Let’s talk about last year, where you raced for Team RLL in the #55 with Bill Auberleben. You guys had your hand full with Chevrolet, Porsche and SRT, especially when you went to Daytona last year and Balance of Performance was a big telling point.
You explained during the season that there were times when the Z4 would be slower in a straight line, but good on the infield like at the Rolex 24.
Last year was a fantastic year for us, where we took the car all the way to the end and could have won the championship. You ask Bill, and he’ll say that “Andy is one of the best team mates I’ve ever had.
I was put in the car to finish five times, and also put it on pole position at Watkins Glen with a great first year over in America. From my perspective, I got out of the season everything I wanted, but unfortunately, we were totally screwed on BoP, which everyone knew about.
There’s nothing a driver can do about that, as we had to finish as best we could, and even at the last race of the year, we were still in with a chance for the championship. Unfortunately, we had the only mechanical failure of the year, so I can’t complain, but we ended up finishing P5 rather that P1 or 2.
Ultimately, the car didn’t have the pace for the last two races, because of the Balance of Performance.
What are your thoughts on Joey Hand departing from the BMW works program, now having made the switch to the Chip Ganassi squad, teaming up with Scott Pruett for this coming campaign?
It’s such a shame to lose Joey from the program, as he is such a nice guy and a really good driver. You don’t just go and gap someone like Juan Pablo Montoya in a Daytona Prototype car unless you’re that good.
Then he went over to do DTM, and that is what happens over a span of ten years that one year, you’ll be a hero and the other nine, you end up a complete zero. Unfortunately, it put Joey in a vulnerable position, but he had another great option to go to.
Chip Ganassi is one of the best teams around, and for them to want him is really a satisfying feeling for Joey. Alongside Scott, Joey is going to be really quick.
He's won at the iconic Nordschleife, raced across the globe in sportscars and touring cars, picking up titles in the process as a works BMW Motorsport driver.
For 2015, three-time World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx has a lot of work ahead of him, as he now heads back to Europe to race in this year's European Le Mans Series with Marc VDS BMW Sports Trophy Team.
He'll also be heading stateside for selected rounds of the North American Endurance Championship with Turner Motorsport, and will also be back on the touring car scene with the IHG Rewards Club-backed BMW 125i M Sport. So it looks to be a very busy time for the 40-year-old, who announced his BTCC return at the recent Autosport International Show, where eRacing's Alex Goldschmidt caught up with the man himself.