Latest / Rusty's Garage / Mr Motorcycle Industry Jeff Leisk (Part 2)

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Mr Motorcycle Industry Jeff Leisk (Part 2) · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:20
  G'day, it's Rusty here, all set for part two of my podcast with Mr. Motocross legend Jeff Leask.
• 0:26
  Coming up, wheeling a sprint car, a post-race life reset, and becoming an even bigger success story in the motorcycle industry as general manager of KTM and more.
• 0:39
  Now, if you haven't heard part one yet, jump back to the garage library and hit the gas on it.
• 0:44
  From his early years in WA and the influence of family, to success on home soil and the great American dream.
• 0:52
  We begin part two by talking about a busy 1988 season, which included a memorable 500cc World Championship race win at the American Hollister GP and racing in Europe.
• 1:10
  The 88 season, a win 500cc World Championship race at Hollister in the US.
• 1:17
  There was European racing too.
• 1:20
  How busy did that schedule get that year?
• 1:24
  The US is always busy.
• 1:26
  It's a big schedule, not only from a racing point of view, but the Americans like to test a lot.
• 1:31
  So you'd be on the East Coast racing, get back to California either on a supercross, you get back on the Sunday and then when you have the test track on Monday and Tuesday, and maybe you train a bit more on Thursday, and then you fly off to the next race.
• 1:47
  It's busy, it's intense, it's a grind, you know, there's a lot of races that you run in the US, you know.
• 1:55
  And obviously, you know, entwined in that season was the US Grand Prix at Hollister, and I remember that we were able to get up to the Mammoth Mountain and do some preparation before that race, which was really nice.
• 2:08
  It was a really nice place to kind of do some prep and we had some good training runs and
• 2:13
  And then Hollister, I think, was towards the coast.
• 2:15
  It was probably a three or four hour drive.
• 2:17
  And, you know, we, yeah, it's just one of those days that kind of went well for me, particularly in the second moto.
• 2:24
  You know, because in the US we were still racing the 30 minute motos where the FIM Grand Prix 500 was a 40 minutes plus two lap race.
• 2:33
  So, so it's really the extra 10 minutes plus, plus an additional two laps.
• 2:38
  And so it's,
• 2:39
  It was a bit of a step up in terms of time out on the track, you know.
• 2:43
  So, yes, I think in the second moto, you know, I managed to, I think, start well.
• 2:48
  And I remember Brock Glover chased me for most of the race, but I, you know, kind of held him at bay.
• 2:53
  And that was really my first ever Grand Prix moto win, I guess you'd say.
• 2:58
  So, yeah, it was cool.
• 3:00
  I want to just expand there because you brought it up about the longevity of the races.
• 3:05
  I mean, to do, you know, 30 to 40 minutes on the bike, I think the schedule at one point for you at its peak, Jeff, was something like 52 races a year.
• 3:18
  So to do that is immensely taxing on the body, mate, isn't it?
• 3:23
  It is.
• 3:24
  Your body really does get worn down and, you know, maybe you have swollen ankles and, you know, supercrosses and motocross, particularly supercross, just beat you up, you know, and you come up short on a triple jump and the impacts are phenomenal, you know, and you're on the bike a lot.
• 3:42
  To be a supercross rider...
• 3:44
  In a seven-day period, including your race, you're probably on the bike four to five times out of the seven days.
• 3:50
  There's a lot of risk, a lot of exposure in your training and a lot of wear and tear physically.
• 3:57
  But, yeah, I did have some seasons where I also went to Europe and we did a lot of the indoor races and so on.
• 4:04
  There were some years, 50-plus races, and, yeah, they're big seasons.
• 4:08
  They're really, really...
• 4:10
  wear you down and I know Buddha and so on was probably even more worn down.
• 4:15
  So yeah, it's pretty tough.
• 4:18
  89, you focus on the World Championship Europe.
• 4:21
  I think very early on, round one, Holland, you're two seconds a lap faster than everyone else in the first race.
• 4:30
  But gut-wrenching, Lee Ski, it ran out of fuel with a couple of laps to go, didn't it?
• 4:36
  Yeah.
• 4:36
  Yeah, I probably only needed to be a second in a lap faster.
• 4:39
  That probably would have been smarter.
• 4:40
  So, yeah, look, we got that one wrong, you know.
• 4:45
  And, you know, all of the testing we did and, you know, we obviously did fill consumption runs and we...
• 4:53
  Yeah, the tracks were just slower, rougher.
• 4:56
  And then obviously the hype of that first moto, you know, I revved the bike more, I pushed harder, and yeah, we came up short, you know, on fuel.
• 5:08
  And yeah, it was a bit of a blow, you know, because you always like to start the season well.
• 5:14
  I guess, you know, people say if it starts well, it ends well, right?
• 5:17
  So it was a bit of a blow.
• 5:19
  And, you know, I came back on the second moto, regrouped it.
• 5:23
  You know, that actually wasn't the difference in, you know, winning the title or coming, you know, either winning or whatever that year.
• 5:30
  Dave Thorpe, you know, had a very strong season and even if you put the points in from that race, he sort of won the championship that year.
• 5:39
  So that was one of those ones, you know, it happens and you just got to move on, right?
• 5:45
  And focus on the next race.
• 5:47
  And you did that, Jeff.
• 5:48
  I mean, four GP race wins that year, I think two overall GP victories, second in the world.
• 5:54
  Just based on what you said a moment ago, I mean, you've had life and time to think about a lot of this stuff.
• 6:01
  What is the emotion that you have around that now on balance?
• 6:08
  I always feel like I left a bit on the table.
• 6:12
  I think that if you're not winning, you look back and you go, well, why didn't I?
• 6:18
  Why didn't I win?
• 6:20
  And I think there are some regrets, and there's some things that you thought you could have done better.
• 6:25
  So that's how I think about it.
• 6:27
  So yeah.
• 6:28
  The training regime was unbelievable though, Jeff.
• 6:30
  So maybe you're being a little hard on yourself here.
• 6:32
  What could you possibly, what did you leave on the table?
• 6:36
  Look, I just think there's times where you probably should be more focused or dedicated on your sport.
• 6:41
  And yeah, I just felt like sometimes I just didn't possibly have my training where it needed to be and things like that.
• 6:50
  So, but yeah, that's what it was.
• 6:53
  You have to accept that that's what you did then.
• 6:57
  And as you move through life, you try to learn from those situations.
• 7:03
  Later on, you became a team manager and very successful in business.
• 7:09
  Did some of the lessons in that filter through to helping others then, Jeff?
• 7:13
  Has your lesson that you've just talked about, I'm not a believer in regret and I often say that in the podcast because there's something positive that comes out of it, right?
• 7:21
  But has that helped others that have been under your wing along the way?
• 7:25
  Yeah, I think so.
• 7:26
  You know, I think I use that to motivate myself to hopefully be successful in other endeavours in life.
• 7:36
  Yeah, so it was like a progression for me.
• 7:38
  You know, once I finished racing, I, you know, I had a little bit of time away from bikes to kind of recharge my batteries and then the KTM opportunity came about.
• 7:48
  And, you know, it was something I was always interested in, you know, to run a team in Australia and kind of build that up.
• 7:56
  And yes, absolutely, you know, that...
• 8:00
  those learnings come into play.
• 8:02
  And yeah, so, you know, we had a couple of good years with running a team and then the next step was really business and that was always something I was always interested in as well.
• 8:10
  Let's just focus on a couple more to finish your own two-wheel racing chapter, Jeff.
• 8:14
  Firstly, Greg Murphy's done a beautiful little package that sums up your career that people can find on YouTube.
• 8:22
  He voiced it.
• 8:23
  And in it, he reminds us, thankfully, about the fact that you won the famed Paris-Bersey Supercross that same year.
• 8:33
  I think it was 89 too, mate.
• 8:34
  It was an epic finish as well, wasn't it?
• 8:36
  That one must be a very special one.
• 8:39
  Yeah, it was.
• 8:40
  It was the Paris events.
• 8:42
  Actually, it's still running to this day.
• 8:45
  And I think Chad Reid was the first Aussie to kind of win, because I think it generally runs over four nights.
• 8:53
  So he was the first one to kind of win the overall, but I was the first one to obviously Aussie to win a night.
• 9:00
  Yeah, you know, they're great events, a lot of showmanship, and, you know, they always had a good rider, a strong rider lineup, and all the top Americans always participated in that event.
• 9:09
  And I think the particular year I won it, you know, I had a really close battle with Ricky Johnson, and I think it was pretty close across the finish line.
• 9:17
  So, yeah, that was a bit of a highlight.
• 9:19
  I really enjoyed winning that event.
• 9:23
  1990 was a bit of a frustrating season for you and you'd ultimately call time on your racing and you'd finish in front of your home crowd in WA, which I think is really cool.
• 9:33
  In the same way you just look back on life and life's learnings, Jeff, did you stop too soon?
• 9:39
  Is that something that you've thought about since or were you happy to call that the finish line at that point?
• 9:46
  Yeah, I mean, that one there, I don't really, no regrets on that one.
• 9:50
  I think, you know, racing is such a tough sport, you know, particularly motocross.
• 9:57
  If you're not fully invested in it mentally, spiritually, it's probably the last thing you want to do.
• 10:06
  when it's all good and then the spirit's good and the motivation's there, then maybe that's the only thing you want to do because it's such a thrilling, enthralling sport.
• 10:17
  So, yeah, I think for me the time is right, you know, I really do.
• 10:20
  I really believe that.
• 10:21
  I mean, I could have, yeah, absolutely persevered, but I'm not sure whether that was right for me, you know, individually.
• 10:29
  So,
• 10:31
  Yeah, and then really that then opened some other doors for me, some other things that I was thinking of doing.
• 10:38
  Were the bikes tools for the athlete or were they things that you developed an attachment to?
• 10:44
  And was there one that you look back on in that whole period and you go, man, that bike, that weekend, whatever it was, preparation from you and Buddha or whatever it may have been, is there a special one that you've got a soft spot for?
• 10:59
  I don't really have a massive attachment to the bikes that I rode.
• 11:03
  You know, I'm not a collector.
• 11:05
  Anyone that knows me knows there's not a trophy displayed in my house.
• 11:10
  I gave away all my helmets and my riding gear, and I'm just not that type of person, you know.
• 11:16
  It's not to say that I don't...
• 11:19
  have great memories and love the fact that I was able to do what I did, but it's just not who I am and I don't need to walk around and look at a trophy on the wall or some of my old riding memorability.
• 11:32
  So I don't have old bikes.
• 11:35
  In fact, I bought an 84 Honda.
• 11:38
  A while back, there's a bit of a project to sort of, you know, get a toe in the water with some of the old stuff.
• 11:43
  But I guess if there was a bike, it's probably the 500cc, you know, the CR Honda.
• 11:50
  And I guess, you know, through the years in...
• 11:55
  83, 84, 85, I did a bit of development work with Honda on those bikes.
• 12:00
  So that's probably why I do have some pretty good memories about those bikes and they were particularly the, I think it was the 85 when they kind of had the water cool bike.
• 12:09
  It was a bit of a game changer.
• 12:11
  So yeah, I think that's probably the bike that I have the best memories of.
• 12:14
  Just quickly, did you rest-o that bike that you've bought or is it a work in progress?
• 12:18
  It's a work in progress, Rusty.
• 12:20
  It's in a thousand pieces.
• 12:22
  I'm pretty good at pulling things apart.
• 12:25
  I'm not sure about putting them back together, but yeah.
• 12:28
  You said a minute ago you had a bit of time away from two wheels.
• 12:32
  In that period, Jeff, I think you went and worked as a plumber.
• 12:36
  You may have even tried your hand at emu farming.
• 12:38
  I mean, this could not be further removed from the dizzy heights of the World Championship.
• 12:43
  How was that?
• 12:44
  Yeah, well, I did take a year off, you know, after all those years being on the road racing.
• 12:49
  And my dad came around my house one day and he said, I think it was about time he did something.
• 12:58
  So he dragged me into his plumbing business.
• 13:01
  He had a few, you know, reasonably big jobs at the time.
• 13:04
  And, yeah, and that was good, to be honest.
• 13:07
  So because, you know, having never had a real job, you know, since I left school kind of...
• 13:15
  you know, in general, running your day and kind of having that freedom to where you have to be at work at, you know, 7 in the morning and have that discipline was actually probably a good thing for me to kind of get me back into society.
• 13:31
  So, yeah, that was okay.
• 13:34
  I didn't mind it.
• 13:35
  It was a good experience.
• 13:36
  And...
• 13:38
  A little bit of emu farming and I dabbled with that.
• 13:41
  And that was kind of interesting as well.
• 13:44
  And I guess, you know, after that, then, you know, then there was sort of the opportunity to get a little bit of involvement with KTM.
• 13:51
  And I think even before that, I was also partners with a guy in an automatic transmission business.
• 13:56
  So I also had a play with that.
• 13:58
  So, you know.
• 13:59
  Yeah, why not?
• 14:00
  All good life experience.
• 14:02
  Hey, your other deep love is Speedway and that harks back to you, Dad.
• 14:07
  We talked about that at the beginning of the podcast, but you did get to go sprint car racing and it's been a good chapter of your life.
• 14:15
  The want to do it has been there for some time.
• 14:20
  Where did the first drive happen?
• 14:21
  What was that like and what sort of sensation did it leave you with?
• 14:26
  Yeah, so I think my first drive was probably early in 91.
• 14:34
  I met a guy called Jeff Kendrick who's pretty well known.
• 14:37
  A character.
• 14:38
  Yeah, real larger than life.
• 14:41
  Elvis Presley impersonator character.
• 14:47
  He was running a sprint car team in WA and actually still running it today with his son Jason driving the car.
• 14:55
  Yeah, and really something I always wanted to do when I was hanging around the speedways with Dad and I think...
• 15:03
  You know, I remember Elf Barbagallo was one of the first guys in WA to kind of get the kind of modern lightweight sprint car with the, you know, the good wings.
• 15:12
  And, you know, they were quite an impressive thing to watch and it was just like, yeah, one day I'm going to do that, you know.
• 15:19
  So, and follow the sport a bit, you know.
• 15:22
  During my motocross years in the States, you know, I used to go to Ascot Park and watch the sprint cars race there and sometimes the World of Outlaws and different parts of the US and,
• 15:33
  So it's always been something that I've aspired to do and then I got my chance.
• 15:37
  And I think it was in a sort of a guest drive match race against Ron Cricky at Bunbury Speedway and kind of threw me straight in and into this match race.
• 15:46
  I didn't really even do any practice laps or anything.
• 15:48
  And yeah, so that was the first time and it was everything and more that I expected.
• 15:55
  So yeah, and then really Jeff convinced me to come on board and I think I did the
• 16:01
  I think it was 91-92 season and then 93-4 I think it was or yeah so and did a couple of seasons there with Jeff and I think my second season didn't go too badly I won a couple races and the Australian title was at Claremont Speedway and I qualified on the front row with Gary Brazier and you know I ran fourth in the title that year and
• 16:24
  Like a lot of car racers, money was starting to run out a bit, and I had a few years off.
• 16:29
  So I've sort of been in and out of sprint car racing for many, many years, and I think in the 2003 season I won the state title, actually came back and won that.
• 16:38
  So, yeah, it's something I really, really enjoy doing.
• 16:42
  They're an unreal beast, aren't they, Geoff?
• 16:43
  I mean, you need to be brave, you need that wing to work, and throttle is your friend, isn't it?
• 16:51
  It is, yeah, 100%.
• 16:54
  It's another intense sport.
• 16:55
  A bit like motocross is really intense and it takes a lot of commitment.
• 17:00
  There's times when you know you've seen them rusty, you've done a bit of running yourself.
• 17:04
  You might be driving just a few inches from the wall on corner entry and really you have to be committed, right?
• 17:11
  You lift that throttle one little bit and you know you're in the wall.
• 17:15
  So it's one of those sports.
• 17:18
  And there's a lot of characters around the sport as well.
• 17:22
  it's something that I still enjoy watching today and I'm still a fan Some good friendships for you around this period, I mean you've mentioned Jeff there before, another one in Alan McCarthy, the WA smash repairer he had a supercar at one point, did you ever get to drive that my memory's gone here, I can't recall did you get to drive it, what did you think of it and what was it like if you did?
• 17:44
  Well, I never got to drive Macca's supercar, but just going back, it must have been four or five years ago, Greg Murphy invited me to Hampton Downs and I got to drive one of the older supercars, the H-Pattern Shift one, and I got to do a few laps in the wet at Hampton Downs.
• 18:05
  So that was a bunch of fun.
• 18:07
  Is that the old sprint gas car, the Tasman
• 18:09
  The old Tasman car, yeah, yeah.
• 18:11
  So, you know, it was pouring rain and Murph's done a few laps with me in the passenger seat.
• 18:18
  And he's, you know, he's like, you know, do you want to do it?
• 18:21
  I'm like, I kind of have to, you know, because I'm never going to get this chance again.
• 18:26
  And I didn't really feel too confident to go out in the wet.
• 18:30
  But we did and it was a super cool experience, yeah.
• 18:34
  That's a good track to do it on too, Jeff.
• 18:36
  Was it the full track and how many laps did you get?
• 18:39
  It was the full track and I think I got sort of 10 or more laps, you know.
• 18:43
  So, yeah, that was cool.
• 18:45
  Yeah, it was really good.
• 18:47
  Great experience.
• 18:47
  Any other race cars before we move on to your business chapter?
• 18:50
  For example, did you drive speed cars, midgets at all, anything along those lines?
• 18:55
  I've driven a midget, never really raced one.
• 18:58
  I did a little bit of Formula Ford, so I did race up at Barbegallo.
• 19:01
  Tell me about that.
• 19:03
  I don't know if we've ever discussed this.
• 19:05
  Yeah, on the weekend when the touring cars were there, I actually raced the Formula Ford category, and I think I pulled a third or fourth in the first race, and then I had a spin in the second.
• 19:15
  So, yeah.
• 19:18
  That was good.
• 19:19
  It was something I was thinking about and, you know, we could get around Barber Gallo not too badly in one of those.
• 19:25
  I did a number of test sessions with a guy called Brett Lupton, which he's pretty well known in those circles.
• 19:32
  So I've done a bit with Brett from Fastlane.
• 19:36
  What else I've driven?
• 19:37
  I had a pretty good experience in a jet sprint boat.
• 19:43
  I managed to flip one of those over with Guy McKenna, who was an AFL Eagles football star.
• 19:49
  Oh.
• 19:54
  I've done a bit of that.
• 19:56
  What else?
• 19:57
  You know, I've done a lot of karting, a lot of go karting.
• 20:00
  I did the Grand Prix to Hong Kong one year with, I think, Jost Verstappen was racing and Jan Magnussen.
• 20:08
  And I did that for a while.
• 20:11
  So, you know, I've dabbled in quite a few different forms of motorsport.
• 20:16
  It's beyond both of us now, mate, but does that mean that Bathurst was a bit of a bucket list at one point?
• 20:22
  You maybe wanted to do the 1000?
• 20:23
  Yeah, I think so.
• 20:24
  You know, I think it was.
• 20:26
  Yeah, it's, I mean, who doesn't really want to do that?
• 20:29
  Do Bathurst, you know?
• 20:31
  And, you know, one thing I've always wanted to do is jump in the passenger seat and do a hot lap at Bathurst, you know?
• 20:39
  Yeah, I'm still waiting for my friend Greg Murphy to invite me into the seat.
• 20:47
  Actually, it wasn't even too long ago.
• 20:48
  I was up at Norwell and Paul Morris threw me in one of the 86s and I spent a couple of days there with Brodie Kostecki going around Norwell.
• 21:00
  Fantastic.
• 21:02
  You know, and you talk about the cognitive side and it's funny, you know, you get a couple of days in the car going around Norwell and it kind of just put me on a buzz for about four or five days.
• 21:14
  You know, it's amazing what it can do.
• 21:17
  It's pretty cool.
• 21:29
  Wanna hear an original funny joke I definitely didn't get off the internet?
• 21:33
  Why did the chicken cross the motocross track?
• 21:37
  To get to the roost.
• 21:38
  Ha, ha, ha.
• 21:41
  Insert laugh track here.
• 21:44
  Team manager roles for you start somewhere in the early 90s.
• 21:48
  What was the genesis for that?
• 21:50
  And how different or difficult was that transition?
• 21:54
  Was it difficult for you, Jeff?
• 21:55
  Was it maybe natural?
• 21:58
  Yeah, it was, I think it was, it was, it was reasonably natural, you know, I think just purely because of my background, my experience, you know, but...
• 22:09
  But the piece that's difficult, obviously, is managing people.
• 22:13
  You know, that's something that racing is really difficult when it comes to managing people.
• 22:18
  And we hear the rumours all the time.
• 22:21
  We hear that in the teams there's backstabbing.
• 22:25
  You know, there's always relationship issues that are kind of,
• 22:30
  possibly at a more inflamed, intense level in the world of motorsport because of its high-pressure nature, you know.
• 22:37
  And so one thing that, you know, I think the technical side and knowing the bikes and racing and racecraft, they're all the things that I had really well handled.
• 22:49
  But managing young riders, managing their parents,
• 22:55
  managing their girlfriends, you know, they're all the bits that took some learning, you know.
• 23:02
  Yeah, that's the hard part.
• 23:04
  You've had quite the ride, Jeff.
• 23:05
  It's been amazing.
• 23:07
  What you have achieved in business was, as Lee Diffie said to me this morning, was as good, arguably even better than what you perhaps achieved in a competitive sense.
• 23:19
  What did Bronte House and, you know, very successful guy in the automotive business, what did he see in you?
• 23:26
  How did that connection come about?
• 23:27
  How did the path into business begin for you?
• 23:32
  It really began over lunch, I've got to say.
• 23:34
  And, you know, I think Bronte, through the AMCAP business in Western Australia, had the opportunity to get the distribution rights for KTM, you know, and that was around about 1993 from memory.
• 23:54
  And I guess, you know, we had a relationship through sprint car racing, actually.
• 23:58
  AMCAP was a sponsor of Jeff Kendrick's sprint cars, and so I'd met Ronnie before.
• 24:03
  And I guess when the opportunity to take on KTM came about, you know, he obviously thought of me.
• 24:10
  You know, he thought maybe there's something we can do with this guy.
• 24:13
  He's only a couple of years out of his career.
• 24:15
  out of, you know, racing in Grand Prix's and maybe we can resurrect his enthusiasm for motorcycles, you know.
• 24:24
  So really that's where it all started and I really just came on board initially to endorse the brand, you know, not really in a business sense.
• 24:33
  Although, you know, I think a year had gone past and there was the opportunity to become a shareholder of the business with a
• 24:45
  And then, you know, yeah, I always had in the back of my mind that, you know, one day I wanted to enter the business world.
• 24:51
  I mean, I probably really didn't have a lot of credentials to do that, in all fairness, you know, just really life experience on the road and so on.
• 25:02
  So I didn't really have the credentials to do it, but I had an opportunity in...
• 25:11
  1999 to sort of step into the business from a sales perspective.
• 25:16
  I'd sort of finished up running the race teams and, and, uh, and that's really where it started, you know, and I, and I guess, um, Bronte was a, was a good, a good mentor and, and, and supportive.
• 25:28
  And I was able to, uh, they, they afforded me the opportunity to, to learn on the job, I guess you'd say.
• 25:35
  What an incredible career, Jeff.
• 25:36
  What followed was more than 20 years.
• 25:40
  KTM was the focal, but there was Hussberg in there, later Husqvarna.
• 25:46
  The synergies from the racing that you talked about, the university, the school of motor racing, how much did that help in a managerial sense?
• 25:55
  Because as we've reflected earlier in terms of your personality, your style, you've got this great leadership way about you.
• 26:06
  You're not afraid to roll the sleeves up and get amongst it.
• 26:10
  put people in places that you trust.
• 26:14
  But importantly, they're all long-termers.
• 26:16
  When you look at the bulk of them, Jeff, you tend to form these good teams.
• 26:20
  Did that stuff, that managerial side, come easily?
• 26:24
  Was it an extension of the things that you had learnt in the school of motor racing?
• 26:28
  It didn't come easily, I believe.
• 26:31
  It definitely took some time, but...
• 26:34
  you know, you start to realise...
• 26:36
  I mean, I think when you're a racer, you have a certain element of selfishness, you know, about you and...
• 26:43
  you have this huge blind spot really, you know, sometimes, and at least I did, I think, when I was racing, this real extreme selfishness that everything, it's always about you, you know, everything's about you.
• 26:55
  But you do actually as an athlete need to be like that.
• 26:58
  You actually need that quality.
• 26:58
  Yeah, to some extent you do.
• 27:00
  You definitely need to have some of those qualities, absolutely.
• 27:05
  But if you carry that...
• 27:08
  into the business world or into a larger sort of team environment, you suddenly realise that that probably doesn't serve you very well or serve anyone very well for that matter.
• 27:22
  So that was really...
• 27:24
  something that I really had to kind of learn and and and then you know once I realized that I needed to find and keep and motivate the best people was really when we were able to start to piece together I think a solid business and a company with the right people in the right places you know doing doing doing great work you know and
• 27:48
  And yeah, my job really was to really, I guess, identify that talent and once you have it, to keep it on board and motivate it and support it.
• 27:58
  And I guess one thing Bronte was good at, it was important to enjoy your work.
• 28:02
  It's important to have fun and to have a good team atmosphere.
• 28:06
  And so that's something that we worked on over time.
• 28:10
  And I guess the finer art of business is something that takes a while, you know.
• 28:17
  I mean, one thing that I found, particularly in the motorcycle industry, was having been involved in riding bikes from the very, very beginning, and it's something we spoke about before, is that you know what the impulse triggers are
• 28:35
  for somebody that wants to buy a bike, right, you know what they're looking for.
• 28:43
  You play on the kids if it's the kids that I'll do on them so that mum and dad end up having to do it and things like that, isn't it, you know?
• 28:51
  Addiction is a very important part of it.
• 28:54
  of growing.
• 28:57
  You know, minicycles are made to addict people to, kids to addict kids to motorcycles.
• 29:04
  You know, that's what they're made for.
• 29:06
  It's the sum of many parts, right, business, but racing's always been important to you and to the brand for that matter.
• 29:13
  You were determined along the way here to be more successful in endurance competition, events like Fink.
• 29:21
  And when you look at the record,
• 29:23
  that has followed Jeff with, you know, particularly at Fink, you know, Ben Grabham, Toby Price, David Walsh in recent time, you were able to really tick that box, weren't you?
• 29:35
  Yeah, we were.
• 29:36
  I mean, that was, you know, to be honest, I wasn't really interested in Fink for a long time.
• 29:41
  And a really good friend of mine, Colin Ross, took me up there one year to watch the race.
• 29:46
  And he says, look, you know, Jeff, you need to have a look at this stuff.
• 29:50
  Didn't you race it once?
• 29:51
  I did race it once, yeah, I did.
• 29:53
  Yeah?
• 29:53
  Oh, yeah, I didn't finish it, but I raced it and it scared the shit out of me, to be honest.
• 30:00
  Never to return again.
• 30:01
  Maybe that's why I just never went back for so many years.
• 30:05
  So, you know, Colin took me up there and I remember standing on the side of the track and, you know, I was obviously, you know, heading up KTM and I think, you know, in the first 20 bikes, I don't even think there was one KTM and I...
• 30:19
  you know, the competitiveness in me and the racer in me, my blood was starting to boil and I thought, shit, you know, we've got to come back here and compete and try and win this thing and try to grow the, you know, our brand share of the market up there.
• 30:37
  You know, we definitely had a few pretty good failures in the first few years, but we figured it out, you know, and together with Colin we formed a good team and made some good strategies and, you know, in the end, you know, I think developed a very successful formula for that race.
• 30:54
  And I really do enjoy the longer races, like you said, and I like the pit stops, the strategy and...
• 31:03
  Yeah, and obviously winning, that's actually pretty good too.
• 31:06
  It's not uncommon to see you in the middle of Fink somewhere ready for refuelling with the crew.
• 31:13
  Is it you love that?
• 31:14
  Yeah, I do like it.
• 31:16
  I think it's fun, you know, when the riders come in.
• 31:18
  A lot of times I'd be sort of pretty much in the rider's face relaying a little bit of information, helping them change their goggles, handing over the gel pack.
• 31:26
  And it's really a time that's really interesting actually, particularly if you're...
• 31:31
  let's say on the second field stop when you're heading down to Fink, so, you know, about 160km into the race is, you know, the track's starting to get rougher.
• 31:40
  And you really get to have a good look in the eyes of the rider and see what their demeanour is and...
• 31:46
  Just about every other rider other than Toby Price is quite flustered at that point in time.
• 31:51
  So it's really cool, really fun.
• 31:55
  We always prided ourselves on doing the fastest pit stops, but also having pit areas that were ready for anything.
• 32:05
  And that really occurred quickly.
• 32:07
  Early on, the first year that Toby rode Fink and his teammate was Ben Grabham, and we were sort of sitting down there at the 160km mark on day one, you know, waiting for one of the bikes to come through for a fuel stop, and our eyes kind of opened up like dinner plates when we realised that we've got Toby and Ben who have been racing side by side for 160km, and we couldn't favour one over the other for a fuel stop, but unfortunately we were only prepared for one rider, so it was a bit like a double stack just about.
• 32:38
  and from that day onwards, you know, we were always ready to refill two at once.
• 32:44
  So, yeah, you know, things was amazing and the way that the race has developed and grown and I can only imagine, you know, in the next coming years, you know, that race is going to be incredibly popular, absolutely.
• 33:02
  For people that are listening to the podcast that don't know, it is Australia's iconic desert race.
• 33:07
  Our answer, if you will, it's not the same, but it's our answer to Baja in some ways.
• 33:12
  And it begins in Alice Springs on the June long weekend on the Sunday.
• 33:16
  They go down to a little settlement called Apertula, more than 200 kilometres away.
• 33:21
  They get to repair the bikes overnight and they come back and do it all again.
• 33:24
  And they use a service road that runs beside the old Garn
• 33:27
  railway line and it is an amazing, an amazing race.
• 33:30
  You must go and see it at some point if you get the chance to.
• 33:34
  You brought up the other Rossi before, your good friend, Colin Ross, significant cattle station interests in Australia.
• 33:41
  Is there a joining of the dots here, Jeff, in you and he and perhaps helping Toby Price early on, who's gone on to do some remarkable things in relation to winning Dakar and so on on the international scene?
• 33:55
  Yeah, I mean, we sort of came across Toby.
• 33:58
  I'm sorry, I can't quite remember the year, but we were looking for riders for our enduro team at the time and Toby was doing a really good job on a Kawasaki and I remember Brad Williscroft was our team manager at the time and...
• 34:12
  I just remember saying to him one day, go get Toby.
• 34:15
  Whatever it takes, get him on board.
• 34:18
  Toby came on board and he was successful right from the beginning.
• 34:22
  I think particularly with the KTM product, he was really able to exploit his talent.
• 34:29
  I think after a season of Enduro, he expressed interest to go up to Fink and do that event.
• 34:35
  And he was a winner and his first time out at Fink, which is pretty amazing.
• 34:41
  We're proud to have played a part in, I guess, the early stages of Toby's career.
• 34:47
  We were able to hopefully give him equipment for him to show
• 34:52
  his talent and I think as we spoke before, also introduce him to some people that were able to take his career further.
• 35:01
  So he became known to Alex Doringer, who was the KTM Rally Team Manager on a global level, who gave him his first opportunity at Dakar.
• 35:15
  So Toby is a unique character.
• 35:19
  I have tremendous
• 35:21
  respect for Toby and a love for him and what he's achieved.
• 35:25
  He's a really cool guy.
• 35:27
  And the beautiful thing about Toby is that success has never really changed him and he is so gracious with his time and particularly with younger people.
• 35:40
  He will sit there for six, seven hours signing autographs at Fink and treat every kid with respect and every person.
• 35:48
  So, you know, it's very rewarding to be around someone like him.
• 35:52
  So, Jeff, that sort of leads us to culture around the brand, right?
• 35:56
  So, through winning with things like that, through people like Toby, you know, that –
• 36:04
  which already has cachet, but it gives it more on the local scene.
• 36:09
  But you have very cleverly, before you departed there in Australia, you got very focused on ensuring that there was passion among junior riders.
• 36:19
  Again, I can recall you guys backing at Supercross events, junior-based things to showcase stuff for our young emerging stars.
• 36:29
  And then...
• 36:31
  adventure rides some of the most amazing adventure rides which which the spots on them are taken up in a heartbeat either in australia or new zealand some of those things were really pivotal moves to jeff weren't they yeah they were that um you know i guess firstly with the junior riders you know i i've always had a
• 36:54
  I don't know if it's a soft spot because I was kind of one of the first junior riders, you know, when junior racing evolved in Australia, I was right there at the forefront.
• 37:06
  So I understood what it could mean to a young rider, a young person, and also how important it is.
• 37:15
  You know, I think if you look at a lot of sports out there, I think,
• 37:21
  if there's not many kids around that sport, you better be worried about your sport.
• 37:26
  So a sport has to be relevant to younger people, young and old, of course, but in particular young.
• 37:33
  So yeah, I think we always had a lot of strategies around the junior riders, competitions, sponsorship.
• 37:41
  We ran events over multiple years where KTM only junior rider events where the successful riders would get taken to Southern California, compete in the World Mini Grand Prix.
• 37:53
  We had a lot of innovative events over the years to really support, I guess, the brand, but also younger riders.
• 38:03
  And then later on, you know, the rally scene where we were able to, I think, develop some really iconic rally rides for our customers and really enhance their experiences with the brand and the product.
• 38:17
  And, yeah, they're things that, you know, I think in the latter years, we're certainly proud to have been a part of.
• 38:25
  And hopefully we've created some great experiences for people.
• 38:31
  I know you definitely have.
• 38:32
  The COVID period, Jeff, it's been hell for many people, but ironically, it's actually been quite good for the motorcycle industry, hasn't it?
• 38:40
  What's your view of the current state of play, do you reckon, and perhaps even the future?
• 38:46
  Yeah, obviously it's been very good for a lot of recreational product industries and it has been very good for motorcycles.
• 38:56
  Obviously people, their choices of where they spend their disposable income has been channelled and restricted and maybe it's put motorcycling back on the radar for a lot of people.
• 39:15
  No one can, as nobody really predicted that it would be positive for, COVID would be positive for the motorcycle industry.
• 39:23
  I think conversely, it's difficult to predict what will happen thereafter, but because it really depends on how much the world
• 39:34
  opens up and how fast it opens up, which would distract people from, distract the money that they have and also the time and interest they have for an activity such as motorcycle riding.
• 39:47
  Ironically, it's been the off-road segment of motorcycling that's really probably benefited the most.
• 39:53
  So it's definitely recreational and it's definitely
• 39:59
  grown a lot in the area of mini bikes, fun bikes.
• 40:03
  So, you know, it's been very positive in that respect.
• 40:05
  So it's a bonus.
• 40:08
  It's good for the industry.
• 40:09
  And, you know, particularly up here in Queensland where I'm located these days, you know, there's been some additional ride parks open up and more places for people to ride bikes.
• 40:21
  So I hope that, you know, the kick that the industry's got out of it lasts a long time.
• 40:28
  So do I.
• 40:29
  Electric is clearly the next big thing in an automotive sense, Jeff.
• 40:32
  Just, you know, what about your thoughts from a two wheel standpoint?
• 40:35
  I mean, in the past decade, KTM and the factory there in Matikoff in Austria did some amazing things around two stroke development.
• 40:44
  And for old school types like me, that was that was great.
• 40:47
  You still love the sound and smell of the thing that you grew up around.
• 40:52
  But.
• 40:53
  What do you think short and long term the landscape will look like?
• 40:56
  Electric possibly more in a commuter sense, but can you see the adventure stuff we've just been talking about still having a combustion engine or will that change?
• 41:04
  The adventure segment is probably the only one where I think...
• 41:08
  it's hard to say you know it's really going to come down to to what sort of range is possible and then obviously the recharge time on that range because i guess an adventure bike generally has a range of 300 to 400 kilometers um so yeah that may be at the moment a difficult challenge when it comes to electric but
• 41:31
  I do feel like electric does, it does have a place in motocross in particular.
• 41:38
  KTM already has a kids electric mini that's performs really, really well.
• 41:44
  Recently, actually, I just took possession of a KTM free ride electric and, and that's a phenomenal bike to ride.
• 41:53
  It's just amazing.
• 41:55
  It's easy to ride.
• 41:56
  It's no gears, of course, no clutch.
• 41:59
  So, you know, it,
• 42:00
  My wife jumped on it.
• 42:01
  She's not a bike rider and she jumped on it last weekend and was able to ride that bike and come back with a huge smile.
• 42:08
  So that's fun.
• 42:09
  So electric can make motorcycling much more accessible to people.
• 42:14
  So I think it has a place.
• 42:16
  And then, you know, when it comes to motocross, which is more short course and intense, I think there's some pretty good stuff going on out there and I wouldn't be surprised to see electric race bikes out there soon.
• 42:29
  Phenomenal tenure with the KTM family, Jeff, over more than 20 years.
• 42:36
  Was it the right time to step away?
• 42:38
  You did it on your terms in 2020, I think it was.
• 42:42
  How hard was that decision and what made you arrive at it?
• 42:46
  Yeah, I think you get to a point where you feel like you're kind of repeating some of the things you've done before.
• 42:53
  And really, for me, I guess it just felt right.
• 42:59
  I think we achieved most of the things we wanted to.
• 43:04
  And it was time to step away, take a break, take a breather.
• 43:09
  And like any business, really at the end of the day, in particular with KTM, it's a...
• 43:15
  It's become a large business and really, you know, you're just the custodian, you're just there steering the ship, you know, until someone else comes along and steers it.
• 43:25
  So, you know, I had my run, I had fun.
• 43:28
  You know, we had some good achievements along the way and it was really time to step away and take a break and really look at what else is going on out there.
• 43:36
  And so, yeah, who knows what, you know, ultimately what the future would bring.
• 43:42
  So you're a grandfather now, I can't imagine that.
• 43:45
  Proud family man, I know that very much.
• 43:47
  What's on the work radar at the moment for you?
• 43:51
  The work radar, well, I'm currently working for the Motorcycle Holdings Group, just on a part-time basis, you know, helping them grow their business.
• 44:00
  So with all areas of growth, whether it be acquisitions or developing existing sites and so on.
• 44:06
  So, yeah, I'm enjoying doing a bit of work there.
• 44:10
  But it's nice now to have the extra time with family.
• 44:13
  My daughter's 13 and 15, and I've got my boys together.
• 44:17
  back in Perth and yes I am a grandfather and one time over and not far off having a second grandchild.
• 44:27
  So yeah, it's nice to be able to have the time to catch up with family and friends.
• 44:32
  You know, I guess when you're heading up a business like KTM, they're still on a very steep growth path and there's not a lot of rest.
• 44:43
  So it's nice just to slow down that little bit.
• 44:45
  Mate, it's been fabulous to catch up with you.
• 44:47
  I love it.
• 44:47
  We've had some great experiences over the years that you've helped with.
• 44:52
  The statute of limitations has probably passed on this one, but I won't mention names or motorcycle brands.
• 44:58
  But we would, when we came to Barba Gallo for the supercars in years gone by, or catch up with some friends.
• 45:03
  We would go dirt bike riding in the bush on the Monday after the race
• 45:09
  Invariably, there was a couple of drivers there and they were some of the funniest times of my life.
• 45:15
  Now, there was a colleague amongst us who may or may not be living in the United States now who had to work one particular night before we set off on our big rides.
• 45:24
  And when he arrived at the said ranch before we were heading off for our big ride the next day, we had strung his dirt bike up like a pinata and pointed some lights at it and he was...
• 45:38
  He was wound up like a clock when he saw it too.
• 45:41
  Mate, we've had some unreal times and I'm looking forward to catching up with you and having a little red wine at some stage.
• 45:48
  Congratulations on an amazing career as a competitor, even more successful in an industry sense as an executive.
• 45:57
  And I know you've got a lot more still to offer in that space, mate.
• 46:01
  So go get them and enjoy some family time.
• 46:03
  Thank you very much.
• 46:04
  Thanks, Rusty.
• 46:05
  It's been fun to relive the past and especially with you, mate.
• 46:11
  We've had some good times together and thanks for the opportunity.
• 46:21
  Rusty's Garage is written and presented by me, Greg Rust.
• 46:25
  Series producer and editor is Alex Mitchell.
• 46:28
  Audio production by Darcy Thompson.
• 46:38
  Listen up.