Dream Driveway: Man Builds Private Track in Back Yard

By Marcus Slater - December 13, 2012

We’ve all had this problem before. You want to burn down back roads in your McLaren F1, but the “man” keeps shutting you down. The only way to get around that is to take the car to the track. But if you’ve got a need for speed like Dean Wills, track work isn’t going to cut it… And you’re probably going to lose your license for speeding like he did back in 1996. So what’s a multimillionaire speed freak who has been legally banned from driving to do?

Well, the same thing as the rest of us. He built a race track in his backyard, obviously.

Dean Willis is the retired chief of a Coca Cola Amatil in Australia. After losing his license, he laid down this 3 mile long, Formula 1 style track behind his home. The winding ribbon of tarmac twists it’s 22 curves through elevation changes and terrain features similar to the way a country back road does. In fact, that was Willis’ goal. There are no ripple strips or run-off areas, or… well, safety spaces. Considering Willis’ affinity for public roads, having a private track built like this makes sense. It also means the rules for driving it are different. Racing is prohibited and the corner entries have recommended speeds posted ahead of them.

Having your own space to race without the threat of being arrested sounds unreal. The price is unreal too. The Herald Sun estimates the asphalt would’ve cost 2.4 million dollars by itself. The whole track is said to have cost 10 million dollars.

Start saving your pennies now.