Last Saturday I got the callup from the boss to head on down to Surfer's Paradise for the V8 Grand Prix. The beach town is the perfect setting for this type of competition --perfect weather, ocean setting, wide roads? Just when you thought the races in Gran Tourismo didn't actually exist. I couldn't walk 10 meters without seeing some beach babe trying to hawk some product posing for pics with some random bloke looking for a facebook pic. The vehicles are street cars much like the one you and I drive, only gutted and souped up and flogged onto a main drag for a four day event. All the roads get blocked off and grandstands are set up to accommodate the patrons. Part of the track rides up right next to beach while copters fly around getting overhead tv shots, F-111's do flybys, and Australian roulettes turn tricks. oh it's a scene man. (5:47 into the video)
My access was unprecedented in my experience of attending sporting events. (not saying car racing is a sport) But my tickets had me right on pit row and right above the car garages. Also as a part of the package it included an all you can eat food and drink deal, which I was happy to take advantage of. Actually, everyone was happy to take advantage ... because the food hardly got to the back of the room before the famished in front had swarmed to the waitresses and cleared their trays.
I meandered around the grounds checking out the track and got to tour the garage in between races. Even got to see them replace the sponsor decals on the cars. It was definitely a cool experience as the crew scampered around searching for brake pads and tires and broke down video of the previous races. Technologically these vehicles are far advanced and you can even adjust fluids and control certain elements of the car from the pit. It was riveting.
Overall a pretty fun day all around ending with a snooze on the way back after having slurped down a few too many Boags.
