Round 4 of the Gulf Radical Cup has just finished and my race mechanic Gary has a concerned look on his face when he tells me that he is worried about the amount of oil that the engine has been depositing onto the rear undertray, 'we'll have to take a closer look at that back at the workshop.' That is never a good thing to hear as it usually means my pockets are about to get a whole lot emptier.

So far the 'Carbon Creation' has been surprisingly reliable, with only worn rear wishbone bushings needing replacement after 3 races.

Going into round 4 I have a healthy points lead in the championship, and have shown consistent front running pace. Arriving at the circuit I am greeted with the news that Team Bahrain 777 is swapping their usual driver Fahad Al Mussalam for Shaikh Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa, who is arguably the region's most prolific racing driver. Previously Formula BMW Asia champion and currently a consistent front runner in British Formula 3, I knew I was going to have my hands full. Sadly I wasn't mistaken as I would be starting P2 having qualified 0.3 sec behind Salman.

Race 1 was brilliant, quick reactions to the lights meant I jumped into the lead at the start of the race where I was able to stay for the next 10 laps. After trading places on more than one occasion, a stupid mistake on my part and a bold move by Salman, put me back into 2nd place, where I would stay till the chequered flag. While I would have loved to have hung onto the win, I was pretty pleased with myself for running the Bahraini champion so close, less than 0.1 sec separating our fastest race laps.

Race 2 was not as brilliant with a shocking start dropping me down to 4th place at the start. I was able to claw my way back up to 2nd place, but having to overtake two cars left me unable to challenge for the lead. All in all a pretty solid weekend, good for both my ego and my championship lead. Whether it will be good for my bank balance I won't be able to tell you until Gary finds out exactly what's causing that oil leak. Fingers crossed....