Latest / Rusty's Garage / Chad Reed (Part 2)

Transcript

Chad Reed (Part 2) · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:19
  G'day, it's Rusty here.
• 0:20
  This is part two of my chat with Supercross legend Chad Reid.
• 0:24
  If you haven't heard part one already, make sure you jump back to the library and have a listen.
• 0:30
  It covers his early career and rise to the top and a whole lot more.
• 0:34
  In this second instalment, we tackle injuries, the bike that he has a soft spot for among the countless that he's raced over time and the exciting new chapter as he transitions from two-wheel racing to four.
• 0:47
  It's a brutal game.
• 0:49
  That's obvious.
• 0:51
  What are the injuries that stick out for you, the ones that maybe to this day you still wince about or feel?
• 1:00
  I would say that the worst one that I've had would be my ACL.
• 1:06
  It came at a time that wasn't friendly on timing.
• 1:13
  I really believe that I would have won that championship that year.
• 1:19
  It didn't only ruin that year, it kind of like it spilled over into the next year.
• 1:24
  You know, like you're obviously around people that are getting hurt and knee injuries were a common thing.
• 1:30
  So I had many people around me that I, you know, had an ACL.
• 1:34
  surgeries and it seemed like they would just, you know, get it fixed and three, four, five, six months later, they're back on the bike and it's seemingly like everything was normal.
• 1:45
  For me, it didn't, wasn't like that.
• 1:46
  Like I, I, when I came back, I didn't have my full range of motion.
• 1:51
  Every time I did something, it would blow up.
• 1:53
  I had to have a second surgery.
• 1:55
  So it was just like a complicated injury that I was kind of,
• 2:00
  thinking more that it would just be a pretty straightforward injury so um that one and then i would say my ankle um i think the last time we were doing this might have been when i had a broken ankle so um yeah that would that would probably be the other one just those two i think also to memory serves back to there was epstein-barr virus wasn't there in uh in 2010 how did that knock you around and and
• 2:24
  2010 was just such a challenging, like, I would say point of my life.
• 2:29
  I didn't, you know, like, I felt like it was, like, I was at that transition point.
• 2:33
  Like, 2010, like, was probably the closest that I came to going to.
• 2:41
  I don't love this anymore.
• 2:43
  You know, like I don't know why.
• 2:46
  Obviously I was sick, but I was drained.
• 2:49
  I was mentally exhausted from the sport.
• 2:54
  And I think that life has a way of throwing you a curveball
• 3:00
  when you think it's the worst time, but I think it becomes more clear, you know, years down the road that in that moment, it forced me to step away.
• 3:11
  I remember at that point, I came back to Australia, I spent,
• 3:16
  I think six to eight weeks back here.
• 3:20
  Didn't even really, you know, consider going back racing.
• 3:24
  And then I, you know, I did a lot of things in the US as well to help my health and things like that.
• 3:29
  But for the most part, it was time away and each time and it took a long time.
• 3:34
  It wasn't like you were like one week away and, oh, I miss it.
• 3:37
  You know, like, I mean, it was months that I, it took for me to start to feel like, okay,
• 3:44
  I feel human again.
• 3:45
  Now let's see if, you know, racing motorcycles is in my future.
• 3:52
  And then as it worked out, that was, you know, that led into Tutu Motorsports and things like that.
• 3:57
  So it was honestly like what was, you know, on the surface the worst thing.
• 4:02
  point of my life and career, but yet I felt like I got the most out of it.
• 4:09
  This is one I feel tough or it's difficult to ask, but you and I both can recall great Australian writer Andrew McFarlane.
• 4:18
  I can vividly recall seeing you mate at his...
• 4:21
  funeral and the effect that it had on on you and the fraternity is passing he was a good a good young writer was yeah he was i mean andrew was five years older than i was um and that obviously fell you know it fell that year um so there was so many things in my life that i was you know like i think that
• 4:43
  As athletes, you always, you just push these things under the rug and, you know, you're like, oh, yeah, you know, that happens, you know, and don't crash, that won't happen, or it won't happen to me.
• 4:54
  But for some reason, you know, like, I was so close to Andrew and his family.
• 5:00
  You know, it hit home because I had my first child that year as well, actually.
• 5:07
  as it worked out, my child was, my firstborn was born.
• 5:12
  And then literally as we were like driving in the driveway, bringing our firstborn home for the first time, I can remember like it was yesterday where Ellie and I got the news and literally it just sat the baby down on the, you know, like on the steps and like just both of us sitting on the steps like,
• 5:31
  what just happened, you know, kind of like just the happiest part of your life to one of the saddest parts of your life, you know.
• 5:39
  So I think that hit home and I pushed it out of the rug and whatever, but it ate at me.
• 5:46
  And I think that that was a contributing factor to, you know, the ongoing issues that I had in 2010.
• 5:53
  You're a proud Aussie.
• 5:54
  We know that.
• 5:55
  Over time, a little bit of American twang has crept in, a little bit of American slang.
• 6:00
  But I actually think that's really important, mate, because adopting those little kind of turns of phrase and things like that endears you to the American audience.
• 6:09
  Was it just the length of time you spent there or was it a conscious thing?
• 6:13
  I don't know.
• 6:14
  I think it was both.
• 6:16
  I think they go hand in hand.
• 6:19
  I mean, technically I've lived in America now longer than I have lived in Australia, which is crazy to think.
• 6:26
  But yeah, like for me, you know, and I put it this way, and I think it's hard for Australians to understand.
• 6:34
  But when I went to America,
• 6:37
  I'd seen people before me and then even during my time.
• 6:43
  And the number one thing that they failed at was that they, they held on to Australia and Australia was the greatest country.
• 6:51
  Australia had the best food and this and America was terrible.
• 6:54
  The food sucks, the traffic sucks, the weather sucks, you know, like, and I was like too much, you know, like I didn't necessarily have this conversation with myself, but in my opinion, I was kind of like,
• 7:08
  I can't get out of life what I want from motorcycle racing in Australia.
• 7:14
  I don't want to live in Europe.
• 7:15
  So then if I'm going to live and race and do this motorcycle thing, America is where it's at.
• 7:24
  So I just embraced it.
• 7:26
  the culture, I embraced the American, you know, way of living.
• 7:32
  And I truly, my whole, my adult life is really, like, I would say as an Aussie.
• 7:40
  you know, as a kid, I'm an Aussie.
• 7:42
  And as an adult, I feel like more American because, you know, life for me as I know it as an adult is America, you know, like I could tell you if I moved back here, I would, there would be a lot of things that Ellie and I would have to learn about, you know, living as an adult in Aussie because we don't know that, you know, we never paid bills, you never did all those things, you know, like we left at 18 years old.
• 8:07
  So that was the biggest thing for me and probably that the one gray area where Aussies are really quick to comment and make a negative, you know, like, ah, he's basically a Yankee kind of thing or whatever.
• 8:19
  And it's like, but for me, that was my only way of survival was to embrace the culture.
• 8:24
  And, and, and I didn't want to be known as an outsider because, um, I don't know if you know, but there's a French guy, um, Jean-Michel Bale.
• 8:35
  and he was two times super crush champ.
• 8:38
  Um, and he was hated, like hated, you know, like the Americans hated him.
• 8:44
  And so like, I was like, I don't want to be hated.
• 8:47
  You know, like there was that part of me where I made this conscious decision that, that, you know, like I love this country.
• 8:52
  And in my opinion, I actually get the best of both worlds.
• 8:55
  I think in America, in America, it's a beautiful country and I get to jump on a plane and go to Australia and call it home.
• 9:05
  and people like me so then yeah that was kind of my my outlook on the whole thing and the rationale is one i completely i can understand and agree with to me it makes makes um makes absolute sense mate in that last four months since you and i spoke there's been a couple of posts that you've done with various things for sale around the you know the ranch the the cr22 compound in florida and
• 9:27
  that looks like heaven, mate.
• 9:29
  Has that been hard to sort of come to that point and do those things?
• 9:32
  You know, it was heaven once upon a time.
• 9:37
  I love Florida.
• 9:38
  You know, like I really enjoyed living in Florida.
• 9:42
  But over the years, as my kids became a little older and want to, you know, want to start being more active, Florida's brutal.
• 9:48
  It's like northern Queensland, you know, like it's just hot and humid always.
• 9:53
  And so...
• 9:55
  you know ellie and i were ready for a change of pace um you know i don't use the tracks to their fullest you know need of what they once upon a time were um so yeah it was time to let go um but yeah like my go-kart track and the freedom that that the 70 acres provided over 15 years was was amazing you know and i i truly built um
• 10:21
  my dream you know my place of my dreams basically you know like your your tracks and your go-kart track and you know ellie would be like why why are we spending all this money on a go-kart track and i'm like why would you not spend all that money on a go-kart track you know and so yeah it was it really was amazing and i sold my house um still have my property so it's it actually technically i still own it but but in the in the process of trying to trying to sell it
• 10:45
  We're recording in a room underneath Marvel Stadium in Melbourne where they are currently building outside there an epic-looking track for Aussies that have dreamed of seeing you race stateside, mate, and some of the amazing venues that you go to there.
• 11:04
  They've brought that down under, haven't they?
• 11:06
  And you have hoped for this day to come.
• 11:09
  There's been some great events before, but to go to this next level is a huge thing, isn't it?
• 11:13
  Yeah, it really is.
• 11:16
  And I feel like I've tried to contribute in every way possible.
• 11:20
  Even when you go back 10 years when I did the...
• 11:25
  what do they call it, the AusX Open series back then.
• 11:28
  It was their version of it, but it was a series that I was heavily, heavily involved with, with Mike Porra.
• 11:34
  And it didn't, you know, it was great, and we went all over Aussie.
• 11:39
  We went to bigger venues than they had, but...
• 11:41
  we didn't really achieve what they're achieving this weekend, you know, like the, this event as a one-off event, um, it, I really believe it's going to be one of the, the, the, the pinnacle of the sport, you know, and I think it'll be equal to any American supercross.
• 11:56
  So yeah, I feel blessed and really, you know, really proud to kind of be here and be able to, um, kind of embrace a pretty, pretty special weekend.
• 12:06
  So, um,
• 12:07
  Will it be your last time racing down under in Supercross?
• 12:11
  It won't be my last time racing here, but it will be my final race as a full-time athlete racing.
• 12:21
  2020 will be my final season in Supercross in America.
• 12:26
  But I do...
• 12:27
  I do want to come back and race, you know, like, like, uh, I don't know if it's next year or the year after.
• 12:33
  Um, but I, I do want to do the off season races.
• 12:36
  I feel like, I feel like that's healthy.
• 12:39
  Um, you know, to have a goal of still staying in shape, still riding my motorcycle, um, you know, doing the things that I love to do.
• 12:46
  Um, but putting my mind and, and, you know, effort,
• 12:51
  elsewhere during during the year so um it's been a I shouldn't say it's been a long time coming but probably the last year um this is you know this has been building and building and building and I feel like this is the perfect uh you know like if if I was to say hey I want to retire here and this is how I want to do it um I don't know that you could plan it any better how tough was it to arrive at that decision and when did it come in your mind
• 13:20
  In a lot of ways, I made the decision last year.
• 13:24
  You know, I kind of, it was really only Ellie and I had the conversation and I kind of thought, I was a fill-in rider at JGR.
• 13:33
  Weston Pike got hurt.
• 13:34
  And then I just, you know, it had been in Australia last year.
• 13:41
  I felt like I massively underperformed in Sydney.
• 13:48
  And when I look back, it was because I had this energy in me.
• 13:54
  I was ready to be done in some ways.
• 13:58
  And I wanted...
• 13:59
  I shouldn't say I was ready to be done, but I was...
• 14:03
  I knew the time was coming.
• 14:05
  And so I wanted to win so bad that I just think I personally put just an enormous amount of pressure on myself.
• 14:13
  I didn't feel good all weekend.
• 14:16
  And it was one of the worst weekends that I've had racing in Australia.
• 14:19
  Like I didn't enjoy it.
• 14:21
  I struggled with the track and the bike.
• 14:23
  And it was really the fact that it was really me creating that because I was like,
• 14:30
  In my mind, I was like, it's going to be the last one I want to win.
• 14:34
  And it just never happened.
• 14:36
  And there's a part of me that thinks that I'm here this year because of how bad that was.
• 14:41
  If I win...
• 14:46
  I think that there's a chance that I say I'm done.
• 14:48
  You know, like there's a part of me that thinks that because I know that when I left here, I'm like, I'm not going out like that.
• 14:56
  And then you look, you know, you fast forward a year and here I am with two broken ribs and it's not a perfect case scenario, but that's life.
• 15:05
  But yeah, I think the timing's right and I'm excited for what's next.
• 15:12
  I'm excited too because there's a bit of four-wheel action.
• 15:15
  I'm not a huge believer in seeing athletes stop cold turkey.
• 15:19
  I think it's, particularly for motor racers, it's very important that they have something, something.
• 15:25
  And you've been in a Lamborghini during the year, the Super Trofeo Series.
• 15:29
  Tell us about that and...
• 15:31
  Was that a part of it, mate?
• 15:33
  Could you... Has that sort of sparked the fire in the belly for another chapter, something new?
• 15:39
  It was a huge part of it, honestly.
• 15:41
  Um...
• 15:43
  It was 100% the reason because I had this massive plan.
• 15:49
  You know, like I was, my goal was to stay or I shouldn't say my goal, but my plan was to stay at JGR, have a great off season, do some races and come out swinging in 2020 and potentially 2020 always being the last one.
• 16:03
  And then it just, you know, the things at JGR weren't happening as fast as I was wanting them to.
• 16:08
  They were kind of on the fence.
• 16:09
  Do they go racing?
• 16:10
  Do they not go racing?
• 16:11
  Suzuki was slow for answers.
• 16:16
  So I had a friend of a friend reached out and said, hey, you want to come drive a Lamborghini with me at Watkins Glen?
• 16:21
  Yeah.
• 16:22
  And it's kind of like I'd never been to Watkins Glen, but obviously, you know, being the fan of motorsport that I am, I was very aware of, you know, the heritage and the history there.
• 16:35
  And I'm like, yeah, why not?
• 16:36
  I mean, why wouldn't I?
• 16:38
  So I jumped on a plane, went to Vegas.
• 16:40
  Um, essentially it was a test slash, um, approval for my license and yeah, past that and went racing the next weekend.
• 16:50
  And there we went, we went, uh, I raced pro-am and we went, I think we went three, two, um,
• 16:57
  And then I was kind of like, okay, that was fun.
• 16:59
  You know, that was really cool.
• 17:00
  And the Glen was a pretty challenging track, you know, like the S's I struggled with.
• 17:08
  You know, like I was competitive, but there was, like, I left there kind of feeling like I left a lot there and feeling like I wanted to, you know, more opportunity.
• 17:19
  to, uh, to learn.
• 17:21
  And, um, one thing led to another.
• 17:23
  And then they, he asked me if I would race the rest of the series and do the world championship race, um, in Jerez, Spain.
• 17:30
  So I'm like, perfect.
• 17:31
  Let's, let's do this.
• 17:33
  Um, so yeah, as long story short, won a bunch of races, um, and then, you know, put all my effort in to those races to get ready for, uh, the world championship.
• 17:43
  Um, and then as it worked out, um,
• 17:45
  He ended up not racing world championships, so I did it alone.
• 17:50
  And yeah, I won the first race and got second in the second one and was Lamborghini world champion.
• 17:59
  I love the analytics.
• 18:01
  I love data.
• 18:03
  I love opportunities to learn.
• 18:07
  That's my passion.
• 18:07
  That's what drives me.
• 18:10
  So with the car racing, with, you know, so much of that stuff, you know, having access to it, for me, it just, it just overtook my world, you know?
• 18:21
  And like, I just, I just started thinking, man, like this is, like I, I immediately, I was surprised because I had had opportunities to get in and out of race cars before, um, with some tests, you know, some V8 stuff.
• 18:34
  And every time I drove the car, it didn't, there was no wow factor to me.
• 18:39
  Like, it didn't, like, I didn't have a wow.
• 18:42
  But for some reason, the Lamborghini cars, you know, or a GT3 car, on the American, you know, like, going to the Glen was a really, really cool track.
• 18:54
  And then going to Road America, VIR, and Laguna Seca.
• 18:58
  It just, you know, like they were iconic tracks that literally gave me the thrill.
• 19:04
  Like, like VIR would probably be my favorite track that I've ever driven.
• 19:08
  You know, like it just I mean, they have a plate, you know, a section that they call the roller coaster and it legit feels like you're on.
• 19:13
  And it just like every lap.
• 19:15
  And I was like, I couldn't get enough.
• 19:17
  I did a test there.
• 19:19
  And they literally had to pull me out of the car because I was just having so much fun.
• 19:26
  I started out at five, six seconds off the pace of the pro team, and I got it down to a half a second.
• 19:34
  And on a used tire, I felt like I had race pace, like I could throw down with the pros.
• 19:40
  And right there, it just like was the final hook for me, you know, like it was like that.
• 19:45
  OK, I can do this, you know, like it's starting to make sense to me.
• 19:49
  I'm looking at this computer and seeing all these squiggly lines.
• 19:52
  I'm starting to see, you know, like being able to translate them into what I'm doing on a racetrack.
• 19:58
  And that for me was just, I was sold.
• 20:01
  My natural line of questioning says Bathurst 12 hour.
• 20:05
  Would that be on the radar?
• 20:07
  Would that be something you want to do?
• 20:08
  100% on the radar.
• 20:11
  It's actually already in the talks.
• 20:12
  So Lamborghini as a company is very excited about having me.
• 20:18
  driving their cars and their series.
• 20:21
  Giorgio Senna is the head of motorsport, huge moto fan, loves the fact that we're in there and we're playing ball in his world.
• 20:33
  So they want to put a factory effort into the 12-hour.
• 20:39
  And then I don't know if you know, but in 2020, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series is the support series of it.
• 20:47
  So...
• 20:49
  Depending on some things falling into place here in the next couple of weeks, I may be there racing the Super Trofeo.
• 20:59
  Because I wouldn't want to... Like, I wouldn't throw myself into the 12-hour yet.
• 21:03
  I think Bathurst as a track is so gnarly that I would want to go there and spend laps and get up to speed.
• 21:15
  And then maybe 2021 come back and do a, you know, a 12-hour appearance.
• 21:31
  Manufacturing magnet Italian Ferruccio Lamborghini founded the company in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with Ferrari.
• 21:42
  The company's first models, such as the 350 GT, were released in the mid-1960s and were noted for their refinement, power and comfort.
• 21:52
  You're here talking to me with your Boost hat on.
• 21:54
  We both know Pete Addison pretty well.
• 21:57
  A little birdie tells me during the year, had it not been for injury, you may have also tested a Gary Rogers Motorsport Commodore.
• 22:04
  Is that true?
• 22:04
  Were you planning at some point to come out and drive a supercar again?
• 22:07
  Yeah, I was, and that actually was the case last year when they were walk-in-shore.
• 22:13
  We actually had it all planned and I was going to drive it at Sydney Motor Speedway or the motor park or whatever it's called these days, Eastern Creek.
• 22:22
  that's us showing our age yeah yeah um and then unfortunately the dates and times and scheduling didn't it kind of fell away from us um and then yeah this year i was really wanting to get it but um i would have loved to have done it because you know like i feel like i have a a better newer perspective of cars um so yeah it would be fun to get back in a supercar
• 22:46
  Iron Man of Supercross, mate.
• 22:47
  Record holder for all-time starts and podiums in AMA Supercross history.
• 22:52
  What the heck is the tally now?
• 22:53
  It's massive, isn't it?
• 22:56
  200 and, yeah, 249.
• 22:57
  So the next one, it's a big one.
• 23:00
  You know, I think that 250 is quite a number.
• 23:05
  So I'm excited for, you know, what will be the next one, which will be 250.
• 23:11
  But then what comes with that?
• 23:12
  You know, the fact that the announcement of, hey, this is...
• 23:15
  This is real now.
• 23:16
  I've announced it to the world.
• 23:18
  It's going to be my last run.
• 23:20
  So it's a special one.
• 23:21
  And, yeah, I mean, all the numbers.
• 23:25
  for me, are just what you look at, you know, when it's all said and done.
• 23:29
  What do you reckon the secret to your longevity is?
• 23:31
  I mean, you recounted there before 2010 being such a difficult year and, you know, contemplating was that.
• 23:38
  Coming back from that just shows the character of you and the competitive spirit you have, mate.
• 23:43
  What's the secret?
• 23:46
  The secret would be,
• 23:49
  The sheer passion and love of racing for me is probably the key thing.
• 23:56
  I would say one of the biggest things for me is that I was always able to, how would I say it?
• 24:05
  Like, I was always able to, like, it was important for me at the end of a series to kind of go off the grid a little bit.
• 24:14
  And I never really went off the grid.
• 24:15
  I came to Australia.
• 24:17
  Or I stayed in Florida and it's like,
• 24:20
  I didn't live an athletic lifestyle and I put on weight and I did all these things that athletes shouldn't do.
• 24:26
  But it was kind of like that grounding effect where you feel human, you know, because I always say that you're human first, athlete second.
• 24:34
  And I think people take that for granted and they don't really understand how hard it is to be an athlete and, you know, count calories and working out and doing this, doing that, getting pulled here, getting pulled there.
• 24:47
  And I just think that, you know, later in my career or midway through my career, I just was like, this is unsustainable for me.
• 24:54
  You know, like, like, like what happened to Ricky?
• 24:57
  I guess I learned from Ricky, like I kind of seen how just regimented and stiff it seemed from the outside looking in.
• 25:03
  And I just said that I, I can't be that guy.
• 25:06
  Like I need to find balance.
• 25:09
  And I was, and I was lucky that I, that I found that.
• 25:11
  That's a cool little lesson for lots of people listening.
• 25:15
  In the last 12 months, we saw Mick Doohan ride one of the Moto E-bikes at Phillip Island.
• 25:20
  He did some laps there.
• 25:22
  I didn't know that, actually.
• 25:24
  Yeah.
• 25:24
  What is it about...
• 25:26
  I mean, the whole automotive world is embracing electric in so many ways.
• 25:32
  What do you think about that?
• 25:35
  Whether it's four-stroke, two-stroke, fans love the sound, the smell...
• 25:42
  The whole notion of electric, what do you think about that?
• 25:44
  Yeah, I'm on the fence, and I'm a bit of both.
• 25:48
  I love the electric side of it.
• 25:52
  The tech?
• 25:54
  As somebody who has three kids, if there was, which they're coming, and there actually is some, KTM makes some amazing new electric bikes,
• 26:06
  I would just, I love it.
• 26:07
  Like, I think that all three of my children, I would love them to ride electric bikes as avid motorcycle fans.
• 26:15
  Okay.
• 26:15
  Racing.
• 26:17
  I have a completely different view.
• 26:19
  I hate it, I hate it.
• 26:21
  You know, like I have been to an event and I've seen the Moto E-bike and it's just, like I hate everything about it.
• 26:28
  It's quiet.
• 26:30
  When I go to MotoGP, it's the noise.
• 26:33
  When you're standing there and they go by you, it's not the speed, it's the sheer, you can feel it in your heart.
• 26:39
  Absolutely.
• 26:41
  And I think taking that away
• 26:44
  from racing, um, will be really, really hard.
• 26:49
  Um, so as at a racing level, I hope it never is successful.
• 26:54
  Um, but as a fan of, you know, going and riding through the trails and being able to, you know, have bigger and better opportunities for like in the downtown areas or the, the forest.
• 27:06
  you know areas that that motorcycles are getting shut out of and and that opening back up i'm fully on board and i would love it and i would personally love a bike that i could ride and and take my kids and family on in electric vehicles couple to finish on what's the bike from your entire time of racing could have been when you were a youngster could have been a title winning bike the one that you go to sleep and dream off tell me about that bike what is the bike and a bit more about it share that with the audience i'm sure i'm sure i'm sure i'm sure i'm sure i'm sure i'm sure i'm sure
• 27:36
  I have three motorcycles that I've loved
• 27:41
  2004, 250 two-stroke.
• 27:46
  Probably the most amazing two-stroke ever built.
• 27:52
  I loved it for everything that it was.
• 27:55
  It was light, it was fast, it would stop, it would turn, it would accelerate, it would go through whoops.
• 28:01
  It literally did everything that you could ever want it to do and did it good.
• 28:08
  Then I would say my
• 28:11
  My all-time favorite motorcycle would probably be my 2012 Honda 450, my factory bike.
• 28:21
  That bike was amazing.
• 28:22
  It just seemed like it was kind of the latest, greatest.
• 28:27
  It was really light, fuel-injected.
• 28:31
  Brakes were amazing.
• 28:32
  So it kind of did all these things that we fought over the years of, you know, being able to accelerate and stop.
• 28:39
  It seemed like the window of opportunity was really big.
• 28:45
  So I would say that that's my all-time favorite bike.
• 28:48
  Daily drive and favorite ride or drive.
• 28:52
  Is there a little Chad Reed resto project of some kind, two or four wheel?
• 28:57
  No, I restored my 2004 252 stroke.
• 29:02
  It's pretty much 95% legit everything that I had from the days.
• 29:10
  Yeah, I'm not a restore guy.
• 29:13
  I'm pretty simple on cars.
• 29:14
  Right now I just drive a Ford Raptor, the full-size version.
• 29:20
  Beautiful.
• 29:21
  Really beautiful, and it's a great car to drive around in, and that's my daily driver.
• 29:26
  Yeah, I'm not a sports car fan on the road.
• 29:32
  I love cars, but love race cars on racetracks.
• 29:39
  I don't have a desire and never have had all these crazy sports cars for the road.
• 29:47
  Very recently, Jorge Lorenzo announced his retirement from MotoGP.
• 29:53
  He said, I think, his words were like he's free.
• 29:57
  There's a sense of freedom.
• 30:00
  You've announced here, we've just covered a bit of it in the podcast, and obviously 2020 is going to be a big year in many regards, made stateside as well.
• 30:09
  Are you free?
• 30:10
  Not yet.
• 30:13
  I feel free today.
• 30:14
  Because you've spoken about it for the first time.
• 30:16
  I've spoken about it, and I think that tomorrow will be, you know, it'll hit home tomorrow.
• 30:23
  Like, I know that when I watch that video and I have to go wherever it is on the racetrack and...
• 30:30
  and actually talk to the people.
• 30:33
  I'm sure that there'll be some, you know, some held back tears or maybe they'll just flow.
• 30:38
  But I do, I feel, I already feel freer, you know?
• 30:42
  Like I feel like I had a headache all day and my headache's gone.
• 30:46
  Because you were scared to talk about it?
• 30:48
  I was scared, you know, like, because
• 30:51
  It's just, it's your everything that's, you know, like I'm... Yeah, like you're basically, you know, it's coming to an end and you're telling the world and it's like... You feel like you've almost been carrying this secret within yourself.
• 31:08
  Like I haven't...
• 31:10
  I had to tell Ellie multiple times, you know?
• 31:13
  Like even...
• 31:14
  Like a lot of people probably don't understand that, but like she's been along for the ride the whole time too.
• 31:20
  And a couple of times I was like, I'm done, you know, like this will be the last year.
• 31:28
  And then, you know, she kind of like didn't really respond or it wasn't, there wasn't really an interaction of like, okay, you know, like, so then I'm kind of like,
• 31:39
  you do understand what I just said.
• 31:41
  Right.
• 31:43
  And then, and then recently, um, you know, finally I just was like, babe, like this is, this is it, you know, like, uh, she wasn't going to be at this race.
• 31:54
  And I told her, and I said, Ellie, I'm announcing to the world that this is going to be my final year, uh, racing.
• 32:01
  I think you should come to the race.
• 32:04
  And, uh, and she's like, so you're like, this is it.
• 32:07
  Yeah.
• 32:09
  So it was, it was funny.
• 32:12
  Um, so I'm excited for her to obviously be here and enjoy that moment.
• 32:16
  But, um, but yeah, like it is, I want to, um, how would I put it?
• 32:23
  Like, it's like, you know, my era.
• 32:24
  So it's like Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant.
• 32:28
  um, Jimmy Johnson, Hore, Casey, all these people that are, you know, recently announcing retirement or, you know, Casey a couple of years ago, but it's like, you're the error that you, you know, that, that is your error.
• 32:43
  Like your, your heroes outside of my sport that are my age are announcing retirement.
• 32:49
  And every time I watched one, I'm like,
• 32:52
  you know, like it would just, it would hit home a little bit and a little bit more.
• 32:55
  And then the next person, and I, I recently had a back and forth conversation with Jimmy Johnson the other day.
• 33:01
  And, um, you know, I watched his, his Instagram message, you know, announcing that 2020 will be his final year.
• 33:08
  Um, you know, and I kind of seen that coming a little bit.
• 33:11
  Um, and just, yeah, like kind of like,
• 33:15
  my conversation with him was like, there was a lot of understanding of like the same things he was feeling.
• 33:20
  I was feeling and I, you know, I obviously I told him and shared with him that this was, I was going to announce it here.
• 33:25
  Um, so yeah, it's just, it makes me happy, I guess, you know, like that, the generation that you, you know, that I raised are all, it's all coming to an end.
• 33:34
  So it's kind of like an, an end of an era for me in life.
• 33:37
  Yeah.
• 33:38
  Sure, it will have every kind of emotion for you, mate, from, you know, as I've said in the podcast here, I can fondly remember the young kid racing down under before he went and took on the world.
• 33:50
  The things that you have achieved, mate, you, you know, you're a great Aussie success story, sporting and, you know, beyond that, mate, and from motocross to all the things you've done in the American Supercross scene, mate, congratulations.
• 34:05
  Yeah.
• 34:06
  You're a proud family man as well, but I hope you get to enjoy the moment and have a fantastic 2020.
• 34:11
  And thank you.
• 34:12
  Thanks, Rusty.
• 34:13
  I mean, it's been just kind of like building over the last couple of years and it just seemed like the timing wasn't right.
• 34:22
  You know, like there was, I hadn't found what was next.
• 34:26
  And I think I, you know, told you maybe not on this, but I always said that,
• 34:32
  Why ever I'm thinking of motorcycle racing, then I feel like I should do it, you know, and do it to the fullest.
• 34:39
  And I don't care if the result isn't what it once was.
• 34:45
  But I always I always wanted to do it because I could because, you know, like like a really good friend of mine, Jeff Ward, um,
• 34:53
  Jeff's 50 plus years old, 56, I think, 56, 57.
• 34:59
  And you go ride with him on a motorcycle, on a mountain bike.
• 35:03
  I spend, you know, some time around him.
• 35:04
  And the guy's just a beast.
• 35:07
  And, like, somebody that you look at and you're like...
• 35:10
  Like, that's what I want to do because he, yeah, okay, he's 58, but he doesn't act 58.
• 35:19
  And he always said to me, just like, and I would imagine that he has that reality of, you know, he's just like,
• 35:27
  dude, do it while you can, because you don't get to go back, you know?
• 35:31
  And especially at 37, next year I'll be 38.
• 35:34
  Like, I don't get to retire for a year and then come back because I'm missing it, you know?
• 35:38
  Like, when I'm done, I'm done.
• 35:41
  And so that's why it's been, I wouldn't say I've been holding on to it, but I did want closure, and I finally have it.
• 35:50
  So I'm proud.
• 35:55
  And I hope to one day soon still be representing the motorsport world in Australia and abroad.
• 36:04
  And then, yeah, like I'll get to live my next dream, which is to drive a race car around Bathurst.
• 36:11
  That's some stuff, mate.
• 36:12
  It's been great to chat with you.
• 36:13
  Well done on everything you've achieved and good luck with that next phase.
• 36:16
  Thank you.
• 36:16
  Cheers, mate.
• 36:16
  Thank you.
• 36:22
  Rusty's Garage is written and presented by me, Greg Rust.
• 36:26
  Series producer and editor is Alex Mitchell.
• 36:29
  Audio production by Darcy Thompson.
• 36:38
  Listener.