The Priaulx Paradox

For a country that struggles sometimes to find its sporting heroes, you would think that being British and winning a world championship would be a passport to widespread recognition.

And if that wasn't the case, then surely winning back-to-back world championships, to make yourself the clear number one in your sport, would at least guarantee some credit for all the effort that you have made. Especially when your highly-respected boss openly goes public and calls you the 'Michael Schumacher' of your field.

We may love our losers (everyone still remembers Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards), but we adore our winners even more.

So as the dust settles on another motor racing season, the one question swirling around two-time World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx's head is: just what have I got to do to get some credit around here?

His achievements over the past two years (and you can add the 2004 European Touring Car Championship crown to that tally too) have marked him out as one of Britain's best racing talents.

He is, after all, one of only three men who are going to head to the FIA Awards Ceremony in Monte Carlo later this week to pick up a world championship trophy. You might just have heard of the other two - Fernando Alonso and Sebastien Loeb.

Yet although the specialist press have gone to town in recognising Priaulx's great achievements - he even knocked F1 off the front cover of Autosport magazine - more widespread coverage has been lacking.

And in particular the BBC, that great bastion of all things British, has come in for some stick about why Priaulx's achievements have not been acknowledged a bit better.

Every exploit of Britain's number ones in tennis, cricket, football or rugby are pumped into the living rooms around the world, even though they struggle on the world stage. And yet Priaulx, a clear world champion, gets barely a mention. Hardly fair, is it?

Andy Priaulx at Valencia © LAT

That was the very reason why Priaulx was summoned to a Radio 2 interview with racing fan Chris Evans recently. The maverick presenter said he was baffled that the Guernsey-based driver was not put up there in the same bracket as Alonso and Loeb as an out-and-out star. Priaulx does not really have any answers for why.

"Maybe I'll have to go and do NASCAR," he smiles, chatting after last weekend's Autosport Awards where he was presented with a Gregor Grant Trophy for his efforts. "I might only drive around at the back of the grid, but I might have a better profile."

Part of Priaulx's problem is that the WTCC is not the most publicised championship in the world - especially in Britain. It is a widely acknowledged fact that decent television coverage is the driving force behind making a championship successful.

So while F1, the WRC and even GP2 get regular coverage on terrestrial channel ITV to allow a wider audience to find out what's going on, the WTCC is on a whole limited exclusively to satellite channel Eurosport - who are one of the main promoters behind the series.

Without widespread television coverage, then the WTCC's great racing, door-handle rubbing moments and spectacular crashes are pretty much wasted. And if that's the case, then few people will be aware of not only what Priaulx has achieved, but also just how hard it has been. Television could well be the reason why Carl Fogarty, arguably Britain's most famous motorcycle racer of recent years, only got some recognition after his third world title.

"It is a bit weird, isn't it?" says Priaulx about him not getting much recognition in the national press. "Maybe my surname Priaulx sounds French. I've asked myself this question several times. Maybe it is that the WTCC has probably got a little bit of a way to go with the promotion. Eurosport is great coverage but not in the UK, and the championship is a little bit out of the UK, so the British people don't follow it.

"I think partly the marketing and the PR is not right for me. There are some great guys like Jim Richards, who races in V8 Supercars. They are top quality drivers and hardly anyone has heard of them, but they are still bloody good and everyone respects them. I think the important thing is that I am respected in this environment."

The WTCC's lack of widespread coverage has perhaps also left some people misinformed about just how tough the category is - and therefore how good a job Priaulx has done. There is little doubt that a line-up that includes such tin-top legends as Jorg Muller, Gabriele Tarquini, Alain Menu, Nicola Larini and Yvan Muller has quality in abundance.

And then you have to add to the mix the fact that Priaulx is not the kind of man keen on self-promotion. One of motor racing's thoroughly nice blokes, he very much wants to let his driving do the talking. He doesn't like shouting too hard about his achievements, even though he has a career record that many of his rivals can only dream about.

"One thing I found quite weird was that in the first year (the ETCC title in 2004) people said I did really well, but I was lucky to win it," says Priaulx talking about the constant criticisms he has had to overcome.

Priaulx wins the ETCC in Dubai in 2004 © LAT

"The second year they said you did really well but you only won one race. But there were three races I could have won, and one of them I had a puncture.

"This year I won five races and got several pole positions, and they are still trying to find negatives. So I just think people are jealous.

"I have even had comments now that if I went to DTM I might struggle. But I have spoken to a few guys who have raced in DTM - like Menu and Larini - and they say the WTCC is as tough as it gets. It is really hard."

There is a sense of mounting frustration about his situation. Priaulx's WTCC successes have left him with a virtual guaranteed future at BMW (providing he keeps performing of course), but you also feel that he wants to do something different - go and win something that would make people sit up and take notice.

"That is happening with me at the moment," he admits. "I have got to get out of my comfort zone and have a go at something else. I don't want to turn my back on BMW, though. But I hope they allow me to fly because every time I have been set a target, I have gone to that target, exceeded it and then surprised a lot of people. So hopefully they can let me fly."

The one obvious avenue for Priaulx would be some kind of testing role in F1. When BMW were partners with Williams, he got a call up for a test at Barcelona in Spain - but further outings were put on hold when the engine manufacturer and team went their separate ways.

Priaulx did get some more requests from BMW to drive their new F1 car, but they were only at BMW's Pit Lane Park and the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He fears now that with the company's open policy of promoting youngsters, it may be too late for him to get a look in.

"I think if you've got nappies on, you have got a chance," he half-jokes. "I think they are investing very heavily in teenagers - and I am 32 years old!

"But there is a world outside of F1. And to be honest, although it is nice to be the Michael Schumacher of touring cars, being Tom Kristensen wouldn't be too bad either. There is still a lot more for me to achieve. I am still very motivated."

The Kristensen mention is a clear reference to Le Mans. The 24-hour race still enjoys widespread mystique and interest, and success there for Priaulx could well be the missing link that turns him into a more widely acknowledged star.

"I think sometimes you have got to exceed your comfort zone a little bit, and have a go at other things," says Priaulx. "I went into world touring cars four years ago. People said you were crazy because you are going to get beaten, kicked, pushed around and spat out. I said, 'Right, I'll do it!' I like a challenge.

Dr. Mario Theissen and Andy Priaulx © LAT

"But I have got to be very careful because if I play my cards right I can have a long future at BMW, but also I am very motivated. There are some big races out there to win. Le Mans would be nice."

It is clear that if Priaulx is going to make the move from WTCC, then it has to be somewhere where he can be a winner. That's why the DTM is not high on Priaulx's wish list.

"I love the cars, but I wouldn't want to drive in a semi-works team," he said. "I have got to try and win it. I don't think it gets much tougher than what we had in touring cars this year."

Despite the success, despite being number one in his field, and despite being labelled the 'Schuey' of touring cars, Priaulx very much appears to be at a crossroads in his career. He's come a long way since selling his house and having to live in a caravan at Silverstone just so he could fund his racing, but he remains just as hungry as he did then.

"I am going to use Christmas and the New Year to really look at my future and work out where I can go and what I can do. But I am still big-time motivated.

"As I have said before, when you wake up on the Monday morning after winning the title, the world is still the same. As long as you are happy in yourself it is important, but maybe I have to go and do something else."

Not next year, though. Another world title is beckoning. And maybe that is the one that could open the floodgates and deliver the public acknowledgement Priaulx so rightly deserves.