NEWS [ 885 ] - 8 Dec 2004
A FORMULA 1 TEST FOR ANDY PRIAULX

He’s the man of the moment! FIA European Touring car Champion Andy Priaulx will take part in a Formula 1 test for the BMW Williams team early next year, as a prize for winning the FIA ETCC title for BMW. Priaulx has not been told exactly when he will test for Williams, although it could take place as early as January at Valencia in Spain.
"I think it's a thank you for winning the ETCC this year," he said in an interview to autosport.com. "I couldn't believe it when they told me. It's a great opportunity and I intend to take it seriously. They have told me they are going to take it seriously and I want to do the same. It's meant to be a half-day session. You don't get that many opportunities like this so I am going to do my best to make sure I get the most out of this. I'll have to start hanging the weights off my neck again!"
Priaulx, who drove a BMW 320i car run by RBM for BMW Team Great Britain in the FIA ETCC, will stay with the team for the 2005 FIA World Touring Car Championship. The annoucement that he will test a Formula 1 came shortly after he signed a works driver contract for BMW Motorsport and he was awarded with the Autosport British Competition Driver of the Year trophy.
"This it's been an incredible year and I am having the time of my life!" he said. "To win the championship was one thing, but then the announcement of the works contract and then the F1 test – it feels a bit like a roller-coaster ride at the moment."
Priaulx can't wait to defend his title in a series which becomes an FIA world championship: "I think the championship has got a hype about it that is very exciting. The BTCC ten years ago was the place outside of F1 that you wanted to be, and I think that now the FIA WTCC is the series that you would want to be in outside F1. With more manufacturers coming in it is only going to get stronger, it has got the big names, the racing is really close. It has got a future."