Last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited by my good friend Alan Parkes to watch him take part in his first race in the OTGP GT Challenge race at Penbay International Circuit in the south of Taiwan. This is the first time anyone has driven the Caterham SP300R at that circuit, in fact it's the first time any model of Caterham has raced professionally in Taiwan.

Taking that into account and bearing in mind he was up against a Mercedes SLS, a couple of radicals, a couple of Sakers, an Audi R8, a few Porsche 911's, a Nissan GTR and several other monsters, Alan's 6th place finish was as good as anyone could have expected on the first outing. Once the suspension has been swapped out and Syvecs ECU with traction control has been installed, it should be finishing on the podium later this season.

The stands were packed and I'd estimate there to be 3,000-4,000 spectators on race day.

As you'd expect, there was a lot of promotion going on.

At lunch time anyone who doesn't have a pit pass can gain access for one hour to check out the cars... and showgirls of course.

Hitting up Caterham's VIP room...

Lining up on the grid. The Caterham attracted a lot of attention from the media.

And finally, remember, NO punching in the pit garage!... anywhere else on the circuit is fine of course.