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Touring car ace Andy Priaulx is primed for his fourth career start in Australia’s greatest domestic motor race, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 October 10-13.
The three-time world touring car champion from Great Britain will tackle the Mountain as part of Triple Eight’s Xbox One wildcard entry along with fellow DTM racer Mattias Ekstrom.
The deal will see Priaulx team up with Triple Eight boss Roland Dane, the longtime team owner who gave the Englishman his first touring car drive in the British Touring Car Championship in 2001.
Since then he has gone on to become one of the leading figures in touring car racing with three consecutive world titles from 2005-2007.
Now competing in the DTM, the 40-year-old has amassed several appearances in V8 Supercars with his last outing coming at Surfers Paradise in 2011 with Triple Eight.
Returning to Mount Panorama for a fourth time, Priaulx explains to Speedcafe.com’s Tom Howard about his latest bid to conquer the mountain.
Speedcafe: How much are you looking forward to another chance at conquering Bathurst?
Andy Priaulx: I’m massively excited to be doing Bathurst. I did Surfers Paradise a couple of years ago and I really love the V8 Supercars. It’s a great atmosphere a great championship and obviously Bathurst is a race everybody in the world who is interested in motorsport watches.
I watched it last year from my bed and stayed up all night and I don’t do that for many races any more to be honest. I think the only other race I would do that for is Le Mans. I’m delighted to be back in with Triple Eight in the Xbox One car so I’m a very lucky boy.
Speedcafe: How tough will it be to adapt to the brand new V8 Supercar Car of the Future?
Priaulx: The V8 Supercar is quite a tough car to drive and completely different from any other race car. That made the racing great and the regular drivers extremely competitive as well but it made it hard for people like me to come in a be really strong.
I think the last time I drove a V8 Supercar at Surfers, I was very competitive and the time before I was the best international driver. The new car from what I can see is going to be a bit more like what I would expect to race. Hopefully this will make our performance a bit stronger but we will see.
Speedcafe: You have raced at the Le Mans 24 Hour and won three world touring car championships, where does Bathurst rank in the events you have competed in?
Priaulx: I think Bathurst is certainly one of the world’s biggest touring car races if not the biggest. It’s one of those races where people will pull you over in the street and talk to you about it.
That kind of recognition usually only comes when I had a won a race or a championship or did something pretty mega in Europe. People do follow Bathurst and have a strong connection with it all over the world. I’ve got a lot of friends who want to come along to watch it and the family are coming with me.
For these type of events you have got to bring as many people with you as possible to witness it. The fans are great and the atmosphere is mega.
Speedcafe: What are you expectations with the Xbox One Triple Eight car at Bathurst this year?
Priaulx: I think it is difficult to have expectations going into it. There is a new car and I haven’t driven at the track for a few years so I’m realistic.
The expectations are high from everybody around us and I think if we meet our potential we can certainly have a good race, but we just got to see how we get on with everything and have a certain amount of luck.
I believe we have the potential to be strong and that’s all you can wish for.
Speedcafe: When you raced in V8 Supercars in previous events were you shocked how big the championship is in Australia?
Priaulx: I was quite surprised when I first came out, that V8s are so big here. I qualified in the top 10 shootout for Sandown one year and I think I was the first import to do it and I could really feel that was something big.
You do get a good buzz and you see that Bathurst gets a centre spread in the news and Formula One gets a little piece in the corner. There are some races you just want to be a part of and one of those is Le Mans and one of those is Bathurst.
I have been keeping tabs on the V8 Supercars this year. It looks like it is going from strength to strength with new manufacturers joining and a lot of very good drivers on the grid.
It is a formula you have to take seriously if you want to have a career in touring cars I’m really excited to have a go and put my name on the radar down there.
