Hey guys, yes, almost 3 weeks have passed and it’s that time again. This time we’re heading to Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin for event 5 of the championship.

Things have been running smoothly so far this year and I still can’t believe what a fantastic start we’ve had, winning 5 of the 8 races. For me, this part of the season is about getting out there and driving the wheels off the car, trying to clock up as many first places as possible. It doesn’t mean a whole lot to lead the championship at this point in the season but we will take it and try to build a buffer as the events roll by.

There’s been a bit going on in the break since Tassie. The highlight for me was attending the Winternationals at Willowbank. I’m going to dispel all the myths that driving in a straight line isn’t fun. Let me tell you, its awesome and very challenging to get right. In my eyes its like oval racing, the simpler the course becomes the harder it is to beat your opposition.

For those who missed it, Lowndesy and I got invited out to the event to do a demonstration run in our actual race cars. You have no idea just how grippy the track was. We both did the embarrassing thing and almost stalled the car on the first run. Then we learned to slip the clutch a lot more to keep the revs up. There was that much grip, that if we held the accelerator flat (650hp) and dumped the clutch, it would just stall the engine. The last run we both did a 10.8 second run which we were really proud of.

Check it out online here.

So now my mind is off drag racing and back on the task at hand. We’ve had great speed in the top end in the past, but for one reason or another, I’ve never been on the podium. The heat is going to be an issue, too. It is round 3 of 6 that we will bolt on the sprint (soft compound) tyre and trust me, it won’t last that long with such high track temperatures.

The Vodafone Australia Foundation has a really big involvement with the Red Dust Role Models organisation, a charity which assists aboriginal communities. Last year, if you remember, we painted our cars in the Red Dust livery. This year our helmets have been painted by an aboriginal artist and will sport the earthy colours of the charity – they look fantastic. Both helmets will be auctioned off after the weekend with the funds to be injected straight back into Red Dust.