This is a hectic time for all the V8 Supercar teams with only a few days
between races in Adelaide and Melbourne.

The first round of the V8 Supercar Championship was held in Adelaide
last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and now we are in Melbourne for the
non-championship races at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix.

Our program on the 5.3km Albert Park street circuit comprises practice
and qualifying on Thursday, followed by a Top 10 Shoot Out and a 15-lap
race on Friday, and then further 15-lap races on Saturday and Sunday.

Obviously it's a big logistical challenge for V8 Supercar teams to pack
their race cars and equipment into transporters immediately after the
Clipsal 500, and then drive to Melbourne, unload everything, and set up
camp at Albert Park in time for the opening practice session.

Results-wise Adelaide was a disappointment for me, along with my crash
in the warm-up on Sunday morning before the second of the two 250km
races.

However, my new Jim Beam Racing FG Falcon had competitive speed in
qualifying and in the opening stint of the first race and that's
encouraging for the future.

The Falcons my team-mate Steve Johnson and I are racing this year were
built by Triple Eight Engineering, and they are fitted with engines made
by our team.

These cars are considerably different to the Falcons I drove in the past
three years while at Stone Brothers Racing.

The challenge right now for me is to find the best way to get maximum
speed out of my new car, and I'm confident I can do that with more time
behind the wheel.

Qualifying went well in Adelaide and I was reasonably happy to finish
fourth fastest and earn a second-row starting position on the grid for
both races.

In the opening stint of the first race I raced in the front group with
Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes from Team Vodafone, and Garth Tander in
the Holden Racing Team Commodore.

I was able to alternate between second, third, and fourth positions in
the opening 38 laps before my first pit-stop, but after that I dropped
back because my cool suit failed.

Adelaide is traditionally a difficult race because of the heat, and the
problems with my cool suit made it very uncomfortable. We made an extra
pitstop and removed the windows to try and create extra air-flow inside
the car, but it didn't solve the problem.

Eventually I finished 20th. We later found out the cool suit problem had
been caused by a procedure with the dry ice. My cool suit was fine in
the second race.

My chances of a good result in the second race ended when I crashed in
the warm-up and my car was badly damaged. I clipped the outside of the
trackside barrier at Turn Eight and a few laps later the watts link
broke and the car went into a wall.

Initially I was sliding parallel with the barrier, and I hoped the
damage would not be too great. However, there was gap in the wall, and
that's what caused a bigger impact.

The rear floor of the car had some damage, along with various other
things, and my team did a great job fixing things up as best they could
so I could drive in race two, starting from pit lane.

I had to come into the pits three times in the first 10 laps to sort out
various issues. Then I had a long stint and was able to complete 63 of
the 78 laps and finish 24th.

After Adelaide, my team decided to send my FG Falcon back to our
workshop in Queensland for full repairs ahead of the second championship
round at Hamilton in New Zealand (from April 17-19).

At Albert Park I'm racing a BF Falcon that Steve Johnson drove in 2008.
It's not a perfect situation, but our focus is on the championship and
it's important that my FG Falcon is thoroughly checked over and repaired
before it is raced again.

Steve had some good results in his BF Falcon in 2008, so I'm keen to see
what I can do with this car at Albert Park. It will also be interesting
to compare the performance with the team's new FG Falcons.

Our races at the grand prix offer good value for motorsport fans because
they get a unique opportunity to see Formula One and V8 Supercars on the
same program - there is plenty of variety.

Although there are no championship points at stake in the V8 Supercar
races, the drivers and teams still want to perform at their best.

I raced against some of the current Formula One drivers in either karts,
Formula Ford, or Formula Three when I was living overseas.

These included Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Fernando Alonso (Renault),
Jenson Button (Brawn GP), and Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren).

Keep smiling.

JC