“I felt pretty strong over the first two laps,” Priaulx recounted, “and as Menu had dropped away slightly I thought 'this is looking great'. Then as soon as he got clear of the traffic he just reeled me in at about a second a lap, and I knew at that stage that there was absolutely no chance of holding him off and that I was basically going to end up slipping back into the clutches of the midfield.
“I defended, but he got past and just drove away; it was really difficult for me to defend, and for Jörg [Müller] as well because they [the Chevrolets] were so much faster, but I think if I can have an eight-point weekend on a bad day I will be very happy.”
Next on the series' schedule was Pau in south-western France, and with Priaulx being a self-confessed fan of street venues – having clinched all three of his WTCC championship successes in the little Portuguese enclave of Macau – hopes entering the event were high. And then, in free practice, the wall beckoned…
“I love street circuits,” he enthused. “They're something I think that every driver really enjoys, because you're running really close to the barriers and it feels so quick. I've always got a really positive feeling about street tracks; they're unique – they've got bumps, they've got character, they've got kerbs. I just find it a really interesting challenge, and Pau is a beautiful place as well.
“Free practice was a shame. I was competitive in the first session, and was going well in the second session too. At the end of the day, though, if you're not touching walls and spinning off occasionally you're not trying hard enough. I had a pretty big hit in free practice two and damaged the car, but luckily there was no chassis damage and overall it wasn't too severe, and my team managed to get it together again in time for qualifying which was good.
“The qualifying session on a short street track is always going to be a challenge for everybody. I was quick in the first sector, then in the second sector came across Augusto [Farfus], who had gone off. That meant I had to back off with the yellow flags, and then had another go and found traffic.
“I was a little bit disappointed after being on my fourth set of new tyres, but still happy to be seventh. We've gone from being twelfth in Mexico to sixth in Valencia in the wet, and seventh in the dry at Pau was pretty pleasing actually. We're going in the right direction.”
That at least is positive news for Priaulx, and eighth spot in race one – following a frantic tussle with BMW team-mate Müller – earned him pole position for race two which, given the distinctly inclement weather, would prove ultimately to be an unassailable advantage as he went on to secure his first victory of the season by mastering the tricky conditions to perfection.
“Ninth is just nobody – it's so annoying to finish ninth,” he admitted. “I felt for Jörg – he's a good team-mate and a good driver, but he was carrying the weight over that weekend. He didn't get up there into the top eight and I did, and that made my weekend really.
“Nobody likes to rely on the reverse grid to win races, but at this moment in time an eighth position is like a win for me because we're just not as competitive as SEAT in these conditions. I've got to be very happy with that.
