Photo: Race of Champions

Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato win Race of Champions Nations Cup

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Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato guided Team England 1 to victory in the Race of Champions Nations Cup on the event’s return to home soil in London.

Unofficially titled Team BTCC, the two touring car drivers had to make it through one extra race, beating the Brazilian pairing of Felipe Massa and Nelson Piquet Jr 2-0 to move on to the quarter finals.

West Surrey Racing’s Priaulx then beat DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein, racing for the Young Stars team, in the first quarter final race, while Team BMR’s Plato narrowly lost out to Jolyon Palmer. Priaulx won the tie-breaker to set up an all-English semi final against 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button and Blancpain champion Alex Buncombe.

Priaulx continued his winning streak against Buncombe, while Plato was unable to overthrow the McLaren-Honda driver. The tie-breaker saw Priaulx take on Button in Ariel Atoms, a car that Button struggled to get to grips with, with gear change problems handing Priaulx the win.

The final saw the BTCC duo take on Team Germany, an all-F1 duo of four time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Force India driver, and Le Mans winner, Nico Hulkenberg.

Another incredibly close finish saw Priaulx win, giving Team BTCC the early lead, while a slight mistake from Plato on the final corner allowed Hulkenberg to take the second victory. Another impressive drive from Priaulx in the final race was enough to keep Hulkenberg at bay, taking the win for the BTCC pairing and keeping the three-time World Touring Car Champion’s 100% win record in tact.

“That is awesome,” Priaux said to the Olympic Stadium crowd after the final. “We’ve lost in the final three times to Germany so it is great to finally get the win after countless attempts. I had a great night, it is is fantastic to be here in front of the fans and I had a great race in the final. Thanks to the organisers for allowing us to come and race. Tomorrow is another day and lets come back next year and defend the title.”

“Just to race against these guys that are the best in the world is really special,” added Plato. “It is a nice relaxed event where we all have fun, once the visor is down though it is all business.”