During every session we continued to chip away, making small changes to the setup and in the final practice session, we found a little bit more time by improving the entry into the corners. So I was confident on improving my qualifying time in Superpole – it was great to get on the second row.
The starts are important on the PETRONAS FP1 and finally I was at the right end of the grid again to get a good one - or three - as it turned out. My two races were pretty much identical. I got great starts in both races and was able to put some quick laps together. In race one I felt I was catching the group of three riders battling for fourth before the race was red flagged.
On the restart I didn't quite get away with the quicker bunch and had to scrap it out. I know that after some of the results this year I should be happy, but I was a bit disappointed with eleventh.
I was happier with the eighth position in race two as it was a hard race - I was pushed the whole way by Walker, Bussei and Lanzi but nearly caught the Winston Honda in seventh.
In between races I usually hang out and get changed into my gear in the office at the front of the transport truck, but with the air-conditioning deciding to go on the blink, I took my gear to the office in the hospitality truck which is not only air-conditioned, but there is also a television with satellite TV.
It was great - I was able to get changed whilst watching the British Eurosport coverage of the WSBK. After the Supersport race I was checking out Walker's house (seeing the Valencia 'book end' from 2004 gave me incentive for the second race!) and they were just about to show an interview with Foggy so I thought I would hang around and check out what the boss had to say.
But then, luckily, Sandra came in and suggested that I had better go. I got to the box with two minutes before pit lane opened – oops! I told the boys that Jack Burnicle and Jamie Whitham held me up and I am sure they thought that I must have started hallucinating from the high temperatures as they weren't actually there that weekend!
