Banking heir, 52, spends $3m turning his 275-acre New York backyard into personal Formula One racetrack where he and his girlfriend, 23, race incredible cars and bikes from $5m collection
- Alan Wilzig turned the backyard of his 150-year-old Dutch Colonial-style home in Taghkanic, New York, into a real-life racetrack
- The track contains nine turns, 80 feet of elevation changes, grass-covered boundaries and FoamAir fences
- Wilzig financed his purchase by selling the Trust Company of New Jersey bank - of which he was CEO, president and chairman - in 2004 for $726million
- He completed the racing course in May 2010 at a total cost of around $3million
- The entrepreneur has a 'moto museum'. a three-story steel-and-glass structure where he showcases his $5million collection of cars and bikes
There are many things one can do with a backyard: build a swimming pool, start a vegetable garden or create a barbecue area.
In the case of Alan Wilzig, he decided to build a Formula One racetrack in his backyard.
Sitting behind his 150-year-old Dutch Colonial-style home in Taghkanic, New York, Wilzig built a 1.15-mile-long, 40-foot-wide, bidirectional racetrack highly optimized for motorcycles and cars.
According to Wilzig, the course is the only personal-use, professional-quality private racetrack in the world.
![Banking heir and racing enthusiast Alan Wilzing turned the backyard of his 150-year-old Dutch Colonial-style home in Taghkanic, New York, into a real-life, 1.15-mile-long, 40-foot-wide Formula One racetrack (pictured)](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/26/21/46B7ED8600000578-5119383-image-a-44_1511731300540.jpg)
Banking heir and racing enthusiast Alan Wilzing turned the backyard of his 150-year-old Dutch Colonial-style home in Taghkanic, New York, into a real-life, 1.15-mile-long, 40-foot-wide Formula One racetrack (pictured)
![The track contains nine turns, 80 feet of elevation changes, grass-covered boundaries and FoamAir fences outside the corners to soften the impact in case of a driver goes off course (Pictured, Wilzig with girlfriend Clemence Lapeyre)](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/26/21/46B7DB2700000578-5119383-image-a-48_1511732062132.jpg)
The track contains nine turns, 80 feet of elevation changes, grass-covered boundaries and FoamAir fences outside the corners to soften the impact in case of a driver goes off course (Pictured, Wilzig with girlfriend Clemence Lapeyre)
'You're going fast enough to make your a** pucker,' Wilzig, 52, told The New York Post. 'The f*****g hairs on your neck stand up.'
The track contains nine turns, 80 feet of elevation changes, grass-covered boundaries and FoamAir fences outside the corners to soften the impact in case of a driver goes off course.
![Wilzig (pictured, left, with Lapeyre) was able to finance his property purchase by selling the Trust Company of New Jersey bank - of which he was CEO, president and chairman - in 2004 for $726million](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/26/21/46B7BD5F00000578-5119383-image-a-53_1511732107791.jpg)
Wilzig (pictured, left, with Lapeyre) was able to finance his property purchase by selling the Trust Company of New Jersey bank - of which he was CEO, president and chairman - in 2004 for $726million
After a motorcycle-riding friend of Wilzig was nearly killed by a car accident, the entrepreneur was turned off by the idea of street-racing.
'After 100,000 miles of around-the-world motorcycle-riding without incident,' he said. 'I realized it was only a matter of time before somebody pulled out in a fancy car and hit me.'
Wilzig was able to finance his property purchase by selling the Trust Company of New Jersey bank - of which he was CEO, president and chairman - in 2004 for $726million.
Wilzig bought his 275 acres upstate in 2005 for $3.35million.
'I bought this property with the intention of building a racetrack,' said Wilzig. 'Zoning here allowed for it - unlike in the Hamptons.'
When news first broke of the proposed track, neighbors feared noise and commercial usage. A court injunction halted construction in 2007.
Eventually Wilzig was able to continue and he completed the course in May 2010 at a total cost of around $3million.
Wilzig has had many friends zip around the the track - including celebrity hairdresser Oscar Blandi and film and TV director Ben Younger - but he most often drives with his 23-year-old girlfriend of nearly three years, Clemence Lapeyre.
![Wilzig (pictured) has had many friends zip around the the track but he most often drives with his 23-year-old girlfriend of nearly three years, Clemence Lapeyre](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/26/21/46B7BD4600000578-5119383-image-a-49_1511732083887.jpg)
Wilzig (pictured) has had many friends zip around the the track but he most often drives with his 23-year-old girlfriend of nearly three years, Clemence Lapeyre
![According to Wilzig, his course is the only personal-use, professional-quality private racetrack in the world (Pictured, WIlzig's 'moto museum')](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/26/21/46B7BD5700000578-5119383-image-a-51_1511732093455.jpg)
According to Wilzig, his course is the only personal-use, professional-quality private racetrack in the world (Pictured, WIlzig's 'moto museum')
![Wilzig says he most often drives with his 23-year-old girlfriend of nearly three years, Clemence Lapeyre](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/27/00/46B9306F00000578-5119383-Wilzig_says_he_most_often_drives_with_his_23_year_old_girlfriend-m-28_1511741253702.jpg)
Wilzig says he most often drives with his 23-year-old girlfriend of nearly three years, Clemence Lapeyre
Wilzig says Lapeyre is as passionate about racing as he is.
'The most fun I ever had here was this past summer when we raced motorcycles on the track every day,' said Wilzig, who estimates he's completed around 15,000 laps around his track.
'I would wake up with my girlfriend at 7 in the morning, watch a live Formula One race from Singapore or Bahrain or wherever on TV, then go downstairs and make breakfast for my 10- and 11-year-old children - who, sadly, do not share my enthusiasm for racing.
'After that, Clem and I would spend two hours chasing each other around the track before coming back, making love for a half-hour and then enjoying three or four hours in the pool with the kids. What could be a better day?'
![Wilzig says his 23-year-old girlfriend Lapeyre (above) is as passionate about racing as he is](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/27/00/46B930AB00000578-5119383-image-a-29_1511741537045.jpg)
Wilzig says his 23-year-old girlfriend Lapeyre (above) is as passionate about racing as he is
![The entrepreneur has been dating his girlfriend (pictured above together) for three years](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/27/00/46B9308300000578-5119383-image-a-30_1511741578834.jpg)
The entrepreneur has been dating his girlfriend (pictured above together) for three years
And he means it when he says he has an 'enthusiasm' for racing.
The entrepreneur has a 'moto museum', a three-story steel-and-glass structure where he showcases his $5million collection of cars and bikes - including Ducatis, Suzukis and Bimotas. He also has a collection of 100 helmets and racing suits.
'A guy buys a Ferrari driven by Steve McQueen for $27 million and nine times out of 10, he takes it out once a week so he can drive to the coffee place in Greenwich, Connecticut,' said Wilzig.
'Come here and you can actually drive the cars in the way they were meant to be driven. I can't think of anything more fun.'
![The entrepreneur (pictured on right with racing driver Marko Radisic on left) has a 'moto museum' where he showcases his $5million collection of cars and bikes](http://web.archive.org./web/20240408002252/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/27/00/46B9309B00000578-5119383-image-a-31_1511741713250.jpg)
The entrepreneur (pictured on right with racing driver Marko Radisic on left) has a 'moto museum' where he showcases his $5million collection of cars and bikes
Most watched News videos
- Boris Johnson wants Gaza suffering to end but not with Hamas victory
- Moment 'Miss Mizzy' attacks people in Primark
- Terrifying moment robbers ransack jewellery store and make away
- BBC News reports on Kate Middleton revealing her cancer diagnosis
- Undercover footage of Just Stop Oil planning to target London Underground
- Briton Russ Cook completes historic 16,000km run across Africa
- MP Luke Evans reveals he was 'cyber-flashed' with explicit images
- Shocking moment armed thieves rob jewellery store in broad daylight
- Horrifying moment bouncer body slams man head-first into the floor
- Italy's Mount Etna delights onlookers by puffing out smoke rings
- Hooded thugs attempt to steal elderly man's Rolex in Birmingham
- Moment Ukraine attacks Russia's Morozovsk airfield overnight