I feel like a black cat must have crossed my path on the weekend, because my luck certainly wasn’t in, but looking on the bright side of life I know the weekend could have been much better.

I put the car in 16th spot on the grid, which was four tenths of a second from pole in an effort I was reasonably happy with.

The major problem we had in qualifying was a change we made on Friday night unsettled the car really badly under brakes. This made it difficult to control and I flat spotted a tyre on my first run as I locked them up.

That was one set of green tyres done and then we used two more sets just to get to the second stage of qualifying, so to finish 16th on an older set of tyres was actually quite an achievement.

I was happy with that and ready to get stuck into racing. Then on lap one of race one Greg Murphy gave me a couple of taps and then whacked me hard in the back at turn five, instantly putting me eight seconds behind the rest of the field.

Murph’ got a drive through, but I honestly would have expected better from such an experienced driver. It’s not like it’s his first time at the dance.

Because of what happened in race one I was on the back foot for race two, starting from 22nd on the grid, when I once again was caught out by someone else’s mistake.

Jason Bright went for a passing move on Craig Lowndes and got it all wrong, slamming into Craig at speed. I slowed down to avoid their incident when Michael Patrizzi hit me slightly and badly damaged my car. It wasn’t all Michael’s fault though, he may not have expected me to slow down.

The lack of justice was amazing as Jason went on to finish in 12th despite having a heavy impact with Craig.

At the end of race two I was extremely frustrated at how the weekend was panning out but none of us in the team saw how I could have avoided either of the accidents. When you get hit from behind you are basically a passenger as there is nothing you can do about it.

Race three wasn’t really looking like being a good one as I only had two good tyres left, but the car performed really well and, without an incident in sight, I was able to move up eight places from 24th to 16th, which I think was a reflection of how good my weekend could have been.

As far as the championship goes it looks like Mark Winterbottom is in a purple patch and I would say Ford Performance Racing have come to grips with the tyre compound quite quickly and are getting plenty of pace out of them. As for us we are still working on our strategy with them, but we are getting there.

When the tyres first came out the view was they would be quicker in qualifying and more durable during the race, but looking at the timesheets from Queensland 07 to Queensland 08, they actually appear to be slower in qualifying and I don’t think they are more durable.

From a Holden point of view it was great to see Russell Ingall up on the podium.

When I first started out in V8s I didn’t have much to do with Russell, but having had the chance to sit down and talk with him more in the last year I have gained a lot of respect for him and have a lot of time for him as a person and a driver.

On the track I feel like he is hard but fair, even though he tends to polarise some fans.

After the race weekend the team had a night in Brisbane before heading home to Albury and for me home to Mish and Koby.

In just five days it was amazing to see how different Koby has become. He is opening his eyes a lot more during the day and is just awesome. While he was doing that I was showing everyone who would look photos at the weekend.

Back on V8s and I see the calendar is going to be littered with 2-3 week breaks next year, which is not only great news for the drivers but also the fans who will have a more regular schedule to look forward to.

It’s interesting to note the sudden improvement of McLaren in F1 with Kimi Raikkonen admitting they have stepped up after Lewis Hamilton has won the last two Grand Prix’.

With le Tour coming into its last week it was great to see Simon Gerrans win his first ever stage. Simon actually rode in Albury’s race back in 2003 and to see him five years later winning a stage in the Tour de France is fantastic.

What was impressive was the way he rode to victory in the breakaway. Two other riders dropped him off and he was able to ride across the gap and power over the top of them at the finish. What a ride!

Speaking of Aussies I think it’s a good thing Cadel Evans has dropped the yellow jersey.

Silence Lotto is not the strongest team in the field and having to protect the yellow jersey for so long has taken a toll on them. Cadel is better off chasing it and Phil Liggett seems to think he could be down by a minute and still claim it in the time trial before the Tour hits Paris, such is his ability in the time trial.

Jonesy

Last week Mish and I welcomed our own little bundle of joy Koby Durston Jones into the world and I want to thank everyone who congratulated us either on the blog or on the phone.
 
Quite a few people have said they like the name which is funny as it was the only name Mish and [...]

While the race weekend wasn’t great for me, I know this week will be. Mish is due to give birth on Thursday and both of us are incredibly excited to welcome little ‘Nacho’ into the world!
 
We’re both fully prepared and should ‘Nacho’ not want to sleep when he or she gets home I think I [...]

As always I am rapt to be at a race weekend, this time in sunny Darwin. It’s also good to get out in some warm weather, although whether I maintain that mindset during the races is yet to be seen.
 
Since we jumped off the plane yesterday it has been non stop. We’ve been out to [...]