“Sometimes I want to win too badly! It is all about controlled aggression and what happened in the second race last year was a little bit unlucky as well because I had driven really well to get the heaviest car on the grid into the top eight and I made a mistake. But we had a massive downpour under the safety car and I was the first arrive at a corner with standing water and I went straight off on it. It was a bit 50:50.
“The more I want it, the worse it can be though sometimes, so I just need to drive two really good races and, firstly, take home good points, and secondly, see if I can get a home win, which would be tremendous.”
Nonetheless, that disappointment did not halt his charge to a second world title by the end of the season. Roll on to 2007 though and Andy is again in a strong position to make it a hat-trick of triumphs, the 33-year-old currently just a single point behind team-mate and championship leader Augusto Farfus Jr. in the standings with only six races remaining.
As Andy points out though, he could have had a larger margin had he not been involved in clashes at Zandvoort and Brno, and although only one win has come this season at Porto, six podiums and 13 points finishes in 16 races indicate Andy’s devastating consistency.
“It has been a brilliant season,” he muses. “I should be sitting here with a healthy points lead really. I was taken out at Brno whilst on the front row with the heaviest car and the best
BMW that had weight on board, while at Zandvoort I was leading and I was driven off the road. I can’t control that, but I could have had three or four wins this season.
“There have been other races where I have followed a slower team-mate but I could not find a way past, like Valencia, Porto, Pau and Oschersleben. So I know the speed it there, it is just a matter of having a bit of luck and if that comes in the next few races, I will be a happy man.”
With success comes the penalty though and in the WTCC that is ballast. But what marks Andy and BMW out from there rivals is the ability to manage that extra weight.
