In what can only be described as one of the saddest moments in British Touring Car history for a while now, SEAT has decided to call it a day. This means that for the manufacturer Brands Hatch (Sunday, 21st September) will mark a swan song for what has been a fantastic foray into BTCC racing with their diesel powered cars made famous in their green and yellow livery.
Tragically, this also means that the SEAT Cupra Championship is coming to an end – an event that has been a mainstay since 2005. The withdrawal of SEAT somewhat belies their success – they have after all won the Manufacturers trophy in 2006 and the Teams’ title in 2007. Who Darren Turner and Jason Plato will go on to race for remains to be seen, but you can only be disappointed that there’s now only a single manufacturer in the Championship – Vauxhall.
Here’s what Seat had to say about the withdrawal:
“Since the start of its activities in British motor sport, as well as on a wider stage with the World Touring Car Championship, SEAT has successfully strengthened its sporty and lively credentials. Now, with the brand’s image continuing to develop, SEAT UK is looking to broaden its appeal through its marketing strategy. The company will be utilising the resource that would otherwise have been used in British motor sport in areas that will continue to boost brand awareness and vehicle sales.”
Their head of UK marketing, Steve Robertson, went on to say:
“SEAT has enjoyed six very successful seasons in British motor sport – five of them in the BTCC – and it is fair to say that through both touring cars and the SEAT Cupra Championship the brand’s image has been massively enhanced.
This is emphatically demonstrated through sales of our hot hatches – the UK is the world’s biggest market for the Leon Cupra, for example, while FR and Cupra combined account for over 30 per cent of Leon sales in this country.
That’s way ahead of any competitor and shows just how our motor sport activities have really established the brand among enthusiastic drivers.
Now it is time to emphasise SEAT’s sporty and stylish image through other marketing activities, which will continue to enhance the brand’s profile. I would like to thank all the many people that have helped us achieve so much in both the BTCC and SCC over the past few years – they can be very proud of what they have contributed. I would also like to thank, on behalf of everyone at SEAT UK and SEAT Sport UK, the many fans who have followed our progress over these past few years. Your support is hugely appreciated.”
SEAT, we’re going to miss you. Plato, don’t hang around, get yourself a new motor quick. We still want to see you beat a certain Mr Giovanardi next year!
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