Priaulx: regulations were against us

Priaulx pulled off a shock in the final round of the WTCC in Macau when he clinched the crown again after main rival Yvan Muller was forced out with a mechanical problem.

And having faced regulations that appeared to favour Muller's turbo diesel SEAT, plus questionable driving tactics from some of his rivals, Priaulx has confessed that he is immensely proud to have overcome it all to triumph again.

"I just think there has been a very bad energy," said Priaulx. "I noticed it last year to be honest, but this season when you are driving with the number one plate you are always the guy that everybody is looking at. You are almost like a magnet.

"And what is also quite clear is that this year the regulations have not favoured BMW at all in the slightest. We have been fighting for small points.

"There have been races that we have gone to where we have been considerably off the pace, like Monza, and I think it is quite clear that if BMW had gone to Monza with such a big advantage (as SEAT had) then we would definitely not have carried that advantage into Macau. So there are energies around that just wanted to see a new winner.

"I can understand it in the lot of ways, because it is good for the championship, but I've worked really hard in my career to be here, I've worked extremely hard with the team this year, and the team have worked very hard day and night so they deserve to win it as well. We weren't going to give it up, and we kept our head under pressure."

He added: "I can see it on people's faces that they didn't want me to win it, and they hate the fact that I have done it again.

"It happened with Michael Schumacher in F1, and you have just got to rise above it. At the end of the day I could easily have made a mistake and not finished. I could have easily over defended and crashed. I could have easily put a wheel down the inside and locked up, and I didn't do it. I feel that that is something I can be proud of. Four in a row is also more important."

Although Priaulx's title chance owed much to good fortune, with Muller looking set for the crown before a fuel pump failure forced him out, he denies any suggestions his championship was a fluke.

"You cannot say it was a fluke. But we are doing something right to win all these championships. You cannot say winning four in a row is a fluke," he said.

"Maybe you can say this one was lucky, but I've also had a lot of bad luck in my career and a lot of bad lucky this year. But we ended up as champion at the end of the day and we didn't have the best package."