In his latest exclusive Crash.net column, World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx looks back at his home round of the season at Brands Hatch and looks forward to the next round at Oschersleben - scene of his lone win of 2005.
I am not sure when thinking about Brands Hatch whether to be happy or upset. I think I was in one of those situations where I had to consider whether my glass was half full or half empty. It was a nightmare race two for me, but then I have to look back at the weekend and consider what our pre-race expectations were.
Brands Hatch with 70 kilos of ballast was always going to be bad for me. The track was not ideal for the
BMW 320si anyway, and with the ballast, that put our chances of doing well as pretty slim. However, the good old English weather came to my rescue. Torrential rain storms were just what I needed, as a dry track would have meant a very bad qualifying position. I can't pretend tenth was a good position, but I was the quickest BMW driver and felt if I had taken my new tyres later I could have been fifth.
Race one went according to plan and I was delighted with eighth and pole for race two. Race two was also going according to plan until the safety car period. During this time the heavens opened and I paid the price for being the first driver into Paddock on a saturated track once racing re-started. No excuses here, I braked too late and went off into the gravel. By the time I had collected my car I was down the field and battling with Alex Zanardi for eighth. Luckily for me he made a slight mistake so I was able to snatch the place and a single point. It is now I have to look back and think in retrospect my glass was half full! If the weekend had been sunny and dry it would have been a miracle to come away with any points. I most probably would have been lucky to even be in the top ten.
