After a ferocious Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race meeting at Mondello Park left all three Toledo Cupras bruised and battered, SEAT Sport UK pledges to come out fighting for glory and go for nothing less than race wins in the remaining rounds of the series.

Having shown great pace in the wet free practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday, Jason Plato, James Pickford and Luke Hines all had high hopes of scoring well in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships in Ireland. Even in the drier race day conditions, the team was confident it had a good set-up and that the tight and twisty circuit near Naas in Co. Kildare would suit the Toledo Cupra well.

Jason proved this by finishing 2nd in the first race and despite starting from pole for the third and final race that result was to be SEAT Sport UK’s only podium finish of the day. James and Luke were both on top form and despite both running in the top three during the day their magnificent efforts reaped little rewards as both lost time after being forced onto the grass and into gravel traps.

James was hit so hard soon after the start of the first race that his car spun across the grass and ended up back where he’d started – on the start / finish straight – which saw him drive around the opening corner for a second time!

The third and final race lasted less than 30 minutes but it will take the SEAT Sport UK team many hours to repair the cars after all three Toledo Cupras were hit from all angles. Jason and James came into the pits with damage and could not continue, while Luke’s weekend ended in a gravel trap.

It wasn’t the race day SEAT had hoped for, but the team remains highly motivated and determined to return to the winners’ circle at the next BTCC race meeting at Snetterton.

Jason said: “Everyone went bloody mad in that last race! Tom Chilton drove me off the track on the first corner, didn’t brake and pushed me wide. Then I got Collarded when Rob Collard just kept his nose in as I turned into turn two and nearly put me into the wall; that was a big moment there. I just feel like I got beaten up; it was like being in the school playground and getting a good kicking.

“Dan Eaves was trying to be a bit sneaky as he knew he didn’t have much pace, he braked very early knowing I was on the left of him and then just stopped the car to let Matt Neal get in the train behind him and follow him through. I tried to get back behind him and we just touched and as we did Matt dived in the gap and two cars into one don’t go. It’s just one of those things really. We’ve finished second in one race and that’s about all we could salvage at Mondello. It just doesn’t seem possible for the Super 2000 cars to compete on an equal footing.”

James said: “I had an absolutely brilliant start in the final race and I was right up alongside Jason. Then he got a thump from behind off Tom Chilton which saw him sail passed his apex and as I was on the outside of him I had to go even further wide before I could turn in. We made our way down to the hairpin and Rob Collard just lunged at me up the inside. There was nothing I could do about it but I thought it was pretty dirty. A few laps later I got a run on Collard and held him so he was on the inside and I cut back in for the next right. I had my nose in but he just didn’t give me any room and turned in as I was up the inside of him. That broke my front left steering rack - I was on full lock turning to the right but my car just went straight on. He probably thought I turned into him but there was nothing I could do.

“I don’t know what everyone was thinking because it was carnage out there. We had a really good car and really good pace this weekend but it’s just not come good for us as even though we qualified strongly we’ve had three really tough races.”

Luke said: “It was all a bit mad out there really. Once drivers think they can give people a nudge and get away with it they just keep on doing it. Rob Collard hit me last weekend and he did the same again today. He gave me a really big nudge out of the last corner and I had my nose looking at a wall as I had the car sideways, but luckily I managed to control it. It was just a bit much really. After that I was in a Honda sandwich after Matt Neal bullied his way through. I can’t really say who took me off but someone hit the back of my car going through the Birranes Bends and threw me off.

“It’s been a hard weekend and the damage caused in that last race must have cost teams a small fortune. I only counted three cars out of the sixteen that looked reasonably clean; it must have been like watching a demolition derby. I’m pleased with my fifth place in the second race and at least I got some more points on the board but overall it been a really tough weekend.”