30/05/2006 - Mat Ready For Two Close Races At Thruxton

Henley in Arden's Mat Jackson says winning in the Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire this coming weekend (3-4 June) will mean more to him than his victory of 2005 as this year's series is even more competitive. Mat, in his Whale Tankers-sponsored Cupra R, has won three of the season's first four races and will arrive at Thruxton, the fastest track on the calendar, with a 9-point championship lead. And he'll be hoping for more podium champagne as less than a week later - on 10 June - he'll celebrate his 25th birthday. But none of Mat's wins in 2006 have come easy and he knows there is a grid full of young drivers, like himself, eager to impress in front of the watching team managers from the British Touring car Championship that will headline the bill at Thruxton.

Furthermore, all are chasing the Cupra Champion's prize of £100,000 and a test drive in SEAT's BTCC challenger, the striking new Leon. "The level of competition right now is super-intense," says 24-year-old Mat. "The SEAT grid this year is the best it's ever been in terms of depth of quality - there are at least half a dozen drivers capable of winning every race. The teams and drivers aspiring to touring cars can see this is the place to be and beating opposition of the sort of calibre we have right now is a major achievement. I'm very proud of what we've achieved so far because, certainly when it comes to the size of the transporter or budget, we're not the biggest operation out there." It was at Thruxton 12 months ago that Mat achieved his first race win in the Cupra Championship. The circuit is effectively a flat-out loop split by two chicanes and boasts an average speed of 100mph-plus. Mat's Jacksons Motorsport crew will have a busier than ever Saturday, with both qualifying sessions and the first of the weekend's two races to get through ahead of race two on Sunday. Mat, who's also backed by motor sport radio show Tin Top Tuesday, adds: "I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into Thruxton in the Cupra - the car's got a great chassis and really let's you attack the lay-out.

In fact, it's probably the most fun I've ever had in my racing career so far. But the section at the back of the circuit does get very hairy in places - we're teetering on the brink of adhesion through three very high-speed corners for quite a long period of time and setting up the car so it copes with the stresses will be key to a good result. "The tyres take a proper hammering at Thruxton like no other circuit so getting the balance right, between outright speed and a set-up that enables you to nurse your tyres over a race distance, is all-important. Apart from the fact it's very evenly matched between the leading teams and drivers anyway, I don't think we'll see anyone getting away at Thruxton. Both races will be tactical games and race craft, particularly with all the slipstreaming that goes on, will count for a lot. The two races could be the closest of the season." Mat's Thruxton timetable: Friday 2 June: Official Testing Saturday 3 June: 09.00-09.20 Qualifying (Race 1) & 14.10.14.30 Qualifying (Race 2) Saturday 3 June: 17.40 Race 1 (16 laps) Sunday 4 June: 14.30 Race 2 (16 laps) Mat's second race, on Sunday, can be watched live on satellite TV channel Motors (channel 413 or 173 on NTL).