Henley-in-Arden's Mat Jackson has selected his win at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk - where he overtook seven cars - as his favourite victory out of the 11 he achieved to become Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Champion at Silverstone last weekend. Whale Tanker-sponsored Mat, aged 25, collected a cheque for £100,000 and is now awaiting a test drive in SEAT Sport UK's British Touring Car Championship Leon as his prize for winning the Spanish manufacturer's hotly-contested Cupra series for his family-run Jacksons Motorsport team.
In 2006, Mat has achieved the following: 11 wins from 18 races (including 3 'double-header' victories - also achieved at least one win at all except one of the nine race meetings) 6 pole positions 5 fastest race laps 2 second place finishes led championship from start to finish led more than half the season's laps - 161 out of 291 led more than half the season's miles - 248 out of 493 never overtaken in a straight fight (ie. whenever car was mechanically sound) Mat says: "I am very proud of those figures and hopefully they will give the BTCC team bosses something to sit up and take notice of. I've shown I can cleanly overtake people - even around the outside - if I have to and my pace over the early laps of the race and, in particular, off the start when the tyres still aren't up to their optimum performance is there for all to see.
"Looking back, my best win was definitely in race two at Snetterton - the weather conditions had caught us out in qualifying and I started only seventh on the grid. I was very fired up and to go out and overtake everyone and then to drive the car around the outside of Alan Blencowe into the chicane for the lead just before the end was very sweet." Mat says that beating the opposition in such convincing style - he had the title wrapped up with the final rounds still to run - was hugely rewarding, considering the depth in quality of this year's SEAT field. He adds: "I always knew it was going to be tough. I expected Tom Ferrier and Carl Breeze who have previous top-line BTCC experience to be the main opposition, but in fact it was Alan Blencowe and Jonathan Adam who got closest, plus you had Ben Winrow and Fulvio Mussi usually up there. "Anyone who says I should have won the championship because this was my second season in it should think again. I won more races than anybody else in my first season in it and if I could do that then why couldn't the other drivers this year? Also, bear in mind we were a one-car team without the budgets of some of those drivers."
Combined with the eight wins he achieved in 2005, Mat has won precisely half of the 36 Cupra Championship races he has contested and more than a third of all SEAT races held in the UK in the last four years. His ability was further highlighted in last year's end-of-season European Masters Race - held for SEAT's top Cupra racers from across the Continent - when he consistently proved to be the fastest driver on the Barcelona circuit before exiting from a winning position with a punctured tyre.
Looking forward, Mat's next ambition is to progress to Britain's biggest motor racing championship - the BTCC. And he believes he has proved to any watching teams that he is capable of delivering at such a high level. "The BTCC is the pinnacle in Britain and it's where I have to be," says Mat. "It's hard to win in a one-make championship when everyone's on a level playing field. I'm now just keen to get out there and do the same in a touring car. In equal machinery I've previously beaten quite a few names who are already in the BTCC grid and doing well in it and believe given the right car and support I can put together a very strong championship programme."
