Out with the old....

As usual, it's been a while since I last wrote anything, so there's a bit to catch up on. It's now the 'off-season' but, a little holiday aside, it's pretty much business as usual as I go about trying to find a seat for next season.

The final two events of the year, in Australia and Mexico, were almost a case of getting the season out of the way. You always give it 110 per cent, no matter where you are or what you're doing, but 2007 for me was kind of a disaster, to be honest.

It started off okay, but we had a lot of car issues and things didn't go so well after that. Ironically, Australia wasn't going so badly for us, and we were having a good race by our 2007 standards, but then I got taken out of the race by Will Power. Mexico was okay - and then the car broke again. It was one of those years and finished the way it had gone for the most part.

Despite the results, I'd like to think that we were making progress in those final two events, and even in the two European events before them. We were definitely trying hard to do so, but we kept having so many issues to get over that we never actually surmounted them. It was a real shame as I was really excited by the new car and the opportunity that I had for 2007, but it was just one of those years. I guess it was what the call character-building. It makes you stronger, and it definitely made me a better driver - and I know that I'll appreciate 2008 even more for it. You always have to look at the positive side, right?

There weren't too many highs to take out of the year, although I definitely learned a lot more about the car and the team. The lows were more obvious - it was a terrible year, with the lack of results and, perhaps moreso, the lack of chances to show what I'm able to do. I don't want people to look at the year and say 'that was Katherine' because it was circumstance and definitely not me.

It was particularly frustrating to have that sort of season as Champ Car came back to Europe. I wanted to come back over and show how great Champ Car was, and how well I could do, and it didn't work out like that. It was a pity, but that's how it goes sometimes. Hopefully, I can rectify that in 2008.

Although I've been really busy trying to sort out a deal for next year, I really enjoyed driving the F1 two-seater. Along with Nelson Philippe, we had great fun giving rides to people from Bridgestone and Champ Car, and it was a really nice way of saying thank you to them. It was great to be back in a car again and I think Paul Stoddart was happy with the job we did.

I'm actually hoping that something more may come out of it, as I'm talking to Paul about 2008. But, then, I'm talking to people back in Europe and elsewhere in the United States as well, so it's really too early to know what I will be doing. Obviously, I've got an idea about what I'd like to be doing, but you know as well as I do why they call this 'silly season', so we'll just have to wait and see.

Champ Car is a fantastic series but, to be honest, there are lots of other fantastic series out there as well. The thing I've said to myself this year is that I want to have an opportunity to be on the podium and win races. As long as I'm in a good car and I get the opportunity to show my ability, then that's where I want to be. Whether that's Champ Car or somewhere else, we'll just have to wait and see.

Of course, there are likely to be three races in Europe next season, with the addition of Jerez, and it would be interesting to go there as I've never been before. I've heard that it's a fantastic race track, and I'm excited that Champ Car is expanding in Europe, as I think it's a good thing for them.

I went back to England after the season was over. I did some things in Spain before I finally got home, and was only in the UK for 24 hours or so as I swapped bags and saw my parents as they dropped me at a different airport to go skiing in France with some friends. It was a much-needed break, as you don't really get much vacational holiday time or anything like that during the season. Skiing is my other great passion and it was great to get some of that in as we spent Christmas in France. Then it was back to Britain for a bit, with a few meetings to try and firm up things for this year before I headed back to the States.

It's a long couple of weeks, however, when you can't get hold of anyone in the industry, but everybody is back from holiday now. The programme for the next few weeks is trying to sit down and get something sorted for 2008. People are back in the office and wanting to get things done, which is nice. Hopefully, within the next couple of weeks, I should know what I'm doing and be able to announce something.

Fingers crossed,

Katherine