New Seat Cupra drivers send out a clear warning

The 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship looks set to be the most competitive yet as two new drivers to the competition clinched race wins in Rounds One and Two at Brands Hatch. Robert Lawson (Bardon/JHR) from Richmond, North Yorkshire romped to victory in Round One and secured second place in Round Two to give him an early lead in the Championship, while fellow debutant driver Martin Byford (AB Glass/ Z Speed Racing) of Colchester, Essex followed up a disappointing first race with a victory in the second. Reigning champion Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing) now finds himself in fourth spot in the Championship after the first meeting of the season, with 2007 rival Carl Breeze (Blue Chip/ Welch Motorsport) above him in second and well poised to challenge for this seasons' title.

The first race of the day was all about tyre choice, with Byford and Adam both opting for wets. But it was soon clear that the track was drying and with no sign of more rain the leading pair was soon loosing places at an alarming rate. Lawson had pushed his slick tyres hard to keep on their tails in the early damp and it paid off handsomely as he was able to power past them once their wet tyres began to be ineffectual. Breeze and Daniel Welch (Marriott/ Welch Motorsport) who both return to the Championship this year, had also made the right choice and went on to secure second and third spots respectively behind the impressive Lawson. Their fellow team mate Jeremy Gumbley (millionpixeldriver.com/ Welch Motorsport) also made a note-worthy debut, having not raced competitively for eleven years yet still managing a fourth place finish in his first time back in the driver's seat. For Byford and Adam it was all about damage limitation as they saw their promising grid positions translate into disappointing eight and ninth spot finishes respectively.

It was a different story in Round 2 though, Byford and Adam keen to erase the earlier memories and the Kent weather putting no doubt in the teams' minds about what tyres were needed. Byford, starting from pole position, launched hard and made sure victory was his to loose by the end of the first lap with Lawson looking to make a similar statement about second place. Behind them the real action was happening with Welch making a great start to lead Adam and Breeze. But a problem with Welch's car sent him wide at Druids on lap four which allowed not only Adam and Breeze to pass, but also Freddy Nordström (Plumbertraining.com/ Advent Motorsport) to sneak past. Adam had soon caught up with Lawson and could smell a second place, while Breeze was caught between chasing Adam or making sure the eager Nordström didn't usurp him from fourth spot. The attacking and defending quartet of Lawson, Adam, Breeze and Nordström cancelled each other out for the remainder of the race though, and by the end of the 22 laps they crossed the line in the same Lawson, Adam, Breeze and Nordström pattern.

Byford and Lawson certainly look to be quick in the SEATs, and fellow new drivers Gumbley, David Nye (DW Nye Limited/ Daniels Motorsport), James Appleby (Hardinge Machine Tools/ JHR) and Dan Rowbottom (DRM M-sport) all scored top six finishes over the weekend which suggests there will be exciting things to come from this season. With Welch and Breeze also finding their form, Adam will definitely have to work hard this year if he is to retain his crown.

Martin Byford (after Round 1): "We made a call on tyres and it was the wrong one. At least we were still the quickest car on the wrong tyres so we can take a positive from that. I can promise you though, that's the lowest I'll finish all year!"

Martin Byford (after Round 2): "That's more like it, that's where we should be. On the first lap I just made sure I didn't get in the melee and it paid off. I got the lap record too so I'm over the moon."

Jonathan Adam: "It was a disappointing weekend really. In that second race the one bit where he (Lawson) was quicker was where I should have been having a go past him. We know what the problem is though. We'll certainly be made to fight for it this year, but we're up for it."

Robert Lawson (after Round 1): "We made the right call on the tyres, although initially there was no warmth in them. I had to stick to the dry lines but push as hard as I dare until the third lap where I knew they'd have enough warmth to make a move. That's my first full distance race in this car so I didn't know what the tyres would do towards the end. It was difficult, but a win in my debut race is fantastic."

Robert Lawson (after Round 2): "That felt good. It was a bit annoying as I wanted to challenge Martin as I knew I had the speed. But Adam was putting me under a lot of pressure so I had to defend. The car's very good, hopefully we'll be getting better all the time."

Carl Breeze: "If someone had offered us a second and a fourth after qualifying we probably would have taken it. I think that puts me second in the Championship now and we've got two weeks before Rockingham to have a think about things, so were in a good position."