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Transcript

The Motorsport Brief | MotoGP’s final Island fling & Supercars GC finals · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  Listener.
• 0:03
  Doubleheader weekend of motorsport on our domestic calendar, and we're going to preview both in this edition of the Motorsport Brief.
• 0:11
  G'day, everybody.
• 0:12
  Welcome to another ep of the Shortcast.
• 0:14
  Cam Donald, Isle of Man TT legend and part of 10's Australian Grand Prix coverage is coming up very shortly.
• 0:21
  He'll, in fact, join us here in the studio.
• 0:22
  Don't forget...
• 0:23
  You can catch the final MotoGP, the final ever Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island this weekend on 10.
• 0:30
  Saturday, the 24th of October from 1.30pm Eastern.
• 0:34
  Sunday, the big Grand Prix day with all of the classes from 10.30am there.
• 0:38
  You can watch and stream for free on 10.
• 0:40
  He's going to be joined by a great line-up there.
• 0:43
  We want to kick off, though, with supercars because a couple of thousand k's north of the island, the championship roars back into life this weekend.
• 0:50
  The final series continues off the back of the...
• 0:53
  of an epic Bathurst 1000.
• 0:55
  And our first guest must have needed a little in the way of therapy after coming so damn close to winning it again.
• 1:02
  And with the benefit of time and, I guess, trying to process it all, I thought I'd get my good mate Lee Holdsworth on for a conversation.
• 1:08
  Hello, mate.
• 1:08
  How are you?
• 1:09
  I'm all right, Rusty.
• 1:12
  I'm not over it yet, but I don't know if I'll ever get over it, to be honest.
• 1:15
  But anyway, I'm here and I've survived and here to fight another day, mate.
• 1:22
  But yeah, it's been...
• 1:25
  Yeah, it keeps hitting me every day that we lost that race.
• 1:30
  But anyway, there's been a few hard luck stories around that, Joy.
• 1:35
  I want to come at this through a couple of different lenses, if I can.
• 1:38
  Firstly, I think you messaged me at one point a day or two later and you said, mate, you just don't get opportunities or chances left.
• 1:48
  like that in a race at Bathurst.
• 1:52
  Walk me through the mix of emotions here, because to go so damn close, at what point in the day did you think you were in, or the weekend for that matter, in with a real good chance of maybe winning another one?
• 2:05
  It was pretty – it was probably coming into the last pit stop, I thought, you know, Anton had caught right up on the back of Zach Bates and we knew that we had fuel in hand.
• 2:16
  I had JC, James Courtney, next to me and he was listening into the coverage and they were talking about how –
• 2:24
  And Zach had another four or we had another four laps of fuel on Zach Bates.
• 2:29
  So we knew we were going to jump him.
• 2:31
  And to be honest, you know, I've been in this situation before where you feel like you've, you know, you get ahead of yourself and you think that we got this in the bag.
• 2:40
  And I certainly didn't want to do that again.
• 2:44
  Even in 2021, you know, I held my breath until the last lap.
• 2:47
  And then it wasn't as Chas came out of, you know, the chase where I really felt that we had it over the line.
• 2:54
  Man, that place, anything can happen and almost always does.
• 3:00
  But, yeah, so I was sitting there trying to distract myself.
• 3:06
  chatting to JC and just because every lap that goes by when you're leading that race just feels like an absolute eternity.
• 3:14
  And there was never any worry for me about the fuel.
• 3:18
  I never, I didn't have any idea what was going on with the fuel because I wasn't tuned into the comms.
• 3:25
  But I think JC led across to me and he said, mate, you're going to be a two-time winner here.
• 3:31
  This was with about two laps to go after the safety car.
• 3:36
  And it was about 30 seconds after that when I heard Adrian Burgess talking to the Chevrolet guys behind us and someone said, we're not going to make it, we're going to have to pit.
• 3:50
  And at that point, my heart...
• 3:52
  absolutely sank to my feet and I just couldn't believe it.
• 3:59
  It just caught me by surprise.
• 4:01
  My biggest concern was Brodie Kostecki coming at us.
• 4:05
  Once he got through on Zach,
• 4:07
  and got into second, I thought, he's coming and he's on a charge.
• 4:13
  And I just didn't know how much Anton had conserved in the tyres.
• 4:16
  I knew that he'd been conserving because, you know, he always knew that there could be a safety car at the end of the race and he had to have something left to fight with.
• 4:27
  Which he did.
• 4:28
  You know, he was able to gap Brodie after the restart.
• 4:33
  And, yeah, I mean, at that point it was all too late.
• 4:36
  We had to – I think we had to save, you know, over three or four laps.
• 4:40
  We had to save a leader a lap.
• 4:42
  And...
• 4:43
  You can't do that whilst maintaining any speed.
• 4:47
  So whilst you've got a guy like Brodie up your ass, you know, just two seconds behind and then you've got an angry field behind that as well, it was either give up the race lead and, you know, come home in 15th or wherever it might be or charge on through and hope that, you know,
• 5:08
  We just managed to get there on fuel.
• 5:10
  But, you know, I'm very glad that we'd never stopped for a splash and dash because that would have just been giving up, basically.
• 5:22
  And you'd had to get to the end of the race and realise that you could have actually made it.
• 5:28
  Yeah, it was just a mix of emotions.
• 5:31
  You know, you go from the absolute highest of highs thinking that you're going to win the race to the absolute lowest of lows and you see the difference between one team to another.
• 5:44
  You've got DJR jumping up and down and MSR as well.
• 5:51
  And then there's us who've just got our heads in our hands and...
• 5:56
  and feeling at an all-time low.
• 6:00
  So, yeah, I guess that's why we love that place and why we keep going back and fighting for victory and why it means so much to us because the whole week, it's such a long week and I've had people saying, oh, well, there's always next year and you go, well...
• 6:18
  Yeah, that's one way of looking at it.
• 6:21
  But there's so many variables in this race, and you have to go through a whole week of having no mistakes, keeping it off the wall, tuning your car to have a car that's mega through the week, mega in qualifying, and a car on Sunday that gets better and better through the race as well.
• 6:45
  and staying out of trouble, both drivers making no mistakes, having good strategy, having a good team behind you.
• 6:53
  And then also you do need some things to go wrong for other teams as well.
• 7:00
  So there's just so much that goes into it.
• 7:03
  And that's why...
• 7:04
  You know, some people go through their whole career without a Bathurst win.
• 7:09
  It's just because the stars have to align.
• 7:11
  And I'm fortunate that I've got one in the bag, but, you know, I really felt for Anton because he deserved that win more than anyone.
• 7:22
  So, you know, for me it would have been amazing to have two wins, but for Anton to know that he could have had his first win and you never know when the next one's going to be,
• 7:34
  the next opportunity, it's really difficult for him.
• 7:38
  I've let you go there, mate, and just say your piece, which I think is so important.
• 7:44
  It's immediately sparked a couple of thoughts in my mind.
• 7:46
  Firstly, I can vividly recall walking into the garage in 21 in the closing laps and then thinking, no, no,
• 7:54
  I don't want to talk to you right about now because of what you talked about there.
• 7:59
  How do you, in the 10 days or so since that brutal low happens, how as a group and how personally do you process that?
• 8:09
  Because what plays out since is lots of people with differing views, some saying that, you know, how can you squander something like that?
• 8:18
  How can it happen?
• 8:19
  Yeah.
• 8:20
  people like Paul Morris quite rightly saying that Anton just, you know, the best way to get over it is to go back and win it, to ultimately go back and win it.
• 8:28
  And I know, as you've said, that requires lots of planets to align.
• 8:32
  And then the third element to that is Adrian Burgess and Charlie staunchly, you know, ensuring that there is unity in the team in the wake of what's played out here.
• 8:45
  How is a group of you...
• 8:47
  Um, if you have, how have you processed the past week and a half?
• 8:53
  Uh, well, you know, I, I knew after the race, um, it's as difficult as it is for me.
• 9:00
  There's so many people in the team that, you know, that, that rode that wave and came crashing down from that wave as well.
• 9:08
  Um, so I just got around the team and, you know, made sure that everyone was okay.
• 9:13
  There were...
• 9:14
  Like the garage was in tears, you know, and it just shows you how much it means to not just us as drivers but the mechanics, you know.
• 9:26
  A lot of the guys that are involved in the sport have come through motorsport their whole life.
• 9:34
  You know, some of them have driven go-karts at a professional, you know, or a professional.
• 9:39
  at a competitive level.
• 9:40
  Adrian Burgess has been around in Formula One and...
• 9:46
  and been in the supercar scene for a really long time.
• 9:50
  Charlie, you know, he's tried so hard and he's built a great team.
• 9:57
  And for him to come short of a race win as well, like there's just so many people that felt the hurt.
• 10:04
  So I knew that there was no just feeling sorry for myself or sorry for Anton and I.
• 10:11
  There was a much bigger story to this.
• 10:16
  And you've got to realise as a driver that it's not, you're not the one that, although you're the end part to the puzzle and have to put it all together in the end, the people behind the scenes are the ones that gave you that opportunity to be able to deliver a result or what should have been a result.
• 10:38
  Yeah.
• 10:39
  You know, everyone felt the pain and I just made sure that I was supporting everyone because I've been there before, not quite to that extent, you know, of being so close.
• 10:56
  And I know the feeling and I know how much it affects everyone.
• 10:59
  And so I think when we got back to the workshop later in the week, we had a debrief.
• 11:06
  Yeah.
• 11:07
  You know, Charlie and Adrian had already mentioned in the media how no one's going to be, you know, there's no finger-pointing going on.
• 11:16
  Yeah.
• 11:18
  And I think that can be a good thing, you know, that people know that, you know, we're all human and errors can happen and will happen.
• 11:30
  And no one wants to feel like they're on the chopping block if they make a mistake at some point, you know, if someone, you know, cross threads a nut in a pit stop, you know, something like that can happen very easily.
• 11:44
  They need to know that.
• 11:45
  Yeah, that's not intentional.
• 11:48
  But the most important thing is that you put processes and systems in place to make sure that never happens again.
• 11:59
  So I think identifying the problem and, you know, the team is saying it's a software problem, making sure that, you know, however that mistake happened,
• 12:14
  that they make sure that that never happens again because you can have a mistake happen once, but if you let that mistake happen again, it's inexcusable.
• 12:23
  So I think that's probably ultimately where the team is at right now.
• 12:29
  They're all feeling – they're all getting around each other.
• 12:34
  Fortunately, they've got Gold Coast coming up this weekend where they can just move on and try to get another result, which will make them feel a hell of a lot better.
• 12:44
  And, but yeah, making sure that they come out stronger and use that, that, um,
• 12:53
  that hunger, I guess, to put them in a better position for the rest of the year as Anton fights in the final series to ultimately win the championship.
• 13:03
  Cool.
• 13:04
  A couple to finish on Bathurst here before we look ahead to Gold Coast and one or two other things, mate.
• 13:09
  Will you go around again?
• 13:10
  I mean, forgive me, I should know the answer to that, but will you be back with Team 18 to line up again in 2027 and try and avenge this?
• 13:17
  Is that the plan?
• 13:19
  Yeah, I'm not sure what the stance is on announcing things on where I go, what I'm doing next year.
• 13:28
  So I won't go into details.
• 13:31
  But yeah, I'll be back next year.
• 13:34
  I'll definitely be on the grid at Bathurst and Tail and Bend and I'm looking forward to that.
• 13:40
  And look, yeah.
• 13:43
  Um, obviously I want to go back there and, and win that race again.
• 13:48
  And, uh, and I don't want to say that I want to get revenge or, um, you know, redemption or whatever.
• 13:56
  I just want to go back and have the same opportunity with a speedy car again that we had this year.
• 14:03
  It was just, I had the best, one of the best weeks.
• 14:06
  Um, so to fall on our face at the end of it was just so hard to take, um, because, um,
• 14:13
  you've got to capitalise in those situations.
• 14:15
  But I've done, I think that was my 23rd Bathurst.
• 14:20
  Wow.
• 14:20
  So I've done a fair few of them and really only had the opportunity, a true opportunity to win the race twice once we did it and once we didn't.
• 14:31
  The other ones were too far away to halfway through the race where we're leading it and something goes wrong.
• 14:37
  So you can't really count that as a close race.
• 14:40
  You know, one of the ones that got away.
• 14:42
  But, look, if I get another opportunity at winning that race, that would just be incredible to finish the career.
• 14:52
  But, yeah, I don't know how many years I'm going to keep going, but I think what I showed last weekend is that I've still got plenty left to offer.
• 15:02
  and I'm still really enjoying it.
• 15:05
  So, I mean, if I'm in that position, why would I not keep going?
• 15:10
  Absolutely, absolutely.
• 15:12
  I love to – I can't think of you as an elder statesman, mate, but a couple of times in this conversation already you've –
• 15:18
  defaulted to things that can only come with time and experience at Bathurst.
• 15:22
  And that is, you know, in the depths of everyone's heartache, your first thought is team, got to look after the team, right?
• 15:31
  Did you do a bit of that?
• 15:31
  And are you finding that you're doing that sometimes when you go back to the supercars paddock?
• 15:36
  Maybe
• 15:37
  admiration for a young Zach Bates who has a fantastic weekend because you can bring that wealth of experience and that perspective that some of the young ones maybe don't have and impart a little bit of that along the way.
• 15:51
  Yeah, it's funny how much you learn and how much you can draw on your experiences as you're at this point in your career and you've got so much experience behind you.
• 16:05
  So I do try and draw on that and, you know, I try to... One thing that I've found over the years is that if you're there just to enjoy it and you don't take it too seriously...
• 16:20
  you tend to get the best out of yourself and I try to bring that into the team where you try and bring the mechanics or all the workers into that as well where you're just having fun and although you're there to win, you're there also because you love the sport, you love what you do.
• 16:45
  No one's there because they're getting a paycheck.
• 16:50
  They're in the sport because they're passionate about it.
• 16:53
  And so you've got to enjoy it.
• 16:57
  And if you don't, then you really shouldn't be there.
• 17:00
  And I've been there years where I haven't enjoyed it in the lead up.
• 17:05
  And it reflects in your results.
• 17:07
  And the whole team...
• 17:11
  I think one thing you realise as a driver that's been involved for so long is that you really carry a lot of influence over the whole team.
• 17:21
  You know, you're the face of the team through the weekend.
• 17:27
  So the way that you portray yourself to the team really impacts them.
• 17:32
  So if they say you're having a good time,
• 17:34
  And, you know, getting around everyone and supporting everyone.
• 17:37
  They feed off it.
• 17:39
  Absolutely feed off it.
• 17:41
  Yeah, love it, mate.
• 17:43
  Great, you know, that…
• 17:46
  I've used the word perspective in this interview, but I mean, that's a fantastic way to tackle it.
• 17:50
  Looking ahead to Gold Coast this weekend, totally different venue.
• 17:54
  I love that it's still on the calendar.
• 17:58
  I know there's been lots of talk about the back chicane and things like that.
• 18:01
  Final series in full swing.
• 18:03
  I feel like right, I mean, Brock Feeney didn't have a great bathurst.
• 18:07
  I feel like write him off at your peril.
• 18:09
  I mean, there's lots of great things to look forward to in a generic sense this weekend as we kind of build to Adelaide, isn't there?
• 18:15
  There is, yeah.
• 18:16
  I'm excited about Gold Coast because last year it was unbelievable to watch and we gained a huge fan base off the back of how exciting Bathurst was last year and we captured them again at Gold Coast with the flying cars off the kerbstrikes and Tesla thought that they invented the flying car.
• 18:39
  the supercars was there well before them.
• 18:42
  So it's such a great spectacle.
• 18:45
  And, you know, that's one cool thing about Gold Coast is, you know, although the talk about the beach chicane and where you put the curb strikes and all that sort of stuff, it's actually what makes it such a great spectacle.
• 19:02
  I suppose that's what makes the Gold Coast track is the kerbs and how you approach them and how you get through there without getting the strikes.
• 19:10
  And I was looking at some footage the other day.
• 19:12
  It was from, I think, early 2000s or even late 90s where they actually had to go around the kerbs.
• 19:20
  And they were only actually out just to get one wheel up on the kerb.
• 19:24
  And then they had to go around these, you know, the cones basically.
• 19:29
  So we've come a long way since then because I know if we went back there, there'd be a lot of whinging, but there wasn't much whinging back then.
• 19:35
  So, you know, whatever it is, the drivers just have to deal with it and everyone's got the same thing to deal with.
• 19:43
  So...
• 19:44
  Um, but yeah, it's a, it's a crazy track.
• 19:47
  It, it'll, it always creates plenty of mayhem and talking points and it's going to, um, it's going to really play a huge part in the championship, um, because there will be crashes.
• 19:59
  There'll be, um, you know, it sounds like there's going to be a lot of weather to contend with up there as well with the rain coming.
• 20:08
  Um.
• 20:08
  It's going to be, yeah, an exciting weekend.
• 20:11
  I can't wait to watch it.
• 20:12
  Looking forward to it.
• 20:13
  Mate, before we let you go, in a week's time, you and I are going to be at Sandown in Victoria.
• 20:19
  You've been joining us along the way for the Shannon Speed Series and the commentary box and broadcasting.
• 20:24
  Have you enjoyed doing that?
• 20:25
  Mate, I love it.
• 20:26
  I love it.
• 20:27
  And I've learned a lot from you, to be honest.
• 20:31
  It's been very cool.
• 20:32
  A really different perspective, you know, like you're –
• 20:36
  Sitting up there and I guess it's like when someone jumps in the passenger seat with us, they don't realise how much thought it takes and how much ability it takes to do that.
• 20:47
  So when you jump into your driver's seat or passenger seat, which is what I'm doing sitting beside you,
• 20:57
  It's, yeah, it was difficult, but actually, again, that's going back to the thing of just enjoying it.
• 21:04
  And I see the way that you approach it and the other expert commentators, just the way you go about your business and just enjoying it, but have so much knowledge, it's unbelievable.
• 21:16
  So I just try to tap in where I can and give a bit of driver insight and stick to my lane.
• 21:23
  But I think we've been enjoying it.
• 21:29
  good team we've got going on mate yeah we do, good banter and the mantra about having a laugh is part of our philosophy mate, so I look forward to seeing you at Sandown I'm holding you up at work there thanks for the reflections on Bathurst and look forward to seeing what happens for 2027 and you being back at the Enduros mate, thanks for talking to us today awesome Rusty, look forward to catching up next weekend mate
• 21:56
  Look forward to it.
• 21:56
  There he is, Lee Holdsworth.
• 21:57
  A break now on the Motorsport Brief.
• 21:59
  When we return, we'll switch to two wheels.
• 22:01
  MotoGP, one final race at the island.
• 22:06
  For this second half of the Garage Shortcast, I thought we would talk MotoGP because it's a double-header weekend and part of the Network 10 front line this weekend is none other than Cam Donald.
• 22:15
  And people will know if you've listened to the podcast before, you've been on for a feature episode.
• 22:20
  Been way too bloody long, mate.
• 22:21
  This is a good excuse to get you back in.
• 22:23
  Welcome.
• 22:23
  How are you?
• 22:23
  Good.
• 22:24
  I'm going great.
• 22:24
  Thanks, mate.
• 22:25
  It's great to catch up again.
• 22:26
  Really enjoyed the podcast, and I've had so much positive feedback for him.
• 22:30
  So, yeah, it's great.
• 22:32
  Good to see you again.
• 22:32
  Nice to tell a little bit of your story.
• 22:34
  I'll tell you what I have traded on a bit, one of the yarns out of that chat.
• 22:38
  You reflected one year about being at the TT, and because you can get microclimates there and it changes from, you know –
• 22:46
  over the course of that amazing lap or can change.
• 22:49
  I think you talked to me about chasing someone and you came through this section and there was this overwhelming smell of like garlic or something like that.
• 22:58
  And your immediate response was to roll off the throttle.
• 23:02
  And in doing that, I think you came across a couple of rivals that may have either fallen or had a moment or something along those lines.
• 23:08
  Mate, that is crazy.
• 23:09
  The rain, the sudden downpour or splash of rain had brought that scent of the garlic out, and you knew that was kind of a warning.
• 23:17
  Have I got that right, that story?
• 23:19
  Very close, but it was actually John McGuinness.
• 23:21
  Was it?
• 23:22
  Yeah, we were dicing in a group together.
• 23:24
  There was four of us on course, which very rarely happens at the TT that you end up in a group.
• 23:28
  And we're riding, and it was a track they'd worn.
• 23:30
  There was damp patches on course.
• 23:32
  but there was some rain between lap one and lap two.
• 23:35
  So lap two, there was still lack of adhesion flags out, but we didn't realize there was actually had been some rain.
• 23:40
  We came through that section and one of the riders in the group in front of me actually went down.
• 23:45
  I missed his bike.
• 23:46
  He ended up unhurt, fortunately.
• 23:47
  There was two riders behind me, one of those being McGuinness.
• 23:49
  And when I looked over my shoulder, John was no longer there.
• 23:52
  I thought, oh goodness, maybe he slipped off as well.
• 23:54
  Race was red flagged a mile down the road.
• 23:56
  Then when we all gathered up, I said to John, where did you go?
• 23:59
  And he was the one that said,
• 24:01
  I smelt the garlic, so I rolled it when we came through the valley.
• 24:05
  And I turned around and thought, well, maybe.
• 24:06
  I get goosebumps for printing that now.
• 24:08
  Thinking about that, yeah.
• 24:08
  I do two wins.
• 24:09
  John's 37 or whatever.
• 24:11
  You know, like maybe that's our 26 TT wins.
• 24:14
  Maybe that's what you need to win that many TTs, that amount of knowledge.
• 24:17
  That made me realize.
• 24:18
  But so many things like that happen there, and some of them subconsciously.
• 24:22
  But, yeah.
• 24:23
  Instinctively, almost.
• 24:24
  Instinctively, but that just blew me away.
• 24:26
  But yeah, that's... Great character.
• 24:28
  Cool that you bring him up.
• 24:31
  But in leading into MotoGP here this weekend, the fact is you're in the broadcasting chair.
• 24:37
  Tell people what you're doing this weekend with 10.
• 24:39
  And because you do that so well with TT, mate, you enjoy dabbling in that side, don't you?
• 24:44
  Look, I love it because I love motorsport first and foremost, well, motorbike racing, but to be there and help share it with people at home, like I just, I find it a privilege.
• 24:53
  I always have since the first opportunity and I love doing the TT and was doing some MotoGP, haven't for a while.
• 24:59
  So it's great to be back and I'll be on the ground in pit lane.
• 25:02
  Just sharing with those that can't get down there over the weekend and even some that are there, what's going on maybe inside the paddock and the pits as well.
• 25:08
  So, yeah.
• 25:09
  And as you know, so much unfolds during a race weekend.
• 25:13
  And this one's going to be a very special one.
• 25:15
  Very, very special one.
• 25:16
  And I think, well, I'm going down there to work as well, but we'll be busy because of the multitude of things that are happening in and around the...
• 25:23
  the celebration of the end of the island chapter, basically.
• 25:26
  So I've seen Dickie Smart firing up one of McDoan's old bikes, and they're bringing that down.
• 25:31
  I gather Kevin Schwantz is coming.
• 25:33
  I mean, it is going to be unbelievable in that regard, mate, isn't it?
• 25:36
  Yeah, when you hear things like that, like Schwantz is coming over, just not to miss the last GP at Phillip Island.
• 25:41
  That's pretty special.
• 25:41
  Yep.
• 25:42
  What are your memories of, I mean, firstly, you know, from your own career, just of that place generally to, I've tried to explain it to a colleague from Triple M in the hallway here before we got started today about, you know, it is this classic old school place.
• 25:57
  And when you see a Valentino Rossi's eyes light up or those people that, you know, reminisce about what they've done there over the years, there's something special about that place.
• 26:05
  They're very much so.
• 26:06
  I mean, for me, it's special because it's a home circuit.
• 26:09
  It's where I actually had my first ever race on bitumen.
• 26:12
  Take me there.
• 26:14
  As a teenager, dirt tracking, you know, state champion.
• 26:16
  Brother was racing 250 production bikes.
• 26:18
  So going to watch him, I thought, no, I want to race bitumen.
• 26:21
  Dad and myself, we bought a 125 Grand Prix bike, a little Honda.
• 26:24
  That's what preceded Moto3.
• 26:27
  And, but yeah, down to Phillip Island for my first ever race.
• 26:29
  I think I'd done a practice day at Brawford, but I'd gone from racing dirt track where, you know, your front and back wheel are never in line to 125 Grand Prix bike.
• 26:37
  Of all bikes, they race like a train on a rail, you know, wheels always in line, all about corner speed.
• 26:43
  Um, and I think it was my second or third race over that weekend, we had a downpour of rain.
• 26:49
  Yeah.
• 26:50
  And all of a sudden, the 125 started moving around, and I felt more comfortable.
• 26:53
  I thought, this is awesome.
• 26:54
  And I was backing into the slower turns and doing things that I quickly learned you don't do on a 125 from free bike.
• 27:00
  Because I also then had my first crash, a massive high side coming out of Siberia.
• 27:04
  I remember cartwheeling into the tire wall with the bike following me and just thinking, what happened?
• 27:10
  Like after dirt track, the crash was just so quick.
• 27:12
  It just snapped sideways and flicked me off.
• 27:14
  But yeah, that was my baptism of fire to circuit racing at Phillip Island.
• 27:19
  And that weekend to experience the speed and the weather, which Phillip Island's so often hit by.
• 27:27
  It was, yeah, it was very memorable that first weekend racing.
• 27:30
  TT obviously has this very special place in your heart.
• 27:33
  Where does that place sit, you know, in a...
• 27:38
  like a ranking, if you will.
• 27:39
  You know, and there's so many great circuits that we have around the world.
• 27:41
  A lot of people are very proud of that place, aren't they, and what it's like to race there and ride there.
• 27:46
  The thing is the TT, or the Isle of Man, and Phillip Island, they have so many similarities.
• 27:51
  As far as, you know, their iconic circuits...
• 27:54
  on a small island, hugely affected by weather.
• 27:57
  There's something about when you get to the TT, whether you step off the ferry or you land and you walk through the airport, it's sort of similar to crossing that bridge of San Marimo.
• 28:06
  You know, we only get there one or two ways.
• 28:08
  I mean, Phillip Island, you're either flying there.
• 28:09
  Oh, mate, I've just got – let's just set the tone for me for the weekend.
• 28:11
  And there's something about you cross that bridge in San Marimo and you think all the other riders and teams have too, apart from, you know, a few probably come down by a helicopter, but you cross that –
• 28:20
  that bridge and you think I'm here, I'm on this ground.
• 28:23
  There's something about being there.
• 28:25
  It's, it's, it's sacred ground.
• 28:27
  It's a feeling that I find I've only ever got at the Isle of Man or at Phillip Island.
• 28:32
  They both give you that, that feel.
• 28:33
  And I thought maybe it's just me cause it's a home track and history there and whatnot, but you know, all around the world, I'm lucky enough to meet fans and fellow competitors all around the world.
• 28:43
  And everyone that's been to Australia has a, has a story about Phillip Island.
• 28:46
  It means, it means a lot to, to, to many.
• 28:49
  What about a memory for you, maybe from over the years?
• 28:51
  It could be, I mean, you know, what Wayne Gardner did in the early years and the massive crowd and kind of putting it on the map in some respects, doing Casey Stoner.
• 29:02
  I mean, there's been some very special moments for us as Australians there too, haven't there?
• 29:07
  Huge.
• 29:08
  So many.
• 29:09
  And I think we've almost taken it for granted over the years, like the amount of home success we've had with riders.
• 29:14
  But one, and just off the top of my head, I can't remember the year, but Troy Bayliss.
• 29:20
  was riding a 250 Grand Prix bike, a Suzuki.
• 29:23
  Mark Osler, my colleague, was part of the commentary that year.
• 29:27
  And I think for a brief moment in the commentary, he almost goes into like PA announcer mode and says on the television, stand up, Australia.
• 29:38
  You know, like this is a really cool moment.
• 29:40
  Here's this guy on a bike that...
• 29:42
  fundamentally isn't the equal maybe of those up in front of him and he's kind of battling a way to break into things and here he is really.
• 29:52
  Like Bruce Fombs.
• 29:53
  Look at him, Rusty.
• 29:54
  It's just I remember being at Turn 1 with Milder Brotherhood down there
• 29:59
  Watching and he, Troy was pretty much, I mean, we knew who he was from Australian super bikes, but no one on the international stage did to step in 250 Grand Prix.
• 30:07
  That was the last, the class of Procedo Moto 2.
• 30:10
  I think it was the last year Suzuki ever fielded a bike in that class.
• 30:14
  It wasn't just a little bit uncompetitive.
• 30:16
  I mean, the thing was so slow.
• 30:18
  And he rode the wheels off.
• 30:20
  And we always talk about Philip Bowen's a track that can enable maybe a machine that's lacking slightly the ability to keep up with the group in front just via slipstream because it's so fast and flowing.
• 30:28
  And the way then, if there was a gap, he'd just throw it in on the brakes and close that gap again.
• 30:33
  He was battling for third the entire race.
• 30:36
  The last couple of laps, they just literally...
• 30:39
  pulled away from in straight line speed.
• 30:41
  But the heart he showed in that race and the way he kept closing the gap, never ridden that class, never ridden that machine to turn up.
• 30:49
  Yeah.
• 30:49
  When I look back, that is the one race.
• 30:52
  It's one of the greatest races I've ever watched.
• 30:54
  I love that.
• 30:54
  I love that.
• 30:55
  And you're not necessarily picking something that was all about Advanced Australia Fair playing on the podium necessarily.
• 31:00
  It was an underdog kind of moment really, wasn't it?
• 31:03
  Yeah.
• 31:04
  Against Goliath.
• 31:04
  You know, it was incredible.
• 31:05
  Yeah.
• 31:06
  I have vivid memories of Christopher Mullen.
• 31:08
  I think it was the first of the continuation races where you could pit, change bikes if weather came and so on.
• 31:14
  And he is sliding that Suzuki, I think.
• 31:18
  And Marco Melandri might have been doing the same thing out of the final corner on the way to the podium.
• 31:23
  There's been some cool stuff there over the years.
• 31:25
  Let's talk 2026 because you'll be in a broadcast sense, not only covering the –
• 31:33
  The great moments where we reminisce and talking to some of the legends, but you'll be dealing in the now as well.
• 31:38
  Just maybe some observations of the 2026 championship and what you're looking forward to this weekend.
• 31:42
  Well, it couldn't be scripted better for this weekend.
• 31:44
  Five rounds to go.
• 31:45
  And I mean, it's coming down to an epic showdown, both Moto2 and MotoGP.
• 31:51
  But the battle at the moment, Bedzecki, Martin and Marquez...
• 31:56
  That's this weekend.
• 31:57
  Box office.
• 31:58
  It's unreal, mate.
• 31:58
  Who could pick it?
• 32:00
  I really thought that it might have been Martins heading that way.
• 32:03
  But after Mandelika, Indonesia, a track where Aprilia should have really walked away.
• 32:07
  Well, they did dominate first time ever, Aprilia first through to fourth.
• 32:11
  Mm-hmm.
• 32:12
  But yet Marquez left with the same gap in the championship.
• 32:15
  Like, if anyone could do it.
• 32:17
  He's a freak, isn't he?
• 32:18
  He wants it so bad.
• 32:20
  I don't think I've ever seen a motorsport competitor as committed and hungry as Mark Marquez.
• 32:25
  Like, through all adversity, the way he just puts it on the line.
• 32:30
  And, of course, Philip Island.
• 32:31
  We know Mark, injury-wise, he's struggling with right-hand turns.
• 32:34
  Philip Island's mainly left, although it is a hugely physical track anyway.
• 32:39
  Yeah, who could pick it now?
• 32:40
  I really thought it was heading in Martin's favour.
• 32:43
  I think my money's on Marquez.
• 32:44
  Okay.
• 32:45
  A little swan song for Jack Miller that we could talk about as well.
• 32:49
  And then almost a baton change, right?
• 32:51
  Young Senna Aegis, who's got a great opportunity in 2027.
• 32:56
  To see him on the podium there last year in Moto2 was just, I mean...
• 33:03
  I was very lucky I was doing the podium announcing in the background and just to see what it meant to him as he was wandering out to the you know for that moment was was very cool yeah he's a really exciting prospect such a nice young guy and really all the ingredients you know just so professional just not only how he rides the motorbike how he conducts himself from what I've been told the feedback he gives to the team and how articulate he is in that which as we know I mean that's it's important in moto too but it's
• 33:29
  Absolutely, crucially MotoGP where the machines are just so adjustable.
• 33:33
  So many riders move to that class and get lost.
• 33:35
  But I think the ingredients are there, so very exciting to watch him for the rest of this season, but heading into next year, losing Jack, to have an Australian in the Premier class, it's a very special thing.
• 33:47
  Absolutely.
• 33:47
  Great lineup for you guys at 10.
• 33:50
  My close buddy, Daryl Beattie, a part of it, Tara Rushton there.
• 33:54
  Sam Childwood, who's been working on Australian Supercross, among other things, and he's properly passionate about two wheels and has worked in a reporting sense, and he's grown a lot as a broadcaster.
• 34:05
  Nice lineup.
• 34:05
  You're looking forward to being a part of all that?
• 34:07
  Yeah, I am.
• 34:07
  Sam's a good mate too.
• 34:08
  We've done a lot of it.
• 34:08
  And we've tested a few dirt bikes together and done other stuff.
• 34:11
  He's a great guy.
• 34:12
  Darrell, still a hero of mine.
• 34:14
  And just, yeah, the whole team, they're great people.
• 34:16
  And you're looking forward down there and getting stuck into it and see what the weekend brings.
• 34:20
  Good stuff.
• 34:20
  Ten have a rich and long history of covering MotoGP.
• 34:24
  So check out the action there with them this weekend.
• 34:26
  It's been nice to get you into the studio, mate.
• 34:29
  And a kind of final thought as we wrap this up, because there's...
• 34:34
  Lots of good reasons for people to watch the broadcast, obviously, but to get down to the island if they can.
• 34:40
  Because to see a MotoGP bike there down the main straight, even to wander around the venue and to see it in action through Turn 1 and Siberia and places like that, something else, isn't it?
• 34:51
  You mentioned before how special the circuit is.
• 34:53
  It's like old school, traditional, that fast and flowing.
• 34:56
  And so many of the new courses are steering away from that to watch that.
• 34:59
  And even turn one, how close you can get to the action.
• 35:02
  You're literally just metres away from those bikes at 300 plus.
• 35:06
  kilometers an hour sort of apex speed turning speed so yeah you're lucky to see that anywhere else in the world let alone on the seafront where you can look down the bass straight coast you know it's something like nothing else awesome to go to wrap this up you're off to tt again next year absolutely just found out we got the gig again to be part of the presentation team so really thrilled to get over there and make the pilgrimage not unlike the pilgrimage down to phillip island and be part of something very special again
• 35:31
  We need to do this more often, maybe over a little cold.
• 35:33
  Great to see you, mate.
• 35:34
  Thank you for coming in today and go well on the coverage this weekend.
• 35:38
  A pleasure.
• 35:38
  Hope to see you down there.
• 35:39
  Cool.