What a difference a year makes!

Back in January, I wouldn't have dreamed that all this was possible.

Back then, I had nothing concrete lined up for 2005 and it appeared that I would be looking at another last-minute deal. That's exactly the way it happened, too - but what a last-minute deal it turned out to be...

Basically, I approached Kevin Kalkhoven when he was over buying Cosworth, turned up on his doorstep and asked if there was anything he could do for me as I really wanted to do Atlantics in 2005. I felt that it was one of the best development series in the world, and also thought that there were more opportunities in America, especially for me, at that point.

Naturally, he was very busy and didn't have too much time to spend talking to me, so I went away and didn't hear anything until after January, when I got a call from the Polestar team saying that Kevin wanted them to test me, and asking if I could fly out to Phoenix, which I did. Jim Griffiths and the team then reported back to Kevin about how I'd got on in the test, and Kevin came back to me about three weeks before the start of the season and said 'okay, we'll do the first six races and see how you go'.

Then I won the first race at Long Beach and that kind of secured the rest of my season.

It was a tremendous boost, and I'm so grateful to Kevin and PKV Racing for giving me the opportunity. If it wasn't for them, I'd still be scrapping around, doing bits and pieces over here. I never had the funding to do anything proper over here - I'd never done a season before, so this was my first full year of racing. I'd done bits and pieces, but maybe only 18-20 races before I went out and did Atlantics. It really showed my lack of experience, but I wasn't getting anywhere fast on this side of 'the pond', so I had to take the leap.

Having the credibility of Kevin Kalkhoven, Champ Car, PKV and all the professional people over there behind me has given a massive boost to my career, which has gone from zero to one hundred per cent in the space of a year. I look back to where I was this time last year and, every day, I pinch myself and think how lucky I am. I mean, I'm about to test a Champ Car, a Formula One car, and I can't believe how my life has gone.

Racing is fundamentally different in US, and not just because we do a lot of street courses and ovals. Champ Car is the only series in the world where you get to do all three kinds of racing, which is nice. The strength in depth wasn't really there in the Atlantic series this year - we had a lot of good drivers, but it wasn't like racing in GP2, where you've got 20-25 really, really talented guys. It was slightly different but, at the end of the day, you still had five or six people vying for the championship, and it was still wheel-to-wheel racing.

I learned a lot more over there, especially from the technical aspect, as there is so much you can change on an Atlantic car. From that point of view. I felt I had more to learn in a short space of time, because I had to learn that as well as all the new tracks and everything else.

There were so many European drivers in Atlantics that it had a familiar feel, but there is such a nice atmosphere out there that I already felt at home. I think the atmosphere you get at Champ Car races is second to none - there are not many races you can go to in Europe where everyone is really good friends, one big happy family.

It was nice to be successful too, although the success I had wasn't really a surprise because you always have that deep-seated belief in your own ability. You wouldn't do it otherwise, because you'd be banging your head against a brick wall. I don't think that's arrogant because, while I'm not good at some things, I'd like to think I was good at racing.

I went in to the series knowing that I was with a really good team. Polestar were the best team in my opinion, they were really good at getting the best out of me, gave me equal equipment to anyone else, and that made me think that I would be able to win races. I thought that my experience would go against me - and it did because we didn't win the championship and we could have - but I think I've always shown glimpses that I could do it. When I was in Formula Renault and got poles with Fortec - again, I was with a good team - I showed what I could do, and then ran out of money. When you have that pressure taken away from you, you can just focus on driving the car and I think I did that.

I can only put missing the title down to my lack of experience in qualifying. I really realised at the last race in Montreal what qualifying was all about - and it's a completely different place, with the different tyres and things, over there. We messed up a lot of qualifying - well, I did - which meant that we were starting third, fourth, fifth on the grid, which made the racing more difficult. But we also had two DNFs, which cost us the championship in terms of points. The two who finished ahead of me didn't have any DNFs, and again I think that that was an experience thing. I've learned from that now, and it won't happen again!

I didn't know it existed, but I've been nominated for LA's best sporting moment for my victory in Long Beach, which is really nice because it was a really difficult race. It was the first race of the season, and I had an off in qualifying which, when you're racing on a street circuit, is a pretty big deal. The team were up until four o'clock in the morning repairing the car for me, so I thought 'I'm going to have pull out something special to make it up to the guys. I started from seventh after having my best times taken away for causing the red flag, so to win the race was pretty special, something I will remember until I'm old and grey!

Of course, in the next few weeks, I have two other events that are likely to stay in the memory. I already knew that I was going to get a chance to test a Champ Car, but the offer to try a Formula One car with Minardi came right out of the blue.

Both are massive, enormous. I don't really know what to do, but I'm training so hard at the moment. I don't want fitness to come into it. Being female, that's what you get thrown in your face all the time. Are you fit enough to do it? Are you strong enough to do it? Women will never be able to drive a race car because it's too physical, you'll never take the g-forces, etc, etc... I am just making sure that that is not an issue.

Of course, jumping into a Formula One car is going to be a big jump, but people have done it before me and people will do it again. I just have to do a really solid professional job, do the very best I can and hope that I impress the right people.

However, I have no delusions about doing Formula One next year - which is where the Champ Car test comes in. I have to offer massive thanks and admiration to Kevin Kalkhoven for giving me the opportunity, because I have two days at Sebring in December where, really, they will be evaluating me to see if I do Champ Car or Atlantic next year. If I do a good job, then I go Champ Car racing. That's a realistic possibility, whereas no-one's offering me a Formula One drive at the moment!

Until I drive the Champ car, I just don't know if I'm ready. Like I said before, I have such a lack of experience...

I'm kind of torn - part of me wants to stay in Atlantics because next year's series is going to be awesome. You've got the $2million prize fund, which is a big draw, as well as the new car, more horsepower. It's going to be very competitive. There are a lot of drivers talking about doing it, and they've sold 30-40 cars.. So, half of me wants to stay there and try and win a championship, go there with a solid amount of driving behind me and then make the jump into Champ Car in 2007 with the new car and a level playing field.

I really don't know what's best. I could jump in the Champ Car in December and say 'yes, I'm ready, I feel comfortable, I'm on the pace, let's do it', or we could decide that 'okay, yes, I'm on the pace, but would it be better cementing my reputation by doing another year in Atlantics?'. I think my ego wants to do Champ Car - it's like 'yeah, give me a big car to drive' but, until I'm in the car and think 'yeah, I feel comfortable' or 'you know what, maybe I'm not', we'll see...

Ask Kevin - I don't really get a choice! I just do what I'm told - most of the time!

Katherine