In his latest Crash.net column, World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx looks forward to the British round of the WTCC – taking place this weekend at Brands Hatch.
What a week I have in front of me. My first home race since winning the World Touring Car Championship title where I shall be arriving leading the points table, a week full of media and public appearances, a launch of the stamp Guernsey Post has brought out in my honour and then, on top of that, I have been given a great ‘present’ by
BMW – I am having two outings in the BMW Sauber
F1 Team’s car.
Mind you there is a down side to doing well in the WTCC. I have now won a race at both WTCC weekends so far this year, and so I am going to be very heavy at Brands Hatch. The weight ballast really does make doing well a burden, as I have the maximum of 70 kilos in my car. It will be the equivalent of having a passenger sitting beside me and I can assure you when I am racing I prefer to be by myself! This hasn’t come as any surprise to me, but still it is a shame that I am heading to Brands in the knowledge that doing well at my home race is going to be very, very difficult.
My recent ETCC and WTCC races in the UK have seen me with mixed fortunes. I remember
Donington two years ago and having a nightmare qualifying. I was 13th on the grid for race one and knew how difficult a good result was going to be. However, I need not have worried as I went on to win the second race. Then last year at
Silverstone I was leading and a puncture forced me to retire. Anyway that is behind me and now I am looking forward. Brands is a great track, I know I have several fellow competitors who have been there more recently than I have, but I shall make sure that I get the most out of my BMW Team UK BMW 320si that felt so good at Magny Cours after the new chassis thanks to the Monza shunt.
![Andy Priaulx - BMW 320si [Pic credit: FIA WTCC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/213625.jpg)
