Three times the Cupra thrills at Snetterton

The SEAT Cupras are about to fire into life once more as they prepare to take on Rounds 11 and 12 of the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk. This time though, they’ll not have the usual two races in one day, instead they’ll be competing for wins in three races on Sunday 13th July as a result of Round 10 at Croft being postponed due to appalling weather.

With a similar format to the BTCC, it will be a day for the drivers and teams to test themselves to the limit. Robert Lawson (Bardon/JHR) has proven to be formidable this season and his consistency bodes well for being able to get through the three races in good form. But Championship rivals Carl Breeze (Blue Chip/Welch Motorsport) from King’s Lynn and Martin Byford (AB Glass/Z Speed Racing) of Colchester both see Snetterton as their home circuit and will aim to use that to their advantage and stop Lawson from taking the top step of the podium once more.

How much local advantage will assist them though in a field of such high class drivers remains to be seen. While Lawson, Byford and Breeze hold the top three places in the Championship, Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing) and Andrew Herron (Brian Herron Plant/JHR) are finding form at just the right time to challenge those standings in the second half of the season.

Likewise, there are drivers for whom the title may be out of reach now, but who have the ability to get onto the podium and keep some points for themselves. Daniel Welch (Marriott/Welch Motorsport) has already been up there three times this year while any number of the following pack like Jeremy Gumbley (Millionpixeldriver.com/Welch Motorsport) or Dan Rowbottom (DRM M-sport) have shown enough pace to cause potential upsets.

One thing’s for sure though, both drivers and their teams will have their work cut out with the three race format at Snetterton, and after a lengthy break those drivers who know they haven’t performed as well as they had hoped in the first half of the season will see this meeting as a way to launch into the second half with renewed vigour. The SEAT Cupra Championship always delivers spectacular racing, but Snetterton should prove to be an extra special meeting.

Robert Lawson: “I’m really looking forward to it. I won at Snetterton last year in the Clios and it’s a track that I actually like. As far as the three races go, you have to deal with whatever’s thrown at you and it’s the same for everyone. But we won’t be taking our foot off the pedal. I want to win, that’s what you set out to do.”

Carl Breeze: “I’m looking forward to getting back in the car. I had a first and second at
Snetterton last year and am used to the three race format from racing touring cars. It should be a busy day though, and my sponsors will certainly be getting value for money! I’m confident going into this weekend, I have more points at this stage of the season than I did last year and normally finish strongly so some good results here will certainly help that.”

Andrew Herron: “I really enjoy driving Snetterton as a circuit, it’s nice and fast. I’ve had two second places in a row now so it’s time to try and step that up to a win. But the key is podium finishes, consistency is what will count at the end of the season.”

Jonathan Adam: “We need good results from all three races. After Snetterton is Oulton Park where I haven’t won in four years, but Knockhill’s after that. If we can go well at Snetterton we could pull back third place and maybe second. I had a race win here last year and set a new lap record, so hopefully we’ll go well and keep the momentum going.”

Martin Byford: “It’s been six weeks out of the car and I’m itching to get back in it. Three races at Snetterton is good as it’s my home circuit, but not sure how much that helps against drivers of this calibre. We’ve proven we’re consistent which is good, and our race pace has been excellent, but we know we need to improve qualifying. As a team and a driver we know we have under-performed compared to how we know we can perform. When that changes, we’ll give Robert a really hard time.”

The second half of the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship season gets underway with two 45 minute free practice sessions on Friday 11th July, starting at 09.00 and 12.20. Qualifying takes place the following day, with two 20 minute sessions starting at 09.25 and 14.45. Three races around the 1.952 mile Snetterton circuit take place on Sunday 13th July, with Round 11 starting at 09.00, Round 12 at 11.55 and the rescheduled Round 10 at 16.55 – which will carry forward the qualifying positions recorded at Croft, with Adam starting from pole, Lawson second and Byford and Herron on row two.