TRUE RACING PEDIGREE
Cupra, and Seat Sport before it, has a rich history of motorsport success. James Attwood revists the highlights
Cupra’s motorsport heritage is quite literally built into its name: Cup Racing. The badge was first used for the Ibiza Cupra, made to celebrate the Spanish company’s victory in the 1996 FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup, then a sub-division of the World Rally Championship.
Cupra has since grown from that one-off model in to a whole line of performance cars and on to a brand in its own right. And motorsport – both on the rally stages and the race track – has been woven into that history. Here, then, we present some of Cupra’s motorsport milestones.
1985 SEAT SPORT IS FOUNDED
Seat’s motorsport division succeeded the firm’s Special Vehicles department, which ran various rallying projects with the 1430 Especial and 1800 between 1973 and 1983. Seat Sport’s early efforts centred around a 1.6-litre-engined version of the Ibiza, with which it competed in various national rally championships around Europe.
1995 TAKING ON THE WORLD
Having built up experience, Seat Sport developed a 2.0-litre version of the Ibiza GTI 16V, homologated under kit car rules (allowing it to have a wider track and larger wheels and brakes than the road car version), to be entered in the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup, then a support series to the main WRC.
1996 WORLD CHAMPIONS
Seat claimed its first world title in the fiercely competitive 2-Litre World Rally Cup – just ten points separated Seat, Renault and Skoda in the final standings. Jesus Puras led the Ibiza charge, claiming a class victory on Rally Portugal. The first Ibiza Cupra road car was produced by way of celebration.
1997-98 THE TRIPLE CROWN
Seat continued to thrive – and win – in the 2-Litre World Rally Cup, eventually clinching three championships in a row. The series ran for seven years and Seat was the only manufacturer to claim more than one title. By 1998, however, Seat had bigger ambitions.
1998 COMPETING AGAINST THE BIG-HITTERS
Seat made the step up to the main World Rally Championship with the Cordoba WRC, although the car didn’t make its debut until Rally Finland late in the season.
1999 ON THE PODIUM
In its first full season of WRC competition, Seat Sport secured a pair of podium finishes with the Cordoba WRC. Toni Gardemeister was third in New Zealand, with Harri Rovanperä matching the result in Britain.
There was another podium in 2000 on the ultra-tough Safari Rally, but Seat Sport decided to focus its competition efforts elsewhere after that.
2002 TAKING TO THE TRACK
Seat Sport shifted its attention to the race tracks, partly as a way to showcase the new Leon Cupra R. The Seat Leon Supercopa one-make series began in Spain in 2002, with sister championships quickly established thereafter in other countries.
The British version, the Seat Cupra Championship, began in 2003 and ran as part of the British Touring Car Championship support package. The series helped produce a number of stars, including future World Touring Car champion Rob Huff and triple BTCC title-winner Gordon Shedden.
2003 READY FOR A TIN-TOP TUSSLE
Seat Sport’s return to works competition came in the European Touring Car Championship, with a pair of Toledo Cupra
SEAT CLAIMED ITS FIRST WORLD TITLE IN THE FIERCELY COMPETITIVE 2-LITRE RALLY WORLD CUP
Super 2000-spec machines for Jordi Gené and Frank Diefenbacher.
It was a learning season against the experienced BMW and Alfa Romeo squads, but Diefenbacher secured Seat’s first podium in Germany.
2004 TOP OF THE PODIUM
Seat’s second year in the ETCC showed real progress, with new signing Rickard Rydell securing the firm’s breakthrough first victory, at Oschersleben in Germany.
The Toledo Cupra also made its BTCC debut, with Jason Plato taking a stunning win in the season-opener at Thruxton. Plato and team-mate Rob Huff would go on to take nine wins from 30 races.
2005 WORLD WINNERS
The ETCC developed into the World Touring Car Championship, and Seat Sport continued its progress. Rickard Rydell claimed the firm’s first WTCC victory at Silverstone in the Toledo Cupra, a few races before it was replaced by the new Mk2 Leon Cupra. Gené
THE LEON CUPRA WON ALL THREE RACES ON ITS MAIDEN BTCC APPEARANCE AT BRANDS HATCH
secured the new car’s first victory – fittingly on home ground in Spain.
2006 RACKING UP THE WINS
While Seat Sport took three more WTCC race wins, the Leon Cupra also made its debut in the BTCC – and won all three races on its maiden appearance at Brands Hatch. In total, Plato and James Thompson took 11 wins from 30 races to secure the manufacturers’ title.
2007 A CHANGE OF ENGINE
The new Leon Cupra TDI had its debut midway through the season, with Gené scoring its first win in Italy. Meanwhile, the petrol Leon Cupra took nine more BTCC wins.
2008 WORLD CHAMPIONS
The Leon Cupra TDI was a dominant force in the WTCC, with the driver line-up of Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini, Gené and Rydell claiming 11 wins. Muller and Tarquini finished one-two in the final standings. The diesel racer also starred in the BTCC, scoring nine victories.
2009 BACK-TO-BACK WTCC GLORY
It was another one-two in the WTCC points, although this time Tarquini edged Muller to clinch the driver’s crown.
Seat Sport withdrew from the WTCC as a manufacturer after this season, although Tarquini challenged for the 2010 title in a Leon Cupra TDI run by the works-supported Sunred team.
2015 RETURN TO TIN-TOPS
Having relaunched the Leon Eurocup in 2014, Seat Sport created the Leon Cup Racer for the new cost-controlled category, supporting a number of customer teams in various national and international series.
2018 CUPRA TAKES ON THE WORLD
Replacing the WTCC for this season, the World Touring Car Cup adopted TCR rules. With the launch of Cupra, the sub-brand took over Seat Sport’s roles, with the Cupra Leon TCR taking on some of the world’s best touring car racers.
THE LEON CUPRA TDI WAS A DOMINANT FORCE IN THE 2008 WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP