THOMPSON: "IT'S LOOKING VERY GOOD FOR US"
As he prepares for his return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring
Car Championship, James Thompson says he's expecting to be
in the hunt for wins in all three opening rounds of the new
season at Brands Hatch this Sunday 9 April.
Yorkshireman Thompson rejoins the BTCC with a new employer,
SEAT, having left on a high at the end of 2004 when he won
the second of his two titles with Vauxhall. He arrives at
Brands Hatch fresh from challenging for wins in last weekend's
opening World Touring Car Championship rounds at Monza, Italy
in SEAT's new Leon model.
The 31-year-old from Harrogate said: "It's looking very
good indeed for us and I think our car is exceptionally good.
I'd expect to be featuring extremely strongly at Brands Hatch.
Everybody sandbags and I know from working with Vauxhall how
much they like to sandbag. We won't know precisely where we
stand until qualifying but I don't expect to be disappointed
this weekend.
"Obviously, I can bring experience of the Leon from
the WTCC to the UK team and that puts us in a very strong
position. But a lot of it will be down to the rules, with
success ballast and reverse grids. That's the thing about
the BTCC - just when you think you're mustard, they stick
weight on you for the next race. There are still a lot of
unknowns.
"We've investigated all options in testing. We should
be competitive whatever, but there's no getting away from
the physics. Weight means slower, but it's down to how much
slower. Brands Indy is going to be close regardless and there
are going to be lots of incidents. I just hope I can just
stay out of them."
Thompson also believes that SEAT Sport UK boasts the strongest
driver line-up. He and team-mate Jason Plato are both former
BTCC champions and Darren Turner, although a championship
rookie, has vast experience at international level. His former
team Vauxhall, meanwhile, has recruited two new big name drivers
in rising British star Tom Chilton and Italian hot shot Fabrizio
Giovanardi, a team-mate of Thompson's in the WTCC last season
and regarded by many as the best touring car driver in the
world with a multitude of top level titles to his name.
"The only thing that will hit Vauxhall where it hurts
is if our car is better than theirs," added Thompson.
"Arguably, we've got more experience on our side. OK,
Vauxhall's got Fabrizio, but Tom is not as experienced as
me and Jason. No disrespect to him, but we've got two drivers
who've won championships as opposed to one.
"I really think it'll be won and lost in qualifying,
but also to some degree race pace will count for a lot. Brands
is the second hardest circuit on tyres behind Thruxton. There
are more cars out there this year and it's a narrow track
so it will be crucial to time your qualifying runs to perfection.
And a lot of that comes down to experience, knowing when and
how to choose your moment."
Thompson, meanwhile, refuses to become embroiled in comments
made about Plato by 21-year-old Chilton who, having been busily
developing Vauxhall's Astra Sport Hatch during the winter,
some people are tipping to become the BTCC's youngest ever
champion. Chilton earlier this week told btcc.net that Thompson
has already started to put Plato in his place at SEAT.
But said Thompson: "Tom's portrayed me in a good light
and I thank him for that. But I don't think it's the wisest
comment to make. Sticking up for Jason, he's been around a
long time, is always at the front of the title battle, has
lots of wins and has always had and beaten some illustrious
team-mates.
"It's all right shooting your mouth off, but you've
got have the credentials to do it. There's a very fine line
between bravado and having the wherewithal to back it up.
If you've got something to say, make sure it's interesting
and make sure you can prove it.
"I'm not going to get involved with stirring it up,
though. I'm just going to pitch up, drive as fast as I can
and win as much as I can."
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