Latest / Rusty's Garage / Greg Murphy - The Next Chapter - Part 1

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Greg Murphy - The Next Chapter - Part 1 · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:12
  I'm automotive commentator and journalist Greg Rust and this is Rusty's Garage.
• 0:27
  This episode is a long overdue catch up with the four time Bathurst winner Greg Murphy.
• 0:33
  The first instalment is actually way back in the Rusty's Garage library when we first launched in fact.
• 0:38
  You can search for that later and enjoy it or maybe even refresh your memory on some of the poignant moments in his career.
• 0:46
  Much has happened since then for Murph, so this is timely.
• 0:49
  He and I worked together for many years on the supercars coverage in Pit Lane, and now we are more or less neighbours, not quite over the fence from each other, but not far away.
• 0:59
  So I dropped round for a coffee and away we went.
• 1:02
  The rapport beams through this conversation, as does...
• 1:06
  A similar sense of humour.
• 1:07
  His dog is hanging around with us and you might even hear a pesky summer fly too.
• 1:11
  Sorry about that.
• 1:12
  Huge thanks to those of you who sent in questions from Murph via social media.
• 1:17
  I didn't get to all of them, but where there was a reoccurring theme, we certainly tried to tackle it.
• 1:23
  For those I didn't get to, don't worry, we're going to do a Christmas Facebook Live.
• 1:27
  What has jokingly among our colleagues become known as the Grig and Grig Show.
• 1:32
  And I'll put those to him then.
• 1:33
  Keep an eye out for it.
• 1:34
  There's lots of variety in this discussion, from his awesome Dodge Charger Resto project, which is finally finished and he's hoping to enjoy driving it over summer, to the work he now does for Tony Quinn's race circuits here in New Zealand and the foundation which he's immersed in.
• 1:51
  Some of the rare race cars he's now entrusted to drive, like the Ford Sierra.
• 1:57
  Yes, a Ford that really marked the start of his touring car racing chapter, to a TV yarn recently in the Yardley McLaren, once raced by the late Denny Holm.
• 2:08
  He is passionately working on trying to improve road safety and is frustrated, as you'll hear, by the lack of government action, plus a whole lot more.
• 2:18
  We begin by unpacking his wildcard drive at Bathurst recently with Richie Stanaway.
• 2:24
  For all sorts of reasons, this was a bit of a fairy tale.
• 2:28
  you get a sense that it finally gave Murph a proper sign-off or farewell to a circuit that he's very closely linked to, something that he didn't get to do when he stopped racing supercars and doing the Enduros around eight years ago.
• 2:43
  Listen out for a moment of reflection during his final ever stint.
• 2:48
  From the Bathurst Drivers Parade to Richie earning a spot in the shootout and Murph doing his fastest ever lap there.
• 2:56
  Can you believe it?
• 2:56
  A 2.05 some 19 years on from the famed Lap of the Gods.
• 3:02
  We begin with the way he learned his friend and long-time supporter, Peter Adderton, was planning this wildcard.
• 3:10
  Well, it was basically Pete putting it out there that the program was on.
• 3:15
  When did the notion of doing the wild card at Bathurst come up?
• 3:19
  How did that conversation happen?
• 3:21
  What did Pete say to you about, and when did that all start?
• 3:24
  Oh, that, well, it didn't start with a conversation.
• 3:27
  It started with... You're in.
• 3:29
  No, no, with his... Presbyterian.
• 3:32
  No, infamous Instagram post.
• 3:34
  Oh, yes, sorry.
• 3:36
  Infamous.
• 3:39
  And, yeah, I got shown the post by, I think it was Cormac, my son.
• 3:43
  He's like, oh...
• 3:45
  Pete says you're doing the, oh, whatever he said.
• 3:47
  I can't quite remember.
• 3:48
  I mean, it was the suggestion at that stage.
• 3:50
  You know, Pete reckons you should do a wild card at Bathurst.
• 3:54
  You know, with Richie, I'm like, what?
• 3:56
  Oh, God, what's he up to now?
• 3:58
  Anyway.
• 3:59
  Were we in COVID at that stage?
• 4:02
  So we're talking, what are we?
• 4:06
  Was it like April?
• 4:07
  You can probably find it on his Instagram.
• 4:10
  I think it was like April...
• 4:14
  2012, 2021.
• 4:16
  Yeah, 21.
• 4:17
  God, it's hard to keep up, isn't it?
• 4:19
  I'm pretty sure it was April 21, something like that.
• 4:23
  He put it up and then it all just went from there.
• 4:27
  But, I mean, effectively, you know, I was – that was not something I was contemplating or in any way, shape, or form prepared to even consider that.
• 4:40
  And actually, Richie was the same at that time.
• 4:43
  He wasn't – he wasn't – he had – no one had heard from him, right?
• 4:47
  So he was still flying under the radar big time.
• 4:51
  I hadn't spoken to him since the end of the 19 championship, and not many people had.
• 4:57
  So he was very much still – yeah.
• 5:02
  undercover at that point.
• 5:05
  So did he get enthused and then that made you feel like, well, I'd like to help this guy?
• 5:09
  No, he didn't get enthused.
• 5:10
  So we effectively, the two of us had a – I ended up ringing him.
• 5:18
  Pete does a lot of posts.
• 5:19
  You're scrolling here trying to look for it, aren't you?
• 5:21
  It's a long way back.
• 5:23
  He does a lot of posts.
• 5:25
  So, I mean, who knows when it was, to be honest.
• 5:28
  I can't even find it.
• 5:29
  Anyway, it doesn't matter.
• 5:33
  So then the phone rings and it's Peter and I didn't even answer the first call because I knew what it was about.
• 5:39
  I was just like, oh, I'm not even going to deal with this.
• 5:43
  And then he rang again.
• 5:44
  Oh, for God's sake, so I better answer the phone.
• 5:46
  And he's like, oh.
• 5:47
  I'm like, I said, no.
• 5:49
  Basically, I answered the phone and said, no.
• 5:50
  And he's like, oh, come on, come on, come on.
• 5:53
  You know, it'd be great.
• 5:54
  He did his full sales pitch, which, you know, if you're an Eskimo, you'd buy ice off him kind of deal, you know.
• 6:03
  So I was like, no, mate, this is ridiculous.
• 6:05
  And I said, anyway, have you spoken to Richie?
• 6:07
  He goes, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, he's keen.
• 6:09
  I'm like, nah, I don't think that's, you know, telling the truth.
• 6:14
  And, you know, think about it, think about it.
• 6:17
  I said, oh, no, I'm not thinking about it.
• 6:18
  It's not happening.
• 6:19
  Anyway, I got off the phone and I rang Richie.
• 6:20
  Hey, how you going, mate?
• 6:21
  What's going on?
• 6:21
  I said, has Peter spoken to you?
• 6:25
  And he goes, oh, I've had a message from him.
• 6:30
  So straight away, obviously, he hadn't had a conversation where he said he was keen, you know, in any way, shape or form.
• 6:38
  So, yeah, Pete was doing the power play both ways.
• 6:43
  And he had a message and he hadn't spoken to him.
• 6:45
  I said, oh, well, just be prepared for the onslaught.
• 6:48
  And then Richie was like, well, would you look at doing it?
• 6:52
  I said, no.
• 6:54
  Nah, not a chance.
• 6:56
  He's like, oh, no, that's fine now.
• 6:58
  No, I'm not interested either.
• 7:00
  And then, yeah, October this year we did Bathurst together.
• 7:04
  I know.
• 7:05
  So what changed?
• 7:08
  We both actually sort of then just sat and looked at the whole idea and –
• 7:18
  And we both actually came, and I could tell that Richie was actually in a pretty good space, you know.
• 7:24
  And we had a good conversation, how you going, what's going on, he's really good, yeah, blah, blah, blah.
• 7:29
  And then it just evolved, and then the both of us sort of went, oh, well, you know, what would be so bad about it?
• 7:37
  I mean, what an amazing opportunity.
• 7:38
  What an opportunity.
• 7:39
  And then I just sort of started to think about,
• 7:43
  what we could do and what it would mean for Richie.
• 7:47
  And that sort of became the impetus of the whole thing for me was getting Stanaway back in a car.
• 7:53
  And it's like, well, I mean, it's a goal that I could set, I suppose.
• 7:56
  And I mean, I struggled with it for a long time, just being a bit worried about getting back in a supercar to actually compete and be somewhat kind of respectable.
• 8:10
  That was my biggest concern.
• 8:11
  Because of the level of competition and all those things?
• 8:13
  Yeah, everything.
• 8:14
  And just the capacity that's required to actually put into driving a supercar, regardless of doing it at Bathurst,
• 8:22
  And again, that preparation and mental preparation, the physical preparation one, which, you know, I'm really happy with myself that I did do all the physical stuff.
• 8:34
  But it's just that mental side of it too, you know, getting your head back in that space of that competitive mode.
• 8:39
  I mean, it's always there.
• 8:40
  It doesn't go anywhere.
• 8:42
  but being able to apply and the effort that's required mentally to be competitive and apply yourself and focus.
• 8:51
  And, you know, it worried me doing a double stint.
• 8:54
  You know, I was really, you know, I was like, holy man, that's going to be a tough, tough ask to do a double stint at Bathurst and not making a mistake.
• 9:00
  My last couple of runs there weren't exactly memorable.
• 9:04
  The last one wasn't memorable because of issues and problems that James Courtney and I had, but the year before, I stuck it in the fence.
• 9:12
  I mean, it was just a real horrible, horrible thing to happen.
• 9:16
  Did that knock you around that?
• 9:17
  Oh, it just knocked me around in that I was just so angry and disappointed in myself.
• 9:24
  And that car and the preparation for that race too, you know, just limited preparation in 13, not driving the car enough.
• 9:32
  not spending enough time in the seat, the way the rules and regs were back then, no tires, all you had was old tires to go testing on.
• 9:42
  We went to Winton a few times, and I was much better prepared to go into Bathurst this year than what I was going to Bathurst in 2013.
• 9:53
  And also I think because I'd been driving, doing some more driving, some GT stuff, and bits and pieces through the last year or so as well with Shane Helms.
• 10:01
  in the reno and and um had you put the fun factor back into it maybe with some of that you know like oh definitely all that stuff's just fun i do that because i enjoy it i don't have to do it um you know i do it because i enjoy the company of the people that i do it with i enjoy driving the car it's good fun
• 10:15
  And, you know, we have a few laughs and it's no stress, absolutely zero stress.
• 10:20
  So that is fun.
• 10:21
  But, you know, that kind of thing, driving a GT car at some of the circuits around New Zealand and spending an hour and a half, hour 40, hour 50 in the car in one go is good prep, you know.
• 10:32
  It's just like doing mini Enduros.
• 10:35
  So that kind of stuff and the concentration side, the mental side, all that really did help my lead up this year to racing because I got to actually focus on trying to drive a fast car fast for a long period of time.
• 10:49
  I don't doubt at all that that was good, you know, very handy prep along with everything else.
• 10:54
  We had a little false start, didn't we?
• 10:55
  Yeah, totally.
• 10:57
  Because 2021 was meant to be the year that it happened.
• 11:02
  I freakishly got...
• 11:03
  bloody quarantine, you couldn't get it, neither could Richie.
• 11:06
  I mean, they were just the challenges that everyone was facing at that stage.
• 11:09
  Was there a point there where it was like, okay, it didn't happen in 2021, we'll extend it to 2022?
• 11:16
  Or was there a, you know, you may not go ahead with the wild card this year.
• 11:20
  Was there a period at the beginning of the year?
• 11:22
  Yeah, definitely.
• 11:23
  But that whole thing was incredibly stressful, the end of 21, dealing with all that and the pressure and –
• 11:29
  We were dealing with, obviously, the ridiculous MIQ situation, which you had to go through several times and deal with this lottery system.
• 11:39
  And we look back on that now and just go, what were we doing?
• 11:43
  Seriously?
• 11:44
  I mean, what an absolute shocker of a system and an idea that whole thing was.
• 11:51
  And that was all part of...
• 11:53
  you know, this period of time that we were trying, and Bathurst got to, you know, COVID was still happening in Australia, so it got delayed and was put into December and it gave us more time and all that just kept building and building and building in a real negative way because our preparation was terrible.
• 12:10
  You know, we hadn't driven a car.
• 12:11
  So...
• 12:15
  It was tougher on Richie and I and just that whole planning and just the constant to-ing and fro-ing and stuff.
• 12:22
  It actually started to get me quite depressed actually through that period.
• 12:27
  So I was actually quite glad that –
• 12:30
  I was really happy that it got pulled, that the pin got pulled.
• 12:32
  I wasn't happy about the fact that the wild card was potentially done and dusted.
• 12:37
  But I was happy that it didn't happen because it was just going to be a waste of everyone's time and effort and money.
• 12:46
  And it pressed on for too long, the thought that something was going to happen and we were going to get –
• 12:53
  and changes to the government's bloody regulations, all that kind of stuff.
• 12:58
  But it was actually getting quite depressing.
• 13:00
  So the best thing that happened was that it got turned off for those reasons.
• 13:04
  But we were uncertain about what the future meant for the concept and if it would happen again.
• 13:10
  But everyone agreed it was the best thing to do.
• 13:13
  We'd run out of time.
• 13:16
  So let's reconvene in 22 and just see what the go is.
• 13:20
  And it got resurrected reasonably early.
• 13:23
  And everyone, Erebus and the crew and everyone there was wanting to follow through and make it happen because they'd put a lot of effort, obviously, into preparing a car and building a car.
• 13:36
  And there was a lot of excitement around it.
• 13:38
  So it would have been a waste not to have continued.
• 13:40
  And anyway, it all fell into place and fell into place much better.
• 13:44
  And we actually did everything we needed to do.
• 13:47
  you know, the testing, all the other stuff associated.
• 13:50
  We're able to celebrate it.
• 13:51
  We're able to promote it.
• 13:52
  We're able to, you know, do things with the fans and, you know, give it everything it deserved, the recognition and the time that it deserved.
• 14:04
  We had a great time with the training at EIT with Roy Hafner and some of the crew over there who actually came to Bathurst with you and got to experience it, which was great.
• 14:11
  So the build-up was awesome.
• 14:13
  What was it like when you got in the car for the first time at Winton and what feeling did it leave you with?
• 14:19
  Because it had been a while.
• 14:20
  Yeah, it was actually quite nerve-wracking, you know.
• 14:26
  doing that first run, I mean, that was going to be mentally a significant moment, right?
• 14:31
  So you come away from the first test and, you know, it's been a struggle and you've got more questions than you've got answers for and stuff, then it was going to be like, I was worried about that.
• 14:43
  I was worried that that was going to be the way I felt at the end of it.
• 14:47
  But I came away at the end of it actually pretty comfortable and actually...
• 14:51
  With a lot to think about to move forward, to be able to move forward as far as speed and stuff goes, but quite comfortable in the car, able to be quite consistent.
• 15:02
  It wasn't difficult.
• 15:03
  It wasn't hard.
• 15:04
  I mean, I wasn't anywhere near Richie's pace, but I felt for where I was at and what I had been doing and –
• 15:12
  and the length of time I'd been away from the game, I actually was pretty happy.
• 15:16
  So that actually was like a big, you know, relief, sigh of relief.
• 15:21
  And then I actually became, you know, quite excited about, you know, the next time getting in the car.
• 15:28
  Excellent.
• 15:29
  And so that was good.
• 15:30
  And then, you know, the next test...
• 15:32
  made some more progress and it just you know felt a bit better and had time in between yeah and you know sometimes you just you just need that time and naturally or subliminally things you know evolve and you you understand now so you've got an understanding now what the car is like
• 15:48
  So when you turn up next time, you go back to that point straight away.
• 15:53
  That's your new baseline, right?
• 15:54
  Oh, cool.
• 15:55
  And then you move forward again from that point.
• 15:56
  And that happened for all the tests.
• 15:59
  And the beauty between it was that Richie and I were in the same seat.
• 16:02
  We were both comfortable in the car.
• 16:04
  You know, the car was inspiring to drive, as in, you know, there was never a moment where you were –
• 16:12
  fighting it and knowing that all I needed to do was just keep improving the driving side of things and leave any other bits and pieces to really Richie to work on as far as set up goes and again feedback wise we were
• 16:26
  We were very similar and, you know, there was a lot of simplicity around it.
• 16:33
  No, you know, didn't need a separate seat insert.
• 16:35
  You know, pedals were in the right spot.
• 16:36
  We both left foot braked, which made it easier too.
• 16:40
  Just, I don't know, it's weird.
• 16:42
  I get in a supercar and I have to left foot brake, but I drive a GT car using my right foot to brake.
• 16:48
  It's bizarre, I don't know, but we're both very comfortable left foot branding a supercar and it has its benefits but it also has its negatives.
• 16:56
  But it worked for both of us and so the car, the way it was set up pedals wise, all that kind of stuff was very easy and simple and worked for both.
• 17:04
  So there was some real synergies there that made a big difference and sped up the process.
• 17:10
  You said before you were keen to champion that whole thing of Richie and maybe getting another go and so on.
• 17:17
  Was he immediately quick where you were reminded straight away about what a talent he is?
• 17:22
  Yeah, it just solidified it straight away.
• 17:25
  He got in the car and the team and the crew were like, yeah, that's not been too difficult for him, has it?
• 17:34
  So, yeah, he just... What a crime that's been on the sidelines, mate.
• 17:38
  He was a duck to water.
• 17:38
  It was just duck to water.
• 17:40
  I mean, as soon as he put a race suit and put his helmet on, I mean, he had not put a helmet or a race suit on
• 17:45
  since the end of 2019.
• 17:45
  Unbelievable.
• 17:47
  And he put it on again this year, the first time, and just clicked back into where he should have been.
• 17:55
  And it proved to everybody.
• 17:59
  not that it needed proving, but it just, you know, solidified the fact that he's a race car driver and that's his natural habitat.
• 18:07
  Good headspace for him too because he wasn't coming in to sort of prove anything.
• 18:12
  Oh, great headspace, yeah.
• 18:13
  No, he had, you know, we'd had great conversations and it started in 2021 when we started the process through our going and announcing and launching the program or launching the wildcard, you know, conversations have been,
• 18:28
  very positive and it was just awesome to listen to someone who'd realised a whole lot of things and had managed to actually unpackage so much of the issues and the problems and the things that were affecting him and he'd worked it out.
• 18:44
  100% worked it out.
• 18:45
  And so his mind was clear.
• 18:47
  It was amazing because, you know, sometimes people don't recover from those situations, you know, and he was in a serious situation at the end of 19 through just a whole host of negatives that had, you know, forced him into, you know, not a great mental space.
• 19:08
  And he'd come out the other side of it and he's just – it was incredibly strong.
• 19:12
  And it was, it was a great space for him to be in with not having any pressure.
• 19:18
  He didn't, you know, he set personal goals.
• 19:22
  And I think he was achieving all of them.
• 19:25
  Well, he surpassed probably some.
• 19:29
  But the mental power was a massive strength.
• 19:37
  He didn't – yeah, he was doing it for the right reasons.
• 19:41
  He was doing it for his reasons and his reasons only.
• 19:45
  And whatever might come from that, if something good comes from that, if there's an opportunity or whatever –
• 19:51
  then so be it.
• 19:52
  But if it didn't, this was going to be a much better way to...
• 19:56
  to sign off from being a race car driver.
• 19:59
  But fingers crossed, and I'm pretty sure there'll be some things that come that give him the opportunity to actually showcase those skills we saw again, even more so, maybe.
• 20:09
  Good, he deserves it.
• 20:10
  He does.
• 20:11
  And a race like that is the sum of many parts.
• 20:14
  Your training, your testing, the fact that you so seamlessly worked well together from a...
• 20:21
  Feedback point of view, no seat insert needed, as you said.
• 20:25
  But for me, looking on the outside in, a little bit of fairy tale in that too.
• 20:30
  I mean, what a fantastic culmination of things.
• 20:33
  You know, probably your last Bathurst 1000, bringing Richie back.
• 20:38
  The week went unbelievably well for you, mate.
• 20:42
  I mean, 205, fastest ever lap around the mountain that you've done.
• 20:45
  Awesome.
• 20:46
  Awesome.
• 20:46
  Yeah, there was.
• 20:48
  There was lots of box ticking that –
• 20:54
  Yeah, that went a little bit fairytale in our way, because these things can quite easily go the other way, can't they?
• 21:02
  I mean, did you think, for example, when Will Brown and Frosty had that incident at Pukakaui, was it in jeopardy then?
• 21:08
  Well, I think it was.
• 21:09
  I mean, there was definitely question marks.
• 21:11
  I mean, it was genuine.
• 21:12
  It wasn't, we weren't playing up to that.
• 21:14
  I mean, I saw the crash, and it was like, holy, and then had a look at the car, and
• 21:19
  The Erebus boys were having a good look over it while it was sitting in the garage there at Pukki, and it's like far out.
• 21:29
  That's significant.
• 21:31
  And it was really just about everything can be fixed, but it's the timelines.
• 21:38
  The timelines were so tight, and they were in another country.
• 21:41
  Everything had to be flown back to Australia, which was luckily all that went to plan.
• 21:47
  and then the crew got to work.
• 21:50
  But, you know, it needed to be, the car needed to be delivered to, you know, Erebus's fabrication shop and be analysed and evaluated before, you know, really they knew.
• 22:04
  But, man, they got into it and they just nailed it, absolutely smashed it out of the park.
• 22:09
  So, listen, I think there was some jeopardy.
• 22:12
  Fortunately, it didn't get to the point where there had to be a plan B,
• 22:16
  you know, sorted in a short period of time.
• 22:18
  So it was a little bit nerve wracking here for a little while.
• 22:22
  What did you walk away with on the Monday?
• 22:25
  I mean, you had all your family there to see it, which I think is awesome.
• 22:28
  You know, rock solid result for you.
• 22:33
  Great for Richie.
• 22:34
  When he drove back from the mountain on Monday, what did you talk about?
• 22:37
  Yeah, not a lot.
• 22:41
  Were you wounded or were you just tired?
• 22:42
  No, definitely weren't wounded.
• 22:44
  Mentally wounded.
• 22:45
  It was just a massive week, really, and it happens every time at Bathurst.
• 22:52
  If you don't have success, that forces you into going and
• 22:57
  feeling like rubbish on Monday morning because of certain alcohol intake, then it's just the mental come down of it all.
• 23:05
  And it is a big come down.
• 23:06
  I mean, the adrenaline's huge.
• 23:07
  And it was just that whole experience that week, you know, turning up, driving up there on Tuesday.
• 23:15
  being able to talk our way onto the circuit to do the traditional lap as soon as you arrive.
• 23:23
  We didn't get to do the full lap because there was work going on, but we managed to drive to the top of the mountain and just start to take in the atmosphere.
• 23:30
  At that point it wasn't pissing with rain.
• 23:33
  And just start to feel it.
• 23:39
  Pinch yourself that it was actually happening Kind of thing you know because it's still The whole idea was a bit surreal really So you know That was critical and then the Wednesday You know you go and do the driver Parade again eight years Since you know you've done the driver Parade and you're like wow And it was like it was Almost like going back to doing it the first time Mega Even the guy that yelled out in the crowd Driving up the main street of Bathurst Um
• 24:08
  Murph, where's your fucking wheelchair?
• 24:10
  Oh!
• 24:12
  Even that was, that wouldn't have, once upon a time that wouldn't have been funny, but it was funny this time.
• 24:18
  So that was good.
• 24:20
  And then, you know, even doing the autograph session, you know, after, to be completely honest, after so many years of driving, you know, autograph sessions become pretty hard to handle.
• 24:30
  But it was nice to be a part of that one again And the people and the fans It was a reminder Again, it was a real reminder Of how incredible The fans are They are incredibly passionate And they stand there in the pissing rain For I don't know how long, a couple of hours Waiting for
• 24:49
  us numbnuts to scribble on their posters and their merchandise.
• 24:53
  And so all that stuff you've taken for granted for so long, I got to experience it again and understand just how special it actually is.
• 25:00
  So those things were really cool.
• 25:02
  And then to be able to go and –
• 25:05
  you know get in the car and actually feel pretty comfortable and and you know I remember you know I was coming towards the end of my my last stint on Sunday afternoon you know and um you know I took a a moment there to reflect on you know the sun was out at that point and you you know across the top of the mountain you can see the colour all the colour on the right hand side from all the fans and the flags and the people and like you see the colour and
• 25:31
  And that was a moment to reflect and go, holy moly, man, this is incredible.
• 25:34
  This really is absolutely incredible.
• 25:37
  Here I am driving a supercar again at 50 years of age, across the top of the mountain at Bathurst, and it's like, yeah, there's not many better things that happen.
• 25:50
  in your life than this.
• 25:51
  And, you know, I really did feel very privileged to have that opportunity.
• 25:55
  And the fact that I had enjoyed it, you know.
• 25:58
  And it hadn't been miserable and it hadn't been, you know, things happen during the race and, you know, bits and pieces, but that's all part of it.
• 26:06
  None of it matters.
• 26:09
  So I actually got a moment to really actually reflect on that.
• 26:11
  And it was, yeah, it was an amazing, amazing thing.
• 26:15
  And I mean, I just...
• 26:16
  I'm very thankful to, you know, really at the end of it all, as much as, I probably don't want to admit it, but thankful to Pete for having his weird and wacky idea.
• 26:35
  OK, does anyone else have goosebumps?
• 26:38
  This chat with Rusty and Murph is flowing, so let's keep it moving.
• 26:44
  A couple to finish this little chapter.
• 26:46
  Shane Drake reminded me recently when I caught up with him, well-known Kiwi, chicane racewear, race for himself, just about some of the sacrifice, right, that you made as a young race.
• 26:59
  So going off with your dad, no money.
• 27:02
  I think you might have been washing cars during the week to try and help raise money for...
• 27:06
  karting and things i think your dad had a sigma back then or something didn't he when you were in that in that period of reflection across the top of the mountain did you pause to sort of think far out for the the bloke from hawks bay that didn't have a huge amount of cash in the back pocket to you know go motor racing when it all started
• 27:25
  No, not really.
• 27:26
  I think that's happened in the past, but, you know, there's been so much water under the bridge.
• 27:31
  I think I've sort of moved on from that.
• 27:32
  It was more about the fact that, you know, I've...
• 27:39
  I finished up in 14.
• 27:42
  You know, the last few years of my career were pretty average, pretty lacklustre.
• 27:48
  Certainly my last couple of full-time years were a bit average.
• 27:53
  I mean, we did finish third in 2011 at Kelly Racing there, but really there was very few and far between results.
• 28:02
  And...
• 28:04
  And my full-time career sort of finished on a pretty big low, and I just sort of disappeared and then went back and did the Enduros with HRT for a couple of years with pretty limited kind of success.
• 28:19
  So I think it was more about that felt better.
• 28:23
  A nicer send-off kind of thing.
• 28:24
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 28:26
  And the beauty of it was it was totally unexpected, totally out of left field.
• 28:31
  And it actually went pretty well.
• 28:33
  It did.
• 28:34
  It didn't go pretty well.
• 28:35
  It went incredibly well.
• 28:38
  You know, finish 11th or 10th or 8th or whatever.
• 28:40
  It doesn't, you know, it didn't matter.
• 28:42
  I mean, I think I said after seeing Richie do what he did in qualifying,
• 28:47
  And Pete was the same.
• 28:48
  And to be in the shootout, unfortunately, didn't get to happen, but we're in the shootout.
• 28:53
  I mean, we'd already achieved a lot more than most of us.
• 28:56
  I think Richie, you know, he had more to want to do just because he –
• 29:03
  he wanted to be back there doing everything and doing it at his absolute best, but for the rest of us, I mean, we could have switched off there and just called it quits, you know, and been incredibly happy.
• 29:14
  So, you know, to actually be there, finish that race, I mean, that was an achievement.
• 29:20
  Probably one of my bigger achievements, to be honest, that'll stick with me versus a whole lot of others that when I was actually racing as a professional.
• 29:29
  Amazing.
• 29:31
  Wow.
• 29:32
  People have asked via social media and stuff about – I mean, you're clear.
• 29:36
  You're not a professional race car driver anymore.
• 29:39
  That's clearly the last Bathurst 1000.
• 29:41
  But as you reflected before, you've done some GT racing in that cool Renault with Shane Helms.
• 29:47
  You've even got to race against your son, Ronan.
• 29:50
  Will you still keep doing a little bit of that in New Zealand, still keep having a steer every once in a while of something here, even if it's not in a supercar?
• 29:56
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 29:56
  That's the plan.
• 29:57
  I enjoy doing that stuff, you know, and the historic stuff too.
• 30:01
  You know, I've had some amazing opportunities over the last few years with my good friend Peter Sturgeon and driving some of his historic cars, his Group A cars, you know.
• 30:11
  And I can't wait, hopefully, to get back to Phillip Island for the historic meeting there at the beginning of the year.
• 30:18
  Yeah.
• 30:19
  You know, that was actually beginning of 2020, just before all this COVID crap.
• 30:23
  We went to Phillip Island with his M3, and it was one of the best meetings I think I've ever been to.
• 30:29
  It was just so much fun.
• 30:30
  And I enjoyed doing that, driving some of that historic stuff.
• 30:34
  And he's got the, you know, the peanut slab, Sierra Cosworth that I drove at Pukukaui.
• 30:39
  You know, I just get such a buzz out of doing that stuff these days and love those cars, love the era, love the history.
• 30:45
  So I think there's more of that on the table as well.
• 30:48
  which is where I want to be, and some of this endurance stuff locally and whatever else comes, but it needs to fit within that realm of just absolute dead-set fun and enjoyment.
• 31:01
  I'm glad you bring up the peanut slab car, because lots of people have asked about that.
• 31:05
  What sort of memories did that evoke, driving that in the support Axe at Pukekohe?
• 31:09
  Pretty cool.
• 31:09
  The fact that it...
• 31:11
  you know, is so period to what it was.
• 31:15
  You know, nothing has changed effectively in that car since 1992.
• 31:22
  You know, I drive around Pukki, and my first thoughts were, my God, this thing's terrible.
• 31:27
  God, it's awful over the bumps.
• 31:29
  It was bloody leaving the ground and the steering.
• 31:31
  It's got no power steering and it was just ripping my arms off.
• 31:34
  And I go, God.
• 31:35
  And then I went, hold on.
• 31:37
  This is exactly what it was like in 1992.
• 31:40
  But because I was just like this young guy, you know, like deer in the headlights kind of situation, it was like, you know, you didn't think about it.
• 31:48
  You just got on with it because that's what it was.
• 31:51
  But you've driven too many good cars and cars with power steering and cars that are sorted and refined since then that –
• 31:57
  um you know it uh it really was a beast but that's what they were like and that's what i love about it you know you know any opportunity to drive stuff like that in the future i'll be right into it so it was it was just mega and you know it's a you know real fitting sort of timing thing again you know it's 30 years 30 years since i've driven the car final pukakaui final pukakaui that was the last time i'd you know
• 32:20
  I did drive the car, was it Pukukaui on the circuit.
• 32:23
  So, yeah, lots of little cool things there that I'm very thankful for.
• 32:27
  Left-hand drive.
• 32:28
  I think it's an ex-Jan Franco Branket's helicar.
• 32:30
  Yeah, yeah, it's a Wolf-built Sarah Cosworth.
• 32:33
  Did you crank the boost?
• 32:33
  How much did you?
• 32:35
  Oh, listen, mate, it's pretty high tech.
• 32:40
  There's a rocker switch in the...
• 32:42
  Down on the, I want to say console, it's not even a console, but there's a little rocker switch on the start panel, and it's either 400 or 540.
• 32:51
  You choose.
• 32:53
  Yeah, you choose.
• 32:57
  I was warming it up on 400, and then I'd flick the switch at the start to put a bit more boost in, and off she goes.
• 33:08
  But it was wild, absolutely wild.
• 33:11
  But it was, you know, and such a neat thing to be a part of actually at that point.
• 33:15
  Kukui round two to actually be driving something and part of it all was just amazing, just great moments that are so significant.
• 33:23
  Cool.
• 33:24
  While we're on this thread of cool cars, you've had the chance to drive in recent time.
• 33:28
  You're doing some great stuff with your good buddy Stephen MacGyver at Sky Speed each week and that involves testing some cool things every once in a while or sampling them.
• 33:37
  A couple that spring to mind in the last couple of years, Capri.
• 33:44
  Tell us about that, baby.
• 33:45
  It was a Zakspeed Capri, wasn't it?
• 33:47
  Zakspeed, yeah.
• 33:47
  What was that thing like?
• 33:48
  Again, Shane Helms has got that car.
• 33:51
  And it's such a significantly iconic-looking car, right?
• 33:56
  Just, you know, anyone that's, you know, has been through following touring car racing, you know, through from, you know, 70s, 80s, 90s, all that.
• 34:04
  I mean, this thing is just such a special thing.
• 34:07
  So it's...
• 34:08
  Yeah, a genuine Zach Speed car, and I got to drive it a couple of years ago.
• 34:12
  Fingers crossed I get to have a drive of it again at some stage.
• 34:15
  We're off to the George Begg Festival down south next year, so that's at the end of March, and I'm thinking – I think Shane's going to bring that car down there.
• 34:24
  It'll be a wonderful place to drive it around.
• 34:26
  It'll be around Teratonga, so fingers crossed that might happen.
• 34:29
  Just glorious.
• 34:30
  You know, you have this perception around, as you say, like the Slab.
• 34:33
  I mean, it was a late 80s car.
• 34:35
  Yeah.
• 34:37
  you have this perception about stuff that's old, that it's not going to be great or it's not going to be good to drive or it's just going to be agricultural and all this kind of stuff.
• 34:47
  And then you drive and you go – then you reflect and go, you know, back in the 80s or 70s, whatever.
• 34:52
  I mean, think what people were doing in the 60s and the 50s.
• 34:54
  But that was cutting edge then, wasn't it?
• 34:55
  Yeah, and you go, well, they were clever.
• 34:58
  They were building stuff.
• 35:00
  They had understanding.
• 35:01
  It's not like they were numb nuts building these cars.
• 35:03
  I mean, they're clever, clever people.
• 35:05
  And you drive it and you go, oh, my goodness gracious me.
• 35:08
  You know, the smarts and the engineering and the way the car felt, I mean, just sublime, just beautifully done.
• 35:15
  And everything works perfectly.
• 35:17
  just like it should and like you'd expect it would in a more modern, you know, design vehicle.
• 35:23
  You know, it's still analogue, which is great.
• 35:25
  You know, everything's analogue.
• 35:26
  You know, there's no electronics helping you.
• 35:28
  There's no switches and no paddles on the, you know, for gear shift and compressors and hydraulics.
• 35:34
  And it's all analogue, but just gorgeous.
• 35:38
  Absolutely gorgeous.
• 35:39
  Did everything that you expected to do.
• 35:41
  And, you know, just a pleasure but also an honour to drive something like that, just mega.
• 35:50
  Let's highlight underscore that word because honour really filters into driving –
• 35:56
  Denny Holmes machine very recently at Hampton Downs, Yardley McLaren.
• 36:00
  How did that come about?
• 36:02
  What was that thing like?
• 36:04
  Give us a little bit on the history of the car too.
• 36:06
  I've actually driven it before.
• 36:08
  I drove it a few years ago.
• 36:10
  I can't remember exactly.
• 36:12
  It was way pre-COVID, so maybe three or four years ago, I suppose, at Hampton Downs and kindly...
• 36:20
  was allowed to do that, the Giltrap Group owned that car.
• 36:24
  You know, preserving a very important piece of wonderful history and also history with Denny Holm.
• 36:29
  So a 73 car.
• 36:31
  It just, yeah, mate, a DFV.
• 36:34
  It's got a DFV in the back of it, for goodness sake, you know.
• 36:39
  Just gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.
• 36:41
  And, you know, you slide into that tub.
• 36:45
  I mean, it's an aluminium, obviously.
• 36:49
  tub and everything and again it's one of those cars that you you look at and it's everything's so simple really and and it's concept right so um
• 37:05
  But it's still the performance and the way it feels and the way it goes and is just absolutely stunning, absolutely stunning.
• 37:13
  And, you know, gearbox is just, again, wonderful.
• 37:17
  But it was a production standard, you know, sort of gearbox back then.
• 37:22
  But it really just is just glorious to drive.
• 37:26
  And I feel, again, one of those things that I'm very privileged to actually have a go in because it's a...
• 37:33
  as far as history goes.
• 37:36
  It's such an important, integral piece of history.
• 37:40
  New Zealand motor racing history.
• 37:41
  Piece of history.
• 37:41
  Well, and also... Globally, yeah.
• 37:43
  Denny Holmes, and what he achieved as a Formula One driver.
• 37:49
  Yeah, he wasn't massively successful in this car, but...
• 37:54
  You know, it's just a beautiful thing to look at.
• 37:58
  And, you know, I think I revved the engine, the DFE, had been basically freshly rebuilt.
• 38:05
  And it was just stunning.
• 38:08
  You stopped yourself.
• 38:08
  What did you rev it to?
• 38:09
  Oh, I got to up to about... What did I get up to?
• 38:15
  About eight, nine, just under nine grand.
• 38:17
  And obviously they rev through to...
• 38:23
  10, 8 or something, I think, is where they sort of used to drive them up to.
• 38:28
  So just, yeah, again, that's the kind of thing that I just absolutely love, absolutely love.
• 38:35
  While you're finding that, give me a sense of mindset when you get to – He got pole position at the very first race in South Africa.
• 38:46
  And I'm pretty sure this has actually become harder to find than I thought it was.
• 38:52
  I think it was the Swedish Grand Prix.
• 38:54
  Jeez, I'm terrible at remembering some of this stuff.
• 38:56
  So that was really where the details of the car were and what it was about.
• 39:03
  But, yeah, it's lovely that it's been retained here and been restored to that beautiful condition.
• 39:10
  I've known you over time with some of your associations with KTM, which you've had for 20 years.
• 39:16
  amazing period with those guys.
• 39:18
  You do some stuff with Polaris now as well.
• 39:19
  But you've got this great sense of get on it, get in it.
• 39:23
  give it a go, you know, enjoy it for what it's capable of.
• 39:28
  But what's the mindset when you get entrusted with something like that?
• 39:32
  Do you explore it, but with a sense of preservation, because it is such a beautiful thing?
• 39:38
  How do you, you know, you're wanting to make sure that shifts are nicely done and what do you?
• 39:43
  Well, yeah, you do.
• 39:44
  But I mean, the thing about it is it's, you know, I've driven fortunate to drive a lot of race cars over a long period of time and
• 39:52
  And you've just got this, you know, a pretty good understanding.
• 39:59
  I mean, it's a slicks and wind car.
• 40:01
  You know, it's an H-pattern gear shift.
• 40:03
  You've got a heel and toe, and the pedals are where they're supposed to be.
• 40:06
  And so, you know, you understand –
• 40:11
  pretty clearly, you know, and have a pretty good expectation of what the performance is like and what you need to do to drive it.
• 40:17
  So, you know, and it had, you know, big slick tyres and all that kind of stuff, and they were, in this case, they were new, so you knew they were going to be very good.
• 40:25
  Brakes, everything's new in the car.
• 40:26
  I mean, you've got to ensure that...
• 40:30
  you're comfortable and confident with the person that's actually prepared these things too.
• 40:34
  You just want to go dive into something that's been sitting around for 15 years and someone's just given a kick in the tyre and put some fuel in and fire it up.
• 40:41
  Off you go, mate.
• 40:42
  Off you go, mate.
• 40:44
  And especially something that is powerful and is performance-orientated, but also this is an incredibly expensive car too.
• 40:52
  But, you know...
• 40:54
  You never drive these things 10 tenths, but you want to explore.
• 40:58
  You want to make sure that you get a feeling and a vibe for it.
• 41:02
  And people want to see it done like that too.
• 41:04
  The Giltrap family wouldn't want me to be tootling around at four tenths of pace and sort of just not actually exploring.
• 41:14
  not the limits, but exploring something that's on its way to a limit, I suppose.
• 41:19
  Because they appreciate that as much as anybody, and that's the beauty of it.
• 41:24
  So to be trusted with something like that is also, I'm obviously pretty lucky.
• 41:29
  I want to get to a special resto project.
• 41:30
  When you came on the podcast last time, the car was getting ready to be sent to America.
• 41:35
  It's now come back.
• 41:36
  We'll talk about the Dodge in a second.
• 41:38
  I want to, just in the little gap here...
• 41:41
  Your mate Tim Lay in Orange in New South Wales, has he secured the old Formula Holden that you had back in the day?
• 41:49
  Yes, he has.
• 41:50
  Someone tracked that down in America, didn't they?
• 41:52
  Yeah.
• 41:53
  So he...
• 41:56
  He did.
• 41:57
  I tracked the car.
• 41:58
  Well, no, I didn't.
• 42:00
  Formula Holden started to have a bit of a resurrection in Australia, which is awesome.
• 42:05
  So a few more people.
• 42:07
  Some cool stuff on Facebook you can find with those guys.
• 42:11
  And that process started actually when I was over at that Phillip Island historic meeting in February 2020.
• 42:18
  So you get all fired up about another project.
• 42:20
  Oh, no, there was – well, there's a few wonderful cars there, single-seaters, and I got talking to the guys, some of the Formula Holden guys.
• 42:29
  And they were talking to me about some of my cars and bits and pieces, and then I got sent an email by one of them going, oh, just FYI, here's your old 92 – one of your 92 Raynards.
• 42:43
  It's in America.
• 42:44
  And –
• 42:47
  I think the guy wants to sell it, blah, blah, blah.
• 42:49
  So I got in contact with the guy.
• 42:50
  And it was an awesome car.
• 42:53
  And I got all excited.
• 42:54
  I'm like, God, what am I going to do with that?
• 42:55
  You know, it's just more money.
• 42:57
  And it wasn't expensive.
• 43:00
  The car was, I mean, it was, there was no point in trying to haggle on it because they didn't want a lot of money for it.
• 43:05
  And it had hardly been used since it had gone to America and blah, blah, blah.
• 43:09
  Anyway, I sort of was mucking around and then, yeah,
• 43:13
  I think someone else found out about it or whatever, and then I passed up the opportunity, and then it got bought, and then Tim bought it off.
• 43:20
  I think whoever bought that bought it, and it came to Australia.
• 43:25
  And he had driven that car.
• 43:27
  And so it's gone to a really good home.
• 43:29
  It's awesome that he's going to have it.
• 43:32
  They were spectacular.
• 43:33
  They were such good fun.
• 43:34
  They're amazing chassis.
• 43:36
  The 90s Raynards and that era of
• 43:39
  F3000 was a pretty amazing era of 3000, but they built great cars and, you know, fast cars.
• 43:46
  You know, it'd be nice to have a Mugen or something in the back of it rather than a V6 Holden, but they were still very quick and, you know, lap records around the place.
• 43:57
  I think there's maybe I've still got one.
• 43:59
  One.
• 44:00
  official, a couple of official ones in New Zealand.
• 44:02
  Excellent.
• 44:03
  And I don't know if it was that.
• 44:05
  No, that car, yeah, that car that Tim's got has got a lap record.
• 44:09
  I think it still holds at Teratonga, actually.
• 44:11
  I think.
• 44:12
  Wow.
• 44:12
  I think it does.
• 44:13
  So anyway, they were fantastic, yeah.
• 44:23
  I have fond memories of Murph in a Formula Holden.
• 44:26
  I was pretty green and new to commentary back then, working on the PA at Eastern Creek, trying to learn the craft in the early to mid-90s.
• 44:34
  They were, and still are, in my opinion, cool cars.
• 44:37
  We're not done yet with this next chapter of Rusty's Garage with Greg Murphy.
• 44:42
  Head back to the library when you're ready and enjoy another instalment, another helping.
• 44:47
  By request, Murph shares more of the restoration journey of his beautiful 1969 Dodge Charger.
• 44:54
  From working with the Ring Brothers and doing things by FaceTime and email during COVID as the project ticked along in the United States.
• 45:03
  plus his work around a scholarship program helping the next generation of racers and his doggedly determined bid to change the thinking in government to improve road safety.