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The Motorsport Brief: with Rising Star and Son of a Gun Jack Doohan · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:04
  Welcome to the Motorsport Brief.
• 0:06
  It's Wednesday, the 28th of June, 2023.
• 0:11
  Formula One heads to Austria this weekend.
• 0:14
  F2 and F3 are at Spielberg as well.
• 0:17
  And lots of interest here in the Tasman region on NASCAR, with SVG on the other side of the pond, making his debut stateside in a few days' time.
• 0:27
  The pics on socials that he's been sharing...
• 0:30
  where he's been getting acquainted with the car, a little bit of testing and pit stop practice.
• 0:34
  It looks seriously cool.
• 0:36
  We wish him well there.
• 0:37
  Now, our last edition of The Brief was in the build-up to the Canadian round of F1.
• 0:42
  Oscar Piastri joined us from Montreal.
• 0:45
  Today, you'll meet a young man with ultra-competitive genes waiting in the wings to be our next Australian on the F1 grid.
• 0:54
  MUSIC
• 0:55
  G'day everybody, Greg Rust with you.
• 0:57
  Welcome to another edition of our short cast, the latest long form ep dropped yesterday.
• 1:02
  It is way overdue, but it's been worth the wait.
• 1:06
  Rally legend Neil Bates is our special guest.
• 1:09
  And just like the ep with Jim Reid, the
• 1:12
  international drag racing hall of famer that we published in recent weeks neil's is a three-parter as well it's all there for you to enjoy right now once you've finished here and we recorded that one at neil bates motorsport among some very significant cars from neil's career you'll love that
• 1:30
  By his own admission, the F2 season hasn't gone to plan for Jack Doohan.
• 1:35
  Still, the son of five-time 500cc world motorcycle champion Mick Doohan remains upbeat.
• 1:42
  He's found ways to kind of squirrel away some points against the odds, while Jack's teammate is yet to even get some on the board.
• 1:51
  There's been a fundamental issue with the car that prevented Jack from continuing the kind of form in F2 that we saw from him last season.
• 1:59
  That and a frightening fire at Monaco are things that he wants to leave in the rearview mirror.
• 2:05
  The last round in Spain was more confidence-inspiring ahead of the second half of this F2 season.
• 2:12
  At 20 years of age, Jack already has a lot of miles under his belt, but on four wheels, not two like his old man.
• 2:21
  An Australian karting champion, Jack was top three in Europe, top six in the world, before he moved from karts to cars in his mid-teens.
• 2:30
  There is a runner-up, or what some call vice champion in Formula 3, where he won several races.
• 2:36
  He proudly got to compete at home when F2 came to Albert Park for the first time this year.
• 2:42
  And he is a member of the Alpine Academy and the F1 team's reserve driver this year.
• 2:48
  I'm pleased to say that we finally got him on Rusty's Garage today for the first time.
• 2:55
  Jack, welcome to the podcast.
• 2:57
  Thank you very much for having me.
• 2:59
  It's been a while coming, but glad to be finally here.
• 3:03
  I'm glad you're on.
• 3:04
  Righto, let's take listeners to what your morning looks like on race week.
• 3:10
  If I know you, there'll have been a bit of fitness involved.
• 3:13
  What's the regime like a couple of days out from a race?
• 3:17
  It really depends where we're heading.
• 3:22
  Usually on a Tuesday if we're going to a flyaway, say to the UAE or if I'm going on a reserve roll weekend to the US or anywhere else, I'd be flying out today.
• 3:35
  It would be this morning on a Tuesday, say for this week, heading to Austria.
• 3:39
  We're still...
• 3:40
  We'll be training quite hard on a Tuesday, usually only single session, so mid-morning.
• 3:47
  After this, I'll head and do quite a bit of cardio, do about an hour of running.
• 3:53
  And then no strength training today, just a little bit of...
• 3:56
  A little bit of neck, nothing too strenuous.
• 3:59
  And then tomorrow would just be a light session in the morning as we're heading then into the travel, into the afternoon.
• 4:07
  And then not much really on Thursday.
• 4:09
  We're at the track from mid morning onwards.
• 4:11
  So it kind of gets quite hectic from then on in.
• 4:14
  So we tried to, you know, for me, keep it as chill as possible so that I'm in a nice mind, a frame of mind going into the weekend.
• 4:22
  I like that word hectic because if I know you, your resting heart rate is insane.
• 4:27
  What sort of resting heart rate at the moment for you?
• 4:29
  Come on.
• 4:32
  I'd say at lowest 38 and on average probably 40, 41 at the moment.
• 4:36
  But...
• 4:41
  Yeah, it varies quite a bit, especially when I'm getting back from some jet lag and so on.
• 4:47
  And not quite 100% myself.
• 4:50
  I can be up to 44 after a bad night's sleep or not really in my correct working window.
• 4:56
  But once I'm in a few days of good sleep and good health, yeah, down around that 38 to 41.
• 5:03
  Your good mate, Brock Feeney, gave me a little message ahead of this chat.
• 5:07
  He says, you really put in the hard yards more than people perhaps realise.
• 5:13
  You enjoy that side of it and your commitment on that side of it is immense, Jack.
• 5:18
  Have you always had that?
• 5:19
  And I mean, I know what your dad was like.
• 5:21
  Is that a natural thing or a learned thing?
• 5:24
  Where did that come from?
• 5:25
  I think I obviously enjoy training but also having such an amazing role model as my father and someone who's been through it all and knows what it takes to win and dominate at the highest level of motorsport.
• 5:43
  He's passed down all his advice in all areas.
• 5:48
  as much as he could on, you know, really what it takes to do that.
• 5:53
  And in all areas, such as, you know, physical and mental, and making sure that I'm, you know, in the perfect possible and best possible condition in those areas to make sure that, you know, I leave nothing on the table for going and hopping into the car or going in there, you know, putting myself in a position to try and do somewhat of what he did better on four wheels.
• 6:17
  Grand Prix racing two or four wheel is a brutal business.
• 6:20
  So to have someone like him who's walked that road and knows what the people and the game is like is immensely helpful.
• 6:28
  But I guess as you grow here, mate, too, you probably need to kind of stand on your own two feet, knowing that you love your dad and you want him in your corner, but to have that sort of independence at the same time, have you had to walk that road, the pair of you, a little bit?
• 6:42
  I think it's a natural process for us and especially at the moment as well, transitioning from a kid to a teenager, to a young adult.
• 7:03
  myself as well maturing more and more and having more involvement into my own career.
• 7:10
  Still obviously very much with Dad, but naturally I'm becoming more independent.
• 7:18
  you know dad will always be there um always be in my corner i think you know always be at the track because uh you know i i can think of it for myself as well when i grow up and when i'm getting older being at a racetrack almost for every weekend of your life going forward and then for a moment for that just to stop i don't think it would be possible so at at any moment that'll be able to you know be at a track and and you know like dad supporting his son with me um i'm sure you know
• 7:48
  Give us a report card on the season so far.
• 7:52
  And my question, if I can extend it a little bit, Jack, and your dad kind of gave me this insight ahead of our discussion today.
• 8:01
  He said, your focus, you're 100% committed to the sport and despite the tough season, you have looked and found positives.
• 8:11
  That's been important, mate, hasn't it?
• 8:13
  And it could turn around in the coming races because we're off to some great tracks, aren't we?
• 8:17
  Yeah, you know, we're still at halfway point in the season and there's still a long way to go.
• 8:25
  It hasn't been ideal and at the end of last year I was in a great place, very good with the car and the team and we were in an amazing package together.
• 8:37
  And, you know, still there still is that possibility.
• 8:40
  It hasn't exactly obviously come together for this year.
• 8:45
  But, yeah, I tried to then dissect it.
• 8:48
  Obviously, it was issues were outside of my control, but I was able to.
• 8:52
  to find some underlying small areas where potentially I can better myself mentally and just on my approach, my mindset for when these things are going wrong.
• 9:04
  And unfortunately, it wasn't really as I expected or as I wanted.
• 9:09
  So I tried to come out of it in a better place.
• 9:13
  And the last two rounds have been, since we've found
• 9:19
  The prominent issue have been slightly better, still not where I want them to be, but I'm hoping that step by step with the team we can get back to that place and really people have been asking about the championship, if I still think it's possible or what not.
• 9:36
  I think anything's possible regardless, but I just want to try and maximize my potential, the car's potential and really
• 9:46
  you know, go out and try and dominate, try and win and do the best results possible towards the end of the year.
• 9:51
  And, you know, that will be just doing what I can with what I've got in that time frame.
• 9:57
  Don't necessarily give away specifics, but what you've found or perhaps unlocked as we head to Austria this weekend, do you feel like you might be in a great place?
• 10:07
  And the British round is just around the corner at another famous track too, Jack?
• 10:11
  Yeah, you know, it won't be...
• 10:14
  I'm hoping, I don't think it's possible that it'll be like what it was before Monaco, with what we found in Barcelona.
• 10:22
  That was a fundamental issue that should 100% be solved.
• 10:27
  So we should be back in the window.
• 10:30
  It's now just a fine-tuning...
• 10:34
  fine-tuning the package to make sure we can get back to that race winning.
• 10:38
  I think the qualifying pace is quite close, it's quite well back where I had it, but just getting the race car back on management and comfortability to where I needed to be because essentially we lost...
• 10:54
  six rounds of the year plus three days of testing in Bahrain just because something wasn't right so we're working in a direction which was completely away from where I had it all last year, where I liked it, just trying to solve something which was quite strange because you're thinking that was going in the direction to find some confidence and but it was moving so far away from what was normal and unfortunately we just lost all that time and
• 11:21
  and that preparation to really get on top of any small adjustments that's been made to the championship, to the tyres, to anything for this year.
• 11:30
  But yeah, I'm sure we can get to the bottom of it.
• 11:32
  I've been working hard.
• 11:33
  I'm sure the team have.
• 11:34
  So I'm looking forward to this weekend and we have four races in five weeks.
• 11:40
  So hopefully we can come out of it on the better side.
• 11:45
  Are you enjoying the reserve driver role with Alpine as well?
• 11:48
  I think just in recent days, you've got back from Canada, for example.
• 11:52
  How much learning has there been in all of that?
• 11:54
  And what have you enjoyed the most about that so far?
• 11:57
  Yeah, I really enjoy being a part of the team and really getting to know everyone and involving myself in that environment and really trying to...
• 12:09
  The end goal is obviously to be on that full-time grid and to be there with Alpine as well.
• 12:14
  As much as I can familiarize myself with the team, with all the engineers, and with the mechanics and trying to embed myself within the team, when that time comes it's going to be such a natural transition.
• 12:29
  It already does feel like I've been there for quite some time.
• 12:33
  being able to sit on the console in the garage and have all the tools and ears to listen over and to see everything it's quite cool for myself to see that from an outside perspective something that I wouldn't be able to do during the session if I was in the car so it's all great learning for me and I really like being able to prepare myself and hopefully put myself in that position
• 13:02
  to be as ready and best prepared as possible to hop in the car.
• 13:06
  A quick break here on the Motorsport Brief.
• 13:08
  We will have more in just a few moments.
• 13:14
  For this edition of the Rusty's Garage Shortcast, we're delighted to be joined by Jack Doohan, ahead of this weekend's F1 round at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, where he will be on standby for the Alpine team and continuing his F2 campaign.
• 13:29
  Let's get back to the convo now.
• 13:32
  It's a busy back end of the year, as you rightly point out from an F2 perspective.
• 13:37
  The dream is to be on that Formula One grid.
• 13:40
  We would love that.
• 13:41
  Is that still a possibility for next year or are you just focused on F2 for now and what will be will be in terms of the game of kind of musical chairs in F1?
• 13:51
  Exactly, yeah.
• 13:54
  With being realistic, I haven't had the first half of the season that would really prompt that.
• 14:02
  Luckily, the team know what I can do.
• 14:05
  I'm testing the A521 car and all of that goes really, really well.
• 14:10
  So they know my potential.
• 14:12
  They saw what I could do last year.
• 14:14
  But yeah, it hasn't really put anything on the line.
• 14:19
  So I haven't been focusing about that.
• 14:21
  I've really been full focus on
• 14:23
  on my Formula 2 campaign.
• 14:26
  I'm hoping that I can have a great second half of the season.
• 14:29
  And like I said, really just try and go out and win as many races as possible.
• 14:33
  And the musical chairs will sort themselves out.
• 14:36
  And if the stars align, then amazing.
• 14:38
  But if not, yeah, my eyes are, to be honest, really not even looking anywhere near there at the moment.
• 14:44
  I'm full focus on Austria and take it almost day by day.
• 14:50
  It seems like yesterday you were a little tacker at your mum and dad's and you've had this meteoric rise through karting and so on, mate.
• 14:57
  I mean, just to get to that moment where this youngster from the Gold Coast actually got to drive an F1 car for the first time, that must have been mind-blowing, was it?
• 15:05
  Yeah, it was super cool and guitar.
• 15:08
  My first ever time in an F1 car, in a 2021 car.
• 15:10
  It was an awesome feeling, you know, leaving the pit lane, but then it was also a,
• 15:15
  completely new amount of emotions when I was in Mexico for my first FP1.
• 15:22
  And sitting in the car, having the monitors there with, you know, the data that will be there on the left screen, and then the live stream of the session on the right, and seeing my name there with, you know, with all the drivers.
• 15:36
  It was something, you know, really, really cool and really special.
• 15:40
  So that was, you know, that's a moment that I won't forget.
• 15:44
  hopefully can make it become a reality soon.
• 15:48
  Awesome.
• 15:48
  Will you be rubbing shoulders with Hollywood heavyweights?
• 15:51
  Now that Ryan Reynolds is a part investor in the Alpine team and stuff, I mean, he's done some terrific things in soccer or football, hasn't he?
• 16:00
  So, I mean, that's a positive move, a positive involvement from them.
• 16:06
  For sure.
• 16:06
  I think, um, any way to benefit the team, um, you know, will be, will be great if possible.
• 16:14
  Um, and, you know, in my shoes really there's not much, um, you know, for now, uh, not being a full-time driver or, um, you know, I don't know.
• 16:24
  It would be great, great to see Ryan at the track, of course.
• 16:27
  Um, it seems like a very funny bloke.
• 16:29
  Um, but, uh, yeah, you know, hopefully you can only do great things for the team, uh, really.
• 16:34
  And, um,
• 16:36
  yeah, would be any benefit that him and the investors can bring to the team will be great.
• 16:42
  Couple to finish here, mate.
• 16:45
  Daniel Ricciardo, who I know you've spent a bit of time with, he loves UFC.
• 16:48
  We've seen Oscar Piastri hanging out with the cricketers, with the Ashes and so on.
• 16:53
  You sound like you're all in motor racing.
• 16:55
  Are there other sports that take your interest, either in a participation sense or in a spectator sense, that give you a little breather from all of this?
• 17:03
  Yeah, exactly.
• 17:04
  You know, the full, all sorts of motorsport, 100%.
• 17:09
  So I don't miss a MotoGP session, to be honest.
• 17:14
  Excellent.
• 17:14
  Moto2, Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP.
• 17:17
  I don't miss a race weekend.
• 17:19
  I might miss an FP3 or something like that, but I try and usually watch as many as I can.
• 17:25
  I'm really into my surfing.
• 17:27
  So, you know, I'm not watching every quarterfinal, but I usually try and always watch the semis and the finals and surfing.
• 17:36
  Watching the state of origin as well.
• 17:39
  Growing up, I was really into my rugby and watching rugby league.
• 17:44
  A little bit more difficult when it isn't just on the telly at night here.
• 17:49
  but to be able to keep an eye on something like that.
• 17:51
  But yeah, at the moment I'm not really in a position to be going out and hanging out with the cricketers and the tennis players.
• 18:00
  And Oscar's done amazing to get himself into that position and to be having those sort of connections.
• 18:08
  But hopefully that's coming for me in the future.
• 18:12
  the queenslanders have done well in origin mate i know you'd be very proud of those queensland colors just to to finish here you got to drive as a part of being home for formula two as a part of the australian grand prix this year and so on you got to drive a supercar with my my tv colleague molly taylor thomas randall loaned you the keys what the heck did you did you think of that was that good fun
• 18:37
  Yeah, no, it was really good fun.
• 18:40
  Because it had actually been raining in the morning, the main circuit we didn't get to drive on, which was a little bit disappointing, because I would have loved to have been able to drive it in dry conditions around a proper track, but we still got to drive it around.
• 18:52
  You know, the quiet, it's, to be honest, a quite hectic oval with different lines of banking and in the wet, so it was really cool.
• 19:02
  What wasn't too cool was when I was in the passenger seat of Pierre, not really knowing how he was going to go in it and what level he was going at.
• 19:12
  But yeah, it was a really cool experience.
• 19:14
  I'd never driven a supercar before.
• 19:16
  So yeah, it would be cool to properly give one a go around somewhere special soon because I really enjoyed it.
• 19:22
  So thanks to Thomas as well for having that confidence because that was his race car for the weekend.
• 19:28
  So yeah.
• 19:28
  Yeah.
• 19:30
  um definitely some confidence in us to make sure we weren't gonna wreck it cool single seaters is the focus i would love to think one day that the names feeney and do and might be on the side of a supercar at baptist mate i reckon that'd be a a great story in the in the years to come i reckon it would let's finish with the the the myriad of races that you're about to go into it's going to be a very busy period the focus is f2 when will you get to jump in an f1 car again how far away before you you get to drive one again
• 19:59
  I would, I don't know a confirmed date, but it will be back end of the season.
• 20:05
  As you know, it's still an important time at the moment, you know, for...
• 20:09
  for development and for the team focusing on this year and really trying to make sure they have a dominant and good package underneath them for the back end of the season.
• 20:22
  But yeah, when that kind of all gets frozen as such, then similar timing as last year as the FB1s that I'm...
• 20:32
  needing to take part of in tour with them will come about.
• 20:35
  So I really look forward to that.
• 20:37
  You know, feeling more comfortable than ever in a Formula 1 car as well.
• 20:41
  And, you know, so much more comfortable than I was at the back end of last season.
• 20:45
  So I really look forward to that and getting back in and, yeah, participating in those.
• 20:50
  We look forward to it too, mate.
• 20:52
  We're proud of what you're doing.
• 20:54
  Sounds like you've unlocked a little something from an F2 perspective here.
• 20:57
  So we hope the back-end races here from Spielberg to Silverstone and Spa, which I know you love, goes super well for you.
• 21:05
  Have a strong end of the year.
• 21:06
  And thank you very much for coming on and talking to us today.
• 21:08
  No worries.
• 21:09
  Thank you so much.
• 21:09
  Really, really appreciate it.
• 21:11
  And, yeah, hopefully speak again soon.
• 21:14
  Beneath his easygoing exterior is a fiercely driven young man.
• 21:19
  Remind you of his dad, maybe?
• 21:21
  So good that we could get him on the pod today.
• 21:23
  That quieter, almost gentle nature that filtered through the conversation actually masks the heart of a really serious competitor who goes the extra mile and doesn't just rely on talent.
• 21:36
  I really admire that commitment.
• 21:38
  A quick thanks to Lee Hannitschek from Karting Australia to Brock Feeney and to Mick for the pregame info there.
• 21:44
  And we look forward to getting Jack back on again at some stage.
• 21:48
  Before we go, a couple of quick things that caught our eye.
• 21:51
  Our shout-outs.
• 21:52
  Looks like common sense may prevail around Joey Mawson getting the right...
• 21:56
  tick of approval to race in the supercars enduro.
• 21:59
  That's good news.
• 22:00
  Hopefully it gets rubber stamped.
• 22:02
  Crazily, he doesn't quite meet the current criteria.
• 22:05
  Can you believe it?
• 22:06
  Now, you may recall this is a bloke who battled Mick Schumacher for the German F4 crown some years ago.
• 22:12
  He's currently on course for a third straight gold star back home in Australia.
• 22:17
  That is a very prestigious honour, having starred in the powerful S5000 open wheel class.
• 22:24
  MotoGP legend Mark Marquez appears to be at something of a crossroads.
• 22:28
  The six-time champion hasn't seen the finish of a race so far this season.
• 22:33
  Injuries, some controversy and rumours about whether he'll stay at Honda, despite how committed he is to their program when questioned by the press, does he need a change of scene?
• 22:45
  What do you reckon?
• 22:47
  Bit going on in Cam Waters' world, Tickford clearly want to keep their star driver, but is he fenced in and will he stay?
• 22:54
  There's been rumours of interest from 888 if SVG ultimately decides on pursuing new challenges, although he is committed to 2024 there now.
• 23:04
  And there's been links...
• 23:05
  between Cam and Walkinshaw and Dready United as well.
• 23:08
  So should he stay, should he go?
• 23:09
  I'd love to know what you think.
• 23:11
  No word from Supercars as yet on any parity adjustments.
• 23:15
  A review has been triggered after the Darwin round with the Ford Camp feeling the strain of what they believe is Camaro domination.
• 23:23
  Nice for Matt Stone Racing and Jack LeBrock to join the 2023 winners list up there at Hidden Valley as well.
• 23:30
  Now, congrats to Nick Cassidy.
• 23:32
  Man, this Kiwi has some talent.
• 23:35
  He charged from 10th place to win the Portland E-Prix for Formula E and is now just one point off the series lead, heading into the penultimate round in Rome in a fortnight.
• 23:45
  He is a weapon in just about anything he drives.
• 23:49
  And finally, congrats to my colleague, Chad Nalon, the Supercars commentator.
• 23:53
  and most recent winner of their media award, has absolutely hit it out of the park this past week while broadcasting at the eSports Olympics in Singapore.
• 24:05
  There you go.
• 24:05
  We don't just make world-class drivers and riders in this neck of the woods.
• 24:11
  Great work there, mate.
• 24:12
  That is it for this edition of the Motorsport Brief.
• 24:14
  I'm Greg Rust.
• 24:15
  We'll catch you next time, everybody.
• 24:16
  Bye for now.