This is a little bit out of sync, but I really had something to get off my chest in my last update - so went with that. However, I want to say a few things about what I would rate as one of the most impressive teams champs meetings ever.

Yeah, I know. We lost.....

But it doesn't mean that it wasn't an amazing weekend.

On Friday night, we drew Huntly. A team of experienced drivers with talent to burn. Trying to get around Jared Wade is always a hard task. He is fast, and he is effective at blocking. He is one of the most committed teams racers on the track today.

So most of the race was spent trying to get past Jared. He seemed to be everywhere. I believe good fortune played a part in my being able to avoid him, as there were a couple of times I really thought he had me.

The Waka, however was on song - and on fire. She had the goods, and the power when I needed it. At one point, Scotty and I had Jared sideways on both our bumpers going down the grandstand straight....We both had our accelerators to the floor, and I was certain he was going to go over. It took a bit to get past him, and it was a ding dong battle all the way to the chequered flag.

I was very happy with how the race overall went.....until we got to the pits....

In my eyes, I ran a good, fast and strong race. I was challenged by blockers - and runners (especially young Karl Ross, he seemed to be in my mirror the whole race) and I raced to a solid victory for the Panthers.

However, in the eyes of the referee, I cut pole halfway down the straight whilst overtaking - and I was relegated one spot. This handed the victory to the Wanderers. To tell the truth, I am still scratching my head on the decision that was made as I feel that I did nothing wrong.

My recollection of events was that the race was hard and fast - and that I was committed to running for the Panthers. I took whatever opportunities to pass a car came up, and I believe I raced within the rules. In the passing move that caused me to be relegated, I believe that I had made a clean pass down the inside of Waikato and Panther cars, but may have been struck or bumped left as I did so.

I was 100% sure I had made a clean pass and proceeded to race on. If I was in any doubt about my pass, I would have disengaged and/or braked to set myself up to pass further on in the lap. The Panthers looked upon all races over the weekend as crucial, and it would have been too risky to make 50/50 passes in any of the races. I had the power and speed to win without making illegal passes.

Just my opinion, but rules are rules and judgements are judgements and I took the relegation.

The loss put us under a huge amount of pressure as we had to come home 1,2,3,4 against Auckland to have a chance of getting into the semis. The racing machine that is the Panthers knuckled down and set to work to make it happen. We had to do it and we did it convincingly.

Come Saturday night, we drew Nelson in our Semifinal. This was always - for us - going to be the battle of the year. We knew that Nelson had fire in their bellies and that they are ALWAYS going to give 110% against the Panthers.

I was very disappointed that I had to sit this race out. But we are a very strong team and any one of us can get the job done. But, there is always one driver who has to sit out a race. This time it was my turn and when Gary Parkes made the call for me to sit this one out, I obeyed without question.

What I witnessed from the infield was a Nelson team that was 100% keyed in to beating the Panthers. As sickening as it was for me to watch my team go down, there was an equal amount of admiration and respect for the team that had taken away our dreams of winning the teams champs five years in a row.

We all felt that if we had to lose - and that time would come sooner or later - then it should be to the Nelson Tigers. Although we were gutted at losing, we felt the Tigers certainly deserved their win - and we all applauded them as they left the track.

It would be fair to say that the rest of the night was an anti-climax, knowing we weren't going to take the heralded 'five-peat'. Even worse for us was that we had to go out and race off for fifth and sixth place. Not much fun when you are used to racing of for the title...

However, the last thing we wanted to do was give up and lose ANOTHER race. So we set out to grab ourselves some pride with a convincing win over Hawkes Bay. Both teams were showing the scars from their previous semifinal races, and it was a mission and a half to get four Panthers on the track.

My first observation when I was in the chute was that only Peter Rees and myself would be fronting up to race Hawkes Bay. However we managed to get four cars on the track, and we ended up chalking up another 1,2,3,4 win. We had avoided losing two races in a row, but it didn't do a lot to make our weekend any better.

The Panthers win and lose as a team. There are no fingers pointed or blame given when we lose. We accept it, and we get to work making sure we don't lose again. We have been very fortunate to have had the excellent championship form we have had over the last four years. As hard as it was to let it go, it gives us something to work toward to get ourselves back on top.

So, for now, I congratulate the Nelson Tigers on their well deserved teams champs win. They are the kings of the sport and were the superior team at Palmerston North in 2010. I definitely look forward to coming up against them in the near future.

Rules Rules Rules
Basically, all aspects of life are governed by rules and laws. If we didn't have them, then life in general would turn into absolute chaos. Rules, in effect, limit what a person can do or how a person can act for the sake and safety of all involved.

We need to follow rules. In life. In business. In speedway.

Yes. In speedway.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and say that I always follow the rules and that I am always happy with decisions that are made according to the rules. I have had plenty to say in the past about rulings that have been made against me.

But there are a whole heap of rules in our sport, and they have not just landed willy nilly in a jumbled mess on the pages of a book. They have been designed, voted for, implemented and developed to ensure that everyone within the sport knows what is what. They have been put in place to clarify how we go about everything from building a race car to running a race event.

What I am trying to say is that we need to accept the rules as they are. We have to accept them, and we have to abide by them - even if we don't like the result.

Here's an example - and I'm not going to try to convince you who is wrong or right, I am giving my point of view; Hawkes Bay - North Island Champs. We all know the result. But I am going to put to you this question. Was it the CORRECT result?

In the finals - Races 1 and 2 - It was mayhem on the track. Cars were everywhere. When the red lights came on, they were hard to see. You couldn't just stop on a dime. At one point, I ended up pushing Bruce Ward (5p) in to the infield. Neither he nor myself had seen the reds come on, but all the cars in front of us had. We had to take drastic action to avoid hitting the stationary cars.

As a result of this and numerous other similar instances, we were called in to an urgent driver's briefing regarding cutting the pole and stopping on red lights after race 2. We were told in no uncertain terms that we would be relegated or disqualified from the race if this behaviour continued. This was made clear to all drivers.

Race 3 - Before I drove on to the track, we had a damaged clutch. It was too late to do anything about it, so I had to nurse it through the race. I ended up winning the race, and to my mind, the North Island championship.

During the race, the reds came on, and I stopped. I did this knowing that I had a stuffed clutch and that I might not be able to get going again from the restart. However, the rules were laid down, and I knew that if I didn't stop as per the rules, I would be relegated or disqualified.

During the stoppage, everyone - including the referees - witnessed another car not only moving under reds, but went and parked on the grass - parked for a minute - re enter the track and reposition himself.

Now, with rules being rules - and with all of us being told that moving under reds would not be tolerated, that car should have been relegated or disqualified. Yes?

At this point, I know you agree with me.

As it transpired. I ended up tied on points with that car after the finish of the race. I have never in my racing career protested, but felt that I was pushed into doing so for two reasons;

1 - The other driver clearly broke the rules by moving on a red light. As I said before, we had all been told that this would not be tolerated and that relegation or disqualification would result. I felt that my protest would be upheld. He broke the rules. Plain and simple

2 - My clutch was stuffed and I couldn't complete a runoff.

However, I firmly believe that it shouldn't have come down to a runoff. I didn't want to hand the title over on a silver platter. I wanted to fight for it. Without the ability to race, my only other option was to protest. I know I got a lot of crap for protesting, but I felt that rules had been broken - even after those exact rules were emphasised at a driver's meeting - and that the evidence would weigh in my favour.

It didn't.
And I had to contend with a ruling that went against me.

The point I am making is that we all have times when the rules work in our favour, and we also have times when they don't. We are certain that we are in the right, and we can make a song and dance about it when it doesn't go our way. But when all is said and done - and decisions are made - we have to accept it.

The North Island Champs decision is one I am still not happy with, but it's done and dusted, and I have to get on with the rest of my racing season. However, the Kihikihi decision is one that definitely goes in my favour, and I look upon that as a bit of balance overall.

Rules are rules. They are there for our benefit, and they sometimes work against us. If we don't like them, then we go through the proper process of changing them so that they work better. We don't complain. We don't whinge. We don't make threats. We go through the process of clarifying them or changing them for the better.

Again, I would like to encourage all to support Kihikihi with their National Champs event, and make it enjoyable, successful and memorable. If the rules or decision weren't to your liking, then make them better for next time.

As for my North Island Champs issue. It is now OK to keep moving on a red if you think your car is on fire..........even though there are no flames, no smoke and no-one pointing frantically at your car and making fire signals.....