As a kid we all grow up with books that everyone will know about and love. One of the books would have to be Where’s Wally? series. During primary school I would spend a lot of the time in the library going through the books trying to find Wally as well as go through the checklist (it was also a great way to train my eyes to be as sharp as an eagle!). So what would happen if you combine a childhood favourite book like Where’s Wally? with the hobby of cars, and the awesome UK TV show Top Gear? Well you get a book called Where’s Stig?
My hobbies span across many things and with these days being so busy with various amounts of work it’s almost rare for me to enjoy such hobbies. With cars being one of my major hobbies it doesn’t see me enjoy it that often. However over the weekend, I enjoyed it to it’s greatest heights. Here in Australia, one of the most followed motor sports is known as the V8 Supercars, and with the weekend that past was the Sydney Telstra 500, a brand new circuit for the series held at Sydney Olympic Park. With me living relatively close to the venue, I decided to head out to my very first V8 Supercars event. Hit the jump to check out photos and read up on my day at the event.
It’s not very often that I get excited about movies coming out. Sure there have been some great movies that have come out over the past 2 years, but for 2009 I would say there is one movie. Eric Bana’s Love The Beast. Technically its not really a movie but more of a documentary film about Eric Bana and his 25 year long relationship with his “Beast” (or in other words his car). Here’s an excerpt from Madman’s Facebook page:
Eric Bana casts himself in his perfect role: exploring the meaning of a 25-year-long relationship with his first car, “The Beast”, and ultimately the importance of the bonds that form through a common passion. Filmed over 2 years, we follow Eric on an - unexpectedly - emotional journey from inside the race car to the surreal world of the red carpet as Eric considers the importance of family, friends and what it means to keep your dreams alive. LOVE THE BEAST is as full of heart and the defining moments in life as it is about driving fast… really fast.
I first heard about the docufilm during last year’s Bathurst 1000 where Eric Bana was doing a plugin and previewed a small clip of it. At that point I knew I wanted to watch this film and that it won’t be something as horrendous as The Fast n Furious. Being a revhead myself, I can understand the relationship a person has with his car as my car is something special to me. I could go on about me and my car but I’ll leave that to another day.
Anyway Madman had a small promo on their Facebook page of giving away 5 double passes to see the movie. I don’t visit my Facebook often and wasn’t sure if I should enter, but gave it a chance anyway and within a few minutes got an email saying I won a double pass. Yesterday an envelope arrived with my tickets, but I thought it was a rather large envelope just for tickets. Opening it up I found a bunch of promo flyers, posters, stickers, and the two tickets. I’m not sure why I got so many flyers but oh wells. Anyone want a poster?
Even though it’s a double pass, unfortunately I can’t take my dear Erika. If this was an otaku world then that’s different. And if I had a girlfriend, I would want her to at least have some interest in cars. Anyway I’ll be taking good friend Roobar, even though he has no interests in cars he still came with me when I went to watch Top Gear Live. Plus who could say no to a free ticket? Too bad this ticket can only be used between Monday and Friday, wish I could use it on weekends.
And for those who actually have a slight interest in the film as well, here’s the trailer for it:
Most people probably won’t be interested in this but I can say that my Pulsar has finally joined the 200,000 km club. It has taken me about 5 years to reach this point since I’ve owned the car (it was at 112,000 kms when I bought it) and I can honestly say that it’s running just as smoothly as when I first drive it. Of course I did have some set backs over the course of the 5 years such as a dying alternator, destroyingmyclutch, new battery, new tyres, and even dealing with being robbed twice.
However I have also made some improvements to the car such as extractors and exhaust, new clutch and lightened racing flywheel, slotted rotors and upgraded brake pads, and a short shifter. Though now that I have driven the Pulsar for so many years, it may be time for me to look at some newer adventures. At this point I’m still in the air about whether to continue modding the Pulsar or perhaps looking at getting a new car. Still leaning towards an Mazda RX-8 after myexperience with one in Japan, but with the new Nissan 370Z coming soon…..
Still that’s a long way away and my Pulsar is still a tank. So it’ll still take me out on my adventures whilst I still practice rev matching, double clutching, heel and toe, and all the other funky techniques you can do in cars.
Being a rev-head, I thoroughly enjoy watching Top Gear UK whenever it airs. So when I heard about Top Gear Live coming to Sydney from my sister I was excited. Unfortunately being an otaku with otaku friends, I didn’t have many people I could ask to come with me. Instead I dragged Roobar along to come with me. I didn’t know what to expect of Top Gear Live but either way, I knew it was going to be an enjoyable show. Hit the jump to read more.
It’s been a while since I went out and did some photography, and since it’s now December, there was one final event left for the year: Autosalon Final Battle 2008. So it was time to check out what this year’s offerings are, and despite being tired from a long week of work, coughing my lungs out, I made my way down to Sydney Olympic Park. Hit the jump to check out the photos. WARNING: Picture intensive post.
One of the greatest things about the Japan trip was being able to experience new things. However it’s also great to do the same things you do back at home and for me, one of them is driving. Day 2 of the car hire adventure takes me to an even greater adventure and this would more than likely be the highlight of the entire trip. So hit the jump to read on about my trip to Gunma, an open-air bath, and driving around on the Wangan.
