After winning the title in the 2004 FIA ETCC, Andy Priaulx has proved again this season that he ranks among the world's best touring car drivers. The BMW Team UK driver kept his nerve in a gripping season final in Macau to secure the World Championship title. In doing so, Priaulx becomes the heir of Roberto Ravaglia, who in 1987 won the last World Touring Car Championship in a BMW M3.
For the 31-year-old the World Championship title represents the current climax of a textbook career in touring car racing. In 2002 Priaulx contested his first complete season in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and immediately took a win and three pole positions. The following year he made his debut for BMW Team Great Britain driving a BMW 320i in the European Championship. He was fighting for the title up to the very last and ended the season in third place with three race wins. Then in 2004 he managed to carry off the FIA ETCC title.
The RBM team headed by Bart Mampaey, which also fielded Priaulx' BMW 320i in the season just past, speaks highly of the technical capabilities and motivation of the racing driver based in the Channel Island of Guernsey. Even long after practice or qualifying sessions were over, you could still see him discussing improvements to his car with the engineers. And Priaulx was usually spot-on with his suggestions.
In the course of his career, the family man has competed in virtually every conceivable racing machine - from go-karts all the way to powerboats. Since 2005 Priaulx can also claim to have taken a Formula One car to the limit. Over the year he has carried out several tests for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team and also impressed the engineers with his detailed and precise feedback.
As if the World Championship title and successful outings in the Formula One racer weren't enough, Priaulx also won the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race in May in a BMW M3 GTR. Alongside Duncan Huisman (NLD), Pedro Lamy (PRT) and Boris Said (USA), the new BMW works driver demonstrated his talent on the notorious North Loop as well. It would be no exaggeration to say that Priaulx has just rounded off the perfect motor sport season.
Date/place of birth: 8th August 1974/Guernsey (Channel Islands)Residence: GuernseyMarital status: married to Joanne, one son, Sebastian, one daughter, Daniella
1984 kart races in the Channel Islands1985-1990Motocross1990 1st place Motocross 250 cc Channel Islands Championship1991-1995hillclimb races1995 1st place RAC MSA British Hillclimb Champion with maximum points score and 14 wins over two seasons1996 races in Formula Renault 1997 British Formula 3 Championship scholarship1998 races in Renault Spider Cup, one pole position, three podiums; 2nd place in Formula Palmer Audi Winter series1999 1st place Renault Spider Cup, 13 wins from pole;BTCC test driver for Renault Williams, Vauxhall and FordAwards: BARC President's Cup for Outstanding Achievement, Guernsey Ambassador of the Year2000 British Formula 3 Championship for Renault UK, three podiums, pole in Silverstone;F3 races in Macau and Korea for Manor Motorsport2001 British Formula 3 Championship, two wins, two poles, ten podiums;2nd place from pole in F3 Super Prix in Korea; F3 Grand Prix in Macau; 2nd place and pole for Vauxhall in the BTCC2002 5th place British Touring Car Championship for Honda;competed in Australia in the Bathurst 1000 and Queensland 500 endurance races (Holden TWR)2003 3rd place FIA ETCC (BMW 320i), three wins2004 1st place FIA ETCC (BMW 320i), BMW Team Great Britain2nd place Macau Grand Prix - Guia RaceSpa-Francorchamps 24-Hour Race (BMW M3 GTR)2005 1st place FIA WTCC (BMW 320i), BMW Team UK1st place Nürburgring 24-Hour Race (BMW M3 GTR)
Profile: BMW Team UK - RBM.
When Andy Priaulx won the 2004 European Touring Car Championship for BMW Team Great Britain, fans and experts alike were amazed. The comparatively small RBM team under the guidance of team manager Bart Mampaey (BEL) had prevailed over far more experienced rivals and celebrated its biggest motor racing success thus far. Under its new name BMW Team UK, Priaulx and his crew have managed to substantiate the brilliant achievement of the previous year by winning the first World Touring Car Championship since 1987 in impressive style.
The RBM team, which is based in Mechelen, Belgium, made its FIA ETCC debut in 2002. At the time, Mampaey's team was responsible for fielding the BMW 320i of Fredrik Ekblom (SWE), which was flying the flag of BMW Team Belgium. A year later Priaulx joined the team, which thenceforward battled for points and victories under the banner of BMW Team Great Britain - and with notable success: in his debut year, Priaulx already managed to claim three European Championship race wins. In 2004 the driver, who lives in Guernsey in the Channel Islands, went on to take the European Touring Car crown.
Within a short space of time, team manager Mampaey had led his racing team to the peak of international touring car racing. The Belgian's success was no accident. His father Julian ran the Juma Racing Team in the 1970s and '80s, among whose achievements were three wins with BMW in the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours. Mampaey junior was always there and learnt at an early stage how to run a racing team if you want to succeed. In 1998 he celebrated his first major victory with the RBM team in Spa. After further stints in the FIA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series, Schnitzer Motorsport and Ravaglia Motorsport, Mampaey eventually sent his own FIA ETCC team out on to the race track in 2002.
But the successful team manager and his team have not only demonstrated their expertise in the ETCC and the World Touring Car Championship. RBM is responsible, among other things, for assembling the cars that are involved in the Belgian MINI Challenge.
The close bond and friendly relations between the team members constitute one of the strengths of RBM. Priaulx and Mampaey form a perfect duo. Both are meticulous at their work and only satisfied when all problems have been resolved and all challenges successfully mastered. This season once again, RBM has shown it is an approach that bears fruit.
