Jaime Puig: “León platform available for entire VW Group”

The new Volkswagen Golf TCR made a sensational debut in Austria, taking a win in the hands of Pol Rosell at the Red Bull Ring with the car run by Liqui Moly Team Engstler.

With much talk suggestion that the Golf shares a lot of pieces with the sister León Cup Racer, the most winning car in the championship so far, SEAT Sport director Jaime Puig did not hide the fact that the work done by SEAT Sport is available for every brand of the Volkswagen Group.

In an exclusive interview with TouringCarTimes, the Spaniard said: “Of course the León is now well developed, we have been working on the car for a long time and have sold over 100 units. Just like in the road going cars any of the readers can drive, there is a certain amount of things which are shared within the Volkswagen Group.”

Puig went on to describe the process: “Volkswagen are absolutely able to do everything on their own of course. There is a lot of expertise in the structure, but what we are trying to do is saving money and time, so that the customers get the maximum value for their money and have a competitive package in their hands, no matter what the badge on the front of the bonnet says.

“What we also try to make sure of is that none of us are developing the same thing. For instance, if we are working on a new racing gearbox, there is no point in them working on the same item, and vice versa, so there is a lot of data and information sharing. At the top of these strategies is always the customer.”

Puig praised the TCR concept, and confirmed once again the effort SEAT are putting in the series: “We are not just making the cars. We work hard for our customers and invest a lot of money and resources in providing not just the cars, but the engineers and the spare parts basically all over the world. We take this very seriously.”

Going back to the possibility of seeing more VW Group cars in the TCR, Puig said: “The platform is there. Nothing stops any of our sister companies to take it and build a racing car over them. As far as I’m concerned, the more the better, because then you can choose based on the support you get, the country you are from or even your local importer. A sponsor may find different brands more fitting to their image. In some countries SEAT is pronounced like the place where you sit, so we still have that problem in some countries. To that respect, I think Volkswagen is a better fit as the brand is already known all over the world.”

The SEAT León Cup Racer has taken ten wins so far this year in the TCR International Series.