Latest / Rusty's Garage / Andrew Miedecke | Part 1 - Parramatta Road lessons & single-seater wall art

Transcript

Andrew Miedecke | Part 1 - Parramatta Road lessons & single-seater wall art · Rusty's Garage

0:02
Listener.
0:04
G'day everyone, Rusty here at Bill Richardson Transport World on the South Island of New Zealand in Invercargill.
0:10
I'm standing in front of some Ford trucks for this, which in a roundabout way is quite fitting.
0:15
And I'll tell you more about that in a moment.
0:17
On the way here, I stopped in at our Listener studios in Sydney, and I was joined by Andrew Miedeke for this feature episode.
0:24
Two parts over 90 minutes of conversation, and it is unreal.
0:28
It's a little bit like
0:29
the kind of discussions you have in the race transporter at the end of the day when the contest is over and the focus on racing is done and you can get your teeth into some other topics growing up on the apple isle in tasmania and being wowed by some legends at longford getting into the car business and establishing a ford dealership at port macquarie in new south wales and then expanding it
0:52
to include a raft of other brands.
0:54
Going to England and pursuing the open wheeler dream, only to be told by a legend that he probably didn't have enough dough and to return to Australia.
1:03
Success in Asia, a frightening crash in a Ford Sierra at Lakeside, the great Peter Brock, the late Alan Moffat, some memories of those two, and winning a race with...
1:15
with his son George in GT Racing and why it's so special to him.
1:19
Plus, the motor racing business with Ford and Multimatic that is doing some terrific things in GT competition in our part of the world.
1:27
You'll really enjoy this.
1:28
Getting to know Andrew Medeke.
1:33
Hello, mate.
1:34
How are you?
1:35
I'm fine, Greg.
1:36
This is terribly overdue on my part.
1:38
We must have spoken about five or six times.
1:39
I'm super pleased that we finally, we've got it happening.
1:42
Can I begin with your surname?
1:45
Because I've tried always, I reckon my buddy Richard Crail is the champion of this, but we've always tried to say, meet a key.
1:52
Correct.
1:53
There has been along the way, and this happens with kind of Australianisation of things and other commentators and what have you.
1:58
Some people have said Medeke, but I understand it's Medeke.
2:03
Tell me if I got that right.
2:04
Absolutely correct.
2:05
And what is the origins of the name?
2:07
Where does it come from?
2:07
There were two brothers in a place called Schilder Holstein, which was northern Germany, southern Denmark in the late 1800s.
2:14
And they were...
2:17
They jumped ship.
2:18
One came to Australia, one went to America to avoid the draft, avoid the call-up for the Franco-Prussian War or some war.
2:27
Oh, yeah, yeah.
2:29
And my forebear landed in Adelaide, and we've been here ever since.
2:32
Awesome.
2:32
Awesome.
2:33
I want to come to your family history in a moment, but as you and I sit and talk here, it has been a busy couple of weeks for you.
2:39
So we're literally the day after the GT Festival in Sydney, where Midiki Motorsport have had a very strong presence, and you can couple that with what you're doing with Multimatic and the various Mustangs and GT4 competition, but you arrived after...
2:56
A big mission to Japan with MPC and a GT3 car and a gun driver line up there.
3:03
Tell me about that.
3:05
Yeah.
3:06
Well, that was a great opportunity to be given by Ford.
3:11
And the way that it happened was Ford rang me about three months ago, maybe a bit less, and said, Oh, Andrew, we're in a bit of strife.
3:20
We've realised that we're contractually obligated to do Suzuka and our normal team, HRT, are busy doing...
3:33
the German national series, DTM.
3:35
Yeah, yeah.
3:35
And, you know, we know there's a new, you know, an unused... GT3.
3:41
GT3 in the country.
3:42
Do you reckon you can put a deal together?
3:44
And so I rang Tony Quinn and Harry is right-hand man, who were the owners of this unused, nearly two-year-old GT3 Mustang.
3:54
I think you sold it to them to begin with, didn't you?
3:56
So you're buying it back, basically, aren't you?
3:58
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
3:59
We worked out a deal with, that was fair to Tony, and Tony always makes sure they just got out for all.
4:05
Okay.
4:06
And on behalf of Ford, bought the car back and came to an agreement with Ford for how much it was going to cost to buy the tyres and to run it and send the crew over.
4:16
Yeah.
4:16
And then sat down with MPC, with Ford,
4:19
Troy and Lee, who are, they're great guys and they're really good operators and they've got a, they've got a philosophy that I love and that is say yes and work out how to do it later, you know.
4:30
And so we said yes and so we ordered a 40 foot container, filled it full of all the pit gear and the equipment that you need to run a GT3 car and that's enormous, you know.
4:43
Yeah.
4:44
and Harry drove, or Harry and his team at Tony Quinns, put it in a truck, delivered it to us.
4:53
We got a week's worth of work, or probably not even a week, before we all had to go to Darwin for our GT3 and GT4 races, and then locked the door of the container and sent it.
5:07
And off it went to Japan.
5:08
And then we met up with it a couple of weeks ago, and there was still a lot of work to do because there's been an upgrade since, an EVO package, which is everything.
5:18
Steering racks, you know, lots and lots and lots of stuff.
5:22
So we got stuck in a business to do it.
5:26
For the team, and there were about 10 of us, it was late nights, really late nights, very early starts, three in the morning, starting again at 6.30.
5:38
But we got it done, and the drivers turned up, and the drivers are well-known.
5:42
I've known Chris Meese, of course, but most of the drivers are well-known to the MPC guys, and they're all pro.
5:51
Totally.
5:52
Fred Vervish, who was here for TCR in recent years, and Chris, very well known in this country, so among, yeah.
5:57
They get in the car and, you know, the first lap, they're absolutely on it and giving good feedback.
6:02
Okay.
6:04
And so we took Paul Seppernick over as the engineer and...
6:11
He was great.
6:13
He can be prickly, Paul, but he's very, very bright.
6:16
He knows what he's doing.
6:17
And we found a really good setup.
6:22
Yep.
6:22
And Eric, of course, the other engineer.
6:25
Yep.
6:25
And so it was great.
6:27
Great.
6:27
And, you know, by halfway through practice, we thought, oh, we're not going to be too bad here.
6:33
You know, we were just, maybe these legends of other countries aren't quite so legendary after all, and we might be able to match or run with them.
6:41
And...
6:43
And in the end, really, we weren't desperate for pole position.
6:46
We didn't really want it.
6:49
We would have preferred to be third.
6:51
But what you don't want is to finish practice and be given a BOP adjustment.
6:54
Yes.
6:55
Yeah.
6:55
And so we thought we were going third.
6:59
And the car that was on pole, the craft and bamboo car was...
7:03
too low and underweight.
7:05
So it was back of the grid.
7:07
And the other car that was in front of one of the Porsches that were in front of us ran wide.
7:12
And so its lap was deleted, and so all of a sudden we're on pole.
7:15
Amazing.
7:16
And the story's there, yeah.
7:18
Yeah, yeah, very, very cool.
7:21
The extension to that story for me goes back to the beginning of the year, really, to Bathurst 12 Hour.
7:26
That car you just described was on display in a very cool marquee and spectator area on the inside of the chase at the Bathurst 12 Hour.
7:38
You had some top brass from America come over.
7:42
Mark Rushbrook was there, for example, and so on.
7:44
to announce the fact that Midiki Motorsport was going to do two cars this year and you were going to give a couple of young blokes a chance in that machine.
7:52
I mean, you're continuing to bolster and build what you're doing here, aren't you?
7:58
That's what we're all about.
8:00
And we've done it all the way through.
8:03
You know, George's experienced, and he has a lot to give young drivers.
8:07
Yep.
8:08
And I've been in the game a long time, and it gives me a lot of pleasure to help young guys on their way.
8:16
Ryland Gray is a good example.
8:17
You know, I think Ryland's...
8:20
position as a full-time supercar driver is in some part.
8:23
Book it a bit of time with us, you know, and the references we're able to give him.
8:26
And, you know, he's such a cool dude, you know.
8:29
Yeah.
8:30
So cool.
8:30
So that was what the announcement was all about.
8:33
And we've got, with Joshua, three very, you know, very, very talented young drivers.
8:39
And they're all kids, you know, 18, 19.
8:42
Cooper Cuts is at uni and Blake Dowdle's done the hard yards in New Zealand.
8:48
I'm diving in here because I want to lead to Blake Tracy, right?
8:52
What have you guys seen in him this year?
8:53
He's got a bit of character.
8:54
He's been fast.
8:56
There's been lots of stuff with him, hasn't there?
8:58
Well, he's a great kid.
8:59
Yeah.
9:00
And he has – I'd read of him through his Trans Am efforts.
9:05
Yep.
9:06
And to turn up in Trans Am from pretty well nowhere and win a race was pretty impressive.
9:10
Yeah.
9:12
And also Steve McLaughlin's – A huge champion of – yes, yes.
9:16
Yeah.
9:16
And it was at the –
9:18
At the prize-giving dinner in New Zealand, the last race, Steve and I were in the foyer together before we went into the dinner, and Steve said he was supporting Blake Tracy.
9:30
And I said, well, you know, Ryland's moving on.
9:35
I'm looking for somebody.
9:36
And so we pretty well agreed on the spot.
9:40
In the foyer.
9:41
Yeah.
9:41
I love it.
9:42
I hadn't even met Blake.
9:44
But as I said, I read about it, and I'd...
9:46
His reputation preceded him, and I was around a better course.
9:51
But I think Steve McLaughlin knows, and he's a very intelligent guy that's made substantial wealth, and you've got to be smart enough to do that, so I trust his judgment.
10:05
Cool, cool.
10:06
Let's come back a fraction in your journey here, because there is an open wheeler component, there is a steering car component, there's an international component.
10:14
Early life for you growing up, though, am I right in saying it was actually Tassie?
10:19
Where did you grow up?
10:20
Yeah, I grew up in Launceston.
10:22
Lovely.
10:22
Longford and places like that?
10:24
I went to Longford with my dad.
10:26
Did you?
10:26
Dad was a, you know, he was...
10:29
Dad had been a pilot in the war and decorated pilot, I might say, DFC.
10:34
And then he did a little bit of boat racing.
10:36
Okay.
10:37
So he was keen.
10:38
Yeah.
10:38
And I went with him.
10:40
Does it come from him?
10:40
Is that where you get the passion, the love for most people?
10:43
It's come from somewhere.
10:44
Yeah.
10:44
Come from somewhere.
10:45
I'm not sure exactly where.
10:46
And I wanted to be – I grew up and I wasn't really interested in footy.
10:50
I wasn't interested in any of those team games.
10:52
I was too much of an individual.
10:53
Yeah.
10:54
But I remember early on I wanted to be good at something.
10:56
Okay.
10:56
Okay.
10:57
So you went to Longford and you watched it or something?
10:59
Yeah.
10:59
What transpired?
11:00
Yeah.
11:00
I went with that, you know, sort of, I don't know, six or seven or eight or nine, you know, and just loved it, you know, in awe of the heroes of the day, you know.
11:10
Who were they?
11:10
Sprinkle those for us.
11:11
Oh, no.
11:12
uh, bib stool, uh, uh, Davidson, you know, Jack Bradman was there, Sterling Moss was there in his Island, you know, um, Bruce McLaren, all of those guys.
11:22
Yeah.
11:23
And later on when I was at, when I was in my, so when I was 14 or 15, I used to wag school so I could work at the timing, in the timing box.
11:32
Did you?
11:32
Yeah.
11:32
Yeah.
11:34
I find this stuff fascinating around people that are successful, right?
11:37
Because it's almost like school sometimes isn't enough to stimulate you or something along those lines.
11:45
I mean, you've gone on to do some good things in business, right?
11:48
Were you studious at school?
11:50
Did you not interest you, but you were already kind of thinking about what you were going to do beyond that?
11:54
What were you like?
11:54
Yeah.
11:55
You know what?
11:55
When I was at school, I was thinking, there's none of this.
11:58
Algebra has nothing to do.
12:00
That's not helping me be a racing driver or make any money.
12:04
That's how I really figured.
12:06
So I couldn't wait to leave.
12:08
Okay.
12:09
And my mother said, my mother was a very strong influence in my life.
12:13
She was a great person.
12:15
In what ways?
12:16
Well...
12:17
She taught me, you know, you have to have a go.
12:20
Dad was a dad of the era, you know.
12:23
World War.
12:24
Maybe a little bit scarred, you know.
12:25
Okay.
12:26
Quite standoffish.
12:27
Yeah.
12:28
So I remember I wanted to impress him, but mum was the one that would lay the ground rules.
12:36
Like, you can't leave school unless you've got a job.
12:40
So I wanted to be in the car industry, of course.
12:42
So I got a job in the spare parts department of the Holden Deal at Motors Providal Limit in Brisbane Street, Launceston.
12:50
That almost feels like sacrilege now that you're so aligned to Ford.
12:53
Exactly.
12:54
Exactly.
12:55
And I used to deliver parts.
12:57
You know, I was very junior and there were little workshops all over Launceston and repair shops.
13:03
And I had a fixed wheel bike with a basket on the front and a grey dust coat and I used to ride around Launceston delivering parts.
13:12
The first foray of driving of any kind is what?
13:16
When do you finally get that chance?
13:17
If you were mesmerised at Longford, when do you get the chance to drive?
13:20
It was a bit late because, you know, mum said a little bit later on,
13:29
No way, I'm going to give you the money for money.
13:30
And Dad really wasn't that, he wasn't supportive in that way.
13:35
Okay.
13:35
So you've got to do it yourself, son.
13:36
Yep.
13:37
So the very first drive I had, I bought in Melbourne, I bought an old Formula 3 car called Lynx BMC, which Kevin Bartlett had in the past.
13:48
And it was a great car.
13:49
I don't know if you know, Lynx was an Australian racing car built in Sydney.
13:54
Designed by Ron Turanac.
13:55
Fantastic.
13:55
Before he left to join Jack Bradman in England.
14:00
And it was a cool little car.
14:03
And first race, I went, you know, I went quite well.
14:07
And then I ran out of dough.
14:12
Well, that was kind of my next question, the learnings and all that, right?
14:14
Because are you getting help to learn as a driver?
14:19
And how the heck were you stitching it together in a monetary sense?
14:21
No, I was just working as hard as I could.
14:24
You know, by this time...
14:26
I was just – I was a sales cadet in Melbourne, but at local shows and things, I could be a salesperson and get a commission.
14:36
Okay.
14:36
So I've had my hand up for every one of those local shows all around Victoria and selling Land Rovers at the time and copying the commission.
14:46
Did that stuff come easily?
14:47
Like, you know, clearly you're a personable –
14:51
Human being, I mean, interacting with people, selling, did that come easily to you?
14:55
Yeah.
14:55
Yeah.
14:56
Yeah.
14:58
Algebra?
14:58
No.
14:58
No?
14:59
People, yes.
15:02
What transpires next for me?
15:04
So, I mean, on my right, you left school at 16.
15:07
Yeah.
15:08
We've talked parts department, obviously.
15:10
Did you get a loan from your mum?
15:12
Yeah, I did.
15:14
It was when I moved to Sydney and I bought an old Formula Ford and worked out, again, this is a few years later, after the Lynx, that perhaps I might have some talent.
15:27
So I said to mum, mum, will you lend me $6,000?
15:31
You know, I'm going to be a full-time racing driver and I'll pay you back.
15:33
What are we talking about?
15:34
70s, late 60s?
15:34
What is this?
15:35
Yeah, this is early 70s.
15:37
So this is a lot of money, basically.
15:38
Yeah, six grand.
15:40
And she said, son, I will never give any money for motor racing.
15:46
But she said, I'll lend you the deposit for a house.
15:49
Okay.
15:49
And she's smart.
15:51
Yeah.
15:51
So I, at the time I was working on Parramatta Road and I was selling a car to a valuer.
15:58
Okay.
15:59
A real estate valuer.
16:00
Yeah.
16:00
And I said, if you're going to buy a house, tell me where to buy a house in Sydney that's going to go up.
16:06
In value.
16:07
In value.
16:07
And he said, I'd go to Balmain.
16:11
And I said, where's Balmain?
16:12
I've never been to Belmont.
16:15
Anyway, I went over there.
16:15
It's a cute little place.
16:16
And it was just starting to take off.
16:19
So I bought a corner terrace for...
16:25
18 grand.
16:26
So I had a third deposit.
16:27
What would that be worth today, just quickly, because Balmain is such a sort of lot of lot.
16:34
It's still there too.
16:35
I went past it just recently.
16:37
And so anyway, I borrowed 12 grand from a solicitor in Gladesville.
16:45
But as soon as I got out of it, I would come home from work
16:50
And I'd start work on the house at 6 and finish at 12, go to work by 8.30 the next day and every night.
16:58
You're renoing at night time, aren't you?
16:59
You're renoing at night, you know, painting and doing plump, learn how to plumb, learn how to tile, learn all that stuff.
17:05
But six months later, it was worth 24 grand.
17:08
So I sold it.
17:09
So I had six grand profit, which wasn't taxable then.
17:12
Yep.
17:13
Six grand from my mother.
17:15
Yep.
17:15
So I bought two.
17:16
And then I left my job and I was flat out into it and –
17:22
Shortly after, I had enough money to buy a brand new Formula Ford.
17:25
Amazing.
17:26
Come back one step here for me, just before we come to the Formula Ford.
17:29
When you said Parramatta Road before, I mean, you've ended up significantly as a car dealer in Port Macquarie, and we'll talk about that move later.
17:36
But Parramatta Road was the place for that stuff, wasn't it?
17:39
Absolutely.
17:39
There were dealerships everywhere.
17:40
It was sort of, if you wanted a car in Sydney, you would go to Parramatta Road to find something, wouldn't you?
17:46
Exactly.
17:46
Yeah.
17:47
Where were you?
17:48
I was at Muir's at Ashfield.
17:50
Okay.
17:50
Yeah, with a big Holden dealer.
17:51
Yeah, yeah.
17:52
Yeah, and big parts dealer and, yeah.
17:54
Excellent.
17:55
So, again, a Holden dealer.
17:57
Okay.
17:57
Formula Ford you buy is what?
18:00
A brand new Burana.
18:01
Okay.
18:02
So –
18:04
And I'd read about Tony O'Connor and I'd seen some of the 73s.
18:11
So I started the Formula Ford 74, Drive to Europe, TA, Drive to Europe series.
18:17
I'd forgotten where it was.
18:20
in this Burana, and I was competitive straight away.
18:22
Cool.
18:23
And Grace Brothers, the big department store, were a team at the time.
18:27
We are recording this in the World Square studios just underneath Triple M. So it would only be a short walk to where Grace Brothers is in where this is.
18:36
I mean, so that's pretty cool that you lured them.
18:38
How did that come about?
18:40
Well, you know, there was a man named Hans Tiefenman who ran the team.
18:45
Yep.
18:45
He was employed.
18:46
He was a marketing guy for Grace Brothers.
18:49
And an enthusiast.
18:51
And I think the second round I won at Amaroom.
18:55
And so on the Monday, somebody might have told me, or anyway, he said, look, you should bring Grace Brothers and see if they're prepared to help.
19:03
So I did, and Hans had been there on the day, although I hadn't met him.
19:06
He said, yeah, come in and see me, son.
19:09
So that was the start of the Grace Brothers sponsor.
19:12
Fantastic.
19:13
You take a prop.
19:14
You do this by chit-chatting.
19:16
How do you get that over the line?
19:17
Yeah, well, and I took a prop.
19:18
Yeah, I took a prop and said, but I didn't really need one because he was an enthusiast.
19:22
He'd been at the race.
19:23
He saw that I was fast.
19:24
I want to be associated.
19:26
He, you know, Grace Brothers...
19:29
ethic was to, in Formula Ford, it was a sponsor, good young blokes that didn't see the true.
19:35
And they had at the time, they were sponsoring the Gagans in touring cars and sports cars.
19:42
And they're sponsoring John Leffler in Formula 5000.
19:46
So it was a proper team.
19:48
Nice.
19:48
And, you know, yeah, it was good.
19:50
We were in their ads.
19:50
I found the other day and that.
19:52
and add a cut out of the paper, which is the Grace Brothers team.
19:57
Fantastic.
19:58
So what leads here?
19:59
Because within a couple of years, you're contemplating and making moves to do some stuff in Europe.
20:07
So is the Formula Ford a moment of, not awakening, I wouldn't say that, but is it like, right, I've got a little bit of money, I've got some kind of wherewithal, but I really want to go and have a crack at Europe.
20:19
What transpires there?
20:20
There was a drive to Europe championship at the time, which if you won, you know, you got a ticket to the UK and some money and some introduction.
20:32
Yeah.
20:33
And that's what I was aiming to do.
20:36
And I didn't do it.
20:37
So how did you make the move happen, if that's the case?
20:40
Because it's a – Well, anyway, it was a very competitive series.
20:45
And I think I – Who are you up against, just for people listening that can remember the era?
20:52
Larry's brother, Terry.
20:53
Larry Perkins' brother, Terry Perkins.
20:58
The Boosamans, you know, Boosamans who was in Port Bursconi.
21:03
Who else was in it?
21:04
There was a… Was Gary Rush around then too?
21:06
I can't remember.
21:07
Yeah.
21:07
Yeah.
21:08
Gary had been in the series the year before, whether he was in it.
21:12
Okay.
21:13
Somebody sent it to me the other day.
21:14
This stuff keeps on popping up through Facebook.
21:18
There was an entrance, I mean, a list of entries for Warwick Farm the year before.
21:23
Yeah, but it was competitive series.
21:24
They were always quality, weren't they?
21:25
Always.
21:26
Yeah.
21:26
Always.
21:27
It was hot.
21:28
So it doesn't come to fruition locally, but it doesn't stop your determination to get there.
21:34
Well, you know, I got knocked out.
21:36
Somebody ran in the back of me in the last round.
21:40
So I was then equal on points with Terry.
21:44
Yep.
21:45
But I lost, because I had a DNF, I lost the championship on the countback.
21:52
Okay.
21:52
Okay.
21:53
So I thought, I'm going anyway.
21:55
And, you know, I had still had some houses.
22:01
I kept one as a bank.
22:04
Heavily mortgaged, mind you.
22:05
Okay.
22:08
And Departed for England with my mate, Bruce Carey.
22:12
Amazing.
22:13
I want to ask more about Bruce.
22:15
The thing that's triggered my thought here is that, you know, to be successful in business, you have to have a number of qualities.
22:23
But you've just talked about not being...
22:27
afraid of a bit of a punt too.
22:28
I mean, it calculated because you had a level of backstop with a property here and so on, but you weren't afraid to roll the dice either.
22:35
Was that a natural trade of yours or you just, it was like, I can't be on the front porch at 65 wondering?
22:41
No, exactly that.
22:43
You know, I think, you know, I'd done well out of those houses, but, you know, I figured I'd always do something like that again.
22:51
Okay.
22:53
And that's proved to be the case.
22:54
Yes.
22:54
So if you have the confidence, you'll be okay.
22:58
So, yeah, Bruce and I, we stayed a year or two after Formula 4 and did Formula 2.
23:07
Yep.
23:11
For me, cheap racing.
23:12
Oh, yeah.
23:12
While I got myself organised.
23:13
And then I went to... We did the... You remember Formula Pacific first came out in New Zealand?
23:21
Had that terrific New Zealand series, Peter Cypher series, which was four races in four weekends, or it might have even been five in five, and starting at Christmas time.
23:31
Fantastic.
23:32
And we did that, and I had a Lola 360, which was...
23:38
an older car at the time against Keke Rosberg and the rest.
23:42
But I compete, you know, given the equipment, I compared okay.
23:47
So that gave me the confidence then to go to England.
23:49
Brilliant.
23:50
We'll come back to some stuff you've kept in open wheeler terms.
23:53
But firstly, a thought on Bruce and then, you know, as a person and the,
23:59
The fact that the two of you are off on this adventure to the UK, I think the year is 1977.
24:03
Tell me a little bit about this.
24:04
Well, Bruce is a legend in his own time.
24:09
Sadly, sadly gone for some years now.
24:12
Yes.
24:13
But just a great bloke.
24:14
He was, you know, a really, really close friend.
24:17
A very, very talented engineer.
24:19
And he raced himself in the early days.
24:23
Had a V8 Capri, which actually was sponsored by Grace Brothers.
24:26
Grace Brothers, okay.
24:27
And then he decided his real love was engineering and engine building and chassis.
24:32
And so he and I went to Europe together and lived together.
24:38
Are you winging a prayer?
24:39
Have you got a connection over there, somewhere to stay, a car?
24:43
What have you?
24:43
I had some Aussie mates and we landed on them and, you know,
24:52
Landed on them and then sort of went round through, went and knocked on Ron Truro next door.
24:57
What did he say?
24:58
I'm told there's a story here.
25:02
I said to, and this is in the yard of Rolt, and Bruce, we were there together, Bruce the mechanic.
25:10
So Bruce got the job straight away.
25:11
Mm-hmm.
25:12
And I said, Ron, you know, I'm here to drive and do the championship.
25:19
He said, how much money have you got, son?
25:22
And I told him.
25:23
I'd forgotten the amount.
25:25
It might have been 70, it might have been 70, probably 17,000 pounds.
25:29
Yep, yep.
25:30
He said, best to buy a ticket home then, son.
25:34
Oh!
25:39
So that was a shock.
25:40
And he was, as it turned out, he was dead right.
25:43
Okay.
25:44
You know, by the time I bought a car and got myself cutted out, there was no money to run the thing, you know.
25:49
And so, again, I started flogging cars at a Ford dealer on the churchy roundabout in...
25:55
Is that right?
25:56
Right by the took me, took it in rugby grounds.
25:58
Okay, okay.
25:59
And so I flogged every car that I possibly could, but still, you know, racing's expensive anywhere you go.
26:05
Yep.
26:05
So we did some racing, and racing is difficult in England, and I thought I could do it all myself.
26:13
Mm-hmm.
26:14
You need to be in a team in England.
26:16
Yep.
26:16
Because, you know, you go to a track and you test in the dry and then the next day or a couple of days later you turn up for the race, which are usually one-day meetings, and it's half-wet.
26:31
So where's the set-up for the half-wet?
26:33
Yes.
26:33
And by the end of practice you're starting to get, but everybody that's got the right set-up is already a second, a lap faster than you.
26:42
But I got a couple of fast slaps and, you know, showed that I had some speed but just playing around.
26:47
And, you know, the field's full of Brazilians with... Money, yeah.
26:53
So much money.
26:53
Yeah, yeah.
26:55
And so it was good.
26:57
But by the end of the year, I was absolutely a flat bragger.
27:01
I had this car.
27:03
And Jeff Bradham was a friend of mine and he said...
27:09
I might put you onto a deal here that I've been offered a deal to do Macau and in a Formula Atlantic car.
27:18
But I'm already, you know, he had something else on, you know, and so he gave me the deal, which is to drive with, get sponsorship from Rothmans.
27:27
Yep.
27:28
So I then had this Formula 3 car that I had to pull to bits and turn into a Formula Atlantic car, which is suspension and brakes, and the tubs were the same, but suspension, brakes, engine, gearboxes.
27:42
And so we got stuck in and did that, and I...
27:46
Steve Farrell was over there at the time.
27:48
Steve is a legendary mechanic that was over there.
27:53
First one over there was his brother Chris.
27:58
And Steve and I worked and we converted this car.
28:03
And Bruce.
28:03
Bruce was there.
28:04
But sold the engine, you know, sold bits and pieces, sold the old former three bits, which there was a market for.
28:11
Mm-hmm.
28:11
bought bits to make it into the engine and body work to make it into a Formula Atlantic car, tested it at a Goodwood and put it into a container and sent it to Hong Kong.
28:22
Amazing.
28:23
Sometimes I'm, you know, I don't believe in regrets.
28:27
Obviously what transpired in the UK was probably a bit of a tough pill to swallow.
28:32
But in the same breath, you know, sometimes things happen for a reason.
28:35
And this actually is the entree to a good chapter of racing in Asia for you, basically, isn't it?
28:40
Very much.
28:41
Very much.
28:41
And you're right, too.
28:43
You know, I didn't achieve my dream.
28:45
I didn't get to race in Europe.
28:47
And, you know, I think I was on the pace at the time, would have been okay.
28:50
But...
28:51
You know, one door shuts, another one opens, and that was racing in Asia.
28:56
And, you know, I was in – I could race in Asia, and with the prize money and sponsorship that was available, you end up – you could pay for it.
29:05
Yeah.
29:06
I mean, and it's – we're talking, you know, Rothman's backing, Macau.
29:11
There are Atlantic wins twice at the GP in Malaysia, which is – I mean, these are –
29:17
Pretty cool things on the CV, aren't they?
29:18
Yeah, and third in Macau, first time there.
29:20
It wasn't bad.
29:21
And then, yeah, two Malaysian Grand Prixs.
29:25
And it was fun up there.
29:28
What do you think of Macau?
29:29
Macau is still now as a...
29:32
daunting.
29:33
I bloody love that.
29:34
Did you?
29:34
Did you?
29:35
Tell me about that.
29:36
Daunting.
29:36
It's big balls.
29:39
Can I say that?
29:40
Yes, you can.
29:40
Of course you can.
29:41
Of course you can.
29:43
Yeah.
29:43
It's one of those rough and it's wild, especially in the 70s.
29:47
It really was.
29:48
And competitive, you know, Riccardo Petrizzi, Alan Jones.
29:52
Kenny Smith up there maybe.
29:53
Kenny, Graham Lawrence.
29:55
All the good guys.
29:56
Excellent.
29:56
All the good guys.
29:58
Tiff Needle used to come out.
29:59
Yeah.
30:01
guys I'm still occasionally in touch with and run into in some track somewhere in the world.
30:07
World, yeah.
30:07
Yeah, we're reminisced.
30:09
So, yeah, it was great.
30:11
Yeah.
30:16
Back home in Australia, you would, in the early 80s, make a move to Port Macquarie.
30:23
I think you retire a march and bought a new role somewhere along the way here.
30:29
But firstly, I'm intrigued about the move to Port Macquarie.
30:31
What took you there?
30:31
Was there an opportunity to get a dealership?
30:34
Why the move to Port?
30:35
Well, in the late 70s, I'd moved back to Australia, but I was racing in New Zealand in the Formula Pacific Series and had a big shunt in practice or qualifying for the New Zealand Grand Prix.
30:51
At Booker Curie.
30:52
You know, the right-hand corner after the pits was called champions.
30:56
Yes, yes.
30:57
It's a right-hander, about 140 miles an hour or something, quite fast.
31:00
Well, I turned left.
31:02
and into that inner barrier and the outside and broke both my legs.
31:06
So I was lucky to get away with what...
31:11
Were you?
31:11
Yeah.
31:13
Broke my legs, but that was no joints were damaged.
31:15
It was tip and fib and...
31:17
And very good care in New Zealand, in Middlemore Hospital.
31:21
Okay.
31:21
And who put me back together without any, I mean, one leg was in 20 pieces, but they just lined it up and cased in plaster and no plates, no screws.
31:30
No pins?
31:31
No pins.
31:31
No pins.
31:32
Now, I reckon I was so lucky that that happened.
31:34
Really?
31:35
Yeah.
31:35
And then, so I was in the hospital, in Millimore Hospital for five or six weeks, and I thought, well, I'm not going to make it to Formula One now.
31:46
I better start thinking about a real job, you know?
31:49
Mm-hmm.
31:50
So I got home and I was in a wheelchair for some time.
31:58
So I got a job selling cars on Parramatta Road again, concourse cars selling Volvos, selling them in a wheelchair.
32:06
I did a deal.
32:06
I had a friend who was a salesman too, but he wasn't very good at asking for the order and closing the deal.
32:13
So we combined.
32:17
You know, he would speak to people initially, and it was hard for me to get around the forecourt.
32:23
But then I'd take over.
32:25
Then he would take them for a test drive and bring them into the office.
32:28
And you'd close it.
32:30
This is a good tip.
32:32
But that was very late 70s.
32:35
And the guy I was working for, to be honest, was a prick.
32:38
Okay.
32:38
He was...
32:40
You know, never, ever said thanks.
32:41
And I worked, you know, by this time I was back on my feet.
32:45
But I worked.
32:46
I remember I worked seven, I needed some money.
32:48
So I worked every day for 17 weeks.
32:50
Seven days a week for 17 weeks.
32:52
Didn't even get a thank you, you know.
32:55
And I was producing good numbers.
32:57
Yeah.
32:58
So there was one Sunday morning, I was sitting in his office with my feet up on his desk, reading a paper, the City Morning Herald, and there was a little car dealership for sale on the mid-north coast, European and Japanese car dealership.
33:16
So I applied.
33:18
I didn't have much money, but I had a little bit.
33:20
And I had, I think...
33:23
40 grand.
33:24
And I inquired about this dealership and it turned out it was a firm called Bellberry Motors in Port Macquarie.
33:32
And got close, worked out a figure from the guy that owned it, Ross Meldrum,
33:43
and then borrowed some money from my brother and my older brother and my older sister.
33:47
They both helped me in there, and in I went.
33:50
Where you went?
33:51
Two employees, or two and a half employees.
33:53
I love this stuff.
33:54
So we will come back to the motor racing.
33:57
What it's become is, correct me if I have this wrong, a multi-dealership group.
34:02
Ford is a very strong, I guess, backbone organization.
34:06
of that.
34:07
Just give me a sense of what it looks like today.
34:11
And when you make a big move like that and there's family money that you've borrowed and so on, there must have been a little bit of tough stuff along the way that you've got to get through to what it is today.
34:21
Oh, sure.
34:22
You know, many sleepless nights and many times thinking that I'm going to
34:25
not only lose everything that I had, but lose my brother and sister's sake as well early on.
34:31
But, you know, in the end, people believe in you.
34:37
When I first started, I met a...
34:41
the manager at ANZ Finance, a guy named Glyn Sedman.
34:46
I worked for ANZ when I first left high school.
34:48
Oh, is that right?
34:49
Before I moved into media, for a time, I was in like a management cadetship thing, and I did small business finance and mainly personal stuff, home loans and things like that.
35:00
a little bit of experience in that side and a sander was attached to it and so on.
35:03
So this intrigues me.
35:04
So you've met someone.
35:05
This is obviously an important piece of the puzzle, is it?
35:09
Oh, yeah.
35:12
In those days, you could do it.
35:13
But Glyn and I, I walked in and introduced myself to Glyn.
35:18
The chap that was selling me the business was by my side.
35:21
And he said, oh, look, I think this bloke's all right.
35:24
And after 20 minutes or so, Glyn looked at me and he said,
35:27
Yep, I reckon you'll do.
35:29
And he had me summed up.
35:31
They lent me the money, you know, how much do you need?
35:34
This much in floor plan, this much in capital loan, this much.
35:38
And I walked out and thought, oh, well.
35:41
I own a dealership.
35:44
If only we could do business like that now, right?
35:46
Like that personal thing is, I think, missed in some respects.
35:50
That's highly valuable.
35:52
I think we lose as a country now that we've become very much more documented.
35:57
Yes, yeah.
35:58
And we're missing opportunities, but kids like...
36:02
like me, you know, who don't have a lot of assets and don't have a lot, but we were still helped into businesses and we ended up making a standard a good return.
36:13
Yeah, and they made a judgment clearly on your potential, what you're bringing to the table in an acumen sense.
36:20
And it's, okay, there are figures, but they're also going, I think this bloke can...
36:25
can do it.
36:26
So what does it become today?
36:28
And my question is a little bit loaded here because the game is changing a little bit for those that have a dealership group.
36:32
There is the influx now of Chinese brands and some groups, understandably, are wanting to, I guess, keep a traditional thought train.
36:43
Others are open to change.
36:45
What is it like for you guys?
36:47
Well,
36:48
We're very much open to change because you can see that when I grew up, English cars were all the way.
36:55
Dad's had an old Jag and, you know, it was Morris's and Woolsey's and things like that.
37:02
And then the Japanese arrived and you could see, I could see what Japanese were able to do, Nissan and Toyota or Datsun at the time.
37:12
And then in the early 80s, the Koreans turned up.
37:17
And in the later 80s, I made sure I picked up a Hyundai franchise because, you know, see what's going to happen, you know, because they'd just come out of a war.
37:27
They were still at war, but they were determined to rebuild their economy.
37:30
They got up early and they worked hard and produced great products.
37:36
And the same thing has happened recently with the Chinese, you know.
37:41
I bet early on the Chinese.
37:44
Did you?
37:44
Yeah.
37:44
Yeah.
37:45
As in you went up there and looked at it and took it all in kind of thing?
37:48
Yeah.
37:48
Yeah.
37:49
Yeah.
37:50
So I picked up those brands.
37:54
But the thing you have to do, one, you've got to have to run a good business, which is get up early and work hard and make sure the customer is number one.
38:02
They've got to be looked after.
38:04
and reinvest in the business.
38:07
I've always had a very long-term view.
38:10
You know, you put the money back into the business, but that's the one that drives you because that's the future rather than have long holidays.
38:18
And it's grown now from two and a half people to 200-odd.
38:24
Amazing.
38:25
And, you know, there's Tari, there's a...
38:29
A business in the car dealership in Taree and Port Macquarie.
38:33
George runs Port Macquarie very well.
38:36
Panel shop and a tyre shop and tow trucks.
38:40
And so it's turned into substantial business now.
38:43
And...
38:45
been a great ride, but I can't say there weren't some great airs along the way.
38:49
I'm sure.
38:50
What does it teach you as a person, all that stuff?
38:54
And if you were to give someone, often we get people listening to the pod that love their motor racing naturally, but they might be a self-employed person, little business that they've got or whatever, and they've been
39:02
Some really good feedback that we've had around Tony Quinn, Sam Shahin, Stephen Grove, you name it, those sorts of people that have come on.
39:10
And when we've dabbled a little bit in business discussion, they've invariably given them a takeaway.
39:15
What would you say to some of those people that has been the key to success for you?
39:19
Is it that hard work ethic?
39:21
What is it?
39:21
Yeah, you do have to work hard.
39:24
But I think the key thing, as we touched on earlier, is say yes and work out how to do it later.
39:29
I love that.
39:29
You know, just have a crack.
39:31
Because every time you go through a door...
39:35
that leads you into a corridor and other doors will open.
39:38
Open.
39:38
You know, and yes, you may.
39:40
And I've made plenty of mistakes along the way.
39:43
But I think that you keep on, you know, not charging ahead, but, you know, keep on growing.
39:50
Find solutions.
39:50
Learn from those mistakes.
39:52
Yeah.
39:53
Yeah.
39:53
When I was...
39:55
When I first took on the Ford dealership, I had 25% of the market, and that was a great business.
40:03
And then I picked up here and there, and Ford weren't completely happy about it.
40:08
Mind you, they've been fantastic partners the whole way through, but they weren't mad about it.
40:13
But I...
40:15
I thought this 25% isn't going to last forever.
40:18
I remember Jack Nasser telling me at one stage, he saw a market where there were going to be a lot of 10%.
40:23
It would be 10%, 10% players instead of, at the time, it was holding forward, having over 50% of the market.
40:33
And he made some money at the time.
40:34
He said, why are you bothering with all that rest of my stuff?
40:37
There's a lot of work and no income and where you can just have your Ford dealership and everything.
40:44
Well, my mates who had their mate, and Holden dealerships too, we all know what's happened.
40:51
They lost market share.
40:52
They started eating a pain off the walls, and I had the brand that was growing, you know.
40:57
So in Port Macquarie, of the top 10 brands, we have six of them.
41:02
Okay.
41:03
And George runs that very, very well.
41:06
And the ethic always has been, though, customer is number one, and take a long-term view.
41:13
Sacrifice short-term profit, which is easy, hard to walk past.
41:17
Make sure that customer gets looked after.
41:19
You've got to give them a new engine, give them a new engine, even if it costs you.
41:23
But...
41:25
And sometimes people aren't loyal, but most of them are.
41:29
And so I've been in Port Macquarie now for, what is it, 26, so 40, I don't know, 46 years.
41:36
Amazing.
41:37
Amazing.
41:38
We'll come back to motor racing in a second.
41:40
Can I ask two things on this sort of dealership and automotive discussion?
41:45
Firstly, you mentioned NASA there a moment ago.
41:46
What was he like?
41:48
I mean, between Rushbrook and all these people that you've dealt with along the way, what was he like?
41:51
He was a great bloke.
41:52
Was he?
41:53
Yeah, he was so approachable.
41:55
I was a bit, to be honest, a bit scared.
41:57
Were you daunted?
41:59
Yeah.
41:59
Yeah, president of Ford Motor Company Australia.
42:02
And then later on, you know, he ran Ford.
42:11
But once I started talking to him, he was an enthusiast.
42:14
He cared, I think.
42:15
And yeah, he's just a great bloke.
42:18
Cool.
42:18
Yeah.
42:19
When did you get an inkling?
42:20
You mentioned your son, George, who I deal with a lot from a motor racing and broadcast perspective.
42:25
He's awesome.
42:26
Anytime you stick a microphone underneath him, he delivered.
42:29
Yesterday, I can vividly recall a pit lane interview with him.
42:32
He just summed up beautifully everything that you covered at the top of this podcast in Japan and in their own weekend.
42:38
He's a great person.
42:41
face for all of that stuff and personality for that stuff.
42:44
But he's enjoyed the business side of it too.
42:48
Has that been a thing of beauty for you and joy because he's your son?
42:54
But in the same breath, I guess that's tricky because business and family can be tough sometimes, can't it?
43:00
Yeah, that can be.
43:01
And I have two boys, Harry as well.
43:04
Yes, yes.
43:05
And Harry's a great guy too.
43:07
I get a lot of, you know, broke my shoulder recently riding dirt bikes with Harry.
43:12
Did you?
43:15
You are not 21 anymore.
43:16
So I'm really, really lucky.
43:20
But Harry would rather be out on his dirt bike or, you know,
43:25
you know, canoeing down some waterway, you know, than, you know... Roaring around Easton Creek.
43:35
Yeah, yeah.
43:37
And with the pressure of a couple of hundred employees too, you know.
43:42
And that's just great.
43:44
We all get on really well.
43:45
Harry lives close.
43:46
George lives next door to me.
43:48
Excellent.
43:49
And we have always gotten along well.
43:52
And I...
43:53
I know that I am blessed that I've got somebody that is continuing the business and the business is really my third child.
44:04
It's something that I started as part of me.
44:07
And so I know it's very fortunate.
44:12
And the other good thing about George is he's fast as well.
44:15
Yes, he is.
44:15
That's important.
44:16
Are you granddad?
44:18
Are you pop?
44:19
Are you pa?
44:19
What are you?
44:20
Because, I mean, I know not so much Harry, but from George's side, just how much he's loving being a dad and so on.
44:27
Yeah.
44:28
Yeah.
44:28
I'm pop.
44:30
And I didn't think I'd love it.
44:32
Really?
44:32
Yeah.
44:33
I thought, how could I ever?
44:35
Yeah.
44:36
grandchildren, but I do and I absolutely love it.
44:40
Excellent.
44:41
And living next door, I see a lot of them.
44:46
Excellent.
44:46
You kept an open wheeler.
44:47
In this period where you devote yourself to business and I guess, did you completely park motor racing for a while because you had to focus on the business?
44:55
Was there a conscious decision in all of that?
44:56
Yeah, I did.
44:58
I stepped out for a couple of years, a couple of times, and then always thought, ah,
45:06
doing this.
45:07
I always had this love for the sport.
45:10
And I should say, I've never, ever chased a title, never worried about the title.
45:14
My only focus when I go to a race meeting is winning the next race.
45:17
Okay.
45:18
And this probably cost me a little bit.
45:19
Maybe I should have had a longer term.
45:21
I don't care.
45:22
You know, I just love going fast.
45:23
And...
45:26
I had a couple of periods out, one when Julie, my wife, was ill with cancer and subsequently passed away.
45:33
That was a tough time.
45:34
I'm sure.
45:36
And so I stepped out for a bit then and in the early 80s, I think when I had finished with the Ralt,
45:44
You know, that early 80s Formula Atlantic or Formula Pacific, they called it here, was highly, highly competitive.
45:51
Cool cars.
45:52
Yeah.
45:53
And I reckon that our series was as competitive or more competitive than anything else in the world at the time.
46:01
You know, great drivers.
46:03
So there were a couple of periods, but I always felt that I needed to get back.
46:08
And so I suppose over the time, I've driven a lot of racing cars and had a lot of fun.
46:13
Let's bounce through some of them.
46:16
You've been very kind in some of the things you've reminded me about for this discussion.
46:20
Firstly, only in the last 12 months, you and I spoke to each other for the broadcast On the Grid in New Zealand, in Taupo.
46:27
You were there with your good mate, Malcolm Osler.
46:29
Yes.
46:29
going single-seater racing, which he just loves.
46:32
He's in such a great space of life now.
46:35
And you reminded me that you had a car which, for whatever reason, was under covers at the dealership for a while, and then it lived on the wall or something or other, and you have brought this thing back, haven't you?
46:46
Tell me about that.
46:47
Well, this was a March Formula 3 car that I bought in England in 1977 and then converted into an Atlantic car, and it –
46:56
Did me proud, won a lot of races, including the Malaysian Grand Prix.
47:01
But in 1981, ground effect cars came out, and so I ordered a new one and put the march up for sale.
47:08
Well, nobody wanted to buy it.
47:10
So I kept it by default, and it wasn't deliberate, and I needed the money.
47:17
So I pulled the engine out of it, and it lay at work for years.
47:21
And then in 1990, we built a new showroom and somebody came up with a bright idea of getting it out and putting it back together.
47:28
A wall, please.
47:28
So it hung on a wall.
47:31
And that was 1992.
47:34
30 years.
47:34
Okay.
47:35
Until 2020.
47:36
And then Mal said, you need to get that car down and come racing with me.
47:40
Because Mal had John Smith's Mr. Juicy role.
47:44
Yes.
47:45
And my march, and John and I had raced fiercely with each other.
47:49
And John, a great Australian racing driver that...
47:55
And sadly, he can no longer drive because he had a road accident, and still my very good mate.
48:03
But anyway, so I did.
48:06
I took it down, sent down a Mike Borland in Melbourne.
48:10
Mike did a fantastic job of putting it back into water.
48:16
Is it period correct?
48:17
Like you've gone to great lengths, or what have you done?
48:19
Period correct.
48:20
Absolutely.
48:21
As I raced in the Malaysian Grand Prix in 1980,
48:25
That is awesome, mate.
48:27
Did you enjoy that when you took it to New Zealand?
48:30
Yeah, I was nervous because I hadn't driven an open wheeler for 40 years.
48:36
And I didn't know if I could still do it.
48:38
And I'm old now.
48:40
But it only took a couple of laps to call her and, oh, I can do this.
48:43
Love that.
48:44
Yeah.
48:45
And then in New Zealand, we went right, beat Malcolm.
48:51
That'll get back.
48:54
I like that.
48:54
No, he was fast, actually.
48:57
He was fast.
48:57
He was just unlucky.
48:59
And so I've raced a couple of times since and –
49:08
Absolutely loving it, loving the single seater.
49:10
There's something that's pure in it.
49:15
That's the end of part one of my feature episode with Andrew Miedicke, but we are not done yet.
49:20
Within 24 hours of releasing this first part, we will have a second instalment for you.
49:25
And there are some fantastic memories in there of the late, great Peter Brock and Alan Moffat racing with his son, George, and winning a very significant race, plus restoring a couple of cool old cars that mean so much to him.
49:40
It's all ahead here on Rusty's Garage.