I'm really looking forward to the year ahead.

'We are going to have a lot of pre-season work to do in a very short space of time, but Darren and I are very similar insofar as we like a very similar set-up, so we can split the testing in half and do it twice as quickly as maybe other team-mates with a less similar driving style might be able to do.'

Plato added: 'I'm confident we'll be fully up to speed and ready for the opening round of the series. Â We have to be, because I think there could be as many as ten drivers who could possibly win the BTCC title this season and we have to be challenging for wins from the very first race.'

Darren Turner explained: 'Like Jason, I've never raced a diesel-engined car before and I'm looking forward to it. Â It's going to require a different technique and it's always nice to have something new to try.

'The Leon TDI has shown that it is very competitive in the World Touring Car Championship and we obviously hope it's going to be competitive in Britain as well. Â That's not guaranteed, of course, because the circuits are very different and we run on Dunlop tyres as opposed to the Yokohama control tyres in the WTCC, but I'm good friends with Rickard Rydell, who will be testing a Leon TDI for his WTCC programme with SEAT Sport pretty soon, and I'll be picking his brains and trying to get as much driver-to-driver feedback from him as I can.

'The Leon chassis is fantastic, and we have shown how good it is at tight and twisty circuits like Brands Hatch and Knockhill. Â The start of the season is not very far away and we'll only have a very limited number of days to test the Leon TDI before the first race.' Scott Dennis, SEAT UK Motorsport Manager said: 'More than 40% of new cars sold in the UK last year were diesels, the Leon was the best-selling SEAT model in the UK and the sporty FR TDI derivative was the best-selling Leon, so there are strong marketing and commercial reasons why we are entering a pair of Leon TDIs in the 2008 British Touring Car Championship.

'SEAT is pioneering the development of diesel engines in touring cars, and even though the Leon TDI has only half a season of competition under its belt, it has proven to be very competitive in the World Touring Car Championship. We were the first manufacturer to win a World Touring Car race in a diesel-engined car and now we are the first manufacturer to enter the British Touring Car Championship with a diesel engine.

'We have a lot of technical challenges ahead, we have an intensive test programme planned and we will be working closely with our Spanish colleagues to ensure that we are fully prepared and ready to hit the ground running when the opening round of the BTCC begins at the end of March.'