Expensive "Oh Ooops"

Just read this on a website news paper.....

"A Sunday drive has ended in a $3.5 million nightmare, with eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benzes and a Lamborghini involved in a 14-car pile-up in Japan.

Police said the pile-up happened on the Chugoku Expressway in Yamaguchi Prefecture about 10.15am yesterday, with 10 people hospitalised with minor injuries.

Japan's largest English language newspaper, The Daily Yomiuri, reported the crash happened on a curve of the road and one Mercedes-Benz was driving in the oncoming lane.

ANN news video of the crash aftermath shows the sportscars lying mangled on the road, a mess of ripped metal, broken glass and snapped alloy wheels, with several cars wedged up against metal barriers.
About $3.5 million worth of supercars and luxury coupes from the 1980s to today - and a Toyota Prius - were damaged in the crash.
According to a translated report from the Asahi Shimbun the smash occurred when one of the Ferraris hit a median strip.

The report said there was then a series of crashes over 400 metres as the drivers went around the bend, with car parts flying through the air.

The group of drivers was made up of self-employed "car enthusiasts", who were travelling from Kyushu to Hiroshima.
A 36-year-old self-employed man from Kanzaki, Saga Prefecture, said he was driving in the opposite lane at the time of the accident.
"Cars were making a tremendous noise," he said.

The pile-up made headlines around the world, with the UK's Mirror reporting "it could be the most expensive car crash ever".

The cars involved included at least two Ferrari F430s (one was the race-ready Scuderia, these days worth more than $400,000), two Ferrari 360 Modenas (each worth almost $200,000), two Ferrari F355s (each worth about $150,000) and a Lamborghini Diablo (one of the most expensive supercars of the 1990s and still likely worth upwards of $200,000). There was also a Nissan GT-R - the only current Japanese supercar - while the cheapest invovled in the crash was a Toyota Prius hybrid, worth closer to $20,000. "

I think my baby brother would cry hearing this story, just about every car he loves was involved!

Car Racing

It is that time of year again when all the motor enthusiast and petrol heads descend on Hamilton for 3 days for the ITM Hamilton 400 V8 Super Car Racing.

The boys have never been into it, well they are only 5 & 7, and they do not exactly have a father who is a mad car person, although he does like a good car race.
Last year they showed a little interest but could more or less take it or leave it.
The V8's are racing here for 7 years, this is yr 3, so we still have a few more years to go yet, so have promised the boys we will take them, just going to leave it until they are a little older and will enjoy it more.

Unfortunately they are getting older and they are beginning to show an interest.
I am kinda glad really cause I was bought up in house with racing and sport, not that we played much between us, but I well remember Saturdays at home doing things around the hosue whilst the tv blared the latest racing from Rally to Formula 1, from Rugby to cricket.
I was there watching it on the tv when British Racer Damon Hill won the Formula 1, I remember Murray Walker getting all caught up with himself in that proud moment as he tried to commentate such a joyous moment, secretly, I love it all.
My dad and grandad use to rally, I have even marshalled at a rally.
My brother loves fast cars and racing and so I have kinda aquired a taste for it all.

So this weekend we were planning on going to the weekend, but Ben changed those plans by annoucing he wanted to watch the car racing on the tv. So home we are staying.

Alex even came home from Daycare today with his own #1 V8 Car, so I have a little driver in our midst.

Comes complete with his own sponsorship!

I think this weekend is going to be lots of fun, expecially as we can hear the buzzing of the races as they go round the centre of Hamilton which is all of 2-3ks away.

Hamilton V8 400

So the day has arrived for the whole of New Zealand to decend upon Hamilton for 3 days of fast, furious boys adrenaline rush racing.
The V8 Supercars and many other fast cars are here for the street racing.
Many city's within NZ thought about putting forward a bid to host this phenonemen (?) but Hamilton came out on top and have secured the privilige for the next 7 years!

Are we going? No
Why not I hear you say?........
Well in fact I would love to go and see the races etc, but unless something is happening constantly then I think the boys will loose interest very quickly, they won't want to sit still waiting for the cars to go past between races and it would bug me the whole time not being able to see what I want to see because they want to go somewhere else or even home for that matter!
If I had no kids and was not at work today then yes, I would wander down, get a ticket for the day and experience it with everyone else, 1) to be able to say I was there at the first Hamilton 400 and 2) because it would be fun.

But seeing as they have secured the right to host this for the next 7 years and seeing as how the boys are only 3 & 5, then give it a year or 2 and I am sure we will be wandering down all too soon.

Tickets are not even as expensive as I imagined. You can get a 3 day pass to certain grandstands for anything from $120 to $165 per person, under 12's or maybe under 15's are free, so father and son could go for 3 days and it is not expensive.
I was expecting the tickets to be $120 per day. I mean to go to the theatre and see a good show costs about $89 - $109 so I was quite shocked to learn how cheap it was. Good on them for keeping it at a price that everyone can enjoy it with.

So if you are into fast cars and motorsport then this is the place to be this weekend or planning to be in the years to come.

I am sure in a year or 2 my dad will come over with my brother and his 2 boys from Rotorua (1 hours drive away) for the weekend and all the boys will be gone for 3 days down town to see the fast cars. I am looking forward to that day.