by Russell Atkins
TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: CLICK HERE
To read the interview in full, click here
Defending World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx has confessed that he does not know quite what to expect when the series arrives in Valencia for round three on the calendar this weekend, with everyone –
BMW included – having received a drubbing at the hands of SEAT in every race so far in 2008.
The Guernseyman is bidding to make it five tin-top titles in a row this season, having triumphed in the European Touring Car Championship back in 2004 and since then clinched three consecutive drivers' crowns in the WTCC. It is a remarkable record, but one he fears may be broken in 2008 unless something is soon done to put the brakes on SEAT's seemingly relentless march towards championship glory.
“It's not really very good for us at the moment,” Priaulx acknowledged, speaking exclusively to
Crash.net Radio. “I think everyone at BMW has worked really hard on the car over the winter, but clearly the regulations are a long way off what they need to be for it to be really competitive.
“The big thing as well is that they [the SEATs] are really difficult to overtake. They're not so quick on the brakes and in mid-corner speed, but they're
so fast down the straights that we just can't get close to overtaking them, so we end up having to follow them around. They're just a lot faster in all the speed traps – it's not coming from corner speed, so I'll leave the rest to your imagination…
