LATEST NEWS
DT'S FIRST BTCC WIN!
04/06/2007
It was Darren's first appearance at the North Yorkshire circuit since 1998, and his 4th, 1st and 5th place finishes demonstrated just how well-established Darren is now becoming as one of the leading drivers in the Championship.
The result was the highlight of a solid race day for SEAT Sport UK as both Darren and his team mate Jason Plato scored points in all three races to maintain the team's impressive record at Croft. It enabled SEAT to out-score Vauxhall and close the gap in the BTCC Manufacturers' standings, and close the gap in the Teams' Championship to just three points.
Qualifying was a close run thing on Saturday afternoon, with the Leamington-Spa-based driver claiming third place on the grid for the start of the first race of the weekend. He said after the session, "Any one of us could have got the pole, but a lot of it was down to getting a clear track. On my final run I caught one car which delayed me, and on my next lap I had to slow because there was debris on the track at one of the corners.
"As far as the weekend as a whole went, I'm quite pleased with how things went as I closed the gap a bit in the Drivers' Championship. I had a reasonable start in the first race and kept out of trouble, and then that rolled on to me having a great second race. My car was quick and, for a change, other people had problems which I could benefit from though I was put under a lot of pressure from Mike Jordan in race 1 and 2. It was really great to get my first win and I was especially pleased for Nick Clipson, my engineer, and all the guys on the SEAT team.
"My spin on the Wheel of Fortune [the BTCC's grid selection method for the final race of the weekend] didn't really favour me and I started from ninth on the grid in the third and final race. I was also carrying the maximum 45 kg success ballast which made it quite hard work so I just picked up places where I could. Jason ran wide at Sunny and I nipped through on the inside and then I had to defend my place with Matt Neal behind me towards the end. It was definitely the hardest of the three races and I was quite exhausted afterwards because there is no ventilation in the Leon. It was pretty hot in there.
"It was great to get my first BTCC win under my belt and it gives us all confidence we can win together. It should be start of many more to come. My focus for the next couple of weeks now moves onto the 24 Hours of Le Mans where I'll be racing with David Brabham and Rickard Rydell in the Aston Martin DBR9. I talked to the guys after yesterday's official test and that all went well. One thing is for sure, the GT1 field is likely to be the most competitive ever and it's going to be 24 hours of 100% flat out racing."
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.
LATEST GALLERIES
SPONSORS
