Weary weekend warrior

Funny thing is you never feel sore when you win. I don't probably feel any worse than any other year but the win sort of bandaids the tiredness away. It's always a bit tougher when you don't get the result you are after. It was the first time in a long time I had been able to finish the race and I was happy to get the chance to do that. As soon as I crossed the line I was straight on the radio to thank the guys in the pits.

We battled very trying conditions all day and things just didn't go our way the whole time. It was a big roller coaster. We were in contention from the start, then got the drive-through penalty, so we dropped back, we had some ordinary wet pace, got back into contention, had some luck with a safety car, but couldn't convert it. We had just too many mistakes.

HRT won the race like we did in the past three years with no errors. In the past we had won the race when we weren't the quickest, but we also didn't have any issues. This time there were four or five issues that set us back. You can bounce back from two or three, but not five.
I think the black flag for the dangerous pit release was fair enough. We released the car and FPR had to jump on the brakes to get out of the way, even though there was no contact.

All pit lane rules are for safety. The last thing we want is contact and mechanics in danger. It wasn't ideal, but I knew there was a long way to go and that we could get back there.

I had my first race laps in the wet and dropped back because the tyre pressures were too low. I couldn't turn the car in the corners and I was just getting passed in the straights. It was wheel spinning in a straight line and I couldnt get grip to use full throttle.  It was frustrating, but my main focus was not to throw it away. In those tough slippery conditions I could easily have speared off the track and ended the day.

At the end, it was a fantastic duel. There was a bunch of cars in contention and swapping places right to the checkered flag. Kelly was holding up a bunch of cars, but they had track position and they were within their right to defend their line. They had an issue with their car and were doing the best they could with what they had.

I was getting frustrated behind Bargs (Jason Bargwanna) and made a last-corner dive which I felt was safe. The main issue is Bargs moved under brakes and the car getting passed isn't supposed to do that.  I'm happy with my move, but I can understand Bargs being disappointed as he's been working hard to get back into the series.  But I'm not a charity either.

I had a few runs on Bargs and he shut the gate on me a few times. No one likes anyone being defensive like that so I did what I had to do. I saw him half go and tried to clip the front of him to straighten him up a bit but I couldn't.  I didn't want him to spin and tried to straighten him up.

In the end I was very happy for my former housemate and good friend Davo (Will Davison) getting his first Bathurst win. I know what it feels like and I'd like to congratulate him and the HRT team for their flawless effort. Now my attention is on Surfers Parade next weekend.

It usually seems that whoever wins there goes on to get the championship and there are four of us now in contention, so it will be a thrilling ride to the finish in Sydney.