In June I found myself sitting in the office of Radical distributor Barry Hope after a long and sometimes patience testing season of the Gulf Radical Cup, discussing what off season work I would need to get my 2004 model SR3 fully up to spec, to give me that final bit of speed I needed to challenge for victory next season.

As the list grew longer I found myself dazed by the large price tag that was attached to this upgrade. Then, in a moment of complete spontaneity, I made the inspired decision that rather than spend money on an ageing car, I would spend an even larger sum of money on a brand new SR3. All I remember is the options list in front of me, and being the weak minded individual that I am, quickly ticking almost every box on it.

My objective with my new SR3 was to make it as fast and as light as I possibly could. Anything that did not knock a few tenths off the lap time was not ordered, and vice versa. Top of the list was 3-way adjustable shock absorbers, as I had been struggling on the inferior single adjustment variety the last couple of seasons. Next option to get a tick was the upgrade to floating brake discs, which while not doing the stopping power any harm reduced a kilo of unsprung weight per corner.

The next area to get my attention was aero dynamics. The carbon bi- plane wing was a no brainer, coupled with a new aero kit, which produces the same amount of down force as that on my previous car but with less drag. The next item to get the nod was the latest hot weather cooling system (absolutely vital for our region), which now uses a compact heat exchanger mounted in the rear, rather than the bulky radiator that had previously sat in the nose of the car.

The final party piece to make the cut was all carbon fibre bodywork replacing the standard fibreglass panels. Other than satisfying my unhealthy fetish for anything carbon fibre this also knocks a significant 13kg of weight off. Items not making the cut were a paddle shifter for the 6-speed sequential gearbox, mainly on grounds of weight and complexity, as well as the pit to car radio, again in an attempt to avoid unnecessary excess.

I was now confident that I had the car to take the fight to Al Nabooda racing's Karim Al Azhari, last years run away champion.

Fast-forward four months and the car has finally arrived. Saxon immediately dubs it the 'carbon creation' and I think I like the sounds of that. After a long summer of waiting I have built up some unrealistic expectations in my head, so going into the first round of the championship the pressure is now firmly on me to perform, as I now no longer have an inferior car to hide behind if I fail. After a very brief day of testing I feel the car is reasonably well set up for qualifying, although what happened next was beyond even my wildest dreams. When the chequered flag dropped on the session I anxiously made my way back to the pits only to find out I need not have worried. I was on pole with a 1:02.00, a full 0.8sec clear of Karim in second! Sweet!

The first race couldn't have gone much better either, I capitalised on my pole position and lead from lights to flags to take my first victory in the series. After two difficult seasons of trying I had finally done it. Game on! Unfortunately the second race of the day didn't go quite as well, compromised by a missed downshift into turn 1 at the start, which dropped me to 4th place at the start. I eventually finished in 2nd place just 3 seconds behind Karim, with fastest lap as my consolation. Nevertheless, a fairytale start to the season. I now go to the next round in Bahrain as the championship leader and hope to leave there the same.