Quotes following the action at Snetterton

Snetterton produced some fantastic, edge of the seat racing. SEAT started the weekend on top but unreliability of the Leon TDI was their downfall. Giovanardi showed his brilliant race craft, particularly in race 2. He went off the track falling as low as 14 to come back and take the final podium spot. In the final race Giovanardi made Plato suffer further, as Plato was black flagged, Giovanardi finished third for the second time extending his points lead.

The drivers had the following to say after Snetterton:
Jason Plato (SEAT Sport UK) had this to say after 2 first places and a DNF:
“We came to Snetterton to take points out of Vauxhall’s and Fabrizio Giovanardi’s lead, and for two thirds of race day that’s exactly what we did. We’ve worked extremely hard in the six weeks since Croft to improve the Leon TDI and having dominated Saturday we were confident race day would bring its rewards. The first two races could not have been better, and I thought I had a real chance in the third race to score some more big points. With Giovanardi starting ahead of me on the grid, the aim was to finish ahead of him and it could have been a great race. But I almost stalled leaving the grid for the green flag lap and I struggled to get away from the line in the race proper. Something wasn’t right from the start, and the misfire just got worse as the race progressed. We were making progress in the Championship and we had a DNF when we shouldn’t have. These things happen, that’s motor racing. I’m already looking forward to the next rounds at Oulton Park. Hopefully the chassis modifications we’ve made will work well there too and we’ll go there with nothing to lose. It’ll be maximum attack.”

Darren Turner (SEAT Sport UK), after a 2nd, 19th and 17th said:
“Race one was how you’d write it down on a piece of paper – perfect. We were surprised how quick the Hondas were, but Jason and I were able to keep ahead of them and score a strong one-two finish, scoring the sort of big points in the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships that we were looking for. I had a little bit of contact with Tom Chilton at the start of the second race, which wasn’t a problem, but I got back into second and was running close behind Jason in another nice one-two position when I picked up a puncture, which effectively ended my race from a Driver points-scoring perspective. Starting 19th on the grid I had everything to play for and was aiming to finish sixth. I picked up a few places on the opening lap and was looking good before an electrical problem kicked in. The car was misfiring badly, but I just had to try and get to the end of the race to score some points for SEAT in the Manufacturers’ Championship. It’s a very frustrating way to end a race weekend which had promised so much. It’s great that JP won two races, but it’s not been such a great weekend for me with two non-scoring races. We’re certainly made some progress with the Leon TDI, so hopefully we can put in a good performance at Oulton Park and the other remaining circuits this season.”

Steven Kane (Motorbase Performance) scoring his first podium for Motorbase said:
“This has been a long time coming but it feels great. The car was really good all the way through the race and it’s been really quick all weekend. All of the team’s hard work has paid off and it’s brilliant for everyone to get a result like this. The car had the pace to win the race, but there was no point in trying to fight Matt and risk losing second. Now we can go into the next round full of confidence and try to build on this.”

Rob Collard (Motorbase Performance) had this to say:
“That was a very, very hard race. It was a really quick pace out there, as it was all weekend, and I was pleased to get three solid finishes – but I was a bit disappointed with the final race as I got knocked around a lot and it was hard to climb back up the field after that. My wing mirror got taken off and that made it very difficult to defend. Still, to get points on the board in all three races was a very good result. I’m delighted for Steven and for the rest of the team to get a podium, it just shows how much progress we have made.”

Colin Turkington (Team RAC) who won two races in the independents championship said:
“It’s been another great day for Team RAC with two Independents victories and a podium finish overall. There was plenty of action on the track with lots of incidents – it was just a matter of steering clear of any trouble.”

Fabrizio Giovanardi (Triple Eight Race Engineering) said this after a successful race weekend:
“For me, the weekend has turned out very well, and I think that overall we have achieved some excellent results. There was an element of luck involved along the way, particularly in race three, but the team did such a fantastic job and the cars have been incredibly fast here. My fastest lap of the race in round 17 was a real positive for us all.”

Matt Neal (Triple Eight Race Engineering) had this to say:
“Snetterton has been a tough weekend for us all, and I just felt as though I couldn’t get it hooked up this morning. We managed to improve my set-up heading into the last race, which definitely improved my performance, but I am conscious that as a team we just need to be finishing that little bit further up the standings! Having said that, I am pleased to finish the weekend on a solid fourth place and am looking forward to building on that at the next meeting.”

Tom Onslow-Cole (Triple Eight Race Engineering) rounded off with:
“The racing was tough out there this morning, but I really felt that we had the pace to keep up with the diesel cars. I’m thrilled that I’ve scored some good, solid championship points in race one and three, which should hopefully help us to move towards Oulton with confidence and keep our hold on the championship in the second half of the season. Overall I think it was a really mixed weekend for me, and the change in track temperature for race two completely threw my set-up and upset my over steer.”

Mat Jackson (BMW Dealer Team UK) who managed a race win commented:
“When I went into the barriers yesterday after five laps I really didn’t think we would come away with a win, it really is a great testament to the team and all their hard work. The third race was a tough one but it was a much needed win and a great boost for the team as a couple have slipped the net.”

Gordon Shedden (Team Halfords) had this to say:
“The Civic was going really well here and it isn’t slow in a straight line, but the diesels were in a different league in the first race, you could be on their bumper at the start of the straight and they would be six car lengths clear by the end!.

“In the second race I was comfortable before the Safety Car, which was interesting as I couldn’t see a lot wrong with the track, but I picked up debris on the rear tyres and it took too long to get them clean there after. In race three, I made a good start and I had a car underneath me that I felt was good to win the race! Steven had a big slide through the first corner, defended to the middle of the road and I moved wide for the sling shot, Kane then defended his line and there was inevitable contact. I’m sure opinions will differ as to whether he was moving back to take the racing line but by then, unfortunately I was there and the resulting contact broke my steering rack.

“I’m having a win next time out at Oulton Park, I have to win. I’ve won there the past two years with the Integra and with the Civic. It’s a circuit I like and one that suits the car so there is no reason why we can’t run at the sharp end.”

Tom Chilton (Team Halfords) said this after a mixed weekend:
“We’ve shaken up the Vauxhalls this weekend but we should never have touched the SEATs with all the power they have on the straights. I should have been third and second in the first two races, but I had a puncture in race two following minor rubbing with Turner as I was passing him. It gave me a slow puncture and I had to hang on before pitting. In race three I got up to seventh from 15th and it shows how good the car is getting.

“To be fair we’ve had our fair share of bad luck, we have a great car and in my opinion, the team work harder than any other on the grid – and it shows. I’m looking forward to a really strong performance at Oulton Park in two weeks.”