I am used to speeding against the clock but never thought I would be racing against time just to make it to the start line in Hamilton.
But due to a mini passport crisis, for a while it was looking a little touch and go whether I would make it to the event later this month, which of course is one of my favourite weekends of the season.
Last week I lost my passport, and despite turning my house upside down since I have been unable to find it. I was told that a new one could take up to 10 working days, which would have made me a marginal bet for Hamilton but I have paid the extra fee (total $350) for urgent processing and everything should be under control now. I can't wait to get back to Hamilton, especially with the memories of my win there on the Sunday last year, when I started from fourth on the grid, led for 26 of the 59 laps and came home under the chequered flag.
Tasmania is always a thoroughly enjoyable weekend, though the circuit is incredibly testing. It is a good little track but sometimes it feels like NASCAR - I remember last year there was only five tenths of a second between first place and the 24th car. Qualifying can be a real buzz; sometimes you come in and are a bit down because you may have only improved your time by a fraction of a second, before your pit crew inform you that it was enough to have advanced 10 places.
The fans are passionate but also quite neutral; at most other venues you can definitely sense a bias towards Ford or Holden but here it seems like a 50-50 split.
