Latest / Rusty's Garage / Cameron Donald (Part 2)

Transcript

Cameron Donald (Part 2) · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:19
  G'day, it's Rusty here.
• 0:20
  All set for part two of my podcast with Aussie Isle of Man TT winner Cam Donald.
• 0:25
  If you've arrived at the start of lap two here, part two, you have missed some absolute gold that you'll really enjoy, even if you're not into bikes.
• 0:34
  Jump back to the Rusty's Garage Library and hit the starter on part one.
• 0:38
  From his early years in Warrandyte on the outskirts of Melbourne to racing in places like Macau in Asia and some fabulous insights on riding and conquering one of the most dangerous races in the world.
• 0:52
  Cam has this way of being able to take you there in his storytelling, and we will continue that combo now in part two.
• 1:00
  We begin with the awe in which the race is held among constituents, people like Mark Webber, for example, who've been there, and the way the organisers have retained a bit of the old-school flavour as the bikes and the event business continue to evolve.
• 1:16
  Yeah, they really get it.
• 1:17
  I think they get it with the history and the way the paddock, you don't need a paddock pass.
• 1:22
  You know, most of the paddock is grass.
• 1:24
  You walk around and you can go from the factory teams with the factory mechanics and all their data loggers and technicians, and you can literally walk 100 metres down the paddock.
• 1:34
  And there's mum and dad in the old transit with a caravan and an awning, literally.
• 1:39
  And they're there for two weeks, week of practice, week of racing.
• 1:44
  And, you know, and there's a laundromat at the toilet block because people do their washing.
• 1:48
  And next to the race, the leather's hanging up and there's, you know, towels on the line.
• 1:53
  it's like a time warp.
• 1:54
  And that's the beautiful thing about it that everyone appreciates.
• 1:56
  And, and if you're in motorsport, I remember, um, Scafie came over and did a, a story.
• 2:02
  Um, yeah.
• 2:04
  And, and it was great.
• 2:04
  Oh, it was funny.
• 2:05
  I was never a fan of Scafie in touring cars when I have my favorites, but I really got along so well with him.
• 2:11
  And when we did a lap in the car together, you know, he got it.
• 2:13
  Same reason racing Bathurst, you know, why would you want to take on that extra danger, but that extra thrill and the challenge for a rider, for a mechanic, uh,
• 2:23
  to get a car a bike to survive what those street circuits do to is that's such a big element of um challenge and satisfaction when you do get a result the busy nature of race weeks over there and you being immersed in it as a as a rider means you probably park a bit of that a bit of that stuff but when you've been commentating or working on the broadcast is that has that hit you
• 2:46
  Yeah, massively.
• 2:47
  And I always try to get out with the other commentators early in the week before the hard work starts and go to a few of my favourite spots to watch.
• 2:53
  And, yeah, I sit there now and I think, how did I do it?
• 2:57
  Sometimes, you know, and people are like, oh, do you miss it?
• 3:00
  And I'm like, I miss the excitement, but I don't miss those sleepless nights.
• 3:05
  You know, you get up to go to the toilet at 1 o'clock in the morning and then you realise what you're about to do that day and you're just like, bing, you're not going back to sleep, you know.
• 3:12
  And the more I did it, the harder that got.
• 3:15
  it's pretty heavy duty, you know.
• 3:16
  So I love that excitement and I love now, I see so much and I've learned a lot too and I wish I knew that watching the other riders because you do get so immersed in your own effort there.
• 3:27
  You overlook a lot of things and you definitely overlook how hard it is for the people that are close to you.
• 3:33
  That's for sure.
• 3:34
  You know, I mean, especially back in the day, not a lot of internet too.
• 3:37
  Dad was, he'd have to go around to a friend's house to sit up to try to listen to TT radio or look at the results.
• 3:42
  You know, and I'd go off the timing screen and he wouldn't,
• 3:45
  he wouldn't know.
• 3:46
  I just think I remember once a 600 popped up on the mountain in a race and I went into the little Marshall Hut and I said, can I use the phone?
• 3:54
  And they're like, no, it's a satellite phone.
• 3:55
  It's for emergency only.
• 3:56
  And I'm like, okay.
• 3:57
  And they walked back out the front of the hut and I just, I couldn't believe it.
• 4:01
  I dialed the dialing code and I rang Dad Nance and he was around at Tingates in Wonga Park here sitting up
• 4:07
  you know, sinking a bottle of whiskey, I think, trying to keep his net.
• 4:10
  And I said, don't worry, Dad, 600.
• 4:11
  It's shit itself.
• 4:12
  I'm fine, blah, blah, blah.
• 4:13
  Thanks, mate.
• 4:14
  One of the marshals came in.
• 4:15
  What are you doing?
• 4:15
  I was like, see you, Dad.
• 4:17
  But after that, I'd always, yeah, I'd, you know, I know Dad's mobile.
• 4:22
  And if I broke down the side of the road, I'd ring my dad or one of my best mates back here.
• 4:25
  I'd say, can I borrow a phone or send a text?
• 4:28
  Just to let them know.
• 4:29
  Because, yeah, it's hard.
• 4:30
  It's hard when you...
• 4:31
  You can't see the track.
• 4:32
  You don't know where people are.
• 4:33
  And now doing the commentary job and being involved in other riders, it's really hit home how hard that is when you're on the other side of it, sitting there and someone goes off the timing screen and you're like, that's a bad section of track, you know, and you're hoping it's a mechanical or...
• 4:47
  But again, that's part of the excitement and the beauty of it too.
• 4:50
  When you first did it as that newcomer and had that great result, I think you thought, I'm going to do this just for a few years.
• 4:57
  Did you set yourself a target and was it a numbers game in your mind?
• 5:01
  Did you think, you know, I'm addicted to this, I want to conquer it, but I'm acutely aware of, you know, if you keep coming back, the risks are there.
• 5:12
  Yeah, always knew it was a numbers game.
• 5:15
  So I'll give it three years and see where I'd end up.
• 5:17
  Second year, I went back and rode for Yul Duncan, who was an ex-top rider that ran his own team in Northern Ireland with some local transport company, Robinson Concrete and Wilson Craig.
• 5:28
  They were this conglomerate.
• 5:29
  And they'd gone and bought the ex-Team Honda Britain Superbikes and 600 bikes that were ridden at the time by...
• 5:36
  I think it might have been, it wasn't Jonathan Ray, Carl Harris, really good riders.
• 5:40
  So top quality machinery.
• 5:43
  And I went back my first year on a super bike and my second year at the TT.
• 5:47
  And in the senior, I ended up running second in the senior to John.
• 5:52
  And I actually broke the lap record during the race.
• 5:55
  It's 128 and a half mile an hour.
• 5:57
  John broke it by about a second and a half the next lap.
• 5:59
  But still to do that,
• 6:01
  and come so close my first year on a superbike.
• 6:03
  And when I look back, I'd honestly say that was my, the achievement I'm the most proudest of.
• 6:09
  My second year, how I got away with that too, when I look back at some of the things I was doing on a superbike, and I was... What do you mean?
• 6:16
  You know, I would not hesitate and...
• 6:19
  hitting two wheels into a curb.
• 6:21
  Like really, it was John that scared me, he said, you know, leave yourself a foot, mate.
• 6:26
  Like unless there's a win on the table, leave yourself a foot or two.
• 6:30
  But, you know, people were saying I was crazy and I was, I'd love it.
• 6:33
  I was getting a buzz out of it.
• 6:35
  I mean, I was a very experienced racer.
• 6:37
  I knew how dangerous it was, but probably, you know, I was 10 foot tall and full of confidence.
• 6:45
  You know, I get goosebumps.
• 6:48
  I used to have a shower in the morning.
• 6:49
  You shivered then?
• 6:50
  Yeah, I used to have a shower in the morning, look in the mirror, and say to myself, well, today's as good a day as any other.
• 6:57
  Let's get it on.
• 6:58
  Let's go out there.
• 6:59
  And I love life, and I take life quite seriously.
• 7:04
  Man, I was brave back then and confident in my ability and focused.
• 7:09
  You know, every day of the year, every other race I did was just more bike time for the TT.
• 7:14
  Every time I got out of bed to ride 40Ks on the pushy, go cut laps, swim laps of the pool in the winter, everything I did was to win a TT.
• 7:22
  From after that first time I went there, that was life's focus.
• 7:25
  And all of a sudden, all those goals to do world supersport, go race circuits, I still wanted to do it, but only...
• 7:32
  coming second to the TT.
• 7:33
  So my whole focus was just once I tasted it, yeah, that was it.
• 7:39
  And to be honest, that is the focus you need to get a result there.
• 7:42
  You talked about a highlight there for you, mate, there are several.
• 7:47
  Correct me if I'm wrong.
• 7:48
  Two wins, 11 podiums.
• 7:50
  I think you broke the lap record twice.
• 7:52
  That's mighty.
• 7:54
  Yeah, it was great.
• 7:55
  Wish I'd done, you know, could have been, should have been.
• 7:58
  That's the TT.
• 7:59
  Feel blessed with my two wins, you know.
• 8:01
  One of the second closest finish in history to my dear mate Bruce Anstey, 0.6 of a second between myself and him.
• 8:08
  We were both on Hondas, different brands of tyres.
• 8:11
  Couldn't see each other on the track.
• 8:13
  you know four laps of 65 kilometers thousand corners and 0.6 of a second crazy you know like that's and you know led the senior and had the bike break led 600 race had it stopped led 600 bike but every TT rider's got that you know I wish there was more wins but it wasn't meant to be feel blessed I've got those results a heap of stories and and and blessed that I come out the other side really
• 8:39
  We are sitting here surrounded by motorcycles and we'll get to a few of them in the convo.
• 8:42
  But what's the one from the TT chapter that you go to sleep and dream of?
• 8:47
  The one that had the magic lap.
• 8:50
  I'm not asking you to play manufacturer favourites here because I know you've done different things.
• 8:53
  But the one that kind of still gets the hairs up on the back of your neck that you know there was a special bike, a special day when you rode it.
• 9:00
  The 2008 Suzuki Superbike.
• 9:03
  I used to give all my bikes girls' names.
• 9:06
  What was this one?
• 9:07
  Adelita was the name.
• 9:08
  He's actually a lead singer of Magic Dirt, a really well-known Australian band, because she's just a grungy, tough rock chick, tattoos.
• 9:16
  long hair, rips the guitar.
• 9:17
  And that's every bike, it would have a personality.
• 9:19
  And that was a brute to ride.
• 9:22
  And she's not a brute.
• 9:24
  She's a beautiful lady, amazing musician, but she's a rock star.
• 9:27
  And this bike was just an angry rock star to ride, really.
• 9:29
  It had a personality.
• 9:32
  um and it was incredible um and what i did and what i achieved on that uh and then yeah i went to macau that year left everyone in my dust and it actually overheated and blew an engine fuse and i had to roll to the stop but what i achieved on that bike and the next year suzuki bought out a new bike the k9 model and it was a short stroke motor i learned a lot about that k8 was a long stroke which works very well for the tt where you're rolling on and off the power keeps a lot of stability keeps a lot of inertia um
• 10:00
  Um, at the time we hadn't really worked that out, but the next year we went back and I was a multiple TT winner lap record holder and we went out on this new bike.
• 10:06
  We couldn't get it to work.
• 10:08
  And it was, um, the, um, the, um,
• 10:12
  This is weird because we're a factory Suzuki team.
• 10:14
  Hector, the owner, Philip Neal ran Tav Suzuki, but Heck was the old boss that had been around forever.
• 10:21
  And he goes, get that old bike that was in the race truck.
• 10:23
  Get it out.
• 10:24
  Fuel it up.
• 10:25
  Get him out on that.
• 10:25
  And Philip was like, we can't go out on the year-old bike.
• 10:28
  We're a factory Suzuki team.
• 10:29
  He's like, he's going to do a lap on it.
• 10:32
  And he's going to get to the bottom of what the problem is with this new bike.
• 10:35
  And when I went to go out, this was one of the last nights of practice, second last night of practice, my mechanic said, it's got two laps.
• 10:43
  It's got a full tank.
• 10:43
  If it feels good, do two laps.
• 10:45
  And I went out, and from a standing start, I set a new lap record.
• 10:50
  So, and I knew because I had a timer on the dash and I was like, right.
• 10:53
  And then the next lap I went quicker again.
• 10:55
  So it was the first ever 131 mile an hour lap in excess of.
• 10:59
  So we came in and we're like, well, I said, okay, I can ride that bike and win the TT.
• 11:08
  and you can come up with an excuse to Suzuki, or we can ride the old bike, and I'll be lucky to finish in the top 10 at the time.
• 11:15
  Don't get me wrong, the next year's bike evolved into something good.
• 11:18
  At that time.
• 11:20
  Yeah, so they were still trying to come up with how we were going to do that, and the next night I went out.
• 11:24
  I wasn't going to ride, so we had this plan.
• 11:25
  I won't even go out in the last night of practice.
• 11:27
  Do everyone's head out, go out in the Superbike race Saturday.
• 11:29
  Yeah.
• 11:30
  And then we weren't going to do it.
• 11:32
  And halfway through the practice session on Friday night, the mechanics said, I'm not blaming the mechanics, but they're like, right, that super stock bike you're going to race on Wednesday, it's got brand new brake pads and a chain.
• 11:43
  Why don't you go out and do one lap circuit familiarization?
• 11:45
  And I did.
• 11:46
  And I went out and I didn't because I was just doing an easy lap.
• 11:48
  And I followed Connor Cummins on the super bike for half a lap.
• 11:51
  I was on the stock thousand.
• 11:53
  And I just, he started pulling away and I really consciously thought, roll off.
• 11:56
  And I went into a downhill corner and didn't go down enough gears.
• 11:59
  I only went down like two instead of three.
• 12:02
  Ran wide on exit and I was like, oh shit, I'm going to run wide, I'm going to run wide.
• 12:06
  And there was a green paddock and I picked it up, kept all gates the corner.
• 12:10
  And when I rode into the paddock, it wasn't until I hit the grass that I realised, wow, I'm still doing like a hundred miles an hour.
• 12:15
  And I hit what felt like a wombat hole, but it had some sort of hole in the brambles and cartwheeled myself into oblivion, dislocated shoulder.
• 12:24
  And after doing what I did the night before...
• 12:26
  missed the 2009 tt so yeah i've sort of that story's twisted into a very long tale of the hardest um lesson i ever learned there too but yeah things were looking up after 2008 and that bike which unfortunately the fairing's still in the loft at suzuki but the bike got broken up and sold but yeah that was um without doubt were a pretty special package me and that bike
• 12:49
  Motor racing is always a constantly evolving thing, right?
• 12:52
  But are there some things that are unique to the motorcycle that you want when you're at the TT as a base underneath you?
• 13:02
  Awesome question, Rusty, because a lot of people ask that.
• 13:06
  And a lot of people think, oh, you set the bike up soft and compliant for all the bumpy roads.
• 13:10
  Yeah, in theory, but get a 200 now, 230, 40 horsepower superbike, set it up soft, thing's going to tie itself in a knot.
• 13:18
  Very similar setup to Phillip Island.
• 13:20
  You want stability.
• 13:21
  You don't want a bike on its nose.
• 13:23
  You want stability.
• 13:24
  It has to change direction, but you're better off to have a bit of stability and fight the bike a bit more through the corners and have it twitchy because there's a lot of really high-speed bumps.
• 13:33
  But you've got to set the thing up stiff, and especially with a high grip level of a slick tyre.
• 13:41
  It's funny now, once again, being the commentator, being the outside looking in.
• 13:45
  I see riders coming in the first night now and they're all like, soften it off.
• 13:49
  It's trying to shake my teeth out.
• 13:50
  It's trying to, you know, it's a handful.
• 13:52
  But where the experienced riders know, they've just got to grit their teeth, wait till a bit of rubber comes up on the track.
• 13:58
  The grip level rises.
• 13:59
  They go a bit faster.
• 14:00
  Then the bike starts to work.
• 14:02
  So really, I learned quite quickly, you've just got to put up with it for a night or two, and when you go faster, that bike starts to work, you know?
• 14:10
  But, so for the TT, yeah, you want stability and you want everything strong.
• 14:14
  Like, I remember looking at, you know, HRC, you know,
• 14:18
  their rear sets one piece you know where now there'll be four pieces where you can adjust this adjust that well that's just eight more bolts that can fall out you know the things that i've seen broken on bikes around that track it eats them alive so everything needs to be beefed up um yeah and made for endurance probably similar to what they do with stuff around bathurst i guess you know it's because it beats the hell out of the bike you have ridden a special bike around there
• 14:42
  Loris Caporossi's Rizla Suzuki MotoGP machine.
• 14:45
  I want to say 2015.
• 14:46
  I might have the year wrong.
• 14:47
  What was that like?
• 14:51
  Mind-blowing.
• 14:51
  It was a deal.
• 14:52
  I was so lucky to get the gig.
• 14:54
  Bruce had ridden for Suzuki longer.
• 14:56
  He probably deserved it more, but he never answered his phone.
• 14:59
  That's pretty much why, because Bruce is notorious.
• 15:01
  He just doesn't answer the phone.
• 15:02
  So they were like, and he didn't turn up to quite a few tests.
• 15:05
  I remember turning up to Cartagena once.
• 15:07
  I'm waiting at the airport, ringing everyone.
• 15:08
  Bruce just didn't show.
• 15:10
  Like for a factory team.
• 15:11
  But then he'd turn up at the next race and beat everyone, including me that had done the testing.
• 15:16
  So they offered it to me.
• 15:19
  I was meant to ride it at Silverstone.
• 15:21
  We went to Silverstone for the photo shoot and it rained.
• 15:24
  So I didn't get to turn a wheel on it until I rode off.
• 15:27
  So the idea was it was Loris's bike, full spec,
• 15:31
  Um, they took the carbon brakes and put the steel brakes on for the wet, uh, for the, uh, because they said, yeah, they ran steel brakes in in the wet weather and they said they'll build heat a lot quicker.
• 15:40
  Um.
• 15:41
  And yeah, go out to a parade lap.
• 15:43
  I remember Paul Denning reminding me this thing's worth about a million quid.
• 15:46
  I remember, as he was saying it, thinking, good luck getting that out of me if something goes wrong.
• 15:50
  But Mark Potter, I think it was from Motorcycle News, was on a replica Jixx 1000 and he was going to follow me with a camera.
• 15:56
  So they said, whatever you do, just ride slow enough that Mark can keep up on the 1000.
• 16:00
  Yeah.
• 16:01
  enjoy it and just knock yourself out so and i remember i said to loris how do you get this thing off the line like six eight grand he's like no no no cameron hold it like 14 i think it rev to 16 000 and it was 800 cc motor gp bike rev to more than that he said no just hold it open and just feed it clutch it goes off the line really smooth so i did that and started shifting gears and this thing was just like mind-blowing
• 16:27
  how fast it accelerated, how agile it was.
• 16:30
  So I got to the first road end and come around Braddon Bridge and I look over my shoulder and, of course, Mark, I can't even see old mate in the thousand.
• 16:40
  And I remember looking, like I turn, I look ahead, there's just straight road, fans lining a hedge.
• 16:46
  A lap of the TT course, I look back, I look ahead, I look back, and I remember thinking, sorry, I'm going, and just dropped in another gear and took off, and that thing was incredible.
• 16:56
  I mean, you can YouTube it down Salby straight.
• 16:58
  I sometimes do just to have a giggle.
• 17:00
  These old blokes landing on the... hearing it go past, and you hear how long it's at 100% throttle, well north of 200 miles an hour.
• 17:08
  And it's funny because these blokes are laughing and hearing going, shit, I thought it was a parade lap, you know?
• 17:13
  But...
• 17:14
  I'm just sitting on this bike thinking, I'm getting to ride a MotoGP bike around the Isle of Man.
• 17:18
  When is I ever going to get to do that again?
• 17:21
  I'm not waiting for anyone.
• 17:22
  It was just such a, quite a few things broke.
• 17:24
  So I was like, did you notice some red lights on the dash?
• 17:26
  I was like, oh no.
• 17:28
  I did, but I thought I'm not stopping.
• 17:30
  But they were like some of the, yeah, the suspension potentiometers had broken off and a few other things.
• 17:36
  Yeah, we realized, I said, you would smash the lap record on this, but the bike wouldn't last probably a lap.
• 17:42
  So, but yeah, hopefully one day one of the factories will take a MotoGP bike there because it'll be allowed, but they'd have to beef the thing up.
• 17:49
  You mentioned the TV before.
• 17:50
  Are you enjoying that?
• 17:51
  Did that come easily?
• 17:52
  It seems like it does because you've got this real, you know, you've always had this affable nature about you, but you clearly like talking about the bikes and what they're going through.
• 17:59
  And is that the position that you're kind of in from a TV perspective?
• 18:03
  It was a perfect fit, well out of my comfort zone, but everything I've done in, you know, to move forward in racing, you need to step out of your comfort zone and I've learnt life's the same.
• 18:12
  You know, bite off more than you can chew and keep chewing sort of thing.
• 18:17
  And yeah, the opportunity arose and I grabbed it with both hands.
• 18:20
  It started off, yeah, doing some stuff with Fox Asia, with MotoGP and then,
• 18:25
  probably let probably gave me impression i had a lot more experience than i had so they really threw me in at the deep end and you know being in a studio i was like whoa but that was great grounding too for the tt i mean i love the tt talking about bikes um as kaz says you can't shake you up you've always been good at talking
• 18:44
  At least now you're getting paid for it.
• 18:46
  So it was a good fit.
• 18:48
  And plus, you know, I guess it went on from doing the journalist job with testing bikes.
• 18:52
  I always felt like testing a bike when I got that opportunity through Jeremy Valdler back in the day at Two Wheels magazine.
• 19:00
  I grew up reading magazines and dreaming, never having the money to buy, but dreaming over bikes.
• 19:05
  I'd read the reviews.
• 19:06
  That was gospel.
• 19:07
  So when I got the opportunity to test, I really felt I had an obligation to the reader to tell it exactly how it is, highlight the good, the bad.
• 19:15
  And coming back to the TT to the tele job was the same.
• 19:17
  I thought there's so many things people don't know.
• 19:19
  And I just want to share that with them.
• 19:20
  And it still, it excites me to this day.
• 19:23
  And I feel really lucky that I've got that opportunity to do the tele job.
• 19:28
  As you know, it's great.
• 19:29
  You get to get behind the scenes.
• 19:30
  You know, it's also a lot of work.
• 19:32
  It's a lot more work.
• 19:33
  and probably less money than people think, but it's still a dream job, and it enables me to still be involved in the event, which I love so dearly.
• 19:40
  So, yeah, it's been good.
• 19:41
  One of my first bosses said, tell them what you can't see.
• 19:45
  That was his whole philosophy of late-night-gortsing.
• 19:57
  I know this is a bike-related episode, but I have to ask you guys what you think of this.
• 20:02
  When you're driving, what's your wave technique when someone lets you through?
• 20:07
  Do you go the hand on the wheel one finger up, full hand thank you, or just a friendly nod?
• 20:12
  I would tell you what my wave is, but I'm a non-sentient voice written by a producer and then inserted into a podcast.
• 20:19
  So I don't really wave too much.
• 20:22
  Or drive for that matter.
• 20:25
  Hey, we want to talk some classic bikes.
• 20:27
  Firstly, was it, I mean, you're going back this year.
• 20:30
  I think there's talk of that happening, which is great.
• 20:34
  Was it difficult to stop the outright ultra-competitive stuff?
• 20:39
  I know you're loving the classic side of things, but was it difficult to stop that phase?
• 20:43
  And did you consciously decide that, or did kind of COVID fast-forward it, or where did you sort of end up with that?
• 20:50
  I was going to wind back.
• 20:55
  I wanted to have...
• 20:56
  This is pretty deep, but we'll put it out there.
• 20:57
  I wanted to have kids to stop racing.
• 20:59
  I thought that will stop me racing because I kept going back to the TT and then it was getting more serious and I told you it's a numbers game.
• 21:06
  I'm thinking, if I start a family, I'll have to stop.
• 21:09
  Kaz didn't really want to start a family.
• 21:11
  So...
• 21:12
  We started a family.
• 21:13
  Lola arrived and it was a beautiful thing.
• 21:15
  And I was just going to sit out.
• 21:17
  To this day, I've never announced my retirement, but I was going to have a year out.
• 21:20
  And then Mick Grant, ex-TT champion, Mick factory racer, world championship race winner, incredible guy.
• 21:29
  He called me and he was involved in Norton.
• 21:31
  He said, oh, Norton are doing this project.
• 21:32
  Should come on board.
• 21:33
  There'll be no pressure to get a result.
• 21:34
  You can develop a bike and they'll fly the whole family over.
• 21:37
  And I thought, what an opportunity.
• 21:38
  So that got me back with the Norton.
• 21:40
  And I guess I forgot, you know, I couldn't ride to, you know, I was there to get a result.
• 21:45
  And it was some really challenging times at Norton.
• 21:48
  It was an amazing experience, but it was challenging.
• 21:51
  The bike was a sled, you know.
• 21:53
  It really only became good when we were bolting someone else's parts onto it.
• 21:57
  So it wasn't going in the direction I'd hoped, but it was still amazing.
• 22:00
  And because growing up with Pommy Bikes, British Bikes, the opportunity to race for Norton at the TT.
• 22:05
  This is the way to end my career.
• 22:08
  Did two out of the three-year deal and had a lot of things break and just thought, well, I'm going to get hurt here.
• 22:12
  And a privateer Honda team, Wilson Craig, that had really good bikes and budget, he was always saying, come back, come back.
• 22:17
  And I said to Kaz...
• 22:19
  I could ride, I don't have to, I take less risk on a Honda, I'll be back on the podium.
• 22:23
  And I really thought maybe I could go back for a year and get a result.
• 22:26
  So back on the Honda, racing in Asia, still sharp, feeling, you know, I was going back there to win.
• 22:32
  I had two 600s break in practice and then super bike, fighter rod in practice.
• 22:39
  So about 160 mile an hour.
• 22:42
  Massive, massive, all over the tyre,
• 22:46
  You know, bike crossed up, brushed the hedge.
• 22:49
  Didn't know what had happened, just know it went bang, you know, clutch in on the front brake to the point the back wheel was off the ground.
• 22:55
  All I knew, I had to wash off speed.
• 22:58
  And I rolled into this beautiful big country house on the left-hand side of the road and I rolled into the front gate, crossed their manicured lawn, landed a bike up against the tree, got off, looked, could see a hole in the back of the crankcase, walked around, saw a hole out the front, back tyre covered in oil, me covered in oil.
• 23:13
  And to be honest...
• 23:15
  Yeah, I laid on the grass and I just looked at the sky and thought about my family and just went, you know, I'm done.
• 23:23
  Okay.
• 23:24
  That was it.
• 23:25
  That was literally, and not that many people know that moment.
• 23:28
  And we withdrew from the TT.
• 23:31
  because you know i went out the first race and we had a mechanical issue and i pulled in and i just said that's it you know i'm done it was very hard to walk away um but i think the owner built house and kids i think that was a blessing because i was too busy to stop and think about what i what i was missing out on and then i went back as a commentator and i guess that it all softened
• 23:53
  But it's bloody hard.
• 23:55
  It's bloody hard to stop when you've been that competitive, you know.
• 23:58
  I've just got back now post-COVID.
• 24:00
  Kaz and I are back to racing dirt track.
• 24:01
  We did our first race the other week.
• 24:02
  We're out again this Sunday, and I need it.
• 24:04
  I still need that hit, you know, that hit of competition.
• 24:06
  And whether you're lining up at the local dirt track or you're racing the TT, it's still, you're going out to race.
• 24:11
  You know, I'm still irritable in the morning and still, you know, so I need that buzz.
• 24:15
  But, yeah, that's weaned me off it because it is, in a weird way, like a drug, I guess, you know.
• 24:20
  We'll talk about the now in a second, but I want to wrap up the kind of TT chapter.
• 24:24
  But just because people have asked about it on social media, to ask about a couple of the other events over there.
• 24:30
  So, I mean, also, I mean, TT is the thing.
• 24:34
  But, I mean, you did Northwest 200, you did the Ulster Grand Prix.
• 24:38
  I mean, Northwest, for people that don't know it, we're talking Northern Ireland, 8.9-mile triangle, effectively, between towns, aren't we?
• 24:46
  What is that event like?
• 24:49
  mind-blowing because it's three of the longest straights in the world.
• 24:52
  Well, they put chicanes in some of them now, but what they don't really...
• 24:54
  They put chicanes to slow it down, but we hit 200 miles an hour before the chicanes and after the chicanes.
• 24:59
  But slipstreaming on a level when you...
• 25:02
  I mean, you can look at some of the onboards.
• 25:04
  You can slipstream someone.
• 25:05
  They can slipstream you back.
• 25:06
  You can slipstream them again before the braking zone at 200 miles an hour.
• 25:10
  It is...
• 25:11
  There's a lot of strategy there.
• 25:13
  It's incredible.
• 25:14
  And, you know, you get 100,000 people.
• 25:17
  It's just...
• 25:19
  And the Ulster Grand Prix, one of the oldest circuits in the world, it was a round of World Grand Prix back in the day as the TT was.
• 25:28
  Frightening.
• 25:28
  The tracks are so fast because, of course, the Northwest and the Ulster you do as a group start.
• 25:32
  So 40 super bikes leaving the line, rubbing elbows through corners, you know, 200 when they're lined by hedges or stonewalls.
• 25:40
  It makes no sense.
• 25:42
  But when you're doing it, the excitement and the purity of it,
• 25:45
  uh it's beautiful and and he's like a religion over there and of course through north and southern island there's all these street races smaller ones that a lot of people haven't heard of like kells is one of them it's quite famous it's got big jumps you know that is a downhill hump in the road we went we're going about 60 meters on a super bike
• 26:03
  Yeah, you can look up the pictures.
• 26:06
  They're pretty, yeah, so it's because my mechanic at the time says you just hit it flat in fifth.
• 26:11
  I didn't realise that year I was probably the only one doing that because we were jumping about 15 metres further down the road than anyone else.
• 26:17
  And that night they found a crack on one of the wells in the swing arm about 100 mil long where the kit swing arm was opening up.
• 26:23
  So we're like, they didn't tell me that till after the weekend.
• 26:26
  They put another swing arm in it.
• 26:27
  But those races, they close a little village,
• 26:31
  shut off five miles of road, six miles, four miles, whatever, and they run a race meeting.
• 26:35
  And you get 20,000 people, 30,000 people turn up, get drunk for two days, have this crazy racing, and then go home.
• 26:41
  And it's just the excitement and the passion from the people, and it still happens to this day.
• 26:47
  And it's crazy, but it's also a beautiful, beautiful thing.
• 26:50
  It's what racing would have been like here probably back in the 50s.
• 26:53
  Unreal.
• 26:54
  I love the fact that you're still getting a fix.
• 26:56
  That's terrific.
• 26:57
  You mentioned Kaz before.
• 26:58
  She's actually doing some good reviews as well from motorcycle magazines and things like that, which is good.
• 27:05
  You two race a sidecar together.
• 27:09
  In the words of the late, great Barry Sheen or Jeremy Clarkson, are you mad, mate?
• 27:15
  What prompted you to do that?
• 27:17
  And how have you enjoyed it?
• 27:19
  It's funny, I look back at sidecars, and as a kid I think they're the guys that turn up to the track in a bus, they've all got beards, they look like they need a shave and a shower, and they, you know, working on a bike with a mash hammer and a chisel in the back corner of the pits, but that's being probably disrespectful and doing them a disservice.
• 27:36
  No, there is, but that's what I thought, the sidecar, they're just crazy guys that build these own mad contraptions.
• 27:41
  It all started when we had a trial, because Kaz said, well, we've got to get a sidecar for Lola.
• 27:45
  So we started looking, and we ended up getting a sidecar,
• 27:48
  That was the first time in a sidecar.
• 27:50
  Of course, Dad grew up in a sidecar because that's their family transport.
• 27:54
  So it was a cool thing.
• 27:56
  I started taking a bit more notice.
• 27:57
  And it was really the TT, watching the sidecars there, how hard they worked and looking at how hard they got beaten up around the track and the efforts.
• 28:05
  And that started getting me interested.
• 28:07
  And then...
• 28:09
  I did a come and try day at Brawford on the Clancy's, who a well-known couple were probably racing in the classics next week.
• 28:15
  But I got to go on a come and try day.
• 28:17
  They'll, like, jump on.
• 28:18
  Chrissy Clancy said, jump on the side of the sidecar.
• 28:20
  And I said, well, how about I do a few laps?
• 28:22
  She goes, you passenger for a few laps and then ride.
• 28:25
  I thought, this thing's actually a lot of fun.
• 28:27
  And then racing classic with the Irving Vincent boys, they've got these beautiful mechanical works of art, Irving Vincent powered sidecars.
• 28:34
  And they said, why don't you do a few laps with Kaz?
• 28:37
  And we went up and did classic Winton.
• 28:39
  and ended up having a win.
• 28:40
  And I remember one of the boys tell me in the Isle of Man, the Birchalls that have been world champions and the very successful current lap record holds at TT.
• 28:49
  But remember Ben Birchall telling me, it's very hard to be fast in a sidecar when you care about your passenger.
• 28:56
  Of course, his passenger is his younger brother.
• 28:58
  and I can see why and it is hard I mean we're parents out there our kids are in the pits so how irresponsible are we but you know when we won that little event classic Winton together you know Kaz is on my back hugging me as we come down the cool down lap you know it was only two years ago that's one of the neatest things I've ever done and uh to share it together and work as a team uh it's really special now and yeah here we are she's competitive too isn't she and it's a bit of an intuitive thing isn't it I mean you have to
• 29:26
  feel each other and what the motorcycle is doing.
• 29:28
  100%.
• 29:30
  Did you hear me screaming?
• 29:31
  I can't hear anything over the booming 1300 CCV Twin Vincent.
• 29:34
  But it's, yeah, you do, you need to know, you need to feel exactly what your partner's doing and what the machine's doing.
• 29:41
  And I guess that's why I'm drawn into it.
• 29:43
  It's such an incredible partnership between, it's usually as a rider between yourself and the machine, but also with your passenger as well.
• 29:50
  And it was only when we went to do the event last year at Winton, Kaz realized how much
• 29:56
  She actually did.
• 29:56
  She said, I felt like I wasn't doing as much as I was until she changed directions a little bit early and were way up on two wheels and airborne off the ripple strip.
• 30:04
  And she landed on my back and we got away with it, spun out in the dust.
• 30:07
  But then she was like, wow, my input does that much.
• 30:10
  And I'm like, yes, it does.
• 30:12
  What's it like at Bathurst?
• 30:13
  Because I've seen vision at Bathurst.
• 30:15
  Well, that led on to us going up to doing some parade laps at Bathurst.
• 30:18
  Of course, and for all I've done at the TT, I'd never been to Bathurst.
• 30:21
  I'd always wanted to go with my mates, head up for a road trip, boys with the weekend on the beers, but it was always during race season.
• 30:26
  So my first time up there was when we went up to do these parade laps.
• 30:30
  Huge amount of respect for drivers and, of course, riders, because it used to be.
• 30:34
  Rich in history there.
• 30:35
  Such a big motorbike race for Australia.
• 30:37
  But, yeah, going around there with Kaz on the side.
• 30:39
  And we also found out that outfit isn't too stable at high speed because I'd only ridden it at Winton.
• 30:44
  So, yeah, that was pretty – yeah, we had a bit of a tank slap in our comrade straight.
• 30:49
  That was – she stepped out sideways a bit there, and that was pretty –
• 30:53
  Yeah, that was sobering.
• 30:56
  But yeah, what an experience.
• 30:58
  Now I'm going like the experience of actually and seeing the cars around Bathurst, mind blown.
• 31:03
  But yeah, so much respect for my forefathers in motorsport that raced both solos and sidecars around Bathurst because it's one of the most incredible tracks in the world.
• 31:13
  Funny where life takes you, and there's a little bit of full circle in this.
• 31:16
  So you talked about classics a moment ago.
• 31:18
  You are getting to ride at classic meetings some very cool bits of gear that are kind of period correct and beautifully, beautifully engineered, aren't you?
• 31:29
  Yeah, I've always had a respect for the early British and classic bikes.
• 31:33
  And to that to lead on and through TT results to be able to go places like Goodwood, you know, race at Goodwood.
• 31:38
  You know, we never won.
• 31:40
  We won races.
• 31:41
  We won two races at Goodwood.
• 31:42
  We haven't won the event.
• 31:42
  But some of the racing, you know, like 30-odd bikes, Le Mans Start running across the track.
• 31:48
  And, you know, Goodwood too.
• 31:49
  Everything bike gear, period.
• 31:53
  I still pinch myself now to get that opportunity.
• 31:55
  And what a lot of people realise is how competitive it is too.
• 31:58
  I mean, you go to Goodwood, remember the last year there, Gardner was riding, Jeremy McWilliams, who's who, all these, all of us there...
• 32:08
  you know you think we put our helmets on and say oh yeah we're just going out for a jolly we all say that until we go out there and it's absolute you know life and death but it's um a lot a lot of fun and i enjoy the classic bike racing now there's not the pressure but you get to ride these beautifully handcrafted works of art um that still are amazing to ride yeah it's pretty special vincent gray flash
• 32:31
  Another bike is just incredible.
• 32:32
  Another bike I grew up only hearing about and to ride that and race it.
• 32:37
  And they're just so beautifully handling.
• 32:39
  It's just, yeah, it's funny because now all we want is power, but power comes with consequences.
• 32:45
  And that's a bike that wants to fight you where those classic bikes just work with you.
• 32:50
  I'm not a believer in regret at all.
• 32:52
  In life, you do some great things and, you know, you're proud of the road that you walk.
• 32:58
  You enjoy the journey, right?
• 32:59
  But is there anything that was left unfinished for you?
• 33:03
  Oh, yeah.
• 33:06
  I mean, I can't remember who's...
• 33:08
  I was having a conversation with a mate about it the other day, you know.
• 33:10
  I passed up an opportunity to a World Superbike wildcard.
• 33:13
  Who was that?
• 33:14
  Donington.
• 33:15
  That was for Crescent Suzuki.
• 33:16
  And, of course, I was riding for Relentless Suzuki and they were...
• 33:19
  arch rivals at Suzuki.
• 33:21
  And Paul Denning was like, I'd done the parade lap in the MotoGP, but come and do this wildcard.
• 33:26
  Some was injured.
• 33:27
  But my sponsors on the other Suzuki team were like, it's not the right thing to do.
• 33:30
  And I should have just said I'm doing it, but I did the right thing.
• 33:34
  I had the opportunity to do a 250 GP wildcard at Phillip Island for the Chinese team I was racing for.
• 33:41
  And it was, you know, at the time I was told that you can't get a late wildcard entry.
• 33:46
  Yeah.
• 33:47
  probably a little bit of politics with some people I'd had a run in within the governing body at the time and all that.
• 33:52
  And, you know, I just accepted it where now I look back, like I should have done a, that could have happened.
• 33:56
  That could absolutely happen.
• 33:57
  A Grand Prix start and a world super bike start.
• 33:59
  Like I loved Le Mans and world endurance and all the stuff I've done, but there are a couple of boxes and I missed home too much.
• 34:05
  I could have achieved a lot more on short circuits, but once the TT was done, I just wanted to come back to Australia.
• 34:11
  I missed home.
• 34:12
  I miss my mates.
• 34:13
  I miss my dad and my family.
• 34:14
  And,
• 34:15
  I probably should have gripped my teeth and stayed overseas longer.
• 34:18
  You know, I'm gone to like the NEC bike show, which whereas everyone does the sponsorship deals.
• 34:23
  But I was just like, get me home.
• 34:24
  I just want to go fishing and get a... Once the TT was done, you couldn't get me out of the UK quick enough.
• 34:30
  And that probably hurt my short circuit aspirations.
• 34:34
  But, you know, you can always look back at that.
• 34:36
  Probably opened up more doors back home.
• 34:38
  proud dad girls are we going is there a passion for bike riding and racing among the girls I think if I've looked at socials right there is well you know mum loves bikes you know and Kaz was always into bikes long before me she always vowed she'd never date a racer they're full of themselves and look what happened laughing
• 34:57
  So, you know, we did our best.
• 35:00
  We're never a pushy.
• 35:01
  We're like, if they ask for it, and Lola was so keen on a bike, and we got her an OSET, a little electric dirt bike.
• 35:08
  And, you know, and now, you know, like the other Sunday, we're up the pub, I'm on the sidecar, got Joni in the kid's seat in the sidecar, Lola on the back.
• 35:17
  And we go up to the pub up the road, you know, and we have a pot and have a pizza and cruise home.
• 35:23
  And the kids love it.
• 35:25
  We love it.
• 35:25
  And we share it.
• 35:26
  So you can't fight it.
• 35:28
  Your dad's Velocet is here in the garage.
• 35:31
  You talked about the sidecar before.
• 35:32
  I think that's a Suzuki Katana that's on it.
• 35:34
  So, I mean, some cool things here.
• 35:35
  Is there a resto project that you are working on or want to work on?
• 35:39
  I think over my left shoulder there might be.
• 35:41
  Yeah, that's a 69 T100C, a 500cc Twin Triumph, which is motors rebuilt top to bottom, frames painted.
• 35:49
  And now with two children, since then it's just gathered dust.
• 35:52
  So I've actually bought it downstairs here in the workshop under the house to start doing that one.
• 35:58
  Thank you.
• 35:58
  I've got a restored 70 Bonnie around the corner, which I've, after two years of chasing an electrical gremlin, found that, tracked it down to an ignition switch.
• 36:07
  So I ride that regularly.
• 36:08
  I love my classics.
• 36:09
  Especially, you know, there's a great pub, St Andrews Hotel, just up the road from here.
• 36:14
  On a Sunday, it gets a plethora of bikes out the front from all your, you know, you get your Outlaw Clubs and your Harleys to modern sports bikes.
• 36:22
  It's such a cross-section.
• 36:23
  But I love trundling up on the Vallow or the Triumph or the Cycar and having a beer and just talking bikes.
• 36:28
  As we come out of the pandemic, there's talk that you'll pack the bags, mate, that you will go to the TT this year.
• 36:34
  Can you share a bit about what you're doing there and is that going to happen?
• 36:37
  Yep, flights are booked.
• 36:39
  Heading back, the TT this year have done a huge step up with their media package.
• 36:44
  So I'll be one of the pundits and presenters there, which is, I feel privileged to have that opportunity.
• 36:49
  Really excited.
• 36:50
  They've put 66 kilometres of fibre optic cable around the circuit.
• 36:54
  They're going to have...
• 36:55
  two choppers in the air instead of one with cameras like yeah they're taking it to the next level because the tt this year will be live so stream live which logistically i can't even imagine i'm just told there's gonna we're gonna be busier so it's gonna be a bit more pressure and um as you know yourself to me you know the excitement of uh going racing is one thing but the excitement of live broadcasting there's a bit of pressure there too so um
• 37:21
  everyone at home will be able to tune in online and watch it live, which is something that's never happened.
• 37:26
  Will you get to do a little bit of writing there and maybe some of the stuff that you're talking about to the fans?
• 37:31
  um yeah i usually when i get over there i always end up buying someone's bike and cutting a lap or two on a street bike just to see how it's changed for the riders too and yeah it's closed it's public roads you can do that on the street bike and just get an idea of what's changed and and get an idea what the riders are going through and once again being able to convey that to the to the viewers you know but yeah it's um there's still no speed limit over the mountain
• 37:59
  wrap up mate this has been a fabulous discussion congratulations on everything that you've you've done it's a daunting and yet addictive place i wish that greater australia knew more about what you've achieved and yet at the same time the people in our world that are that are close to us the constituents know acutely what you've achieved and you should be immensely proud mate well done
• 38:22
  No, thanks, mate.
• 38:24
  Thanks for the opportunity.
• 38:25
  It really is a privilege to come on the podcast.
• 38:28
  I enjoy listening to myself.
• 38:29
  There's been so many greats on it.
• 38:31
  But, you know, the TT, and as I say to anyone, just get over there and experience it.
• 38:34
  There have been so many Aussies have had success over there over the years.
• 38:38
  I guarantee you'll enjoy it.
• 38:41
  And most Aussies keep going back.
• 38:43
  So it's a pretty – it is the Mecca of motorcycling.
• 38:45
  It's a very special place.
• 38:47
  Ripper, ripper way to end.
• 38:48
  Well done.
• 38:48
  Thank you.
• 38:49
  Cheers, mate.
• 38:56
  Rusty's Garage is written and presented by me, Greg Rust.
• 39:00
  Series editor and producer is Ed Gooden.
• 39:03
  Audio production by Darcy Thompson.
• 39:06
  If you've got a guest suggestion, get in touch with me via social media.
• 39:11
  The Garage.
• 39:12
  It's where a journey begins with a tank full of passion fuel stories.
• 39:25
  Listener.