Pickford wins National award James Pickford, 25, 2004 Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Champion, claimed the first trophy of the evening at Sunday's prestigious Autosport Awards at the Grosvenor Hotel, London, as he picked up the ‘British Club Driver of the Year Award.’ Pickford, a former McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year nominee, dominated in his Haribo / Vivaldi backed race car finishing 9 of the 12 events on the podium, with fastest laps and poles in half of the events. “This is amazing”, commented James after picking up his award in front of the most important and influential industry audience of the year. “My career stalled after winning back to back Formula Honda titles and my McLaren Autosport Young Driver nomination. Without the support of my parents, Haribo and Vivaldi, racing in the Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship would not have been possible and I would not now be a professional racing driver.” Pickford will represent SEAT Sport UK in the 2005 British Touring Car Championship, partnering 2001 British Touring Car Champion, Jason Plato in SEAT’s second year in the Championship. It's not James's first appearance at the Autosport Awards, as he was nominated for the BRDC McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award in 1998. Scott Dennis, SEAT UK National Motorsport Manager, said: "The SEAT Cupra Championship was created two years ago to promote young driving talent and for both its champions to be racing in the World and British Touring Car Championships in 2005 proves that the series delivers all that it promises. The SEAT Cupra Championship is undoubtedly the biggest stepping stone for aspiring young touring car drivers in the UK and now we can say it's also a fast track to the World Touring Car Championship. We'd like to thank Rob for a memorable two years with SEAT and to wish him continued success on the world stage. In turn, we'd like to welcome James into our BTCC team - although having raced in the SEAT Cupra Championship for two years, he is already very much part of the SEAT family. We are confident that James will do extremely well in the BTCC, and we will do all we can to continue to develop him as a driver." Click here to view Autosport article (jpeg, 268k) Back to Latest News