The FIA World Endurance Championship heads to new territory this coming weekend in Mexico, and Andy Priaulx just can’t wait to get to this new track in the urban sprawl that is Mexico City. It is round five of the nine round championship, and he is determined to get the number 67 Ford Ford GT he shares with fellow brits Marino Franchitti and Harry Tinknell back on the podium.
“I am really excited about the new challenge ahead of us, as I love new tracks. It is always fun learning them, and this one has the fact it is at high altitude to make it even trickier to get a handle on, especially as this hurts in terms of downforce,” said the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing driver. “While it will not be the easiest of tracks, the fact is it is new to all of us means we are all in the same boat. I am sure most of us watched the F1 race there last year, so know that it is very technical and challenging with fast corners, heavy braking and that impressive baseball stadium complex,” he added.
This will not be the first time the Guernsey driver has been to Mexico, as he raced there in the FIA World Touring Car Championship at the Puebla circuit. However, this was a long time ago in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 and Andy knows there will not be a lot of comparisons he can make: “Obviously Puebla is a very different track to the one I shall now find in Mexico City. The track has been totally revamped for last year’s Grand Prix, so I know that we shall find it in a great condition. I also know the Mexicans love our sport, so hope the baseball stadium will again be packed with lots of fans in party mood.”
The last two races in Le Mans and the Nürburgring were not good for the number 67 car, but this has made him even more determined to do well in the final five races in the WEC: “WEC have had a couple of tough races, but showed good pace so I know if we can just have a bit of luck things will change. This bad luck was nobody’s fault, it was just what happens in motorsport. I have a lot of fight in me to turn things round and get the best possible results.”
While the WEC may not have raced for well over a month, this does not mean Andy has been taking things easily. “We had a great test with the car in Snetterton a few weeks ago. We are still learning the car, so it was good to have such a positive test. I have also been doing a lot of cycling. As a family we love getting out and about, so we have been on the bikes round the tracks at Rockingham, the Nürburgring and Brands Hatcch, as well as the roads in Scotland and the Northumberland Coast. Also my son Seb has had several races over this time in his Ginetta, so I have been at race tracks nearly every weekend.”
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a 4.303 circuit that has been modified considerably since it first hosted Grands Prix and sports car races. It held rounds of the FIA World Sportscar Championship from 1989 to 1991 and Grands Prix from 1962 to 1970, 1986 to 1992 and then again last year. For the WEC the cars will get their first taste of the track for FP1 on Thursday, 1st September from 13.30 to 15.00, with FP2 following from 18.00 to 19.30. FP3 is from 10.00 to 11.00 on Friday with qualifying for the LMGTE class from 14.10 to 14.30. The six hour race starts on Saturday at 13.30. All these times are local which is six hours behind British Summer Time.