Andy Priaulx: My Life in Cars

My family car as a child…

A Ferrari Dino! My father was a Ferrari dealer in Guernsey and I still remember the day when he came home from work in this beautiful Dino. It was Ferrari red with cream upholstery and I just fell in love with that car.

My first road car…

A Suzuki jeep SJ410 but I soon upgraded that for something a lot faster, a Fiat Strada Abarth, the hot hatch of its time, twin cam, twin carbs – a class leader in the mid-1980s.

 

I was hooked on racing when…

It was watching Formula 1 in the 1980s and ’90s and I became a huge fan of Nigel Mansell. I loved his lion heart – at Ferrari they called him Il Leone. I admired his totally committed approach to racing and I think it’s so important to have role models like Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Steve Soper and Anthony Reid.

 

My first ever win was…

My first title was when I was taking part in the British Hill Climb series – I won the championship in 1995. In my circuit racing the first race win came at Donington Park in 1999 in the Renault Spider race [Renault Spider Cup, which ran from 1996-99]. I went on to win every race that season and won the championship.

 

The win I remember the most was…

The one I treasure most is World Touring Cars at Macau in 2007. That was always felt a special place for me – it suited my driving style and I won all my world titles there. My fourth consecutive title [European champion in 2004, then world champion in 2005-07] was the big moment. It was a tough and competitive field, with success ballast and reverse grid, so no car domination like F1. Nobody could call it lucky.

 

My favourite racing car is…

The Pilbeam sports hillclimb car. It was such a pretty sports car and was also driven by my good friend Tim Thomson and Martin Bolsover.

 

My greatest rival

Rival, and friend – the young Augusto Farfus. He was a very strong team-mate [at BMW in the WTCC, 2007-10], super-competitive, and he brought out the best in me. I guess we improved each other.

 

If I could race in any era…

It would be the 1990s. That was a great time in Super Touring cars. It was very special because there were so many good opportunities for pro racers. There was no grading system so if you were good, if you were fast, you had a great chance.

 

If I could take part in one more big race it would be…

The V8 Supercars 1000 at Bathurst. That race has such a great atmosphere, and the cars are tricky and challenging. I liked driving different cars – it makes you more versatile, you always learn something, like new ideas and a new approach.

 

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given was…

To be your own worst critic, but do so in a positive way. This makes you work harder, keeps you more realistic and gives you a direction to improve your driving. Racing requires so much application, physically, mentally and technically and I’ve had so many great mentors during my racing career.

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Sprint race…

Lewis or Max?
Lewis.

Senna or Prost?
Senna.

Oversteer or understeer?
Good balance.

Brands Hatch or Silverstone?
Silverstone.