Andy Priaulx will start the World Touring Car Championship season as the man to beat as the Briton chases a third successive championship title.
Ahead of the opening races of the year next weekend at Monza, Priaulx answers questions about the season ahead...
Q:
First the 2004 ETCC title, then winner of last year’s WTCC. Has your appetite for success now been sated?
Andy Priaulx:
No, absolutely not. That’s never going to happen. Anyone who has experienced the highs of motor racing and made it right to the top will want to keep going back there. You can never get enough of it. If a surfer has ridden the perfect wave, he won’t say afterwards that he doesn’t want to experience that sensation again. No, I definitely haven’t had my fill of victories. I’m still hungry.
Q:
Would you say 2005 was a perfect season for you?
AP:
From the point of view of results, the season actually was perfect. I ended up World Champion, won the 24-Hour Race on the Nürburgring with Team
BMW Motorsport and took a couple of
Formula One tests. But there’s always room for improvement. Good results only come from hard work. That’s why we’re starting from scratch again in 2006.
Q:
Is it fair to say you are going from strength to strength with every year?
AP:
I certainly hope so. I’m gaining experience with every season and no longer making the mistakes I might have done at the outset of my career. But needless to say I still recognise my own weaknesses. Year after year I work towards eliminating them. That’s actually going quite well.
Q:
In 2006 you’re racing with the relatively small RBM Team again. What is it that marks out this team?
AP:
We work together very closely and have an honest relationship with each other. The team and I have the same goals that we want to achieve together. It’s crucial that our expectations match up. At a personal level, we also fit together well. The crew knows I’m one hundred percent behind them – and I know I can rely on the team one hundred percent. It’s a good feeling knowing you’ve got that kind of team backing you up.
Q:
Do you find it hard saying goodbye to the BMW 320i with which you celebrated so many triumphs?
![Andy Priaulx [Pic: FIA WTCC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/201766.jpg)
