Getting hot out there

It's been stinking hot here this week, but at least I have been tapering my physical training so I've been able to escape the heat a bit.  However, it's out of the frying pan and into the fire when we head to our bogey track in Perth this weekend for the penultimate round.

Our season has been up and down; we had big results before Bathurst, then we slumped a bit only to come back strong in the last round.  But we're not alone. A lot of teams have had their ups and downs.  The key now is to steady the ship and rack up some consistent results.

Perth's Barbagallo Raceway has been a HRT circuit over the past few years.   Garth (Tander) won three straight in 2007 and had three podiums last year.  HRT have really dominated there simply because they have a really good set-up for the track.  However, we are yet to nail it.

I qualified outside the top 20 last year. The car just didn't have speed, but it was quite good in the race and we managed to fight back with good teamwork and score a couple of podiums.  Yes, it's a bogey track for us. It's been our weakness in the past. The big challenge is now to turn that around.

It's a unique track. It's not that long; only really five big corners on the whole track. You keep turning right so the left tyre gets a real workout.  There is also a lot of sand that gets on the track and the surface is quite rough and hard on tyres. The problem is getting enough grip on the slippery, sandy surface.

Unfortunately, we run the dreaded sprint tyre again. Everyone knows how much I love the sprint tyre.  We haven't run it since Queensland Raceway, so we have to re-think our strategies.  At least it's the last time this season we use it. Thankfully there is no sprint tyre at the final in Sydney.  The secret to conquering Barbagallo has escaped me. I've never won there, but I'm hoping that will change this weekend.

Even though it's not a great circuit for our team, I still think it's vital for completing our championship that we continue to go to Perth. I am proud to say our sport is truly national because we go to every state in the country.

However, V8 Supercars boss Tony Cochrane has been saying there is no guarantee the event will return next year even though they are promising to spend $5 million resurfacing the track.  Hopefully that's just talk.

I quite like Perth and we have a lot of fans there. Outside of Bathurst it's the only time you will see a packed grandstand at 6 in the morning and people on the hill in turns one and two marking out their position for the day.  It's also fantastic to drive on, even though it's short.

Resurfacing and widening the track will help create more passing opportunities, but they also need to improve the corporate facilities and make the pit area larger. Pit lane is very cramped.  The state government should give it all the support they can because it will be money well spent.

Not only will it create a facility where for corporate and training days, but it may also open it up for testing for motor racing categories and car companies, because it's not far from Asia. They could use it in their winter.  It's been a great week for sport in Australia with Tiger Woods here for the Australian Masters.
What a legend. He is the highest paid sportsman in the world, but even he makes mistakes.

I think I learnt a lesson from Tiger when he admitted an error straight after a shot. He got his frustrations out immediately and didn't carry it for the next two or three holes.  I love all sports and try to participate in as many as I can. I love my golf, but I'm not that good.

I've got a set of Tiger Woods golf clubs and I get out about once every two or three months and use it as relaxation, even though I am criss-crossing up and down the fairway.