Aaron Kirby: WA racer Ruairidh Avern gives The West Australian taste of life in fast lane
Only one sport in the world can combine the high rolling of the globe's elite with the gritty, oily hard work of mechanics and engineers.
Motorsport, and its most popular category, Formula One.
Droves of sports fans are falling in love with the high-stakes drama of 20 of the world's best drivers hurtling around on tarmac at speeds in excess of 300km/h.
And as Melbourne-born McLaren ace Oscar Piastri continues to storm out ahead of the pack, the sports popularity looks set to grow further in Australia.
So as motorsport and Formula One revel in a boom of success, I was invited out to Carco.com.au Raceway in Wanneroo, formally known as Barbagallo Raceway, for five hot laps with one of WA's brightest racing hot shots to get a taste of life in the fast lane.
Ruairidh Avern is a rising star at WA's Arise Racing, currently the leading rookie in Australia's Radical Cup, a category primarily for giving young drivers their first steps from karts to cars.
But don't be fooled; they are still fast.
The adrenaline begins to trickle into my veins as soon as the engine turns over, after I've been kitted out in a racing suit and buckled within an inch of claustrophobia, the purring a reminder of my grandfather who once raced rally cars and speedway.
I have to admit; I was not as nervous as I thought I would be with the open top, at least until I was warned that if I felt I needed to hurl, I had to tell Ruairi to pull over.
I do get seasick.
But as soon as the Radical rolled out of the garage, I was glad I had a race helmet on to cover the ridiculously goofy grin on my mug.
It was a cruisy little drive down to pit lane, looking over the track.
The cruisy part disappeared rapidly as, with a thumbs up, Ruairi took us out of the pitlane and opened up through turn one.
It was a stark contrast to the 90 minutes I spent at 10km/h on the Kwinana Freeway to get to the office that morning.
The rush and blasts of wind were exhilarating, and if I wasn't the rusted-on 27-year-old journalism veteran I tell myself I am, I would have whooped.
At least, no one can say they heard any whoops as we powered around the Raceway.
I warned myself about the breaking, but was still unprepared for being violently jerked forward as we went from 200km/h to double digits.
By the fourth time over the hill on the back straight, I had promised myself neck strengthening would be added to my workout routine.
However, it was all over far too soon, the Radical getting around the circuit in under a minute for each lap.
I was reliably informed we hit around 215km/h, but on a longer track, we could have gone faster.
It's not hard to see why these drivers are addicted to pushing the limits on track; it's an incredible sense of freedom, and there's no doubt my drive out of Wanneroo was faster than the trip in.
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