Priaulx gears up
Race of Champions, 1.30pm, Sunday, Sky Sports 2
By Stephen Mills Last updated: 14th December 2007
Priaulx: racing for Team England
The Race of Champions is a fun event and the drivers do it to entertain the crowd, but come the night it's quite serious. Once the flag drops, the talking stops and everybody goes flat out.
Andy Priaulx
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Andy Priaulx is gearing up for his second shot at the Race of Champions, hoping to make up for his embarrassing exit at last year's event.
The British star goes into Sunday's race at Wembley Stadium on the back of his third successive World Touring Car Championship title and will partner Jenson Button for Team England.
And he has vowed to cross the line at this year's race after a fundamental blunder in 2006 saw him exit his rookie tournament during the opening rounds.
"I had a good couple of races, but then I made a fatal mistake when I stopped half a lap early while leading," he laughs.
"There was a chequered flag in the audience and I stopped well before the finish line. It was quite annoying, but it's a lesson learned for this year!"
Despite his error, Priaulx insists he is excited about this year's race, which will be staged at the new Wembley for the first time.
The Race of Champions will see some of the biggest names in motor sport - including Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard and Alister McRae - going head to head in identical cars in a stadium where spectators can watch every twist and turn.
But while Priaulx emphasised the fan-friendly nature of the tournament, he insists that on race night, his focus will be on winning the trophy.
"I really enjoyed last year, but it was a bit of an eye-opener for me because I didn't quite realise the magnitude of the event," he said.
"It's great because you get so many fans coming along, but the other thing I underestimated was how competitive the event is. It's a fun event and the drivers do it to entertain the crowd, but come the night it's quite serious.
"Once the flag drops, the talking stops and everybody goes flat out. There's a rivalry between all the drivers, but it's a nice rivalry. There's no arrogance because it's the end of the season and we've all had pressure all year.
"But we'll all be going out to win."
Special
While Priaulx was quick to play down his chances of glory in Sunday's showdown, he admitted the race will be particularly special to him because it will be taking place in front of his home crowd.
The Guernsey-born star is also hoping his appearance alongside some of the more well-known drivers will help to raise the profile of the World Touring Car Championship.
"This is great for me because World Touring Cars is well recognised in Europe, but it's still got a bit of a way to go in the UK. It's a young championship and it's growing all the time," he said.
"So it will be great for me to race in front of my home crowd as a British world champion and hopefully the fans will turn out for me.
"I wouldn't like to say I'm looking to win the event because you just jump into a car that you've never driven before and within two minutes you're on the start line and you've just got to race.
"I'd love to win it, but very often these events can be over before they've even started.
"Plus there's a lot of competition. Michael Schumacher is the one I'm most looking forward to racing against, but also Marcus Gronholm. There's some absolutely fantastic names here and it's going to be great to race against these guys."
National pride is also at stake as the Race of Champions sees Priaulx teaming up with Formula 1 star Button as they bid to win the Nations Cup for England.
And Priaulx can't wait to catch up with his good friend as they attempt to see England crowned the fastest nation on earth after Button was forced to pull out injured last year.
Close friends
"I know Jenson really well and we're quite close friends," he said.
"I replaced him when he left Renault Formula 3 and that was the first time I found out about him, but we've got mutual friends now and we know each other extremely well.
"We don't see each other a lot throughout the year as we're both racing in different championships. But he's a good guy. We should have been racing together last year, but he broke his ribs, so this year is going to be a lot of fun."
Wembley Stadium has undergone a remarkable transformation in order to host the Race of Champions, and the hallow'ed turf has been replaced by 1,800 tonnes of asphalt and 2,200 tonnes of underlay to produce a magnificent 1km long parallel track.
It has taken a team of 50 people five days to lay the specially-designed track and Priaulx applauded their efforts before admitting he can't wait to check out the new national stadium.
"It's been at the Stade de France for the last few years, but it was a great coup to get Wembley Stadium.
"The facility is absolutely tremendous too. To do what they've done in the time they've done it is very impressive. The guys that have built the track are true professionals and have done this many times before.
"They know how to build a great race track and they've squeezed as many turns and as many fast straights into the facility as possible. They've done a great job.
"It's absolutely brilliant for me to race as a British driver in front of my home crowd in London. I can remember watching cup finals at the stadium and I've grown up with that name on television.
"It is just fantastic for me to be able to drive here."
Sky Sports 2 is showing the Race of Champions exclusively live on Sunday from 1.30pm.
