Seat Leon Cupra St Cup: race car test on the track – Sports Cars
Seat Leon Cupra St Cup: race car test on the track – Sports Cars
Here's how to do it for the Seat Leon Cupra ST Cup in the Italian TCS Touring Championship.
I know this is funny. IN station wagon these are cars designed for families, for long journeys, certainly not giving doors to the track. However, history teaches us that generalists can be very fast weapons, like Volvo 850 R. what ran into BTCCfor example, or monstrous Audi RS4 Avant raced on the “Ring”... That's why when I sit down in a seat in the Seat Leon Cupra ST Cup, it doesn't seem so unnatural to me. This is a race car participating in the Cupra ST Cup race. Italian Touring Championship TCS, natural heir Seat Ibiza Cupbut it is much faster.
DRESS DOES NOT MAKE THE PRIEST
Il TCS Championship There are cars that are very close to the serial ones, in other words: not very well thought out. For this reason ST, at first glance, this is an ordinary Leon with stickers. However, it is enough to get closer to notice racing roll cage, huge Leon Cup brakes (big bad racing sister) le smooth tires and racing seat... However, these are significant changes that are a must for track racing because mechanically, the changes are minimal. Engine 2.0 TFSI turbocharged with 300 hp standard, slightly more powerful due to the sports exhaust (also borrowed from the Cup); also 6-speed DSG gearbox it is the same as the road, as is the electronically controlled mechanical differential.
Instead, the springs and dampers are changed.required for fine tuning.
Advantage The Seat Leon ST is that it has a slightly longer wheelbase. compared to the hatchback, making it more balanced and neutral when cornering. Therefore, it is a great starting point.
I was lucky ride it in Vallelunga during the race weekend, But that's another story. What matters is that I have it spent a lot of time behind the wheel.
FAST, WITHOUT EFFORT
La Seat Leon Cupra - a car that I know well... As a road car, it is incredibly fast, with an engine that seems to well exceed the claimed 300bhp.payment Recalls Nissan GT-R in small dimensions. La the racing version retains the same delivery but carries much less weight; wonderful feeling.
Il small steering wheel from alcantara helps provide more accurate and accurate data entry so you can target curbs entering and exiting corners. IS AN really fast car... On the Vallelunga circuit, it is “only” four seconds slower than the Leon Cup, a professional car that has very little to do with the production car.
Race cars are usually a little scary, but this TS instills a lot of confidence as if you always knew it. However, the hardest part is figuring out how to bring out the best.
During the first few laps, I find that braking is a bit of an exaggeration.. The mock-up of the cups is monstrous, and the fact that there are brake boosters and ABS on the ST (unlike big sister) makes you practically slow down when cornering. However, when you do this, Leon's half-awake soul appears, and instead of staying flat and steady, Cupra points with its nose like an ostrich and begins to thrash its tail. Fortunately, Finishing the front end is really hard - at least on hot tires. – and the Seat Leon Cupra ST Cup is ready to forgive your mistakes.
Thethe car feels so “mine” to the touch that I ask the mechanics to raise the back a little to improve cornering. Another 2,5mm is enough and León street changes attitude: the nose is now much faster and there is less understeer in the middle of a turn, in practice: more turns.
È really cool how racing cars change with minor modifications, they are really a great school for learning tuning.
CLEANING THANKS
Cleaning always pays off on the track, but in this case more. Wasted and numb Seat Leon ST Cup ha pen for sale (also thanks to slicks), and perhaps this makes us wrong. This will come from getting into turns is much harder, more and more, but the stopwatch will row against you... Here's a secret too move it, trying to draw as clean lines as possible. The limited-slip differential manages to ground all CVs without any problems, but the gas at the exit from the curve still needs to be dosed wisely, otherwise the nose will suddenly widen. Correctly directed, the ST flies and dances on curbs with incredible ease.
Simply put: it's a simple, honest and perfect race car to start with... It teaches you how to turn entry into exit (out of a corner), be patient with the gas, and be soft but determined with the brake, but at the same time, it offers almost unthinkable performance for an almost standard station wagon. ...
Il price for racing weekend? Around 7.000 euros. Affordable, though, especially when you consider how high the costs of this wonderful sport are.
