BRITISH TOURING ACES WISH LEWIS HAMILTON “THE BEST OF BRITISH”

Winning at home is a special treat for any international racing driver, so Britain’s top international touring car drivers contesting the FIA World Touring Car Championship are excited at the prospect facing Lewis Hamilton ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

BMW’s reigning WTCC champion Andy Priaulx says the McLaren star has a treat in store: “Lewis is going to find an atmosphere like no other when he arrives at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. He has had an amazing season so far and shown remarkable maturity to go with his speed, but he will be feeling a very different sort of pressure at Silverstone as the centre of attention.

"He will find too that the highs are much higher when you race at home and the lows much lower. Hopefully Lewis will be finding the highs, and to give him that vital edge, he will enjoy that extra circuit knowledge and the support from the crowd that always gives you that extra little push.

“As I have raced away from Britain for the past five years, it’s always wonderful to come home and experience that very special atmosphere, so I can’t wait for our races at Brands Hatch in September. There will be three of us Brits racing in that, with me, James Thompson and Rob Huff, and we’ve all got a good chance of winning, so it would be fantastic if we could receive the sort of support that Lewis is. That would be a real help.”

Alfa Romeo racer James Thompson, a double race winner at Valencia earlier this year, is equally behind Formula 1’s most successful-ever rookie: “The impact that Lewis is making is phenomenal, and the interest that he’s drumming up is great for all of British motorsport. Andy [Priaulx] has been winning consistently in the WTCC for the past two seasons, but we’ve been in the doldrums in F1 for a long time now, so it’s really exciting that Lewis seems to be able to win consistently in that and hopefully we can emulate that feat when we get to race on home ground when the WTCC visits Brands Hatch in September. Is it time for British pride? Why not?”

Brands Hatch will host the ninth round of the 11-round FIA-backed World Touring Car Championship on 22/23 September, with qualifying at the Kent circuit on the Saturday and both of the races on the Sunday.