pursues fourth world titleAs the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship gets underway this weekend in Brazil (Curitiba, March 2), Britain’s reigning triple world champion, Andy Priaulx has been putting his driving skills to the test, on ice, in Sweden.
The 33-year old BMW Team UK driver yesterday undertook some specialist driver coaching on a frozen lake, located 300 miles north of Stockholm, as part of his final race preparations, before launching his bid to secure a fourth consecutive world title.
After his dramatic last-round victory in Macau last year, the Guernseyman, labelled ‘the Schumacher of touring cars’ entered the history books by becoming the only British racing driver ever to win three consecutive FIA world titles. And it was the Formula One legend, Michael Schumacher himself who inspired Priaulx to try the ice driving experience, when he saw him in action at the Race of Champions at Wembley last December.
Speaking from the Ice Driver School yesterday, Priaulx commented, "I’m always keen to try new things ahead of the season to help give me the edge and think it’s important to step outside your comfort zone every now and then. I’d heard that Michael had tried ice driving and he reckoned that afterwards, the race circuit seemed much easier by comparison, so I figured I’d give it a shot. It’s been great, I've learnt loads and it’s been a good opportunity to focus on my left foot braking."
With temperatures plunging to as low as –10°C in Sweden, Priaulx now heads to Curitiba for the season opener in Brazil where conditions could not be more different. He continued, “Brazil is usually the hottest race on the calendar, where temperatures in the car can reach up to 60°C, so it’s definitely a tough test to start with. The team has been working really hard and the car feels good, so I’m excited about getting underway. I won here in 2006 and I like the track but it will be interesting to see how we shape up against the rest of the grid, particularly the turbo diesels.”
The 2008 calendar features three new circuits: Puebla Amozoc - Mexico (April 6, Rounds 3 & 4), Estoril - Portugal (July 6, Rounds 11 & 12) and Okayama - Japan (October 26, Rounds 21 & 22) taking the tally of races to 24, two more than last season.
This year also sees the introduction of a revised ‘success ballast system’ which will handicap drivers after each event based on a combination of championship points and race results. Each championship point will convert to a kilogram of ballast, plus additional 5kg penalties will be given for the top six drivers at each event i.e. 30 kg for the winner down to 5 kg for sixth-place, up to a total maximum ballast of 70 kg.
Peter Walker, General Manager, Sports Marketing, BMW UK commented, "We are immensely proud of Andy and all that he has achieved. We wish him and the team every success for the 2008 season in their bid to secure a fourth consecutive drivers crown and hopefully a fourth consecutive Manufacturers’ Championship title for BMW too.
