Latest / Rusty's Garage / James Courtney | Part 2 - Schumacher the first on scene & selling Cocho’s place

Transcript

James Courtney | Part 2 - Schumacher the first on scene & selling Cocho’s place · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:19
  G'day everybody, Rusty here, all set for part two of a fantastic feature ep with James Courtney.
• 0:25
  Little reminder, if you've arrived here before giving part one a listen, I'd recommend jumping back to the garage library and powering that up first.
• 0:33
  There are some yarns that I hadn't heard before or I only knew part of the story on, like the intimidating Euros, some of whom went on to Formula One in a carting driver's briefing at the World Championships in Portugal.
• 0:45
  moving to Europe on his own as a teenager and what that was like.
• 0:50
  How a conversation with Neil Crompton helped open the door to car racing when James thought it might have been the end of the road.
• 0:57
  Losing a mate and realising the dangers of our sport.
• 1:01
  Plus, coping with ADHD and overcoming fears that began back in school.
• 1:07
  Let's get into part two now.
• 1:11
  You would have success in Formula Ford.
• 1:14
  You would then get into F3.
• 1:18
  And this relatively quickly, mate, opens the door to Formula One.
• 1:23
  Yeah, yeah, it does.
• 1:24
  But that whole getting in was a crazy story as well.
• 1:28
  Because we won the Formula 4 championship, they tested, they said, okay, we're going to get all the junior guys from around the world that are great.
• 1:34
  We're going to put everyone in the F3 car.
• 1:36
  We're going to go around, because at the time, Luciano Berti was testing at all the F1 circuits.
• 1:40
  So they said, okay, we're going to go around to all the tracks.
• 1:42
  We'll test all the drivers.
• 1:43
  One little thing here.
• 1:44
  This is transition from Stewart to Jaguar, correct?
• 1:47
  Yeah.
• 1:48
  So first of all, we all go to Valencia in Spain.
• 1:51
  We're all there.
• 1:52
  The test gets rained out.
• 1:52
  We sat around for three days and it's just torrential for three days.
• 1:55
  So we don't do it.
• 1:56
  So then they pack us all up.
• 1:57
  We all fly back.
• 1:58
  Then they go, okay, we're going to Hungary.
• 2:00
  So then we all go to Hungary.
• 2:02
  And the first, they had some guys the day before me that went out and went around.
• 2:07
  I think Andre was one of them, a couple of other guys.
• 2:10
  Anyway, and then my day comes around.
• 2:13
  And I wake up in the morning, they're like, okay, there's too much ice on the track.
• 2:16
  We can't do anything.
• 2:17
  So we're sitting around for hours and hours and hours.
• 2:19
  It gets to just after lunch and they said, okay, black ice is gone.
• 2:23
  The track's good to go.
• 2:24
  So I'm like, okay.
• 2:26
  So I've been to Valencia.
• 2:26
  I've sat around all day.
• 2:28
  I then watched the other guy's test.
• 2:30
  I then had to miss out the morning of my test.
• 2:33
  So I get into this F3 car.
• 2:35
  I'm like, it's...
• 2:37
  clearly wanted to happen so i go out of the track out of the garage and around the first corner second corner then it's like the fourth corner you turn right and there's a straight before you go up with that really quick left hander and it sort of dips so i'm just like and just spin and i hit the wall rip the side out of the car on the out lap
• 2:58
  So it's ice.
• 2:58
  You see ice, yeah.
• 2:59
  And I'm like, oh, my God, you bloody idiot.
• 3:01
  Like, you've just ruined any chance of it.
• 3:03
  And I'm in there and I'm like, I've crashed.
• 3:05
  And I can hear Luciano coming out.
• 3:08
  And I'm like, oh, I'm an idiot.
• 3:09
  I've destroyed any chance.
• 3:10
  It's over.
• 3:11
  I'm going home.
• 3:12
  I'm laying carpet for the rest of my life with my dad.
• 3:14
  This is it.
• 3:14
  It's over.
• 3:15
  And then I see him come around the corner and I'm watching him.
• 3:18
  And then I see him hit the same patch of ice.
• 3:20
  And he loses it.
• 3:22
  Hits his car into my car into the fence and writes them both completely off.
• 3:27
  I could not have been happier in that moment to see someone else, something else happen.
• 3:31
  So then they come out, they tow both cars away, and they're like, okay, clearly there's still some ice on the track.
• 3:36
  So then we sat around for two days while they flew parts out to repair both cars.
• 3:40
  We did the test and I ended up getting the drive.
• 3:42
  You were fastest.
• 3:43
  But, yeah, it was a wild to go and then be, at the same time, announced that I was going to be, you know, testing the F1 car and all that sort of stuff was, yeah, it was sort of,
• 3:55
  the first or the second last step, I guess, to the ultimate goal.
• 4:00
  So, yeah, it was pretty rewarding.
• 4:02
  You had a bit of dialogue with Sir Jackie Stewart around this period too, and I think you learned that he had a few issues around some of the school stuff that you reflected on before about reading and writing, and look at the great things that he's gone on to achieve and continues to achieve.
• 4:17
  Yeah.
• 4:17
  in life from f3 which you you clearly gel with mate and the sensation of those cars what it gives you it gives you the the final piece of the groundwork if you like to have a crack at driving a formula one car where was the first drive can you remember getting the phone call where they said hey mate you're going to get the chance to test this thing or sample this thing oh yeah i reckon um i can't remember where it was
• 4:45
  Like where I was when I got told.
• 4:47
  But we were told pretty early on.
• 4:48
  They were like, hey, this is going to happen.
• 4:50
  And it's probably going to be the Monza test.
• 4:54
  But yeah, I can't remember where I was when it exactly happened.
• 4:57
  Fittingly, we are talking here, mate, in an office at Topor.
• 4:59
  And over your shoulder is an Eddie Irvine helmet, right?
• 5:03
  So you get to talk a bit with him along the way.
• 5:06
  And I think he sensed in you that...
• 5:08
  I mean, these things were what, mate, 9, 950 horsepower, V10s, awesome period for the sport ride, and you're going to a track where you can use all of that ride.
• 5:19
  And so maybe the thought of that was a little daunting, and he helped you kind of process that or deal with that, didn't he?
• 5:26
  Yeah, I was crapping myself, like properly.
• 5:29
  Like this thing's like a missile, and plus, the little bloke from Penrith that...
• 5:35
  I wanted to be there, but I probably thought, should I be here?
• 5:39
  So you sort of worked your whole life to this one moment, and then you were there, ready to go.
• 5:45
  So Eddie could sense how nervous I was.
• 5:48
  I was shaking like crazy in the motorhome.
• 5:51
  And he said to me, he said, right, you've just got to scare the crap out of yourself straight away.
• 5:55
  Get it out of your system.
• 5:56
  Yeah.
• 5:56
  Yeah.
• 5:58
  Just go down the pit lane just before you're going to flick the limiter off, go to 100% throttle, and then just flick it off, and the thing will just traction control will kick in, and it will just take off, and you get it all over and done with.
• 6:10
  So I'm like, okay, so I'm get out of the garage.
• 6:12
  I'm like down the pit lane and then it takes off and I just completely crap myself.
• 6:17
  Like it is ridiculous how quick this thing goes.
• 6:19
  Like it pulls as hard in eighth gear as what it did in first gear.
• 6:22
  It just kept going.
• 6:23
  So I wobble around my first lap and installation lap and then you come in, they tell you to get out and they check all the systems before you go again.
• 6:30
  And I remember getting out and then I'm just thinking while I was sitting out, do I really want to get back in this thing?
• 6:34
  That's how crazy, like the speed of it was.
• 6:38
  Sure you do.
• 6:39
  Because this is what you've been living for.
• 6:40
  This is what you want.
• 6:41
  Yeah, that's why I slapped myself around.
• 6:42
  I was like, of course I do.
• 6:43
  So then I, yeah, then I got back in and we got into it.
• 6:46
  But it was, I remember we're talking with him and I think it was like 120 meters or something or 120.
• 6:55
  10 metres, the breaking point into turn one.
• 6:58
  So I go out my first, like, flying lap and I come past.
• 7:01
  And you're going, like, at Monzi, you're doing 300 and something, like, 50 kilometres an hour or something.
• 7:05
  You're stupid.
• 7:07
  And it just becomes, because you're looking so far ahead, your vision, you don't really see peripherally that much stuff.
• 7:14
  Stuff, yeah.
• 7:15
  I remember the 400-metre board, the 350, the 300, the 250, and at the 200 board, I was like, this thing isn't stopping.
• 7:22
  Right.
• 7:24
  No way is it going to pull up and I jump on the brakes and then you have to change up three gears before you got to the corner.
• 7:28
  But it did take a little bit to get used to, to be able to trust the level of downforce and the performance and whatever.
• 7:35
  But by mid-morning, you're hard into it and you're sort of pressing on.
• 7:38
  So it was such a surreal experience.
• 7:42
  And I remember calling my dad on the way home after the test and being in tears, telling him how amazing it was.
• 7:50
  Excellent.
• 7:51
  everything we had done and sacrificed.
• 7:53
  You know, the family has sacrificed so much along the way and they're very much a part of the journey as well.
• 7:57
  So, you know, it was a shame that they weren't there to be able to live it with me.
• 8:01
  But, you know, both of us being tears on the phone about it was pretty cool.
• 8:05
  Amazing, mate.
• 8:06
  And sort of in this period, people sitting back here probably reading magazines rather than so much internet stuff then are starting to think, well...
• 8:14
  Is James Courtney perhaps going to get to the grid maybe sooner than Mark Webber and all these sorts of things?
• 8:20
  In the F3 chapter here, Jaguar would ultimately become Rebel Racing.
• 8:28
  But correct me if I'm wrong, there was a point where you ultimately ended up at Carlin's.
• 8:34
  But if you won...
• 8:36
  somewhere along the line here, if you won the F3 title, was it more or less a lock-in for the Formula 1 seat or something along those lines?
• 8:43
  Yeah, yeah.
• 8:44
  So the second...
• 8:45
  So if I won the championship, I was in the F1 seat.
• 8:48
  So, yeah, it was looking great.
• 8:50
  We had...
• 8:51
  a massive championship lead and everything until that shunt at Monza.
• 8:54
  So when I missed out on three months, I think it was after that.
• 8:57
  But yeah, we were, we were, I don't want to say home and hoes, but we had a mad lead and everything was going, going really good.
• 9:03
  And I was probably starting to think my accepted speech for the F1 drive.
• 9:08
  But, but yeah, ultimately it didn't, didn't come through, but yes, if I had won the,
• 9:13
  but it's a guaranteed seat.
• 9:15
  How do you feel about the F1 testing crash now with all these years?
• 9:19
  I mean, it happened at Monza, the place where you just recounted that story a moment ago.
• 9:24
  Was it Ascari?
• 9:24
  I'm trying to remember where it was.
• 9:26
  Yes, I was into Ascari.
• 9:27
  So we had a rear suspension failure.
• 9:28
  I think it was the next...
• 9:30
  Test that same test the next year.
• 9:32
  That's still quick on approach there too, mate, isn't it?
• 9:36
  Yes, 345 into there, I think it was, and I still hit the wall doing 306 kilometres an hour or something.
• 9:42
  60, 65G or 60-something G?
• 9:43
  Yeah, so it was massive.
• 9:45
  So I had some sort of paralysis on the right side for a while and all bleeding in my eyes and mouth and ears and nose and ears everywhere.
• 9:54
  So, yeah, that was...
• 9:58
  I don't know, I suppose there was a point in my life where I had a crossroads and I ended up on the wrong road at that point.
• 10:04
  Schumacher was one of the first on scene, Michael Schumacher too, was he not?
• 10:07
  He was among the... Yeah, so I remember it coming off and seeing the wheel go past and thinking, this isn't good.
• 10:14
  So you realised the subvention collapse has happened?
• 10:16
  Yes, with the brake on, just the torque, they replaced the wishbones overnight.
• 10:22
  And as soon as the talk happened, they ended up working.
• 10:25
  So John Russell was the head guy at the time.
• 10:29
  They did all the analysis afterwards and they realised at the time, the bottom wishbone was carbon, had a titanium end on it, which then bolted to the gearbox.
• 10:40
  They didn't take the tape off.
• 10:42
  the part of the, where it bonds onto the carbon, the titanium, where it was held in the machine, they just bonded over it so it pulled off.
• 10:49
  So that's what they worked out had happened in the end.
• 10:53
  So yeah, so on the brake, the torque of it all just tore all that out.
• 10:56
  And then because the, as the wheel come off, it's connected to the floor, so it pulled, it sort of ripped the floor off on the rear wing.
• 11:04
  So that's like two-thirds of the downforce is generated from those, so you don't have as much drag on the car.
• 11:09
  And because the corner's gone, you have no brakes on the rear because the rear system's not a closed loop anymore because the corner's not there.
• 11:17
  And then because the corner's not there, the car then leans over, so the front brakes don't really work.
• 11:23
  And as a scurry on the exit, as you come in, it's because it then goes around the long right.
• 11:28
  It hit the curb, so I try to turn, and because there's no wheel, it sort of spun, or didn't spin, but sort of turned that way.
• 11:34
  Hit the curb, went in the air, and hit the fence at the top, and then bounced back.
• 11:37
  So it ripped all the corners off, the engine off the...
• 11:42
  the gearbox off the engine.
• 11:44
  So it was just crap everywhere.
• 11:46
  The track was blocked.
• 11:47
  And I was sitting there and I remember thinking as the wheel come off and seeing it go past, I thought, should I hold on here or should I let go?
• 11:57
  Because they always say you should let go, but it turns out I held on.
• 12:00
  Because when I came back to, my left arm was still on.
• 12:03
  It stretched the belts massively too, mate, didn't it?
• 12:05
  Yeah.
• 12:05
  Ridiculous.
• 12:06
  Yeah, I hit the steering wheel, stretched them an inch and a half on the slack.
• 12:09
  So you're sitting like, the steering wheel's like there.
• 12:11
  Yeah.
• 12:12
  And my head hit the steering wheel, like on the helmet, there's a mark on the side.
• 12:16
  I've got it at home still.
• 12:16
  Do you?
• 12:17
  Where it's imprinted the steering wheel.
• 12:20
  So, yeah, so I woke up.
• 12:24
  and my left arm was still holding on.
• 12:25
  I went, the radio's on the right.
• 12:26
  So then I went to talk on the radio and I couldn't move my arm and I was like, oh, God, this isn't good.
• 12:30
  Good, yeah.
• 12:32
  And then I noticed that everything was sort of red.
• 12:37
  Must be blood in your eyes, mate.
• 12:38
  Yeah, yeah.
• 12:38
  So then I couldn't open my visor and then I went on the radio and the radio wasn't really, wasn't working, I think, because everything was ripped off or whatever.
• 12:46
  Um, but then I was trying to undo the belt and get out and I felt someone push me back in and I sort of looked up and it was Michael pushing me back in, telling me to stay.
• 12:58
  And I could hear then the official was yelling at me in Italian.
• 13:03
  And I was pushing Michael.
• 13:04
  I'm like, no, I want to get out.
• 13:06
  I don't want to be in here.
• 13:06
  And he was trying to hold me in.
• 13:08
  So anyway, he helped me get out.
• 13:10
  And I got out.
• 13:11
  And as I was getting out, I opened my eyes.
• 13:13
  And I knew because I wanted to wipe my eyes because I couldn't see properly.
• 13:18
  And as I had my visor, the look on his face sort of let me know that things weren't really good because my eye must – because it's all sort of drooping on that side.
• 13:25
  So it must have looked pretty hairy.
• 13:28
  But, yeah, so then I went to – then they took me to hospital and then it all started to come back and –
• 13:34
  Ultimately, I'm fine now.
• 13:35
  Yes.
• 13:36
  It was like a three-month period, I think, until I got proper movement without pins and needles.
• 13:42
  So, I had pins and needles for ages.
• 13:43
  Yeah.
• 13:45
  And then it was 12 months nearly to the day before I would not have a migraine.
• 13:49
  Crazy.
• 13:50
  So, I'd wake up.
• 13:51
  and you just instantly from any sort of noise or light have like a mad migraine.
• 13:56
  So it's, um, yeah, it was quite a long, and ultimately, so I missed rounds with the British F3 championship, which ended up costing me the F1 seat.
• 14:05
  Um, but then also I didn't win the British F3 championship, which I would have won.
• 14:09
  So, um, yeah, so that was, uh,
• 14:12
  That was a tough little period, mate.
• 14:15
  So that's, yeah, and then ultimately they then started to sell the team to Red Bull.
• 14:19
  So then Red Bull had their own junior program.
• 14:21
  So then I sort of got shuffled to the side.
• 14:24
  You turn hard right here and end up in Japan, is that right?
• 14:27
  With maybe some talks with Gowie or what happens here?
• 14:29
  Yeah, so Toyota were pushing pretty hard for me to go and do something like that with them.
• 14:33
  You know, I also focused on the F1 side of things, wasn't really interested.
• 14:38
  But then...
• 14:39
  when I learned about the Red Bull side of things and what was happening, then it was like, holy crap, where are we going now?
• 14:44
  And then, so ended up doing the Toyota thing in Japan.
• 14:46
  Yep.
• 14:47
  And you, I mean, you had a great chapter there, mate, didn't you?
• 14:49
  From some of the cool cars you got to race.
• 14:51
  Yeah, it was cool.
• 14:52
  We did Formula 3, Formula Nippon, which is now Super Formula.
• 14:55
  And, uh,
• 14:57
  super gt so yeah it was cool it's cool three years um did you enjoy japan i loved it like the cars are phenomenal the racing was awesome yeah um the i moved there with my wife caris at the time my first wife um and she didn't enjoy it as much so we ended up moving back to australia um that second year and just commuting backwards and forwards at some point here um
• 15:23
  There is a conversation, maybe, I don't know whether Gowie is physically there with you or on the phone or whatever, and I think Neil was there.
• 15:30
  There might have even been made, if memory serves, perhaps a conversation with Peter Hill around the possibility of going to IndyCar.
• 15:38
  And I think something did transpire with Ray Halls maybe there as an option.
• 15:43
  And was there also another F1 opportunity that had come out of maybe Midlands or something or other?
• 15:47
  What transpires there?
• 15:48
  Yeah, so we had the opportunity to go with Rahal to Indy.
• 15:53
  But it was right when Zanadi lost his legs.
• 15:55
  Okay.
• 15:56
  And they were having a huge chance.
• 15:59
  I think two years or a year before that, maybe two years before that, we lost Greg Moore.
• 16:06
  Oh, yeah.
• 16:06
  Good mate of Dario's too.
• 16:07
  Yeah, he was tight with Marino and I.
• 16:10
  It was the same year that we lost Neil.
• 16:12
  So it was a sketchy little period.
• 16:17
  So Alan really said to me, I don't want you to do IndyCar.
• 16:21
  IndyCar, so the cars aren't safe enough.
• 16:23
  Okay.
• 16:25
  You know, so he sort of was a big pusher there and, you know, I respect his opinion and whatever, so we didn't end up going down that path.
• 16:34
  We then had the opportunity to go and do F1 with Midland, with Big Burgess.
• 16:39
  Yeah.
• 16:41
  But, yeah, I was going to have to sell my soul.
• 16:44
  And to be honest, I was only ever, like I said to Aide, with all due respect, I'm only ever going to race for the back row or, you know, 15th on the grid.
• 16:52
  I don't want to go every weekend and that's as good as we're going to get.
• 16:56
  So, and I probably lost a bit of taste for Formula 1 after those three years of being that close and I, you know, grew up in the 90s with Senna's, Pross, Mantles, all that stuff like you.
• 17:07
  And thinking how amazing it was.
• 17:09
  And then when I got to F1 at that point, it was right when guys started arriving with money and paying for drives.
• 17:14
  And I was like, far out.
• 17:15
  This isn't the best 22 guys in the world.
• 17:18
  This is 10 great guys that are getting paid really good money and the rest is just guys with money or sponsors or whatever.
• 17:25
  It's not what I thought it'd been.
• 17:28
  And I was probably had a bad taste in my mouth a little and decided that
• 17:33
  That chapter had closed.
• 17:34
  Well, you were a bit homesick too, mate.
• 17:36
  You'd been away since you were 14.
• 17:38
  Yeah, for sure.
• 17:41
  I'd been away, like you said, a long period of time.
• 17:44
  Wanted to start a family.
• 17:45
  I'm a big family guy.
• 17:47
  I think because I miss so much of family time, because I was away, I really want to have my own family and sort of have that unit because I missed it so much.
• 17:58
  So, yeah, that was a big part of why I wanted to...
• 18:01
  ultimately come back here.
• 18:02
  So supercars happens, mate.
• 18:04
  I mean, you talked about ATB there a moment ago and you've done some great things together, I think, in F3 and so on.
• 18:08
  Yeah, we've known each other for a long time.
• 18:11
  You've driven for different teams.
• 18:12
  He engineered the prawn.
• 18:14
  Did he?
• 18:14
  He engineered the prawn.
• 18:15
  Right.
• 18:18
  What is it like working with him?
• 18:21
  He rubs a lot of people the wrong way because he's so blunt.
• 18:25
  But I'm cool with that.
• 18:27
  You understand him.
• 18:28
  Yeah, and I'm the same.
• 18:30
  I can understand if he's critiquing me or saying I need to do something differently.
• 18:34
  It's only because...
• 18:35
  it would be better for me in the long run or better for us as a team or as a unit we'll go forward.
• 18:40
  But I'm super cool with criticism.
• 18:43
  Like even with this TV stuff that I'm doing now, after each thing I'm to Nathan, I'm like, hey, tell me what I'm doing wrong.
• 18:48
  How can I be better?
• 18:50
  So I think because that's my personality, I've worked really well with him because we sort of – we've had massive arguments in the past.
• 18:57
  Like we butt heads like –
• 18:59
  We can have the biggest argument and then five minutes later we're like, all right, you got it out?
• 19:03
  Yeah.
• 19:03
  Do you want a beer?
• 19:04
  All right, let's go.
• 19:06
  So we can say what we want to each other and get it all off our chest and sort of to better each other.
• 19:13
  But I think a lot of people find it hard to take criticism like that.
• 19:17
  And I think that's probably – if there's a flaw in his character, that would be –
• 19:22
  What it is is that at times if he expects something of you and you don't deliver it, he'll let you know.
• 19:27
  And people can be taken back by that.
• 19:30
  Yeah, but that can also be on that person.
• 19:32
  I mean you just have to accept that's how he's wired and what his intentions are, what he means by that.
• 19:36
  The opportunity to race a supercar or drive a supercar for the first time comes around, mate.
• 19:42
  Tell me about that.
• 19:44
  Was Neil active in trying to stitch that together?
• 19:47
  I was talking with Neil for ages about wanting to do it and ultimately try and we skipped.
• 19:53
  So I wanted to do HRT and I remember we'd pretty much, we agreed on a deal to come back and do HRT in 2026.
• 19:59
  I was going to do Bathurst in 2026.
• 20:04
  I did it in 2005, didn't I, the first time?
• 20:06
  I was going to do it in 2004 with Peter.
• 20:09
  So we planned it all.
• 20:10
  It was all going to happen.
• 20:11
  It was going to be Pete's last one, my first one.
• 20:13
  It was going to be a transition.
• 20:14
  It was going to be cool.
• 20:16
  But anyway, something happened with the GT calendar and they moved things around.
• 20:19
  So ultimately, I couldn't do it.
• 20:20
  So it didn't end up happening.
• 20:22
  But then the next year, I did in 2005 and I was pushing from pretty much –
• 20:27
  the end of 04 to wanting to do supercars, and Neil was pushing me back, not wanting me to come back saying, you know, it's not time.
• 20:35
  Once you're back, you're stuck here.
• 20:36
  You know, don't do it just yet.
• 20:38
  So I was pushing for a year and a bit.
• 20:41
  So then in 2005...
• 20:44
  Pretty much did the deal with Scaife to do HRT in 2006.
• 20:48
  With Jimmy Richards too, was it not, for the Enduros and stuff?
• 20:51
  Yes, I do Enduros with Jim, but race the next year with him.
• 20:55
  So Todd was going to be out and I was going to be in.
• 20:57
  And he said, all we have to do is get through Darwin.
• 21:01
  If he doesn't have a good race at Darwin, then I can...
• 21:04
  Get rid of him and you're in.
• 21:06
  So we were sort of waiting on the sidelines.
• 21:08
  The contract was drawn.
• 21:10
  Everything was done, ready to sign.
• 21:12
  And then Todd went and won all three races at Darwin.
• 21:15
  So then that was done.
• 21:19
  And at that same time, Ross and Jimmy were wanting because Marcus was leaving.
• 21:24
  And so then that's how we ended up going there.
• 21:26
  Hey, Chad.
• 21:27
  No, the SBR.
• 21:28
  Stone Brothers.
• 21:29
  Let's come to a zenith moment, a peak moment here for you with ATB, with Dick Johnson Racing, winning that title in 2010 with machinery that made you feel like you were on par with what Jamie Wincup perhaps had in his arsenal and so on.
• 21:46
  The satisfaction in winning that weekend at Homebush compounded by some tough stuff that Dick Johnson's business was going through at that time.
• 21:56
  I mean, it was concerned about, I think, I'm paraphrasing here, mate, so I may not have this right, but I think there was concern about
• 22:03
  receivers and, and, and.
• 22:05
  Yeah, they were coming in.
• 22:06
  Far out.
• 22:06
  Dick told us all, get your stuff out of the, don't leave anything in the truck because it's not coming back.
• 22:10
  Man.
• 22:11
  Um, and from when we left on the Tuesday before Homebush, it was all over and the truck was never coming back.
• 22:17
  It was done.
• 22:19
  Um, and he pulled all of us aside and said, Hey, if you can get another drive or job, take it because it's all over.
• 22:25
  So that's how we did the HRT thing.
• 22:27
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:28
  because they had to release me from the contract to be able to do it, because I would have stayed, because we were winning.
• 22:32
  Why would I leave?
• 22:33
  Yes.
• 22:34
  But then on the, I think it was on the Tuesday or the Wednesday, prior to Homebush, Steve Braback came in and saved the day and kept it all alive.
• 22:41
  But so many of us had already committed to other jobs at that point.
• 22:45
  So I moved on.
• 22:45
  But it was, for me, the highlight of my career.
• 22:48
  Sure, the F1, leaving out of the pit lane the first time was amazing.
• 22:52
  But you grew as a leader here, mate, didn't you, I think?
• 22:55
  Correct me if I'm wrong.
• 22:56
  Did you not get the guys together and say, look, we've got nothing to lose here.
• 23:01
  Let's all put our best foot forward.
• 23:02
  If we can win this, that'll help us with whatever.
• 23:05
  Yeah, the team was falling apart from mid-year.
• 23:07
  It was a disaster with Charlie and Dick fighting.
• 23:11
  They weren't talking.
• 23:13
  um you know atb wasn't able to buy stuff for the car so there was there was a lot of stuff going on for a long period of time and and you know that's where adrian was really good at that point he sort of let everyone know what was happening and sort of pulled us all together and me with my little group um and we all just sort of said hey look let's do this for each other you know
• 23:35
  We've come this far.
• 23:37
  We're leading the championship.
• 23:38
  We're proving that we can take down Goliath with the same machinery.
• 23:44
  So it was a real moment of us doing it for each other.
• 23:47
  And my favorite moment in my whole racing career, like bar none, and it's not winning a race.
• 23:54
  It's not doing anything.
• 23:55
  It is Saturday afternoon at Homebush.
• 23:58
  Like we went into the fence, all that stuff.
• 24:01
  They're all in the fence.
• 24:02
  That moment, Craig then flat out plucking gears into the back of me to try and finish me off.
• 24:07
  Thank you, Mr. Lowndes.
• 24:08
  Didn't work.
• 24:10
  Everyone says he's a nice guy.
• 24:12
  But that moment where we pulled into the garage and to see...
• 24:15
  They wanted everyone in the car crew or everyone in that team that worked on the car at that point when it was 3,000 degrees, just fresh off the racetrack, just picking up.
• 24:24
  I could see guys just picking up stuff with their bare hands, like just 1,000 degrees, burning their hands just to get –
• 24:31
  Get you back out.
• 24:32
  Doing whatever they had to do in that moment for us to get back onto the track, to get that one lap done, to be able to be classified as a finisher, to then ultimately help us win the championship the next day.
• 24:42
  For me, that was easily the best moment in my career, to see that many guys and girls working that hard for me.
• 24:49
  Like, they were doing it for themselves, but when you're sitting there in the car, you feel...
• 24:53
  they're doing this, you know, for us as a team, but ultimately, you know, you're the one guy that, you know, stands on the podium and all that sort of stuff.
• 25:01
  So it's so selfish in that way that you can't drag all those guys and girls up because they're flat out doing all that stuff for them and us as a team, but only I get to enjoy the moment, if you know what I mean, like that.
• 25:14
  euphoric a moment that is etched in your memory mate that moment oh yeah that for me and i remember them like them saying scotty sinclair who i now work with again hightower is like bark it up mate we're going out and i remember firing the engine and just like just the crowd i could hear them the commentary or the um corporate boxes above going crazy because we barked this thing up and then frank adamson
• 25:38
  came running and he tells me we had to shut it down and he had to pull a wheel off and he wanted to see something before he had let us out.
• 25:43
  So then everyone sort of booed and was quiet and then we barked it up again.
• 25:47
  And driving down the pit lane and I remember I was thanking the guys and girls so much on the radio.
• 25:53
  And as you can see, I talk with my hands and my hands are all over the place.
• 25:56
  I'm like, thanks guys, this is amazing.
• 25:58
  You guys have done this, you've won this for us.
• 26:00
  But doing the big spiel on the way out, being all emotional as I do.
• 26:05
  I remember when I looked, because you want to look where the other, and I looked and the AAA car was still sitting there and I'm like, you suckers, and I'm still talking.
• 26:11
  And I didn't say anything.
• 26:12
  Anyway, and then after the race, I think Roland protested or complained that I went past their pit lane sticking my finger up at them.
• 26:20
  And then they looked at the in-car and you can see I'm just talking with my hands.
• 26:23
  Animated.
• 26:24
  But that, for me, is the best moment.
• 26:26
  Not just him, or yes, him being upset was fantastic.
• 26:29
  But them working in that moment was, for me, the best moment of my sporting career.
• 26:44
  James will reunite with Charlie Schwerk Holt for the Enduros.
• 26:48
  Their title win back in 2010 has mixed emotions for Charlie, given the struggles DJR went through during that period.
• 26:55
  It was a very, very tough time, unfortunately.
• 26:57
  No, I didn't celebrate it all, really.
• 27:00
  And I think I've had a few quiet drinks with James Courtney now and then over the journey or Adrian.
• 27:06
  And it was a bit of a sad way to end it.
• 27:08
  But I know I was at the helm of the wheel doing all that.
• 27:11
  And, yeah, I can still help my head high of what we achieved.
• 27:17
  Charlie also talks about the origins of his family business, going it alone as a supercars team owner and a whole lot more.
• 27:25
  Now back to JC and Rusty.
• 27:28
  Can I come to another special one for you?
• 27:30
  And that is, because I can recall this one, you and Jack Perkins, Gold Coast.
• 27:35
  You frank the tank on the roof.
• 27:37
  You help a guy that had been a mate for so long, you know, and lived in the shadow of his famous old man do something pretty cool that day.
• 27:46
  And I think, is there a story too that Larry might have chipped in a little bit in your career and helped along the way too?
• 27:50
  Yeah, Big Larry.
• 27:53
  I remember when I first went to Europe as a kid karting, he sent me a check in the day for $5,000 and he had a note in it saying, I know it's not much.
• 28:03
  I know the road you're going on.
• 28:05
  This is what I can spare.
• 28:08
  good luck.
• 28:09
  If you ever need me, give me a call.
• 28:10
  I'm a real light.
• 28:11
  And it was just, for me, I was a Castro junior, like little kid with my dap, my Tony Cap, with Castro, all over it.
• 28:18
  And that was pretty cool.
• 28:19
  And that's how I, you know, I used to go to Bathurst and that's how I met Jack ultimately because I'd go to Bathurst with Larry and sit and watch.
• 28:26
  And, you know, I met Jack then.
• 28:28
  And then Jack and I sort of, you know, he was, I suppose when you're that age, when you're sort of,
• 28:34
  16 from 15 to 20 and jack would have been he was a kid so he's like eight and sort of coming through so he's sort of i knew jack and we sort of mucked around with him but he wasn't that tight i guess until i came back to australia and jack then was a man and i was a man um and but
• 28:53
  He is, I reckon, the nicest guy, apart from yourself, Rusty.
• 28:59
  One of the nicest guys in the pit lane.
• 29:01
  He is such a good bloke, such a good mate of mine, and just a real genuine guy that for him, like everyone thinks, and I saw it with Stevie J as well, that, hey, life's easy because your dad's Dick Johnson or your dad's Larry Perkins, but it's about a thousand times harder for those guys because they –
• 29:21
  society has such an unrealistic expectation of where they're at or what they can achieve purely just because of what their fathers did.
• 29:28
  And there's so much more pressure.
• 29:30
  And I saw that with Steve and I saw it the whole way through with little Jack.
• 29:35
  And I remember when Jack was in the main game with his dad's team and then when he got his own run at FPR with Charlie.
• 29:44
  And then...
• 29:45
  I remember we were at Phillip Island, driver's briefing.
• 29:47
  They announced that Jack was, they say every year, the driver's briefing, who's not coming back next year?
• 29:52
  And they said, Jack.
• 29:53
  So then on the way out of the driver's briefing, I grabbed Jack and I wrote, come with me.
• 29:58
  You're going to be doing the Enduros with me.
• 30:00
  I don't care what you say.
• 30:01
  We're doing it together.
• 30:02
  Love it.
• 30:02
  You're my guy.
• 30:04
  And from then on, we were inseparable.
• 30:08
  Yeah.
• 30:09
  But he...
• 30:10
  to be able to give back something to Jack, because I knew how much he loved it.
• 30:14
  He loves his sport.
• 30:15
  He loves supercars.
• 30:15
  Massively.
• 30:16
  As much as he sprays it at the moment and doesn't like things about it and all that sort of stuff, but he...
• 30:21
  It comes from a good place.
• 30:22
  It comes from his heart.
• 30:22
  Yeah, exactly.
• 30:23
  So he... And to be able to then, after what his dad did for me, and then be able to have Jack as a really close, close mate.
• 30:31
  Our kids, our daughters are born the same day.
• 30:33
  Our sons are born two days apart.
• 30:35
  We holiday together.
• 30:36
  We're good mates.
• 30:37
  And then to be able to...
• 30:39
  be part of his first win was, yeah, for me, was really, really cool.
• 30:45
  So they're probably better than actual wins is those moments.
• 30:49
  A couple to finish the Supercars chapter here.
• 30:51
  I'm going to have a bit of fun here now, a little bit of a laugh.
• 30:54
  I am told you and former boss of Supercars, David Tunnicliffe, may have gone to a story shoot involving possibly Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, maybe.
• 31:05
  I'm trying to think who it was now.
• 31:06
  Maybe Alpine would have been during the Tickford chapter.
• 31:10
  And Thomas Randall is involved in this shoot somewhere along the lines.
• 31:14
  And off you go and you do your thing.
• 31:17
  And you and Tunners, if I've got this right...
• 31:21
  sign the inside of Randall's race suit.
• 31:24
  Is that right?
• 31:25
  What did you do?
• 31:26
  I mightn't have this right.
• 31:26
  So you correct me.
• 31:27
  You correct me.
• 31:28
  So they'd been doing the Alpine Castrol thing at Corver and Tunis came in with his suit afterwards because Thomas must have left it there or something.
• 31:36
  And I said to Tunis, I'm like, hey, let's sign his suit and tell him that it was Gasly.
• 31:39
  Oh, God.
• 31:40
  So I think Thomas still thinks it is.
• 31:43
  So then we signed it and then didn't say anything.
• 31:48
  And then afterwards...
• 31:50
  I think Tana's come in the truck later in the weekend and was like, hey...
• 31:55
  did you sign your own suit or something?
• 31:57
  Like I asked him about it and Thomas was like, no, no, no.
• 32:02
  I guess that was those guys.
• 32:03
  And then Tunners I think added to it saying something like, yeah, I thought I saw them right, like signing in there.
• 32:08
  I just didn't know what was going on.
• 32:09
  Oh, I love it.
• 32:10
  So Thomas, when you're reading or watching this, yeah, it's us.
• 32:15
  It's Tunners and me.
• 32:16
  Now, you're doing TV stuff now, which I think is fabulous, mate.
• 32:19
  It's really good.
• 32:20
  But there was potentially an opportunity to do this sooner.
• 32:24
  a driving deal with Blanchard's came up I think there's a funny moment perhaps with you and Tunners where you you know you might have talked details and and uh once he realized what what the Blanchard opportunity looked like what you know he basically said well enjoy your driving kind of thing it's not it's not for now but you could have done tv potentially a little earlier couldn't you yeah yeah so when the Tickford stuff finished it was yeah I've got a long way down the road talking with Tunners about doing it um but then
• 32:51
  Yeah, then the whole Blanchard thing and whatever.
• 32:54
  And he advised me otherwise to stay on that path.
• 32:57
  But it's something that I've always wanted to transition into.
• 33:00
  I love motor racing.
• 33:02
  I love this sport.
• 33:04
  Talking about it.
• 33:05
  Yeah, it's been my whole life selling it to, you know, whether it be the media or the public or sponsors or whatever.
• 33:11
  It's my life.
• 33:13
  And from a young age, Neil was so good with me.
• 33:16
  Like I used to sit down with him when I was 14, 15.
• 33:19
  in his house at Forest Hill or Voucher's Forest or whatever it was.
• 33:23
  He'll kill us for talking about that.
• 33:24
  Yeah, so I remember sitting with him and then him taking me into the Channel 7 news area and I'd sit down and he would ask me questions in front of cameras just to get me comfortable with it all.
• 33:34
  And he taught me at a young age that the driving side of things is 20% of what we do.
• 33:39
  Yeah.
• 33:41
  The majority of what we do is how we handle ourselves with the public, with sponsors, with the media, and we can make our career.
• 33:49
  It can either be five years driving a car and then you disappear and never be heard on it ever again, or you work hard commercially, publicly, and then you can prolong your career and afterwards have something to do with the telecast and all that sort of stuff.
• 34:02
  So I work, and Peter Brock was, he used to come and stay with Alan and I for like six weeks every year as well.
• 34:09
  Mm-hmm.
• 34:09
  And Peter was sort of pushing that into me as well throughout all his time.
• 34:13
  So I could see the benefits of, like, Neil was already living that life.
• 34:19
  Peter as well was living the post-racing life and all the appearances and all that sort of stuff.
• 34:24
  Longevity, mate.
• 34:25
  Longevity in the sport.
• 34:26
  Yeah.
• 34:26
  So I sort of always focused on it.
• 34:28
  And, you know, I wouldn't have done Dancing with the Stars and those sorts of things if... How did you find that?
• 34:33
  Yeah, that was horrific.
• 34:34
  Was it?
• 34:34
  Oh, I've never been so scared in my life.
• 34:37
  Why?
• 34:37
  Why?
• 34:40
  Like I said before, I'm an introvert.
• 34:42
  Then doing something that I am completely uncomfortable with on national live TV was the most horrifying thing I've ever done in my life.
• 34:50
  But you did it, mate.
• 34:51
  But I did it.
• 34:51
  You did it.
• 34:52
  I remember the first night being there and the music starts.
• 34:54
  They play the little intro and I'm standing backstage and my dance partner was on the other side of the stage.
• 34:59
  And it was dark and they're playing it all and I could see the video on the screen.
• 35:02
  And I seriously was like, I could just run here.
• 35:07
  And when they turn it back on, I won't be here.
• 35:10
  And it'll all blow over in like a month or so.
• 35:12
  James caught me.
• 35:13
  Yeah.
• 35:14
  But I didn't.
• 35:15
  I stayed there.
• 35:16
  But yeah, that was horrifying.
• 35:18
  You used a line before while we were talking about, you know, that you kind of switch on or you're the motor racing personality.
• 35:24
  What is clear to me, and you've reminded me of it today, it's the same guy off camera as on camera, which is what I like.
• 35:30
  You might be introverted and you might force yourself to switch on, if you will, for media and the like, but...
• 35:36
  I feel like this year is off to a cracking start for you because you bring that zing, that passion, that you to the screen.
• 35:43
  But I also feel like you're not afraid to share a straight thought on something.
• 35:48
  Is that a fair take on things?
• 35:49
  Yeah, I think a lot of that probably comes from the people that I've surrounded myself with.
• 35:54
  You know, my parents are very...
• 35:56
  grounded, normal, sort of tell it how it is, sort of people, west of Sydney, working class.
• 36:02
  I think we're bred slightly different out there.
• 36:07
  Having Neil was very much a grounded, don't get ahead of yourself.
• 36:11
  And Alan, Morto, all these people have been uber successful but yet normal blokes.
• 36:17
  So I think it's sort of I've sort of taken on a lot of the personalities and their traits through all my interactions with them throughout my whole career.
• 36:26
  I can't remember who it was that told me at an early age that...
• 36:30
  just because you do your job on TV doesn't make you any more important than anyone else out there.
• 36:34
  Or your role in society is not any more important than the local plumber.
• 36:38
  If not, they're more important.
• 36:40
  So don't ever get carried away and think that you're, when you're dealing with the public that... You're better than that.
• 36:45
  Yeah.
• 36:46
  So I try to be just an average bloke, drives a dual cab pickup, drink a beer, love spending time with my family.
• 36:56
  I do meet people and they're like, oh, you're just a normal bloke.
• 37:00
  Yeah.
• 37:00
  I take that as a compliment.
• 37:01
  Like they're a bit surprised.
• 37:03
  Yeah, I am just a normal bloke.
• 37:04
  So I think a lot of sports people get carried away with their position in society just because they perform, they do their job on TV.
• 37:13
  we're no better or no different to anyone else.
• 37:15
  We've all got two arms and two legs, so there's no reason why we should be treated any better than anyone else.
• 37:20
  So that's why I try and be the normal, funny, idiot bloke and live my life that way.
• 37:27
  Like I don't – sure, I enjoy eating nice food or driving a nice car at times, but I'm not sort of someone that is so brand-driven or, you know,
• 37:39
  has to be sort of perceived as being a certain way.
• 37:43
  I'm just a normal bloke that, like I said, drives a dual-cab ute and has a good time with his family.
• 37:48
  Somewhere between this crazy schedule, media, driving, beautiful family, blah, blah, blah, you pursue an inner passion for real estate.
• 37:57
  Talk about ADHD.
• 37:59
  Just load me up, mate.
• 38:01
  I'll just pick and choose.
• 38:03
  People can find it.
• 38:04
  We don't need to talk numbers.
• 38:05
  That's not necessary.
• 38:06
  But you sold Tony Cochran's house, mate, on the GC.
• 38:10
  Is this true?
• 38:11
  It is true.
• 38:11
  It is true.
• 38:12
  It was wild.
• 38:14
  What was that conversation like with him around?
• 38:16
  It's funny.
• 38:16
  I called TC and I'm like, hey, mate, I think I've got someone that can buy a house.
• 38:20
  And he was like...
• 38:21
  He's like, oh, okay.
• 38:22
  And I'm like, no, no, I'm serious.
• 38:23
  And he's like, oh, okay, well, this was on like the Wednesday.
• 38:26
  And he's like, oh, look.
• 38:27
  And I said, can I bring him through?
• 38:28
  And he said, oh, look, on Saturday, you can bring him through.
• 38:31
  And I said, okay, I've got to send you all the paperwork, like there's form sixes, all this sort of stuff.
• 38:36
  And he's like, okay, I'll send it through.
• 38:38
  Because I'd only been doing real estate for like – It was early, mate.
• 38:40
  A few months.
• 38:41
  A few months.
• 38:42
  Like I had no idea what I was doing.
• 38:44
  So then I send TC the paperwork and then on like Friday he calls me and goes, hey, look, you haven't been doing this long.
• 38:49
  Do you mind if when you do the walkthrough with the house that I do it?
• 38:53
  And I was like, TC, you know your house better than anyone else.
• 38:56
  You know the construction, how it's been.
• 38:58
  More than happy for you to roll through, tell the story.
• 39:01
  I'll fluff the edges.
• 39:03
  We'll go like that.
• 39:04
  So he's like, okay.
• 39:05
  So we roll up.
• 39:06
  We go through, do the house.
• 39:07
  The guys would have been, the family would have been there probably like an hour and a half, close to two hours, long time.
• 39:13
  The house obviously isn't that small.
• 39:15
  So we go through and I'm sort of talking with the wife and sort of getting a good feel from her and then he would talk to the wife and I'd talk to the husband and,
• 39:22
  Anyway, we did this.
• 39:24
  We go down.
• 39:26
  They start to leave.
• 39:26
  They leave.
• 39:27
  And as they leave and drive off, TC turns to me and he goes, they're not buying it.
• 39:32
  And I'm like, mate, she's that into it.
• 39:34
  They love it.
• 39:35
  I'm telling you, they're on for this.
• 39:37
  And he's like, no, I can't see it.
• 39:39
  And I'm like, oh, well, I guess we'll find out.
• 39:40
  So we leave.
• 39:42
  Within the hour, they called me and they're like, we're in.
• 39:46
  We want to put an offering at this number.
• 39:48
  And I'm like...
• 39:49
  Jesus.
• 39:50
  I'm like, right.
• 39:51
  So the first thing I do, I call TC and I'm like, hey, Tone, what are you and Thea doing?
• 39:55
  He goes, oh, we've got dinner, this.
• 39:57
  And I said, well, can I come and see you now because I've got an offer?
• 40:01
  And he's like, what?
• 40:02
  And I said, hold on a seat.
• 40:03
  Hold on.
• 40:03
  Hold on.
• 40:04
  He's calling me.
• 40:04
  I'll call you back.
• 40:05
  So I hang out.
• 40:06
  Get back on there.
• 40:07
  The guy ups his offer by a million dollars straight away.
• 40:10
  And I'm just like, holy crap.
• 40:12
  I'll hang out.
• 40:12
  I'm like, TC, I really need to come and see you.
• 40:16
  Today, he goes, okay, well, I'll cancel dinner.
• 40:19
  We'll just stay and come around.
• 40:21
  So I said, okay, I'm going to be an hour or so getting all the paperwork.
• 40:24
  Anyway, so mucking around, get it all together.
• 40:27
  So then as I'm driving to the house to do the offer, the guy calls me again.
• 40:34
  He goes, speaking with the wife, we can't lose this house.
• 40:37
  We'll throw another million at it.
• 40:42
  So I'm just like, righto.
• 40:45
  So I pull out the TC's and Matt, the other guy that's with me, Matt Lanyon, and we sort of sit down, we're talking to Tony, we're going through, hey, look, these are the terms that are okay.
• 40:53
  cash buyer, no dramas, settlement.
• 40:56
  They're happy to work with you on the settlement time, blah, blah, blah, this, this, this.
• 40:59
  These are the things.
• 41:00
  They really want to take all the furniture as well.
• 41:04
  And he goes, okay, okay.
• 41:05
  And every time I spoke to TC, tell me the money.
• 41:07
  And I'm like, mate, I want to tell you when I'm sitting with you.
• 41:09
  I don't want to tell you the phone.
• 41:10
  So anyway, so then he's like, just stop all the shit.
• 41:13
  Just tell me what the money is.
• 41:14
  So then I tell him the money and then he...
• 41:17
  He sort of sits for a second.
• 41:19
  Then he starts to say that he's going to accept it.
• 41:23
  Like he's going down that path.
• 41:24
  Like, yeah, it's not what we want.
• 41:26
  All this sort of stuff.
• 41:27
  And I'm like, mate, what do you mean it's not what you want?
• 41:29
  Anyway, so then Thea says, hey, TC, let's have a chat.
• 41:32
  So then they go away and they come back and he says, look, we've had a chat.
• 41:37
  To get it done, we need another million dollars.
• 41:40
  And I was like, oh, right.
• 41:42
  So then I called the other party because I told them that I was going to come straight out afterwards.
• 41:46
  So they lived it out sort of 50 minutes in the hinterland from the Gold Coast.
• 41:50
  So you were trekking around here.
• 41:52
  Yeah.
• 41:52
  So then I called them and I said, hey, look, at this point it's –
• 41:56
  seven o'clock at night or six thirty seven o'clock so i said hey look i understand if you don't want me to come out they've counter signed this is what's happening blah blah blah look if you guys just want to relax and whatever we can talk tomorrow and he's like no look let's come out we'll have a chat about it now you know we'll sort of work out our game plan moving forward i was like okay so then matt and i get in the car we drive out there knock on the door
• 42:20
  They open the door.
• 42:21
  He's holding a bottle of champagne and she's crying.
• 42:23
  And he says, where do I sign this thing?
• 42:25
  And I was just like, holy shit.
• 42:28
  So then Matt and I, who we've never done a deal this big in our lives, we're both like shaking.
• 42:33
  Matt's filling out the paperwork.
• 42:34
  My voice is all over the place trying to control me from screaming, talking to the couple.
• 42:39
  They're pouring champagne.
• 42:40
  I'm like necking the champagne.
• 42:41
  Then I'm like, wait a minute, I've got to drive.
• 42:43
  So then...
• 42:45
  I have to stop drinking the champagne.
• 42:47
  And then I'm like, now I have to sober up.
• 42:49
  So then I'm in water and I'm waiting around.
• 42:50
  We're talking for a couple of hours while they're going over everything and just congratulating them and all this sort of stuff.
• 42:55
  And I'm like, oh, I could have called Tony.
• 42:58
  We say to the guys, okay, see you later.
• 43:00
  We're going to go back now.
• 43:02
  We were there for a few hours.
• 43:03
  This is like 9 o'clock at night now or something.
• 43:04
  This is 9 o'clock at night.
• 43:05
  So I called TC and I'm like, hey, mate.
• 43:06
  And he goes, oh.
• 43:08
  And I said, is Thea there?
• 43:09
  And he goes, hang on a minute.
• 43:11
  And I'm like, okay.
• 43:11
  And he's yelling out Thea.
• 43:12
  And he said, oh, all right, you're on speaker.
• 43:15
  And I'm like, you better pack your shit up, TC.
• 43:19
  We've got a deal.
• 43:20
  And he's like, what?
• 43:22
  And I'm like, the deal's done, mate.
• 43:23
  And he goes, really?
• 43:24
  And I'm like, yeah.
• 43:25
  He goes, you have to drive here right now.
• 43:27
  I want to counter-sign it right now.
• 43:28
  So it's done and dusted.
• 43:30
  So then I drive to TC's house, so another 50 minutes to his house.
• 43:34
  It's like 10.30 at night and then he's trying to have champagne and everything.
• 43:38
  And then as we leave, I'm just like in jeans and a white T-shirt and he walks me out to the car and he looks at my car and I'm just driving a Ford Ranger.
• 43:49
  And he's like, sir, of all these guys that are pulled up here and their Lamborghinis, their Porsches, all this sort of shit –
• 43:56
  And a guy, an old racing driver in jeans and a T-shirt, trainers on.
• 44:01
  In a Ford Ranger.
• 44:02
  In a Ford Ranger, sells the most expensive property on the Gold Coast.
• 44:06
  He goes, I thought it was a joke when you told me you had someone to buy my house.
• 44:12
  I love this.
• 44:13
  Crompo talks about the business of motor racing.
• 44:16
  Did it help you for this?
• 44:17
  And where did the love for property come from?
• 44:19
  I gather you've had it for some time, mate.
• 44:21
  My cousin was really big in property and sales in northern Sydney.
• 44:26
  And he said to me, he goes, mate, you are that good with people and finding common ground with them and being able to hold a conversation.
• 44:33
  He said, that's what this business is all about.
• 44:35
  He said, you have so much spare time, you should look at doing it.
• 44:38
  If not while you're doing it, post your career.
• 44:40
  So then when I realized, when I was talking to Tana about doing the TV stuff initially and then BRT thing was only ever going to be two years, I was like, right, I've got to do it now.
• 44:49
  So that's when I started to do all the study and the online course because school was horrific for me.
• 44:54
  So I think a lot of me not wanting to do something was fear of that, was it?
• 44:58
  It was fear because I was like, I've done all racing my life, always been successful.
• 45:03
  School, I was always...
• 45:05
  you know, made fun of and I could never achieve what I wanted to in school.
• 45:09
  So a lot of why I didn't pursue it earlier was because of my fear of not being able to... That's amazing, mate.
• 45:16
  You've won championships, driven Formula One cars.
• 45:18
  Yeah.
• 45:19
  So my fear from the school, from the rejection and unable to, like, pass results and all that sort of stuff is what was holding me back that whole time.
• 45:27
  And I was like, right...
• 45:29
  I've got two years now, but then racing is going to be finished.
• 45:32
  And if the TV thing doesn't happen for whatever reason, I've got to support my family.
• 45:36
  So I've got to put my big blue pants on here and get on with this.
• 45:39
  So then I sort of did the course and passed, and then I was like, wow, I can do this stuff.
• 45:44
  And then, yeah, and then since that, I've probably got a lot more confidence in my sort of stuff away from racing.
• 45:51
  And that's what's then developed and changed.
• 45:53
  and sort of grown into the real estate side.
• 45:55
  Well done, mate.
• 45:56
  Well done.
• 45:56
  I love that you're into that.
• 45:58
  Two to finish here.
• 45:59
  I don't know how much you can talk about it, so please don't if you can't.
• 46:02
  I can vividly recall the chopper incident at Sydney Motorsport Park and stuff.
• 46:07
  I think at the time you were ducking from one garage around to another and just in that freakish, freakish moment, was it a pit boom hit you?
• 46:15
  You broke a number of ribs, maybe your sternum as well.
• 46:18
  Are you okay all these years later from that?
• 46:20
  Does it still knock you around at all?
• 46:22
  Yeah, I was building a house at the time doing a shady deal with Charlie's, one of Charlie Schwerko's sponsors for an air conditioning unit.
• 46:29
  For the house.
• 46:29
  So then I did the deal.
• 46:31
  I was all excited.
• 46:31
  Came out and as the dust and everything, put my arm up, bang, got hit by the stuff.
• 46:34
  So I broke six ribs, three ribs in two places.
• 46:37
  So six breaks.
• 46:39
  Pushed three of the ribs into my spine.
• 46:41
  So I've got pins and needles in the backs of my knees.
• 46:44
  Even now as you're talking to me?
• 46:45
  Yeah, now in arches of my feet.
• 46:46
  Wow.
• 46:47
  And then as the bone grew on your rib, your nerve runs along the bottom of the rib.
• 46:53
  So then the bone grows over the ribs.
• 46:55
  So now when I'm breathing, you can feel pulling, which is weird.
• 47:01
  So for a long time, I was getting the nerves burnt either side, so it killed the receptor, so then you couldn't feel it.
• 47:08
  And for three months, I had to have like an epidural whilst it was all healing, like a little bum bag with a little pump in it with tubes, so you could sleep and walk and talk and function because that much...
• 47:21
  um, break and all the, all the cartilage and everything broken.
• 47:24
  It was so much pain.
• 47:25
  So just to be able to do that stuff.
• 47:28
  Um, but yeah, so today I can still feel that.
• 47:30
  Um, and yeah, and the pins and needles.
• 47:33
  So that was, that was pretty, uh, pretty crappy.
• 47:36
  I'll bet.
• 47:36
  I'll bet.
• 47:37
  Is there a nice bookend to the race driving story in the sense that you have a great relationship with Charlie?
• 47:44
  I mean, some of your, let's call them your Gold Coast people.
• 47:46
  I mean, probably Shane Howard is in the, in the mix of that group as well.
• 47:49
  But you're back with Charlie for some enduro stuff.
• 47:52
  I mean, you've had that time with he and Dick winning that championship in 2010 and stuff, and you've remained tight, mate, haven't you?
• 47:59
  Yeah, I think it's only fitting the way that my career is sort of wrapping up.
• 48:04
  I started with the Works Holden team or GM team doing enduros, and I'm finishing doing it with two really good mates.
• 48:12
  You know, I've loved the...
• 48:15
  The post-HRT time, I have probably enjoyed my racing more since then.
• 48:23
  I suppose, because your focus transitions.
• 48:25
  So at the HRT, I was always Garth and I or Scott and I trying to outdo each other and be the leader of the team.
• 48:33
  But from when that all finished and my next phase of my career, it was very much Cam was the guy, which I was accepting.
• 48:38
  He's a young guy, super quick.
• 48:40
  So my role within the team changed.
• 48:42
  So those last two years with Thomas and Cam, like helping them just with...
• 48:49
  um you know i i could never get enjoyment like if garth won and i didn't win when we're teammates i'd be pissed okay with cam and thomas and and uh with aaron cameron just recently um to see those guys success like their success and develop over the time has been super rewarding because i've been sort of giving so much back to those guys or you know not that i know how much i help cam along the way but just
• 49:13
  mentally or, you know, with things that I dealt with in my career or I can see him maybe doing something that wasn't of his attention in some area, just sort of helping guide those guys has been super rewarding.
• 49:24
  So to have that sort of end to my career and then ultimately doing the enduros with these guys is, you know, it's probably the dream thing.
• 49:34
  dream way to finish it all up and and um you know i can't wait to uh to get there at bathys time and and have a go but it's it's interesting at the moment i'm not missing the racing where i thought i would be going crazy okay um i think i found a new love for racing in a different way because when you're racing you're so focused on the actual result and they can and competing and you're your race fan now mate yeah like mates would come to the track and they're on the grid before the race and like wow this is awesome you know the atmosphere is electric and i'm like calm down
• 50:04
  thinking in my head.
• 50:06
  Now you're seeing that.
• 50:06
  But now I'm... Because you don't have the pressure of having to perform or you're not focused on the result, you sort of... Now, like I said to Jess after, you know, at Sydney the first weekend, I'm like, wow, it's so cool out here on the bridge.
• 50:19
  She goes, what do you mean?
• 50:20
  You've been out here forever.
• 50:21
  I'm like, yeah, but I don't get to live this side of it.
• 50:23
  So it's...
• 50:24
  I am a race fan and I am enjoying the stuff away from the racing, all the telecast stuff, all this sort of stuff.
• 50:32
  It is...
• 50:33
  I am...
• 50:34
  really content.
• 50:35
  I think I called it at the right time.
• 50:37
  My career has been fantastic.
• 50:39
  I wouldn't change any of it, even all the crashes and not getting the Formula One stuff that I did.
• 50:45
  I think I would be a completely different person as to who I am now.
• 50:48
  Everything happens for a reason.
• 50:50
  That's amazing.
• 50:51
  Yeah, and I couldn't be – like I have four beautiful kids and an amazing wife.
• 50:57
  Tegan is so supportive.
• 50:59
  Even Karis through all the racing side of things, it got grubby, grubby at the end.
• 51:04
  But thank her for all the stuff that she did up until that point.
• 51:08
  We've got two beautiful kids together.
• 51:12
  I'm so lucky.
• 51:13
  There's so many people that –
• 51:15
  sort of go through life and don't get to experience things that I have or, you know, do that sort of stuff.
• 51:20
  So I'm just every morning just pumped, mate.
• 51:22
  Just let's see what life's got for me next time.
• 51:25
  I love that little quiver in your voice there too, mate.
• 51:27
  Absolutely.
• 51:27
  No, no, it's okay.
• 51:28
  It's okay.
• 51:29
  I've got to stop talking.
• 51:29
  I'm getting emotional.
• 51:31
  Thank you.
• 51:31
  I have learned a lot in this chat.
• 51:33
  I think the journey is fascinating.
• 51:36
  I love the way that you frame the Formula One chapter and that you feel that even the way that it ended today.
• 51:42
  taught you kind of something and credit to you mate for sharing around some of the stuff about school and and adhd and i hope for younger people that are listening to this that it's it's a lesson don't let it don't let it hold you back there's always there's always a way you can channel that into uh into something good and make you've achieved some amazing amazing things go well with the broadcast and thank you for chatting with us today mega mate mega thank you sir
• 52:13
  Rusty's Garage is written and presented by me, Greg Rust.
• 52:17
  Series editor and producer is Joel Harrison.
• 52:20
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• 52:24
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• 52:28
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