KEY POINTS:
Wye Street is normally a quiet part of Hamilton, just a rugby punt away from Waikato Stadium. It's also an easy stroll to the CBD and Waikato River.
Yesterday, however, Tony Richards had no intention of leaving his home. The Hamilton V8s were in town and it was
exactly why he and three mates bought 2 Wye St last year.
They took possession of the single-storey bungalow a fortnight ago, moved in with the scaffolding to erect a two-levelled grandstand on the roof last week, and headed to the supermarket to set up their own corporate box - albeit at a slightly higher price than punters paid this weekend.
They even set up a length of flexible piping from the roof to pop the empties into the recycling bin below.
With a view of the start-finish line and pit lane, the big screen erected for those in the main stand and an outlook down the main straight, few spots on the Hamilton street circuit had a better view. The Super 14 rugby match between the Chiefs and Crusaders was a bonus.
"The house is perfect," Richards says, with a beer in one hand and a wide grin on his face. "Two years ago when we heard that the street racing might be coming to Hamilton, we got in touch with a land agent we know and asked her to keep her eyes open for a house on the circuit," he says.
"Four or five lease units came up but they were too expensive. We wanted a house situated on the track. Last August, this one came up and we just trusted the agent's word.
"We didn't think we would get something so good. When we saw it we thought, 'Wow, we can scaffold this and it will be the bee's knees'. Street racing is fantastic, especially for a bunch of boozers, shall we say."
Richards could easily have seen the action for himself without forking out a few hundred thousand dollars.
As the owner of Richards Motor Sport, he runs a car in the New Zealand V8 Series driven by rookie Australian Michael Bristow who finished 13th in the first rain-affected race yesterday.
Richards' four sons are also heavily involved in motorsport and one, Craig, is one of the top drivers in the super saloon series.
Although he's been tempted to get behind the wheel and race, Richards has a passion for watching and being involved.
He owns another property in Surfers Paradise, mainly to watch the annual Indy Car race there.
"We've got property in Surfers inside the track and have been going there for many years," says the Whitianga resident, who owns Toyota franchises in Paeroa, Whitianga and Thames. "It's superb.
"We've had it for five years and have been going to watch for about nine or 10. It's a 14-storey building right on the first chicane of the main straight. It has an open roof and you can virtually see the whole thing. It's a unique property, just like this one."
Of course, old friends and acquaintances come out of the woodwork when they get wind of a rooftop view of the racing.
More than 45 turned up for practice day on Friday, prompting Richards to limit it to "strictly by invitation only" yesterday.
About 30 climbed the ladder on to the platform yesterday - 12 were staying in the house over the weekend - for what was an action-packed day of racing.
Not everyone was as happy as Richards, though. Just across the road, Ben Ritchie and Earl Rangiawha were standing on the back of their small truck, straining to glimpse a piece of the action.
The pair had paid $240 each for a three-day general admission pass, which included being able to visit pit lane, but discovered on Friday they could barely see any racing because of the high safety walls erected around the track.
"We paid a lot of money to see a black cloth," Ritchie says. "When I bought the ticket, I asked if we would be able to see the action and they said, 'absolutely'. I could have saved myself a bit of money just to come here and watch it."
Ritchie and Rangiawha were well set up, having parked at 7.30am.
They had a sun umbrella to escape showers, had packed a sizeable lunch and moved forward to lean on a wooden barrier to peer on to the main straight. Not as well set up as Richards, though. He was in heaven.
