“It is nice to be coming home,” he says leaning back into his chair. “I grew up racing in Britain so it feels like home and when you are home soil you have that piece of mind that you know the circuit well and you know what to do and what not to do.
“At the same time though there is the added pressure of the media attention and the attention from fans as well. Everyone seems to come to one race and it is your home race, so it is going to be a big one.”
Reflecting on the day’s activities, Andy admits he enjoys indulging in some of the corporate activities that often come with his World Champion status. Not that he is any less professional.
“It is great on a day like today because I don’t have any pressure. I can do what I want to do and I can just enjoy and have some fun. At every race weekend I am a completely different character and I can be a little monster when things aren’t going right.
“My team are very demanding and they want me to give them as much information as possible all the time on the car, so it is a full-time job just to manage your thought processes and working method with the team. Today, is just fun and I am enjoying it.”
Still, despite his love for racing on home soil, racing in Britain has been a tale of frustration and bad luck – interestingly two areas in which Andy is generally better than most when not faced with the prospect of impressing his native fans.
Racing at
Silverstone in 2005, Andy was heading for victory when his tyre delaminated in the closing laps and forced him into retirement. Even more frustrating was the error he made whilst leading last year’s race at
Brands Hatch, the treacherous weather conditions catching him out at racing speed.
