Pickford in confident mood

James Pickford has a tough act to follow. Rob Huff impressed a lot of people in his debut season in the BTCC, after winning the Seat Cupra Championship, taking two race wins before securing a deal to drive for Chevrolet in the FIA WTCC this year.

“I’m hoping for some real good results”, said Pickford at Donington. “Some race wins would be really nice. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to win. I think the first couple of meetings are going to be getting used to the whole routine of three races on a day. It’s a whole new environment. But I think I’ll soon get used to that and my true pace will come out and we’ll be battling with the big boys.”

“If we get enough track time and the car is right then there is no reason why I can’t be up the front with Jason and Luke. I think all three of us have got good pace. We’ll just have to see what sort of cars Team Dynamics and Vauxhall have brought.”

Unlike the VX Racing team, Seat Sport’s winter testing programme has seen them stay within the UK. But then, unlike the Astra Sport Hatch, the Toledo Cupra has a season of racing under its belt.

“I’ve had about three or four days in the car so we’ve had some good test mileage. It’s just been very difficult because the temperature and the weather is nowhere near as good as you want it to be to go testing. So that has been unfortunate but everybody has been in the same situation so we’ve just made the most of what we’ve had and just got on with the job.”

“My initial thoughts were that [the Toledo] wasn’t much different to drive to the Leon, but when you’re into the last second and you need three or four tenths to get the ultimate laptime, that’s when the car becomes a lot different to drive. The Cupra championship is a natural progression into a touring car. It’s just that everything happens a little bit quicker, with a little bit more grip. It’s not a huge jump but it does take a bit of getting used. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t.”

With the Seat BTCC programme being taken in-house for 2005, Pickford finds himself working with many of the same people as in the Cupra Championship last year: “I feel comfortable with the whole surroundings. I know everyone here and I’ve known everyone for quite a while now. It does make a difference.”

Pickford and new teammate Jason Plato are no strangers, either, as the 2001 BTCC champion has acted as mentor to the Seat Cupra drivers over the past two seasons.

“I’ve known Jason for two years now. We do get on well. I remember in 2003 when we went over to see the Seat Cupra cars and me and him got on really well the first time we met. Obviously we’ve developed our relationship over the past couple of years and here we are now, teammates in the British Touring Car Championship. We do share information and there is no-one really better out there to learn from. It’s good at the moment.”

“I think the three of us, Luke, myself and Jason will all work really well together. I think one of us will win the drivers’ title and Seat will win the manufacturers’ title. We can’t go into this thinking that we’re going to lose. We have to be positive. And usually, if you’re thinking positive then positive things happen. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”

By Matt Lamprell