Drag Tag has offered Greater Dandenong councillors a tour of its facilities.– Shaun Inguanzo
A HIGH-TECH racing simulator business has invited Greater Dandenong councillors to tour its facility in a bid to promote legal street racing to hoon drivers using the city’s roads.
Drag Tag in Campbellfield is the first simulator of its kind in the world, and has been a feature on science and technology television show Beyond Tomorrow, as well as Channel Seven’s Sunrise program.
But manager Geoff Humphreys said that illegal street racing, including a meeting that sparked a riot in Noble Park last week, had received greater coverage than its legal alternatives.
“We’ve been pushing this for some time, but getting the exposure is difficult,” Mr Humphreys said.
Drag Tag allows participants to bring their own car and have it fitted with a custom bracket for a one-off fee.
The bracket allows the car to sit on Drag Tag’s high-tech racing mount, while the car’s wheels drive on rollers that feed information on the car’s speed, weight, attitude and other racing dynamics to a computer – meaning participants only have to drive their cars as usual to take part.
Four large screens that engulf the driver’s entire vision show the path ahead.
Mr Humphreys said Drag Tag was safe, had strong support from local police, and was also better for participants’ cars. In addition to the simulator, the company had recently opened a freestyle burnout pad, the largest of its kind in Victoria, Mr Humphreys said.
Fire marshals are on hand at all times, and drivers’ cars are fitted with emergency communicators that tell the driver when to stop if the going gets a little too tough.
Mr Humphreys said he had invited Greater Dandenong councillors to tour the facility to show them there were safe and legal alternatives to using public roads.
He said the simulator could be used as a driver education tool for pre-learners and school groups.
