David's World

Why would someone not want to be cooled down when sitting in 60 degree heat in four layers of fireproof clothing from head to toe for over an hour? And why would they pay around $100,000 AUD for the experience? I don’t know, but I feel as though I should because I would do it too.

In any case, David Wall seemed pretty disappointed that a blown engine robbed him of his chance to sit in the hot seat this weekend and race at the Merdeka Millenium 12 hour race here at Sepang. Instead, we are sitting in a prison cell-esque room. It is far removed from the opulent setting where one might imagine a racing driver to relax.

Features of the room include four walls, a floor and a roof, all in Malaysia’s finest concrete; not the German metal he desired. David is sitting on one of the Eskis that is strewn around the room, along with a few bags, pillows, a clothes rack and a coffee earn. It’s 10 p.m. and he seems quite tired even though he didn’t get to do his sitting today.

Despite this he seems quite happy to give a surprise interview. Twenty minutes prior I had talked nicely to the guardian of the tunnel and simply walked past the guardians of the gate that lead to David’s world, as though I belong here. He truly belongs here though, and he’s practically been here since he was born.

“I’ve been at race tracks since I was two weeks old,” he explains.

David entered his world through his father, Des, who has been racing for over 30 years. His world consists of making the hot seat go as fast as he can, and to never stop.

“I’ve basically raced from the time I was 11, in go karts, to the time I am now, which is 26... I’ve raced every year and haven’t had a year off. So, the plan is to keep continuing like that.”

So how do you practice sitting without a seat? “It’s basically a focus thing, there’s not really anything you can (do to) train for it. Really the only way you can make it better is (your fitness.) Over here the heat’s an issue, so when you get half way through a stint you start talking to yourself, it’s sort of funny, you don’t talk out aloud, you keep telling yourself, you know, stay focused, what ever makes you keep your eye on the job... That goes back to fitness training, if you’re fit enough you don’t get quite as fatigued as you would if you’re not fit.”

Aside from going to the gym, the other activity that takes up David’s time is his job as a civil contractor. “Unfortunately it’s still full time. One day, if I could make a living out of motor sport, that’s the... agenda of the whole thing. But like anyone I’ve got to pay bills, so at the moment I have to have a full time job.”

Given the cost of mere participation in motor sport, David is lucky enough to have an understanding wife in his world.

“My wife, Amy, her motto is whatever I spend on motor sport she gets to spend the same. But... I’m a long way ahead of what she’s spending, but ahh, I think I’ll just leave it at that,” he says with a slight chuckle.

His wife and motor sport are about all that is taken into account with his daily routine: “I go to work... during the day, then I go to the gym until 8 o’clock at night, then (I) normally come home, spend an hour, relax with (my) family. Then... the next day... (I) do the same thing. It’s the same thing like that for months on end. The joy you get when you go to a (race) meeting is you get to relax and you don’t have to train. It’s basically my life.”

Any possible threat to David’s life posed by the dangers of the hot seat is clearly over-ridden by his sheer determination to succeed. He had a major accident at Oran Park in Sydney’s west once, and carried on competing the very next day.

“I blew a left front shock, and went in backwards into a concrete wall in a Porsche in fourth gear, knocked myself out for two minutes, the whole deal, but I basically raced the next day with a head ache.”

However, he likes to put such accidents into perspective compared to everyday life.

“To me you’re actually safer on a race track than you are driving down the road to get the milk.”

David’s everyday life revolves around getting the milk for his family as well as racing. Although as far as his personal pursuits are concerned, he has a clear philosophy.

“If I had a dollar and I had to spend it to get a drive, or I had to spend it have dinner that night, I’d buy the drive.”

Who is David? Where did his world come from?

Skip to the end: A brief look at the inner workings of a Australian GT driver, David Wall.