SEAT will begin the defence of its Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Manufacturers’ title at one of its strongest circuits, Brands Hatch, when the 2007 series begins on March 31-April 1. SEAT is aiming to repeat the whitewash of three race victories out of three that it achieved at the opening race meeting last year, although with 26 drivers in seven different makes of car (SEAT, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Honda, Lexus, MG and Vauxhall) expected on the 2007 grid, the challenge is year is a lot harder.

In addition to winning the Manufacturers’ title for a second time, the SEAT Sport UK team has an ambitious aim this year, and that is to win all three major awards – the Teams’ trophy and the Drivers’ title with Jason Plato and Darren Turner.

This is Jason’s fourth consecutive season in competition with the team. The 39-year old from Oxford is one of the most successful BTCC drivers of all time, winning the Drivers’ title in 2001 and winning 33 races and scoring 1624 points in 216 starts.

This will be Darren’s first full BTCC season – and his first full UK series since competing in the 1998 Formula Palmer Audi Championship. The 32-year old from Leamington Spa made his BTCC debut last year, finishing 3rd in his first ever race at Thruxton. He contested half the season and scored 41 points in his eight race finishes and, more importantly, helped SEAT win the BTCC Manufacturers’ title for the first time.

Race details

Race: 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, Rounds 1/2/3
Venue: Brands Hatch, Kent
Lap distance: 1.226 miles (Indy Circuit)
Race distance: 29.44 miles
Saturday 31 March: Free Practice 1 – 09.30-10.10; Free Practice 2 – 12.15-12.55; Qualifying – 15.25-15.55
Sunday 1 April: Race 1 – 11.30; Race 2 – 13.35; Race 3 – 16.50 (24 laps)
Qualifying Record: Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Astra Coupé), 48.942s (90.19mph) on 15 April 2001
Best SEAT Qualifying Lap: Jason Plato (SEAT Leon), 49.045s (90.13mph) on 8 April 2006
Race Lap Record: Tom Chilton (Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch), 49.190s (89.74mph) on 9 April 2006
Best SEAT Race Lap: James Thompson (SEAT Leon), 49.235s (83.42mph) on 9 April 2006
2006 BTCC winners: Round 1 – James Thompson (SEAT Leon), Round 2 – James Thompson (SEAT Leon), Round 3 – Jason Plato (SEAT Leon) / Round 25 – Jason Plato (SEAT Leon), Round 26 – Jason Plato (SEAT Leon), Round 27 – Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vauxhall Astra Coupé)
TV schedule: Live on ITV3 and Setanta Sports. Recorded highlights on ITV1 and Men & Motors

Technical analysis

Piers Phillips, SEAT Sport Race Engineer: “The undulating and sweeping layout of the short Brands Hatch Indy Circuit really plays into the strengths of the SEAT Leon. It was a good track for us last year and we want to repeat that performance, although we expect the Vauxhalls and the BMWs to be very quick. We need to concentrate on Saturday, get a good set-up during free practice and nail pole in qualifying. Our performance as a team on Saturday is crucial if we want to win on race day.”

Driver quotes

Jason Plato: “We were good at Brands Hatch last year, and I see no reason why we won’t be good there this year. There are a lot of Championship points up for grabs; we got most of them last year and we must do the same again. We will have to concentrate as a team and not miss a trick; especially on Saturday as qualifying on the front row will be vital if we’re going to win on Sunday. We won all three races at Brands Hatch last year, and that’s our aim again. It’s not a case of being over-confident or too ambitious, it’s just part of our overall Championship strategy, as other circuits later in the season won’t suit us so well.”

Darren Turner: “I’m really looking forward to Brands Hatch, because it’s not just the first race of the season but it’s the start of my first full BTCC programme. I haven’t done a UK series since 1998 and I’m really excited. As a team we have a great opportunity to do something very special in 2007 and Brands Hatch is the best place for us to start, as the SEAT Leon works well around there. I was on pole until the final moments of qualifying last year when Jason pipped me by 0.007 seconds, so I know what we’re capable of as a team. It would be nice to start the season off with my first BTCC race victory. That’s the aim, anyway!”

Brands Hatch Fact File

The 1.226 mile Brands Hatch Indy Circuit is the shortest on the BTCC calendar.

SEAT Sport UK has an excellent record at Brands Hatch. Last year it won five out of the six BTCC races there and qualified second and third (Round 1 – 1. Tom Chilton, 2. Jason Plato +0.070, 3. James Thompson +0.225) and first and second (Round 25 – 1. Jason Plato, 2. Darren Turner +0.007) in the April and September meetings. It was also quickest in three out of the four free practice sessions – and the fastest time set by James Thompson (49.064s / 89.97mph, set on 8 April 2006) would have been a new lap record, if it had been recorded in a race.

Brands Hatch has been a happy hunting ground for Jason Plato, as he clinched both the 1999 Renault Spider Cup and 2001 BTCC titles there.

Darren Turner finished 3rd in the GT1 class, and 11th overall (out of 34), at the recent 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida, driving an Aston Martin DBR9 with Antonio Garcia and Liz Halliday.

It’s exactly 10 years since Jason Plato made his sensational BTCC debut at Donington Park (31 March 1997), when the 29-year old rookie qualified his Williams Renault on pole at his first attempt. He went on to finish 3rd in the series, with two race wins, nine podiums and four poles in his maiden BTCC season.

Local team Motorbase Performance, which is based three miles away from Brands Hatch in Wrotham, will run a pair of SEAT Toledos for Gareth Howell and Matt Allison.

In the last few days, Jason Plato has been to the Sony PlayStation 3 launch in London (with Johnny Herbert and Bruno Senna), the Shakira concert at Wembley Arena (with HRH Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York) and laid a floor in his new office (on his own).

There will be 11 races at Brands Hatch during the BTCC race weekend – three BTCC rounds and eight from the supporting bill, which includes the Blauplunkt SEAT Cupra Championship, Formula BMW, Porsche Carrera Cup, Renault Clio and Formula Renault.