Australia Up Close Aussies Traffic in Speed At Summer Motorcar Races By DARREN McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
カーレースに夢中 美しい海岸線を轟音とともに疾走するインディカーーー。4日間にわたって行なわれるゴールドコースト・インディ・カーニバル、今年は25万人の観客が訪れ、白熱したレースが展開されました。オーストラリアでは今、モータースポーツの人気が高まっています。

Blue summer skies and a vibrant atmosphere greeted thousands of tourists and some of the world's best motorsport drivers for the four-day Gold Coast Indy-Carnival which started Oct. 15.

World Indy champion Alex Zanardi set the streets of Surfers Paradise ablaze, claiming victory in the 1998 Honda Gold Coast Indy-car race. The Italian driving sensation and renowned larrikin took the lead on lap 13 and carried it through to win his seventh race for the season and the FedEx Indy Championship series.

This year's event was the most successful in the race's eight-year history, drawing a quarter of a million locals and tourists to watch the 800 horsepower "go-carts" roar around the streets of Surfers Paradise.

The Gold Coast street circuit is regarded by many as the best in the world. Chief executive of Championship Auto Racing Teams, Andrew Craig, agrees. "The view of the beach is just fabulous. It is, in my view, up there above Monte Carlo in terms of style, ambience and presentation. It is first-class."

The action off the track proved to be just as hot. Street entertainers, live bands and fireworks dazzled hundreds of people out to soak up the Indy atmosphere. In the week prior to the race Gold Coast celebrated the Tropicarnival festival — a series of free shows, music and entertainment.

On the second night of the four-day carnival a different brand of motorsport ruled the streets. A sensational array of drag cars, which are faster than the Indy cars over a quarter mile, took to the streets to lay down rubber and make a great deal of noise.

The most exciting entrant in this years drag event was the "Aussie Invader" jet car, the current holder of the Australian land speed record. Powered by a J34 Westinghouse jet engine, this spear-shaped machine throws a 10-meter flame out its rear as it accelerates up to 400 kilometers per hour.

Other eye-catching, ear-shattering dragsters included the "Bandag Bullet," a massive twin-V8, supercharged and turbo-charged truck, and a 1957 Castrol Chevrolet that laid a 200 meter burnout down the Indy straight. The drag events were a dream come true for the serious motorsport enthusiast.

I have been an avid spectator at most races over the past eight years. From my experience the best views of the race are from the top floors of the many high-rises inside and outside the track. All hotels with views of the track are booked out months in advance. Hundreds of spectators hang from the balconies to get a birds-eye view of the action.

One aspect of the event many Gold Coast residents are unhappy about is the traffic chaos created on all major roads in the area. The street circuit's main straight takes up three lanes of Gold Coast's main highway, slowing traffic to a crawl, while the back straight blocks the entire esplanade along Surfers Paradise beach. Consequently, Gold Coast's inadequate public transport system is pushed to extremes.

Australia's impact on international motorsport extends to the two-wheeled variety as well. Aussie motorcycle hero and Gold Coast resident "Mighty" Mick Doohan clinched his fifth straight world 500cc motorcycle championship at Melbourne's Phillip Island racetrack on Oct. 4. Doohan's five-year dominance of international motorcycle racing has been unmatched in recent history, establishing him as one of the sports' all-time greats. Doohan completed a lap of honor before a crowd cheering in rec-ognition of his recent outstanding achievements.

In March this year Japan hosted its first ever Indy-Car race — the Budweiser 500 at Twin Ring Motegi. Mexican driver Adrian Fernandez won his first oval-track victory in Japan's inaugural race.

The Queensland state government has thrown its support behind a bid to extend the Gold Coast's Indy contract to the year 2005. The government is even looking at declaring a public holiday on the Indy weekend to establish the event as a tradition.

Gold Coast tourism prospers greatly from the Indy event as it is an invaluable opportunity to promote itself internationally as Australia's holiday playground. After yet another successful year the future looks bright for the Gold Coast Indy-Carnival to remain an annual event for years to come.

Shukan ST: Nov. 13, 1998

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