What a difference a week makes. Don’t I always say that?

Hampton Downs was a real tough round for my team, but I pushed hard for some improvements and it all worked out pretty well for us at Manfeild.

For Manfeild I was able to bring in an extra person, and it was great to have Peter Cox on the team. Having worked with Peter before we were able to get straight into it and were making progress from the outset. Its tough operating as a single car team but I’m proving it can be done and remember we have built the team up from scratch so as well as having to be competitive on the track we need to be successful off the track in the way of operating efficiently and ensuring that our partners and sponsors expectations are being met at all times.

The new Michelin tyre that was introduced at this round looks like being a really good thing, but it was another component we had to get familiar with as we worked through improving the car in the practices on Thursday and Friday. We made a lot of changes to the car and I was thankful for my engineer Rob Ferguson, as he is so competent and efficient with the car.

By the time qually rolled around on Saturday we still had lots of things we wanted to try and while we had sorted out a really good qualifying strategy we were still not that confident that we had managed to achieve a good balance in the car. Not surprisingly I was only ninth quickest as we continued to make changes.

Race one of the weekend was the Dan Higgins Trophy a really iconic race that carries a lot of kudos among the single seater guy’s. A 20 lapper, timed to start at 5.45 pm. The clouds had been threatening for a few hours and sure enough just before we were due to hit the track the rain arrived.

My guy’s were brilliant and showed why we will be a force in the future. Starting from grid nine on wets, I did what I needed to and made a great start to be 5th as the field exited turn one. The conditions were really challenging but I was able to put a good race together and come home in 3rd place. It was cool to be on the podium again, as well as being a huge reward for my team.

For the reverse top six on Sunday morning I was to start out of grid 4 and the conditions were now dry and we were back to continuing to develop our race package for the Grand Prix. Not a great start, everywhere I looked to go I was ‘boxed in’ and I slipped back. I also needed to keep the car in one piece as there was only a couple of hours between this twelve lap sprint and the 35 lap Grand Prix, so it wasn’t really an option to get carried away with things. I think we finished 9th.

The New Zealand Grand Prix means a lot to my family. It’s almost like a reason for being. It’s pretty special to be waiting on the grid with my Dad and Jennah right there with me and Mum up in the Toyota suite watching. I wish my Grandparents were here to be part of this. I know how proud they would be and what my Dad must be thinking when he’s out on the grid with me waiting for the start. I can understand how important this event is to Ken Smith.

The team had made some changes before the start, as the feeling was that the car needed to be a bit tight at the start but that as the race progressed it would loosen up. Starting out of grid nine we needed a fair bit of luck on our side.

It turned out to be a battle from the moment the lights went out. The car was tight all the way, which by the end left us all a bit perplexed, but now we’ve had a bit of time to reflect on things I think we’ve got it figured out. As for the race all I could do was hang on and bring it home. A couple of guy’s fell out along the way and there were one or two behind me so to be honest it wasn’t one of my best results, 9th again, but we picked up the points and I’m still right in amongst the resident local drivers in the championship.

Now we’re looking forward to Taupo, 19-21 March.

See you there !