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The Motorsport Brief | The Juice, Jayden Ojeda · Rusty's Garage

• 0:04
  Welcome to the Motorsport Brief.
• 0:05
  As the season of endurance gets underway in supercars, there's a couple of rising stars to watch.
• 0:10
  Today, we're going to talk to one of them.
• 0:15
  G'day everyone, Rusty here.
• 0:16
  Shortly to Jadon Ojeda, and I am pleased that we are finally getting him on the pod for the very first time.
• 0:21
  The Juice, as he's affectionately known, is doing some great things both internationally in sports car or GT racing.
• 0:27
  But he is back with Walkinshaw and Dreddy United and paired with one of the hottest properties in the pit lane at the moment in Ryan Wood.
• 0:35
  They are a good combo.
• 0:37
  Now, we've also previewed the Sunraiser Safari in recent days in another epithet shortcast.
• 0:42
  Dean and Rob Herridge joined us for that.
• 0:44
  You can find their feature eps in our library.
• 0:46
  But they are taking Subarus, including a new WRX, on this gruelling 1200km cross-country rally on the edge of the desert in New South Wales along parts of the South Australian border.
• 0:58
  It is incredible countryside.
• 1:00
  Longest rally of its kind on the Australian motorsport calendar.
• 1:04
  There's bikes competing there too and a whole lot more.
• 1:06
  And also in the field is a former winner in Tony Quinn in a beast, a Dakar spec VA power at Navara.
• 1:14
  Now, we know how much all of you enjoy a TQ catch-up.
• 1:17
  He was in great form.
• 1:18
  He's in the second half of that short cast with the Herridges.
• 1:22
  He talks about his grandson, Ryder's impressive drive in GT4 last weekend.
• 1:26
  To our guest today, he has done the hard yards, and the climb really is continuing in many respects.
• 1:33
  He's shown a level of...
• 1:34
  professionalism that the next wave of young racers could really learn on.
• 1:38
  He won the GT World Challenge race last Sunday at the Bend.
• 1:42
  He's in good form going into the 500.
• 1:44
  Jaden, congratulations and thank you for joining us.
• 1:47
  Yeah, thanks for having me on Rusty.
• 1:49
  I'm looking forward to it.
• 1:50
  It was great for Paul Lucitti, who you're paired with, and the crew from Tugani, that first win for Mercedes on Australian soil, if you like, this year.
• 2:00
  You look like you actively coach Paul on the run over the course of the race weekend and even during the one-hour races proper over the radio.
• 2:07
  Do you do that and do you enjoy that?
• 2:10
  Yeah, obviously awesome to get the win with Paul.
• 2:14
  Super, super special for him and the team.
• 2:16
  Obviously, we won the Sydney three-hour last year, but this is our first sprint win together.
• 2:21
  And for me, it's been a massive project of mine, obviously now driving for the second year with Paul.
• 2:26
  And for a guy that's very fresh into motorsport, it's just so awesome to really put your arm around him and sort of nurture him through.
• 2:34
  And to see them get results like this is obviously super special and...
• 2:39
  It's awesome to be part of projects and especially when you're getting results and seeing improvements, it really makes you appreciate what you do and feel very lucky to be a part of it as well.
• 2:49
  You're with the Mercedes-AMG family nowadays, but you did a bit of coaching for kind of the next generation via Motorsport Australia at Sepang in recent years, laying down benchmark times for the Ferrari Academy juniors.
• 3:04
  Tell us about that role and kind of giving back already at such a young age in your own career.
• 3:10
  Yeah, coaching for me has been something I've really done since I was about 18, even though I was only sort of in Formula 4, Super 3 at that point.
• 3:19
  I started coaching already.
• 3:20
  Initially, it was to make sort of a quick dollar, obviously, which didn't complete university or anything like that.
• 3:27
  So that was sort of the easiest way I could sort of get some money coming back in.
• 3:31
  But I really took to it and really enjoyed it and just love giving back to the sport in whatever way.
• 3:37
  I can and to see people get success and feel like you're part of someone else's journey is like an awesome rewarding feeling so it's um it's definitely something that fills up my cup.
• 3:46
  The Merck announcement came in December last year um tell us kind of about the lead-up to that where you found out and perhaps what really helped get it over the line and secure it.
• 3:56
  Yeah, the GT stuff for me has always been something that's definitely taken my interest.
• 4:00
  But being from Australia, obviously, it's a very far away place from the epicenter of Europe for GT.
• 4:08
  So sort of bridging that gap was always quite difficult.
• 4:12
  And it sort of only came about a little bit left field where I was looking for a program to sort of keep myself busy in 2023 and managed to find my way into a...
• 4:20
  an AMG here in Australia and then sort of met the right people along the way.
• 4:24
  You know, a massive influence over me getting the AMG stuff was Matthew Harvey, who I still work very closely with now.
• 4:31
  And we work together on a lot of the AMGs that I drive throughout the world.
• 4:35
  So he was the person that sort of helped me get it all across the line and really teed it all together.
• 4:40
  So...
• 4:41
  And it's one of those things that sometimes it's not what you know.
• 4:45
  It's really who you know.
• 4:46
  And it just shows when I was bashing down the door of supercars for so long and trying to make that break.
• 4:53
  Something that I was just using as a placeholder really took off and really elevated.
• 4:57
  And along the way, it was never easy.
• 5:00
  It definitely had its difficulties.
• 5:03
  And it was just awesome to sort of keep pursuing it and keep pushing it.
• 5:07
  And I took a real...
• 5:09
  I backed Matthew at the end of that 2023 year.
• 5:11
  He said, look, give me 12 months of trying to make this happen for you.
• 5:15
  Believe in me and getting you into AMG.
• 5:17
  And I opted to do that.
• 5:19
  So I passed on a couple of supercar opportunities there and said, okay, I'm going to give this AMG thing a 12-month go, which was last year in 2024.
• 5:27
  And by December, obviously got the announcement that I was an AMG junior.
• 5:31
  So, you know, 18 months after the first time driving a GT3 car to sign with Mercedes AMGs,
• 5:38
  Incredible, incredible feeling.
• 5:41
  This year's been awesome as well and just really enjoying my racing at the moment.
• 5:45
  Great stuff.
• 5:45
  What's been the highlight for you this year in that type of racing?
• 5:50
  Last weekend was pretty special.
• 5:53
  To see – Paul's not one for media and he's obviously quite shy, but he's a great dude.
• 5:58
  He's awesome to be around and he's awesome for our team.
• 6:02
  Just to be a part of something like that and something that he's done all on himself.
• 6:08
  Sure, I gave him the car in the lead, but the safety car straight after the pit stop sequence really nullified that.
• 6:13
  There was no pit stop penalties, whatever.
• 6:15
  So it was all done on merit and he had to really grit his teeth and grind that out.
• 6:19
  So it was just really rewarding to see that for him and his progression.
• 6:24
  He's joy for the sport.
• 6:25
  He's loving it now more than he ever has, which is always enjoyable for us and enjoyable for everyone else around him as well.
• 6:31
  Yeah, really cool result for all of you collectively.
• 6:34
  We're in September now.
• 6:36
  Is 2026 kind of looking good there on the GT side of things and for more racing abroad?
• 6:41
  Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 6:43
  You know, all the stuff at the same day this year has gone really well.
• 6:46
  Obviously done my fair share of stuff here in Australia, but also across into Asia and being fairly busy and been doing well there.
• 6:52
  So for sure the next step for me is to do more, more AMG stuff, which is looking promising.
• 6:58
  Okay, cool.
• 6:59
  Is there a little kind of private wish there, mate, that you'd love to, you know, whether it's a spa or something on the international scene, is there something that's on the wish list?
• 7:09
  Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 7:10
  There's a lot of those bucket list circuits and events that I'd love to do.
• 7:14
  Got to drive Suzuka this year, which was an awesome experience, but for sure getting to spa and especially spa 24 or the big 24-hour races is something that's on, I think, everyone, every GT driver's bucket list.
• 7:24
  So for sure, it's at the top of mine as well.
• 7:26
  Good on you.
• 7:27
  All right.
• 7:27
  I know I'm very mindful, mate, that there's probably things in play.
• 7:31
  You've been linked with some things supercar-wise back home here.
• 7:34
  So just, I guess, share what you can if you can.
• 7:38
  Are things looking good for potential more supercars appearances in 26 as well?
• 7:43
  Yeah, let's see.
• 7:44
  Ultimately, I just want to sort through my AMG stuff first because, you know, obviously that's a pretty important part of my life at the moment.
• 7:51
  So work my way through that.
• 7:53
  Obviously, got the supercar Enduros to get through as well with Woody and Walkinshaw and Dreddy United.
• 7:58
  So just full focus into doing my roles for that team and then we'll see what the future comes after that.
• 8:06
  Cool.
• 8:06
  We spoke to Ryan Walkinshaw on the pod recently and he was thrilled that you were back with WAU.
• 8:11
  When did that kind of come back on the radar?
• 8:14
  Yeah, late last year.
• 8:15
  You know, sort of had a good run in the endurance last year and was sort of looking at what was possible and obviously the...
• 8:22
  The announcement of the Toyota stuff was really cool.
• 8:25
  And obviously my relationship with Walkinshaw is pretty strong and I've always stayed pretty closely connected to them even after the wildcard.
• 8:32
  So it sort of was the right fit for me.
• 8:35
  And it's awesome to sort of join back up with the team and it sort of feels like I've never left.
• 8:39
  Beautiful.
• 8:40
  More with Jadon Ojeda right after this.
• 8:45
  This is the Motorsport Brief on the eve of the Bend 500 and through the eyes in some respects of a young racer with great ambition in a good car, playing an important role too during the season of endurance.
• 8:55
  Back to our chat with Jadon Ojeda now.
• 8:58
  Woody, you mentioned a moment ago, ninth in the standings for him, that group around him on the ladder.
• 9:02
  They're all in real close company, mate.
• 9:04
  Do you think about that or is it just focus on each race, focus on the 500, then focus on Bathurst, so to speak?
• 9:11
  Yeah, just play it lap by lap.
• 9:13
  You know, sure, we're racing a few guys there to make it into the final spot, but there's a lot of other cars that will be in our race, no doubt, as well.
• 9:21
  So just take it lap by lap, session by session.
• 9:24
  You know, the biggest thing, obviously, is a lot of points on the table, so just making sure we can get through these two events without dropping a lot of those points or any sort of silly mistakes, just executing good weekends, and then the rest always will sort itself out.
• 9:40
  What's it been like working with Ryan?
• 9:43
  He's a character.
• 9:43
  And how do you kind of best fit in there with he and his team?
• 9:46
  Yeah, it's been good, actually.
• 9:48
  Both Woody and I, we've stayed on.
• 9:50
  Obviously, we both raced against each other this last weekend at Tail and Bend in the GTs.
• 9:55
  So we stayed on in Adelaide for a few days.
• 9:59
  And so it's been fun getting to hang out, talk about, obviously, talk shop, but also just relax and chill out and really just get to enjoy each other's company.
• 10:07
  And, yeah, it's been entertaining.
• 10:10
  He's been cycling up a storm.
• 10:12
  I think he got a special present from Ryan Walkinshaw for some of his results this year.
• 10:16
  But you enjoy cycling, you know, I think probably in Sydney and beyond too, mate.
• 10:21
  Tell us about that side of it.
• 10:22
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 10:25
  When Woody and I found out we're going to be driving with each other, we said, oh, let's bring our bikes to Talon Ben and we'll ride for a couple of days in Adelaide and
• 10:33
  I held up my side of the bargain, but Woody's bike seemed to just stay in Melbourne.
• 10:41
  Funny how that one worked out.
• 10:43
  But no, he's been right into it ever since.
• 10:46
  Obviously, he found out he was going to be getting his –
• 10:48
  he's flashed new bike from, from the boss.
• 10:50
  So, um, yeah, it's been good.
• 10:53
  I love my cycling.
• 10:53
  It's been something that I've been right into.
• 10:55
  Um, you know, just, just become the ambassador for the dementia research community, um, in Sydney who do that Bondi to Berry ride, uh, in November.
• 11:03
  So it's really, really cool to be part of, um, you know, sort of mix my passion, uh, with something that supports a good cause as well.
• 11:10
  So for me, I just enjoy it.
• 11:12
  It's good.
• 11:12
  I don't like running.
• 11:13
  So I guess the next best thing is riding a bike.
• 11:16
  Great stuff.
• 11:16
  I'll get the link off you for that and we'll share it in our app description for that event.
• 11:20
  You've just done two GT races at the Bend last weekend, an hour each, different machinery admittedly.
• 11:26
  But this is new turf in an endurance sense, I guess you could say, for supercars.
• 11:31
  What sort of things are going to be key to a good result in the 500 there, do you reckon?
• 11:35
  Yeah, it's obviously been a little bit since supercars have raced at the Bend and the first time in an enduro format.
• 11:42
  So I think a big thing with Tail and Bend being such a high-speed circuit and obviously quite a big circuit at that as well, like the cars are super sensitive to any bodywork damage.
• 11:53
  So just trying to get through the first parts of the race without copying a hit or giving someone a serving as well because ultimately you're just going to bleed lap time throughout the day.
• 12:05
  Yeah, just staying clear of trouble is probably the big thing.
• 12:08
  I think it will be pretty chaotic.
• 12:10
  Obviously, there's a lot of co-drivers, always differing levels of experience, some veterans, some rookies, and everyone's going to be having a go, obviously, especially those guys that are on the bubble there for the final trying to make it in.
• 12:21
  So, yeah, just avoiding the trouble is probably the big thing.
• 12:25
  And in addition to that, you know, some chat around rule tweaks for safety car speed zones and so on.
• 12:30
  I guess that's probably been a part of a pre-brief conversations with WAU.
• 12:34
  And do you think fans can expect some, you know, some good action there?
• 12:38
  Yeah, it'll be interesting.
• 12:40
  I'm still getting my head across it, obviously working out what the tricks are going to be, as we always are in our sport.
• 12:47
  But things like this always make it exciting.
• 12:50
  It creates opportunity, creates the chance to do something different and really shake things up.
• 12:54
  Good on you.
• 12:55
  I can remember interviewing you many years back.
• 12:58
  How tough has the road been for you until, say, the past year, Jaden?
• 13:02
  And do you feel like you're kind of finally where you should be now?
• 13:05
  Yeah, for sure.
• 13:06
  I think no one's really ever got an orthodox pathway, but for sure mine's been done a little bit differently, but I wouldn't change it or have it any other way.
• 13:16
  Ultimately, everything that I've learned and I guess the driver I am today is because of all the challenges I've faced and obstacles I've had to overcome throughout the way, but ultimately it's been...
• 13:26
  It's been cool.
• 13:27
  I've learned a lot.
• 13:27
  I've matured a lot as a person as well, which I think really helps me as of late deal with challenges and really deal with adversity, which is something I guess that's quite common in our sport.
• 13:39
  And at any level, you're going to deal with it.
• 13:41
  So if you miss out on it, I guess in the younger years of life, you maybe struggle a little bit more coming on later.
• 13:47
  So I feel like I'm really prepared for what's next to come in my career.
• 13:50
  You should be really proud, mate, not just in terms of recent results, but the way that you just articulated what you did.
• 13:56
  The win is the dream.
• 13:57
  What will kind of be the minimum that you'd like to walk away from the 500 with?
• 14:02
  I don't know.
• 14:02
  It's probably, look, ultimately, I want to get Woody into the finals.
• 14:06
  That's obviously a big objective of him and the team.
• 14:09
  So to play my role in achieving that would be awesome.
• 14:13
  But, you know, personally, I just want to walk away and feel like I've done my part and my job and feel like I've upheld my end of the deal as such.
• 14:23
  I'm sure you will.
• 14:23
  It's been great to get you on and tell a little bit of your story today.
• 14:26
  Have a fantastic weekend there in Adelaide.
• 14:28
  Awesome.
• 14:28
  Thanks, mate.
• 14:30
  Woody and the Juice, they are worth a follow this weekend.
• 14:32
  A combo that could really surprise perhaps more than the odds suggest.
• 14:36
  Hope the 500 is a cracking race for supercars.
• 14:39
  Enjoy it, everybody.
• 14:39
  We will catch you next week.
• 14:40
  Bye for now.