After the testing we did two weeks before the race at Petit Le Mans, we were really looking forward to the race as we found a huge amount of grip with the resurfaced Road Atlanta. But, when we got out onto the track for the race weekend, it was like.... where's the grip gone?

It seemed to have an impact on everyone, as we were all looking to change the set-up of the cars. The Penske Porsches were the only cars that were close to the testing pace, as even Audi were scratching their heads. Ay Highcroft, we were struggling to find any grip as nothing we tried had any effect, so we just chipped away at it.

The competition was really tough as some of the top European teams were there for the race. The morning of qualifying was wet and Highcroft new boy Robbie Kerr was sent out first to try the car and track for the first time in the wet. He was in the top three while he was out there, but then hit a puddle and crashed. This meant we missed the practice session and went into qualifying with a bit of a guess on set-up. It was a shame for Robbie as he was doing a great job. but he just got caught out by the conditions, while the set-up we had didn't help either.

So into the qualifying we went and, the way things were going, we reckoned we were going to be lucky to get into the top eight. I did the session and put all my Road Atlanta experience into the lap to go fifth. This was as good as it was going to get as the Audis and Penskes were too quick for us, but we managed to outdo everyone else. We have had a great battle all year with Andretti Green and, at the last two races, they had out-qualified us, but we were back on top at Petit and that felt good.

I also started the race, knowing that, with the set-up we had chosen, it was going to be a struggle to keep pace. But the choice had other advantages, so it was worth going with. On the start, I was just hanging on as the car was struggling for grip, and, even though we were pulling away from the other regular cars, some of the P1 machines caught and passed me pretty easily as they had a lot more power.

Things were going well until we started to have starter motor problems, which dropped us back and back and back until we lost 20 laps changing the part. This meant we were well down the order and just had to keep going to get some points. Our grip on third in the LMP2 championship was slipping through our hands as Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace had a steady race and finished just in front of us. This means we are four points behind them in the chase for third with only one race left at Laguna Seca.

Laguna is a great place to visit and I enjoy driving the track. The aim is to do as well as we can and beat the Dyson car of Butch and Andy and claim a deserved third place in the championship. If we don't, I still think all at Highcroft Acura can hold our heads up high, as the results so far have been well above what we all thought was possible at the beginning of the year.....

Wish us luck.…

DB