Photo: WTCC Media

SEAT Sport makes a strong start to the year

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SEAT Sport’s new customer racing programme has hit the ground running with Lukoil Racing Team securing pole position for Gabriele Tarquini in race one and with Aleksei Dudukalo on the front row for race two.

SEAT broke Chevrolet’s run of 13 consecutive pole positions at the opening round of the 2012 WTCC at Monza, with SEAT Sport Director Jaime Puig remarking on the unexpected pace of the new SEAT engine straight out of the box:
“Surprising in one sense yes. To get the pole with something that is very very young, yes, but with Gabriele, no.”

“We are also lucky that our rival has some extra kilos for being world champion. We knew that it could be perhaps…but it’s good that Gabriele got the pole.”

SEAT Sport are supporting three teams this year, with Lukoil Racing Team running the new SEAT 1.6 turbo engines for Aleksei Dudukalo and Gabriele Tarquini, Special Tuning Racing with Darryl O’Young this weekend and Tom Boardman from Valencia, and SUNRED with Pepe Oriola already running with the new engine, and Tiago Monteiro, Andrea Barlesi and Fernando Monje due to upgrade from the TDI later in the season.

“This year, this programme and what we’re fully committed to is that SEAT are going to give the best technology to all of them, and we’ve proven (that already); Dudukalo has also had a good result compared to last year, Pepe Oriola as well with first in the independents. We are fully commited to the teams’ that have our technology.”

On the prospect of winning against the might of the three works Chevrolets tomorrow, Puig said:
“One red car against so many blues, it’s going to be quite difficult but I think it’s going to be interesting, and I think it’s going to be a nice race.”