His racing season might be over for this year, but 33-year-old Andy Priaulx has barely stopped since clinching his third consecutive World Touring Car crown – an incredible feat in a series packed with ex-F1 drivers and touring car winners from various championships.
But in-between the award ceremonies, end-of-season parties and test sessions, CAR Online caught up with the Guernsey-based racer ahead of his star turn at this weekend’s Race of Champions. Held at Wembley Stadium on 16 December, RoC sees drivers from disciplines as diverse as Nascar and F1 race head-to-head, country-against-country on what looks like a giant Scalextric set. Priaulx will represent England alongside Jenson Button.
Can he win?
‘It’s a great event and I’m really looking forward to it but it is a bit of a lottery. Just one small mistake can put you out,’ he explains. ‘You only get one minute to acclimatise to the cars before you’re racing flat-out. You don’t know where the starter button is, if your feet reach the pedals okay.’
The cars in question include WRC Focuses, Aston N24s, and the Race of Champions buggies, the latter weighing just 350kg and putting 175bhp through the rear wheels.
So which car most suits the WTCC champ?
‘I’m used to rear-wheel drive with my BMW (picture above from a previous photo shoot), so four-wheel drive rally cars will feel weird. There’s a lot of understeer to get through,’ explains Priaulx. ‘So I suppose it’s the buggies that will work best for me. I’ve only done two laps of the track with a journalist strapped in, but I bet the other drivers have been down there getting some sneaky practice in.’
And while the track’s all new due to the event’s switch from Stade de France to its new London home, Priaulx has some RoC history.
How did he get on last time around?
‘Not too well, if I’m honest,’ he laughs. ‘I’d beaten Colin McRae to get through one heat and I was up against [Champ Car racer] Sebastien Bourdais and leading. Then I spotted a chequered flag and backed off.’
Unfortunately, the flag in question was waved by an over-enthusiastic spectator, leaving Bourdais to storm through as Priaulx celebrated prematurely. But with the Guernseyman’s background taking in everything from motocross to single seaters, we wouldn’t bet against him taking home some silverware this weekend.