The warm dry air that greets me as I step out of the Perth Airport terminal is quite different to the wet & cold Tokyo that I'd just left behind. Ahead of me lay a 5-day holiday at the Wanneroo Megapolis Raceway, widely regarded as a 'must do' lifetime experience for every motor head on the planet. I'm buzzing with excitement as I climb onto the electric Toyota minibus bound for my Wanneroo hotel.
The hotel staff are friendly and I'm amazed that I'm actually greeted in 'Japanese', but then I see that a good deal of the hotel guests are fellow countrymen.... speed addicts like myself. I don't waste any time in checking in before I'm off to look for a hire car. The hotel bus leaves every hour for the Megapolis Motor Complex, which is where I'll select a hire car. I'm looking for a 'variety experience' so I'll only hire the car for 24 hours; after all swapping out to a new machine every day is what this is all about for me.
I know enough about cars to be able to tell that the sales assistant knows what he is talking about; he suggests the newish 2010 GTR. As a 'first timer' I'm obliged to undergo a high-speed driver-training course before I can venture onto the core road down to the Wanneroo Megapolis Raceway so I set out on the well-marked spectator route. Unbelievably, the core road is accessible from just out of the town centre and runs next to the spectator route, which I use to get to the training centre out at the Wanneroo Megapolis Raceway. I've been made aware of how important it is to keep to the prescribed speed limits as I leave the hire shop and I will myself to treat the throttle gently.
The core route is separated from the spectator route by wide, deep sand run offs and high barrier rails, supposedly recognised as a world first in the design of high speed public motorways.
With it starting to get dark, the first of the high output halogen street lights light up, I flick my headlights on and its as bright as day as I hear the roar of a high output motor coming out of the distance. Lights grow rapidly bigger and I see the sleek red Ferrari coming over the horizon on the core road at what looks to be Mach1. The core road must be running "Plus 300"; I check this by calling out to my personal digital assistant who confirms what I'm thinking. All the Wanneroo Megapolis Raceway time schedules are easily accessible through the net, as are live video feeds and all other manner of electronic information regarding the venue and all the ancillary service providers who have set-up business in the warm commercial glow of this massive race complex that spans thirty square kilometres.
My high-speed driver-training course is intensive and covers practical and theoretical knowledge necessary for driving at high speed in the designated zones of the Megapolis Raceway. Armed with an electronic Plus 200 licence, I head back to my car and query my digital assistant as to when the core road will be back to running plus200, the pleasant voice of my digital assistant answers that I have 40 minutes to wait and suggests that I grab a bite to eat at one of the many cafes that have set-up business at the raceway. From the cafe I've got a perfect view of the three burnout & drift pits. In the burnout pit, the first of the city kids have arrived after work and are relieving some frustration with nice doughnuts that raises plumes of white smoke. Wanneroo Sporting Car Club have managed to keep access prices to the burnout pits low enough that youngsters generally choose the safe environs of the burnout pits rather than their neighbourhood streets.
After a pleasant feed of Sushi, I head out to my car and have my personal digital assistant load credit to my Plus 200 access licence. The Wanneroo Megapolis Raceway recognises the association between my car RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device), my International drivers licence & my plus 200 licence and the boom gate at the access point rises silently, allowing me access to the drive of a lifetime. I push hard on the pedal and feel the surge of acceleration as I enter the core route. The first section is all curved and cambered blacktop. With well-disciplined, educated drivers, the line of plus200 cars flows smoothly, following the section maximum speed signs. Slower cars keep left and I quickly take the GTR up to the section max, finding the speed and curves exhilarating. Suddenly, I'm onto the long straight, now recognised as the longest straight section of racetrack in the world. I promise myself that I'll attempt to get the plus300 licence while I'm here and then hire the classic Diablo. The Lamborghini Diablo will make a meal of this section of road and I can imagine the spine tingling roar of its' engine at those speeds. After a full lap of the fifteen-kilometre road, I ease off the core route onto the spectator road, close to Wanneroo. I'm tired now after an international flight and the training course and I need an early night so I head back to the hotel. The following day is a Saturday and the core route will only be open until 10.00am for access up to and into the Wanneroo Megapolis Raceway after which it will be accessible only by the race cars running in the Australasian 24 hour Le Mans Endurance race.
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