Everything has been going well here in Spain as we settle into our new environment and new team. After arriving 1 week ago we have met the team, seen our car for the first time and learnt the general lay of the land. All is looking very exciting for the year and our team, ASM Motorsport, are all very enthusiastic about the project.

We have recently confirmed our 2012 livery design thanks to the help of Kieran from Granger Design which looks great. Combined with our new drivers overalls from Chicane and team clothing from Brita Safety our team will certainly look good this year.

This week we will get our first taste of our new car when we do a small gravel test here in Spain on Friday. This test will be to learn the basics of the car before going to Norway where we will have our snow test in preparation for Rally Sweden. I am really looking forward to it!

In the coming days you will see information sent to you regarding our rally tours that we will be running this year alongside our team as we compete in WRC events. This year we will be doing NZWRT tours in New Zealand and Spain. Full information will be released soon.

Last weekend we also drove up to Monte Carlo to watch round 1 of the World Rally Championship. While we were only there for one day it was great to see the good vibe and many people around the service park despite what has been happening around the sport lately.

A lot of hard work continues on trying to secure the budget for this season which is by no means an easy task. I would like to however sincerely thank our current partners that we have confirmed for our 2012 season including Giltrap Group, PlaceMakers, Castrol, Raiseys Nutrition, Cameron Sea and Air Freight, Granger Design, Endless Brakes, Chicane Racewear, Brita Safety, Racetech Seats, Monit and New Balance.

Thanks all for now, we will keep you posted following my first drive in our Skoda later this week.