Looking forward.

Once again, Christmas has come and gone and, with the New Year just hours away, I am already itching to get on with next season.

Health-wise, I'm good. My ribs seem to be on the mend, and my thumb still has two screws in it but is fully operational, so the doctors did a great job. I feel in good shape at the moment, so I'm ready.

Of course, my situation is still uncertain, with PKV not having taken up my option when it expired around the time of Surfers' Paradise. It is massively frustrating having to wait but I think Kevin Kalkhoven will do what is best for me, what is best for Champ Car and the team I eventually run with. At least I have a lot of positive energy around me, unlike a lot of guys. It's a position that I have been in a hundred times before, wondering what I am going to be doing, but, this time, I know I am going to be in Champ Car next year, and with a good team, so I am excited by that.

Of course, I would like to know what I am doing and get everything organised. Instead, I've just got to try and keep fit. It's one day at a time and I have got to learn to be more patient than I have been.

At the moment, I'm talking to people – well, actually, I'm not doing much of the talking as there are other people that are doing that on my behalf – but I think we are close to finalising something, although what that 'something' is has yet to be decided.

As you will know, my name is among those being linked to Paul Stoddart's arrival in Champ Car, simply because I drove one of his Minardi F1 cars. Of course, that link is one that applies to any number of drivers over the years, but I think it is brilliant he is coming into the series.

He brings so much. First and foremost, he is a top bloke, one of the most genuine people you will ever meet in racing. On top of that, he is very experienced and very talented at what he does. To have the name Paul Stoddart in Champ Car is a fantastic thing for Champ Car itself, and it will be great to see how he operates with the HVM squad. I have little doubt that he will be successful and I can't wait to see how it goes.

Obviously, he has a lot of very high profile friends and acquaintances, and it will certainly raise interest in Champ Car in those circles. I would like to think that other people will join in, because the more cars we have the better. The car count for next year is looking healthy as it is, and Champ Car is on a roll at the moment with the new Panoz, so I really hope that Paul's arrival has a positive effect.

Jos Verstappen and Robert Doornbos have both also been mentioned in connection with the team, and I think to have names of that calibre in the series would be a great plus for Champ Car too, especially with the new races we are going to have in Europe next year. I think it will bring a broader fan base, as well as a new element, new experience, and a lot of talent.

I was back home in England for a couple of weeks over Christmas, and it was good to catch up a lot of my friends. I hadn't seen them all year and it was nice to find out what was happening in their lives, have a debrief and just spend some time relaxing.

Now that I have done that though, I am anxious to get back out, to get training and testing, because my life revolves around racing. It is pretty much all I think about, all I am interested in, and, although it is nice to have a break, I just want the Christmas period to be over. My sister was due to have a baby while I was home, but all I could think was 'can you get it done now please'! It is a strange old world, racing - it makes you into a selfish person and, although you don't mean to be, it is all that matters to you.

Of course, it is vitally important that I am back on track for the first group test of the year, at Sebring, next month. In fact, it is the most important thing for me. At the end of the day, the thing I am lacking is experience and, especially with a new car coming out, I think it is fundamental to get as many laps in it as I can. It is the testing miles that will be helping my career, and I am sure everything will be sorted out by then.

Katherine