Dad Spends £8,000 Turning His Garden Into A Giant Racetrack

They say a man's home is his castle, but Takeshi's castle is also a racetrack.

Because motor-mad mechanic Takeshi Teruya spent £8,000 on the track, meaning he can partake in his passion of drifting whenever he pleases. And I say it's money well spent.

The 37-year-old, originally from Saitama, Japan, moved to New Zealand in 2007. In Japan, Mr Teruya would never be able to afford a property with land, but after buying his first house in Hamilton in 2013 he quickly set about converting into the home of his dreams.

The property cost £180,000 ($235,132) but he was quoted an extra £20,000 ($26,121) to have the track built, which was out of his budget. Determined to keep his track dream on track, he bought recycled asphalt and built the 130 metre circuit by himself, spending £8,000 ($10,447).

Caters

The father-of-two said: "I am the happiest man in New Zealand. I loved drifting ever since I learned how to drive.

"It is more than just a hobby, it is my life. But land is scarce and very expensive in Japan, and it is an almost impossible dream to even own a small plot.

"When I saw the plot I thought it was a good size to have a drifting track that goes around the house and then my thoughts went wild.

"There are many petrol-heads around the world owning cool looking super cars, racing cars, drift cars or whatever, but how many own a circuit around their own house?

"That cost too much, so I had to start thinking about how I can do it with my small budget."

Fortunately for Mr Teruya, there happened to be five other motor enthusiasts living in the cul-de-sac who helped him build the track. However, his wife, Yoshie, is not a motor fan and thinks her husband is more childish than their daughters.

She said: "Who in the right mind builds a race track around your own house?

"He's a dad, but it seems like he hasn't grown up."

Caters

Yet, she has warmed to the racetrack over time, because when her husband isn't drifting around the house in his Nissan Skyline 370GT she has found that it has other uses.

She said: "It is really good for the kids scootering and push bikes, so now we don't even have to go to the parks."

There you go, that is one thoughtful gift from that dad... the neighbours probably prefer it when the kids use it too.

Topics: Cars

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey