We need more V8 circuits

I just want to get back in the car and driving again.  It's been the biggest break I think we've ever had; even longer than Christmas.

I've been able to do a lot of stuff around the farm and finalise a lot of things, but I've been getting a little frustrated.  Right now I'm in Europe to see the Belgian F1 at Spa this weekend.

I've been concentrating on my fitness in preparation for the tough enduro rounds at Phillip Island and Bathurst.  And for me there is the added challenge of the nine-day Australasian Safari in between them.

As most readers would know, a couple of weeks ago I had my first test in the Holden Colorado I'll be sharing with Kees Weel in the Safari. It didn't turn out the best with me rolling it half way through the day.

Anyway, the Colorado is just about back together again and we plan for a final test at Albury on the Monday before Phillip Island.  Then I head home for a few days, before flying to Perth for the Safari, so there really isn't a lot of preparation. However, Kees and I are still pretty confident. He and the car are proven veterans in this sort of racing.

I know a lot of V8 drivers have been taking advantage of this long break to holiday overseas.  I've been able to keep up with everything they are doing because 19 out of the 29 drivers have a Twitter account and are quite active on it.

Nat and I use my Twitter and Facebook accounts to keep our fans updated on what we're doing.  Some of the other drivers also use it to chat to each other, but I think it's a great way for the fans to stay in touch with us.

If anyone wants to follow what's happening in my life on the farm and at the track, they can go to twitter.com/craiglowndes888.  There have been a couple of things that have happened in V8 Supercars recently that I would like to comment on.

The first is the strengthening rumours that we will race a non-championship round in Singapore next year as a support act to the F1.  That would be fantastic. Our category has always spoken of having four overseas races.

For V8s to be showcased beside F1 again would be a great opportunity. It's also a brand new track which should be interesting.

It will certainly be a better timeslot for the fans back home than the Mid-East rounds.  The Mid-East is great in some aspects such as coverage in Europe, but back here in Australia it's poor. The timing is all wrong and some fans hear about the results on the net or phone before they see it on the TV. Singapore would be a lot better proposition.

The other great news is that the Perth round has been saved for next year.  It is a great city and we enjoy going there, so it was pretty sad we missed out this year.

Triple 8 still went over to fulfil our sponsor requirements and the fans showed us just how much they love the sport. There is a great support base for V8 Supercars over there.

I'm also delighted that the deal includes the government spending millions of dollars on permanent motoring facilities rather than another temporary street circuit.

More money should be spent on keeping and improving permanent circuits.  Sydney's Oran Park closed down this year, Perth's Barbagallo Circuit missed out on a V8 round because of poor track facilities and Ipswich nearly missed out on a round for the same reasons.

We need more circuits, not just for racing series like ours, but also for training, track days and corporate events.  Circuits such as Queensland Raceway could become international-standard tracks with the injection of funds.

If money was spent lengthening and improving the Ipswich circuit it could host an international event like World Superbikes.  We'd also end up with a better permanent facility that could also be used for driver training.

About a year ago I was part of a group that looked at improvements to the Ipswich track and we found we could also integrate a motocross track which would be good because they're also closing down all over.