Latest / Rusty's Garage / Mr Motocross Jeff Leisk (Part 1)

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Mr Motocross Jeff Leisk (Part 1) · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:14
  I'm automotive commentator and journalist Greg Rust and this is Rusty's Garage.
• 0:28
  I feel like I'm having the chance to finally talk to some long-term motorsport industry colleagues and friends on the pod lately.
• 0:36
  This one very much falls into that category too.
• 0:39
  Jeff Leask is a dirt bike racing legend.
• 0:42
  His career began in the 1970s.
• 0:44
  And he became a leading light, a pioneer that would inspire the Aussie stars we know and love today.
• 0:51
  His racing took him from West Australia to Mr Motocross, from national crowns to the global stage.
• 0:59
  They called him the Flying Freckle who soared incredibly close to a world title in the Premier Class.
• 1:05
  He wowed fans and constituents with his dedication, his easygoing nature, a fast, fantastic,
• 1:12
  fluid riding style and a fearless approach to making it all happen.
• 1:17
  At least he wasn't afraid to roll his sleeves up and give it a go.
• 1:21
  If you enjoy Speedway, then Jeff's early influences and his time in sprint cars after his professional two-wheel career wrapped up will also appeal.
• 1:30
  And there's a little known story of him driving a supercar in New Zealand too.
• 1:35
  You could argue that Jeff's success in business is as good and maybe even more accomplished than what he did on track.
• 1:42
  With some mentoring early on, he rose to become one of the most prominent figures in the motorcycle industry in the Tasman region and respected the world over.
• 1:52
  Not just an executive, but a passionately connected leader, and racing seemed to nearly always be part of the business plan.
• 2:00
  This Australian Motorsport Hall of Famer has very kindly agreed to do this chat on his birthday from the Gold Coast, where he now resides, some 4,000 k's east of where it all began.
• 2:14
  Happy birthday.
• 2:16
  How are you spending this?
• 2:17
  I had a great morning at home.
• 2:19
  My gorgeous daughters and my wife were very kind and some breakfast with my wife, Liana, and then off to the gym for some training, mate.
• 2:29
  So that's what you do on your 57th birthday.
• 2:33
  I love it.
• 2:33
  You don't look 57 and you've never had anything less in energy stakes of a 21-year-old.
• 2:39
  I've always admired that about you.
• 2:40
  You grew up, Jeff, in WA.
• 2:43
  Your late dad, Bob, was hugely passionate, a real two-wheel influence.
• 2:49
  Were you around, was it Speedway bikes and Jawas and things like that in those early years?
• 2:53
  What are your earliest two-wheel recollections?
• 2:55
  Yeah, it was all about Speedway, Claremont Speedway, in fact.
• 3:00
  You know, that was the
• 3:02
  the Holy Grail, the Mecca, I guess, Friday night was Speedway night at Claremont.
• 3:07
  And it was a big thing back then and it really dominated the dinner talk.
• 3:12
  And I didn't have a choice, Rusty.
• 3:16
  The smell of methanol and castrol burning got into my veins.
• 3:21
  And yeah, that was it, you know.
• 3:24
  I don't know if I've ever asked you this.
• 3:25
  Did you ever ride one of those things?
• 3:28
  I did a little bit.
• 3:29
  In fact, I was potentially on a pathway for Speedway.
• 3:34
  They started Junior Speedway at Claremont, I think I was around the age of 13, and I actually did a season of Junior Speedway.
• 3:42
  I had a Jawa frame with an RM125 engine in it and ran a season, undefeated, proud to say.
• 3:51
  So, yeah, and it was like a choice then.
• 3:53
  I was like, oh, do I do Speedway?
• 3:54
  Ivan Major was a little bit involved.
• 3:58
  But, you know, the lure of, I guess, Supercross was really getting big in the States and the manufacturer's support that motocross had was something that kind of steered me in that direction.
• 4:11
  I want to just focus on your dad a little bit and his influence, if I can.
• 4:14
  There is a really good story of him basically absconding from his army post to race in Kalgoorlie.
• 4:21
  And the sergeant found out about it, didn't he?
• 4:24
  He did.
• 4:25
  He was racing under an alias, actually.
• 4:28
  So he was supposed to be on watch and he snuck off and...
• 4:35
  to race Speedway.
• 4:37
  And I think while he was away, I think there was some sort of incident back at the camp.
• 4:41
  It might have been a small fire or something.
• 4:44
  So he got himself in a bit of trouble, you know.
• 4:47
  But, yeah, I mean, my dad, I always say my dad was, you know, he's a cleaner motorcyclist, motorsport person than I am, really.
• 4:56
  Till the day he died, you know, he was fanatical about motorcycles and two wheels.
• 5:01
  Yeah.
• 5:01
  I think the sergeant actually found out about it by seeing a story in the paper, which I reckon is just awesome.
• 5:07
  So his cover was blown.
• 5:08
  Private Luce's cover was blown.
• 5:10
  There were always a number of bikes in your garage growing up, Jeff.
• 5:14
  But just to deviate to the right for a second, he did actually race cars.
• 5:19
  And I think he steered the first HK Monaro in WA.
• 5:23
  Is that right?
• 5:24
  That's true.
• 5:25
  He did have a stint up at Wanneroo racing cars.
• 5:29
  It was relatively short-lived, you know.
• 5:32
  He did a bit of it.
• 5:33
  He always used to say to me that, geez, expensive.
• 5:36
  You know what I mean?
• 5:40
  you know, the brakes of the tyres and so on.
• 5:43
  But, you know, he tried his hand at quite a few things, yeah.
• 5:46
  He was a plumber and he worked on some very big building projects over his time.
• 5:50
  I think, mate, correct me if I'm wrong here, he still worked until like he was 84 years of age or something, didn't he?
• 5:56
  He had an incredible work ethic, clearly.
• 6:00
  And in the latter years of his life, he would head out to places like
• 6:05
  Barba Gallo, you'll have to correct the details in the story here if I get it wrong, but the young riders were often stunned when he pulled the helmet off and they realised they were getting dusted by someone of his age, weren't they?
• 6:17
  Yeah, that's actually true.
• 6:19
  He used to participate in a lot of the ride days up at Barba Gallo.
• 6:25
  You know, he felt by riding a motorcycle, it was his secret to eternal youth, you know, and I think it's true to some extent, you know, I think the cognitive requirements of riding a motorcycle, you know, just really bring you alive, you know.
• 6:43
  So yeah, he was fanatical about his writing and at the same time from a business point of view, he was running his plumbing company until the day he died in fact, and he was still running some big projects and seemed to do it all in his stride.
• 6:58
  He had a real knack for it and was able to proficiently do that even in the very latter years.
• 7:05
  I love what you said there about the cognitive effects and the, you know, the effect that motorcycles have on you.
• 7:12
  I'll get to that with you in a moment.
• 7:15
  But can I talk, mate, just briefly?
• 7:18
  There is, Geoff, a very important Indigenous or Aboriginal part of your family, a lineage on your mum's side.
• 7:26
  Motorsport is doing its part to be better at inclusivity, to stamp out racism, and...
• 7:32
  But in the 70s when you were growing up, mate, that was a very different era.
• 7:35
  Was racism something that you were aware of that you perhaps experienced or witnessed or not at all?
• 7:43
  I was never really affected by it too much, but certainly aware of it.
• 7:47
  I was aware that I did have it in my bloodline and in the family and...
• 7:54
  My mother was born in Broome in Western Australia and sort of, you know, that's where it emanated from.
• 7:59
  And it was something that probably you hit a little bit, to be honest, Rusty.
• 8:04
  So maybe it was there a bit and you weren't as proud to come out and say that, you know, that was part of you.
• 8:11
  But as the years, you know, in recent times, you actually feel proud that, you know, that's part of your heritage.
• 8:17
  And in fact, you know, in Australia, it's ironic that Craig Anderson, Chad Reid also, you know, have Aboriginal blood.
• 8:26
  So, you know, so it's kind of, maybe it's beneficial when it comes to being a motocross rider.
• 8:34
  I want to, I mean, just you've underscored something that's really important there.
• 8:38
  You enjoy clearly helping people,
• 8:40
  Aboriginal riders and they're just a couple of names that are enormously talented and that have been inspirational races with Indigenous backgrounds, aren't they?
• 8:51
  Yeah, it's really quite interesting and there's no doubt that the Indigenous have some levels of athletic ability that is
• 9:02
  kind of unique and, but also just, you know, I guess as I've got to learn more about Aboriginal culture and those people, I'm absolutely in awe of them really.
• 9:12
  You know, I really, really proud to say that's part of my bloodline and my history and my family.
• 9:18
  And, you know, I've taken the time to study that a little bit, read books about Aboriginal history and I find it quite fascinating, quite interesting.
• 9:29
  The family, Jeff, did move around a lot when you were younger.
• 9:32
  I think your mum said she wasn't really ever keen on fully unpacking.
• 9:38
  We're both dads now and we have teenage daughters.
• 9:41
  So, you know, moving around can be tough for young kids.
• 9:45
  Is the irony in that, Jeff, that maybe it was a little bit of a positive influence on your demeanour?
• 9:50
  You're such a calm, adaptive person, be it when you're riding a motorcycle or in a managerial role, which we'll get to.
• 9:58
  But maybe that shaped you a little bit in some ways.
• 10:01
  Do you think or not?
• 10:02
  Well, I don't know.
• 10:03
  Everyone says I'm calm.
• 10:06
  I don't always feel like I am.
• 10:08
  Maybe that's just the impression I give on the surface.
• 10:17
  Actually, when I was younger, I had to go to, or my mum sent me to anger management.
• 10:23
  No way.
• 10:23
  You are the last person I could ever imagine.
• 10:26
  No, I did.
• 10:27
  I actually had to go to anger management.
• 10:31
  So there is a temper inside of me and sometimes I feel like it's kind of a weakness, you know, to be honest, sometimes that temper if you can't control it and it's a real weakness and it can get you into a lot of trouble, especially on a motorcycle or in life in general.
• 10:49
  So...
• 10:51
  But yeah, in terms of resilience, adaptability, you know, yeah, the moving probably, yeah, maybe that was a part of it, you know, that you had to get used to, you know, meeting new friends and being outside of your comfort zone.
• 11:03
  You know, that's something that I guess we all face in our lives and we probably don't do enough, you know.
• 11:09
  I think sometimes the secret to moving forward in life is to constantly be out of your comfort zone, you know.
• 11:16
  Definitely.
• 11:16
  That's a great thing for young riders that are perhaps listening.
• 11:20
  And I love the way, Geoff, that you clearly, you know, even from that anchor management stuff, you harnessed it.
• 11:26
  in a competitive way and channeled that.
• 11:29
  I want to get to your first ever bike and your earliest sort of riding memories.
• 11:34
  You talked about your dad and the Speedway bikes before, but what about your first one?
• 11:38
  Can you recall what that was and where that feeling of freedom and whatever riding gave you first struck you?
• 11:46
  I can remember it pretty clearly, you know, because I have an older brother, Mark, who's two years older than me.
• 11:52
  And so I guess this whole, and actually my older sister, Sharon.
• 11:56
  So this whole bike riding thing, you know, was something that kind of was approached as a family together.
• 12:02
  And when we got our first bikes was basically when minicycle racing was starting, you know, in any sort of organised fashion.
• 12:15
  So we were right at the forefront of that happening.
• 12:19
  My first bike was a Yamaha 60.
• 12:22
  And, yeah, I clearly remember my first ride on the bike.
• 12:25
  I think it was at the parking lot of the Yamaha dealer, a dealer called Ken George Yamaha in New York.
• 12:31
  in Perth and I remember it was kind of gravelly, like pea gravel on the ground.
• 12:35
  And I remember sort of taking off and the rear wheel spinning and yeah, it's just such a vivid memory to be honest.
• 12:45
  Your dad was heavily involved in, to use your words, that embryonic stage of minicycle racing there in WA.
• 12:53
  So where was your first race and what are your recollections?
• 12:57
  Do you have any?
• 12:58
  I don't have clearly on really the first race, but I know where it was.
• 13:01
  It was at the Forest Field Speedway, actually, in fact, where they, you know, they race stock cars and so on.
• 13:07
  And then in the middle of the speedway, they kind of built a sort of a minicycle track there.
• 13:13
  And that's really where I think some of the first minicycle races were held in WA or Perth.
• 13:19
  And yes, I, you know, I do, I do remember that.
• 13:22
  And I, in fact, still have some, some articles, you know, stored away on, on those events and so on.
• 13:28
  So, yeah.
• 13:29
  Great stuff.
• 13:29
  What were the early learnings for you, Jeff, be it in a, in a riding sense or a mechanical sense?
• 13:34
  Because over time you sort of developed this, you know, this almost effortless flow in the way that you rode.
• 13:40
  Did that come naturally, come easily to you?
• 13:44
  I think it did, you know.
• 13:45
  I think it was something that I just loved, you know.
• 13:50
  And I think when you look at some of the best writers, you know, out there over the years, it is a love affair, you know, that you have with it.
• 13:58
  You really get into it deeply in your mind and the flow and how you do what you do.
• 14:05
  And so, yeah, you know, once I'd ridden a few times and particularly race, the allure of racing was something that dominated your mind.
• 14:16
  You know, if you're in class at school, you know, you're just dreaming, you're thinking about your racing, riding and how good it's going to be and probably not really listening at all to the teacher, you know, so, yeah.
• 14:28
  You quickly started to win junior national titles right across Australia.
• 14:34
  How did the Leask family sort of stitch that together?
• 14:38
  Because your dad was big on quality bike prep and helping you guys have the best possible chance, wasn't he?
• 14:47
  He was, yeah.
• 14:48
  So we rode in the first organised Australian Junior Motocross Championship in 1974 at Pakenham in Victoria, and that was really the first ever title.
• 14:59
  What are we talking, Geoff?
• 15:00
  Are we talking like a van trip across the Nullarbor, or how did you do it?
• 15:03
  No, believe it or not, we flew over, you know.
• 15:06
  And I look back on it and I just can't get my head around it, to be honest, you know, how my dad did all this stuff.
• 15:12
  It was myself and my brother and he flew bikes over there.
• 15:15
  And, you know, today it's kind of easy to do these things.
• 15:18
  But, you know, in 1974, the logistics involved and doing the whole thing is quite an effort.
• 15:25
  But, you know, he was committed to the cause and he loved it.
• 15:29
  And I recall actually before the race in Elizabeth Street in Melbourne, there was, I think it was the Peter Stevens shop, and we had to get this new pair of bright blue boots or whatever the hell they were.
• 15:43
  And then Dad said, look, well, if you're going to race on the weekend with these boots, you're going to have to break them in.
• 15:49
  So here's myself and my brother walking around the streets of Melbourne with our boots on.
• 15:54
  trying to break them in before the race.
• 15:58
  So, yeah, but, you know, hey, we went there and raced and, you know, it seemed like a blur.
• 16:03
  I mean, somehow I came away with a championship on an XR75.
• 16:08
  I think my brother ran pretty strongly in his category as well.
• 16:11
  And I guess that probably...
• 16:15
  was sort of the kickstart.
• 16:16
  You know, maybe my dad realised, hey, maybe these kids have got something here and we came back to Perth and we had stories to tell because, you know, that's the days before, you know, digital media and we were the media.
• 16:30
  You know, it was like, what was it like?
• 16:32
  And we're reporting back to the racing community in WA.
• 16:37
  And so, yeah, you know, special times.
• 16:39
  Yeah, for sure, good memories.
• 16:46
  hell-bent on trying to make this passion an occupation?
• 16:50
  Or was it still just at that point, you know, hobby, pastime, family, get-togethers kind of thing?
• 16:56
  I think by the time I was probably 13, you know, it was, there was a thought that maybe, hey, maybe I could pursue this as a career.
• 17:07
  We moved to a property probably now outside of Perth, an acreage or a farm.
• 17:13
  And I think I left school, end of year 10.
• 17:18
  And I just raced bikes, you know, that's all I did.
• 17:21
  And never had a real job, as they say.
• 17:25
  And it really was, you know, we really, by the time I was sort of 14, 15, you know, that was it, you know.
• 17:33
  We were racing bikes and there was, you know, One Direction.
• 17:36
  Among the family moves somewhere here, Jeff, and this may need clarity if I don't have it accurate, but was there a move to Southern California to kind of immerse yourself in the dirt bike racing scene there, maybe around 1980, and how eye-opening was that whole experience?
• 17:53
  Well, actually, the first time I went to Southern California was actually the prior year in 1979,
• 17:59
  We met through Speedway actually a mechanic of Michael Lee, a pretty famous world champion Speedway rider who was out racing in Perth at the time.
• 18:09
  This guy by the name of Martin Hignett is still a good friend of mine today and he knew some of the motocross people in Southern California, particularly a guy called Danny LaPorte who went on to be a US champion and world champion.
• 18:24
  Somehow my dad, I was 14 years of age, my dad let me go with this guy.
• 18:28
  I think he was only 20 or 21 at the time.
• 18:32
  And off we went to California and I wasn't really supposed to be racing.
• 18:37
  You know, it was just really go there, have a look.
• 18:40
  We had a contact through the Australian FMF importer who knew Jeff Ward, sorry, Jack Ward, who was Jeff Ward's father.
• 18:47
  And he invited us over for dinner one night and we're having dinner and he said, look, Jeff's changing teams.
• 18:52
  He's switching from Yamaha to Kawasaki.
• 18:55
  He's got his old Yamahas in the shed.
• 18:56
  There's a race in Northern California this weekend.
• 18:58
  Why don't you just take that stuff, go up and race?
• 19:01
  And we're like, yeah, okay, let's do it.
• 19:03
  So I've got Jeff Ward's...
• 19:05
  pants and jerseys and got his name taped off over on my shirt and we went racing and really, you know, started to do pretty well.
• 19:14
  And then next thing you know, my dad's on a plane, he's come over.
• 19:19
  And so, yeah.
• 19:19
  And then the next year we came back in 1980, rented a house and we spent about three or four months in Southern California racing all the local races.
• 19:27
  Obviously, that was a pivotal moment in my racing career because I was getting exposed to a much, much higher level of competition and my development really, really accelerated.
• 19:38
  The Ward story there is a bit surreal, mate.
• 19:41
  Did you have a moment of far out?
• 19:44
  You know, did it kind of really hit you?
• 19:46
  Yeah, it was pretty bizarre.
• 19:48
  You know, it was just bizarre, you know, how it all played out, to be honest.
• 19:53
  Yeah, I'm like, what am I doing?
• 19:54
  I'm putting his pants on and helmet on and, you know, I didn't even know if he knew that.
• 19:59
  I mean, I obviously raced against him a lot in the States and I was always too scared to say, hey, mate, do you realise that on time I took all your stuff?
• 20:09
  But, yeah, it is.
• 20:11
  It's a surreal story and it's just amazing how, you know, one thing can lead to another.
• 20:17
  And I guess, you know, that's where I learned pretty early on that, you know, it's important to meet people.
• 20:21
  You know, you meet someone and suddenly that person knows someone and, you know, the world of motorsports like, you know, networking and so on is critical, you know, to try and move forwards, you know.
• 20:33
  Did that come easily to the WA teenager, sort of socialising like that and then understanding how beneficial it was for your learnings in the paddock, in the sport, in growing as a racer?
• 20:46
  Yeah, I think so.
• 20:47
  You know, I think it did.
• 20:48
  It's something that you, okay, so I'm only here because that person knows that person.
• 20:53
  You know, I wouldn't be on Jeff Ward's bike otherwise, you know.
• 20:57
  So, you know, and it's really difficult to, you know, back then...
• 21:04
  Australians weren't very well known at all, you know, in the US, you know, you're like an alien from another planet.
• 21:10
  You know, in fact, I remember in the early years sitting in the lobby at Honda's offices in Gardena, California, and the receptionist said to me, well, you know, was it a long drive, you know, from Australia?
• 21:24
  You know, and that's...
• 21:27
  That's genuine, you know, that's the truth, you know, that people just have no idea of, you know, where you're from and, you know, et cetera, so, yeah.
• 21:36
  Among the different achievements that you had along the way, there is one as a very young teenager, which is quite cool.
• 21:42
  Age 13, you win the world mini GP there in America.
• 21:47
  Can you take us back to that?
• 21:49
  Your first, I think, if I'm right in saying this, your first sort of taste of winning on a global stage, Jeff, what impact did that have on you?
• 21:59
  And maybe even back here in Australia, did it filter back to Australia?
• 22:03
  What sort of reaction did it have?
• 22:04
  Yeah, well it did filter back into WA somewhat.
• 22:07
  I don't think sort of all of Australia, but I was the local kid obviously from Perth.
• 22:14
  Yeah, look, it was a big event, you know, the World Mini Grand Prix there at Saddleback Park.
• 22:19
  You know, Southern California was really a mecca, you know, during the 70s, early 80s for motocross riding.
• 22:26
  There were several extremely large motorcycle ride parks within close proximity to the population.
• 22:33
  And it was just such a huge sport, you know, attracting large numbers of riders, a lot of manufacturer involvement.
• 22:40
  And yeah, it was, you know, it was a really cool experience and it's all part of what kind of shaped me along the way.
• 22:48
  But it was, yeah, it was fun.
• 22:50
  You know, it was fun to experience that competition and do well, you know, in another country.
• 22:55
  Great growth for you, Jeff, in a worldly sense, because as you go through to sort of your mid-teens there, I think you were sort of heading to Europe as well at around age 16, weren't you?
• 23:06
  So we're talking no mobile phones, language barriers and all sorts, but you are immersed in the two-wheel game that you love on both sides of the pond, if you will.
• 23:16
  Amazing.
• 23:16
  Amazing.
• 23:17
  Yeah, yeah, I was at a pretty young age.
• 23:20
  And, you know, honestly, I never really thought about it too much.
• 23:24
  You know, I guess you accept pretty early on that if you're from Perth and you want to do something on the world stage, then, you know, you're not going to be home very much.
• 23:34
  So travel and being away from home.
• 23:37
  And I must admit, there's times where that was difficult, you know, like sometimes it was hard, you know, to be...
• 23:43
  away on your own, away from your family.
• 23:45
  It was pretty constant, you know, it wasn't like you could just fly back home all the time.
• 23:49
  You had long runs in other countries, other parts of the world, and it can wear you down a little bit, especially when things aren't going well.
• 23:57
  You know, that can really get you down.
• 23:58
  You know, if things aren't running too well, you can really feel it.
• 24:13
  So you're looking for a new set of motocross gloves, pants, jersey and bike?
• 24:18
  Well, all you have to do is fly over to California and run into Jeff Ward.
• 24:23
  It's that easy.
• 24:25
  I want to switch back to the Australian scene for a moment.
• 24:29
  1982, teammate on a Yamaha to another legend in Stephen Gaul, who I want to get on the podcast and I haven't yet.
• 24:37
  What sort of personal and professional influence did he have on you?
• 24:42
  I would say he had, you know, he's had one of the biggest influences on me.
• 24:45
  You know, I was 17 years old.
• 24:46
  I'd moved to Sydney to live.
• 24:49
  And, yeah, I was on the same team as him, um...
• 24:54
  he always had a reputation for his professionalism, his fitness, you know, he really took fitness, diet, his preparation, his whole approach to racing was very, very focused, very serious, you know.
• 25:13
  And so to be on the same team as him, I think,
• 25:20
  That was good, you know.
• 25:22
  I really liked it.
• 25:22
  And we were competitive and it wouldn't matter if we were just going out for a run, you know, during the week for training.
• 25:31
  Yeah, it was always on, you know, always trying to beat each other.
• 25:35
  So, yeah.
• 25:37
  It was a good experience.
• 25:39
  We had some good races.
• 25:40
  We had a few moments.
• 25:41
  I remember just joining the team and there was a race down south of Sydney.
• 25:46
  I think it was an unusual event.
• 25:48
  We had to ride all three categories, so 125, 250 and 500 over the one weekend and kind of aggregate the points.
• 25:55
  and there'd be a winner.
• 25:56
  And I remember in one of the motos, Chase and Gawley down, and I was ready to make a move on impounce, and I'd figured out that on this certain section of the track where there was a jump, he was jumping, let's say, to the left every lap, and I thought, well, if I square this up and launch to the right and basically launch past him in midair, I'll pass him into the next corner.
• 26:18
  Well, the lap that I lined it up, he switched his line.
• 26:23
  I landed on top of him and we both went down pretty hard and I don't think he was very happy and it probably wasn't a great way to get to know your teammate in the first race.
• 26:35
  But, you know, we're good mates today.
• 26:38
  We go out and do a bit of moto riding together and a bit of bicycle riding and, you know, he's still the same.
• 26:46
  He's still focused and fit and fast and, yeah, so good times.
• 26:51
  He oozes that mate, doesn't he?
• 26:52
  Our good friend, Lee Diffie, had posters of you and Gawley, for that matter, on his wall when he was growing up.
• 26:59
  Crazy that an idol.
• 27:02
  has become a good friend for him.
• 27:04
  He says that you had this myopic focus at a relatively young age and that you would subject yourself to riding in all kinds of conditions to better yourself, wet, dry, whatever it may have been, hot conditions.
• 27:19
  And not all races, Jeff, are that committed.
• 27:24
  What made you like that?
• 27:25
  Where did that ethic come from?
• 27:29
  I'm not sure quite where I got it from, but I mean, obviously you try to make your training and practice
• 27:36
  that's where you do all the work.
• 27:39
  You know, that's where it all happens.
• 27:43
  So, you know, yeah, you have to be ready for anything that comes on race day, if it's hot, dry, wet.
• 27:51
  So regardless of the condition during the week, when you're practicing training, you just go and do it.
• 27:57
  You know, you just go out and try to improve, try to get better.
• 28:04
  And yeah, really, you know, in the perfect world, you know, race day should be showtime, you know, just trying to show everyone how hard you've been training.
• 28:13
  You know, that's what race day is supposed to be.
• 28:15
  But, you know, it's not always that way, you know.
• 28:18
  But I think in the end there in Australia, you know, I was able to get to a level where I could make race day showtime, just execute.
• 28:25
  You've done the hard work during the week and you can dominate, you know, on race day.
• 28:30
  So, yeah.
• 28:31
  In America or Europe, that's a different story.
• 28:33
  You know, I never quite got to that level there.
• 28:36
  Yeah, well, I mean, we'll talk about some of the highs there in a moment.
• 28:38
  I know there were highs and lows, Geoff, but, I mean, on the domestic scene, you dominated, for example, to use your word there a moment ago, you dominated Mr Motocross in 84 and 85 on a Honda.
• 28:49
  I think you only dropped one moto win in 85 and against some gun homegrown stars too, didn't you?
• 28:57
  Yeah, that's true.
• 28:58
  You know, actually, in fact, I switched from the Yamaha team.
• 29:01
  I only did one season there in 82, and then I went to Honda in 83, and I really didn't have a good year.
• 29:07
  You know, I kind of lost a bit of my focus, and it was a disappointing year.
• 29:12
  You know, every year up until that point, I'd always won an Australian title or something, so that was not a good year.
• 29:18
  And towards the end of the season, you know, I really...
• 29:24
  had a good hard think and I went back to the States and spent probably three months there training and working hard and I didn't really take off the summer that year.
• 29:32
  I just kept working and really come back in 84 and I was super strong.
• 29:37
  I had a change of mechanic.
• 29:38
  I found somebody that was also going to really support what I was trying to do and then by the time 85 came around, yeah, I was really at a good level.
• 29:49
  What sort of stuff when you went to America were you perhaps, and it doesn't have to be a specific year, maybe among those early trips, you perhaps became aware of stuff they were doing differently over there, either on or off the bike.
• 30:03
  And that natural intensity, Jeff, when you step up the competition, that environment, how much did that help you grow as a racer?
• 30:10
  I suppose I did get a bit of an awareness of what they were doing off the bike for a start.
• 30:14
  So I got to spend some time with Danny Laporte.
• 30:19
  I lived with him for probably two months.
• 30:21
  And I did a pre-season with him in the high desert in California.
• 30:25
  and we were riding pretty much every day and we'd do these 40 minute motos and run the bikes out of gas and then we'd push them back to his house probably a couple of kilometres through the desert.
• 30:36
  And then we were running with weights and we trained really hard.
• 30:40
  And that year he went on to become the US 500 national champion.
• 30:44
  So, you know, that was the level that, you know, and I was only 15, I think at the time, 14, 15.
• 30:49
  So, you know, I got to experience, I guess,
• 30:52
  what sort of preparation you need to do to be a U.S. champion.
• 30:55
  And from an off-bike point of view, I got some insights into early on.
• 31:01
  And then, you know, in terms of actual riding and technique, you know, that was something that the Americans obviously had a much different style of riding and a type of riding.
• 31:11
  And...
• 31:13
  particularly in the area of corner speed, you know, they had tremendous corner speed and they're the things that, you know, okay, you know, we looked at, we saw it and we think that's the target we need to improve in these areas.
• 31:26
  So yeah, you know, there was absolutely some times, you know, once I'd been in the States for three, four months, come back home, you know,
• 31:33
  Yeah, it really lifted the bar for you and your level was very high.
• 31:40
  Did you enjoy the mechanical side of it yourself?
• 31:42
  Because, I mean, you talked about changing mechanics there before.
• 31:44
  And I know at one point you worked with Pete Laskowski, Buddha.
• 31:48
  So, I mean, you know, a guy that's very well known in two-wheel circles in our country.
• 31:54
  And how important are those people at those times in the successful mix?
• 32:00
  Yeah.
• 32:01
  Oh, it's extremely important.
• 32:02
  You know, at the end of the day, it takes teamwork to be successful.
• 32:07
  You know, even though you're an individual out there on a motorcycle, you know, it's important to have the right equipment.
• 32:13
  And there's a lot of people involved in bringing that together, you know, which sometimes you don't realise when you're younger.
• 32:22
  a little bit blinkered and you don't always see the big picture of what's going on, you know, at a factory level and the development and what they're bringing to the table for you.
• 32:30
  And then there's your inner sanctum and your mechanics and so on.
• 32:35
  And so, yeah, that's probably an area I wish I'd sort of, you know, obviously as you get older, you understand a lot more about that.
• 32:44
  But yeah, I did learn that
• 32:49
  A good mechanic can make a world of difference.
• 32:51
  And in motocross, you know, your mechanics not only working in a mechanical sense, you know, they're holding the pit board for you.
• 32:59
  They're kind of lifting you up when you're down or...
• 33:04
  you know, kicking you in the ass when you're not doing the job right.
• 33:07
  So they do play a pretty big role, actually, in motocross.
• 33:12
  It's probably changed a little bit now, you know, the way the teams are structured.
• 33:14
  But certainly in my day, the mechanic, you know, played a pretty huge role, not only just on the spanners.
• 33:21
  Some great old vision that I found of you floating around on YouTube, particularly when you went back to America in 86 with the van and so on.
• 33:30
  How daunting was that whole deal, you know,
• 33:34
  in the premier class against some of the greats from memory.
• 33:37
  How did you piece all that deal together?
• 33:40
  Yeah, it came together.
• 33:42
  I did the Mata Cross of Nations in Galdorf in Germany, and in fact, it didn't go that well for me.
• 33:47
  That was at the end of the 85 season.
• 33:50
  So I'd had obviously a dominant run in Australia.
• 33:53
  That was my chance, you know, really at a world event to...
• 33:57
  to hopefully impress some people and, you know, maybe someone would notice me and I could, you know, get a ride in Europe or America.
• 34:05
  And in the practice, it was going well.
• 34:08
  Then I crashed and fractured a vertebrae and I spent two weeks in a hospital, actually laying in bed next to Kurt Nicol.
• 34:14
  He had broken his femur, I think.
• 34:18
  And I thought, wow, I've blown it.
• 34:21
  You know, that's it.
• 34:22
  You know, I wasn't sure really what was going to happen.
• 34:25
  But I did have Dave Arnold's phone number, who was the team manager of Honda in America, and he said to come see him.
• 34:33
  So once I got out of hospital in Germany, I flew straight to California.
• 34:37
  I had a meeting with him.
• 34:38
  He made an offer to me.
• 34:39
  It was really just honestly, it was a bikes and parts deal with some bonuses and things if I did well and, you know,
• 34:47
  And I was like, yeah, okay, that's all I've got.
• 34:50
  You know, I've done two years in Australia.
• 34:53
  I have nothing left to prove there.
• 34:54
  I have to make a move, come hell or high water.
• 34:58
  You know, I'm doing this.
• 34:59
  And the worst thing that can happen is I go back to Australia and race, you know.
• 35:04
  So really all I had was these bikes and parts and I was gonna go race all the AMA Supercross, Motocross, probably like a 30 race schedule.
• 35:12
  And I bought a van and
• 35:14
  you know, got Buddha on board as mechanic.
• 35:17
  And honestly, I never sat down once and figured out how much it was going to cost.
• 35:22
  Or all I knew was, hey, if you do well in the race and you qualify, I think you've got a thousand bucks to qualify for a Supercross main.
• 35:30
  And then I think Honda kind of matched that.
• 35:31
  So...
• 35:32
  okay, that's enough.
• 35:33
  If I can just qualify and I'll have enough money to do this.
• 35:38
  And we did, you know, somehow we made it work, you know.
• 35:44
  But if I look back on it now, it's a bit like, you know, these days, whatever you do, you have a budget and you do what you do.
• 35:50
  But that wasn't an era where prize money was a real feature of racing, you know, and it's really diminished a lot as you might be aware, Rusty, over time.
• 35:59
  But, you know,
• 36:00
  that prize money in racing really has diminished a lot.
• 36:05
  In my day, I was able to basically launch my international career based on my performances and the prize money and the bonuses that I got.
• 36:14
  And really, the prize money today isn't much better than what it was when I was racing in the States there in the 80s.
• 36:20
  So that's really how I was able to do it.
• 36:23
  You brought up injury there a moment ago.
• 36:25
  It's a brutal game, Jeff.
• 36:26
  I can recall, I think, a broken jaw at another point in your career.
• 36:30
  Even in sprint car racing, I think you might have badly hurt your left wrist at one point.
• 36:36
  And there was a bit of concern around that about whether you'd be able to ride again.
• 36:40
  Is that the most significant injury, ironically, that it happened four wheels rather than two?
• 36:45
  Or is there another standout for you?
• 36:47
  Look, I think the back injury in Galdorf was pretty serious, although it didn't really have a lot of implications.
• 36:54
  Obviously, any time there's a spinal injury, you don't know how close you really are to something that's a lot worse.
• 37:04
  And certainly the time I fractured my jaw
• 37:08
  at the Supercross in San Diego, and also some actually vertebraes in my neck.
• 37:12
  So that, they were two times that, you know, really in retrospect, you know, could have been very serious.
• 37:20
  So yeah, I mean, the sprint car one, yeah, it was a hard hit and my wrist got dislocated, but, you know, I don't think it's anything like the injuries I had on bikes, yeah.
• 37:31
  Another colleague and close buddy of both of ours, Michael Heaton, very good television producer, reminded me personally,
• 37:37
  that you and the legend Ricky Johnson hooked up when you were, I think maybe even in your teens, mate, or perhaps early 20s, I'm not sure, at the time.
• 37:46
  What are your memories and what was it like being effectively Supercross pioneers at iconic venues then?
• 37:54
  And we're talking like 70,000 people at some places, Jeff, and things like that, aren't we?
• 37:58
  We are.
• 37:59
  I mean, some of the first times I raced at Anaheim Stadium and I think the stadium has been reconfigured today so it doesn't actually hold as many people, but...
• 38:07
  Some of the first races I did there, and I think I actually got a start there in, I think it was 1985.
• 38:14
  Yeah, it was 1985, I think it was.
• 38:20
  And look, just to even get to the main event, there were 70 riders entered for the 250 race.
• 38:27
  class and as you know they can only take 20 riders on the grid for the for the main event final so there were pre-qualifiers early in the afternoon just to make it into the qualifying format in the evening but yeah you're racing in front of 70,000 people it was an incredible atmosphere and experience but nonetheless it's once again you know you really have to put the blinkers on and and focus on the on the job at hand it can be you know it can be overwhelming
• 38:56
  Ricky sent you a nice video message when you departed KTM in recent years, which we'll talk about a little later in the chat.
• 39:04
  What was he like?
• 39:05
  And, you know, very cool to have spent time with someone like that and to call him a friend.
• 39:12
  Yeah, you know, obviously we were competitors then and I spent some time on the same team as him in the US.
• 39:19
  And, you know, he was a fierce competitor, you know, an incredible talent and, you know, a real kind of cool image, you know, in the sport at that time in the US.
• 39:32
  Yeah, so then it was tough racing and so on, and really probably not so much friendship, but I think like all races, there's a level of respect there.
• 39:43
  And in recent years, it was pretty cool.
• 39:46
  He came down for one of the KTM adventure rallies, and we got to spend some really good time riding adventure bikes and hanging out and really just talking about life in general.
• 39:59
  And, yeah, it's pretty cool that, you know, after these years we can be friends and talk about those times where, you know, it was fierce, you know, it was fierce competition, you know, so...
• 40:14
  Another legend.
• 40:16
  I want to ask about at what point you might have met Roger DeCosta.
• 40:20
  You and I worked on a motorcycle dealer function a few years back at Port Douglas, and he was the surprise guest of honour, an amazing guy.
• 40:29
  And it was, you know, clearly you guys just picked up exactly where you left off, which was terrific.
• 40:33
  How long have you known him for and so on?
• 40:35
  Yeah, I got to know Roger, I would say, in my first year in the States there in 1986.
• 40:42
  And, you know, I was in awe of the guy.
• 40:45
  And really, I got invited out to the Honda Test Track in Simi Valley.
• 40:52
  early that year and they were doing the pre-season testing and Roger was still doing some riding back then.
• 40:58
  He was still doing some development riding for Honda.
• 41:01
  So I'm pretty nervous, you know, all the factory guys are there and I get on the track for the first time and Roger's going around this track, you know, and testing this bike and I get out there and, you know, you glance over at a point on the track just to judge what your pace is, you know, you mark a point on the track and
• 41:22
  And he's pulling away from me, you know, and he's, I think at the time he was 45 or something, I don't know, whatever he was.
• 41:31
  And I just thought, shit, man, I've got some work to do, you know.
• 41:34
  But, you know, he, yeah, that was my first sort of introduction to Roger, was him, you know, beating me on the track.
• 41:44
  Yeah, he was very supportive from the very beginning.
• 41:48
  There were times when I know we had a few struggles with our setups and he would afford us a day out of his time and go up to the test track and spend some time with us.
• 41:58
  And every time he did, the outcome was pretty phenomenal.
• 42:01
  I always say in racing, there's a lot of people that think they know what they're doing, but there's a very, very few that actually really know
• 42:09
  what changes to make to sort of enhance the performance.
• 42:14
  So he's absolutely one of those guys.
• 42:16
  He was not only an amazing racer, but he's also an incredible engineer of motorcycles.
• 42:31
  That's the end of part one of my podcast with Australian Motorcycle Industry Executive Jeff Leask.
• 42:36
  Don't worry, there is more to come on his own incredible racing career.
• 42:41
  You can launch into that right now.
• 42:43
  Part two is in the garage library and ready to go.
• 42:46
  How he feels about going so close to that world title all these years later, to changing tack and trying his hand at sprint cars.
• 42:56
  There's a sneaky drive of a supercar in New Zealand and immersing himself in the business of motorcycles, supporting grassroots, chasing endurance racing success and fostering the love of adventure.
• 43:16
  Listener.