Donington was a really good consistent weekend for me, although it was a shame not to steal that first win since joining Vauxhall.
I had two good chances in the opening races but never mind; it was a solid weekend and to be honest with you, I’d probably trade one of those wins for a weekend like I had with three podiums and a good points haul.
I know Donington really well and I spent a lot of time working there when I was in Clios; I know my way round the circuit and it showed. I also had my own car back after the shunt at
Brands Hatch, and that helped a bit psychologically. I feel like I’ve really become part of the team and it all slotted just into place for the weekend.
While my car was pretty second-hand after Brands, there were never any worries getting back into it for the weekend. I knew the team had done a good job fixing it, that the front end was all brand new and that it had been put on a jig properly to make sure it was as it should be. In a situation like that, you know the car is 100 per cent and I went to Donington with a perfect chassis and had a pretty perfect weekend.
Saturday was little bit surreal and rarely does it happen where you are quickest in both free practice sessions and then again in qualifying; it isn’t often that you are that consistent during the day. From the off, the car was awesome and with a few little tweaks from the team during practice, we looked good for qualifying.
I only did two flying laps in the session but managed to secure pole position. We talked beforehand and said ‘let’s push from the start and give the maximum’ and it worked. We managed to also save a lot of tyres for race day which was good.
The Safety Car in race one was disappointing as it cost me my lead and I was gutted to finish third, but as the weekend went on, you could see how valuable it was to get the points in and be consistent. With that in mind, I’m chuffed to bits to have walked away with a decent points haul.
