Latest / Rusty's Garage / Toby Price Part 2 - Baja/Dakar on 4 wheels & some rallying.

Transcript

Toby Price Part 2 - Baja/Dakar on 4 wheels & some rallying. · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:14
  I'm automotive commentator and journalist Greg Rust and this is Rusty's Garage.
• 0:27
  For this episode, I'm in West Australia, down near the Margaret River Wine Region, for the second round of the E-Road Australian Rally Championship.
• 0:35
  Busselton and the township of Nanup are the hubs of the Forest Rally, which has been an almost permanent fixture of the ARC since the mid-1980s.
• 0:44
  With its slippy, ball-bearing-style dirt roads, it is a unique and much-loved event, this one.
• 0:50
  If you look through the entry list closely...
• 0:52
  you'd see the name Toby Price too, who was last on the pod in 2018, the year that we started out.
• 0:59
  Can you believe it?
• 1:00
  So it's been a while since we've had the Dakar star on and a lot has changed in his world since then, which we'll cover in this Overdue Part 2.
• 1:10
  Check out that first episode with Toby, if you haven't already.
• 1:13
  You can search for it in our Rusty's Garage library.
• 1:16
  From his humble beginnings, the love and support of a great family, and his rise through the Aussie outback racing scene to become a world-class off-road endurance racer, right up to his breakthrough first Dakar win in South America.
• 1:31
  Coming up, some reflections on his second Dakar victory, tackling the gruelling Saudi event on four wheels, Baja success and heartbreak, as well as some cool stuff that is in his garage.
• 1:44
  And you enjoy a laugh about a party that he had too with supercars driver, Chas Mostard.
• 1:50
  A couple of thank yous to Matty McAlpine and his team that look after Toby for helping to tee up this one.
• 1:56
  And Ebity Doherty and our good friends from Michelin, Australia for kind of...
• 2:00
  planting the seed to get Toby back on while I was with them for their recent launch of the Primacy 5 tyre.
• 2:07
  Now, while I love the crisp studio environment, there is nothing better than being at a track or around race cars, as you can hear, or rally cars, or bikes for that matter, when you are doing a recording.
• 2:19
  So for this one, I sat in my colleague and friend Dean Herridge's Maximum Motorsport truck.
• 2:24
  You might...
• 2:25
  hear more of those cars arriving in service park in the background outside or the cars being worked on by the crews and so on.
• 2:33
  Toby is a part of this squad for the weekend enjoying a new pastime and he's bloody good at it too.
• 2:39
  A class win on day one probably means that pastime is the wrong choice of words.
• 2:45
  Hopefully he becomes a bit more of a regular visitor or fixture in the ARC around all of his other commitments.
• 2:52
  I hope you enjoy this convo.
• 2:54
  I really did.
• 2:57
  Hey mate, nice to catch back up again.
• 2:58
  Can you believe it?
• 2:59
  It's been 2018 since we last had you on the pod and a lot has happened in your life, in your world since then.
• 3:06
  We don't have to necessarily do this in a timeline.
• 3:08
  I want to start with now.
• 3:09
  You are here in Western Australia doing a bit of rallying, something relatively new for you.
• 3:16
  Am I right in saying you went for a ride with Sebastian Loeb at some stage and that may have put you off?
• 3:22
  Maybe you would have started doing this sooner.
• 3:24
  Yeah, 100%.
• 3:25
  It's been a little while since I've had a chat, but years ago, yeah, I think it was about 2017, I think I had a ride with Sebastian Loeb, and yeah, that really scared the living daylights out of me, and I was like, that sport is not for me, so yeah.
• 3:39
  Yeah, I never really looked at it after that.
• 3:42
  And I'm sure anybody would pay big money to have that experience.
• 3:46
  But once I was kind of looking at the sport, I said, yeah, that's not my sport.
• 3:50
  I can't commit like that.
• 3:51
  So, yeah, I didn't really look at it too much after that.
• 3:54
  But looking at it now, I wish I would have done this a lot longer ago.
• 3:57
  But...
• 3:58
  Like I say, at that point, I was still committed to two wheels and bikes and still loving that.
• 4:02
  As the years went on, I started to look with age comes a cage.
• 4:07
  I want to look after the body eventually.
• 4:11
  Being here in Western Australia for Forest Rally, it's definitely exciting and a lot of fun.
• 4:15
  To set the scene for the audience, third proper rally, you're learning pace notes effectively for the first time or fine-tuning that.
• 4:23
  At least you are leading the class as you and I sit here, the WRX challenge, and you're running, I mean, 13th outright or something or other.
• 4:30
  This is going well.
• 4:32
  Yeah, look, honestly, it threw us in the deep end, that first stage.
• 4:37
  I'd never driven a rally car in the mud or rain or wet or anything.
• 4:40
  So, yeah, I tippy-toed around that first stage.
• 4:44
  I didn't want to be that thumbnail of the car going off a cliff somewhere and down the other side.
• 4:48
  And, yeah, so I took my time there.
• 4:51
  But, yeah.
• 4:52
  Yeah, I just want to do the steps proper and just baby steps and just learn as we go.
• 4:57
  And like I say, I'm used to the 1 to 6 system for grading the corners.
• 5:02
  So I'm trying to use the 1 to 10 system here, which is more common in rally car events.
• 5:07
  So yeah, from like the 5 to 8, it's a little bit of a vague area for me.
• 5:16
  Holly at the start when she was calling some sixes, it was like, okay, cool, full gas.
• 5:20
  And I'm like, oh, hang on now.
• 5:21
  I've got a turn here.
• 5:23
  And so, yeah, it threw me a little bit on some turns.
• 5:26
  But, yeah, look, honestly, like I say, I'm not looking towards the front, guys.
• 5:30
  It's, yeah, it's basically a production car that's just got suspension wheels and a roll cage and some seats.
• 5:38
  And that's about it.
• 5:39
  It's, yeah, impressive what the car can do.
• 5:42
  And it's a great start and category for...
• 5:45
  people like myself um and then anybody new to the sport so uh yeah i'm definitely excited to help promote the the category a little bit and um try and get some more people into this sport because uh i'm grinning from ear to ear and having a having a great time i love the fact that fellow competitor glenn brinkman got on the phone and rang you after the last rally you did and said hey come and play and this all kind of came together with dean herridge and maximum motorsport and all that crew it's great to see you playing here
• 6:11
  In more relatively more recent years, you've been at the wheel of a trophy truck.
• 6:15
  We're going to talk Baja and other things here.
• 6:17
  How different is the production spec Subaru compared to the wild trophy truck?
• 6:24
  I mean, does anything from the learnings of that apply to this?
• 6:26
  Is it also different?
• 6:28
  No, look, honestly, it's a lot different.
• 6:30
  Yeah, the trophy truck, we've got about 36 inches of travel, and in here, I think it's about 14 inches of travel.
• 6:38
  So it's, yeah, and nowhere near the horsepower.
• 6:41
  So, look, it's just completely different things.
• 6:44
  But honestly, from my experience I had at Dakar Rally this year with four wheels, with a Toyota T1 Plus,
• 6:54
  So if that's the direction I want to go, which it is, I feel this is probably a better step to kind of understanding the car and control the car.
• 7:05
  So trophy truck, it's like everyone's seen.
• 7:08
  It's 6,500 pounds.
• 7:09
  It will basically plough through anything.
• 7:11
  It'll take down a tree, and you can still keep on the gas and keep going, whereas, yeah, you've got to be very finessed and a lot more cleaner with your driving with a rally car, and that's also with a T1+.
• 7:23
  So they line up in very similar.
• 7:26
  So I'm just enjoying to try something new at the moment.
• 7:31
  Yeah, like I say, I'm racing anything I can.
• 7:34
  And I'm having a great time.
• 7:36
  And that's the main part.
• 7:38
  As long as we enjoy it, yeah, we're having fun.
• 7:42
  You leave here on Sunday night and literally kind of bolt back to Perth airport.
• 7:46
  There's a mission to get to, you know, to the Baja Peninsula.
• 7:52
  You're going to go and defend the win that you and Paul Wheel had last year in the 500.
• 7:56
  And that was such a massive yarn for all sorts of reasons.
• 8:01
  I mean, firstly, you win it by seven minutes.
• 8:04
  It came off some very heartbreaking circumstances in the lead up for you guys.
• 8:08
  What did that win mean for you?
• 8:11
  Yeah, look, honestly, for what me and Paul have been doing in Mexico, that was, to get that win there, it was a massive, ginormous, not the monkey, I guess it would have been a gorilla off our back.
• 8:23
  Yeah, we had some really tough times and bad luck, and yeah, I felt really bad for Paul, and it was well-deserved for him, and for him to drive as well in that one last year and cross the finish line, yeah, in that first place, it was...
• 8:38
  Yeah, pretty insane.
• 8:40
  Like, it's the first non-American Mexican to ever win overall trophy truck class down there outside of, yeah, America and Mexico.
• 8:51
  So, yeah, to have that kind of a title to our name, it's all going really well.
• 8:56
  Unfortunately, the start of this year, we just done the 250 and we threw a belt off the, a serpentine belt off the engine and, yeah.
• 9:05
  Yeah, we were leading qualifying and then the last probably, yeah, kilometre, two kilometres worth of driving, we had no power steering and we had to start 26, but we actually came through the fourth and, yeah, drove through the dust and did a really good job.
• 9:20
  And I think we were only like a minute and 12 seconds off a lead.
• 9:24
  To do that from so far back, we are definitely within contention of winning some more races.
• 9:31
  We want to go back and try and win the 500 and back that up.
• 9:34
  But, yeah, we leave Sunday night and head straight to L.A. and then straight down to Mexico and into it.
• 9:40
  So it's a busy schedule at the moment.
• 9:42
  But I wanted to squeeze this in.
• 9:44
  And, yeah, a big thank you to...
• 9:46
  Yeah, Maximum Motorsport and Dean Herridge and everyone that put this all together.
• 9:50
  And Glenn Brinkman, yeah, I'm competing against him.
• 9:53
  So, yeah, for him to put his hand up and help out trying to get me into the class with him, it shows the guy he is.
• 10:00
  So, yeah, we're here and having a lot of fun.
• 10:02
  You have never changed, mate.
• 10:05
  The way that you interact with the family that run this race team, the people in this sport, despite the immense success you've had, you are still, to me, the same Toby Price.
• 10:17
  Am I right?
• 10:18
  Yeah, for sure.
• 10:19
  At the end of the day, we all breathe the same air and we all run on red blood.
• 10:24
  That's about it.
• 10:24
  It's all the same.
• 10:25
  So for me, that's it.
• 10:27
  People that are coming here, that's what makes the sport.
• 10:30
  And without spectators and without the competitors, the sport wouldn't happen.
• 10:36
  Yeah, like I say, some people drive a day, two days to come, say hello, and get, yeah, 20, 30 seconds of your time.
• 10:41
  And I appreciate that a lot because it's – I'm sure as hell I wouldn't drive two days to see my head.
• 10:49
  Yeah, it's pretty crazy that people are excited for that.
• 10:52
  So, yeah, happy to see everyone.
• 10:54
  And that's like I said, I'll never change.
• 10:55
  I'm just, yeah, I want to go out and race whatever I can and have fun.
• 10:58
  And if, yeah, we can get in the mix of it all, I'm happy.
• 11:02
  If not, just put on a good show and keep people excited to come back for more races.
• 11:07
  tell people about the Baja show, right?
• 11:09
  I mean, firstly, you're in, I mean, as you talked about, a very unique place in the record books, right?
• 11:14
  I mean, Parnelli Jones, Robbie Gordon.
• 11:17
  I mean, there are some seriously...
• 11:20
  impressive people in the history of motor racing that have won that thing for a pair of Aussies to kind of do it off the back of what you were alluding to before.
• 11:27
  I mean, the trophy truck basically burnt down in the lead up.
• 11:30
  You had all these people rally around you to make that happen.
• 11:34
  You know, I've had colleagues try and explain it to me, where it happens on the peninsula there.
• 11:39
  Am I right in saying you kind of loop from Ensenada and back?
• 11:42
  It's about 500 miles typically
• 11:50
  How do you deal with that?
• 11:52
  Yeah, look, I know rally fans are crazy, but the Mexican fans of the Baja races are just another level again.
• 12:01
  You've got 1,000 horsepower at your foot, and you're trying to get across whoops and bumps and holes at 100, 120 miles an hour.
• 12:10
  they think that we have control, but honestly, we are in control but out of control.
• 12:15
  So it's the worst bit is that people just don't realize one bolt or one part breaks in the truck.
• 12:23
  We could become...
• 12:25
  passengers in there and that's like driver and navigator we both become passengers so it's yeah it is a little scary but um i try not to think about it uh i we we have a really good prep team with mason um they're prepping the truck for us and we we know it's 100 every time we we go out on track and um yeah and it's the same here the guys are doing a great job with the the wh challenge class and um yeah you've you've got to have good people in your corner and i'm very
• 12:54
  Yeah, to go out and shine and have some fun.
• 12:58
  The trucks are, I think, effectively, you know, a million bucks worth of machine, thousand plus horsepower that you talk about.
• 13:09
  When you watch them in action, the vision, it almost looks like the suspension and the wheels dangle beneath the vehicle as it kind of crests the whoops.
• 13:21
  It must be an unreal thing at full flight.
• 13:23
  Yeah, for sure.
• 13:26
  I've explained to people, it's the best fun you'll have with your clothes on.
• 13:28
  And it's absolutely insane.
• 13:32
  It's like the truck, the cab is just dangling in the air.
• 13:37
  It's being held up by four ropes.
• 13:39
  And the wheels are just getting flogged and slapped around everywhere.
• 13:42
  And it's just dangling.
• 13:44
  And you're sitting in the cabin and it feels like nothing.
• 13:46
  You bop a little bit, but other than that, it's like sitting on the lounge chair at home and having a PlayStation controller in your hand and you're just jumping on the seat.
• 13:56
  And that's about it.
• 13:58
  feeling like no other but then again like i say what i'm doing in the rally stuff at the moment glenn's spoiled me in the last couple of races we've done with an evo 9 and um yeah it had a sequential box and um i think we ran pirelli tires so he's definitely spoiled me and then to be in this um
• 14:16
  Yeah, it's definitely a big learning curve, but this you really need to be precise and on point the whole way through.
• 14:22
  It's just one little piece that you second guess something, you start to throw yourself out.
• 14:28
  So I like that thrill and like how that is a big challenge, but then also, yeah, the trophy truck stuff, it's...
• 14:35
  Yeah, it's like everything.
• 14:36
  It's whatever you don't have, you want.
• 14:37
  And then I'm sure all these guys in these pits would love to drive a trophy truck.
• 14:41
  At the end of the day, I would love to drive an R5.
• 14:43
  So it's, yeah, it's just whatever you don't have, you want to have to do a bit more of.
• 14:47
  It's all relative.
• 14:48
  I reckon I walked into the Gold Coast workshop at one stage and you were hands-on working on the truck.
• 14:53
  Might have been in the lead up to Fink.
• 14:55
  Maybe even in the year that Dutto came with you, Mark Dutton from Triple Eight, I think it may have been.
• 15:01
  And even from what Dean Herridge is telling me here, you love that.
• 15:06
  I mean, I know the style of racing you've done over time, the endurance style of racing you've done over time demands that if something goes wrong, you've got to be adaptable.
• 15:14
  You've got to fix things on the run and sometimes come up with crazy solutions.
• 15:18
  But you enjoy that.
• 15:19
  You enjoy understanding about the suspension, what it does, how to make it work effectively, what it might do differently in the WRX versus the trophy truck and so on.
• 15:28
  Yeah, for sure.
• 15:29
  I love getting my hands dirty.
• 15:30
  And that's the best way to learn how the car functions and works.
• 15:33
  And we are out in the middle of these stages.
• 15:36
  And if something breaks or anything, I like to know how to try and fix it and be a problem-solver and fix a solution to it.
• 15:43
  So, yeah, I don't mind getting my hands dirty and learning everything.
• 15:47
  It's, like I say, I'm...
• 15:48
  um i probably should have took that on a little bit more in school uh i'd like to learn a little bit more but i don't know when it comes to engines wheels and race cars and bikes and all that i'm i'm all ears and yeah i want to lay under the car and um yeah watch and learn as much as i possibly can so it's uh
• 16:04
  Yeah, I get intrigued with all that stuff.
• 16:06
  I want the car to handle better, and if I can feel what the car's doing and give some good feedback to try and make the car more improvement in areas and other things that might teach me that it's going to make the car better for me to drive as well.
• 16:18
  So, yeah, the day you stop learning is the day you're dead, really.
• 16:23
  So, yeah, you're always learning every day.
• 16:25
  Wheelie competed in supercars for a time.
• 16:29
  I feel like in the trophy truck and in an off-road sense, he's in his home.
• 16:36
  He really loves it.
• 16:37
  You paired so well together, you guys.
• 16:39
  What was the reaction like from that community perspective
• 16:44
  of people at Baja and, you know, American Off-Road generally, to these Aussies doing it.
• 16:50
  What's been the reaction to that?
• 16:52
  Look, honestly, we've had a great reception over there, and it's, yeah, that's what I think is...
• 16:58
  what sticks with us the most it's uh yeah we are foreigners we're from completely different country um at one point yeah we've had like competing teams that we are racing against actually pit crewing for us and they want to help us like it's it's absolutely unreal like bryce menzies is probably one of our most main top competitors and he's actually doing pit stops and fuel stops for us and uh
• 17:22
  Yeah, for sure it's changed this year.
• 17:25
  We've done our own little bit of a program so that we can actually control our own pits where we want to do all that stuff at.
• 17:31
  So, like I say, yeah, they've taken us on board.
• 17:34
  I think they really appreciate, like, hats off to Paul, massive big credit.
• 17:39
  Like, that truck that burnt to the ground, that would have probably sent anybody over the edge.
• 17:44
  And four days later he went and bought another truck.
• 17:47
  And it's, like, absolutely insane.
• 17:49
  So, yeah.
• 17:50
  Without him, for sure, this stuff would not be happening.
• 17:53
  It wouldn't be even possible.
• 17:55
  But big, big credit to him that he wants to achieve it as well.
• 17:59
  And honestly, over the last few races, he's starting to show that, yeah, he's one of the guys at the front that can easily run at the front.
• 18:06
  And we had Tavo chasing us at the Baja 500 last year, and he is probably one guy you do not want behind you that's, like, sniffing the podium.
• 18:17
  Um, because yeah, he is going to wheel anybody in and actually Paul pulled two, three minutes on him.
• 18:22
  So, um, yeah, it's a massive big credit to him.
• 18:25
  He's got a lot of supercars experience, but he also did stadium trucks years and years ago when they came first came to Australia.
• 18:32
  So he, I, he feels like he's just like me.
• 18:34
  He just likes to go out and have fun and he's, um, doing really, really well in the trucks.
• 18:38
  So.
• 18:38
  Fingers crossed he wants to keep doing more of it.
• 18:41
  If not, I'll support him in anything he wants to do and race, and I'll have to try and drag him into one of these things now.
• 18:46
  So see how we go.
• 18:48
  I love the fact, I mean, you talked about Mason Motorsports before.
• 18:51
  I think even last year, you know, Mark Cronquist from Joe Gibbs helped out in all of that.
• 18:57
  I mean, there's all these people that kind of came together.
• 19:00
  It must have been heartbreaking when that thing, I reckon I can recall
• 19:05
  I don't know what it was, Instagram, Facebook, whatever it was, and may have been aerial vision or something or other, and it was going before your very eyes.
• 19:12
  It must have been heartbreaking, mate, was it?
• 19:14
  Yeah, like, honestly, I'm really damn glad it wasn't me in the truck.
• 19:18
  Like, I'm glad Paul got out safely, but I think I'd still be hiding in the hills of Mexico somewhere because I would just be so distraught on myself that that would have happened.
• 19:27
  But I felt bad for Paul.
• 19:28
  It was, like, not many people know, we only probably purchased that truck two months before that race and event to basically try and give ourselves the best opportunity.
• 19:39
  honest chance of trying to win these events over there, that was our very first race with that car.
• 19:45
  Gone.
• 19:45
  Gone.
• 19:46
  Gone.
• 19:46
  Like, nothing was salvageable off that truck.
• 19:50
  Like, it was put it in the bin and it's gone.
• 19:53
  So it's like, yeah, very, very...
• 19:56
  When I saw Paul, I was like, man, I didn't even know what to say.
• 19:59
  And I still, this day, don't even know what to say because it just...
• 20:02
  one of them haunting things that no team or anybody should ever go through.
• 20:06
  And unfortunately we did.
• 20:08
  And like I say, Paul bought that truck probably four weeks before that race, completely burned to the ground.
• 20:16
  Four days later, bought another one.
• 20:17
  So that shows his commitment to it.
• 20:21
  how much he wants to try and do well in Mexico and all the Baja races.
• 20:25
  So I'm giving 105%.
• 20:27
  I don't want to go over the 100, but I'll give 105 to make sure he succeeds and does well there.
• 20:34
  Was there a little window in that four-day period where you thought it's off?
• 20:38
  And at what point, I mean, was it sort of day four where he went, right, we're just going to do this, we're going to buy a new one and off we go?
• 20:44
  What did you...
• 20:44
  No, look, honestly, like at that point in time, that day it burnt to the ground.
• 20:49
  Yeah, I pretty much accepted, hey, that's a big chunk of change that we just lost.
• 20:54
  And that's the million dollars that would have been probably two or three events we could have done for the next season.
• 21:01
  So to turn around and spend another million dollars on another truck.
• 21:07
  Like I say, I felt for sure this would be the end of it when I saw the pictures the same as you.
• 21:12
  I'd seen the smoke bellowing in the air, and I'm like, that thing is gone, and our racing's gone.
• 21:17
  And like I say, if Paul would have decided to do that, I would have pat him on the back, and I said, I support you 100%, because it's a lot of money.
• 21:27
  And yeah, I think it was that night, he was like, yeah, I don't know about this sport.
• 21:33
  Yeah, to see that burn to the ground, I don't know if we'll go back.
• 21:35
  And I'm like...
• 21:36
  Yeah, no, look, you make the call, mate.
• 21:38
  I'm not pushing you into anything.
• 21:40
  So day two, we woke up.
• 21:43
  We'd got word that there was another truck for sale.
• 21:46
  And, yeah, it started to change pretty quick.
• 21:49
  And then I think it was the third day we went and actually viewed, looked at the truck, and it was a flight on the way home.
• 21:57
  Actually, I think Paul was still in the air on the Wi-Fi on Qantas making the payment for the truck.
• 22:04
  So it was absolutely insane.
• 22:07
  And, yeah, like I say, Paul's an absolute maniac.
• 22:12
  And, yeah, well, once we landed back in, I think we flew into Sydney, and he flies in first class at the front.
• 22:21
  I'm at the back.
• 22:22
  I'm like, I don't want to be at the front.
• 22:23
  And then I walk off the gate and off the bridge, and Paul's like, well, I've got a truck.
• 22:28
  Let's go race it again.
• 22:29
  I'm like, oh, shit.
• 22:30
  All right, sweet.
• 22:31
  Hey, I'm all for it.
• 22:33
  So, no, big, big credit.
• 22:34
  It's Brad.
• 22:35
  Respect, mate.
• 22:36
  I love that story.
• 22:38
  When was the first time you drove one?
• 22:40
  I mean, I've been there at Fink when you did the double, for example, when you raced the bike and all the crazy logistics involved for running the truck at the same time.
• 22:48
  Where did you drive one for the first time?
• 22:49
  And when did that light the spark about maybe in time, you know, when you've finished the two-wheel stuff that you might go down that path?
• 22:57
  How did that all start?
• 22:58
  Um, so that was it.
• 22:59
  My, my first attempt would have been, uh, a trophy truck in 2016, I think.
• 23:06
  Um, I probably went and tested a truck probably around March of 2016 and just to see if I could actually handle a truck and understand what it does.
• 23:17
  And at that point I really didn't know what I was looking at.
• 23:19
  And, um, yeah, I,
• 23:21
  I had that crazy, stupid thought in the back of my mind, I want to do the bike and the truck at Fink and prove to people it's possible to do both categories and try and win both at that time.
• 23:31
  And so, yeah, 2016 was my first time running a race truck.
• 23:38
  And then basically...
• 23:40
  I think I ended up finishing second outright in the truck, first in class and first overall, first in class on the bike.
• 23:47
  So I fell a little bit short, but I was running on seven cylinders coming home.
• 23:51
  So it was a pretty big achievement.
• 23:53
  And I was just like, far out, this stuff seemed easy.
• 23:55
  Like I've just finished second and yeah, we're like, okay, I'm going to buy one of these things and have a crack at it myself.
• 24:00
  And then the disaster started.
• 24:02
  That's where it all just like broken trucks, broken trucks.
• 24:05
  Just little minor things, just like steering pumps and rear gears and, yeah, just little minor things breaking.
• 24:12
  So I was like, it was starting to get pretty tough.
• 24:14
  But then we made that switch to the Tisco truck.
• 24:18
  And then that's when, yeah, everything started to come.
• 24:20
  And the success was there.
• 24:22
  And we ended up winning three in a row in the truck.
• 24:25
  So...
• 24:26
  But after we did the first one in 16, I literally the same year, I got an invite to go and drive with Jesse Jones at the Baja 1000.
• 24:36
  So it's the biggest off-road race in Mexico.
• 24:39
  And yeah, I'd helped him the year before previously because him and Bryce Menzi used to team up together.
• 24:47
  And, um, I just enjoyed racing and I'd finished in Europe.
• 24:51
  Oh no, sorry.
• 24:52
  In Argentina at the six day enduro, I flew to, uh, Mexico to help the guys, but basically just clean the windscreens and hand them drinks through the window and the race and everything.
• 25:02
  And I'm just like sniffing race gas.
• 25:04
  And I thought it was the best thing in the world.
• 25:05
  And, um, yeah.
• 25:06
  After I did my first race of the truck, then Jesse rang me and said, hey, you want to come back over for 1,000?
• 25:12
  I said, yeah, sweet.
• 25:13
  I'll come wash your windscreens.
• 25:14
  I'll do whatever.
• 25:15
  I'll do the groceries and cook whatever you need me to do.
• 25:17
  I'm all for it.
• 25:18
  He goes, no, no, no, no.
• 25:19
  You're going to drive.
• 25:20
  You're going to race.
• 25:21
  And I'm like, I've just done one race.
• 25:24
  They're like, are you sure you want me in this thing?
• 25:26
  And then he built a brand-new all-wheel drive truck.
• 25:29
  So, yeah, it's been a crazy – it's not come easy.
• 25:31
  Like, it's been a lot of work and everyone just sees it.
• 25:35
  Yeah, I'm driving these things and racing bikes and doing this.
• 25:38
  I've probably been in the background a lot more than what I've actually been in cars and just trying to help people and assist.
• 25:45
  And it's slowly opening doors, which is cool.
• 25:48
  Can I come to Fink for a moment, if you don't mind?
• 25:50
  I mean, you rattle off the winds there in the trophy truck.
• 25:52
  That complements, I think, the six on the bike, which is just freaking massive.
• 25:58
  For listeners here in Australia, if you haven't been, you've got to go at some stage and see it.
• 26:03
  To run from Alice Springs down to Apertula, or Fink as we affectionately call it, on the June long weekend, on the Sunday, then turn around and come back again on the Monday, two wheels or four, going flat out over that thing,
• 26:18
  that's a pretty awesome feeling i would imagine for sure is uh there's no race anywhere in the world like it and uh yeah like i say we we average 60 mile an hour to 50 mile an hour at baja races at fink we're averaging 75 to 80 mile an hour so yeah when you're saying that like the guys in mexico and america are like their eyes open pretty pretty wide because it's yeah it's it's all or
• 26:47
  Yeah, we've been very, very successful out there.
• 26:50
  We've done really well with the bike with six wins and then three in the car.
• 26:54
  And, yeah, it's the worst bit.
• 26:57
  Unfortunately, at the moment, I'm just in a bit of a...
• 27:00
  bit of a grey area with some things, um, with some contracts.
• 27:04
  I'd love to go back out there and race a bike, but, uh, yeah, manufacturer wise, I'm, I'm very limited to my, my market, what I could do.
• 27:12
  So yeah, a lot of people ask, when am I coming back to ride a bike?
• 27:16
  Eventually it will happen.
• 27:18
  Um,
• 27:19
  at that point in time, I'm probably going to be too old to be really kind of trying to push for outright wins, but I want to come back and just at least have fun and do the event and, um, be a part of it again.
• 27:29
  But it's, yeah, at this point in time, it's a very difficult situation with this and contracts I have in place and gotta, gotta behave in sometimes and, um, yeah, do the right things.
• 27:39
  But,
• 27:40
  We're trying to work on a program to go back for Dakar again for next year.
• 27:45
  But yeah, Fink's been a great stepping stone to try and get the bikes and the car down pat for what's on hold for the future.
• 27:57
  So it's one of them things.
• 28:00
  We've got a few price tags for some Dakar racing, but...
• 28:06
  Yeah, it's going to be quite tight and there's a lot of money involved in it and it's going to be very difficult to get that in place to make that happen.
• 28:15
  But that's why I'm doing all this.
• 28:17
  I want to hopefully someone opens their eyes that I'm trying all these different things and succeeding to doing well and doing it the right way.
• 28:23
  And hopefully it'll open the door that we can get a full-time drive to race Dakar on four wheels.
• 28:29
  Awesome.
• 28:30
  So, I mean, a couple of things spring to mind from what you've just talked about there, and that is at age 37 or whatever you are now and, you know, still clearly incredibly good at what you do, that the two-wheel thing is not done for you.
• 28:41
  Is that what you're saying?
• 28:41
  It's not a chapter that is closed?
• 28:43
  Is that what you're saying?
• 28:44
  No, no, honestly, no, never.
• 28:48
  I've not announced ever a retirement.
• 28:50
  Yeah, I don't know.
• 28:52
  I still ride two, sometimes three times a week.
• 28:55
  So it's just that I'm not competing full-time on a bike, but I'll ride a motorcycle until the day I'm dead, if my body will handle it.
• 29:05
  So...
• 29:06
  Yeah, I still love bikes, and like I say, I'll never officially retire.
• 29:10
  I still love bikes that much, and it's a part of my story, and, yeah, I don't want to hang the helmet up there.
• 29:17
  So I'll go and do some fun events.
• 29:19
  Like I say, I would love to go back and do Fink, love to go back and do Hadar.
• 29:24
  Like I say, it may not be as competitive as what I used to be, but I just want to go back and have some fun and enjoy the events and where it all kicked off for me.
• 29:34
  So...
• 29:35
  Yeah, but we definitely need to be smart on some things and look towards the future a bit.
• 29:40
  Hopefully something will come with four wheels to be a full-time job and, yeah, race Dakar and a full world championship.
• 29:49
  So, yeah, and then now I'm just throwing this rally stuff on top of it.
• 29:53
  It's like, God, it's like it's going to cost me a fortune.
• 29:56
  So, yeah, but at the end of the day, can't take it with you and there's no roof racks on a coffin.
• 30:01
  So, yeah, may as well spend it and have some fun.
• 30:14
  Toby's approach to life is something we could all learn from.
• 30:17
  As Rusty discovered in their first pod chat in 2018, his story could have been very different.
• 30:24
  There was a national hare and hound event on at Palm Springs, California, and went out there and yeah, basically it almost flipped everything upside down for us and became very, was very, very close to being on edge of being in a wheelchair.
• 30:45
  If you haven't heard that first Rusty's Garage episode with Toby, it is worth a listen.
• 30:50
  True grit, determination, and a good bloke.
• 30:53
  Let's get back to episode 2 with him now.
• 30:58
  I would never seek to understand the contractual stuff, mate.
• 31:01
  That's private.
• 31:01
  That's for you and your guys to sort of deal with there.
• 31:04
  But I would imagine loyalty comes into this.
• 31:06
  So you have partners.
• 31:07
  I mean, you've had an unbelievable association with Red Bull.
• 31:10
  I think there was a rumor at one point from the bike standpoint that maybe Honda were interested and so on.
• 31:16
  But that's not straightforward because you've got to look after other people that are a part of your story.
• 31:21
  It's not as simple as jumping ship.
• 31:24
  No, that's for sure not.
• 31:27
  Yeah, it's been hard to explain to people.
• 31:29
  I never really went crazy public with anything.
• 31:34
  But that's not you either, I don't think.
• 31:37
  I don't like throwing anybody under the bus, and I'm not that person.
• 31:40
  But at the end of the day, what happened was that around that time, my contract was up for renewal with KTM.
• 31:49
  I was loyal for 15 years to Kawasaki.
• 31:52
  And then at that point, they basically let me go to say, we want you, but we can't afford to keep you.
• 31:57
  That was the first year I won the Australian Off-Road Championship.
• 32:01
  And they said, we just, we can't afford to keep you.
• 32:03
  So like, you need to look elsewhere and we appreciate what you've done.
• 32:07
  That's when the KDM thing started.
• 32:09
  And then 15 years of racing KDM.
• 32:12
  So all through my juniors, I was like Kawasaki's little whatever.
• 32:18
  And that's for me.
• 32:18
  I've always wanted to be loyal to brands and everything.
• 32:21
  And what happened in the KDM side was that in January, we said we were all green light.
• 32:27
  Let's go full gas and we're going to go racing again on two wheels.
• 32:30
  And I was all for it.
• 32:32
  I renewed my contract with Red Bull and Can-Am.
• 32:36
  And then March rolled around.
• 32:39
  Well, actually, February, I put a deposit down on the property because I'm like, I'm getting 38 years of age.
• 32:45
  I want to bear, minimize all my travel time and stuff.
• 32:49
  I'm getting sick of loading the bike up and driving an hour and a half, two hours to go practice, ride and train.
• 32:53
  This throws a whole complete day away.
• 32:56
  I went to invest into a property to, yeah, ride straight out of my shed and do what I needed to do.
• 33:02
  And that was February.
• 33:04
  I dropped the deposit for that.
• 33:06
  And then March came around and KM pulled the pin and packed up shop and took off.
• 33:11
  And I was like, fire out.
• 33:13
  That was a big shock to the system and, yeah, hard to kind of swallow and take because if I knew that that was coming...
• 33:22
  Probably a couple of other areas I could have changed a lot of things to continue myself on motorcycles.
• 33:28
  But like I say, like in that being, yeah, Honda was one that two, three days later after we announced that we weren't continuing with KDM, Honda wanted to do something, but they have an energy drink sponsor that's...
• 33:42
  Clashes.
• 33:42
  They're clashes.
• 33:44
  And I'm not that person.
• 33:45
  Like I say, I'm a loyal...
• 33:47
  I want to be loyal to my sponsors that have supported me and Red Bull has been an absolute amazing supporter.
• 33:52
  And I wasn't ringing them to say, hey, I've got to kick you to the curb and I'm going this direction.
• 33:58
  And like, and at that point in time too, I had to have a bit of a think because it's like, yeah, like I say, I'm 38.
• 34:03
  Um...
• 34:05
  I've only got one or maybe two more years left on a motorcycle to be competitive.
• 34:09
  So is it worth throwing away a Red Bull contract to be only one or two more years to race a motorcycle and then I've got to try and get on the hands and knees and crawl back and say, hey, I'm sorry I left.
• 34:21
  But yeah, at that point in time, it was pretty much just where it was that I couldn't continue.
• 34:28
  And yeah.
• 34:29
  It was a tough one to accept, and I still don't accept it, but it's, I still, like I say, I still love riding bikes, and I'll never stop riding, but racing them full-time for an actual job and work, it's, yeah, that window's probably closed, and, but yeah, like I say, I'll never retire, I'll still want to go and do some fun events and have some fun.
• 34:49
  And the Kawasaki story, which I reckon you recounted a bit of in the first pod that we did, reminds me, I mean, you really wanted to kind of continue with them.
• 34:59
  It wasn't possible.
• 35:00
  So, you know, you amicably go a different direction.
• 35:04
  You then have, I think, Orange, this connection with them that is instantly recognizable, right, with KTM, right?
• 35:15
  It is a little tough to see where the manufacturer is out.
• 35:18
  They've got some challenges at the moment, don't they?
• 35:20
  And that's tough for what's been such an iconic brand.
• 35:23
  Arguably, you had been with them through a very cool chapter when you look back on it now.
• 35:28
  Yeah, for sure.
• 35:29
  Like I say, it's, um, yeah, it's like a tough pill to swallow to not be, still be a part of the chapter and, um, continue with the brand.
• 35:37
  But yeah, it's a crazy one.
• 35:39
  Like to see the troubles and issues that they're going through was probably something that nobody ever thought would have ever really happened.
• 35:46
  Um, every time you go to an enduro event, desert rose, nearly any event these days, it's, it's a sea of orange out there.
• 35:53
  And, um, yeah.
• 35:54
  Yeah, no one really kind of expected it.
• 35:57
  It's tough.
• 35:59
  They're a little bit sometimes upset with me doing some four-wheel stuff, but I always told them, hey, my name is my business, and I can't race motorcycles for my whole life.
• 36:13
  I need to start opening doors, and honestly, to...
• 36:17
  Try and finish on a motorcycle and cold turkey straightaway jump into a car.
• 36:21
  Possible.
• 36:22
  It's impossible.
• 36:22
  Like, I really do feel for the guys that are in the motorcycle category still now, if that is their goal and dream that they want to get into a car and continue racing, like Dakar events...
• 36:35
  don't wait till the last day you put the helmet on the shelf for the bike because it will physically be impossible to get a seat in a car because it's not many, like, it takes big respect from even the manufacturers and the owners of the cars to, like, let you take control of more.
• 36:50
  Million-dollar machines.
• 36:51
  A million-dollar machine.
• 36:52
  And, um...
• 36:53
  you'd be an absolute clown on that thing and it's uh it's no guarantee that that thing will come back on its four wheels and it's going to cost them a lot of money so that's why i started early just to try and give some people the confidence that yeah i'm doing the right steps in the right way to to prove that i'm not that clown that's going to send it off a cliff and destroy a lot of things like
• 37:14
  For sure, I've done it, but you learn from your mistakes, and I'm trying to do that while I can in that process, but also take the baby steps to make it all work the right way.
• 37:25
  But yeah, it's crazy to be a part of that chapter with them, and it seems like they might have worked it all out now with KDM, hopefully.
• 37:35
  But yeah, their direction of some things that they were going, myself personally, I couldn't agree with, but...
• 37:43
  That was their business and I was controlling my business.
• 37:45
  And it was like that's how it kind of worked.
• 37:48
  And, yeah, fingers crossed they can keep at it.
• 37:51
  you can't say it.
• 37:52
  I don't reckon in the windows where I've watched you along the way where you've ventured off and done the four-wheel stuff that it ever came at the expense of the priority of the two wheels.
• 38:02
  I think the priority was always with them in that regard.
• 38:06
  Since you and I spoke, you win a second Dakar.
• 38:09
  That seems like a little while ago now.
• 38:10
  It was before a crazy pandemic and all that sort of stuff.
• 38:13
  And that win made...
• 38:16
  man, it's a hard one to look back on for different reasons.
• 38:20
  You know, Palo Concalves, that was, you know, well-documented what happened there and you were first on the scene and so on.
• 38:25
  To compartmentalize that, to come through that and to win that second one in South America, that must have been, for all sorts of reasons emotionally, very, very difficult to do.
• 38:35
  Yeah, that's it.
• 38:37
  It's crazy.
• 38:38
  Time flies and a lot of things just happen.
• 38:40
  So like you say, it only feels like a year, two years ago that me and you spoke.
• 38:45
  I had that podcast and now you tell me it's 2018.
• 38:48
  I'm like, far out.
• 38:49
  That's seven years ago.
• 38:51
  I'm grayer.
• 38:52
  You're not.
• 38:52
  Yeah, don't worry, it's in my beard.
• 38:54
  It's coming through, mate.
• 38:55
  It's coming through.
• 38:56
  So, yeah, a lot of things have happened and changed in there, and that's, like, yeah, from 2019, like, my wrist still doesn't work properly.
• 39:02
  And, like, yeah, having a broken scaphoid and then, yeah.
• 39:06
  What are you up to?
• 39:06
  Like, more than 30 bones, I think.
• 39:08
  Yeah, I'm at 30 now.
• 39:09
  So, yeah, it makes me sound like a pretty average dirt bike rider.
• 39:13
  Being 38 years of age and 30 broken bones, it nearly works out at one per year.
• 39:17
  So it's, yeah, pretty average, but...
• 39:20
  Usually when you have that crash, it's like four or five that break at the same time.
• 39:23
  So it plays a catch-up game real quick.
• 39:25
  But, yeah, having Palo, like, crash in front of us there, and we were first on the scene for that, like...
• 39:32
  Yeah, it takes its toll on the mind.
• 39:35
  And the worst part was it was like, yeah, I was first on scene for him and literally helpless.
• 39:43
  I couldn't do anything.
• 39:44
  And it was like the worst part was that I still had to finish that day.
• 39:50
  Honestly, I didn't even look at a road book or nothing.
• 39:51
  It was just like I was just in a blur and a vision of just –
• 39:54
  what the hell just happened.
• 39:56
  And then, um, we had the rest, uh, the next day we, we took a stand at like, Hey, we're not riding tomorrow.
• 40:03
  Like this is, yeah, we're one of our top guys and one of our family of first base is gone.
• 40:08
  Um, and,
• 40:10
  But then, yeah, when you sat there, it was like far out.
• 40:13
  The world just still keeps turning.
• 40:15
  He's gone, and we move on, and we keep going.
• 40:19
  And it's like, for me, it took a long time to kind of get over that.
• 40:24
  It was just, if that was me on the ground, it's like, well, I don't remember.
• 40:28
  I wouldn't remember what happened or anything.
• 40:30
  And it's like, I wouldn't be here to share the stories and do what I'm doing now.
• 40:34
  So it's like...
• 40:35
  you start to process things a lot different, and I beat the absolute hell out of myself, and like in all my injuries, and yeah, I got very lucky that I've come out the other side all in good shape, and yeah, so maybe you just step back a little bit and realize, hey, we're not all invincible, and that could have been me, and yeah, I wouldn't be here to tell the story and live the rest of my life, so yeah,
• 41:00
  Yeah, it's, like I say, people didn't really see all that side of it behind the scenes of all that, and tough one to swallow.
• 41:08
  But like I say, it's just one of them things.
• 41:10
  It takes time, and I appreciate the small things in life.
• 41:14
  I appreciate the big things in life, and any opportunity and chance that comes up, I grab it with both hands and just give it our best shot, and that's all we can do.
• 41:25
  And it's, yeah, if it's the time to go, it's the time to go.
• 41:29
  I'm a huge believer too that people...
• 41:33
  invariably would want to continue because that's what they were doing.
• 41:36
  They were doing what they loved at the time.
• 41:38
  Thank you for sharing that.
• 41:39
  I know that's not an easy thing to do.
• 41:41
  I'm pleased to hear that the lure of four-wheel Dakar stuff burns bright too based on what you headed off to have a crack at this year.
• 41:49
  Stitching that stuff together in the business sense is a massive exercise, let alone the logistics of piecing it all together, mate.
• 41:57
  What is that like?
• 41:59
  Are you good at that?
• 42:00
  Is that something you get other people to help you with?
• 42:03
  Yeah, I've got a good team of people that help with all that stuff.
• 42:06
  And, yeah, so we're in the mix of all that at the moment.
• 42:10
  And the worst part is it's like we've since done doing Dakar, like I say, we only had five, me and Sam only had 500Ks under our belt running into Dakar this year in a Toyota T1 Plus.
• 42:25
  Very lucky I had some great people jump on board at Dakar.
• 42:28
  Probably the very last minute we could have probably made it happen.
• 42:32
  But, yeah, BlackRock came to the table.
• 42:35
  Actually, McMillan's that we race against in Mexico helped out with a bit of funding as well.
• 42:40
  So it's like the respect that, yeah, I have with a lot of people, it really is mind-blowing.
• 42:46
  And I appreciate the support a lot.
• 42:50
  So very last minute we were heading there.
• 42:51
  We went and did 500Ks of testing in Dubai, turned around and showed up into the race, and that was all we had under our belt.
• 42:58
  And I'm racing against Sebastian Loeb, nine times world WRC champion, and Nasser.
• 43:05
  Carlos Sive.
• 43:06
  Carlos Sainz, all these guys, it's like far out there.
• 43:08
  The amount of seat time they've had, they've probably driven around the world 15 times.
• 43:14
  So it's like, yeah, pretty damn insane.
• 43:17
  And to be running third and fourth out right in that first week in some stages doing quite well,
• 43:24
  proves that we can do it it's just we just need a bit more seat time and it's like I say here even in the WRX challenge class like it's it's taken a little bit the first few few stages to adjust but we're starting to get a little bit better and we're starting to pick up what the car can and can't do so it's the same thing in the T1 plus I didn't want to be that first
• 43:45
  um thumbnail of a guy sending it off a cliff and it's like done and dusted in in the first half an hour and uh so yeah like we we are working on a big bit of a program at the moment we sound like we could have two opportunities and possibilities worst part is that yeah not many people see that part of it what it costs to do it and it's uh looking at the moment it's going to be anywhere from around six
• 44:09
  100,000 to a million euros.
• 44:12
  Euro?
• 44:13
  Euro.
• 44:13
  So that turns it into about $2 million.
• 44:16
  So, yeah, that's a tough one.
• 44:20
  And that's, like I say, so I'm on the fence of, like, feeling like my career is done.
• 44:27
  But then the last minute something could come in and, I don't know, I've been buying some Bitcoin and bits of Bitcoin.
• 44:33
  Yeah.
• 44:34
  Are you good at that?
• 44:35
  Are you good?
• 44:35
  No, I'm truffy.
• 44:36
  I'm like, oh yeah, I thought I bought the dip, but then it just keeps going down.
• 44:40
  So it's like, God damn it.
• 44:41
  It's like not really working.
• 44:43
  So, um, but yeah, like I'm trying everything we can and like, I've got good people in my corner working on it, but, um, to try and find a million pounds or yeah, even 600,000 pounds or euros, uh, it's a challenge.
• 44:57
  And, and, um.
• 44:59
  Yeah, we'll wait and see.
• 45:02
  The two options we have are quite good.
• 45:05
  Some areas that look like maybe some seats will come available eventually.
• 45:11
  So, yeah, it's a do-or-die moment at the moment, and I need to take that chance.
• 45:17
  But, like I say, racing motorcycles, I didn't make multi-millions of dollars to just pay for one out of my own pocket.
• 45:25
  Yeah, I don't know.
• 45:26
  We'll wait and see.
• 45:27
  If it happens, it happens.
• 45:28
  If it doesn't, well, yeah, take it and cop that one on the chin and just we keep moving forward and we try and make it work.
• 45:35
  So it's one of them things we're working hard on, but fingers crossed we can make it happen.
• 45:40
  If not, like I say, yeah, we just try and focus on what's next and maybe do some more of this rally stuff.
• 45:46
  Give it a red hot crack, mate.
• 45:47
  I know you will.
• 45:48
  I know you love that endurance competition immensely.
• 45:50
  Now, the Herridge's are making dinner here.
• 45:52
  I'm robbing you of dinner time here.
• 45:53
  So let's bounce through some things to finish here.
• 45:56
  Ebony Doherty from Michelin.
• 45:58
  Excellent.
• 45:58
  Great person, great company.
• 46:00
  And they've been supporters for both of us, right?
• 46:02
  She tells me to ask about Bronson.
• 46:05
  Oh, yeah, the new dog, Bronson.
• 46:08
  Yeah, he's an absolute menace at the moment.
• 46:11
  He's, what is he?
• 46:13
  He's like a Napoleon Mastiff.
• 46:17
  So at the moment, he's grown like about 1.2 kilos a week.
• 46:21
  That's your food bill.
• 46:22
  Yeah.
• 46:23
  I was like, shit, I need to pay for a damn Dakar drive dogs.
• 46:26
  Like, you need to stop eating.
• 46:27
  But, yeah, he's been a lot of fun at the moment, just a farm dog and everything.
• 46:32
  But, yeah, we've also, as you say, the new Dakar that just came out, Dakar, racing against the desert.
• 46:39
  Yeah, both things are, yeah, super exciting for me.
• 46:42
  And, yeah, we've been able to showcase a little bit of behind the scenes stuff of Dakar and
• 46:48
  It's one that hurts a little bit.
• 46:49
  That could have possibly been close to my third Dakar win, and it eluded me by about 42 seconds or something, I think it was.
• 46:58
  So that one hurts.
• 47:00
  So watching that film clip kicked me in the guts a bit, but like I say, it is what it is, and we told a great story.
• 47:07
  It shows what goes into the event.
• 47:09
  get mitchell and them guys they look after me really extremely well and um can't thank all them enough it's uh they're definitely helping my program with dakar and also baja with all the mexico races so yeah ebbs ebbs a good one she sure is quickly in the garage 56 chevy have you still
• 47:31
  Yep, so it's a 57 Chev, yeah, and then I've got a 56 Ford F100.
• 47:36
  I've got the wrong way around.
• 47:38
  Yeah, wrong way around, but yeah, you've got a good memory, mate.
• 47:41
  That was a long time ago we were talking about that.
• 47:43
  So, yeah, so we're getting close to the 56 F100 to be built, the 57 Chev.
• 47:50
  It's going to be something pretty silly and stupid.
• 47:53
  It's a 593 cubic inch big block Chev with two Garrett G45 turbos on it.
• 48:01
  So it hopefully should be about 1500 horsepower.
• 48:03
  And yeah, I'll be probably turning myself inside out, backwards up the road.
• 48:07
  And yeah, having a bit of fun.
• 48:09
  Will you ever cut the hair?
• 48:13
  It's getting damn close for us.
• 48:15
  Trust me.
• 48:16
  I can't see you with this business-style tight haircut, though.
• 48:19
  I can't see that.
• 48:20
  Yeah, don't worry.
• 48:21
  I feel weird to say this, but I've practiced in the mirror a couple of times, just tying it back by my hands, not with actual tie, but looking at it and just going, it just doesn't look like me.
• 48:31
  But then I look at the top of my head, I'm like, shit, I might need that stuff at the back to comb it to the front to cover up the bald spots.
• 48:38
  So...
• 48:39
  It's getting pretty rough, mate.
• 48:40
  Like I say, I'm getting greys in my beard, and yeah, I'm starting to show my age a little bit.
• 48:44
  Rally's age will be really damn quick.
• 48:46
  True or false, Chas Mostert may have started one of your Dakar bikes at a party.
• 48:53
  Very true.
• 48:54
  And it was in the kitchen and, yeah, probably left a good old black mark up through my tiles in the kitchen.
• 49:02
  So we got in a little bit of trouble that night.
• 49:05
  Yeah, Chazzy, yeah, you bastard, you got me on that one.
• 49:08
  But it was a good time.
• 49:10
  So, yeah, we won't go into too many details, but he definitely held it wide open and held on to us.
• 49:15
  It was good fun.
• 49:16
  You too would be like peas in a pod, similar personality and no one, I mean, harmless fun, all harmless fun, which is great.
• 49:22
  I want to end with,
• 49:24
  We've reflected on your great personality, mate, and how you've never changed over time.
• 49:30
  What is it about you that gravitates to this endurance competition?
• 49:34
  You put yourself through these immense challenges in places that are so damn remote.
• 49:43
  The allure, the appeal of that for you is still, even now in your late 30s, immense, isn't it?
• 49:49
  Yeah, it's huge.
• 49:51
  I don't know.
• 49:51
  I just love that challenge.
• 49:53
  I like to be put to the test.
• 49:55
  It's like I always tell people, like, nothing in life is easy, and it doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter or a gold plate.
• 50:04
  Like, it's very, very rarely that happens, that people are born into wealth and makes things a lot easier.
• 50:12
  But, yeah, I don't know.
• 50:13
  For me, I just love a challenge, and I like to be –
• 50:16
  I don't know, I'm very comfortable to be around a massive big group of people, but then also very comfortable to be on my own, complete middle of nowhere and just problem solving, trying to get myself to the finish line and do the best I can.
• 50:29
  And, yeah, it's for me, I just throw myself in the deep end of anything and I try and come out the other side swimming and surviving.
• 50:39
  So, yeah, it's always a good challenge and I don't think that'll ever go away.
• 50:43
  It's something that I think from...
• 50:46
  The four years of age, I was just always an adventurous kid and I never stayed inside the house, never stayed inside the yard.
• 50:52
  It was just full gas and let's go and see what we can see in the world and do it as quickly as we can.
• 50:58
  So may that never change.
• 50:59
  It's been wonderful to catch up.
• 51:00
  You've been great with your time.
• 51:01
  I'm immensely grateful for that, mate.
• 51:04
  Go well with the next phase of things that you've outlined there.
• 51:09
  Nat, I think, has made some awesome pulled pork for tea.
• 51:12
  We're done.
• 51:13
  You go and enjoy that and kick butt in Mexico.
• 51:15
  Absolutely.
• 51:16
  That's the plan.
• 51:17
  We'll finish off tomorrow first, and then we'll go and kick butt in Mexico, and then we'll start working on the Dakar stuff.
• 51:23
  So, yeah, look, if anyone definitely wants to help out, I never really ask for too much help, but if there's anybody out there looking to do something with some sponsorship for a Dakar event, please reach out.
• 51:35
  I'd love to try and work something out because I want to make my dream become reality, but also, yeah, if we can get some worldwide recognition for someone, we're all for it.
• 51:44
  So...
• 51:44
  Big thanks, mate.
• 51:45
  I appreciate it.
• 51:46
  And let's go and shout out on some good pulled pork.
• 51:56
  Rusty's Garage is written and presented by me, Greg Rust.
• 52:00
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• 52:05
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