It was a very close battle, and the slower cars made it very interesting out there. I went into the last lap in the lead and was confident of a victory as I could keep the Saleen behind me - but it all went wrong at the second-last corner, when I went the wrong way trying to pass a slower car. I went to the right side, but he went way slower than I expected and held me up. My worst fears came true and the Saleen went round the outside of us both, dropping me to second. Dupuy held the inside line for the last corner and crossed the line with me right up his exhaust pipes. At least the crowd was entertained....
For the next race, I started second but got the jump on the Saleen and was in the lead by the first corner. I was in no mood to be done again, and was driving very hard to make a gap to the S7. Once I did that, he disappeared with a flat tyre, making it an easy win.
In the final race, which was due to last for an hour and feature the only driver change of the 'weekend', Allan started and flew off into the lead. We were looking good - until the safety car came out and the slower guys jumped out of the other cars. We changed over under a second safety car, and I was happy to find that I was still in the lead - with guess who behind me?
Despite the pressure, I pulled out a gap as the 550 was behaving very well. Over the last few laps, I had a three-second gap, and then the Saleen disappeared again, this time with a broken diff. Because of that, we cruised home to a great win, especially for the small Aussie Coopers Ale team.
Standing on the podium was a great relief as this year has been a barren one for champagne!
As many of you will already know, I am now involved in testing with the new Aston Martin, and am writing this from Estoril in Portugal, where I will be for three days. It is already proving very interesting....
Anyway, that's all for now and, in case you don't here from me again in the next couple of weeks, may I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for Christmas - and a happy and joyful New Year.
Cheers,
DB
