Lakeside International Raceway…where my motorsport addiction all began I suppose.

I don’t remember how old I was or if I went with my family on the Saturday or Sunday, but I do remember getting #### Johnson’s autograph…yes, the very same #### Johnson that had a brief stint in NASCAR in 1989 and 1990 and owner of the Jim Beam Racing team in V8 Supercars.

In 2003, Lakeside made history as it became the first motor racing facility in the world to be given full permanent heritage listing.

The 1.5 mile long paved track itself was around a 20 minute drive from my home and the turnoff from the main road and just opposite a rail station so getting to the place wasn’t a major problem. From mid-2001 to April 5 this year, the track had been closed as most series preferred to use the more modern Queensland Raceway located near Ipswich. Throughout its history, Lakeside was used as the venue for a wide range of racing championships including the Australian Grand Prix (non-Championship round at that stage) on two occasions, the Australian Touring Car Championship (now called the V8 Supercars) and the Australian Superbike Championship. Now, another series can be added to Lakeside’s illustrious history as the GGW ‘Show Your Moon’ tour crosses the Pacific Ocean for its ninth round.

‘The Trans-Pacific Traveller 150’ is the only race of the tour that heads to the better hemisphere (and if anyone wants to argue that fact, I’ll set loose all those dangerous critters we have to convince you *laugh*) and competition for the win will be fierce…even if the temperatures will be somewhat cooler than what the drivers have been used to as it’s currently the middle of winter. However, ‘cooler’ is a relative term as the only way this part of the world gets blanketed in white is when it hails…so no snow angels are needed in any of the drivers resúmés for this race (dust angels will be a must however).

As can be easily seen from the map, the GGW circus heads southnorth-westeast for round 9.

Now, since this is downunder (and, if you believe those who don’t live here over those who do, backwards as well) territory, the orgainisers have decided to roll out an old V8 Supercar idea to make things that little more challenging; a reverse grid.

So, that means that starting up front is klvalus and Hanahan while yours truly and jbroomy will start at the tail end of the field. The favourites will be those drivers who can ####-handle their car around the track the best since being a road course, setup will be a compromise. Fatigue will likely be a factor here this weekend as all teams (yes, including me now) have to cope with the long haul flight so bodyclocks shall have to be reconfigured lest you wind up sticking your car into one of the gravel traps that will conspire to ruin your day…though the track is right next to a golf course so you can swap the gravel trap for a sand trap if you want to. Also, just a short drive north are the Glasshouse Mountains. 'Who cares?' you might say. Well, to keep things nice and ####-ly, everyone shall be given the opportunity the day after the race to climb up Mt Tibrogargan, also known to locals as ####-face.

Easy to see where Tibrogargan gets its nickname from this angle, eh?

For decades (Lakeside turned 47 on April 29 this year by the way), the track was second only to Bathurst as the fastest track in Australia and with its varying elevation over the course of a lap, it provided a proper challenge for any driver. A rather curious fact about the track is that every corner shares a common radius which allows drivers to find their rhythm reasonably quickly. But, you never want to let your guard down as apart from sharing a common radius, all turns also change from positive to negative camber at mid-corner…hmm, maybe getting your rhythm takes a bit longer than it looks on paper then ;)

So exactly how difficult is the place to race at? Well, if Darlington is considered ‘too tough to tame’, then Lakeside could claim to be its road course equivalent. Five time 500cc Motorcycle GP World Champion, Mick Doohan, once said, “If you can learn to race at Lakeside, you can compete at any race track in the world.”

So why argue with a legend?

Ladies and Gentlemen, let the downunder battle for supremecy begin…

In a rare 'off week' for the Cup teams, that leaves not much in the way of touring car racing as we only have the Nationwide race from Mexico City, right?

Not really...if you guys get a live feed from the V8 Supercars that is.

Hamilton...home of the Waikato Chiefs, perennial underachievers in the Super Rugby but the 'Mooloo men' can claim they were the first province to win the revamped National Provincial Championship (rebadged as the Air NZ Cup) in 2006 and also a rather popular place to buy wine from. Actually, Hamilton are having a big weekend this week as not only is the V8 round there but the Chiefs host the unbeaten Canterbury Crusaders in what will probably be, if it isn't already, a sellout game of rugby on Friday night.

For he past seven odd years, the New Zealand round of the V8 Supercars was held near the country's biggest city; Auckland. The Pukekohe circuit was a Holden benefit, with hometown boy, Greg Murphy, using it as his personal playground as he stomped on everyone for the first few years before the other Holden teams nicked his setup and were able to topple him for the round win.

However, the contract for Pukekohe ran out last year as the V8's wanted a street course instead of a purpose-built track...and the town of Hamilton stepped in to fill that gap. Not only that, but they also put their hand up to host the WRC round when that contract ran out a couple years ago as well...ensuring NZ kept their place on the rally calender.

So, welcome everyone, to the motoring capital of New Zealand.

The round is a three-race sprint one, like Pukekohe was, and will kick off with practice tomorrow (Friday) with both qualifying and race one held on Saturday while races two and three are on the Sunday.

track map of the Hamilton round of the V8 Supercars.

Alas, the weather may prove to steal the show as the North Island has been pretty much in constant rain so far in April (though the forecast looks ok for the weekend...but we're only halfway through the week of course). That will make things much more interesting as a few drivers have already said that this could be a crash-fest round and the slippery roads would only exaggerate those beliefs. Common sense says that drivers who excel on the streets of Adelaide and the Gold Coast will be the ones to beat...but if the rains come down, it's anyone's guess who will be in front after three races and 400km around the streets of Hamilton.