Andy Priaulx delighted to finally convert pace into win

West Surrey Racing’s Andy Priaulx was delighted to finally convert his strong 2015 qualifying pace into a win, after taking his first victory in his second spell in the BTCC at Croft.

Priaulx took the lead thanks to a small mistake from team-mate Sam Tordoff on lap six, and headed home the polesitter to take his first touring car win since 2010, when he was racing with Team RBM in the World Touring Car Championship.

The last time the Guernseyman took the chequered flag first in a BTCC race was back in 2002 at Knockhill.

“I was wondering if it was ever going to happen after the start of the year, when I’ve had strong qualifying performances and not converted them,” said Priaulx to TouringCarTimes.

“I made an average start but I managed to get past Sam when he made a little mistake coming out of the chicane. Then it was just get your head down, try and hit your marks and try not to spear it off.

“I pulled away initially and then Sam regained his rhythm, but I was always trying to manage the tyre. It’s easy to overcook it here and then it doesn’t come back. You can be a hero for a couple of laps and then fall back.

“The conditions were really changeable. It started off damp with a little bit of rain and I didn’t want to throw it off.”

The result also gave Dick Bennetts’ squad its first ever lockout of the first three places in the BTCC.

“It’s a brilliant way to start the weekend. Dick’s just said he’s never had a 1-2-3 so it’s great to be a part of that. I hope I can carry on doing this,” added Priaulx.

“I’ve got a big load of weight on with the softs [for race two] so we’ll see how that goes. I’m only interested in qualifying well and winning races this year – the rest is for next year.”