Then , to test you out, they fly jet fighters overhead in pretty formations, and do that burn out thing that jet fighters do. I bet those guys have seen "Top Gun" more than once. Things then quiet down a little as speeches are made from the podium near the starting line. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to hear what's being said, due to the fact that except for the speeches, there really won't be too much need for amplification of sound today.

Cars then start to slowly cruise by, swerving from side to side, apparently to warm up their tyres. The last time I saw someone swerve that much on the road was the last time my grandmother drove her 1964 EH Holden Special, just before the RTA took her licence away. But, since these drivers are getting paid more for the next two hours than I'm getting paid this year, I won't question them.

I was at the far end of the track, standing on a garbage bin when the green light flashed. What sounded like a swarm of very angry insects very quickly became deafening as the cars went past for the first time. It only took a minute for my head to recover enough from the shock to go digging in my pockets for those little bits of foam handed to me hours earlier. They weren't joking!

The cars scream by at regular intervals, perhaps best described by veteran F1 race caller Murray Walker. "These cars are going round and round and round" (do your best Walker impersonation here) Somebody eventually won the race. Cheering, more speeches and the obligatory champagne shower followed.

Not having anything to do with the winning team on a personal level, I wandered out and jumped on a tram back to the city. Getting to and from the track was a breeze, and the street circuit of Albert Park is a really nice track. You can of course get a seat in one of the grandstands and have a very good and comfortable view of the race proceedings. The people watching, one of the best things on the day for me, seemed better at ground level though.