Although he may have claimed a fourth international touring car crown in as many years in 2007, Andy Priaulx spent the majority of the season playing catch-up. As the series' undisputed number one in 2008, he acknowledges, he will be facing a very different kind of challenge.
The Guernseyman ultimately prevailed last year at the end of a tense final outing in Macau – taking advantage of SEAT rival Yvan Muller's misfortune to cement his status as the finest tin-top driver of modern times, if not ever. The pressure on him to make it a fifth straight title this year, he is well aware, will be immense, but he insists he is treating the opening round of the season in Curitiba this weekend as a completely clean sheet of paper.
“It was one of the toughest years,” the
BMW Team UK star reflected of his 2007 success, “and [this year] there's a lot more for me to lose than to gain, but we will be there.
“It's definitely a very different feeling compared to when you are the hunter, but every year we start from scratch. Everything you have done in the past is history; when you begin a new season everybody is starting from zero again, and that's how you have to approach it.
“Looking back at last season, I would say there are at least 14 drivers capable of winning races, which in a lot of ways makes it more competitive than
F1, especially with the weight handicap system and the equality of the regulations. The ballast works well as it has done in the BTCC too, and the reverse grids work well for the crowds.”
When questioned about his likely rivals for honours, Priaulx picked out SEAT with its Leon TDi and drivers like Muller and fellow former British Touring Car Champions Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini, as well as the Chevrolet trio of Alain Menu, Nicola Larini and Rob Huff. He admitted, though, that he ‘could carry on and on and on…'
