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<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">SEAT CUPRA CHAMPIONSHIP</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">19/04/2004</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">SEAT Drivers See The Top Prize Flash Before Them </FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">Brands Gives View Of Touring Car Prize</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><img border="1" src="Storage/seat-12-thruxton-r-04(1).jpg"></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2"><B>SEAT Drivers See The Top Prize Flash Before Them At Brands Hatch</B><BR> <BR> When the 2004 Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship begins at Brands Hatch this Sunday (25th April) it will give competitors a bird’s eye view of the big prize on offer as last year’s Champion, Rob Huff, is racing in his works SEAT Sport UK Toledo Cupra in the British Touring Car Championship.<BR> <BR> With a SEAT Sport UK touring car drive in 2005 to fight for, the drivers in the SEAT Cupra Championship have been preparing vigorously for the start of the 12 race series. Having already completed two test sessions at Donington Park, a final test session at Brands Hatch on Thursday (22nd April) will be vital as they set their identical Leon Cupra Rs up for the twisty 1.22 mile Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.<BR> <BR> Some of the best up and coming young touring car drivers will contest this year’s SEAT Cupra Championship, which enters its second year of competition. With last year’s Champion racing with SEAT Sport UK, a further three out of last year’s top five return to try and win the biggest prize in British motorsport.<BR> <BR> Last year’s runner-up Gordon Shedden proved a fast starter in 2003 and was the only driver to finish on the podium in both opening races. The 24-year old racer from Edinburgh will be aiming to do the same again, but this time stand on the top step of the podium, in his Scottish Sun / Tracker Leon.<BR> <BR> While Shedden won at Oulton Park, Gavin Smith’s sole SEAT victory of 2003 came at Rockingham in front of a record 44,000 crowd. Three DNFs in a series in which all scores count didn’t help, but despite this the 25-year old former Formula 3 driver from Rathfarnham in Dublin remained a title contender right up until the final race weekend. He eventually finished 4th in the series, and is back this year “to win” in his Europcar / White Bishop Car Sales / Smith’s Hire Centre SEAT.<BR> <BR> James Pickford didn’t win a race last year, but having returned to motorsport after a two year break the 24-year old from Macclesfield did exceptionally well to score three podium results and finish 5th. He’s able to devote even more time to his racing this year, so James is aiming for a win at Brands in his Haribo / Vivaldi / Creative Cupra to kick-start his 2004 championship campaign.<BR> <BR> Also returning are 18-year old Earls Barton driver Ben Winrow and 23-year old Melanie Healey (the only female driver in this year’s series) from Cheam in Surrey. Ben demonstrated superb skill and courage in 2003, firstly in moving up from his Caterham Academy / BARC's 'Newcomer of the Year' winning year in 2002 and then in bouncing back from a huge accident at Thruxton. A cool and calculating driver, Ben is aiming for consistent performances inside the top six in his Telemecanique Leon and could well finish on the podium during the season. Melanie won the ‘Mintex Most Improved Driver of the Year’ award in 2003 and with her race craft and confidence flourishing she’ll continue to improve in her Spur Garage Radio Jackie / Secure Valeting Leon.<BR> <BR> There are plenty of new faces in the 2004 SEAT Cupra Championship, and Brands will be a watershed for many as they race against each other for the very first time.<BR> <BR> The reigning Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge Champion Lewis Carter has swapped his 360 for a Cupra R, and the 22-year old from Bathgate, near Edinburgh, will be one to watch in his Cobra Group / Europcar Leon. <BR> <BR> Oli Wilkinson joined the SEAT Cupra Championship by winning the Racing Rivals Scholarship Drive Competition on ITV2 and his pre-season testing has certainly justified his selection. The 28-year old driver from Solihull has a consistently fast approach to racing, which could bode well as he aims for the title in his talkSPORT / Omnetica / collectiques.co.uk Leon.<BR> <BR> Daniel-Lee Stevens finished 2nd in a Locost Championship race at Brands Hatch last year and knows the circuit well. It’s the nearest track to the 25-year old former Formula Student finalist’s home in Chelmsford, and he’s quietly confident of starting the season well.<BR> <BR> For the first time the SEAT Cupra Championship has attracted drivers from outside the UK and Ireland. Emmanuel Crouvisier is one of very few Americans racing in Europe and his season in Palmer Audi was cut short last year when the 25-year old from Cleveland discovered that he had developed testicular cancer. He returned to his home in Ohio where he was successfully treated and his year, as well as trying to win the title, he’ll be using his participation in the Championship to raise awareness of the disease and raise money for testicular cancer research.<BR> <BR> Rui Chagas has never raced in the UK before and has been learning the circuit layouts on his Sony PlayStation. The enthusiastic 25-year old driver from Lisbon in Portugal looked into racing in Formula BMW and Formula Renault this year, but decided to make his saloon car racing debut in the SEAT Cupra Championship instead. Supported by Caremore Homes Ltd, pre-season testing suggests that Rui’s lack of UK circuit knowledge and saloon car experience won’t be a big problem.<BR> <BR> Lorcan Johnson may be the oldest driver in the series, but the Driver Development Programme fitness assessment marked the 48-year old from Malahide, north of Dublin, as one of the fittest. Racing is Lorcan’s forte and even he expects to finish the races a lot further up than he qualifies.<BR> <BR> Rui and Lorcan are the only two drivers never to have raced at Brands Hatch before, while Simon Hepplewhite has only raced there on motorbikes. The 23-year old fitness instructor from Lindfield in West Sussex set a great pace in testing before crashing his Auto Trader / TSR Performance / Grand Prix Racewear SEAT heavily at Donington. Used to skidding across the asphalt on his leathers when things go wrong, this was a minor incident for Simon.<BR> <BR> One driver hoping that it won’t be another ‘roll over’ weekend at Brands Hatch is Buckinghamshire’s Andy Neate. The 29-year old electronics engineer from Aylesbury will be racing his Create Online / Cannons Health Centre Cupra R and putting aside memories of his biggest ever motor racing accident, in which he rolled a saloon car five times down Paddock Hill Bend!<BR> <BR> Filming for the new series of ‘Racing Rivals’, the docu-soap programme that follows drivers in the SEAT Cupra Championship, will continue at Brands Hatch. Presented by Terri Dwyer and Jason Plato, the series will be broadcast later in the year on Channel 4, Bravo and Motors TV. Motors TV will also cover both SEAT Cupra Championship races live from Brands Hatch, while ITV will broadcast recorded highlights on its Speed Sunday programme.<BR> <BR> </FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>