Priaulx: world title was harder

The Briton had not led the WTCC title chase all season but drove brilliantly in the final round at Macau to finish well clear in the points-standings from Dirk Muller and Fabrizio Giovanardi - both of whom crashed out.

Clearly delighted with the result, which makes Priaulx only the second WTCC champion in history, the BMW driver claims his focus all season was on ensuring he hit the title chase lead when it mattered most - at the end of the year.

"I think this year has been an even harder year than last year for me," said Priaulx, who captured the ETCC crown in the final race of 2004. "I think I was a bit better on my bad days this year, but my good days were not quite so good. So it was a tough season.

"But my goal was always on the end of the season - focusing on that and obviously doing the best I could.

"It is important to be quick at different times and I feel we have done that this year. Valencia was tough for us but we got the big points that we needed, came to Macau and we worked really hard on a good set-up. And, with my experience of the circuit, we were able to have a good result."

Priaulx has admitted that his success will take time to sink in - even though the title was assured after Muller crashed out early in the second race.

"It is really just a strange feeling at the moment because Macau is so special," he said. "To qualify on pole meant a lot to me, but I still felt I had only done 10 percent. Even in the first race I could not rest because there was always some pressure from behind.

"After the first race my team said that Fabrizio did not finish and Dirk was 10th, so although the pressure was off a little bit, I still had to finish the race. And when I knew during the second race that I was the new World Champion then I could just push."

Priaulx has also vowed to keep the much talked-about Lucky Buddha necklace he wore during the Macau weekend for the rest of the career - even though he had doubts about it when he first put it on.

"I bought it on Thursday night, so I first had it in the car with me on Friday. But the first session I wore it, I had a puncture so maybe I thought I should take it off.

"But then I realised I had a puncture in Macau without hitting the wall, so I put it back on again. So here we are...it now stays with me for the rest of my career."