I put Mish on a plane at the weekend and within two hours of touching down in Kuala Lumpur she texted me to let me know the credit card was getting a workout. She loves to shop and I’m happy she is having fun.

I did some shopping of my own today and finally bought myself an iPod Nano after holding off for two and a half years. After this weekend’s racing I plan to fill it with music and join the craze.

I attended a Ford fan day on Sunday which was a load of fun as some of the drivers raced remote control cars, and I was able to finish a close second. Alan Gurr pipped me in the final race. I blame the fact that I was driving a model of Frosty Winterbottom’s car and as such was unfamiliar with the setup!

I really enjoyed the day though and I think that Ford has shown good initiative and I look forward to a few more of the days.

Days are rapidly counting down before Sandown and while there is plenty to do I am excited about the race, sadly I won’t be driving with Brad as he injured his back really badly at Oran Park.

On an emotional level driving with Brad would have been somewhat of a highlight, but I am also excited to be driving in the same car as Simon. We both know the car well and I believe are capable of finishing in a similar vein to what Brad and JB did last year. A fifth place finish is not beyond us, especially if it rains. The car seems to improve in the wet.

At this stage Brad may not even be driving in the second car at Sandown and if he doesn’t we have Christian Murchison on standby. Christian has driven in the A1 GP cars for the last twelve months, but also has some V8 experience having driven with Larry Perkins’ team at endures in the past.

Brad’s injury involves the nerves in his back, and while he has had surgery he is still not moving well and it appears his primary focus is to be back for Bathurst.

Aside from racing the highlight of my weekend will be to take Matthew Dowling for a hot lap in my car, his father Darren sent in the winning entry and has elected to give his son the ride. It was a hard choice to make, many of the responses were clever and had a lot of thought put into them, but unfortunately there can only be one winner and I look forward to taking Matthew for a hot lap on Friday.

Before I can get to that I will be heading to a Telstra call centre for a promotion with JR, and I reckon I will have to be chirpy as Jase is catching the red eye back from Perth and arriving at 4:15 in the morning.

Looking ahead to the weekend I really think we are a chance. BJR is a team who thinks on their feet and that is why I believe we do well in the endurance races, where strategies can change in the blink of an eye.

The main thing is to stay on the lead lap and time your pit stop. Last year I think only six cars finished on the lead lap, and only one car recorded a DNF; and it was Jason and I.

Some of the combinations who I think are chances are Todd Kelly & Mark Skaife, Murphy & Richards Lowndes & Whincup, and James Courtney & David Besnard.

It’s also interesting to see Alonso closing the gap in the F1 World Championship, I think Hamilton will need to start winning to stave off his hungry teammate, and I believe it could come sown to the last race in Brazil.

Jonesy