Puzzlement and carnage.

We're into the heart of the season now, with races every couple of weeks - or every week in some cases - but still things aren't going quite the way I had hoped they would.

The last two races, in Portland and Cleveland, were really petty, annoying races. After having a drive-through penalty for blocking in Monterrey, which followed the stewards clamping down and saying that this was what they were going to do, I go to Portland, where people were overtaking by cutting the chicane and nothing was done about it. I was very frustrated in the car because I could have had a couple of positions and they cut the chicane to save position and didn't get penalised. The same thing happened at Cleveland. It was ridiculous! It was like being in a bumper car - I got hit three times and I got driven off the track!

From what I have heard, there will be a massive clamp down on driving standards now - it can't go on as it makes us all look stupid. It is not a good thing. Champ Car is such a strong series and it's moving forward so positively.

On a personal level, we can't afford to let these little setbacks get to us, so I think we will learn from it and as long as we do learn from it, we will move forward.

Portland was a nightmare for us. We just got completely lost with the whole thing. Oriol wrote off both of his cars, which was a big weight on the team, but it was really strange, because we went there for the test and had an awesome car, literally. At the beginning of the year, I was in the top eight in the times, which was high for me at that time of the year.

The PKV team had a great car there last year and we did nothing to it for 2006, but we rolled it off the trailer and it was a completely different vehicle to drive. Oriol and I both struggled, but Oriol, who finished second in the championship last year, really struggled to finish tenth. It just goes to show how difficult that weekend was for us - and we still don't know why.

We thought that the tyres were different, because we have different road and street course tyres, but they were exactly the same as they were last year. Interestingly, though, they were also the same as they were in Monterrey, where we also struggled. It could be a weather thing, but it could be a number of things as we struggled so drastically. The engineers have been doing reports because it is not very good for us.

It seems like a lot of the cars that were fast last year struggled this year - Justin Wilson, to a certain extent, didn't have such a good car, although RuSPORT managed to sort it out better than we did. It was just one of those weekends that was very frustrating, and where you just have to do the best you can. I think I actually drove my best race this season at Portland, and yet we had a really bad result, which goes to show it is all about the car and getting the thing set-up.

Obviously, Oriol's two accidents in practice had a big knock-on effect on the team, because we had to go completely off my feedback for set-up. That may have hurt us a bit, although maybe not as much now because I am getting much better at that, and the team are really pleased with the way that is going. There was no real time to do any set-up changes, as the whole team was rallying around and looking after the second car and then getting my back-up car ready for Oriol. It was quite funny, as they put a sticker saying 'car courtesy of Katherine' on the front of the back-up, which I thought was quite cute!

It does take something out of the team when things don't go to plan, but we are focused on our programme. We tried some really drastic measures in Portland, and we thought we were going in the right direction. I came from practice on the second day and thought that I knew where we were going. I knew what we did to make it feel better and I knew where I was at. We went where we thought we would be quick but, unfortunately, it was no different.

It was just a very, very strange weekend for us. It was like we had taken so many steps forward over the season, and then taken a leap backwards. In order for us to improve, we need to figure out what it was and we are struggling with it right now. It's really hard because we have to focus on the moving forward, onto the next few races, and put all our energy into that, but, at the same time, we need to learn from what we have done, otherwise it is pointless having done it. So, the team are working feverishly back at Indy, figuring out how to move forward and how to learn from what we have just done. I don't envy their job!

Cleveland, however, was the complete opposite. We had an awesome car, the best it has been all year - I think I had the seventh fastest race lap again, but I honestly believe we could have been on the podium, or should definitely have been in the top five. It was just one of those races where everything went against me - the calls from the stewards, not being passed around the pace car, being driven off the road. It wasn't racing, it was carnage!

Burke Lakefront Airport is so open and so fast, it seems to invite trouble. I tried to stay out of it, because, the way I look at it right now, I need to finish races. If I don't finish, I don't gain experience, so that is my main priority, albeit with wheels hanging off or whatever!

They have tried all sorts of things to prevent the sort of first corner accident we saw the other weekend - in Atlantics, they put a barrel in the middle of the road in turn one - which seems ridiculous now. It certainly caused the end of my race! I think, as a driver, when you see all that space, and you think you can overtake everyone.

I had such a good start in Cleveland. I think I passed seven cars before I got hit, and poor Cristiano da Matta actually went off avoiding me. Everybody thinks that they can be first into the first corner and, when it narrows up, people have to go round different ways. The people on the inside are going in a bit tighter and the ones outside aren't - but it is great for the spectators.

If you want action, for sure you get a lot of that. Cleveland is one of our better tracks, a lot of fun to drive, albeit physical for a driver. Having said that, it was actually the easiest race so far this year because of all the yellows and because the heat wasn't there. However, as I've already said, I think driving standards definitely slipped in Cleveland because there were people taking each other out left, right and centre. Some of that obviously helped me, like poor Will Power being taken out by Nelson Philippe. That was the end of his race, and now he has dropped behind me in the points standings.

It was just one of those races and I think everyone has learnt from it. Hopefully, we will move onto Toronto and have a nice clean race, just as we did in Portland to a certain extent, where people aren't taking each other out all the time. It was green the whole way through in Portland, and that is what it should be about.

The one thing I am taking from Portland and Cleveland is that I am getting closer to Oriol. As I gain experience, I am mostly now within half a second whereas, at the beginning of the year, I was within a second. As long as I keep clawing that time to Oriol and, by the end of the year, I am doing the same times as him, I think that is something to be proud of.

Despite all that happened in Cleveland, we were very pleased with Oriol's podium. It's the first for the team this year, and PKV continues to improve and do a great job. We are looking forward to Toronto now because we have a good car and we are hoping we will be strong.

We have new management now, which started after Cleveland when Mark Johnson joined us to be team manager. This is very positive for the team because, obviously, he is very experienced and is going to be a great leader. Jimmy Vasser is taking more of a leadership role as well, which is good for the team, and I think there is a really positive attitude within PKV right now. and that is very important.

I have so much faith in my team and think we have the potential to be the best team on the grid. I definitely think that, when the new car comes out in 2007, we will have a good shot at that. We are still relatively new, we are still learning, and they still have me to deal with!

I don't mean that in a negative way, I just mean that I don't have the experience that someone like Oriol has, so I can't bring new ideas to the team because I haven't done it yet. They are concentrating on bringing me on as well, which has kind of stunted their growth in a way I'd imagine. We are all trying to build and grow together, and I think we are doing that. We may be taking three steps forward and one step back, but it's the same with any learning process.

Of course, there are still rumours about whether Jimmy will be racing again this season. But, as usual, I have no idea. He was going to do San Jose, because that is his home race in California, but the way he feels right now is that PKV aren't strong enough to run a third car. We need to keep building the team and get stronger within the team before we can add another car. I'm sure we will see more of him towards the end of the year, and I really hope that he does at least another race, but I don't know.

My main focus will remain on winning the rookie battle, which is looking very close this year, with the order and the gaps changing with every round. I'm not so worried about Dan Clarke, because I think he will take care of himself, so I think it is between me and Will Power. It is amazing that Will is still a rookie because he has so much experience and is such a talented driver, but I am trying to claw myself in front of him. He has had some real bad misfortune, so he is going to be really strong towards the end of the year.

There is also a difference in cars at the moment. Team Australia has a good car, and we are trying to match them, just as we are trying to match HVM at the moment. I hope, and I honestly believe, that, as we continue to improve, we will be stronger in the battle for rookie of the year.

It's on to Toronto now, and return to street racing having had a few races since Houston. I love street racing - I love the atmosphere, the crowds - especially when you go to Canada, as they are so knowledgeable. They know what you had for dinner last night and they know about racing, which I think is fabulous.

Street racing is just a different art. I grew up doing road courses and did my first street course in America last year. It is just a different discipline. Hopefully, we have a good car because we have modified the Houston car and we had a relatively good car at Long Beach.

Even though I was there last year, and know it is a beautiful city and that the crowd are fabulous, I don't know Toronto so well. I guess we did a little bit of looking around, but the thing with racing is that you stay in the airports, the hotel rooms and the race tracks, so you don't get to see too much around. I am flying back to Toronto before the weekend so I can get acclimatised because I don't tend to travel too well, so I may have a wander and check out the sights before business begins.

I usually spend my time between races in Indianapolis because I have an apartment there and the team are based there, but, every now and again, I have to pop back to Britain for business reasons or sponsorship reasons. Ironically, just as the Formula One grand prix came to town, was one of those times.

Now I have missed both the British Grand Prix and the US Grand Prix, which I am very frustrated about. I would love to have been at both of them, but I will probably have to wait to get to one or two by the end of the year. In some ways, I am kind of dubious about showing my face in the paddock, as I want to go in there and show that I'm getting there. A podium may mean that I get taken a bit more seriously. Maybe this weekend......

Speak soon,

Katherine