Scoring as many points as possible is the objective for SEAT Sport UK, as the 2005 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship begins at Donington Park this weekend (April 9/10).

The new three-car ‘in-house’ SEAT Sport UK team makes its race debut at the Leicestershire circuit, were the opening three rounds of the 2005 series takes place on Sunday. Jason Plato is the most experienced driver in the team with 156 BTCC race starts, 21 wins and the 2001 Championship title behind him, and he’ll have two new team-mates this year. Joining the 37-year old Monaco-based driver in the SEAT squad is James Pickford, the 25-year old Macclesfield man and current SEAT Cupra Champion, who is looking forward to making a good start to his BTCC career. At 22-years of age, team-mate Luke Hines will be one of the youngest drivers on the grid, yet the Essex racer won two BTCC races outright last year and is a former Production Class Champion.

It’s a formidable driver line-up which is aiming to win the BTCC Manufacturers’ title for SEAT this year. With new cars on the grid, SEAT hopes that the tried and tested performance and reliability of its Toledo Cupra will be an advantage, particularly at the start of the season. The car is technically unchanged since it finished the last race last season, which ironically also took place at Donington Park. The biggest difference is the new Dunlop control tyre, which all teams will be racing on for the first time.

Plato said: “I’m really looking forward to the first race at Donington. If you think back to what happened there last year, we arrived at the media day twelve months ago and were quite a bit off the pace and on paper Donington didn’t look like a circuit that would suit the Toledo Cupra. We returned to Donington for the last race meeting of the year and were very strong there. We had improved the car during the season, qualified on pole, won the first race and very nearly won the last race – and best of all we were competitive all weekend. Championships are usually won at the beginning of the year and we have to come away from Donington next weekend with three good points scores. If we can have no mechanical dramas, I make no mistakes and we maximise our points gathering potential, it will stand us in good stead for the rest of the year.”

Pickford said: “I believe I could surprise a few people this weekend. The team has told me that it’s not expecting me to bang in some top results until the middle of the season, but after testing the Toledo Cupra I’m quietly confident. Having said that, I’ve still got a lot to get used to. I’m braking far too early for corners for example. It was spot on in my Leon Cupra R last year in the SEAT Cupra Championship, but I have to dial in to the ways of Toledo Cupra now – and that’s going to take a couple of races. Of course, the BTCC is a big step up for me and I’m quite nervous about my first race weekend. Nobody on that grid is a nugget; there are no slow people. I’ll be racing the best touring car drivers this country has to offer, so it will be interesting to see what happens.”

Hines said: “I know the Donington Park circuit quite well and I’ve raced single seaters and touring cars there. We had a good test there at the media day last week and found a nice setting, and while Jason was a little bit quicker than me, we looked at the data and learned a few new things, so I’m quite happy. This will be my first race with SEAT and I’m going to just take things as it comes. Hopefully the weather will be okay – I don’t mind racing in the wet, but I’d prefer it to be hot and sunny because you feel happier and there’s always a better atmosphere. I think all three of us have a good chance of finishing somewhere on the podium this weekend.”

Scott Dennis, SEAT UK National Motorsport Manager, said: “We’re looking forward to making a strong start to the British Touring Car Championship and begin from where we left off last year. We’ll be looking for three consistent points scoring results on Sunday, and we will be at each race weekend this year.