The hope of points shattered by a tyre failure

On Saturday, 26 July 2008, shortly before noon, the Brands Hatch circuit in the UK saw the qualifying of the fourth event of the 2008 SEAT LEÓN EUROCUP series. Among the almost thirty drivers involved was Michal Matějovský, of the SUNRED-BRT team. The qualifying was preceded, on Friday afternoon, by two free practice sessions, in which Michal clocked lap times that put him approximately in the middle of the field. For the beginning of the Saturday qualifying, Michal chose a bit worn tyres. In the middle of the session, however, he switched to new tyres and immediately moved up to draw level with the drivers contesting the top ten positions. At the end of the time limit for the qualifying, he was thirteenth, with a lap time of 1.35:923, which earned him a spot in the seventh row of the starting grid.

The race was held on Saturday afternoon, shortly before 16.00 (local time). Michal, after making a very good start, fought numerous battles, chasing the top ten drivers. But then, on lap nine, the left front tyre of his car burst. So, Michal had to retire from the race, with only five laps to go. 'This is a hilly, very difficult, track. The Friday free practice was held on the short circuit. However, today's qualifying and race took place on the standard, 3703-metre circuit. Many drivers had to retire, some of them due to the same reason as I did. I am very sorry, if only for the fact that the drivers I was competing with in the first laps finished at point-scoring positions,' Michal Matějovský said after the race.

The Saturday race was won by Eoin Murray, of Ireland, with English driver James Nash, of the SUNRED team, in second place. Jean Marie Clariet, of France, was third. Race 2 of the fourth round of the SEAT LEON EUROCUP is held on Sunday, 27 July 2008. The TV recording of this race will be broadcast on Eurosport 2 at 19.30.