My life in the fast lane
Victory in Singapore!! 
Monday, September 29, 2008, 05:52 PM
Posted by Administrator
I just arrived back in Hong Kong this afternoon from Singapore! The flights were packed with people as the night race meant most people had to leave this morning.

The race turned out fantastic for me yesterday with a 10 second victory margin over 2nd place Christian Menzel and 3rd place Christian Jones. The race was full of chaos and left many people confused as to what had happened. It all started right at the start when Tim Sugden was deemed to have jumped the start.

I didn't have a great start but managed to maintain my 2nd place position. I put on chase to Tim and we were lapping nearly the same lap times on the opening laps as we gradually pulled away from the rest of the field. I was able to stay with Tim but wasn't able to get close enough to attempt to overtake him.

Mid-way through the 12 lap race, the safety car had to come out as there were a few incidents behind us. This closed the entire field right back up again.

On the restart, Tim tried to get the jump on me, but I was able to stay right on his bumper. It looked as though his tire pressure had dropped down more than he liked, and he struggled for grip on the restart. I tried to take this opportunity and began to attack him throughout the first lap. The closest I came was when I attempted to pass him into turn 9 under the brakes. I couldn't get my car completely beside him, and although we touched slightly, he was able to keep his momentum on the outside and keep the lead. We touched again later in the lap, but I still could not find a way through.

At the end, Tim crossed the chequered flag 1.5sec ahead of me. The confusing part was with the FIA officials. Apparently, the new lighting board system that they had planned to use failed. They had meant to call Sugden in for a drive through penalty after the opening laps of the race, however, they realised during the race that they didn't have a drive through penalty board ready in case the electrical sign didnt work!!

At the end, instead of calling him in for a drive through, they gave him a 25 second penalty for the jump start, handing me the victory in the race. Sugden's penalty put him back to 5th position for the race.

It was a great feeling on the podium as I had many friends, fans, and supporters in the stands to watch my race. It feels great to extend my podium streak to 9 and take my 3rd win of the season for Team Jebsen on the streets of Singapore!

With this win, I was able to extend my lead over Christian Jones to 15 points and to Tim Sugden by 19 points. Christian Menzel sits in 4th position 22 points behind. The next race will be in 3 weeks at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai! Look forward to it as it is an important race for Team Jebsen and their dealerships, Porsche Center Shanghai and Porsche Center Hang Zhou!!

Click on the NEWS section for photos from the weekend!!
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2nd in qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix 
Sunday, September 28, 2008, 04:10 PM
Posted by Administrator
Sorry for the slow updates this weekend. There hasn't been internet access at the circuit so I am unable to update the results to you right away. Also, for some odd reason, my blog isn't loading properly in Singapore!

We have had little time to get aquainted with the new street circuit here in Singapore with only 1 free practice before qualifying. The circuit is fantastic with a great layout right in the city of Singapore. I think the Singaporeans can be proud of what they have accomplished here on the streets of Singapore. I haven't ever seen 100,000 plus spectators show up for the practice day at the grand prix. Although we are driving in the daylight, the track is especially impressive at night with over 16,000 lights illuminating the 5km circuit.

I was 3rd in the free practice session heading into todays qualifying session. I felt very comfortable on this circuit and was attacking it very aggresively with a few times coming VERY close to the walls surrounding the track. The track is very bumpy which makes it difficult under braking, and when driving aggresively over the curbs, makes for an even bumpier ride.

On the first 4 laps of my qualifying session, I struggled with grip in my Porsche GT3. After going through the data with my engineer, it seems as we had struggled to get the tire pressure and temperature up quickly enough for the opening laps. This put me in position 3 after my first run in qualifying. I came into the pits to make some adjustments on the car and tire pressure and went back out for a couple laps on the same tires.

As the sesion was short with only 30 mins, it left only 1 flying lap for me to better my time on my second set of tires. This time around we got the setup much closer to where we wanted. I set my 2 fastest sector times in the first 2 sectors, but unfortunately, came up to a slower car. He wasn't able to get out of the way quickly enough which forced me to out brake him into a turn. After reviewing the data, the traffic cost me 3 tenths of a second in the one corner. I still crossed the line with a decent time, but it was 0.141 seconds behind Tim Sugden, who took the pole position for tomorrows race.

It was disappointing as I had drivin the lap I needed, but missed out due to the traffic. That's how racing goes some time, but I'm still happy to start on the front row for tomorrows race. It will be a great race and hopefully with a good start and race, I can take the victory for Team Jebsen here in Singapore.

There are alot of fans, friends, and supporters from Hong Kong and Asia at this weeekends race. I hope to drive well and extend my lead in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia championship. I'll try to get my update for the race up as soon as possible!! Wish me luck!! Also, I recommend you all check out the F-1 race here in Singapore as the shots from the television are truly impressive in the night with Singapore in the back drop!!

Singapore looks like a Great circuit!! 
Friday, September 26, 2008, 02:02 AM
Posted by Administrator
I’ve had a break from racing this past weekend. It was great to be back in Hong Kong this weekend, actually my first weekend spent in Hong Kong since mid July!!!

After some reflection on my season in Supercup this week, I’ve summed it up as another productive season. Although the results don’t show and it has been frustrating, I’ve learned a lot from my second season in the Supercup. My approach towards race weekends has changed a lot, also my driving technique and style continues to make minor adjustments. I know I have driven better this season, but unfortunately the team and I never got it together to show our true progress.

A big big thanks to all my sponsors in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup this season. They all pulled together because they believe in me and want to see me succeed on the journey through of my career in motorsport. Big thanks to LKM, Aha Coffee, Auto Art, Kee Wah Bakery, and Cocha for their tremendous support!!

As I said before, my focus now turns 100% back on my campaign in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. I’m here this weekend in Singapore for one of Asia’s biggest motorsport events of the year.

The circuit here in Singapore is fantastic and I think they have done a tremendous job on track preparation, design, and layout in the city. I arrived on Wed around noon and took a walk around the circuit.

At first glance, I can see the track is very fast and challenging. I walked the 5km circuit twice in order to study the details of the track surface and the racing line. There are areas that are difficult and with it being a street circuit, the walls are close which can lead to disaster if you lose control of the car. I love a challenging street circuit so I can’t wait to get on the track tomorrow. The team has prepared the cars and everything is in place for the afternoon practice tomorrow. I would say this track is much more challenging than the Valencia street circuit I raced on last month.

There is lots of energy here in Singapore and I feel an electric atmosphere as everyone awaits the first day of on track activities. Although my race is during the daylight in the afternoon, what makes this track extremely impressive is when it gets dark and the lights turn on. During the night, the track and surroundings are completely illuminated by 16,000 lights leaving an impressive setting for the Formula 1 cars…

More updates to come tomorrow. I’ll be extremely focused on learning the track quickly and setting a good time in the session. I lead the championship in the PCCA by 11 points right now, so it is important to put in a good result so I can extend that lead. At the same time, I have to be sure that I drive carefully in order to keep the car in good condition for Saturdays qualifying…Excited! =)

Not possible to finish with a good result.. 
Monday, September 15, 2008, 12:48 AM
Posted by Administrator
There's nothing too much to say about todays race. The track was wet before the race started. It had stopped raining but the forecast was that it would rain in 5 min after the race started. Half the grid decided to change back to slicks, while the remaining field stayed on rain tires.

I got off to a fantastic start and passed 9 cars on the opening lap to improve my position. However, the track soon began to dry and the rain that came was only a light sprinkle. This made it impossible for me to keep any pace in the race and we dropped back positions after the second lap.

My car was running a reasonably higher camber setting. This caused my rain tires to overheat and wear terribly. Much more than the other teams on rain tires. The car became undriveable and I dropped back numerous positions losing many many seconds a lap. VERY frustrating with the result as I had no chance to have a proper race.

I will now turn my focus to trying to clinch the overall title in the Asia Cup. The next race is in 2 weeks time in Singapore. I need much better luck over there... I hope I can get it!!!

I'm about to board my flight back to Hong Kong. Back with more updates soon.. Ciao from Milan!
Angry with qualifying.... 
Saturday, September 13, 2008, 08:05 PM
Posted by Administrator
It was a struggle in qualifying today. On the opening laps, I made a few small mistakes which cost me time, I therefore decided to stay out for a couple more laps, probably 2 more than I should have.

As the session went on, the track began to dry more. I went back out but was only able to improve my time a little bit as the car was really struggling for grip and sliding around everywhere.

Unfortunately, I did not have a second set of tires as most other drivers mounted their second set of rain tires.Even my team mate mounted a second set but the team had only 1 extra set ready. I went back out on the old tires but without grip on a wet track means almost no chance of improving my time. I slid around everywhere, tried my best, but could not improve my time.

I will start P25 for tomorrows race...not the way I wanted to finish off my Supercup season....

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