Clearly Snetterton’s setup didn’t work. No time to do anything about the underpowered engine, it’ll just have to do, but I’m back with 3.6-levels of power now, maybe worse, and it’s not exactly a step up, but at least it works.

The old engine was belter, though I never so much as swapped the plugs in it from the moment it came out of that X300 it had good low-down torque which suits the way I drive, my entire rpm and gearchange timing was based specifically around that engine, so I will miss it quite badly.

But the low-compression AJ6/16 hybrid will do for now, the real work to do is move a few things about to change the weight balance again, because that animal at Snetterton was not the blissful creature I slid around Cadwell Park. The 50/50 perfection of Snetterton was achieved too artificially, you can’t start carting a 45kg battery about to get mathematical perfection without you do the sums, the turning moment is weight x distance from the pivot point, I didn’t think it through properly.

We still have the corner weight scales so my job, again, is to empty all the fuel out of the car, and with the usual job of moving battery etc about, make sure the car is again precisely 1510kg empty, but with a now-deliberately ruined weight balance which carries more weight closer to or inside the wheelbase.

Not that tricky, the work of a weekend of pottering about the garage. Clean up some of the mess from the engine transplant, touch up a few scratches, refuel, polish and ready to rock again.

Changed the rear pads, downgrading from Mintex race to EBC redstuff, hopefully a bit softer to help make the rears actually work and slow the beast down better, I won’t be Loz-ed at the end of Revett again, that was embarrassing, I don’t care what brakes or weight the E class is packing.

Ready then, and to be honest, bit of a point to prove at Anglesey, this car is good and I haven’t yet shown it. I came back from Anglesey last year with a crashed car and needing to prove a point then, I put in some very hard work and the car won Oulton Park outright. This time the work’s been done over the winter already and though it isn’t really do-able I’ve already told Stewert I’m going to beat him this next race and it would be pretty nice to bounce back from Snetterton’s disaster with a good result.

Trouble is the weather forecast says dry, and it’s not really on for a D class to play at the sharp end there without some rain to assist. That said, I do now have some tyres.

Being so ready for Anglesey so early I finally have time to wheel in my old MG, which has been sitting patiently for 18 months awaiting a steering rack and a pair of wheel bearings. It’s a strange thing, because suddenly everything’s imperial spanners, the car is half the size, and it’s all so simple.

Bit of a blast from the past, and interesting to see how much easier mechanical work is after 2 years with the race car, because this sort of job at the time I parked this car up would in the past have left me scratching my head and afraid to tackle it without adult supervision. We’ve come a long way baby.

But with the old girl recommissioned it’s time to go practice with some short-wheelbase V8 power, which is where I learned about oversteer in the first place. Right into the Armco of a dual carriageway one wet November, but let’s forget that part…

Injury of the week – bruised fingers, the electric drill got hold of the job and then me.

Most played in the garage – Alanis Morrisette, Jagged Little Pill. I had an attack of university nostalgia, every single girl on campus was playing that album back then.

Random Helper of the Week – the ladies of my office’s reception, who have now stopped asking why they are gradually taking delivery of an entire Jaguar by instalments.