Island was on Andy’s track

By Nigel Baudains

THE island was with Andy Priaulx in Macau at the weekend as many locals took a 13-hour flight to support him. Some, somewhat bleary-eyed, got home yesterday and said it had all been worthwhile.

Doyle Motors proprietor Pierre Payne said it had been an unbelievable journey.

‘We were all a bit concerned after qualifying as to whether he was going to do it,’ he said. ‘It’s always tough at Macau and overtaking is virtually impossible. The change from when you thought it might not happen to when Yvan Muller broke down was incredible.’

Ian Banton and Wayne Barrett were surprised to see so many Guernsey people at the circuit. ‘The fact that there were so many of us there meant you always felt involved,’ said Mr Barrett, 40, a carpenter.

Chris Law, 17, who races saloons on UK circuits, watched events unfold from the Mandarin Hotel with his father, Will, on a corner at the end of one of the fastest straights.

‘It was awesome and showed the importance of preparation and fitness - and how you must never give up,’ he said.

Sporting a WTCC hat-trick T-shirt, Deputy Mike O’Hara said it had been a weekend of downs and ups as opposed to the other way round.

‘I’ve never experienced tension like it,’ he said.

One person who missed Priaulx’s end-of-season title showdown for the first time in four years was his mother, Judy.

She stayed behind with daughter Fiona Gomes, who is expecting twins.

‘It’s so nerve-racking when you are there, but you have to keep your emotions under control because of all the cameras around you,’ she said.

‘But when you are at home, you scream and shout and do what you want.’

Mrs Priaulx said seeing her son’s tearful exit from the car had made her cry, too.