Touring car ace Andy Priaulx retires

BMW's touring car ace Andy Priaulx has announced his retirement from active competition. Priaulx, the German marque's factory driver for the past 13 years, has given BMW numerous wins in touring car and endurance racing.

For his contributions to BMW, Priaulx was presented with an honorary award in the BMW Museum, and took the opportunity to bid farewell to many of those who have accompanied him over the past 13 years. Priaulx has left in search of a new challenge next year. He will announce details of precisely what it is in January.

“I have had the privilege of driving some of the best racing cars in the world, and have achieved fantastic success with them. I will obviously always have particularly fond memories of my three world titles in the WTCC and victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. I had a great time here. Thanks to BMW, my dream has come true for the last 13 years. Although I am now heading off in search of a new challenge, I will never forget what I have achieved with BMW Motorsport. That evening, I said 'Auf Wiedersehen' to what has been my family for the past 13 years,” said Priaulx in his farewell speech.

In 2004, he won the final season of the European Touring Car Championship with an E46 320i before switching to the World Touring Car format the following year. Between 2005 and 2007, Priaulx won three titles in a row with BMW Team RBM in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) with both the E46 320i and E90 320i. In 2005, he was also victorious at the Nürburgring 24 Hours (DE) in a BMW M3 GTR. In total, he amassed more than 50 victories in BMW cars and played a key role in the manufacturer’s return to the DTM in 2012.