Well it wasn’t the best weekend for me, punctuated by some bad luck in qualifying. I was on a flying lap when Jase had one of his excursions into the sand and caused the session to be red flagged. I know Brighty was on a flyer as well, but mine may have seen me in 18th rather than 21st and that can make a huge difference.

I got caught up in the hustle and bustle of the first turn when JB tagged Jack Perkins, setting up a chain of hits. Jack spun and Cam McConville broke hard, so I tagged Cam sending him into Jack. All the races were diabolical when it came to accidents.

I was showing good pace in race two until I got hit by Steve Johnson as I was about to pit. We had picked up pace and did the 12th fastest lap in the race. Steve didn’t apologise or even have a chat about it, so I’m still waiting, but I have raced Steve for a long time so I’m sure he just had something on.

The combined shunts hurt the car, and it was beyond driveable, with snap oversteer in race three. At that stage I felt retiring was a better option than a huge accident, so retire I did.

Something JB and I talked about was that the racing is much more aggressive back in the pack; it seems like guys are hurting themselves by being more aggressive rather than letting cool heads prevail.

At least cool heads have prevailed in regards to being back at the GP next year. The V8s give the event an individual feel and we love racing there. Albert Park is a wicked circuit.

So is the Nurburgring and it was great to see Mark Webber on the podium. I reckon he would have been worried about the gearbox over the last few laps, but would have been ecstatic about being on the podium, and it’s a reward for a guy who has persevered without any luck this year.

If Ferrari gets their act together over the next seven races, they will pose a danger, but I think Alonso will win the drivers’ title again.

I have kept watching the Tour de France, and while Cadel Evans is still third overall, all the talk has been about Michael Rasmussen. His team knew he handed his diary in late, he knew and the Danish Cycling federation knew, but why they would release the info while he is wearing the yellow jersey is beyond me. It just gives him unwanted attention in regards to doping.

They say any publicity is good, but I hope it doesn’t backfire. Especially as Contador is breathing down his neck and showing promise. Their battles over the Pyrenees should be fantastic to watch.

I would love to cycle there myself, but it would be a slow ride.

There isn’t a lot happening this week except for some shopping with Mish;, we are looking for some older style doors for our 1930s-style house. Mish has found a couple already and is a great bargain hunter.

I’m looking to run a giveaway on the blog for the Oran Park round. The prize will be quite good so check back next week to find out what it is.

Jonesy

I had a top weekend in Melbourne, helping celebrate Mish’s grandmother’s 80th birthday. It was a fun affair which everyone enjoyed.
 
Mish and I also got to enjoy Melbourne and went to some of our old haunts including Babble on Babylon for the world’s best chicken souvlaki! And also Clay Pots at St Kilda which has [...]

I’ve been keeping busy this week, with plenty going on at work and at home. We had our test on Monday and we may have made some significant inroads when it comes to improving the car.
 
Both Simon and I tested, and also drove each other’s car. I actually drove a marginally quicker hot lap in [...]

Welcome all to another edition of my blog. I’d like to start off by saying that I read Jason Richards’ blog and see he has a guessing competition for baby names. I’d like to point out I know the names Char and Jase are considering.
 
On the car racing front we have a new number one [...]