 Plato at SIlverstone |
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SEAT has announced that it will withdraw from the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at the end of the 2008 season and will also pull the plug on the successful SEAT Cupra Championship.
SEAT joined the BTCC grid back in 2004, winning first time out with Jason Plato in the Toledo at Thruxton, and has since gone on to establish itself as one of the most successful manufacturers in the history of the series, with 43 wins to date.
While the drivers' title proved to be elusive despite a series of strong seasons from Plato in particular, SEAT did take the manufacturers' crown back in 2006 while SEAT Sport UK took the teams' title last year.
SEAT also became the first manufacturer to enter a diesel-powered car in the BTCC this season, with Plato and Darren Turner both taking victory at the wheel of the Leon TDi. Indeed, Plato has won more races than anyone else during the current campaign and goes into the final weekend of the year at Brands Hatch with an outside chance of lifting the title.
The announcement will also bring an end to the SEAT Cupra Championship, which was first run in 2003 and has produced a number of drivers who have gone on to race in both the BTCC and WTCC – including current Chevrolet WTCC ace Rob Huff and BTCC front-runners Gordon Shedden and Mat Jackson.
More: http://www.crash.net/motorsport/btcc/news/168827-0/seat_announces_btcc_withdrawal.html
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