SEAT Sport UK came away from its third Green Flag British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) race meeting at Silverstone today with two podium finishes.

Jason Plato finished 3rd in both Rounds 7 and 9 of the Championship to maintain the team’s record of a podium finish on every race meeting it has competed in. He also gave the SEAT Toledo Cupra its first qualified pole position worldwide, after timed-to-perfection tyre choice tactics worked brilliantly as a wet qualifying session turned dry.

Plato describes team-mate Robert Huff as a “star in the making” after the 2003 Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Champion once again displayed some truly impressive driving against much more experienced BTCC competitors. Huff also started Round 8 from pole.

Silverstone - BTCC Rounds 7, 8, 9. SEAT Sport UK race summary
Round 7
Jason Plato: Qualified on pole. Finished 3rd.
Rob Huff: Qualified 13th. Finished 10th.

Having started from pole, Plato held the lead for three laps – despite never driving the Toledo Cupra around the Silverstone International Circuit in the dry before. He eventually finished on the podium, behind Matt Neal and Yvan Muller. Rob had a good start from 13th and was nudged into a big sideways slide after a coming together with Colin Turkington. Huff eased off on the final lap to finish 10th and secure pole position for the next race.

Jason said: “We’re pleased with third, it would have been nice to win but we have got no experience of last year in terms of car set up. So when you have two wet practice sessions and then a wet qualifying session you’ve got no information to work on how to set the car up in the dry. We had a stab at it and we just didn’t quite get it right, but that’s all part of the learning process. I’m pleased with third, it’s another podium and more points for the team. It was a great race and I really enjoyed it.”

Rob said: “I had a good start and really great traction off the line, but had to lift going into the first corner. It was just a case of easy does it - the car felt good and I wanted to try and take tenth place and I achieved that. I had a bit of a coming together with Colin Turkington, he just got up the inside of me and I presumed he had nowhere to go. As I came across he just touched me, I went sideways and as I came back across the track James Kaye and Colin Turkington both went off. Overall I’m quite happy with my race, I’m on pole for the next race minus twenty four kilos so it could be quite entertaining.”

Round 8
Jason Plato: Started 7th . Finished 9th .
Rob Huff: Started on pole. Finished 7th .

Starting from his first BTCC pole position, Huff had a titanic battle with Yvan Muller. Overtaken by Kelvin Burt due to a bad start, Huff fought off the efforts of a hard chasing Muller to hold 2nd position for the first seven laps of the race. Failing to be intimidated by the reigning BTC Champion, Huff swapped door paint with Muller before oversteering wide at Priory corner and dropping to 8th position. Recovering he overtook Matt Neal to cross the line in 7th position.

With a heavily ballasted car, Plato had a good start only to get caught up in other people’s battles which dropped him to 11th place, but he managed to muscle his way through to finish the race in 9th position.

Rob said: “I had a horrifying start and Kelvin Burt got ahead of me but then I had a great first lap and managed to catch him. I tried to go around the outside of him down the back straight but he decided he was going to drive me off the track. In a straight line he was just trying to blatantly drive into the side of me and there was no need for it whatsoever. Then Muller came and had a go so I gave him as good as he was giving me and managed to keep him behind, but then I had a big oversteer moment going into Priory which I just managed to hold on to and I had to settle for seventh place.”

Jason said: “I had a good start but just got tangled up in other people’s battles and had to back off a bit and lost a couple of places which I later managed to take back. I think we really struggled with the weight in that race, it definitely didn’t make life very easy.”

Round 9
Jason Plato: Started 9th . Finished 3rd.
Rob Huff: Started 7th . Finished 4th.

Plato gave SEAT Sport UK its second podium position of the day by finishing 3rd in Round 9 of the BTCC. Team-mate Huff crossed the line right beside him to finish an excellent 4th , rounding up another fantastic weekend’s work for the new team.

Both drivers enjoyed a great start with Huff moving up four places to 3rd and Plato up three to 6th by the end of the first lap. Huff quickly closed in on a battle for the lead and managed to overtake Matt Neal for 2nd on lap six. A close battle followed and Neal made a passing manoeuvre on Huff which allowed Tom Chilton to get past as well, dropping Huff to 4th . Meanwhile Plato managed to take Carl Breeze for 5th and closed up right behind his team-mate. He then passed Huff at Becketts and the SEAT duo stayed close together to pass Neal on the penultimate lap to take the chequered flag in 3rd and 4th positions.

Rob said: “It was a good race; I had a few connections with a few people but nothing too serious and just kept it nice and clean. Jason got past me going down the straight after Copse and we just sat next to each other for the rest of the race. I’m trying hard and I’ve had a few interesting battles today but it’s important for me to make a good impression in my first year in British touring cars. We’ve now had three race weekends and four podium results which is fantastic. To be doing this well so soon in the season is a real tribute to everyone in the team.”

Jason said: “It was quite a fraught final race really. I had a good start but you never quite know what’s going to happen off the line and I didn’t want to end up getting caught in a fight. The track opened up for Rob and he got through and I got stuck behind Colin Turkington and I really had to work hard for position. Towards the end of the race Rob and I had some great dices and I managed to nip down the inside of him into Becketts. I’ve no complaints at all - we’re both trying to do the best job we can, there are no team orders, there’s no favouritism in the team and Rob’s doing a fine job. He’s definitely a star in the making.”