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ROLLING ONTO THRUXTON
16/05/2008
After taking just two race meetings to get to grips with the brand new SEAT Leon TDI, at Donington Park Jason Plato and Darren made a big dent in the points lead that Vauxhall Racing had had in both the Manufacturers and Drivers tables.
JP had a great weekend, finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd – moving him from 6th to 2nd in the Drivers' table in the process - and Darren backed that up with a win and a 4th place finish, re-establishing himself at a front-running BTCC title contender in the process and placing him 4th equal in the Drivers' standings.
The improved straight line speed of the diesel-engined Leon TDI should see it more competitive at Thruxton, the fastest circuit on the BTCC calendar, than its petrol-engined predecessor, and both drivers aim to take more points from their competitors when Rounds 10, 11 and 12 take place there on Sunday 18th May.
Thruxton is one of Darren's favourite circuits and this will be the fourth time Darren has raced at the Hampshire track with SEAT Sport UK – having made a fantastic BTCC debut there in 2006 when he finished 3rd in his first ever BTCC race. He scored another podium at Thruxton last April, but his last visit in October 2007 was ruined by a puncture in the opening race. Darren is currently 4th equal (out of 25) in the Drivers' standings and, having quickly dialled into the different driving style required to get the most out of the Leon TDI, he'll be aiming for another victory at Thruxton.
Cars will reach a top straight line speed of nearly 155mph and take Church, the fastest corner in the BTCC, at over 130mph. It's also the most demanding circuit on tyres; so much so, that a different Dunlop control tyre construction is used for this race meeting alone. It's a big power circuit, but a good brake and suspension set-up are also important, especially for the hard deceleration into the high-kerbed chicane.
Darren says, "After our success at Donington, everyone in the team is on a high and looking forward to Thruxton. We had almost perfect conditions for the day's testing we did after the Donington race – it was dry, it wasn't too hot, there wasn't any wind and the track was very consistent – so we were able to work through a lot of stuff the engineers wanted to try and we found a few new things that work very well on the Leon TDI. When problems occur, we now have more armoury in the engineering department in terms of tested options to go out on, whereas before it was all a bit of an educated gamble.
"It's a new car and we haven't driven it around Thruxton yet, so we don't know for sure exactly how competitive we'll be until we get there. The long straights should suit the Leon TDI, but there are two very long high-speed corners around the back of the circuit which are crucial to a good lap time. We were crucified on the long high-speed corners at Rockingham, so we'll have to wait and see. But for sure we know the car a lot better now and the entire team heads to the next race meeting with a lot of confidence."
The BTCC race weekend at Thruxton begins with two 40-minute free practice sessions on Saturday 17th May, starting at 09.55 and 12.20, followed by a 30-minute qualifying session starting at 15.40. Rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the BTCC take place on Sunday 18th May, with the three 16-lap races around the 2.356 mile Thruxton Circuit starting at 10.55, 14.10 and 16.50.
ITV4 will have extensive live coverage, with non-stop viewing on race day between 12.30pm-5.30pm. Highlights will be broadcast later the same evening on ITV4 and on ITV1 on Monday 5th May (check local TV listings for details).
Darren, 34, lives near Banbury in Oxfordshire. Successful in many different categories of motorsport, taking wins, podiums and points at almost every outing, he's going all out for 2008 BTCC success. He remains a firm favourite with teams, fans, and media alike.
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