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Well my time here in South Australia is up and tomorrow I begin the long journey back home which will take me a month to do. So, what have I been up to I hear you ask? Well, on Saturday me, Dave and Yvette along with their neighbour went to the Clipsal 500 which is basically a motor racing festival with various different races in different categories including Formula 3, V8 Ute (for the guys who took their sisters out on a date), Super Car Racing and the one we were all here for the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercars.
The V8's only comprised of two types of cars, the Holden Commodore and the Ford Falcon and even though there were different racing teams, there is intense rivalry in the crowds between Holden and Ford. The dangers of what these drivers risk were evident very early on in the V8 development race where a driver hit the track wall at 230kph (144mph). The driver, Ashley Cooper hit the concrete wall in his Holden and the car was a wreck and he was unconscious when the emergency crews arrived. He sadly never regained consciousness and died Monday afternoon.
As the crowd was blissfully unaware of the tragedy, we continued to enjoy the following races and waited for the big one at the end. As a showcase, Murray Walker was asked to bring in his extreme machines and these included cars like the Porsche 911, Ford GT and a couple of Ferrari's and Lambo's but the spectacle I was gobsmacked to see was the Bugatti Veyron. The 1000hp, 258mph car is an awesome sight to behold and looks the business and you have to love a car that requires a speed break to help it slow down!
After that we found the best place to watch the main race on turn four of the circuit which has a reputation of claiming the dignity of many drivers due to its bumpy approach and the 90۫ turn. It also takes some getting used to the senses being abused by these beasts from the smell of the high octane fuel and screeching rubber to the loud and unique sound of the V8 engines.
The team I decided to adopt was Team Vodafone and their Falcon partly due to their sponsor and their reputation of success but mainly because as you can see by the photos how good the cars look.
The race itself was actually quite exciting and I'm no petrol head and due to where we were watching the race, we were given plenty of entertainment as drivers found the bumpy approach to the corner a real challenge and they frequently locked brakes and the crowd rose up in the hope of that car getting romantic with the wall. We also found to our entertainment that the corner was a prime overtaking one and we got great views of cars kissing each other as they battled to rise up the field. Needless to say that Jamie Whincup of Team Vodafone won the race and the other came third. This summed up an entertaining day of motorsport that at the end of the day was tainted by the earlier tragedy.
Afterwards, Dave made me listen to the sort of music a brother would seduce his sister to at the after race concert. He calls it country and western but strangely, everyone there did look strangely related and at each passing minute I grew with unease at the fact some two headed, twelve fingered woman might think I'm her brother! Needless to say, I asked to leave.
On Monday, I treated Dave and Yvette to go and see the comedian Ross Noble and boy was he funny! I had been meaning to see the guy for a few years and the wait was well worth it as he cracked out joke after joke and amusingly poked fun at the Aussies. I left the Adelaide theatre wondering what a Hippo Gimp would look like.
I'm now ready to move on from South Australia for the final time and head to Canberra (the Australian capital) to watch Super XV rugby and tick of the final major Australian city to visit. After a weekend in the capital, I head to Melbourne to see more of Victoria and to await my flight to head back to Asia to begin the final leg of my epic journey.
I've had a great time in South Australia and take many memories from my many visits and no doubt I will return to where I now regard as my second home.
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