We are spending the whole time getting prepared for the most important race of the season.

There is nearly a month between Phillip Island and Bathurst but this is no time for a break.

We are spending the whole time getting prepared for the most important race of the season. We have our final test day at Queensland Raceway next Monday where we will run in all our parts and fine tune the car set-up from Phillip Island.

There isn't a huge amount of difference between Phillip Island and Bathurst circuits as far as car set up is concerned. They are both high-speed circuits with a lot of grip so set-up is fairly similar, so we won't be making major changes, just fine-tuning things. We had a quick car at Phillip Island so we are confident we will have a quick car for Bathurst.

Our test day will also include a lot more pit stop and driver change practices.

I know the Euro boys (Allan Simonsen of Denmark and James Thompson of England are driving the team's 88 car) are champing at the bit to get to Bathurst and drive on the best circuit in Australia. So is Troy Bayliss. Unfortunately he didn't get a chance to drive at Phillip Island after mechanical problems.

The two-time World Superbikes champion is now retired from motorcycle racing and is loving his switch to cars. I'm sure he will be back at Bathurst and show his talents. He's also looking to try to race a V8 more often next year.

It is disappointing to see that Queensland Raceway in Ipswich and Barbagallo in Perth are listed as provisional on next year's calendar. But their facilities really do need some work. We need garages in pit lane instead of bunkers like we have in Perth and Ipswich. Every other circuit is designed to have the cars in pit lane, so why not them?

There is also a lack of corporate facilities at these circuits and our sports relies on having first-class facilities for guests and sponsors. It's like the AFL or NRL with their big grounds and corporate facilities. It makes the sport more professional.

Fingers crossed they will both update their facilities because they are great circuits to drive on and the fans deserve to be entertained in quality surroundings. There has also been some valid criticism of the season starting with a double-header in February in the Mid East.

Naturally the Aussie fans don't want to see the opener offshore. It's not ideal but if you look at the grand scheme of things it makes sense to do the races together at that time of the year and get them over with.

I'm one to speak my mind on all matters whether anyone disagrees or not and I'm the first to say if the wrong call has been made, but I think this is a fantastic improvement to the season. The organisers have made some big calls recently and got a lot of stuff done and they deserve some credit for the effort.

I've accepted to represent Australia in the Race of Champions being held in November in Beijing for the first time. What a great honour just to be invited as I will be racing against the worlds best in a variety of different cars and racing disciplines.

Some of our competitors look like being Formula One drivers Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button as well as World Rally championship leader Mikko Hirvonen.

I hope I can do Australia proud and I hope I can still put in a good performance in Phillip Island straight after. I hope I dont come back jet-lagged. It's a risk, but I'd also hate to have knocked back the invitation and look back later and wish I had done it.