The elite. The best of the best. The top one percent. And we’re gonna make them better.

No, this is not the opening scenes of Top Gun. Not even Days of Thunder.

This is an exercise where we dared to dream. Not in the sense of little Nicky Webster flying on the highwire at the Sydney 2000 Olympics opening ceremony, but in creating the definitive V8 Supercar circuit.

We canvassed the opinions of Supercar’s flying aces, TV types and the motorsport press to create the best circuit imaginable. We asked them to nominate the corners on the 2007 tour that must be included in the V8 track of all V8 tracks. Then we took their faves and crafted them together to create the 7.856km masterpiece you see before you. An all-star blast lapped in a whisker under three minutes.

We considered purely surveying drivers, but a comment from HRT hotshot Todd Kelly reinforced that casting our net wider would produce a superior final result.

"Really, race drivers will always nominate the fastest corners as their favourites," said the 2005 Bathurst champ.

Which begged the question: what are the key elements for a really stellar ribbon of road? The general consensus was a range of corners, undulations and at least one long straight with character. Oh, and wide, fast corners that reward the brave and skilled, with their talents clear for all observers to see.

"Any good corner should make the hair stand up on the back of your neck," Kelly continued.

You’ll note our effort possesses no constant radius arcs and absolutely no 90 degree yawn-inducing bends.

Giving drivers multiple opportunities to pass was another essential ingredient for our mega track. History shows that the best recipe for overtaking is a fast corner onto a long straight – perhaps with a kink to spice things up – ending with a hairpin. Hence, V8X’s in-house design gurus – hey, we were hardly going to give the task to Queensland Raceway’s architect! – have given us two such scenarios.

We took on board Stan the fan’s suggestion for a gun spectator spot like Bathurst’s Murray’s Corner, but ultimately wished to limit the circuit to 12 turns. We appeased young Stanley by promising to install viewing mounds and big screens at each turn – with
caravan parking spots, of course.

Interestingly, our super circuit features no fewer than three sections from Oran Park, more than even Mount Panorama and Phillip Island, the V8 series’ two widely-acknowledged classic venues.

Given its multiple nominations, one can only hope that the Sydney circuit’s owner Tony Perich acts upon his vision of replicating OP’s key features in a new harbour city circuit.

Once OP’s bridge was nominated, we had hoped to incorporate a figure-eight, but doing so only compromised the layout given the other corners tabled by our experts.

All-up, nine of the 14 Supercar venues contributed facets to our dream scene. – OP, Bathurst, the Island, Sandown, Surfers Paradise, Eastern Creek, Adelaide’s street circuit, Pukekohe and Symmons Plains. The latter provides its bent back straight as the lead into the Chase.

We freely admit our circuit is big on dreams, low on practicality. There’s zero chance it will ever be built, as it would be hugely expensive to construct and operate. Even if Bill Gates agreed to fund it, there’s no terrain on earth that would be a precise topographical match for its requirements.

But we’re not going to let the dream police ruin our pleasure. Particularly as there’s a still a lofty purpose to this exercise beyond fun and fantasy, which is reason enough. We wanted to provide inspiration for future track designers, so we don’t get a repeat of the Paperclip or Winton’s woeful attempt at extending its circuit a decade ago, which added length but no character or entertainment value.

With Perich’s proposed circuit, the likely Townsville street circuit and possible revamps to existing venues, we simply hope to stimulate creative juices to ensure any new Aussie tracks have soul.

Coca-Cola Corner

Track: Oran Park

Max speed: 90km/h

Nominator: Jason Richards

Every classic circuit has at least one passing spot. "A great overtaking opportunity is created when you have a kink, then a hairpin, like at the end of Oran Park’s straight," the Tasman driver explains. "As hairpins go, that’s a good style of one. The kink effectively increases braking distances there. The natural line is on the right-hand side, so it gives drivers the chance to outbrake others on the left. It’s an easy passing opportunity."

Doohan Corner

Track: Phillip Island

Max speed: 210km/h

Nominator: Garth Tander

Phillip Island’s first turn – originally called South Curve, but now honouring motorcycling’s mighty Mick – is not used in that role on our circuit. But it is the first corner (of many) requiring bravery pills. "You can carry a bit of speed and go through there two-wide," says Tander. "Generally speaking, it’s very fast. It’s 210km/h at its absolute minimum speed. These cars aren’t easy to drive at that speed, so it’s satisfying when you get it right."

Turn Eight

Track: Adelaide Parklands

Max speed: 205km/h

Nominator: Mike Audcent

Numbered corners aren’t usually anything special. Turn Eight – invariably preceded by the word ‘infamous’ – is the exception. While it garners a driver’s full attention – as a small mistake brings huge consequences – they don’t rate it as especially challenging. But its propensity to produce riveting TV is peerless, says V8 Supercar Television bigwig Audcent. "It produces spectacular action," he says. "And the brave can pass there, or set-up a move for the hairpin that follows."

VB Chicane

Track: Surfers Paradise

Max speed: 110km/h

Nominator: Rick Kelly

Chicanes are a fact-of-life these days and the Gold Coast’s double-barrelled example proves that wiggly bits can enhance a circuit, rather than detract from it. "The double-chicane is awesome" Rick says. "It’s an exciting bit of road. If you mess it up you are in a fair-bit of strife. If you get it right, you come out the other end 100 per cent on the throttle and you can make up a heap of time."

The Bridge

Track: Oran Park

Max speed: 125km/h

Nominator: Warren Luff

The Yokohama bridge section provides the series’ only figure-eight complex, adding further personality to the Sydney circuit. "As you go over the crest, the car gets light while you’re turning right," says Luff, who virtually grew up there working for his father’s driver-training business. "Then, you’re still turning right when the car bottoms out on the exit. It’s a great curve." Another big loss to the series when OP’s gates shut in the next couple of years.

Reid Park/Sulman Park

Track: Mount Panorama

Max speed: 190km/h

Nominator: John Bowe

While the entire mountain section could feature here, two-times Great Race winner JB sums up his colleagues’ thoughts in nominating the sweep through Reid and Sulman Parks as Bathurst’s ultimate challenge. "It’s the piece of road I enjoy the most of any circuit I’ve ever been to. That bit of road is exciting, challenging, difficult and satisfying – the latter, if the car is being co-operative. It’s fast, there’s vertical movement, the car moves around and it’s blind."

Rothmans Rise

Track: Sandown

Max speed: 175km/h

Nominator: Mark Winterbottom

The traditional name ‘Rothmans Rise’ was stubbed out when Frosty was a pre-schooler, but last year’s nomenclature ‘Betta Electrical Bend’ has also been unplugged. Regardless, the uphill kink at the end of Sandown’s back straight offers something special for spectators and drivers. "You hit about 260km/h as you come over the hill and your brain is telling you to stop, but you need to keep going," says Winterbottom. "You attack this corner in sixth gear."

Turn Two

Track: Eastern Creek

Max speed: 80km/h

Nominator: "Big Hair Nev’ Wilkinson

V8X’s skipper hasn’t raced as much as a billycart but he’s drawn to action spots like a grid girl to lycra. The 200-degree hairpin is this V8 fiend’s favourite overtaking zone. Shenanigans are guaranteed on lap one. Nev’s even been known to leave the luxury of the Paddock Club to trek to Turn Two for a race start. Which brings us to its only real downer: it’s out-of-view from the majority of main-straight vantage points.

Dog Leg

Track: Oran Park

Max speed: 200km/h

Nominator: Steve Owen

"It’s one of those ones, where if you decide to have a go, you tighten up your belts a bit," says Owen. "It’s blind and it’s fast; almost flat in fourth gear as you hit the limiter. In qualifying you only lift on the crest, when you change direction from right to left. When the car ‘lands’ and stops sliding you are right on tarmac’s edge. If you drop a right-hand wheel over, you are pretty well stuffed."

Turn/Six/Seven Complex

Track: Pukekohe

Max speed: 190km/h

Nominator: Jamie Whincup

A big loss to the championship with the demise of the Kiwi track for 2008. "You come through the second-last corner at Pukekohe flat in fourth on the rev limiter, you hit the kerb, the car lands and you have to change direction into the right-hander onto the straight," says Whincup. "It’s a challenge – because of the bumps and the overall speed – to get through there without looping it and ending up in the wall."

The Chase

Track: Mount Panorama

Max speed: 290km/h

Nominator: Murray Lomax

TV is often guilty of failing to capture the enormous speeds race cars travel through corners. An exception to this rule is the entry kink to The Chase. "You get a whoosh of cars past the camera and it provides an amazing sight," says Lomax. "It’s taken at almost 300km/h and, the good thing is, they look like they’re going 300 clicks. And from the driver’s perspective? "Trying to get through there flat is a challenge," says Todd Kelly.

Olympic

Track: Phillip Island

Max speed: 182km/h

Nominator: Steve Richards

The perfect final turn for our all-star track. "It’s fast, really fast, with lots of camber," says Richards. "As you turn in, you change into fifth gear and the car loads up and you can get hard on the power and really get a good run down the Gardner Straight. If your car is working well, it’s an easy place to set up a pass on the bloke ahead, especially if his car is not working as well."