Australian Grand Prix 2012 – Day 3 – Qualifying

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With the serious on track action starting today we woke up early to finalise our picnic preparation and Mark’s arrival from the UK. Soon we had our hamper packed with fresh Focaccia rolls, Frittata, Lamb Kebabs and cunningly disguised bottle of wine to wash it all down with!On time Mark arrived at the apartment for a quick shower and change before we headed out for a quick breakfast to catch up on the last six months.

With the whole of the Melbourne CBD to explore and a long list of sights to see, we sent Mark off on his way and we headed to the circuit for a prearranged viewing from the James Boag bar with complementary beer! From the raised bar we took in the parade laps by the Ferraris owners club before the Porsche Carrera Cup racing got under way.

Back in our Grandstand seats we watched the third and final F1 practise session. We were both pleased to see Vettel spin off after the rather brief appearance at the autograph signing session on the first day! With the practice over we went and met some friends from Sydney (Jo & Charles) for a drink whilst the V8 Challenge Cars were on track, although we could hear the racing was getting entertaining from the cheers from the crowds. When we returned to watch the end of the race there was a significantly depleted and damaged set of cars on track, so there had been some on track incidents whilst we were away!

With the late afternoon sun on Albert Park the F1 qualifying session started. The Australian crowds were cheering ton the home drivers of Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo, although the McLarens locked out the front row. Most people seemed happy with the poor performance of the Ferrari’s! With the qualifying over we scurried to meet Mark at the Transport Hotel on Federation Square for a quick beer and catch up on our respective stories from the day.

With plenty still to catch on, we headed out of the CBD back towards Richmond and the Bridge Hotel for a few more drinks. Will and Mark were obviously enjoying themselves as the rink was flowing quickly!! We were joined by our flat mate Gavin towards the end of the evening before we decided to try and do the sensible thing and have an earlyish nigh, although we’d gone way past our earlier self-imposed curfew that had been agreed!

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