'Priaulx's the best I've met'

THE man who introduced Andy Priaulx to touring cars believes he could have been Formula One champion if he had had the breaks. 'Would or should he have been in Formula One? Yes. To me he is one of the greatest British racing drivers we have had,' said Derek Warwick, a former F1 star himself.

'Do I rate him up among the Fernando Alonsos or Sebastien Loebs? That is hard to answer because although the WTCC is one of the most competitive, difficult, gruelling championships in the world, to me it is still not on a level with F1 or rally.

'But I do believe if his career had taken a different turn, we could have been talking about Andy Priaulx F1 champion now.'

Warwick gave the Guernseyman his first outing in the British Touring Car Championship back in 2001 for his Vauxhall team when he achieved pole position at Oulton Park.

That performance alerted many teams to his potential and following a season with Honda in BTCC, BMW signed him up.

'When I gave him that break at Oulton Park, you could see then that he had special attitude, aptitude, professionalism and speed,' Warwick said.

'The really special thing about Andy, though, is his ability to bring a team together. That is something Michael Schumacher did at Ferrari.

'Andy has realised that it is not just one thing that makes a championship winning driver but the whole package.'

The Jersey resident added that the most apt compliment he had heard about Priaulx since he retained his WTCC crown came from the head of BMW motorsport, Dr Mario Theissen, who called the Guernseyman 'the Michael Schumacher of touring cars'.

'There is no bigger tribute in motor racing,' Warwick said.

'I think he will go down in history as one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest, touring car driver.

'In terms of my relationship with Andy, I have known him for a long time and he is the most dedicated, hard-working, professional racing driver I have ever met.

'His work ethic and the ability to get the most out of everything around him are not equalled by anybody.'

Edd Straw, the Autosport deputy news editor and touring car correspondent, was similarly glowing in his praise of Priaulx yesterday.

'To win any world championship in racing is extremely difficult - there are not that many around - but to win this one twice in a row after having won the preceding European version in 2004 is a massive achievement,' he said.

This week the world-renowned magazine, which comes out on Thursday, is running a spread on Priaulx's victory in Macau.

Straw also expected the Guernseyman to be a front runner for the British competition driver of the year award although he, too, found it hard to compare him against the likes of F1 champion Alonso.

'In terms of motorsport as a whole, it is difficult to classify who is the best driver - it is a perennial problem of how to judge it.

'What I would say is that Andy would have been successful in whatever formula he got into, but in motorsport it is all about opportunities.

'He is in touring cars and he would be the top choice of any team as a driver.

'You cannot argue with his statistics. Three championships in a row is amazing.'