Henley in Arden's Mat Jackson gets a chance to build on his points lead in the Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship this coming weekend (13-14 May) at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire - scene of his most crushing victory during the 2005 season. Mat, in his Whale Tankers-sponsored Jacksons Motorsport Cupra R, currently holds a 10-point championship lead thanks to his pair of wins in the season's opening two rounds at Brands Hatch, Kent last month. Now it's time for Oulton - one of his favourite circuits and where, last year, he achieved victory by 20 odd seconds, by far the biggest winning margin ever seen in the Cupra Championship's history.
Mat's weekend gets under way with official testing on Friday, before timed qualifying on Saturday and then Sunday's two races that will be shown live on UK and European satellite television channel Motors TV. "I've got high hopes for Oulton," comments 24-year-old Mat who's also supported by leading motor sport radio show Tin Top Tuesday. He adds: "Brands isn't one of my best circuits and we never quite got the car set-up right there, yet we still ground out two wins against some very serious competition. "So to be arriving at a circuit like Oulton where I always feel comfortable and already with a bit of a lead is a great confidence booster for everyone involved with our team. We're not the biggest operation out there by any means, but we're a small group of very dedicated people who put everything into getting the job done and at the moment we're achieving that." Mat is not even thinking about trying to repeat his extraordinary win of 2005 - which came about thanks to a correct tyre choice ahead of a race held on a wet but drying track. Instead, he's concentrating solely on winning both races at Oulton. "Two more wins, no matter how big or small the margin, are all I'm thinking about," says Mat. "I see Oulton as a great opportunity to stretch my advantage and it will be important to do so - SEAT pays out £100,000 to the Champion.
It's the biggest cash prize anywhere in UK motor sport so it's little wonder that the grid is full of so many competitive teams and drivers. "It's also worth noting that Oulton is again coming around at the same time of year when the weather can be unpredictable so it could be we're in for similar conditions to 2005. That could be in qualifying or Sunday's races or both. Either way, wet or dry, I'm confident." Mat's Oulton Park timetable: Friday 12 May: Official Testing Saturday 13 May: 10.20-10.40 Qualifying (Race 1) & 14.30-14.50 Qualifying (Race 2) Sunday 14 May: 12.50 Race 1 (12 laps) & 15.35 Race 2 (12 laps) Mat's two races on Sunday can be watched live on satellite TV channel Motors (channel 413 or 173 on NTL).
