Hi

I thought it was about time I wrote a quick update on recent activities now that I’ve finally returned from my three week trip down-under!!!

Obviously for me, it was absolutely fantastic being back in the GBR car again as it’s been a while since I last raced for the team back in Brno.  It’s just a shame that the luck didn’t go our way, particularly in Taupo where it really wasn’t happening for us despite showing we were quick in practice.  It was frustrating to be hit by USA in the Sprint Race and then for our ongoing engine problems over the weekend to eventually force us to retire early from the Feature Race.  Then moving onto Oz, we again showed we had the pace going second fastest in the practice sessions, but unfortunately our engineer broke his leg on the Friday night so couldn’t be with us during Saturday qualifying.  This was definitely a big disadvantage and affected our weekend since James (our engineer) and I make all the important decisions together on how the car should be set up for qualifying and the races.  But the team pulled out all the stops, and in the end we managed to get a good result and return to the podium in the Feature Race.  It’s great for GBR to be back up there again and now we’ve just got to make sure we keep the momentum going, keep the pace and be at the front for the rest of the season.

Although it’s a trek to get to New Zealand / Australia, it’s always a fun leg of the A1GP calendar.  Taupo is a great setting for a race-track with the nearby lake and mountains in a real holiday atmosphere, and then Sydney is a fantastic city to move onto.  In the week in between the races, I had a really relaxing week in Byron Bay with the mechanics - it was great being there as a team and actually spending time with each other socially for a change.

But it’s now good to be back in the UK, at least until the next time I go away!

Robbie