Round 4 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar series was held at Queensland Raceway. This track is our home track for Howard Racing and I was hoping this would give me an advantage. Also, for the past four years the person who qualified in Pole position took the round win as well so getting in that number one spot was definitely my first priority.

Practice: The track was down on grip from previous test days this year so we struggled with our setup. We made some minor changes throughout the sessions and was sitting in the top 3 for most of the time. Towards the end of the session a lot of the teams put fresh tyres on so I was pushed back in the times. By the end of the session I was back in 11th but it was enough to get me into the top 50% for qualifying.

Qualifying: I still wasn’t happy with our setup after practice so we made a few changes overnight before qualifying. Straight away we were at the top of the times sheet. I pitted to make a minor change and put some fresh tyres on and I was off again. I improved my time again but we were nowhere near the practice record at the track – which I held from 2005. By the end of the session we were still sitting at the top of the time sheet and I was very happy to have secured my 3rd Pole Award for the year.

Race 1: After one of the worst race starts of my career at Sandown in the previous round, I was determined to redeem myself at Queensland. I got off the line well and was in first by the first turn and had a comfortable lead by the end of the first lap. I focused on extending my lead but the first of many safety cars bunched the field back up and Steve Owen was back on my tail. I was going to have to push hard to keep up the front. At the restart I got a good run and worked at increasing my lead again. But soon after, another safety car, once again, bunched up the field. After the fourth safety car we restarted with only one race lap left. I got a good run and crossed the line for the win.

Race 2: Good ole reverse grids!! Due to the reverse grid rule, I was starting the race from position 10. I was going to have to work hard to move through the field but my first goal was to pass Steve Owen who was starting from 9th. I got a great start again and had passed three cars by turn one – one of which was Steve Owen. At the end of the first lap I had made my way to 6th position. I settled into the race and worked on making my way through the field. By lap 6 I was in third position and by lap 10 I was sitting in 2nd behind my old team mate, Grant Denyer. By the time I had caught up to Grant, I had lost the best out of my brakes so I was unable to make a clean pass on Grant so I settled for 2nd. With my 2nd position and the fastest lap of the race, I was very happy.

Race 3: The grid is determined by combined round points so I was starting from the Pole position again. Once again, I had Steve Owen lined up next to me so a good start was going to be important. I got an awesome start – the best for the weekend and entered turn one three car lengths in front of Steve. I pushed on to increase my lead and without any safety cars this time I was able to win the race fairly easily.

Finally! I was on the podium for the first time this year and it was in the best position. The first round win for the team and we were all very pleased. With two 1st placings, a 2nd and the fastest lap time in each race I was a very happy man! It was a big points win in the Championship as well as I started the weekend in 8th and was now 3rd.

In front of me are David Reynolds and Steve Owen. Steve still has a 246 point lead on me but I will be working hard at the next round to try and close the gap further.

The next round is at Winton Raceway on August 1st-3rd.

Dean Canto