Double Thruxton delight for Adam

SEAT Cupra Championship 2008

Two hugely exciting races in Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship ended with reigning Champion Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing) driving home with his first two victories of the year. The fast Thruxton circuit is famous for its ability to test drivers to the limits of their cars and it proved so once again, with the Leon Cupras hurling round the circuit at BTCC pace. Despite incredible qualifying times, the current Championship leader Robert Lawson (Bardon/JHR) couldn't translate that form into wins, but will be thankful that his nearest competitors weren't able to take maximum points away from Thruxton.

Round 7 saw Adam and Daniel Welch (Marriott/Welch Motorsport) start from the front row, and when the lights went out the pair sped into the first corner side by side, Adam edging it as they went into Goodwood for the first time. Lawson managed to make some headway too, capitalising on a Welch error to slip into second but at Club chicane at the end of lap one Welch bravely dived back in front. From there on Welch did his best to catch Adam, coming close in the dying moments to making a move for the lead, but it was just too much to ask. Lawson finished in 3rd having had a lonely race after the initial tussle but there was plenty of action behind him.

The trio of Carl Breeze (Blue Chip/Welch Motorsport), Martin Byford (AB Glass/Z Speed Racing) and Andrew Herron (Brian Herron Plant/JHR) reignited their battle from Donington, this time though it was Byford putting pressure on Breeze with Herron ready to pounce. It looked like Byford could take 4th  place coming out of the final corner too, but Breeze managed to cross the finish line with Byford's nose alongside his door. Five of the 16 laps were run behind the Safety Car after rookie Cupra driver Steve Mitchell (JP Motorsport) pushed too hard and ended in a barrier. Despite valiant efforts from the team, they just missed being able to repair it in time for Round 8.

Welch once again proved his pace around Thruxton in the second race and would surely have been fighting for a win had he not been spun in the first complex of bends moments after the start. Storming from the line, Welch had squeezed down the inside of Lawson, with Breeze making great progress on the outside. But as the pack bundled into the first corner, Adam was sent into the rear corner of Welch, sending him sideways across the track and forcing Breeze to take a diversion to avoid a painful impact. Adam kept his foot in though and pulled out into the lead, while Welch rejoined in 9th  and Breeze dusted himself off and tagged back on in last place.

Lawson meanwhile found himself down in 4th  having also lost places to Herron and Byford, but with Herron distracted by the experienced Byford, Lawson kept in contact, yet Adam started to pull a gap at the front to the point where it became unassailable. He went on to take his second win of the day, around six seconds ahead of Lawson who finished in 2nd  place. But it was later judged that Lawson had gained an unfair advantage, inadvertently gaining two places when he went straight on through the Club chicane avoiding what he thought was an incident between Herron and Byford. Despite a lot of tyre smoke though, Herron was simply defending hard from Byford and the two cars found themselves exiting the chicane both a position down.

For Byford this had further consequences, as it left him in Welch's sights. Welch had powered through the pack and was on the blue rear bumper of Byford's car in no time. He's quick here and was determined to make up for his earlier misfortune, taking an opportunity at Club on the penultimate lap to land his car ahead of Byford through the unforgiving curbs. Neither driver was in a position to give up the lines they were carrying though and the two collided, Welch suffering the lion's share of damage. Byford managed to continue on to a 4th place finish while Welch staggered home, losing places to the ever-improving pair of Freddy Nordström (Plumbertraining.com/Advent Motorsport) and Jeremy Gumbley (Millionpixeldriver.com/Welch Motorsport) on the last lap to finish in a disappointing 7th .

Thruxton is often cited as a favourite circuit by drivers, its high speed nature always open to playing out a dramatic race. Despite Adam's superb showing and haul of 41 points the current front-runners in the Championship couldn't take full advantage of a track they liked. Lawson's 3rd  and 4th  place finishes though were slightly better than those of Byford and Breeze meaning he'll head to Croft with an increased lead at the top of the table. Adam looks like he's back on form though and if Welch drives every circuit like he drove Thruxton, Herron continues to find the same kind of pace as he did here and the likes of Nordström and Gumbley build on their results from Thruxton then there are any number of drivers who could start having a say in who visits the podium during the rest of the season.

Martin Byford: "In the first race we under performed. In qualifying we under performed. Adam had to excellent races so credit to him. It's just a shame one car gained an advantage by taking a short cut in the second race. To finish second in that race would have been awesome, and even if the result gets reversed later you don't get to go on the podium, and that's what it's all about."

Robert Lawson: "I'm not too worried about the results here. I think we still scored more points than Breeze and Byford so should have increased our lead. I've got no complaints with my penalty in the second race, I thought they'd come together so avoided them [Byford and Herron] and if I'd slowed to let them past I may have lost another place to Welch."

Jonathan Adam: "I got hit at the back and span Dan [Welch] around in that last race, which was a shame. But it looks like we've turned the car around now. The car feels good and even stronger than ever."

Carl Breeze: "I went from sixth to second at the first corner when Dan span straight into my path and I had nowhere to go. I think I've scored something like 14 points here which isn't enough."

Daniel Rowbottom: "There was quite a lot of contact by everyone in the second race. I shouldn't have been back there but you deal with it. We tried something new with the car this weekend to compensate for tyre wear. That's solved but we're just loosing a bit of time now. I like to think though it will be a case of changing a little to gain a lot."

Daniel Welch: "I'm disappointed, I didn't quite get the results we wanted. We felt we had the pace here to come away with two wins which is what we were looking for."

ROUND 7 RESULTS
1. Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing)…24:26.233
2. Daniel Welch (Marriott/Welch Motorsport)…24:26.552
3. Robert Lawson (Bardon/JHR)… 24:32.081
4. Carl Breeze (Blue Chip/Welch Motorsport)…24:34.920
5. Martin Byford (AB Glass/Z Speed Racing)…24:35.187
6. Andrew Herron (Brian Herron Plant/JHR)…24:35.365
Fastest lap: Daniel Welch (Marriott/Welch M'sport)…1:19.468

ROUND 8 RESULTS
1. Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing)…16:06.799
2. Andrew Herron (Brian Herron Plant/JHR)…16:14.360
3. Martin Byford (AB Glass/Z Speed Racing)…16:19.310
4. Robert Lawson (Bardon/JHR)…16:20.159
5. Freddy Nordström (Plumbertraining.com/Advent M'sport)…16:20.942
6. Jeremy Gumbley (Millionpixeldriver.com/JHR)…16:21.155
Fastest lap: Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing)…1:19.307

SEAT Cupra Championship Standings (after Round 8)
1. Robert Lawson (Bardon/JHR)…139pts
2. Martin Byford (AB Glass/ Z Speed Racing)…118pts
3. Carl Breeze (Blue Chip/ Welch Motorsport)…105pts
4. Jonathan Adam (Total Control Racing)…97pts
5. Daniel Welch (Marriott/ Welch Motorsport)…81pts
6. Andrew Herron (Brian Herron Plant/JHR)…75pts

Rounds 9 and 10 of the SEAT Cupra Championship take place at Croft on May 30/1 June.