My weekend started well, we gained valuable data in practice on Friday, which was of particular advantage to us, seeing as I had only had two days in the car before the season started.

The first qualifying session went very well, I finished the session at the top of the time sheets, to take my first pole of the season. Qualifying for the second race, wasn’t quite as good, as I struggled to get a clear lap without traffic. Out of the 11 laps I completed, I only managed to get one lap free from traffic, so I was a little disappointed to find myself in fifth for race two.

I had a pretty good start in race one and managed to lead the field into the first corner. On about lap 2 the safety car came out, which is not really want you want to see when you’re leading, as it closes up the rest of the field. Thankfully I managed to stay ahead, despite missing a gear at the restart. From there I just had to concentrate on bringing the car home, although I did wonder if I’d won or not, as the chequered flag didn’t come until I’d crossed the line!

Race two was a bit messy, I started from fifth on the grid, which wasn’t ideal. Due to various accidents, we had two restarts before the race finally got underway, and ironically I had my worst start third time round. Nevertheless I managed to keep my position, even when the car’s fire extinguisher went off a few laps from the end. For that reason, I’m really pleased to take away fifth place, as I could barely see, and had to open my visor in order to see anything at all!

Overall, I’m very pleased with how the weekend went. To win the first race of the season is the perfect start, and to back this up with a fifth place in race two, despite the problems we had, is also encouraging.

My tyres in race two didn’t provide quite as much grip as my first set, so we’ll have to look into that before Donington. But considering the lack of testing we had before the season started, to leave here with a race win is fantastic. I go to Donington Park second in the championship and I feel confident that we can continue this level of performance there.