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THE Gold Coast 600 is an amazing event — the setting is fantastic, right on the beach, the sun almost always shines, out the back of the pits there's those beautiful waterways with wandering birdlife and best of all, everyone is in a party mood.
You'd have to be trying really hard not to have a good time.
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Incredibly, this is the 23rd straight year of the Gold Coast event which, in its original form, was headlined by the American Indycars.
Also incredible is that this weekend racks up my 220th start in the Championship, it honestly feels nowhere near that.
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Bathurst already seems like a distant memory to me and while third there was OK, I know we have to step it up this weekend if we're going to have a serious shot at the Championship.
Gold Coast will see us racing over two 300km races, each leg requiring two drivers, so the number 888 Red Bull Commodore will again see me paired with Warren Luff.
In previous years the rules have required an 'international' co-driver but that's been relaxed for 2013, so not surprisingly virtually the whole field has gone with their regular co-drivers, who have done the Sandown and Bathurst races already this year.
'Soft' tyres make their return this weekend too, after we've run exclusively on the 'hard' tyres for the past few rounds, and it'll be the first time 'Luffy' has raced on them this year, so that throws an additional factor into the mix, plus I hear one of the corner exits on the Surfers Paradise street circuit has been tightened up.
That'll be something to remember in the races, when passing is at a premium.
Warren Luff will co-drive with Craig Lowndes in the Gold Coast 600. Source: Getty Images
Luffy and I, and our engineer JJ, have put some time into getting the strategy right for this weekend and, as always, qualifying will be vital — so the pressure's on me to get the job done.
If I'm honest I've not had a great run at the Gold Coast event over the years, however I need to change that this time if I'm going to feature in the Championship chase as there's only three race weekends to go, including this one.
Basically it's a four-horse race for the Championship again this year, between the same two teams and four drivers it was in 2012.
Craig Lowndes makes his way around Mt Panorama at Bathurst. Source: News Limited
My Red Bull teammate Jamie Whincup leads the points chase from yours truly, and then FPR's Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison, and it's close — all of us need to score big on the Gold Coast to stay in the hunt.
We've got the car, and we know what we've got to do, so I am hopeful this is our year.
A win on the Gold Coast would sure make the Championship interesting.
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