As usual I had lots of support from friends during the Monza weekend and despite the crash we were able to end on a high note with a World Championship winning celebration dinner thanks to Wolfgang Obermaier, Chris Willows and Peter Walker from
BMW UK. We all got together on Sunday night and had a great evening. The really nice thing was my arch rival from the past two years, Dirk Müller, and his wife Daniela were still there and so joined in. It shows that you can be rivals on the track and friends off and it was great to have them there. Mind you I was a bit embarrassed that my sponsors did their usual and were singing Elvis songs until 2am…
After that it was back to the UK with my Formula BMW UK Championship chief instructor hat on. The first round of the series was at
Brands Hatch the week after Monza and it was great to see the new crop of drivers and some of the ‘old’ boys. It was nice to see our 2005 rookie champion, Euan Hankey, take his first outright win and prove just how successful the Formula BMW education and coaching programme is. Also there was newcomer Ollie Oakes laying down his marker with his second race win. I know the Mansell boys, Leo and Greg, had a lot of publicity in the run up to the weekend and I hope everyone remembers just how little experience they both have. They are very new to racing and I hope they are allowed to get used to the series and make their own mistakes out of the limelight. I remember my first race at
Thruxton as I started from the back of the grid! I didn’t stay there but I still remember how much there is to learn about racing. I was able to have a chat with Nigel and it was strange talking to someone who was one of my heroes. He is a great supporter of the series and I know, like all of us, was pleased to hear BMW UK confirm that they will still be running the series in 2007.
I was very proud with all the drivers and hope it was noted how cleanly they drove and how competitive they were. They can be as young as 15-years-old to do this series so many are still juggling school work and exams with their driving careers. I hope both myself and my co-instructor, Enzo Mucci, can give them good advice.
![Priaulx, Muller and Thompson on the race one podium [Pic credit: FIA WTCC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/205448.jpg)
