Photo: SEAT Sport

SEAT confirm six event Eurocup series for 2014

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SEAT Sport have revived the Eurocup series for the 2014 season, using the new SEAT León Cup Racer, which was earlier this year expected to be developed into a full-fledged touring car for the new WTCC regulations.

The last Eurocup series, using the popular SEAT León Supercopa based on the Mk.II SEAT León, functioned as a support series to the WTCC and ended in 2010, with the last title won by Hungarian Gábor Wéber, who went on to race in the WTCC in 2012 with Zengo Motorsport.

The Eurocup functioned as a vital feeder series to the WTCC, with a number of drivers progressing into the FIA Championship including Pepe Oriola, Aleksei Dudukalo, Norbert Michelisz, Fredy Barth, James Nash and Tom Boardman.

The new two-litre turbocharged León Cup Racer, based on the Mk.III SEAT León 5-door hatchback, will be the model used for the new Eurocup series, which will be held over six events taking place in the Spanish brand’s core target area of Europe.

“Motorsport is deeply embedded in our brand. SEAT has more than 40 years of history here,” said Dr. Matthias Rabe, Vice President of SEAT S.A. for Research and Development. “With the SEAT León Eurocup, we offer an interesting opportunity for our motivated customer teams and our enthusiastic fans all over Europe…the León Cup Racer is an extremely high-performance race car. The new generation of the SEAT León provides an excellent basis for this, winning high praise from customers and motoring journalists alike.”

SEAT will confirm the race calender in the coming weeks. The weekend format will feature two practice sessions, a qualifying session and two races held over Friday to Sunday.

“With the SEAT León Eurocup, we are delighted to be able to offer our customer teams a great series for the 2014 season,” says Jaime Puig, Head of SEAT Sport. “The SEAT León Cup Racer is an excellent vehicle and will thrill our fans with some fascinating competition. The entire know-how of SEAT Sport has gone into the SEAT León Cup Racer. We are following on from the great sporting successes of years past.”

The León Cup Racer is powered by a two-litre, in-line four cylinder turbocharged engine with a maximum power output of 330 PS, with a pre VAT purchase price for the car set at an affordable pre-tax cost of 70,000 EUR.

SEAT’s plans to return to the WTCC in an official capacity for the first time since 2009 have been officially put on hiatus, as previously reported here. However, SEAT cars are still expected to run in an unsupported capacity on the WTCC grid in 2014, with the current Super 2000 specification SEAT León WTCC car eligible to compete in the new TC2 class.