Latest / Rusty's Garage / Michael Caruso - Part 1

Transcript

Michael Caruso - Part 1 · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:14
  I'm automotive commentator and journalist Greg Rust, and this is Rusty's Garage.
• 0:23
  I'm Rusty's Garage.
• 0:27
  For this episode, I'm on the Gold Coast, but wishing I could be in Sydney face-to-face with my old Speed Series TV colleague, Michael Caruso.
• 0:35
  It's just the way both of our schedules have worked out.
• 0:39
  I'm excited for him, pairing up with Mark Winterbottom for the coming supercars Enduros.
• 0:44
  He's known Frosty since they were youngsters in karting.
• 0:48
  Michael in this chat talks about what life is like now as a co-driver and what he's doing Monday to Friday when he's not with Team 18.
• 0:57
  The skills he's learned out of the car as a professional sports person and perhaps even on the TV side that serve him incredibly well now.
• 1:07
  He's a proud family man, and you'll get a sense of that, not to mention the inspirational impact his dad had on his career, plus a special moment getting to drive a wild race car that was almost like a moment of handing the Caruso race baton over.
• 1:24
  The legend who has been in his corner for a long time and whose words of wisdom shaped him on the path to the highest level of the sport in this part of the world.
• 1:34
  Michael pursued international opportunities too.
• 1:38
  He was a gun in carts, won a title when Formula 3 in Australia had some seriously cool cars and a very competitive field.
• 1:47
  His loyalty stands out in two decent stints as a full-timer in the supercars field, one with Gary Rogers and the other as part of the Nissan program with the Kellys.
• 1:58
  He talks about parking his race licence for a time and just how difficult that decision was and a hidden cooking talent, what it was like to drive an F3000 car at the limit plus the price tag that would come with taking that European path.
• 2:16
  We begin with a kind of impassioned plea from me to fire up an award-winning rival podcast that he was a part of in recent years, which is tucked up in its own garage for now.
• 2:28
  This chat between us is just so easy.
• 2:32
  That's a great reflection of the person that Michael is.
• 2:35
  It's engaging, funny and insightful.
• 2:38
  I hope you enjoy being part of it.
• 2:42
  Michael Caruso, welcome to the podcast.
• 2:44
  It is great to get you on.
• 2:45
  Fans will want to, before we look back on the early part of your life and time in motor racing, want to know what is happening with Below the Bonnet.
• 2:52
  Will that ever resurface, that podcast?
• 2:54
  Can we start with that?
• 2:58
  Rusty, thanks for bringing that up straight off the bat.
• 3:02
  It's one thing that I love when I go to the racetrack.
• 3:05
  I feel like that's the one thing that I'm remembered most for at the moment, to be honest.
• 3:10
  I remember you for more than that for the record.
• 3:11
  But a lot of fans loved it.
• 3:14
  Yeah, look, and Dave included.
• 3:17
  He rings me like every second week to ask me if we're going to get it going again and how we're going to do it and chatting about it.
• 3:23
  And, look, it was so much fun.
• 3:26
  I mean –
• 3:27
  Look at the success of your having made it.
• 3:29
  Like when you're really enjoying it and you do something you love, you really get a lot out of it.
• 3:36
  It's not just about talking to people that you like or interested in and what have you.
• 3:41
  You get a lot of satisfaction out of it.
• 3:43
  But it's also a lot of hard work, which I'm sure you can do a test to, is the effort that goes in is not...
• 3:50
  purely just sitting down and talking.
• 3:53
  There's a bit of research and obviously a bit of development as well in terms of, you know, looking ahead and making sure you've got enough to cover for the show and future shows.
• 4:04
  Where did the genesis of that come from?
• 4:06
  Because you brought together yourself, David Reynolds, who you talked about, who's got a kind of left of field thinking sometimes and there was a bit of irreverence about it.
• 4:16
  Yeah, it is.
• 4:17
  And you also brought into that, I mean, he's off doing his own podcast now as well, but you also brought in Andrew Van Leeuwen, who's a very respected, award-winning journalist.
• 4:24
  It was kind of a great combo.
• 4:26
  Who came up with it and how did it all start?
• 4:30
  So Dave and I had the concept many years ago, and it was actually a couple of years before we actually got kicked off.
• 4:39
  We obviously got a pretty...
• 4:41
  good relationship there and um we'd spoken about doing something and and it did take a while for him to twist my arm to to get it happening and then once we did get off and running like okay we're going to do this now and funny enough it was when I had enough well I had a bit more time on my hands when I went to a co-driver role so um obviously that's one thing that there's quite a bit of work in the background so I was like okay I've got a bit of time now a bit more time um I'll invest a bit of time putting into it and then we thought okay well it's not
• 5:12
  We thought it would be good to have a...
• 5:16
  probably more balanced opinion and bringing on a journalist.
• 5:20
  We'd, you know, had a long relationship with Andrew and what have you.
• 5:24
  And we thought, okay, let's bring someone else that could potentially just bring in a bit more of that balance and a less, you know, sort of leverage the show from in the sense that they can talk about some of the stuff that's going on that we might not have and so on and so forth.
• 5:38
  And then it just ended up turning to three mates just talking crap.
• 5:42
  And by racing.
• 5:45
  Did you have to cut much out of it or was it always, was it what listeners heard was what we got?
• 5:50
  It was absolute.
• 5:51
  Whatever they heard was literally what it was.
• 5:53
  And that was probably the best part about it is it was easy in that sense.
• 6:00
  We didn't have to turn on in any way.
• 6:03
  I mean, you sort of hear about that in the media space a bit is,
• 6:06
  You know, you have to get your game face on and what have you.
• 6:08
  But our game face was literally just being ourselves.
• 6:11
  So, yeah, lots of fun.
• 6:15
  And, you know, to your early question of if we're going to do it again.
• 6:20
  Who knows?
• 6:21
  Maybe when Dave becomes a co-driver.
• 6:23
  No, I don't know.
• 6:26
  To be honest, we'd love to do it.
• 6:28
  We'd love to.
• 6:29
  Cool.
• 6:29
  Well, this is my vote.
• 6:31
  I'll start the wave.
• 6:33
  I'd like to see a rebirth happen at some stage so you guys can iron that out.
• 6:38
  Good luck with that mission with him.
• 6:39
  You grew up, mate, in Sydney.
• 6:41
  Life has kind of come full circle for you because you are back there now.
• 6:45
  Am I right in saying and sharing the story for the audience, of course, that your dad's involvement, his love in motor racing was a very powerful influence for you as a young kid, wasn't it?
• 6:55
  Yeah, very much so, Rusty.
• 6:58
  He started off as a car mechanic.
• 7:03
  So his love for cars started virtually from when he could drive.
• 7:07
  So he got into that and then he started doing some sort of sport car racing, I guess, which was just basically, you know, getting a road car and going out to Orrum Park and Amaroor and what have you.
• 7:20
  And that quickly turned into... What sort of cars?
• 7:23
  Sports and ends.
• 7:24
  Yeah, cool.
• 7:26
  And he's a massive Ford fan, might I add.
• 7:29
  So it always had to be a Ford.
• 7:32
  He had an XY from his early days and then he got an XC and then ended up with an XC in the end.
• 7:41
  But, yeah, look, I grew up at the racetrack.
• 7:42
  I mean, some of my fondest memories of motor racing is literally, and for those that can wind the clock that far back, there's a little kids' park on the last turn at Amaru Park.
• 7:55
  I remember Dad, before he'd go for each race, he would walk me down, open the gate, which was obviously a lot taller than me, which probably still is today, leave me in the park and I'd play in the park while he was out racing on the track.
• 8:13
  And yeah, just...
• 8:15
  Yeah, thinking about it now, like I've got kids, to do something like that as well.
• 8:22
  Be quite unique.
• 8:23
  I mean, it was positioned literally on the last corner, so it was like prime positioning as well for watching the race.
• 8:29
  Near that press room, I think, wasn't it?
• 8:30
  Behind the press room there, maybe.
• 8:32
  I can't remember.
• 8:32
  Yeah, it was.
• 8:33
  Just below.
• 8:34
  Yeah, it was like a two-story building there.
• 8:37
  Yeah, cool.
• 8:38
  I mean, that's the stuff that I remember, you know, climbing up the hill on, you know, stop-go corner and off the rocks.
• 8:44
  Yep.
• 8:45
  Um, yeah, so, you know, growing up at the racetrack, it was, it was always going to be difficult for my dad to, to say no to me when I wanted to go motor racing.
• 8:54
  Um, but like, you know, Rusty, I mean, he, he chats with you when he comes out quite a bit and, um,
• 9:01
  He loves it.
• 9:02
  I mean, he absolutely loves motor racing and I think sometimes more than I do, to be fair.
• 9:07
  So I'm quite fortunate that I had, you know, one of my biggest supporters is, you know, my dad.
• 9:14
  And that's fundamentally how I got it, how I really got into it.
• 9:18
  Great track, Amaru.
• 9:19
  You've brought up some fond memories, and I cherish those chats with your dad.
• 9:22
  He's always got this beautiful effervescence about him, this beautiful smile when I see him, and as you say, a passionate motorsport man.
• 9:28
  There is a connection as well for you and the family with the great Kevin Bartlett too, isn't there?
• 9:36
  Tell us about that and the connection in the early part of your career.
• 9:40
  I mean, certainly I think he was in the background, perhaps maybe in a mentoring capacity in Formula 3 and things like that, wasn't he?
• 9:47
  Yeah, KB, he resided on the Northern Beaches in his early days and that's where the family, where we're from, and Dad helped him out.
• 10:00
  He was one of his mechanics in the Formula 5000 days.
• 10:04
  Awesome.
• 10:06
  So you'll probably quickly understand why he loves motor racing so much.
• 10:09
  I mean, those Formula 5000 things, although being a death trap...
• 10:14
  They were unbelievable.
• 10:16
  Beast.
• 10:17
  Fast, scary fast, amazing cars.
• 10:20
  And some of the stuff that I've seen, you know, is pretty cool.
• 10:25
  So, Dad, yeah, having the opportunity to work with someone like KB in that, he –
• 10:31
  uh inevitably have wanted to help me out um you know when I got into motor racing and particularly because I was very motivated and interested in open wheelers um there was no better person to to ask for support and and mentor me through um to become a more complete driver and and I was very fortunate to be able to work with him and and still catch up to this day so um
• 10:56
  amazing person to what he gives back to the sport as well is is so unique still doing it he's a clerk of the course and he's a driver coach as well and you know he's always trying to help and it's it's so nice to see that um someone that got a lot from the sport is happy to to give that back as well you know um and someone that everybody respects no doubt
• 11:21
  Is there one learning, one moment with him that sort of sticks in your mind, something that he perhaps showed you, taught you?
• 11:27
  I'm sure there's plenty of things, but maybe one along the way?
• 11:34
  Let me come back to that.
• 11:36
  That is so tough.
• 11:37
  I've learnt so much.
• 11:38
  To be honest, from him, it'd be hard to put it to one thing.
• 11:41
  But to be fair, a lot of the stuff that I learnt from him or that I still hold to this day is...
• 11:50
  is around the technical understanding of a race car and how to really identify from driving a car how to translate that into feedback that can improve a race car or at least give the support to the team to be able to try to improve it.
• 12:12
  I'll never forget the way he explained to me, particularly around springs and how they work and this being in an open wheeler car, you know, coming out of go-karting and what have you, you have no idea about that stuff.
• 12:27
  I understood what the car was doing in terms of understeer and overseer and all that, but to then translate that into making an adjustment and make the car faster is something that not everyone can shift and do, and I was fortunate enough that he could guide me in that way to fundamentally help me become a more complete driver.
• 12:50
  You are in, I'm bouncing around here deliberately, because it leads me to the fact that you are running with Team 18 in the Enduros.
• 12:57
  And as a part of the little bit of research for this, they tell me that on ride days, test days, et cetera, you are like the second or third engineer.
• 13:07
  You will run up to Frosty with the tablet, quick, let's get the info, da-da-da-da-da.
• 13:12
  You enjoy, and maybe it stems from that stuff that KB instilled in you, but do you enjoy that side of it and helping to understand the race car, iron it out and, you know, make it that package that you need?
• 13:26
  Yeah.
• 13:28
  You've clearly done your research.
• 13:30
  I like that person.
• 13:32
  But why would I be surprised, mate?
• 13:33
  You're the absolute most professional media person I've ever worked with.
• 13:38
  So, yeah.
• 13:41
  I, everything I do, I invest myself completely.
• 13:45
  And, um, with team 18 and Mark particularly, uh, obviously we've got a very, very long relationship.
• 13:53
  Um, I've known him longer than, than his wife Renee has that, I mean, that's how far it goes back.
• 13:59
  Um, you know, having raced each other since we were young, young kids and, uh, for Mark, he's.
• 14:08
  He's like, it's hard to tell him how to improve in terms of driving, but obviously when we come to trying to get in terms of handling a car, I just want to be there to help.
• 14:19
  And, you know, simple things, and I remember when I, you know, obviously was driving full-time, you'd come in and your engineer would tell you certain things on your radio, but you wouldn't know.
• 14:29
  You could, you know, painting a picture or at least seeing the data and seeing where you are on the timesheets and seeing where you're,
• 14:35
  Sector times are broken down into the 10 or 12 sectors, you know, the mini sectors over the whole circuit.
• 14:40
  Having all that information to be able to turn that into something that you can translate to on the track to improve is something that is difficult because you don't have the manpower, as we know.
• 14:52
  In supercars, they're now limited to the amount of people.
• 14:54
  So every time I go out there, I try to just provide as much a value as I can, not just from a driving perspective, but...
• 15:02
  You know, if he's doing well, that means I'm going to be doing well.
• 15:05
  So that's sort of, you know, plus he's a good guy as well.
• 15:09
  So I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it.
• 15:12
  That's for sure.
• 15:14
  You have evoked a memory for me.
• 15:15
  So I've got more, you and I can see each other for this chat.
• 15:18
  I have more grey hair, way more grey hair than you.
• 15:20
  But that is because you have no grey hair.
• 15:22
  You have none.
• 15:23
  But that is because I reckon I can vividly recall...
• 15:27
  learning to commentate on the PA at places like Lithgow, and little Michael Caruso, little Mark Winterbottom being there and racing.
• 15:36
  What was the first cut?
• 15:37
  How did that come about?
• 15:39
  Did you take to it like a duck to water?
• 15:41
  Take us there.
• 15:42
  No, definitely didn't take it like a duck toward it.
• 15:46
  I started slightly later than Mark, and I remember he started when he was seven.
• 15:52
  So I was sort of coming in a few years later.
• 15:54
  I didn't kick off until I was 12.
• 15:56
  So by the time I was getting into it, one of my first races or –
• 16:02
  You do four races on your P plates when you're in go-karts, and I don't know if this be the case anymore, but at the time you did four races, and the fifth race we were like, why don't we enter the Nationals?
• 16:15
  So just the hardest event of them all, and it happened to be at LiftGo.
• 16:21
  So we turn up to the Nationals in my fifth event and we're running around and we get into the final.
• 16:28
  And on the very last lap, last corner, I'll never forget, the boys were coming to lap me.
• 16:34
  And I'm talking like Ryan Briscoe, Mark Winterbottom, Troy Hunt.
• 16:38
  It was the full field.
• 16:39
  It was like the who's who of Australian motorsport in Junior J Lights.
• 16:43
  And yeah.
• 16:45
  And I, like, I had no idea, you know, like I was never looking back because there was no one to look back for, mind you.
• 16:51
  So I'm looking forward and these guys are coming around the outside of me and I'd inadvertently be involved in the hunt for the Australian Championship on the last corner with everyone sort of just going around me in this blaze.
• 17:05
  But, yeah, that was my sort of first experience or memory of racing, you know, the likes of Mark and some of those guys.
• 17:12
  But, yes, definitely not a duck to water.
• 17:16
  Take us to how dad and family stitched this together and what was the kind of car that you had to take the cart to the track?
• 17:24
  And what are we talking?
• 17:25
  You've mentioned you were Jays there, obviously.
• 17:28
  What type of cart was it and so on?
• 17:30
  So my first cart was, uh, it was a DAP, uh, surprise, surprise, Italian make go-kart, um, very famous.
• 17:37
  And I was actually, um, working pretty closely with Dean Cano.
• 17:42
  So they were close with the importer for DAP.
• 17:45
  Um, and, uh, Dino was actually one of the, one of the guys in the fight for the, for the championship.
• 17:52
  And that day in 1994 or what have, oh, sorry.
• 17:55
  It would have been earlier than that.
• 17:56
  Yeah.
• 17:56
  94, 93.
• 17:56
  Uh.
• 17:59
  So, yeah, that was some time ago.
• 18:02
  But when we got involved in karting, obviously for myself, the first thing I did when my dad got me a go-kart was put a Ferrari sticker on
• 18:14
  On the NASA panel, like right bang in the middle of the thing, because obviously a big fan of Ferrari.
• 18:21
  You have to be, I think, growing up in an Italian household.
• 18:24
  But it was lots of fun.
• 18:28
  We spent – Dad invested a lot of time in me and Mum, obviously, but to go out virtually every single weekend practicing and practicing and testing.
• 18:39
  And we raced in Junior J Lights and Junior J Heavies.
• 18:44
  So I had, you know, like 40 kilos of lead when I was in junior J heavies just to try to get extra miles in and try to catch up.
• 18:51
  Mm-hmm.
• 18:53
  Yes.
• 18:54
  I mean, to be honest, in terms of we talk about family sports, Rusty, motorsport, and we still see it to the day.
• 19:00
  And I don't think I realise that until now when I sort of go to the racetrack and walk around.
• 19:05
  But it's such a family orientated sport.
• 19:09
  It's very difficult to do unless you've got that support as a young kid to get into motorsport.
• 19:13
  So your family normally taking you around.
• 19:16
  Um, the first car that we had was, uh, dad had a, um, Land Cruiser, which he still owns to today, might I add.
• 19:23
  Really?
• 19:24
  Um, and, uh, and that's what we used to go around in everywhere.
• 19:28
  We got a, you know, had our little cart trailer, double decker sort of little cart trailer thing.
• 19:32
  And, um, I, I laugh about it.
• 19:36
  I'm actually where I work now.
• 19:38
  Um, the family that I work with used to race karts as well.
• 19:41
  And we used to go karting together quite a bit.
• 19:43
  So, um.
• 19:45
  It really is some of the best memories.
• 19:47
  It's some of the best motor racing that you do in your life as well.
• 19:50
  I mean, I've been lucky to race in all different levels and competitions, but in terms of pure racing, it's difficult to find something where you're actually competing and have that –
• 20:07
  those moments where you're racing against someone and it's just wheel to wheel and, and it's driver V driver.
• 20:14
  There's, there's so much at stake.
• 20:16
  Um, and you know, there's, there's a lot to lose as well.
• 20:20
  So, uh, it's very satisfying in, um, in karting to go racing at a, at a top level for sure.
• 20:27
  When did you go from nearly being lapped in the Australian titles to being competitive race winner, Michael Caruso and how, you know, you know,
• 20:38
  In that journey, was it just this sole obsession for you, that's all you wanted to do, or was it just a pastime and that beautiful family connection that you've talked about?
• 20:48
  I mean, it does have one of the spin-offs our sport has is the unity it provides family.
• 20:55
  I mean, some families have difficulty keeping kids together and troubles that emerge from that.
• 20:59
  That is actually one of the unsung benefits of motor racing and how it keeps that unity in family.
• 21:05
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 21:07
  I mean, in terms of going from last to winning, it took about a year until I got onto the pace and where I was competing.
• 21:17
  I think I went back a year later in the state championships at Lifco and Alan Gurr and I, another last lap battle.
• 21:24
  We'd race each other all weekend.
• 21:26
  We went, you know, race for race.
• 21:28
  I'd win a heat, he'd win a heat, so on and so forth.
• 21:30
  And we got to the final and we were,
• 21:32
  We were basically 500 metres up the road of everybody.
• 21:37
  And he crashed me out in the second last corner and we hated each other for years, but we ended up turning out to be good mates.
• 21:46
  But these are the stories and moments that you just never forget.
• 21:50
  At the time, we were so livid at each other that we'd...
• 21:55
  We obviously both wanted it so bad, but you're right.
• 21:59
  Even Alan and his father and his family, his brother raced as well.
• 22:04
  You talk about family and you see it everywhere.
• 22:06
  And even today, you look at categories like Toyota 86 and what have you.
• 22:12
  the whole family come away and they've got a car towing a trailer, sorry, they've got a truck or whatever they have towing their car on the back and they're either sleeping in their car and, you know, they've got their whole life in this little garage and we're so comfortable and used to, you know, at the top level in supercars, you get very easy complacent, but you look at how they do it and you think, yeah, that's exactly, you know, that's what it was like, you know, at one point.
• 22:38
  So you get lots of...
• 22:41
  It's hard.
• 22:42
  It's definitely not easy motor racing.
• 22:44
  There's lots of challenges, like I'm sure every sport, but there's one thing for sure that you get out of it is if you can be surrounded by your family and have that support.
• 22:53
  It's down the track though when you start to actually really see it and enjoy it.
• 23:01
  We'll get to the move into kind of cars and racing in a second here, but I want a little bit of a snapshot of young Michael Caruso and life in a kind of beautiful Italian family.
• 23:12
  Now, my question is a little bit loaded here.
• 23:14
  Rick Kelly tells me that about this time of year when we record,
• 23:18
  He doesn't mind bringing you some Mildura oranges, which you have a fondness for, right?
• 23:24
  But he says you have never returned the favour and made him your homemade pasta.
• 23:29
  Apparently, you can make pasta.
• 23:31
  Is this true?
• 23:34
  Gosh, you really are.
• 23:35
  You really got prepared today, mate.
• 23:38
  Thanks, Rico.
• 23:41
  I love the Mildura Oranges.
• 23:43
  He's spot on.
• 23:45
  Absolutely love them.
• 23:45
  There's something about it.
• 23:47
  I don't know what they've got in the soil up there, but they actually are amazing.
• 23:52
  We used to do those training camps each year, particularly for the Enduras, and they're
• 23:59
  some each break we'd find our way walking through the the orange fields and what have you um and i'd want to take a box home every single time because they were unbelievable so that's some of the kelly background there in terms of where what they do um outside of motor racing but
• 24:20
  I love cooking.
• 24:21
  I'm very lucky.
• 24:23
  Grew up obviously around food and my mum is a great cook and fortunately now my wife looks after me as well, but we spend a lot of time at home most Sundays.
• 24:35
  We have family lunch and, yeah, we'll cook a meal and maybe...
• 24:42
  nine times out of ten, eight times out of ten it'll be pasta as well.
• 24:47
  So I do like it.
• 24:48
  But we also have been – one thing that I know Rick does enjoy as well is actually salami.
• 24:56
  So we do salami as well.
• 24:58
  So I know the boys used to enjoy a bit of homemade salami.
• 25:02
  So, yeah, cooking is very much a part of our DNA.
• 25:06
  Awesome.
• 25:07
  Todd Kelly used to kind of really, with those training camps, do some seriously hardcore things.
• 25:12
  Were there any moments where you were really tested on those?
• 25:17
  I think Owen Kelly told me a story, or maybe it was Murph, about being in the middle of the Never Never somewhere near bright and they were worried if they'd get back alive and all.
• 25:25
  All sorts of stuff.
• 25:26
  They were legendary, weren't they?
• 25:27
  I'm sort of lucky I was never on that one because everyone I've ever spoken to about that was on that actual training camp.
• 25:36
  They do make it sound like it was life or death.
• 25:39
  And I'm pretty sure it was Tim Blanchard who had given up on life.
• 25:43
  Like literally, like, nah, I'm done, forget about me sort of thing.
• 25:46
  And I didn't believe it until I asked him myself and he was like, no, I was finished.
• 25:52
  Yeah, he'd just given up on it, which he'd been completely broken.
• 25:57
  So Rick tells a story when he went to run for help.
• 26:00
  It was like a 5K run and he was running at pace because, you know, everybody had hypothermia and what have you.
• 26:06
  And anyhow, long story short, the training camps...
• 26:10
  post that were a little bit um a little bit more luxurious a little bit more drinking and and eating on the farm so it was good were you good at school and was there the kind of notion around family that okay if you want to go and play and carding on weekends and things you got to you got to be good at your school work and get that done what was that side of and has that schooling helped you now in business and whatever you're doing
• 26:34
  Was I good in school?
• 26:34
  I don't know if I was good in school.
• 26:38
  I enjoyed school very much.
• 26:40
  I have lots of friendships.
• 26:42
  My best friends right now literally carried all the way from high school to today, which is great.
• 26:52
  School was something that was, and this is being completely honest and fair, I focused on it when I had the time.
• 26:59
  But as I mentioned a bit earlier, you know, going racing every single, you know, virtually every single weekend, particularly in karting, was difficult to manage because you'd be away for days on end, you know, whether it being Queensland, Melbourne or.
• 27:16
  Kalgoorlie, you know, out in the middle of nowhere in WA, wherever it may be, traveling to every other second karting event.
• 27:23
  So it did make it difficult, but I did everything I could while I was there, which I enjoyed.
• 27:31
  And I was lucky the school supported me as well in terms of they were very much aware of what my ambitions were.
• 27:38
  And I made that pretty clear that motor racing was something that not only I wanted to do,
• 27:45
  going to get there either way so um yeah that was pretty cool was it chewy was it sinner who were the kind of idols i was it was definitely center in the beginning um for sure and then obviously when michael made the shift over to ferrari i mean yeah pretty difficult well that error was unbelievable so yep
• 28:07
  Cool.
• 28:07
  How much of a sacrifice for mum and dad early on, mate, when you were trying to get established here?
• 28:12
  I think my parents would be very rich if they didn't send me go-karting.
• 28:17
  Motor racing.
• 28:18
  Yeah, it was hard.
• 28:20
  Dad had his own business.
• 28:21
  He was obviously a mechanic by trade, so he had his own factory and what have you to the point where he'd actually given it all away when I got into Super 2 so he could purely work on the car as a number one when I got into Super 2.
• 28:37
  So, yeah, I mean, I can't.
• 28:41
  I'll never be able to repay in full what my parents gave up.
• 28:46
  you know, yeah.
• 28:50
  And you see it all the time, don't you?
• 28:52
  We see this, you know, I know I'm not the only person, so I'm not, you know, going to get too sentimental here, but, you know, it's a type of sport that, the type of passion it brings out of people and is so unique.
• 29:09
  I mean, my kids play various sports on the weekend and there's people that are passionate there, but, you know, we're talking about,
• 29:16
  I remember my, you know, most weekends, my dad would finish work Thursday.
• 29:21
  We'd drive overnight to get to Melbourne.
• 29:24
  The next morning at 6am, you'd be, you know, getting up, going to the go-kart track, setting up, getting ready to go.
• 29:31
  This is after doing a day's work and most parents are doing this, you know, and they've got their own business, whatever it may be, and then...
• 29:39
  how you know he would operate on very little sleep and to the point where you'd race for the three days get back in the car you know wrap up at six o'clock drive home next morning get up and go to work and I'd be ruined you know I'd be sleeping in the car and oh yeah you beauty go to school the next day so um yeah that that type of investment not just financially is you know it's it's a lot to ask so very lucky
• 30:07
  Was there ever a plan B?
• 30:09
  Was it only ever to be a racing driver?
• 30:12
  When did you kind of go, yep, this is what I'm about, what I want to be?
• 30:18
  Oh, look, I think it was pretty early on I wanted to be that.
• 30:24
  But there was two occasions where I didn't renew my CAMS licence.
• 30:30
  And I had a break twice for 18 months where I just didn't drive a race car.
• 30:35
  So...
• 30:39
  How tough was that period?
• 30:40
  How much of withdrawal did you get?
• 30:42
  Oh, it was ridiculously difficult to not drive a race car, but to not renew my licence was pretty big.
• 30:49
  I was sort of like, well, you know, I haven't got to drive.
• 30:51
  There's no car racing sort of on the horizon here.
• 30:54
  I want to do it, but...
• 30:57
  There's nothing, you know, other than just walking around racetracks, hoping and praying.
• 31:01
  Unfortunately, the cost of going motor racing doesn't get paid on that.
• 31:07
  So, yeah, they were two pretty difficult moments.
• 31:13
  And then, yeah, through obviously persistence, yeah, got my last shot, which obviously is, you know, ended me to where I am today.
• 31:23
  So, yeah, it's...
• 31:26
  It's a difficult road and I don't imagine it's gotten any easier.
• 31:31
  Easier.
• 31:31
  You know, as sports become more professional for sure.
• 31:35
  How did you get a drive in a race car?
• 31:38
  What was the first race car?
• 31:39
  Where were you and when you made that transition from karts to karts?
• 31:43
  It was actually my dad's XC Sports sedan.
• 31:45
  Yeah.
• 31:46
  So, um, he still had it when I, all the way through my motor or early motor racing career.
• 31:53
  And then when I made the transition, he, um, he got the car prepped up cause I was going to go, I was in the car.
• 31:59
  So he thought, Oh, we'll, we'll get you out on a racetrack so you can change gears and so on and so forth.
• 32:05
  And, um.
• 32:05
  You know, the thing had like... That's quite a step, Michael.
• 32:09
  Quite a step.
• 32:09
  Yeah, out of a go-kart.
• 32:10
  Exactly.
• 32:11
  He seemed to think, oh, you'll be all right.
• 32:13
  I mean, him trusting me with the car as well, which was pretty good.
• 32:17
  I mean, I'd played it off like it was nothing.
• 32:20
  But the car, you know, it had like, I don't know, 650 horsepower or something and, you know, weighed 1,000 kilos, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 32:28
  So, it was...
• 32:30
  all hand-built and I trust him but it was it was scary to drive like it was yeah full of beans and um didn't handle too well which which didn't surprise me because that wasn't the focus it was like most sports sedans it was all about how fast he can go down the straight um but yeah that was that was pretty pretty unique to to get to drive your dad's hand built race car
• 33:06
  Michael has shared a car with some cool co-drivers in the supercars endurance races over the years, including Grant Denyer, whose love of racing started on the family farm.
• 33:16
  Man, I've bogged some cars in my time.
• 33:18
  I remember once, whenever it would rain, I'd go, yes, because we'd only have like a little Suzuki Sierra, which has no horsepower, but when it rains, you can get that thing sideways around the sheds, and it was magnificent.
• 33:29
  Hear the Gold Logie winner's incredible TV and racing story by searching for his pod in the Rusty's garage library.
• 33:36
  Bet they both had the race driver's seat as far forward as it would go.
• 33:40
  Sorry, Michael.
• 33:41
  Rusty definitely wrote that.
• 33:43
  The CV shows Formula Ford as kind of the next phase, I suppose, mate.
• 33:48
  How did you stitch that together?
• 33:49
  And we're going to get to a little bit of Formula 3 stuff here in a moment.
• 33:53
  My buddy Richard Crayle has reminded me of a few things from your F3 career which are important, but tell us about that.
• 33:59
  Yeah, that was really the step into car racing from a series point of view.
• 34:06
  So way back when Ford sponsored a karting series called Ford Max Challenge, yeah.
• 34:15
  which actually Mark Winterbottom was in.
• 34:17
  I mean, most of, most of the guys that I raised throughout my career went into that series because the end result or the top four in the championship, we're going to get a shot at getting a drive in a, in a form of forward.
• 34:31
  Um,
• 34:33
  And, yeah, I'd won the championship and then we did a shootout, I guess you could call it, at Winton.
• 34:39
  And then we also went to the VIS as well.
• 34:42
  So they did this sort of like complete testing of an athlete and rated everyone and what have you.
• 34:49
  And then we got a phone call saying, yep, you've...
• 34:53
  got a you've won the whole drive um which was all backed by ford which was pretty pretty cool and unique um and that was really when i yeah stepped up in there and um yeah and started driving you know i went out of go-karting basically when i was uh 18 19 years old what are we talking here nearly sort of turn of the century are we 2000 2001 something along those lines was oh one
• 35:18
  I won.
• 35:18
  Cool.
• 35:19
  Cool.
• 35:20
  How'd you go at the VIS?
• 35:21
  How fit was a Michael Caruso back then?
• 35:23
  Yeah, I was actually really fit back then.
• 35:26
  I was actually really good.
• 35:28
  I mean, different fitness to now, but...
• 35:32
  I didn't really have a full-time job back then, Rusty.
• 35:35
  So my full-time job was to be a racing car driver, which was good.
• 35:39
  So lots of swimming.
• 35:42
  But the things that I actually did learn there was more around my breathing and things that I just never thought about.
• 35:49
  I didn't really investigate or...
• 35:51
  go down those paths but um you know controlling my controlling my breathing which controls obviously your working rate as well and little things like that um they obviously did a bit of psych testing as well which was unique like I'd never done anything like that as well so um this is all pre-youtube I think so there was there's lots of new stuff that you know never really heard about
• 36:15
  Does some of that stuff still kind of serve you well now?
• 36:18
  Oh, absolutely.
• 36:18
  I think probably just getting your eye open to, you know, some of the improvements and at the time, you know,
• 36:27
  those types of organisations were really only dealing with, you know, the best athletes in the country, whether it be by state or by nation.
• 36:39
  So it was unique to get an opportunity to go in and see that world.
• 36:44
  So, yeah, so that type of stuff was good because I, you know, very much after that actually, it sparked an interest and got bright involved.
• 36:52
  And, yeah, a lot of what I do is just an evolution of, you know,
• 36:57
  always wanting to, you know, I enjoy my fitness, not just because of motor racing, but, you know, I've always played football or the world game, I like to call it.
• 37:07
  Are you glued to the tilly at the moment then on that basis?
• 37:11
  Oh, absolutely.
• 37:13
  The kids and I were screaming the other night and it was funny, our whole neighbourhood, you could hear everybody.
• 37:19
  I mean, it was...
• 37:22
  Absolutely nail biting, wasn't it Rusty?
• 37:24
  Just sitting there, you know, hoping they'd get through.
• 37:27
  I mean, yeah, so that was cool.
• 37:29
  So Wednesday night we'll be watching and Sunday hopefully for the final.
• 37:33
  One of the highlights that sort of stand out for me in the single seater side of things for you is Formula 3.
• 37:41
  I still look at some of those cars now, mate, and Salivate, they were great cars.
• 37:45
  You had a very successful year, obviously, in winning the Australian Formula 3 championship in 2003.
• 37:52
  Join some dots for our listeners here.
• 37:53
  I want to say, Krause reminded me, I think it was Piccolo Scuderia, Michael Massey's Uncle Rudy and things like that, correct?
• 38:01
  That was Michael Massey before everybody knew Michael Massey.
• 38:07
  I think he ran around with a little briefcase back then and he had the ultimately ended up working with uh he worked with Kelvin O'Reilly and Super Touring in the late 90s and so on wasn't it but yeah yeah it was it was pretty cool yeah so um I yeah Formula 3 was a lot of fun it was obviously the category been around a couple of years but it was it was coming up to speed there was a lot of interest in it um it was sort of that next step in terms of
• 38:31
  going out of Formula Ford and trying to make it into Europe is really driving a car with wings and slicks.
• 38:39
  So something very much that obviously I was still wanting to pursue was that Formula One dream.
• 38:46
  And yeah, you know, some of the tracks that we race on, I'll never forget racing up in the Gold Coast in that, in Formula Three, actually against Will Power.
• 38:56
  He flogged me even though I came second, but he, yeah, that was pretty cool getting to race him.
• 39:01
  But, yeah, some of the best times, you know, that was really when KB was very much a part of, you know, on the radio and what have you and guiding me through the year, which was great as well.
• 39:13
  So those cars are great fun to drive, lots of fun.
• 39:18
  Cracking championship too, mate.
• 39:19
  I mean, I think it came down to the final race of the final round at Wakefield Park.
• 39:24
  Maybe three points in it, you and Barton Moore.
• 39:26
  You'd had a great start to the year, and then he kind of – it sort of swung back a little bit his way in the mid to early part or second half, I should say.
• 39:35
  Peter Hackett was in there.
• 39:36
  Christian Jones was in there.
• 39:37
  Might have been a massive shunt for Kenny Habool at Orrin Park.
• 39:40
  Kenny Habool, that's right.
• 39:41
  Orning Skywood.
• 39:43
  Ian Dyke, Carl Reindler.
• 39:47
  That was Kenny when he first started motor racing.
• 39:49
  And I don't know if he's ever remembered back that far, but he had a huge shunt at Orrn Park.
• 39:57
  He was massive.
• 39:58
  And he was driving for Piccolo Scudera.
• 40:00
  I know that that was actually, geez, he sparked some memories there.
• 40:05
  He wasn't as fast as he is now.
• 40:06
  Let me just put it that way.
• 40:09
  Thank God.
• 40:10
  Eddie, I love you, mate.
• 40:11
  Very diplomatic.
• 40:12
  Very diplomatic.
• 40:13
  Love it.
• 40:14
  Now, there is, from this moment, it feels like to me a little bit of a seesaw.
• 40:21
  So, potential to go to F3000.
• 40:23
  Maybe that was going to be ludicrously expensive.
• 40:25
  You opt, I think, to kind of stay at home.
• 40:28
  And then there was the lure again to go back overseas.
• 40:30
  So, just walk us through that period and the mix of emotions because, obviously, you did still have that European...
• 40:38
  international single-seater dream at that at that point yeah we when we won that championship we got a test drive uh we carlin motorsport uh so obviously probably the premier team back in the day uh at the time and went over did the test uh and i actually never forget being there um spent two days there although only testing for one but the first day went there and just sort of scouted
• 41:08
  Sorry?
• 41:09
  What track?
• 41:10
  It was Donington, sorry.
• 41:14
  Donington, cool.
• 41:14
  So really unique.
• 41:16
  It was good to go over there, and this is sort of pre-PlayStation days.
• 41:20
  There was nothing really that I could practice on, so I wanted to get a look at the track and what have you and, yeah, had a look around, and Rosberg was testing there.
• 41:30
  So he had two... Nico.
• 41:32
  ...two transporters, one which was all the equipment, and the second one was just full of tyres.
• 41:39
  And literally every single time he went out on the track, he'd put a new set of tyres on.
• 41:45
  And he did that for two days flat out.
• 41:47
  And after the first day sort of seeing this happen, I was like, wow.
• 41:51
  Like, this is in Formula 3, might I add.
• 41:53
  This is what we're up against.
• 41:54
  So this is what you'd be up against...
• 41:57
  racing against these guys.
• 41:59
  But, you know, it's sort of, you know, when we were racing in Australia, you know, you get a couple of sets a weekend and, you know, you try to make them last as long as you possibly could.
• 42:10
  So it sort of opened your eyes up to European motor racing, like straight away in terms of budget and people trying to make it to the big time, which he obviously did.
• 42:21
  But I'll never forget, I got...
• 42:24
  one set of new tyres that next day and it was in my last run and you get 10 laps on them and then that's the end of it sort of thing.
• 42:30
  So very, very different scenario, but it was a cool experience.
• 42:37
  After that, I pursued former 3000 and tested at Magione.
• 42:46
  Astro Omega?
• 42:46
  Who were you with?
• 42:47
  Yeah, that was with Colony.
• 42:48
  Hmm?
• 42:49
  So I went into Perugia and just tested at the circuit and actually...
• 42:58
  I think we actually went pretty well from memory because they offered us the drive.
• 43:01
  But in terms of offering us the drive, which was great, it also came with, you know, something like a €2 million invoice.
• 43:13
  So, you know, that was difficult money to sort of pull up for us at the time.
• 43:18
  So I was saying, obviously, I had to say no to.
• 43:21
  But, yeah, I mean, a Formula 3000 car was fantastic.
• 43:25
  you know astonishing probably the best car ever in terms of complete race car without doubt the best car i've ever driven um most enjoyment car that's for sure share a little bit more of that with the audience because they'll love that i mean it's a great chapter for that class of racing the way they looked and sounded and and so on uh well so at that circuit um just to put a bit of context there we had a passat uh high car um which
• 43:52
  They let me take around the track, let's just say, the morning of.
• 43:58
  And it actually, it was the biggest piece of shit, Rossi.
• 44:07
  But it did the job because it sort of gave me a gist of which way the track went and jumped out of that and into the Formula 3000.
• 44:16
  And we're talking the faster – you know, I never – in terms of open wheelers, they talk about the faster you go, the more downforce, the more grip.
• 44:25
  And that sort of works –
• 44:28
  sometimes, let's say.
• 44:29
  You have to be going a certain speed.
• 44:31
  You need a certain amount of grip.
• 44:33
  But when you get in one of those cars, the grip level is unbelievable.
• 44:37
  Like the downforce they produce, it absolutely blew me away and it gives you that confidence to go faster and you can sort of see...
• 44:46
  when you watch open wheelers and get an appreciation for why people push harder, harder and harder, um, as they're going faster.
• 44:54
  And it just does, it gives you that belief that the grips there and you just want to keep pushing.
• 45:00
  Um, and obviously there is a point of no return, which I was lucky to never get to, but they are rewarding in that regard.
• 45:08
  So the grip level, especially on the high speed corners was amazing.
• 45:12
  Um, lots of power.
• 45:14
  I mean, the car,
• 45:15
  probably weighed 600 kilos, I think, or 650 kilos, so very, very light.
• 45:21
  Yeah, it was an enjoyable car to drive, enjoyable.
• 45:26
  I love the vivid memories you've shared there, mate, and I can tell where it sits in your memory bank.
• 45:31
  Very cool.
• 45:32
  On the one hand, you know, that's immensely satisfying.
• 45:37
  The price tag is the kind of reality check.
• 45:40
  So what happens here?
• 45:42
  Is there like a sit-down family discussion about which way am I going to go here?
• 45:45
  Do I want to go down the supercast path instead?
• 45:49
  Was there perhaps a mentor, some advice from KB or someone?
• 45:52
  What did you do next?
• 45:54
  Uh, by this point, um, you know, I, I was under no, I mean, look, you know, I, I didn't want to put any more on my family.
• 46:04
  I knew, you know, very much aware.
• 46:05
  I was very much aware.
• 46:06
  I didn't want them to put up the house or anything silly like that.
• 46:08
  So I'd never allow that to happen.
• 46:10
  But, um, I knew what we, what we could and couldn't do.
• 46:14
  And that was clearly never going to be achievable for us on our own.
• 46:17
  So, um, that was, um,
• 46:21
  I mentioned earlier about having a break.
• 46:22
  That was the point where, okay, we're just going to have to stop here because we hadn't planned anything beyond Formula 3 and obviously trying to make it into Formula 3000.
• 46:32
  So that's where I sat out for a while and then, which was hard, but that was really when Jim Morton came back.
• 46:44
  He was getting out of go-karting and into car racing a bit more and that was when he said, hey, I'm going to get this.
• 46:52
  Fujitsu series, I think it was at the time, development series car.
• 46:56
  What a Maconica, I can't remember.
• 46:57
  Yeah, and get that going.
• 46:59
  And Warren had driven the car the year before and he said, do you want to come and drive for me?
• 47:03
  So, yeah, had it not been for Jim, absolutely.
• 47:07
  I don't know, I'd probably be a landscape gardener or something like that, cleaning...
• 47:13
  Mowing your lawns, probably rusty, I would have thought.
• 47:18
  Let's pick this conversation up.
• 47:19
  But very quickly, in that period of reflection, what were you doing?
• 47:22
  Did you have a job?
• 47:23
  Yeah.
• 47:24
  Did you...
• 47:24
  I was a spare parts delivery driver.
• 47:28
  Were you?
• 47:28
  Who for and where?
• 47:30
  A little company, a friend of ours who actually got, who we went co-carding with.
• 47:35
  He had a little mechanical repair spare car company and I was driving around Little Holden Barina.
• 47:42
  That was my little beast.
• 47:43
  Fair to say the parts got there pretty quick, which was good, but...
• 47:51
  um yeah so it was a great that was jim i was gonna say jim was a great man mate wasn't he and you know i think i can recall was it decena bathrooms i'm trying to remember what the backing was on the car i reckon i can recall your car at at wakefield park and so on typical him it was very um you know for for what it was in the second tier of the sport it was very professionally
• 48:21
  came to the rescue, maybe not the right choice of words for me here, but, but provide that window of opportunity for you.
• 48:27
  Absolutely.
• 48:27
  He did.
• 48:27
  And, and, and with my comment earlier about people that love motor racing will do pretty much anything.
• 48:34
  Um, this is, Jim had two beautiful daughters.
• 48:39
  It was the, um, but didn't love motor racing at all, but Jim loved motor racing.
• 48:44
  So his passion was going racing and providing opportunity and, um,
• 48:49
  and getting enjoyment out of seeing other people succeed and make a career and a living.
• 48:54
  And obviously there's a host of names that attach to that, including myself.
• 49:00
  And that way he just kept giving.
• 49:03
  Like he loved it so much.
• 49:05
  And that was where the value was for him is just seeing success and being part of success with some of those household names that we still talk about today.
• 49:15
  So yeah.
• 49:17
  very lucky I did motor racing with him in karting my early days and then to get another chance to join up with him was yeah was very very unique something that's still hold today mate my grey matter mightn't be right here mate but was he Tony Kart I'm trying to remember what he was in karting he was before I got into karting and then he was the godfather as they called him back in the day of Tony Kart so yeah it was pretty cool
• 49:53
  Sure was.
• 49:53
  That's the end of part one of my podcast, a well overdue chat with supercars racer Michael Caruso.
• 50:01
  If you've enjoyed this one, you'll be pleased to know that part two is in the garage library and good to go whenever you have time.
• 50:08
  What it was like to drive those unique H-pattern Gen 1 supercars coming in during a golden era with household names.
• 50:17
  The call-up to race Bathurst as a replacement for the Kiwi Mark Porter who'd been in a frightening crash on the mountain that weekend.
• 50:26
  Getting the trademark urgent call from Gary Rogers and landing a drive with GRM.
• 50:32
  The stylish impression he made in that interview.
• 50:35
  Hands-on learning with that team, his mateship with Lee Holdsworth and the collective will they had to drive GRM forward.
• 50:44
  Success in the top end at Darwin.
• 50:47
  His time with Nissan, which went beyond the Altima program, shifting gears at record pace and relocating back to Sydney for a change of direction.
• 50:57
  Plus TV, TCR and a whole lot more on this edition of Rusty's Garage.