I have now had time to reflect on my experiences at the Sandown 500, and I think finishing sixth wasn't bad. I went down to Australia determined that this trip was going to be successful one - and it was.
After testing at Philip Island, we were ready for Sandown, but, every time I race at Sandown, the Melbourne winter weather throws everything it has got on one day - race day. This year was no different, as the practice days were warmer than had I expected, which was nice, but race day was colder and rain played a big part in the race.
Practice went well, with my team-mate Jason [Bright] getting into the top ten for the big 'shoot-out'. That in itself was good going considering the fact that the team had built up a new car for us for the weekend. The times were as close as ever in the V8 series, and one second covered most of the field, but, again, I didn't get many laps in practice, which meant that my learning curve was going to be in the race. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though, as this happens every year....
I started the race, and this was interesting as I haven't done one of those for a while. I got a good start and held my own until the first corner, but it all got bunched up and we seemed to hit each other. I lost a few places in the process and, after two laps, my side netting on the door window popped off. This happened two years ago and I had to come into the pits to get it fixed, but this time I stayed out and tried to fit it back while fending off the cars behind me!
Our other car was behind me at that point, and the team said to slow on the straight and try and put the net back and not to worry about losing positions. So I did and was lucky to just let one car past, which I thought was a miracle. Then, just as happens every year that I do this race, I got turned around....
A car came down the inside of me at one corner, but didn't make the pass and ended up turning me into a spin. I had to wait for the whole field to come past and was then absolutely last - I wasn't happy.
