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SEAT REIGN SUPREME IN WET QUALIFYING
02/09/2006
For the second consecutive Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race meeting, SEAT Sport UK has qualified in 1st and 2nd positions to once again make it an all SEAT Leon front row. (Report written by and thanks to SEAT Sport UK press office.)
But it was far from easy, and it took a brave decision to swap wet front tyres for slicks in the extremely slippery conditions that enabled Jason Plato and Darren Turner to make the most of a drying Knockhill circuit in the closing seconds of a dramatic qualifying session. Both Jason and Darren paid tribute to their Race Engineers, Piers Phillips and Nick Clipson, who made the vital call to bring them into the pits and change their front tyres, leaving the grooved wet weather tyres only on the rear.
With just eight minutes of the 30 minute session remaining, the Leons roared back onto the picturesque 1.3 mile Scottish circuit knowing that they would have to increase their pace as the racing line dried – although standing water and treacherously slippery kerbs still made the track extremely hazardous. The last lap was always going to be the quickest, and while both Jason and Darren made a slight mistake – Jason at Scotsman Corner and Darren at Real Radio Hairpin – their last lap was indeed their fastest. Jason ran 0.350 seconds faster than on his previous pole-position lap to set an unbeaten 57.467s, while Darren jumped to 2nd with a last-gasp 57.607s – just 0.140 seconds behind his team-mate. Fabrizio Giovanardi was 3rd fastest (+0.210), followed by Gordon Shedden (+0.253) and Matt Neal (+0.366).
Jason said: “All credit to Piers – it was a fantastic call to bring me in and change to slicks. It was a big gamble because the circuit was still wet, but it was amazing how much grip there was from the slicks. There were a couple of corners where the slicks were slower and a couple where they were quicker, but I love conditions like that because it’s a proper test of drivers rather than equipment. Each lap was a journey into the unknown because you had to keep pushing that little bit harder but you don’t know how much grip you’ve really got. Each corner was right on the ragged edge and on some corners I made a mistake and on others I didn’t. I made a little mistake at Scotsman Corner on my final lap, but the rest of the lap was pretty good and I knew it was better than the lap I’d done before. That had been good enough for pole at the time, so I knew we’d be there or thereabouts.
“It’s great that Darren’s right up there as well and qualifying first and second on the grid is a great result for the team. It’s just reward for all the hard work everyone has done and you could see by the reaction of everyone in the team how much this means to us. This is exactly what we set out to do today, and now we’re in the best position to control the pace of the first race tomorrow and hopefully lead from the front.”
Darren said: “Qualifying was very difficult because in free practice this morning I was getting used to driving the Leon in the wet and then qualifying started wet and for the first ten minutes it suited the wet tyres. As the track started to dry it was getting greasier and the wet tyres weren’t working as well, and the team said we have to go on to slicks on the front. I’ve never driven a racing car with different tyres on the front and rear like that before and I had eight minutes of the session left to learn! I had a very lucky last lap, because I made a mistake coming into the last corner and it turned out to be quicker than the lap before. I just got on the brakes a fraction later than I had before, locked up and ended up carrying more speed into the hairpin. Luckily the tyres gripped and I came out the other side, but as that was the only difference to my previous lap it’s obviously where the time came from. I could keep quiet and say it was just me being great, but in actual fact it was me making a mistake that got me on the front row of the grid!"
“It’s great for the team to qualifying in P1 and P2 and I’m very happy for Jason because pole also gives him an extra drivers’ point.” Scott Dennis, SEAT UK Motorsport Manager, said: “This has been a fantastic start to the weekend and it gives us a great opportunity to try and lead from the front and score a lot of points tomorrow. The team was awesome today and deserves nothing less than first and second on the grid.”
Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the BTCC take place tomorrow (Sunday 3rd September) with the three 24 lap races starting at 11.10, 13.40 and 15.50.
Darren, 34, lives near Banbury in Oxfordshire. Successful in many different categories of motorsport, his most notable and high profile victories have been at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the British Touring Car Championship. He's a firm favourite with teams, fans, and media alike from around the world.
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