SEAT Cupra Championship newcomer Andrew Herron has declared himself highly encouraged after his debut test appearance this week in the turbocharged Leon Cupra race car he will drive throughout the 2008 season.Over the course of three days, taking in visits to Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent, Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire and Northamptonshire’s Rockingham Motor Speedway, Andrew has completed approximately 200 laps of fault-free running and is thoroughly delighted with his progress.With just one season of car racing experience under his belt in the ELF Renault Clio Cup, the 19-year-old Northern Irishman is at the foot of a steep learning curve in the 300bhp SEAT. Pre-season preparations are going as well as they possibly could though and he is highly confident of his chances ahead of his maiden year in the category.Continuing with the JHR Developments squad which ran him to a maiden saloon car victory and the Vice-Champion’s position in last November’s Clio Winter Cup, the Dromore-based racer experienced both dry and wet conditions during the test which gave him a fully rounded introduction to his new car, its handling and capabilities.Andrew commented: “The first tests have been fantastic, the car is much quicker than the Renault Clio I raced last year. It does take a while to get used to the turbo, you really have to feed the power in otherwise you end up killing the tyres, and the gears need a different technique than what I’ve been used to.“As soon as you get adjusted though, there’s no problem at all. On the first day we were pretty quick in the dry, even though we used the same set of tyres all day, and then at Oulton Park on Wednesday it was wet which gave us some valuable experience.”With the new SEAT Cupra season beginning on 29th/30th March at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in support of the British Touring Car Championship, Andrew still has two full months in which to get fully prepared for his rookie campaign in the series. There’s no question either, he aims to begin the season as a genuine front-runner.“We’re still getting used to the car but the last session we had at Rockingham on Thursday was very pleasing”, added Andrew, “The times we did were better than last year’s pole position time at the track. Obviously, the cooler weather made a difference in our favour but it still gives me and the team a lot of encouragement.”The Brian Herron Contracts-backed ace has now returned home to Northern Ireland ahead of his next test outing which is expected to take place during the first week of February.