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Murf, Greg Murphy, finally welcome to my podcast. >> Why are you so Why are you such a hater?
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Why are you so reluctant? >> A hater. Just not my favorite subject. >> So, we've um here at uh Pod Lab where my
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podcast is recorded and your new podcast is recorded. We've got to know you quite
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well over the past year. Um, and it's been really really enjoyable. It's been
00:00:30
fun getting to see >> spending me spending too much time in here. >> I I feel like you you're
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>> part of the furniture. >> I know. Have you Have you always sort of
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like been like a grumpy old man or you sort of >> Yeah, I think so. I actually think so.
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>> Yeah. I think >> you lean into it, though. You >> I think I think that's I think that is
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the case. I think there's a lot of people that would go, "Oh, yeah. Yeah,
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that's him." >> Listen, the um the first time you came in here for your podcast was maybe a
00:00:54
year ago now, and uh we were chatting for a bit and >> is it all ready? Is it already that
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long? >> Yeah. And I I I said, "Oh, you'd be a good guest on my podcast." And you said,
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"Fuck no. [ __ ] no." Something like that. And then then you sort us off and said,
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"Look, if you ever get really really hard up, we'll do it one day."
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>> And here we are. >> And here we are finally. It's like 8:00 at night, too. It's been a long day, but
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we're finally making it happen. Why um why are you so uncomfortable like talking about yourself or reflecting?
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>> Uncomfortable. I just I don't know. I've been living that I've been living that
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living the life. So, you know, just, you know, it's it's just um I think I've I've talked about it in
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things and aspects heaps of times through TV stuff, you know. Um so, I suppose I don't know. I'm just tired of
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tired of listening to myself talk about my my [ __ ] you know? >> They're just stories that you've told
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told too many time. You're just sick of talking about them. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think I Yeah. I
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don't know about Yeah. I just um I think there's got to be there's got to be more
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uh interesting things to talk about >> maybe. >> But anyway, >> I don't know.
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>> Yeah. So, who is what's the difference between Murf and Greg? Because one thing
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I've noticed from doing this podcast with you, which is it's a great by the
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way, and it's going to go really well in the driver's seat with Greg Murphy. Um
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everyone, like I say, everyone in New Zealand knows you, but people know you as Murf. Yeah. But I'm guessing your
00:02:22
your wife your wife like your Greg. What's the difference between Greg and Murf?
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>> Oh my god. Okay. So when I when I said you need to find questions that I have been asked
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before. I don't know if I meant that to be fair. Um I don't know if there is much of a
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difference. >> Yeah. >> Uh potentially. Um I uh maybe Yeah. Um, Murf is probably
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the the person that was the the real competitive um uh angry sort of race car driver and you know was shortfused and
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and uh you know was lived that in that professional sort of spotlight kind of world maybe. Um, Greg is the one that
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that my wife had to put up with probably um, you know, coming home and um, after
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after [ __ ] weekends and things like that and and uh, and yeah, had to had to sort
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of traverse your way probably sometimes carefully around around me because of because of the, you know, the way I
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brought everything back with me after after weekends of of in my professional capacity. Maybe
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>> don't know if that's a good description or not. >> Were you Were you Were you highly strung
00:03:46
when you were racing? Like like in the leadup to a big race? Were you a nightmare to be around?
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>> Oh, no. I was more after when there when things didn't go well. I think probably
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um uh yeah, you know, it was I just really did um expect high, you know, a high level
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from myself, but I also expected it from other people as well that were involved
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in, I suppose, providing me with the the tools to to go to go racing. Um, so I I
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think I was always, you know, probably too often thinking about those kinds of things through my professional career,
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you know, and and it was, you know, it was just it was full on. It was, you know, um, traveling a lot away a lot. Um
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and you know probably and definitely took took a lot of the things that were happening at home took it for granted
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and that you know that my wife was doing all the all that that hard work >> and you know and I just was like okay
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well you know she's taking care of that I'm taking care of this and and um you
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know yeah it was it was it was pretty pretty challenging I think for many times but you know and I put myself in
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positions through in the professional side of things that probably didn't make
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that um you know some of the decisions that that I made around what I was going to do you know definitely you know put
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more pressure on that you know wasn't wasn't healthy >> like being being being a being a
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hotthead. >> No is what you mean? >> Yeah. No, just decisions around um
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actually, you know, where I was where I was going to to race and some stuff that
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happened that didn't didn't play out the way it, you know, it we wanted it to or
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I wanted it to or expected it to and and um you know, so you know, just I think there was a there was a period for you
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know, my my professional career that was really good um and and then it sort of unraveled unraveled for quite a little
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for quite a while. So it wasn't able to wasn't generating the you know the
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results that you know that I needed and so that that it sort of became you know bit of a chore and quite difficult.
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>> Yeah. I can't imagine I know nothing about motorsport by the way but I can't
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imagine how stressful that is because you are you so reliant on sponsors and stuff. So you're literally only as good
00:06:00
as your last race really aren't you? >> In in many in many cases yeah I mean you
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you you get reprieve you get you get sort of you know given a fair bit of string. Um but but when it becomes very
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repetitive you know of of not achieving then you know then things start to sort of change. you lose power within the
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ranks. It's just like any sport really, you know, when when you're not having u
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or you have a period of of, you know, not achieving, you know, and and you know, you watch it in on all sports,
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right? If either it's individual sport or or team sport. Um, you know, people
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go through waves some, you know, the elite, the best the best in the world, you know, have less of that. You know,
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there's great examples again through lots of different sport. Um, and motorsports the same. You know, there's
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there's those that have just who are got that golden touch or just maybe that
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little bit better who who managed to, you know, strike gold wherever they go. And that's that's because, you know,
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they they do set themselves apart from from the rest in many cases. But you know I had period of pretty good success
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and you know I've got you know some pretty good achievements but I expected it to be more you know um I don't I
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don't I don't have any regrets or anything any you know at all but you know through when you're actually in
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there and it's your job it's your profession um you know there was there
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was a quite a long period there where it just it was not I was not getting out of
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it what I wanted and it wasn't it wasn't just be you know I wasn't just there to
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make up numbers and and you know it was my job. I was getting paid to do it. So I wanted to be wanted to be better.
00:07:40
Wanted to be better. >> That's a champion mindset. Eh. >> Well, yeah.
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>> High expectations for yourself, high expectations for those around you.
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>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, but I never was a champion in in supercars, you know,
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never never achieved that that level. Um, I felt I was I there was, you know, seasons where I could have, but then I
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also, you know, reflect and look back and and there was I was in seasons where I knew I was wasn't going to be and that
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was incredibly difficult and frustrating not to have what you needed to do it. >> Yeah. I I typed into chat GPT. Are you
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are you familiar with AI? >> Yeah. Well, yeah, I've used Chat GBT. Yeah.
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>> I I typed into Chat GPT. Who are who are the, you know, New Zealand motor racing
00:08:22
goats? >> Right. They are. Um, yes. >> Oh, you Oh, sorry. You that's what is
00:08:26
that what you typed in? >> That was the prompt, >> right? >> And it gave subcategories, you know,
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with different classes or whatever. But if it said this is chat GPT, not me. If they had to boil it down to the top five
00:08:37
New Zealand racing goats overall classes, it's Denny Holm, uh, Bruce McLaren, Scott Dixon, Chris Ammon, and
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you. >> I think it might be a bit out of date now. >> No, then then it says in brackets after
00:08:49
you for touring car influence. >> You're right. >> But >> that's probably right.
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I wouldn't say no, but I would say that's a little bit out out of date. Now, if you if you're taking it up to
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the current day, I would I would, you know, I'd be putting probably Scott McLolin, Shane Van Ginsburg, and above
00:09:05
me. >> You're bumping yourself out of the top five last year. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
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Totally. >> You're um Yeah. One thing I've noticed about having you in our offices doing
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this podcast is you're um like it makes your skin crawl when someone calls you a
00:09:18
legend. Eh, >> I hate it. >> Do you? Why? >> Cuz it's just not true.
00:09:22
But if if other people think that surely that's >> No, no, no. Because No, it's become
00:09:27
because it's a fashionable word. It's abused. I I hate it even more now because because it gets abused. There's
00:09:34
so many words now that just become that roll off the tongue >> that are not completely not relevant to
00:09:40
to the the the terminology or the definition. And that's one of them. It gets used ridiculously too much. It's
00:09:48
become a very fashionable use. ah you're a bloody legend and just rolls off the
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tongue you know you know and it's just if you you know so I get caught people
00:09:57
say oh you're a legend to me now it's in the context of what I've what I've done
00:10:02
in as a professional you can use it in a you know ah that you're a blade legend
00:10:07
you know that kind of thing use it in that different context >> that's okay but but when it's people are
00:10:13
saying it you know they they're referring to your to what you've done as
00:10:18
your career it's just I just feel it's it's it's overused massively. Just
00:10:23
because you race cars and you won a bit of [ __ ] and you're on television, that
00:10:27
does not constitute being a legend. >> What about um King of Poka Koi? Are you
00:10:32
comfortable with that nickname? >> Uh a little bit more, but no, I but I appreciate that because it is a bit of
00:10:40
slang, you know. It's it's it's a it's just a a fun, you know, it's a bit of a
00:10:45
a madeup label and and you know, and I did have a period of time that was pretty good. Um, so you know, sort of
00:10:51
that one that one I can put up with a little bit more, but um I I appreciate it, but um I don't Yeah, I just Yeah,
00:10:58
the the legend thing is just again it's just it's just too widely widely used. I
00:11:02
mean that should be saved for true, you know, the true definition of the word and and you know and and in many cases
00:11:10
those people are dead, you know, in some cases, you know. Um, so and and those that have really influenced and created
00:11:17
such significant um uh trails like like the Denny Holmes, the Chris Ammons, the Bruce Bruce McLaren, they they paved the
00:11:26
trail as to why I did what I did and and and all Kiwis that are have been successful since it was because of those
00:11:34
guys, >> you know, that's why. So I think that they fit with the with that label a
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little bit better >> or much better. I I think but I think maybe you don't you don't see yourself
00:11:44
the way that a lot of New Zealanders sees you. Would that be fair? >> Yeah, maybe. But but that's also again
00:11:50
because of of um basically because you've been put on TV. >> No, you've done some [ __ ]
00:11:57
>> Yeah, but that but that's right. But that's but that's that's why and I and
00:12:01
again appreciate it. But you got to remember the first the reason I I went I wanted to go racing cars was not because
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I wanted to be famous or be recognized on TV. I wanted to cuz I wanted to I wanted to win I wanted to win car races.
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All that other stuff just comes with it, right? >> And and I do appreciate all the you know
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all the the people that um you know come up and you know and go hey not you know
00:12:23
hey man how are you and chat and oh I love what you do all that kind of that's
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it's all a very it's it's amazing. It really is. Um, and I and I I don't want
00:12:32
to belittle that at all because it it is really really really special and and I appreciate it. But it it's a strange
00:12:37
world that you know that people that are put on pedestals um for you know perceived you know got a
00:12:46
success in that respect is you know it's it's it can it's a little bit it's it's
00:12:52
a bizarre sort of situation really in many respects. It it is. It is. But like the way um yeah, social media is now,
00:12:59
there's there's people that have big profiles that actually haven't done
00:13:01
anything. But at least you've you've done something though. >> Yeah. Sure. But again, again, it's
00:13:07
perception, right? That's how those So yeah, someone who's successful on
00:13:10
YouTube for making videos, you know, it's like got millions and millions and
00:13:15
millions. I mean, that's that's a whole different space. And and you got these
00:13:18
kids that want to be these people and all this kind of stuff. And and yeah, it's completely different. I I struggle
00:13:24
to comprehend that, you know. It really just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
00:13:27
>> Yeah. >> I I watched a documentary online yesterday that you were on a 20-y old
00:13:32
documentary called um Extraordinary Kiwis. >> Oh, yeah. >> It was like it's on a website called NZ
00:13:36
on screen. >> Um and in this one day, I think >> I think it followed me in 200 2005, I
00:13:42
think, wasn't it? >> Yeah, it's 20 years old. So, it would have been in 2005 or 2004. They followed
00:13:47
you in Burst. Um >> there were three sponsor events this one day. Um, 527 autographs. 527.
00:13:54
>> Someone counted that. >> Really? >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Oh my god.
00:13:58
>> So, this is like before I I suppose smartphones with cameras on, but um
00:14:02
>> Yeah. Do do you miss that or was that just an annoying thing that you had to
00:14:06
do in order to drive the cars? >> No. Again, it's it was a it was a timing, you know, it was always a timing
00:14:10
thing. I mean, that was all part of what you had to do. there's, you know, and
00:14:14
and hey, there were days when it was great and then there was days where you just you would rather poke [ __ ] in your
00:14:20
eyes, right? It's just that's just the way that's just the way it was because,
00:14:24
you know, a lot of people see you as as um uh some, you know, because because they
00:14:36
look at you a certain way, you you know, you you have to give back. you you know
00:14:40
because of that because you're on television and you know um you're you're
00:14:46
promoted through all these different sponsors and you're driving a race car and everything you know some people
00:14:53
think that you you owe them something because they watch you or they follow you or you know want a signature you
00:15:00
know and some days some days it's really really hard you know to to be put on you
00:15:05
know give them what they want as well so it's really hard work sometimes because
00:15:10
some days it's just your days are [ __ ] You have [ __ ] days. It's a day that's
00:15:13
work. You you know when you're playing when you're a sport, when you're a race
00:15:17
car driver, that's your job. It's not you're not doing it. I mean, you want it
00:15:22
to be fun and some days it is. It's incredibly enjoyable. And then other days it's just goddamn hard just like
00:15:26
every other job, right? >> The difference is you're seen through a different lens, right? Because you're
00:15:32
you're on TV, right? And and you you've been given this platform and you're good
00:15:38
at something. So, you know, then all you're open to all sorts of other, you know, judgments and opinions and and all
00:15:44
that kind of stuff. And that that stuff didn't worry me one bit, but some days
00:15:47
are just [ __ ] days, you know, and it's it's that's really challenging to to
00:15:50
deal with. And we we you know as race car drivers I think you know we get um uh the comment is a lot of the time is
00:15:58
like oh you guys really are good in front of media you know had we had to be because if you wanted to last you wanted
00:16:04
to have a career you had to be able to deal with all the different aspects of the sport. One you had to be good race
00:16:11
car driver. Two you had to uh be good in front of the camera. you had to be able
00:16:14
to speak well for your sponsors because that they were judging you and and you were being you know marked on on how how
00:16:21
much exposure you were getting with their brand and all that kind of stuff. So we had to work really hard at that
00:16:26
because there was always someone else that was you know you know nipping at the heels ready to come in. So it's it
00:16:31
was it's full on. I mean and the guys today it's exactly the same. they, you
00:16:35
know, there's good bad days and ugly days and days they don't want to see
00:16:39
anybody and and they don't want to have to sign autographs cuz it's just it's
00:16:43
just it's just one of those days. So, you know, massively challenging constantly when things are going really
00:16:50
well. Everything's easy. Everything's really really easy. Um so, yeah. >> Were you were you always good at those
00:16:55
at those things? Um one one thing I've noticed about you which I which I love
00:16:59
and I I don't have but you do, it's um the courage to be disliked. Oh yeah, I I
00:17:05
couldn't, you know, I really I think I think that the thing is with that is there's more people that will respect
00:17:12
that than those that don't or or that don't like. And I haven't got time to
00:17:18
waste on on caring about what people think, you know, and and the outcomes are determined by the people that want
00:17:27
to engage you or be be a part of utilizing you to to help them and and use your IP and promote this and d
00:17:35
whatever. That's that's how you it's determined on, you know, if um you're
00:17:40
doing a good job or not. >> Where where did that come from? Is that your your upbringing? Is is that
00:17:46
something that you leaned into over as you got older or >> Yeah. Um >> was there a time in your life where you
00:17:51
could suffer falls? >> No. >> I don't remember. H There probably was,
00:17:57
but it was a long time ago. It's >> it's a it's a great space to be playing
00:17:59
in. Like I genuinely I I don't think I've met anyone that cares less about
00:18:05
what people think than what you do. >> Well, it's just I haven't got the who's
00:18:08
got the time. Seriously, I I got so much so many things that I want to do and be
00:18:14
a part of and and and you know, hobbies, fun stuff I don't have enough time for
00:18:19
and and there's things I want to do that want to help other people and I enjoy,
00:18:23
you know, the rewards from from doing that. And, you know, I got I got important [ __ ] to do with with trying
00:18:28
to, you know, I really want to um really improve road safety in this country. I haven't got time for people that don't
00:18:35
get it. They're going to get that are getting in the way. politicians and bureaucrats that just are are completely
00:18:42
full of [ __ ] and don't don't see the bigger picture, don't understand the
00:18:46
bigger picture. I haven't got time to to, you know, um tell them what they want to hear and
00:18:52
and and waste, you know, days upon days bloody trying to infiltrate through the the right channels. You know, it's time
00:19:00
everyone woke up and understood. None of us have that time. We can make changes to really important things. and my focus
00:19:07
is, you know, that one thing. There's lots of other people trying to get changes on lots of other really
00:19:11
important things. >> Um, but they can't because of the systems that um that get in the way. And
00:19:17
I I just haven't got time for that [ __ ] I just I know things can be better in in
00:19:21
my chosen sort of focus of expertise. I'm not getting there anywhere near as
00:19:27
fast as I want to, but I haven't got time to sort of just you know um be there and um you know and um say say
00:19:35
what they want to hear and and wait cuz we'll keep waiting. We're going to keep
00:19:40
waiting and it's just been the same. I've been you know been in a hurry I
00:19:43
think my my whole life. M >> yeah it's funny that you bring that up because um on that TV show I was talking
00:19:49
about extraordinary Kiwis there's a quote from you in there you say something like I feel a lot safer
00:19:53
driving 300ks on a track than 60ks on the open road. Um so even this isn't like a postracing thing. This is
00:20:01
something that you've always had >> that off cuz that is freezing and I've got a jumper off
00:20:08
>> when you turn on. Yeah. So so even even in um in your racing heyday you were
00:20:12
still passionate about road safety then. It's not like a post racing career thing.
00:20:16
>> No, no. I I I think that was probably that statement was probably really just
00:20:21
emphasizing, you know, how safe it is because again, it was the perception of motorsport, right? And it still is
00:20:25
today. The perception of motorsport is it's really dangerous and that's what
00:20:28
gives it a little bit of intrigue is because you're going really fast and we're always talking about speed, speed,
00:20:33
speed. >> Um, so probably when I made that statement, it was more about the fact
00:20:37
that, you know, we've we're we're incredibly safe in these cars. you know,
00:20:42
they're built really strong and and I don't feel in danger at all traveling at
00:20:46
300ks, but out there on the open roads when there's there isn't the safety that
00:20:51
we have and you know, everyone's traveling in the same direction on a race supposedly you're up against it
00:20:56
very differently. So, I think that it was two sort of different things at that time. I was more focused on just trying
00:21:03
to to not um oversell, you know, the sport being this, you know, really incredibly dangerous kind of place. Um
00:21:13
and I feel it was it was a lot safer. Now, um that statement is true and um it can be used more in that road safety
00:21:21
sense, you know, that and without doubt still it's still the same thing. You are
00:21:26
much safer. You never you do not want to have a crash at 50 km an hour in a road
00:21:31
car. Um you just don't want that to happen. It is a it is an incredibly horrible experience, you know, and and
00:21:38
it and it's um the outcomes are determined by things at that point you have no control over.
00:21:44
>> You've had a crash. I you you I didn't know this until you brought it up in one
00:21:47
of your podcast episodes. You um rode off a car when you were young. >> Yep. Y
00:21:52
>> what age? >> Uh I was um 19, >> right? >> Yeah. Uh, >> yep. 19.
00:21:57
>> [ __ ] And your your your passenger, female, almost died. >> Uh, well, no. Uh, didn't, but very
00:22:04
easily could have like um it was a it was just a a yeah, just a terrible experience and, you know, reasonably
00:22:12
vivid still to this day. Um, yeah, I I was driving my little Daton 1200. uh dropped a maid off out uh at his place
00:22:21
which was only 15 20 minutes 15 minutes out of Havlock North um out towards the beach and you know I dropped off at home
00:22:29
and and we were on our way back into town so really dark and we were in the country basically and um yeah just it
00:22:35
was I was fatigued absolutely dead set without doubt fatigued so I had I did have alcohol in my system as well um
00:22:42
wasn't over the limit but it's when it's when it was 400 milligrams per 100 ms
00:22:49
That's when it was 400 and I I think I was like 300. So well over the limit today, but not at the time. But it was
00:22:55
without question it had it was an influence on on on me at the time. And again, I thought I was 10t tall and
00:23:01
bulletproof and I thought I was fine. Didn't I don't think I remember I know I
00:23:05
didn't feel intoxicated. I felt okay, but it was in it had been in my system.
00:23:09
I hadn't driven for for hours and hours. Well, no, for yeah, a long time. But I
00:23:14
don't I can't remember now how long it was before I'd had a last drink. It was
00:23:18
it was probably four or five hours or something. But anyway, it was it was it was like after midnight and you know it
00:23:25
had been one of those uh it had been a weekend Easter weekend and we'd been you
00:23:29
know me and my mates and everybody. Kanye's trying to get out. >> Yeah. Um uh we'd all had um a pretty you
00:23:38
know large weekend catching up was just you know lots of lots of enjoyment, lots
00:23:42
of fun, lots of >> you know l and uh yeah anyway I decided he wanted to go home. I said oh yeah I'm
00:23:48
fine to drive no problem. So off I went road I'd driven heaps of times, heaps
00:23:52
and heaps. Come back um just not concentrating enough and drifted slightly wide and dropped the left hand
00:23:59
side of the car off the edge of the you know the tar seal onto a gravel verge kind of thing and before I well I didn't
00:24:06
even know it was just rotated 180° and was was on the other side of the road on a grass bank and down a down a slight
00:24:13
bank and it came to a stop against some trees. I mean, we're talking, you know,
00:24:17
1970s technology of car safety, so there isn't any. >> And it was one of those things, you
00:24:23
know, the the B-pillar the B-pillar was pushed in behind the passenger, you know, so you know, if the seat had been
00:24:30
slightly different or we'd hit at a slightly different point, you know, the outcome would have been completely
00:24:35
different without doubt. So, um, you know, in the middle of nowhere, pitch black and, um, and no one anywhere to be
00:24:44
seen. No, no cell phones or anything. This is this is 1991. >> So, um it was Yeah, it was it was a
00:24:51
terrifying moment and it was a massive wakeup call. Massive wakeup call. >> [ __ ] It's amazing how how different so
00:24:57
many lives could have been. >> It's sliding it's sliding doors. >> Yeah,
00:24:59
>> absolutely. That's second chances. That's the epitome of of second chance,
00:25:04
right? Yeah. I mean, yeah, as I say, couple of centimeters or a couple of inches, whatever, one way or the other.
00:25:11
Um, and yeah, the there's a very good chance my life would have um been very
00:25:17
very different. >> So that's young, Greg. Um, let's go even younger though. So um,
00:25:23
your dad Kevin was that was sort of where the love of motorsport came from? >> Well, he was just a he was just a avid
00:25:29
fan. Um, that was all. So, uh, there was a little bit of speedway back in not from him, but you know, he had a little
00:25:36
bit of a um I think attachment through um his dad through some speedway stuff, >> but that was about it. And so he never
00:25:46
competed or did anything. And then and we um one day just turned up at the Hawks Bay cart track uh for something to
00:25:52
do on a Sunday. and and um and that was the beginning of a of a you know a pretty intense kind of journey in in
00:26:00
the carting space in New Zealand. Yeah. >> Did you you won a TV or something? First
00:26:04
up. >> Uh well, not first up. So I mean that was a little bit later on. So um you
00:26:11
know I'd been racing carts at this stage for I think it was it was it was probably around 10 years and you know
00:26:18
listen you know we came from a very modest um background. It was simple as that. Um you know u dad had sort of a
00:26:25
bunch of different jobs throughout you know that that period that we were we were racing at that point. He was he was
00:26:30
doing a he was a um um a rep for agrochemicals company. And so he used to travel around the um sort of the bottom
00:26:39
half of the of the North Island uh doing that job um agrochemical stuff and bits
00:26:44
and pieces. and you know he loved his job. Um and uh you know so you put everything we put everything into cart
00:26:50
carting my carting and um anyway there was this one the or the sort of the motorsport bible at the time was called
00:27:00
the speed sport magazine which was really really famous amongst um you know motorsport heads in New Zealand and it
00:27:07
used to come out I think it was monthly um and this one day we got the mo got the speedport magazine and uh Insight
00:27:15
was an ad for this Formula Ford scholarship, first of its kind in New Zealand effectively. And the the prize
00:27:23
basically was, you know, do an evaluation and and you could win a season racing Formula Ford in New
00:27:29
Zealand, which was a category I was very aware of because I knew some guys that had gone from carding into Formula Ford
00:27:34
and, you know, we used to go to the tracks, go to Manfield and and Bay Park and stuff and watch car racing. And
00:27:39
Formula 4 was the, you know, was the the start of the the journey to go wherever.
00:27:46
Um, and it has been, still is now. Formula Ford still a an absolute dead set stepping stone. Actually, in many
00:27:52
countries, it still is. Um, so I was like, "Wow, that that's amazing." So I
00:27:56
remember looking at the ad and and going, "Geez, that would be cool." You
00:28:00
know, wow, I'd have a drive in a a real car. But it was it was $475 to enter.
00:28:05
And you know at that time that was um two and a half sets of tires and a couple of rebuilds on one of my engines
00:28:12
and bits and pieces. So it was like you know you're robbing Peter to pay Paul
00:28:16
effectively. So um I never never thought much more of it. Um but the old man had
00:28:22
seen it as well and it was a bit of a he had come up with a bit of a plan. Um it turned out to be a good plan but it
00:28:29
could have very easily been just a really [ __ ] plan. Um and there was this there was this race meeting. It was at
00:28:35
Manawat 2 uh the Man 2 car club and I used to go quite good there. I love the track down there. We used to go down
00:28:39
there quite a bit and there was I can't remember exactly what the event was but
00:28:43
there was there was a it was like a bigger event than normal and um there was some big prizes and it was being
00:28:49
advertised and stuff and um uh the first prize in my class which was the senior senior light so senior Yamaha light
00:28:58
first prize was a um was a color television. So this is what I say 1990. This is 1990. 1990.
00:29:06
>> Yeah. The fact that you you state it's a color television that sort of ages the
00:29:10
conversation. >> Yeah. Yeah. But it was a bonus. >> No flat screens. Remember you remember
00:29:15
big box? >> Yeah. With tube massive big tube in it or whatever. And I Anyway, so I I was
00:29:21
aware of this that this was the first prize >> uh for my class. I was like, "Oh [ __ ]
00:29:26
I'll win that." you know, stupidly going, "Well, even if I want it, why
00:29:30
would why would I be allowed to have it at home in my bedroom?" You know, it's
00:29:36
like brand new television, you know, I was stupidly thinking that I was going to have it if I won. Of course, if if
00:29:42
I'd won it, >> family. >> Yeah, exactly. >> It's like Anyway, but I was like, I won
00:29:47
it, you know. Um, so anyway, uh, we went to this meeting and I won I won the event and um, uh, I'm like, "Yes, yeah,
00:29:55
I got new TV." Anyway, little did I know, my old man had already sold the TV
00:30:01
before I'd before the event. Sold it for enough money. I don't know. I can't
00:30:07
remember what it was worth, but I mean back then a TV dec so expensive. >> They must have been expensive. So, um,
00:30:14
so he'd already sold it to someone based on me winning the event, which hadn't
00:30:19
even taken place. And so I'm thinking, here I am, got this and and basically
00:30:23
next, you know, my old man's [ __ ] giving the TV to the new owner, you know, which was already who I think was
00:30:29
someone at the track maybe or something. I I can't quite remember that detail,
00:30:32
but anyway. Um, he's like, "No, no, no, no, we got the money. I'm we're we're
00:30:37
entering that scholarship. So that money was used to enter the the Formula Ford scholarship um which um I duly well I
00:30:45
was up against a lot of my peers that I was racing carts against and and at the final the final to to get judge the
00:30:52
winner there was um out of the six uh finalists. Five of them were guys that I was racing week in week out carts with.
00:31:00
Um um but I was lucky enough to win that scholarship and that was the start of the the journey in the car racing stuff
00:31:06
which would never have happened if I hadn't won that. >> So you your dad must have it sounds like
00:31:12
he had unwavering belief in you. How long did it take you to have that same belief in yourself?
00:31:17
>> Uh yeah I listen I don't know. I mean um I think it was it wasn't about
00:31:22
unwavering belief. Um there's something about my old man. He's never He's never
00:31:27
uh ever um you know gone out of his way to make noise about me. We just he was he was
00:31:37
just uh he was just someone that wanted to be a part of the you know whatever happened and would be there regardless.
00:31:44
You know um these days we just see so many parents that are just completely out of control. um you know who who want
00:31:53
their kids to be and they want to live vicariously through their kids, right? Because sport and sports people have
00:31:59
become very fashionable. Back when I was when I did this in 1990, mate, all blacks weren't professional. No one was
00:32:05
professional. I mean, it was a you know, there was no motorsport New Zealand was
00:32:09
was was actually quite strong, but it was it was only it was amateur, you know, hardly anyone was looking at going
00:32:16
and and going overseas to go car racing. It was a very, you know, there was one or two people and it was very expensive
00:32:23
and it just seemed like, it just seemed like a ridiculous thought. Now the sport
00:32:27
is like there's so many people want to be a part of it, right? Because they fame and money
00:32:34
>> and it's everywhere today. It's everywhere in our sport everywhere. You
00:32:38
know, just and it's been driven by so and you know and you know them straight
00:32:44
away the parents that go, "Oh, no, that's what he wants. He that's what
00:32:48
that's what she wants. You know, we're not you know, we could give or take it,
00:32:52
but um you know, it's it's what they want. It's what you know, and it's just
00:32:56
like, oh my god, you've got Yeah. It's just like so obvious that it's what you
00:33:02
want. >> Yeah. >> Um um and they might think they want it, but at 13 they don't know. 14 and 15 or
00:33:08
whatever. So, you know, he didn't he wasn't he was just along for the ride.
00:33:12
We had no idea where it was going to go. There was no But the dreams were different back then, as I say. You know,
00:33:16
now it's like fame and fortune, >> a drive to survive. >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, 0.00001 of a percent
00:33:24
are gonna make it to that out of out of the numbers. Back then when I was doing it, there was there wasn't there wasn't
00:33:30
that many. There wasn't that many people. There wasn't that many there wasn't uh, you know, hundreds of kids
00:33:36
thinking that they're going to be Formula 1 drivers coming out of New Zealand or thousands.
00:33:40
>> There was there was pretty much nobody. It was just, you know, we were doing it
00:33:44
for fun. we were actually doing it and enjoying it along the way and and it was it was a it was a community. So that's
00:33:50
that was that was what it was about. So, we just went with the flow and um you know, and dad whenever there was
00:33:58
something that needed to be done, I mean I mean he did he did all the logistics.
00:34:02
He did he did all the all the bloody uh administration, all the stuff like that.
00:34:07
Um that was that was the bit that he was really good at and that's the bit he was
00:34:12
happy to do and whatever else to to be able to go to the next race meeting and see what happened and and everything was
00:34:18
done through that that kind of process. And it was it was tough because we didn't we didn't have anything um you
00:34:24
know we I mean beauty one of the really great things back then was um for the sort of the second third fourth year of
00:34:34
my New Zealand racing there was still there was prize money where you would actually get the sponsors were amazing
00:34:41
you know you there was money coming into the sport you were getting paid prize money and my second season of racing was
00:34:46
funded through prize money you know we got more money in prize money than we did in the sponsorship ship we got um
00:34:51
that's the only thing we only reason we got through the season. Um from there I
00:34:55
started to get you know much much bigger sponsorship monies to go racing but and
00:35:02
um my first run in Australia came about through prize money and um you know coming out the other side of a of a race
00:35:10
season uh with money in the bank. Um that was the only reason we managed to to um to go to Australia and do a race.
00:35:19
>> What was plan B? What would you be doing if um if motorsport didn't work out as a
00:35:23
profession? >> Yeah, I I was I had actually applied to the Air Force when I was still at
00:35:27
school. Um I wanted to be a pilot. Um I got knocked back on that, but I was uh I
00:35:32
loved actually aircraft and I was actually looking at going to New Zealand to do engineering as well. I I really
00:35:38
enjoyed that side of things um and understanding how things worked and um that kind of stuff. And I loved I love
00:35:45
aeroplanes and things. So I I I was sort of yeah looking at the same time sort of
00:35:52
deciding between um trying to go do some more or find a way to go motor racing. I
00:35:59
had applied for New Zealand engineering at the same time and I actually turned down an opportunity to go for an
00:36:05
interview because I decided I wanted to see where the where the car racing thing
00:36:10
might go. um you know and it could have very easily not gone anywhere but it just happened to happened to go in the
00:36:17
right right direction. >> Did you did you appreciate um your parents sacrifices and effort at the
00:36:22
time or is it only as you got older and maybe had family of your own that you thought [ __ ] that was that was that was
00:36:27
cool. >> I think I've I've appreciated it for a very long time. Um
00:36:31
>> yeah, there was periods where I didn't you know I didn't probably appreciate
00:36:34
the work that the dad was putting into it and and stuff. >> Young the world sort of revolves around
00:36:39
you, doesn't it? >> Yeah. Uh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I just I just don't think you're that smart to really
00:36:43
necessarily think about it. Um >> um but there's no question >> without sort of um his prowess and skill
00:36:52
set in in the logistics and administr and organizing and his and and he had you know great sales chat you know um
00:37:01
you know without all that probably yeah wouldn't have it would have been a lot
00:37:04
harder if or maybe not have gone anywhere at all to be fair. I mean, he was always prepared to, you know, to,
00:37:11
you know, go that extra yard and in in um taking me somewhere to to go and see someone or um um or just those extra
00:37:20
hours or, you know, finding ways to come up with a you know, proposal or whatever. And we're talking back in the
00:37:26
early 90s, you know, it's things were a little it was a bit tougher um to you
00:37:31
know, we didn't and we had no um experience or knowledge in any of that stuff either. Um but you know through
00:37:38
the carting stuff we you know we'd obviously built really good relationships with a lot of people. So
00:37:43
you know and they are motorsport fans. They were all motorsport fans too. So you know there was it was pretty cool
00:37:48
that when I got into it there was there was a lot of people that you know we had
00:37:51
spent many years um with at cart meetings and all that kind of stuff to have have those people also you know
00:38:00
>> you know going hey that's it's awesome to see you doing so well or doing that
00:38:03
kind of thing. But um um you know it was it was it was a as I say it wasn't I
00:38:08
wasn't dreaming of world domination in cars. I was just loving and I did appreciate the opportunity what I was
00:38:16
doing at the time for sure because I think I was working pretty hard at it as well.
00:38:21
>> I found this photo of you. How how old are you here? That's a that's a tight
00:38:25
mustard suit you're wearing. >> Yeah man. So that's um that is the the
00:38:29
Shell scholarship that I won. So that would that was at I think that photo was at Timaroo,
00:38:35
pretty sure. Um uh January 1991. >> Wow. >> Yeah. So that was my first ever foray
00:38:41
into cars. >> Hold that up to the camera. Look at that bird. >> Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:45
>> Who's is it a borrowed suit? >> No. No. That was my suit. It got made. I
00:38:48
mean it's that was a bit different back then, mate. The embroidery and bloody
00:38:52
bits and pieces was a bit, you know, >> looks painful on the testies. >> Oh, you know I thought I was I thought I
00:38:57
was looking quite good, mate. You should try you should try being in in a race suit and sitting in one of those things
00:39:04
with um crutch straps up through around and bloody and tightened in as as tight as you can be. You know, I used to have
00:39:11
big balls back then and now they've just all they just been crushed. >> Melted away.
00:39:15
>> Yeah. Crushed into, you know, tiny little peanuts thanks to the seat belts
00:39:19
in a racing car. >> Um one thing I've noticed in doing like as much research about you as what I
00:39:24
possibly can, there's there's very little about um about you off the track
00:39:28
out there. Is that sort of by design? Have you deliberately sort of kept >> You mean family and stuff?
00:39:33
>> Yeah. Monique, your wife, you've sort of kept her out of it. >> No. No. Well, um, you know, it was,
00:39:39
uh, yeah, like it's probably a bit of me, but also she didn't, I mean, she
00:39:43
would nothing to do with motor racing. She couldn't have given two bloody dicks
00:39:47
about it to be honest. It was, you know, um we met through um unrelated stuff and
00:39:54
um yeah, she's was never a >> had knew nothing about car racing. You know, she's from Wellington and when the
00:40:00
Wellington Street Race used to be on down there, it was a pain in the ass and annoyance to her cuz there was all these
00:40:06
people in town, you know, in Wellington that, you know, don't belong and they
00:40:10
should bug bug her off where they came from, you know. So it's like couldn't
00:40:13
have cared less and you know but um she's obviously was the absolute rock behind it all but she you know she
00:40:21
doesn't wasn't she didn't want to be at the racetrack being seen and in front of
00:40:25
cameras and things. It wasn't you know as far as she's concerned they had
00:40:28
nothing to do with her. So >> yeah this isn't something that I noticed
00:40:31
but Jazz who's the studio manager here she noticed whenever you come in you've
00:40:35
always got like nicely pressed shirts. It's me. Is it you? I was thinking >> Oh, [ __ ] No. Oh, no. Yeah, you do.
00:40:43
You've always got nasty shoes. >> No, she It's There is no way that um you know, she's
00:40:51
going to She's not that kind of um >> Oh, she's not pressing all your shirts.
00:40:54
>> Oh [ __ ] No. No. >> You're pressing your own shirt. >> She's like, I'm not doing that. [ __ ]
00:40:58
hell. Do it yourself. >> Absolutely. She's done She's like, I've
00:41:02
done enough in my life for you. I'm not really doing that [ __ ] Yeah. And and
00:41:07
you know I'm like it's fine with you you press your own shirts you >> hardly. Yeah. I mean I I I think I must
00:41:14
just hang them up really well. >> Yeah. Yeah. How funny. Jazz. That's so funny.
00:41:20
Anyway, >> so and and u so yourself and >> I don't mind ironing actually. I don't
00:41:24
That's weird. I mean I think it's one of those anal bloody things, you know. It's
00:41:27
like, you know, then once you start I'll go through I'll go through the entire rack, you know, once I get going.
00:41:36
It's It's quite sad. >> Is it a perfectionism thing? >> Oh, it could be a little bit of that.
00:41:41
Yeah. I am about lots of things. I'm not about lots of other things, too. >> Yeah.
00:41:45
>> Um, yeah. So, your wife Manique, you got three kids together, Ronan, Cormack, and
00:41:49
Ne. Yeah. >> Um, and the two boys are are drivers. >> Yeah, they've both dabbled. Yeah, they
00:41:56
both dabbled. I'm I'm their worst nightmare because um yeah, I'm I'm the
00:42:00
opposite dad because I I want them to go off and do other things that are much more um achieve well much more
00:42:07
achievable and much more uh productive and and beneficial in their lives than going car racing,
00:42:13
>> right? So like the almost the opposite of nepotism. >> Yeah. I >> discouraging them.
00:42:19
>> Yeah. It's just it's it's it's a tough game. It's a tough tough game. Um, and I
00:42:24
I you know, as I say, I'm not one that wants, you know, um I I don't need my
00:42:30
sons to be racing to um to live vicariously >> through them in that way. Um because
00:42:36
I've been there and done that. Unfortunately for them, I'm the worst nightmare because I've been there and
00:42:40
seen it and done it all. And I just I know how challenging and how difficult and hard it is. And and the only way the
00:42:46
only way to to get there uh these days is um really there's only one way. One,
00:42:53
you've got to be an incredibly talented race car driver and you've got to have a
00:42:57
bottomless pit of money. >> Um you some some will get there with um just talent. Um for sure the there if
00:43:07
they get the right support from other people and it's recognized, their talent's recognized. There's some good
00:43:13
examples of that. Um, and and sometimes timing comes into it as well. But, um, it's the money. The money is just it's a
00:43:22
it's an excessive amount these days compared to what it was when I was doing
00:43:25
it. And, um, you've got to just keep spending and spending and spending and spending and spending and and you've got
00:43:31
to be able to you've got to be able to commit it and justify it. If you can't,
00:43:35
you know, if you don't have it and you have to go looking for it, your time um
00:43:42
wanting or needing or or being a race car driver is going to be very limited. Yeah.
00:43:49
>> It's just you've got a p you've got a piece of equipment, you've got this got
00:43:52
this tool, you've got this, you know, this thing that needs endless amounts of
00:43:57
money spent on it. You've got, you know, tires that need to be put on it all the
00:44:02
time. You've got maintenance. You got people that need to do the maintenance,
00:44:05
so you got to pay them to do it. There's just there's just there's no freebies
00:44:08
anymore. There's no freebies. Yeah. >> Must must be real stressful when you
00:44:12
like have a ding or or a severe crash. >> Uh if you're paying for it expense.
00:44:17
Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And and and there's just no there's no form of
00:44:21
the sport that's that's um that's cheap anymore. Yeah. It's very challenging.
00:44:26
>> Has it been hard for your boys with the same? >> I think so. Um I think so. uh you know
00:44:32
um and it's and it's also you know how they see it you know cuz I you know
00:44:37
obviously with the way I sort of am um it's like you mate you're not doing it
00:44:41
for anybody else you're doing it for you so if you're going to do it don't care
00:44:45
about what anyone else is looking thinking don't you your name you know you name anything you've just got to do
00:44:50
it for you and and focus on on that and just um uh accept what happens and accept what it is Um and so they've
00:45:00
worked both of them have put a lot of well Ronan's put a [ __ ] ton of effort
00:45:04
in. He he he funded self-funded um a year in Australia um doing a championship um and um and then you know
00:45:15
ended up coming back to New Zealand and has looked at trying to do a few other bits and pieces but is sort of uh
00:45:20
focused now on other things and doing a little just a bit of hopefully enjoyable
00:45:25
fun stuff here in New Zealand. And then uh Cormarmac has um had a couple of cracks at one of the championships here
00:45:30
in New Zealand and and um you know has has struggled a bit to to get it to be where he wanted it to be and you know
00:45:40
has realized you know what's actually I think more important at the moment in in
00:45:46
in his life and um that probably doesn't involve going car racing. So >> yeah.
00:45:52
>> What about um what about them driving on the road? Are they all of driving age?
00:45:56
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No. >> Did you teach them all to drive or?
00:45:58
>> Uh, I did a bit of it. Yeah, I did a bit of it. >> Did Do you worry senseless
00:46:03
>> when they're in the car with friends or >> Oh, I I do worry. I do worry um a bit. I
00:46:08
think I think that um you know learning some of the skills that they have learned uh doing other things um you
00:46:16
know uh motorsport related stuff uh more you know Ron has done a bit more than well a lot more than Cmarmac but I think
00:46:22
they have you know and I've unfortunately again been their their little um little Grig on their shoulder
00:46:29
you know in their ear reminding them of what uh and they know what I did when I was young and I've told them being open
00:46:37
and honest And I'm just like, you you just cannot afford to do >> the things that I did because it's just
00:46:42
you've just got too much too much other good stuff to do. So, you've got to
00:46:46
you've got to be able to, you know, understand that access the you know, know the risks and and be better. Um uh
00:46:53
these days on on our roads to look after yourselves and and you know, if you need
00:46:58
to do do something stupid, then we'll go to the you know, we'll go to a racetrack
00:47:02
and you can do do it there rather than rather than do it um you know, in public. So, you know, hopefully so far
00:47:09
touchwood um it's been okay, but um I'm sure I'm sure they've done a few things
00:47:14
that I don't know about. >> Yeah, I was going to I was going to ask that like
00:47:18
>> or maybe a lot. I don't know. >> If if um if if one of them got a got a
00:47:21
fine for a $75 fine or whatever it is for talking to your cell phone, would would they told they told your wife
00:47:26
Monique, would they keep it from you, do you think? >> Don't tell your father.
00:47:30
>> Probably not. Um >> how would you be would you? I they I don't think they I don't know if they
00:47:35
would uh trust their mother to keep it a secret from me either actually. Um I think they've both I think they well I
00:47:41
know they've both had um you know uh speeding fines of you know small degrees
00:47:46
but um who knows what else they've got away with that I don't know but um yeah
00:47:50
I mean they know how I think I've explained it better in the respect of you know being distracted
00:47:56
>> you know is is uh it's not so much you know if they got caught doing it I I I would be just
00:48:03
disappointed because they understand and they know what the risk is and they know
00:48:07
how how much I I despise um you know that you know that thing of being distracted with a mobile phone and
00:48:16
how dangerous it is and how many people are actually getting hurt and injured be
00:48:20
and killed because of it. So I think they probably um understand that very clearly. Yeah.
00:48:28
>> Yeah. Because that I mean they'd be letting you down so badly. >> Well yeah they Yeah. I mean, I can
00:48:33
understand. But the thing is, too, because it's become an epidemic in New Zealand,
00:48:40
it's just like everywhere you look, someone's on their phone or got their
00:48:44
phone in their hands or texting or watching something or whatever >> that you can almost, you know, be
00:48:49
disappointed, but you sort of go, well, it's so hard to >> to to do something different to the
00:48:55
majority of the people that are actually out there as well in some respects. So,
00:48:59
they just know that they just know how risky and how quickly it can all go wrong. So, that's been drumed into them
00:49:05
for for a number of years. >> If if you're at um like a stop sign or a
00:49:10
red light and there's someone next to you on their phone, do you >> often I will toot.
00:49:14
>> Yeah. Yeah. >> I can imag the other day. >> Um Oh, where the hell is that? Man, did
00:49:22
that person freaking get rid of their phone in a hurry. Um, not because I they recognized me,
00:49:29
but I just was I was so furious. It was in a situation that it was just like what? It was on the Oh, no. What it was?
00:49:36
It was on the motorway. It was at Mary Mir. I'd left Hampton Downs and I was on
00:49:39
the motorway. That's right. And and I I drive up behind this car doing 80ks an
00:49:45
hour and it's, you know, it's 110. Uh, no, it's back to 100ks at that point.
00:49:51
And it's moving in and out of the white line. And um I pull up alongside it and
00:49:56
it's a guy probably 50s something years old. Um it might have I don't think it
00:50:01
had signw writing or anything on it. He had the phone he's got his his hand on
00:50:05
the steering wheel holding the phone with one hand and >> oh one finger texting
00:50:10
>> on top of the steering wheel >> and I I slowed down and I was like on
00:50:16
the horn like next to him and he finally went and I went [ __ ] like that. He's
00:50:20
like, "Put the phone down." And then he's then all of a sudden he's doing
00:50:24
100ks again like and he's behind me. He wouldn't pass me. I was just I was
00:50:29
hoping there was going to be a cop. I I was hoping there because there's often a
00:50:33
cop just up the road. I was going to pull in and go that bloke there cuz it's
00:50:37
just it is despicable behavior. And it's um and it's just so ignorant. so so so
00:50:43
ignorant that you know if something had happened and he was never going to be able to react in time you know you just
00:50:51
don't know what the outcome is and that's that's the ignorance to it is
00:50:54
that you you are you're just a you don't care you're oblivious it's more
00:50:58
important right now to be writing a note >> on your phone than focused on driving
00:51:04
your two-tonon car at 80ks an hour you know on a road with all these other people
00:51:10
>> what do you think the solution is it tougher Draconian. Yeah. >> How tough How tough do you think they
00:51:16
need to go? What is it at the moment? $150 fine. >> It's only It's like $150. It's pathetic.
00:51:20
It's absolutely pathetic. We are We are just so weak here when it comes to things like that, right? So so weak. And
00:51:27
you know, can't pay the fine. I'll come and get your car. >> Take your phone. Oh, you can't do that.
00:51:36
What? So So what would you prefer? that person actually drives into the person saying you can't do that. Would you like
00:51:43
them to drive into your family? >> Oh no, that's a bit extreme. Why? Well,
00:51:49
why wouldn't it happen? Why can't Why can't that happen? Why can't you, the
00:51:53
one saying you can't do that? Why can't you be affected by someone else doing
00:51:57
something like that? >> Oh, no. I haven't thought of that, have I? But it it happens every day. Other
00:52:04
people get affected by other people's stupidity. Why can't it be you? You've
00:52:08
got to go draconian. You've got to change you've got to change the laws.
00:52:10
And it's just like we are not having this anymore. It's really easy. Don't do
00:52:16
it. >> It's so simple. It's a law. It's it's a law now. You're not supposed to do it,
00:52:20
but people do because it's like we're so weak and pathetic when it comes to, you
00:52:25
know, um making, you know, holding people to account for their stupidity or or breaking the laws. We
00:52:32
just are like, "Oh, got to give them a second chance and a third chance and a
00:52:36
fifth chance. Oh, they killed someone. Oh [ __ ] we should have done something about that, shouldn't we? You know, it's
00:52:40
just it's just it's just rubbish. >> Yeah. I think so so many people do it.
00:52:43
The police don't even sort of police it. Are you Are you good 100% of the time?
00:52:46
Or if you're at a red light, will you glance at your phone or is your phone in
00:52:50
the glove box? What? >> No, it's not a glove box. It's connected to blue. It's connected to Bluetooth. I
00:52:54
use um I use uh what's the name Siri and stuff to if I need to do things. >> Um I Yeah, 100%. You know, red light in
00:53:02
a queue of traffic. I've I've Yeah, I've looked at it. I'm not going to say I'm
00:53:07
not. It's that would be that'd be a lie. But I'm not driving I won't drive down a
00:53:12
road or on a motorway, you know, um and be looking watching my phone and texting
00:53:19
on it while driving. >> Well, if you're if you're behind someone, you can always like you were
00:53:23
saying this person was going over the white lines, you can tell when someone's
00:53:26
on their >> Hey, if I and and if if I if I did that I and I got caught, it would be like,
00:53:31
"Yep, okay." I mean, you just Yeah, absolutely. >> Um, and it's it's just the amount of
00:53:36
people that you see, >> right? Um, you know, I mean, they think you can't
00:53:41
see them. You can't you think they think you can't see them looking at their
00:53:46
phone because it's below the dash, you know. >> Oh, no. You can tell them look. Yeah.
00:53:51
You're looking down. It's obvious. It's it's the amount of it's the amount of
00:53:54
people >> um in the mornings around schools >> in their uh Bluetooth capable cars all connected
00:54:04
can be connected to stuff on their phone or or driving and looking at their phones with their kids in the back.
00:54:11
>> It's just like it's just it's insane. It's like these people
00:54:16
>> just have got no comprehension of what the hell they're up to. And it's because
00:54:20
it's again because they're addicted. they are so addicted. Um, and Nathan
00:54:24
Wallace on on, you know, on my podcast and stuff we've done with AutoSense, he
00:54:29
just explains all that stuff so incredibly well about why this is the case. So, yeah, it's a real it's a real
00:54:36
real hate of mine. >> This is going to be your legacy, eh, the road safety.
00:54:42
>> I don't know and I don't care. Yeah, I just all I want to all I all I all I
00:54:45
want to do is actually get some common sense within the law makers and within the people that um um you know determine
00:54:54
these things. That's all I that's all I want because I just it is it is it's
00:55:00
just in it's ludicrous that they that they don't make this most simplest
00:55:04
simple changes to try and improve the situation out there. Unfortunately, there's no there's hardly any experts if
00:55:12
any in, you know, in in transport in that space anymore. Um, you know, you got ministers that are just absolutely
00:55:20
under the pump >> because they've got so many serious portfolios. They're not experts. You
00:55:27
know, we've had transport minister after transport minister is not experts. They're not experts in in road safety.
00:55:32
They're not experts in transport. Um, they all behave like they're, you know,
00:55:36
they are, but they're just not. And you can't blame them for that, but they're
00:55:40
not surrounding themselves with actually experts. They re, you know, they're
00:55:44
surrounded by people that do research who don't know, you know, um, and so therefore we're, you know, the out
00:55:51
trying to get, you know, the outcomes required are incredibly challenging and it's not the only portfolio. Transport's
00:55:59
not the only one. There's plenty of other things. I'm sure >> there's other people that are experts in
00:56:02
those areas would be just as frustrated as what I am about it. We've been going almost um an hour. You
00:56:09
you said to me this podcast won't go for longer than 15 minutes. >> Very disappointed in myself.
00:56:13
>> We um we we we're just scratching the surface. >> Oh god. >> We haven't even got to the fun bit yet.
00:56:18
Reflecting on your remarkable career on the track. >> Well, that's that's where we'll stop.
00:56:23
>> What what what do you miss and don't you miss about competitive driving? Um,
00:56:29
I don't miss the disappointment and the um the frustration and uh yeah, not being able to
00:56:40
to get out of it what you you know what you signed up for. Um, but I do I do miss I I definitely still miss that that
00:56:49
really that feeling of uh driving a car really fast with a car 6 in off the front and 6 in off
00:56:59
the back, you know. Um, the buzz and the thrill of of that that kind of competition is is something that was
00:57:06
just Yeah. >> It was which is is why I why I wanted to do it, you know, that thrill and that
00:57:12
buzz. I mean, winning is incredible, you know. It's it's a um all you want to do is win. Sometimes I
00:57:21
wish I didn't because because that's all you want after you've won. After you've
00:57:25
had one win, that's all you want. That's that's the only thing that matters
00:57:28
anymore. And that's the there's nothing, you know, second means nothing after
00:57:33
you've, you know, achieved something at a at a you know, reasonably high level.
00:57:38
And supercars in Australian touring cars was a was a very high level. And you know so managing to achieve in that you
00:57:44
you knew you had um delivered you know and um it was it was incredible absolutely incredible
00:57:52
>> um to to be able to be successful amongst such a um an incredible um group
00:57:59
of of talented individuals >> and that's that's the thrill. >> Yeah. But I didn't but when I finished I
00:58:06
was I was relieved because um you know I didn't I didn't see that I was going to
00:58:12
be able to do you know achieve that feeling again. >> What brings you the same sort of joy
00:58:19
post racing? >> Um watching um new skilled talent watching and uh supporting the the the
00:58:27
the upand cominging talent coming through. watching when I was doing the TV stuff for supercars, watching Shane
00:58:34
Van Gizburg and Scott McLolin and those guys just doing the most incredible things in in the in the teams and in the
00:58:40
cars that they were driving. That gave me a huge huge buzz and the other Kiwis all over the world competing at the
00:58:47
highest level. I just I I that yeah sends shivers down my spine and I just I really really love seeing them achieve
00:58:54
and and still and wave the Kiwi flag and I get huge reward out of you know um uh
00:59:00
offering advice and and being supportive and and working with uh you know anyone
00:59:06
that wants to wants to you know be be successful and it's got a drive and a passion. Um and sometimes it's really
00:59:14
tough because uh the limiting factor is money. Um, and that's that's the thing
00:59:19
that you you would love to be able to take away from from them having to, you know, having to worry about that part of
00:59:25
it and just go racing, you know. >> Yeah. Focus on the the thing that you that you want to do and the thing you're
00:59:30
good at. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So, it was um got a podcast like this is always going to be tricky
00:59:35
because I've got such a broad audience. There's going to be like Murf fans that
00:59:38
listen to it that'll be pissed off at the lack of depth with the racing or the
00:59:42
dumb questions. And then there's people that don't know anything about that. And
00:59:45
you know, you got to sort of play to both of those, I guess. But it was um Beth where you sort of became a legend.
00:59:51
>> Oh, Tom. >> So, four victories. >> You're pushing it. >> Peter Brock was a legend icon.
00:59:59
>> Yeah. We'll get into Brocky. >> So, you won that four times. What's so
01:00:03
special about Ba'ist? >> I just grew up um you know, idolizing that that event, that race. I mean, it
01:00:09
was it was on my radar from a reasonably young age. I think uh really the vivid my first well not it wasn't that young
01:00:16
to be fair I think because my first vivid reme uh memory is was actually 1984 so before that I can't really
01:00:24
recall um having the attention span or or or being really in tune with with touring car racing in Australia at that
01:00:32
point. Um I don't really even remember following much other motorsport at that
01:00:36
point but remember that's in the 80s. Um, so 1984, uh, and and dad was a, you know, loved
01:00:45
that event. I mean, that was the only event that was actually live on TV. I don't know when it first became
01:00:50
>> live on New Zealand Motorsport, on New Zealand television, I should say. Um,
01:00:53
but 1984 it was. And I remember lying on the on the floor and at um at home and and and
01:01:01
watching Peter Brock and his daylow orange and white group C VK Commodore. um you know do the shootout, start from
01:01:11
pole and win that win that race that year and it was just like wa that is the it was it was the car to start with. It
01:01:18
was it was like I was just like that is the coolest car I have ever seen. Um and
01:01:24
I was just you know fixated on it and that's that's sort of when when I really
01:01:28
became um I suppose much more attentive to the to motor racing. I mean, I've
01:01:34
been racing carts for three or four years at that point, but um uh then it was car racing after that and then
01:01:40
that's when the you know, just couldn't wait for the new magazines to come out
01:01:44
and look at all the pictures and read the articles and bits and pieces and and stuff. So, and then I my I then my cart
01:01:50
number became 05. So I was, you know, I ran '05 because I was because Peter Brock was the was the icon and um, you
01:01:59
know, had the merchandise and all that kind of stuff, which, you know, back then you had to send off a coupon to
01:02:04
Australia with a check and then wait weeks hoping that it came back the other way.
01:02:12
>> Yeah, kids these days that they've got no idea what delayed gratification is.
01:02:16
>> Freaking idea. And so um uh so yeah, so that was that was really the beginning
01:02:21
of it back then and and then from that point on I was you know I was an avid avid sort of follower and I remember dad
01:02:28
going down to the you know to the Wellington Street race and it was just like he went down with mates and I
01:02:33
didn't go and it was just like whoa God what's this all about you know and then
01:02:36
I finally got to go down there >> um uh 19 1988 I think it was the first time Um,
01:02:46
just hearing that stuff, the way you talk about Peter Brock, it almost gives me goosebumps because um, you know, it's
01:02:53
like a full circle moment later on as a grown man. You a teammate with him. Um, >> well, you know, it was it was at the
01:02:59
Wellington Street race. >> You know, my mate and I were down there um, we'd gone down there with dad and
01:03:04
whatever and we were just wandering around and, you know, I mean though it was it was quite quite incredible kind
01:03:10
of experience. It was the first time I'd been at a tra track track with, you
01:03:16
know, these heroes that were there. And actually Brock was Peter was driving a um I'm pretty sure it was was that 80 no
01:03:22
it was 80 it was 88 I think he was in a BMW at an M3 which which was like oh my god he's you know he's he's not not
01:03:30
driving a Holden cuz um sort of there was changes going on and bits and pieces and he had sort of sort of soured the
01:03:36
relationship with Holden but anyway he was still Peter Brock and it was still a mobile sponsored05 and all that and um
01:03:43
we were just standing there looking at his car in the in the one of the big sheds on the on the um uh the dock or
01:03:52
the you know what's the name the warf at Wellington and um and he was just standing there and we were just I was
01:03:59
just like and he wandered over and he started Goodday fellas how you going I was just like
01:04:05
who's he Peter Brock's talking to me holy [ __ ] holy [ __ ] you know was just and he was
01:04:13
just chatting away oh you know blah blah blah and I you know I I I can't even
01:04:17
remember if I spoke but he was just you know there was he was there and I was just like and then and I just that just
01:04:23
um and reinforced not reinforced it just solidified my just you know his his icon status with me you know and
01:04:33
um yeah so that was the first time that um you know we engaged and then um >> what age
01:04:41
>> uh so I would have been I was 16. >> Wow. Still at school? >> Yeah. Yeah.
01:04:47
And uh yeah, and then and to think, you know, um a few it was a number of years later, as it turns out, but um um the
01:04:57
first touring car I ever drove, first V8 touring car um in 1995 was Peter Brock's05
01:05:07
Holden Racing Team Commodore. And I don't think I had I don't think I'd met him again before that. I don't I
01:05:16
can't remember. Maybe I had because I've been in Australia through a bit of 1994.
01:05:21
So I may have may have maybe although I don't recall. Um but so >> did you did you tell him like we had a
01:05:28
brief conversation with us? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And he was always you know he was always really interested in
01:05:33
all that kind of stuff. But yeah, the first ever touring car that I drove, like it's like V8 touring car I drove
01:05:40
was his car in in um about May May or June 1995. >> Yeah. >> And you end up becoming like friends.
01:05:49
>> Yeah. Yeah. We I mean he was he was a he was incredibly easy to get along with
01:05:55
and always, you know, really um offering of advice and information, but he just he just treated you like he'd known you
01:06:02
for 20 years, >> you know. Um, that's what he was like. And so he's very easy to spend time
01:06:08
with. Incredibly easy to spend time with. Um, so yeah, it was it was quite surreal.
01:06:15
>> Were you able to be yourself around him or was that >> Yeah. Yeah. Because he he he he
01:06:19
>> he just made you because you were so comfortable. >> He was again he was not he was not
01:06:26
someone that um um you know his ego wasn't he didn't he didn't sort of show that. He didn't show
01:06:33
an I mean he had every right to have a giant ego but he was just he was like that with didn't matter who you were he
01:06:39
treated everyone the same absolutely treated everyone the same >> it was he was and that was that's I
01:06:44
learned a lot about a lot a lot from him around a lot of that stuff was never as
01:06:48
good at it as what he was >> um he just had this incredible patience and and ability to to give time and that
01:06:55
was he he got a lot of reward from that um >> personally um whereas you know I just it
01:07:02
was incredible that he was able to he was like that. Yeah. >> And you guys won um the Beth 24-hour
01:07:08
race together in 2004. >> Three. >> 2003. >> Yeah. Come on, mate.
01:07:13
>> So [ __ ] research. >> Um >> and I just took that car back to
01:07:17
Goodwood um a few months ago and ran it at Goodwood. That that actual car. Yeah.
01:07:23
Which was received incredibly well. >> Yeah. when when you're um probably not when
01:07:30
you're when you're during that race with him, but afterwards once you've won like
01:07:34
is it a pinch myself moment or a reflect myself reflection moment cuz >> oh was for many reasons but yeah it was
01:07:40
you know and again at that time Pete was just Pete. Um I don't think any of us
01:07:46
probably really um sort of saw what it meant. I mean it it was an interesting race. It was a
01:07:54
bizarre race because there was really only two cars in it that could win it and that was that car with Pete um Jason
01:08:00
Bright and Todd Kelly or the sister car which was was exactly the same car with um with four other Holden supported
01:08:07
drivers in it. So you know it it's it means a lot more now. Um I suppose I mean it was a big achievement then
01:08:14
because he had to last 24 hours and and no one you know these there was only two ever races at Ba'is
01:08:21
that were 24 hours and and the the hold Monaro won both of them and um uh so that was a huge achievement just to get
01:08:29
two cars to the finish like that. Um but it means more now to have done that and
01:08:34
it and it you know has done for a long time that I got to do that race with with with him and and um and do that.
01:08:41
Yeah. And and I was in the car at the finish so sort of that that sort of adds to the sort of um uh how special it was.
01:08:51
>> Yeah. To do that with someone that you grew up idolizing. It's crazy. It's
01:08:54
cooked. But as I say, he he never he made you feel so comfortable and and and that like you were,
01:09:02
>> you know, that you weren't >> um >> you were an equal. >> He was no different. Yeah, he he that's
01:09:09
exactly right. He he never he never made out that he was anything anything special.
01:09:13
>> Maybe that's where I get my bloody thing from about, you know, hating being He
01:09:18
would have hate he hated being called a legend, too, I think. Oh [ __ ] it'd be
01:09:21
terrible in 2025 when everyone's called a legend or the goat. >> Um, yes, you mentioned before like his
01:09:27
kindness and his patience. Um, what other big lessons did you get from him for your own racing career?
01:09:32
>> Uh, you know, and again, I haven't been probably haven't been anywhere near as
01:09:35
good at him good at it as him, but you know, treat everyone treat everyone the same. He just he did he really did he
01:09:40
respected everybody really really well. Um um uh he yeah he had a lot he had a lot of you know sort of um interesting
01:09:50
sort of sayings um some of them used to probably I don't know probably used to annoy me a
01:09:57
bit you know live your dreams um that was his one of his favorite ones um but I I just I I think
01:10:04
>> Why did that annoy you? >> Oh I don't know I think it's just a
01:10:07
>> cheesy for you. >> Yeah I think so. I think so. But um it was one of his his ones and he used to
01:10:12
write it on he used to write it on so many things before he autographed graphed them you know but you know
01:10:18
people they resonated to every you know everything and what he did and what he said it was and fair enough too.
01:10:25
Absolutely. Um but I I think he you know the way he dealt with people and and the
01:10:32
respect he had was was such a important thing as say I I don't think I've been
01:10:37
anywhere near as good at it as what he was for sure. Do you remember your last conversation with him?
01:10:41
>> Oh [ __ ] I don't don't know. So it's 2006. Uh I would have seen him somewhere. I
01:10:52
don't but I I remember I know where I was when he was when um um found out that he had been killed. Um
01:11:00
>> yeah. Where was that? >> I was in Sydney and I was at a big event.
01:11:04
um big I think it was a um I know was it I know the location I was and it was a it was a big sports event um and there
01:11:12
was lots of people there I think it was something to do with CUB Car United Breweries
01:11:17
>> and there was lots of um well-known sports people there and and one of them
01:11:24
was Eddie Magguire Eddie Three Millionaire >> Yeah. Yeah. and you know uh Collingwood
01:11:28
Football Club, all that kind of stuff. He was there and I and there was some others and I got a phone call from um
01:11:36
one of the media guys, Holden Motorsport media guys and saying, "Hey, listen.
01:11:42
There's some [ __ ] really [ __ ] news." And as I got off the phone, I saw other
01:11:50
people sort of like and then I saw Eddie Maguire and he was like, "Is this is this is this is it true?"
01:11:58
And I'm like, "I've just had a phone call." And he and and you could see it
01:12:02
was almost like when you see these days, you know, um a notification comes up about something bad in news or whatever
01:12:08
and they go ding ding ding ding ding. It didn't quite happen like that cuz it's
01:12:11
not 2006, but um it was just all of a sudden the spread of the news around hundreds of people in this room just and
01:12:20
and the noise just disappeared >> and um and and they actually you know everyone was like we need to is this
01:12:27
confirmed? Is this you know and it did it got you know it was confirmed and and it was actually there was an
01:12:32
announcement made at this this event that we were we were all at. So it was um it was incredible.
01:12:37
>> [ __ ] you must have been devastated. Oh, just the the the country was devastated.
01:12:43
>> Absolutely. And you didn't need to be a motorsport fan to know who Peter Brock
01:12:47
was. I mean I mean as say if you want to put um epitomize what the definition of
01:12:53
legend means. Well, that's it. >> Now, who's who's done and achieved what
01:12:59
he's achieved? I certainly haven't. So, you know, >> it's it's funny you say that because um
01:13:05
yeah, I I I read some interviews about him during the week. I got in a bit of a wormhole when I was doing this research
01:13:09
and um apparently he just before he died like he had a conversation with his wife
01:13:14
Bev and he he told her he had feelings of um regret and failure like he let his family down and hadn't achieved anything
01:13:20
worthwhile. So I wonder if there's parallels with you and him. It's like
01:13:24
you Yeah. He he wanted more, you wanted more. >> Yeah, I think you know he'd broken up
01:13:30
with be and um uh was with someone else and um so I think I don't know. I I think that was a bit of it, you know, he
01:13:37
>> an overarching thing about his entire >> Yeah. Yeah. Um he but he he'd become
01:13:42
very spiritual in many ways and you know um was he had a very different look outlook on things. He he and he because
01:13:50
he wasn't a he wasn't an um a possession guy. He he he was just so happy on his
01:13:56
farm driving a tractor and mcking around, you know, he didn't have a lot um because he he never cared about
01:14:03
money. He really Yeah, he was he was terrible actually. He was a shocking businessman from all accounts, you know,
01:14:10
because he just it wasn't important to him. He he just other things were but he
01:14:14
you know I think um that was yeah something that he felt he hadn't done well I think I think was um yeah was how
01:14:23
he'd sort of gone through that phase of his life and you know um had left be
01:14:27
bits and pieces. So yeah, >> apparently in his last conversation with her, he said something like, "I've I've
01:14:33
lost my timing and I just know this is it." That wasn't long before. So he he
01:14:38
died by I think crashing into a tree in a rally. >> Yeah, he was at a at a tarmac rally.
01:14:42
Yeah. In Perth. Yeah. >> Can Can you resonate with that quote? Like as a driver, do you feel like you
01:14:48
you know if your timing's off? Is that a thing? >> Uh no, I don't know. No, I don't. Yeah.
01:14:53
Who knows what he exactly meant by that? >> I don't think they were related.
01:14:57
>> Yeah. um you know um he was still I mean we don't know a lot of us don't know why
01:15:04
he was doing those those rallies and doing that stuff either. Um I think he gave his reasons but
01:15:09
>> they didn't it didn't make a lot of sense as to why he'd be putting himself
01:15:13
in that position to do that stuff you know >> so very it was yeah incredibly tragic.
01:15:20
Yeah, as we've talked about in this this chat, like it's um far safe safer to be
01:15:23
in one of these cars than what it is to be on, you know. >> Well, not that one. He wasn't he wasn't
01:15:27
safe in that. I mean, yeah, that's a whole different situation because those
01:15:30
those those types of rallies, target rallies, they're they're the risk is
01:15:35
very high. And he was actually in a car that was a kit car effectively. It wasn't a racing car. Um so it was it was
01:15:41
yeah, the mix of trees and the vehicle he was driving were never going to go well if they if they combined. Um, so
01:15:49
yeah, he wasn't on a racetrack in a safe environment. He was in a in a very risky
01:15:53
environment. So it was it was Yeah. Oh, >> it's not one of those situations where
01:15:57
it makes you think, "Fuck, do I want to be doing this? Is the risk too high?"
01:16:01
>> Um, I don't know. Yeah, as I say, I'm not really sure why he was doing it in
01:16:05
the first place. Um, and what made him think it was a good idea? Um maybe he was just he did en he listen he did
01:16:11
enjoy doing lots of different things but >> it just didn't seem to stack up as to
01:16:15
you know why be why we would be putting himself at that kind of risk. Um so it was a
01:16:21
>> yeah I think there was some other circumstances I don't recall you know
01:16:25
about it but um yeah it was just um one of those things you just look back on and go Jesus
01:16:33
>> shouldn't happen. >> Yeah. One thing, oh god, I'm I'm almost
01:16:38
getting nervous to bring this up. Um, one one thing at B at Ba'ist which um,
01:16:45
uh, cemented your status as a legend. Are you about to throw? >> You really keep pushing yourself and
01:16:51
pushing your luck here, chief. >> The the lap of the gods. The lap of the gods.
01:16:55
>> I didn't name that, by the way. >> Yeah. >> Just just to just to ensure people
01:17:00
don't, you know, think I'm a real wanker. >> No, no, no. But um yeah, for anyone that
01:17:04
doesn't know motorsport, what is the Lap of the Gods? >> Um it was um the the top 10 shootout in
01:17:10
in at Ba'athist 2003. Um uh that year. Um yeah, just I the shootout time that I
01:17:22
did was um was substantially faster than anyone had ever been around the mountain. And um you know it was a was a
01:17:29
time that shocked everybody including me and my team and you know something that
01:17:35
just didn't if someone had said that to you prior to to the shootout that year that someone
01:17:42
was going to do that lap time everyone would just go you you bonkers. You obviously don't know anything about the
01:17:46
sport kind of thing. And I would have agreed. Um um but it was a moment that you know uh
01:17:54
just was was pieced together through I think a bunch of different things and and
01:18:01
including being given a a a really really good race car that I had a huge amount of confidence in driving as fast
01:18:08
as I could and I think a subliminal desire to to give the big middle finger to the officials that had given me a
01:18:16
fiveminute penalty the year before during the race Ba'ist. So sort of um a uh underlying sort of anger potentially
01:18:27
um and yeah just uh a desire through you know um the things I'd sort of spoken about
01:18:36
before. Um you know when I was talking about 1984 with Peter Brock and the shootout. It
01:18:45
was a it was a um the shootout all of a sudden became this focus for me. I just I just thought it was the best part of
01:18:50
the whole weekend of this weekend was watching the the 10 fastest cars go out there and lay down a lap time all by
01:18:58
themselves on that, you know, amazing race circuit um and get the chance to to to see how
01:19:06
fast they could go fit to shoot shoot out for pole position. And I just thought that was the coolest thing ever.
01:19:11
And then I got a chance to go to Ba'athist and I'm like, "Holy [ __ ] I'm
01:19:14
here." And then I got a chance to, you know, be in the in the shootout and you
01:19:19
are you're like, "I'm not going to waste this opportunity. I'm not going to waste
01:19:22
the chance that I've been given here. This is this is so incredible." And so
01:19:26
every time I got to do it, which God, I can't remember how many times I did it.
01:19:29
But um, you know, it was the same kind of idea. It was just like you got to make the absolute most of it. But this
01:19:34
year in 2003, I was the quickest qualifier. So I was the last car to go. and and um you know I just there was
01:19:41
yeah it was just something a little bit extra that year and um managed to it was
01:19:46
perfect conditions like conditions were absolutely spot on as far as weather and
01:19:50
everything goes and you know been a um a race car that um had been fastest in two
01:19:57
or a couple of the practice sessions at least and fastest in the in the qualifying and um you know so it was it
01:20:04
was a the best race car I think I've ever had there and And you know, I was determined to not leave anything on the
01:20:11
table and that's what I did. >> So it was two minutes and six seconds.
01:20:14
>> Yeah. Two minutes six seconds. 08 something 85. >> What would um what would a standard lap
01:20:19
be for you? >> Well well we we had qualified the the day before Friday afternoon again which
01:20:24
was actually pretty good conditions very good weather conditions. Um the there was three cars myself uh John Ba and
01:20:32
Mark Sca. We all qualified um on a 207.9. So 2 minutes 7 seconds.9. All three of us were on the same lap
01:20:44
time. Basically the same lap time separated by hundreds of a second. And no one had ever been under the 208
01:20:50
bracket. So three of us had gone under the 208 bracket and that's the fastest
01:20:54
anyone had ever been around there. So I was the fastest anyone had been around the mountain on Friday afternoon and
01:21:01
then on so on Saturday um for the shootout it was just it's a matter of being the fastest again
01:21:08
>> not about how much faster than the next bloke you can be just you need to be the
01:21:12
fastest and that's all I was setting out to do was just be the fastest and it
01:21:16
just happened that it was over a second faster than the next guy which which was
01:21:20
a very unusual thing. >> Um but >> what what are you thinking during those
01:21:24
two minutes and six seconds? you're not you all you're thinking about is each
01:21:27
corner. You're thinking about um maximizing every component of piecing that lap together. So, as far as you
01:21:35
know, changing gear, braking, accelerating, all those pieces, all making them as good as they can be, you
01:21:42
know, it's a it's arriving at the first corner and and breaking as late as you
01:21:47
possibly feel you can do and making and still get off the other side of the corner without losing any time. Um it's
01:21:55
it's just it's but it's built in. It's it's you know, you've already done
01:21:59
hundreds and hundreds of laps around there, you know, including the the practice that year and then the racing
01:22:07
and the practice the year before and and so and I'd been there since, you know,
01:22:10
1994. So I was, you know, and I I never took the place for granted. Ever took the place for granted. I think anyone
01:22:17
that takes the place for granted shouldn't be allowed to race there to be fair. Um because it is it is really
01:22:22
really a special place. Um, and that's because of the history that's been
01:22:25
generated. So, so it was just, you know, I knew I, you know, as a race car driver, a professional race car driver,
01:22:30
when you go there, you know, you you know the place, you understand it. And it's it's about um feeling completely
01:22:38
comfortable with the environment, feeling completely comfortable with the vehicle and and and having hugely huge
01:22:45
amount of confidence in your own your own ability as well. And it just one of those things that all combined on the on
01:22:50
the day. >> Yeah. and the um the like so it's on YouTube. It's been viewed millions of
01:22:54
times. It's iconic. I believe there's um Australians that can like quote the the
01:22:59
2 minutes 6C commentary like word probably word for word. Um and you see the clip and at at the end you're in the
01:23:06
you're in the car you you're shaking your fist but were you are you aware of
01:23:10
the time or you just know that you've raced really good? >> No, we we I am at I'm when I cross the
01:23:15
line I know the time. Yeah. Yeah. But um not not until that point. I mean, it's
01:23:20
um you know, I I I don't really uh I never really felt or remember feeling anyway through the lap um that it was
01:23:29
anything, you know, special. I knew it was good because I I felt, you know, you know, when it's good because you're
01:23:35
you're hitting your marks. You're getting on the throttle early. you know,
01:23:38
you're looking at the rev the rev lights, the lights on the dash, you know, which you rev, you know, where the
01:23:44
engine the engine RPM, and you know when when it when the lights are at a certain
01:23:49
spot that it's good, all that kind of stuff. But I missed a gear. So, I came I
01:23:52
I went uh because we're talking 2003, so you know, now we've got gearboxes that
01:23:58
are sequential. So, you just, you know, to change up, you just pull the lever backwards, and to change down, you just
01:24:03
push it forwards. you know, when in right through till 2007, we had um H pattern gearboxes. So, normal normal
01:24:10
manual sort of style gear boxes that you go across the gate as well as forward and back. And so, um yeah, come over the
01:24:19
top of the mountain, start going down and come out of the very famous dipper out of there. And I actually
01:24:26
slotted um you go from second there, second gear, so you're hard on the gas and you just basically jam the gear
01:24:33
lever across to third. So you go across a gate to third, but I'm I actually was
01:24:39
probably a bit tense and I um slotted it straight into first. So So the engine over revs, you know, quite a lot. And
01:24:45
it's and it and you're not accelerating, you're decelerating because you're in
01:24:49
the wrong gear. And I did that and I and that was a that was a real sort of wakeup moment.
01:24:58
>> Um and I thought I' I'd also I thought that's it. I've ruined it. I've ruined
01:25:01
the lap. But the run from where I did that to the next break point was quite short. So if I'd done that coming onto
01:25:06
the main Conrad straight, I would have it would have lost heaps of time. But I did it at a at that point which it cost
01:25:14
me a couple of ten of a second as it turns out. So I I was really angry with myself for a split second and then but
01:25:20
then knew I just had to finish the lap. So I I did not think I was going to be fastest because I'd done that.
01:25:25
>> It's amazing. So it wasn't a perfect lap. >> Nah [ __ ] >> Um
01:25:30
>> see Yeah. See another reason not to not to be named the L word. >> What um I don't know if it had any Yeah.
01:25:37
What impact did it have on your life if any? >> The doing that. >> Yeah. Yeah, that
01:25:42
>> I mean it's it has been a huge it has been a big impact because um and and it
01:25:48
was it it was more so because of uh the reaction from the pit lane and also the fans um because it was a and I think and
01:25:59
I know there's there's people that still come up to me now and goes I was there
01:26:02
that year you did that and you go [ __ ] hell wow okay and they go you know it was the best thing and you're
01:26:10
like far out it's like Oh, really? Wow. I really appreciate that, you know. Yeah. And you got, you know, hardcore
01:26:16
Ford fans, hardcore, you know, bleed blue who hated holding drivers and hated. They go, I was a Ford fan, but
01:26:24
that was [ __ ] cool, you know, and you're like, I really appreciate that. It's, you know, it's amazing. So yes, it
01:26:29
was a it was a >> and the fact that it still gets referenced today and it's still
01:26:35
mentioned as a you know as a moment in the in the um >> the history of the sport and ba'ist
01:26:41
history um is um yeah it's a really special thing. So you know not not everyone gets that gets to experience
01:26:49
something like that um at all and um >> Oh mate yeah 999 people out of a thousand would never get to experience
01:26:57
something like that in their life. No, it's probably more. >> Yeah. Oh, absolutely.
01:27:00
>> Yeah. Yeah. Correct. And so that's, you know, I am very uh I'm very humbled and
01:27:04
privileged and I and I I find it hard to fathom that that it's still a still a
01:27:08
you know, I didn't think at the time that it was um that that would be something that would be remembered the
01:27:15
way it is and and and and historically uh significant moment in Ba'athist history. Didn't I just didn't consider
01:27:22
that at all. I started to get sick of people going, "Oh, is it gonna is your
01:27:25
lap tie is it gonna get beaten this year?" You know, three years in it's
01:27:28
like, for God's sake, can someone just hurry up and beat it? I'm sick of this.
01:27:32
And then five years in, still going. It's like, and I'm going, why can't I
01:27:36
beat it? It's like, Jesus Christ. And then it gets to seven years and it's
01:27:40
like, oh, don't ask me if it's going to get beaten again, you know? And then it
01:27:45
got beaten. I was like, "Oh, [ __ ] Shit." >> It was like 10 years though, right?
01:27:49
>> Uh 10 years ago. >> It was No, no, no. It was only It was seven, right?
01:27:52
>> Seven years. >> Um, yeah. How do you feel when you see it on YouTube now? when you see a replay
01:27:57
on TV. >> Yeah, it's uh No, it is it's I mean it's Yeah, it's it is significant. Yeah.
01:28:02
Yeah. I mean it Yeah, it's hard to explain. I think um you know and again I suppose this this is part of
01:28:11
it. I I get all the credit for it, but um all the credit you know and it's wonderful to see some of the camera
01:28:17
shots of it. you know, my engineer, he's on the road and he's just you could just
01:28:20
look on his face and you know, um, >> he played such everyone did. All the
01:28:26
guys working on that car, >> the the whole organization cuz we we we had to re, you know, reassemble from a
01:28:34
disaster 12 months before. And I think everyone was on the same we was unspoken almost. I don't think we ever talked
01:28:40
about revenge, you know, on what had happened uh the 12 months before when I I got a fivem minute penalty. It was,
01:28:46
you know, go from the lowest of the lows getting given the world's largest penalty ever given during a race to the
01:28:54
highest of the highs. And I think it was just again this, you know, subliminal desire. But my, you know, my engineer,
01:29:02
um, Eric Pender, um, we had a really great bond and, and, you know, and, you know, he's the guy that
01:29:10
turn, you know, had that car turn up the way it was and and and gave me the tool to be able to do my
01:29:17
job, >> you know. So, and that's where the team thing comes from, >> I heard a quote from you in another
01:29:23
podcast. Um, the quote was, um, >> I haven't done I haven't done any
01:29:27
>> talking about the lap of the gods. Um, why the hell did this happen to me?
01:29:32
>> Yeah. >> But what what do you mean? Like it didn't happen to you. You You did it.
01:29:36
>> Yeah. But but but but how how and why? I mean, again, I went back 12 months
01:29:42
later. I was the fastest in qualifying again 12 months later. >> And then I couldn't I couldn't go and I
01:29:48
couldn't go and replicate that lap the next day. You know, why not? >> It's just And so why did it happen then?
01:29:56
I mean, you know, I asking big questions. It did, but but it's like the the factors that had to
01:30:04
all fall into place. It's all the pieces of the puzzle, you know, to do that. Um
01:30:10
yeah, why I don't know. Why didn't why wasn't someone else able to do it on
01:30:13
that day? These, you know, I'm not going to not going to bloody sweat over it by
01:30:18
any means, but it's just, you know, um yeah, I'm incredibly thankful, but
01:30:22
Jesus, you know, why did it happen to me? M and a a a question here that um could potentially get you in a lot of
01:30:29
trouble at home. Um so there was the lap of the gods. Then you came back to New Zealand and um you and your wife you had
01:30:34
a baby shortly after that. What was the biggest highlight of that year? >> Holy [ __ ] It was a big year. It was
01:30:41
just a it was like a everything culminated. I mean the Ba'is 24-hour race with Brock um you know Cormarmac
01:30:50
was born in October. Uh, well, yeah. And and that was only a couple of weeks after Ba'ist. Oh my god.
01:31:01
>> Oh, that's a stitch up. Don't answer that. You're on hiding to nothing.
01:31:05
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not going to. No, you can get [ __ ] I'm not
01:31:10
going to answer. >> You're in the Perth. Yeah. Miracle of Life is special, but have you seen my
01:31:13
lap of the gods? >> Could have could have made a t-shirt. That could have been a t-shirt.
01:31:20
>> So, yeah. You've mentioned the fiveminute penalty. Um Jesus hot in here
01:31:23
a couple of times. You turn it turn that back on. Um yeah, I've got a card here
01:31:27
called crashes and controversies. So we'll touch upon a couple of these. >> Home stretch. Home stretch. Meth the
01:31:33
five-minute penalty. What was that? That's considered really controversial, right? Like you were hard done by.
01:31:37
>> Um we deserved a penalty. It was a balls up, but where they pulled the five
01:31:42
minutes was out of their ass stewards. I didn't have a very good relationship
01:31:46
with officials. I was um yeah not uh not overly welll liked. Um and uh yeah we we
01:31:55
you know it was a it was a mistake. It was an error. It was a team mistake unfortunately and um it was just a it
01:32:02
was a comedy of errors almost in some respects. Um so uh yeah I drove away from our pit bay with the fuel hose
01:32:11
still attached. So this refueling was still happening and it caused a big fuel spill and you know one of our my
01:32:17
refueler um Ian he got flung across the bloody pit and stuff and um he was bruised and battered and um you know so
01:32:26
it was a breach of a pit lane you know um situation and um yeah it was it was a pretty
01:32:34
serious incident. Yeah. So, but the officials just pulled out of their ass. So, you know, you can come into the pit
01:32:40
lane, a 5m minute stop go penalty, which was um yeah, incredibly well. Yeah, that's it. Day done all over.
01:32:47
>> Well, yeah. Even for someone like me that knows nothing about motorsport,
01:32:49
like you talked before about the fractions of seconds involved. >> It was a two-minute, you know, 2 minute
01:32:55
um 10 lap. >> Yeah. >> And so you were in the you're in the pit lane stationary for over two laps.
01:33:02
>> So immediately you're Yeah. two and a half laps behind after overnight.
01:33:06
>> Um, and there was a controversial drive-thru penalty at Winton in 2004 that cost you a win.
01:33:12
>> Um, >> what's a drive through? >> That was three as well, I think. My
01:33:15
dates are all over the place. >> Yeah. Well, they're close. You're a year
01:33:18
out. Um, uh, so yeah, that was I was actually in the hunt for the championship that year.
01:33:24
Um, it was going pretty good. That was in Kmart racing. So, yeah, 2003 you had lots of [ __ ] going on.
01:33:30
Jeez, you might be right. I can't even know. I don't even know. We need to
01:33:34
search that. It's one of those years. Anyway, I was in the hunt um and uh I was um catching it's quite a long race.
01:33:43
300k races we had back then. So, they were, you know, couple of pit stops and a bit of strategy involved and bits and
01:33:48
pieces. They were quite good, but they were long. Um and um I was chasing Craig Louns and he made a mistake going into
01:33:56
um a long sweeping left hand corner at Winton um and got it a bit wrong and then tried to recover and doing that he
01:34:06
he got on the brake pedal right in the middle of the corner and and I was right behind him and so he got on the brake
01:34:12
when you should have been getting on the throttle and so I was right behind not on the brake on the throttle and he's
01:34:19
got on the brake and So, I've hit him and he's gone off off the road, but he
01:34:22
was going off the road anyway. I just finished him off. He was already heading off the road. Um, and I there was I
01:34:28
couldn't do anything about it. Like, it was it was his mistake, not mine. And um
01:34:33
I got um I got blamed for it. And it was clearly obvious on all the on the replays before they gave me the penalty.
01:34:41
It was just clearly obvious that um it was his mistake and I was I was just an innocent bystander in the wrong place at
01:34:47
the wrong time. And yet, I still got a penalty. So, um I got I had to drive through and and um Neil Crompton who was
01:34:54
commentating at the time and and um I just absolutely rammed them for the most terrible mis you know judgment um of of
01:35:03
anyone that's ever and Colin Bond who gave me the penalty at the time. Um he
01:35:07
never ever came and apologized, never ever said a word and he's a he was a bit
01:35:11
of an icon seen by many as a bit of a legend of the sport, but I've um I've
01:35:15
never willingly spoken to him ever again for >> Wow. M I've hold I hold a big grudge on
01:35:20
that one. >> Wow. >> He he just he I may not have won the championship but it it actually it
01:35:26
certainly um certainly made my life a lot harder and I was it was Yeah. I didn't don't think we recovered from it.
01:35:33
>> If you saw him in a room now like at a function >> I just ignore him.
01:35:36
>> Yeah. You're just indifferent. >> I just I just Yeah. I just don't care.
01:35:40
Yeah. Yeah. >> Uh then there was um I only saw this on YouTube the other day, a 1997 crash at
01:35:46
Philip Island >> um where your car um goes off the track and sort of like caren in a straight
01:35:53
line towards um towards a bank at high speed. >> Then there's a a like a um a dust cloud,
01:36:00
but you the car flips >> y >> and then um you you're in the car and no
01:36:04
one knows if you're moving. First guy on the scene is some dude in a black t-shirt and jeans and a mullet. I think
01:36:09
he might even be holding a can like from the crowd. What What are your recollections of that? And that's
01:36:14
>> not a huge amount, but he he's he ended up being um I'm I'm thinking I'm pretty
01:36:19
sure it's him. Um he ended up being quite a good mate of mine, but not for years later. Um yeah. Um he's no one no
01:36:26
one turned up so he jumped the fence cuz he was like, "Holy [ __ ] is this guy
01:36:28
okay?" Um and yeah, I had a tire blow out, right hand right hand tire blowout
01:36:33
going through that corner. It's like a 180 km an hour corner and and tire blew.
01:36:37
So, it just went straight ahead and the bank was a lot closer than what it is now. They moved I don't know when they
01:36:42
moved it, but it did get moved um at some stage a lot further back. So, yeah, it was um that was a sizable impact and
01:36:49
and the the energy from it, it basically went in on a pretty sharp angle. Um and
01:36:55
just the energy from it rolled Yeah. rolled the car over. It was quite bizarre. I don't remember going over
01:37:00
really anything. >> Do you go off the track and it's like maybe two two seconds, maybe 3 seconds
01:37:05
before you hit the wall. Like, do you remember that? >> Uh, mate, it's 1997.
01:37:11
Not really. Not really. Not hugely. >> That must be terrifying though, like
01:37:16
being in an out of control car. Out of control car going at that. >> Yeah. It's it happens so quick. You
01:37:20
don't you know, you're just like, you pretty much go, [ __ ] Yeah. >> And then it's probably 30 seconds until
01:37:27
you you you open the door and you >> Well, you're winded very badly winded. I
01:37:31
mean, the energy because it's an earthfield tire bank um that you've gone
01:37:35
into. So there's there's the which in some circuits in New Zealand they still
01:37:40
deem as safety which is absolutely just archaic. Um they're very dangerous. Earthfield tires are incredibly
01:37:47
dangerous um because there's just enough movement in them for the energy to be
01:37:52
absorbed but then the energy comes back. So it's like a double hit. you you hit earth
01:37:58
filled tires and the and as I say the the earth in the tire just hasn't you know there's enough movement in there to
01:38:06
to actually take take that impact and the energy that's being generated from
01:38:11
it but it's got to go somewhere and it and it what it does is it recoils bounces back and so that then it goes
01:38:17
back into the car back where it came from basically so the impacts are really really pretty d very dangerous and
01:38:24
that's why you know you don't see an international or circuits anymore. That
01:38:27
kind of safety because it's not safe. It's actually very unsafe. And so that
01:38:31
energy came back through the car. So, and then it that which made the car roll, but it also goes straight into you
01:38:38
and your body and seat belts and Yeah. Let's just say that the uh um the old
01:38:44
between between the legs was a bit purple for for a few days, >> was it? From the Yeah, the seat belts.
01:38:50
>> Yeah. Cuz you get out of the car and then you sort of like peel over and
01:38:53
collapse. >> I It's one of those things. the first thing to do is try is to get out because
01:38:56
you know fire you know anything and then and it's like you still can't breathe
01:39:01
still can't breathe still can't breathe you know yeah but I was all right the
01:39:04
beauty of work uh of being at a team like HRT back then was was the like it was like got spare cars so or spare cars
01:39:12
so it was like I was I was within three or four days I was I was at the racetrack again um driving um because it
01:39:19
was just like right the best thing to do is is get back in another car and do some laps and we were able to do it.
01:39:24
Back then there was wasn't any any rules around it. So it was um it was that was
01:39:28
pretty cool. >> How how do you not lose your mental edge? >> Um cuz you're selfish.
01:39:36
Just it's what it's part and parcel with. That's the risk. One of the risks,
01:39:39
you know. >> Were you married then? >> No. >> No. >> No.
01:39:43
>> No. No. And and to be fair, I had I've had crashes since and you just get back
01:39:47
on and go again, >> you know. It's not um again that's that selfish selfish part of it. I never I
01:39:53
never I never I've never considered I've never ever been um scared of driving
01:40:00
scared of my life driving a race car. It's just it's just not it's just not
01:40:04
there. Um and I've driven a lot of very fast race cars in in lots of different
01:40:11
environments and bits and pieces and I just it's I think that's the it's still
01:40:15
the buzz and the thrill and the excitement of it, you know, but they're so safe. I mean,
01:40:21
>> yes, things do happen, but um they have to there has to be a lot of pieces of
01:40:26
that puzzle that come together at the wrong time for for it to be to be bad enough.
01:40:31
>> Oh, yeah. Well, you look at the road toll on on the track, it's it's so
01:40:34
minimal. >> That's and that's that's the thing. Still got a stigma. It's got a stigma
01:40:38
that it's, you know, so incredibly dangerous. But, um, if you look at the stats, people go, "Oh, well, how many
01:40:44
races could it be?" Well, there is there is thousands of races going on every
01:40:47
week all over the world in various different degrees. and people using racetracks in racing cars and stuff just
01:40:53
you'd be millions of kilometers a week done by race teams and race cars all over the world and the the number of
01:41:00
fatalities from it is just absolutely minimal. It didn't used to be that way
01:41:03
obviously used to be used to be a lot more >> you I wasn't going to go there but you
01:41:08
you mentioned your your bruised um testicles just a second ago. So while we're talking about um that part of the
01:41:12
body with with a long race um what happens if you need to go to the bathroom? Uh if you are in that that way
01:41:19
inclined and you can't you're not getting out of the car, well it's it's
01:41:22
pretty uncomfortable to hold it in. And by the way, it's your bladder, not your
01:41:26
balls. >> No, it's that neither region. >> So you just piss in your piss in your
01:41:31
race suit. >> Yeah, it's happened. And people some people are really bad at it.
01:41:36
>> What What's good at it? What's bad at it? >> Not doing it. Not doing it good.
01:41:42
>> But doing it and then doing it again and again and again is bad. Yeah. Well,
01:41:48
>> it's certainly it's certainly very bad if you just expect your mechanics are
01:41:51
just going to keep cleaning it up. >> The thing about a hot race car is that,
01:41:56
you know, if you do it during a race and then um you know, there's still another
01:42:00
however many laps to go. It's, you know, it it it Yeah, you need to get that seat
01:42:06
out and get it get water on it and flush it pretty quickly. >> Does Does your support crew get real
01:42:11
mad? >> Oh [ __ ] What do you reckon? >> What do you reckon? Especially if you
01:42:16
don't own up to it and you and you just expect they're going to do something
01:42:19
about it. >> That's funny. Um um another incident is with um this Marcus Ambrose.
01:42:27
>> Yeah. >> Um so there there's a crash. >> Yeah. >> Um caused by him.
01:42:31
>> No, caused by both of us. >> Right. Okay. And then there's a big pile
01:42:35
up on the track um of cars. You you both get out you you get out of your car. He
01:42:40
gets out of his car because there's no cars going past. Um, and there's a stou
01:42:45
on the track. >> Well, it's not really stou. It's just a It's just a heated conversation.
01:42:50
>> Well, get said obviously you're not miked up, so >> just rubbish. Absolute rubbish. Yeah.
01:42:54
>> You [ __ ] idiot. >> Just blaming Yeah. Blaming each other, you know, and you know, we we'd had a
01:42:59
we'd had a pretty um sort of volatile couple of years, you know, just racing.
01:43:04
Um and he was on his way to America at the end of the season that of 2005 and >> and doing that. But yeah, another one of
01:43:11
those moments. um uh just two BS aiming for the same bit of road and and not willing to really give each other um the
01:43:21
room they we deserve in a in a pretty pretty precarious position on the racetrack as well.
01:43:26
>> So yeah, it was it was you know again it was in the height of the Ford versus
01:43:30
Holden time. It was in you know incredible time to be racing in this in supercars. um was just it really was and
01:43:36
we were you know he was a um uh top four driver and I was one of many uh competitive Holden drivers and and um
01:43:44
you know we were it was red versus blue and the fans were incredibly passionate and we we we were passionate about our
01:43:51
jobs and what we were representing and um you know it's one of those things that happens
01:43:56
>> but it was again it was a significant and for the fact that it was a a big
01:44:01
crash and and it blocked the track and you It was at Ba'ist and all that stuff.
01:44:06
So, >> did you guys both get disciplined for that or >> uh it was it was deemed a racing
01:44:10
incident. So, you know, it was just left it was left alone, but um you know um obviously lots of judgments and lots of
01:44:16
opinions and and all that kind of stuff. >> Do do you think conflict like that is
01:44:20
missing from the sport now? >> Yep. >> Yep. I do. >> It adds another I don't think you want
01:44:24
to have, you know, monster shunts like that um um very frequently, >> but it crashing is part of it sometimes.
01:44:32
Um, and but we want close battles and we want drivers to to, you know, not not necessarily always like each other.
01:44:39
>> There was there was another little ding I saw. Um, it was an accident caused by
01:44:43
you with a guy called Jonathan Webb and um yeah, you you you bang into him and then
01:44:50
you you're straight. >> It wasn't caused by me. It was actually caused by him.
01:44:52
>> Okay. But you were straight away on the radio saying, "Oh >> I own it. I caused it."
01:44:56
>> No, I just um uh I Yeah, I didn't. Yeah. whatever came what it was said was I it
01:45:04
I didn't it wasn't like it mean it was my fault it was just I you know um yeah
01:45:08
I can't remember exactly but it it wasn't my fault it was his fault cuz he
01:45:12
I was actually on a qualifying lap and he was doawling around on the racing line waiting to start a lap so he was
01:45:18
actually in my way >> oh okay you you sort of claimed responsibility >> I can't remember yeah something about
01:45:23
that but it certainly yeah I whatever I said at the time was probably based on [ __ ] LA being in Laand or something I
01:45:30
can't when maybe you admit having a piss in your suit at that that point. >> No, that was in qualifying. Was it
01:45:35
right? You should never have a piss in your suit in qualifying because um because you're only in the car for like
01:45:40
15 minutes. So that's never acceptable. >> It's inexcusable. >> Um you when when that happens is is is
01:45:48
Web's team mad at you as your own >> They can't be mad at me because it was
01:45:51
his fault. So yeah. Um, I was very disappointed that actually split open a disc in my back which started started
01:45:57
really the the the the end of my full-time career to be honest, that crash. Um, uh, and and he was never held
01:46:06
responsible for it either. It was it was a real [ __ ] show to be fair. And we obviously both of us were out of that
01:46:12
race. The cars were just they weren't weren't repairable. So that was the end
01:46:15
of the day uh for both of us. Um, and yeah. Yeah. Um he I think he got away unsanctioned from it and I don't quite
01:46:23
know how that was the case cuz um it was it was yeah it was an open and shut kind
01:46:28
of situation really. >> Um but yeah I split open my disc and and which required um my back to have a
01:46:35
fusion um a couple of months later and I missed a bunch of races that year and it
01:46:40
was a it was the end beginning of the end. >> How's the body now? >> Oh, it's good. Yeah, it's good. don't do
01:46:46
enough exercise, but um other than that, it's working. My back's good. Um that's
01:46:51
because it's bionic, so that's good. >> Do you do you have like a man cave at
01:46:55
home or any memorabilia? >> Uh a little bit. Not a huge amount. I I got um it's one of those things you you
01:47:00
end up collecting a lot of stuff over the years. And um when I came back from New Zealand, I just had boxes and boxes
01:47:08
and boxes of all sorts of, you know, race suits and and um uniforms and all this kind of stuff. So, I had a big did
01:47:14
a big auction at Hampton Downs actually and sold a lot of stuff. Um because it was just it was going to always be in
01:47:19
boxes cuz not one to have it all, you know, plastered around the house or anything like that
01:47:24
>> and it was just going to rot if I didn't do something with it. So, um did that
01:47:28
and um gave a whole lot of money away to um type 1 diabetes research at the time
01:47:34
because both both Ron and Cormack got type 1 diabetes. So, we did that and got rid of a lot of stuff. Yeah. But I've
01:47:42
got I've got, you know, significant trophies and and bits and pieces. I've
01:47:45
got a big cabinet that's got a lot of all, you know, all the supercar model cars and stuff that I've driven and bits
01:47:51
and pieces, but I don't have don't have a a significant, you know, man cave.
01:47:56
>> Yeah. From from what I've from what I can gather about you, you're not a guy
01:48:00
that dwells on the past too much. Like you're busy enough now and you're busy
01:48:03
enough looking forward to what's next. Um, but does it feel good when you when
01:48:07
you see those things around the house? >> Uh, well, they're not around the house.
01:48:11
hidden in a hidden in a corner >> in the in the garage um where all trophies should be. Um uh not really I
01:48:20
don't see I don't really reflect on it that often really. Um I yeah listen it's nice to have uh you
01:48:29
know uh reference and you know I've got enough it's I've got enough reference I
01:48:34
don't you know I don't you know I also gave away regrettably now a [ __ ] ton of
01:48:38
my helmets and things. they've actually something that I wish I had had kept
01:48:43
more of. Um albeit a lot of them did go to special people that had really done huge things for me and and and
01:48:50
contributed to um you know significant parts of my career. So you know I'm happy about that. Um but uh you know
01:48:57
they they really are a um I think they identify a driver you know because they're significant piece of of their
01:49:05
equipment and and everyone you know a lot of guys do have you know uh a design that sort of signifies you know them. Um
01:49:13
so I've still got quite a few but um yeah would have probably liked to have kept a few more.
01:49:19
>> What about cars? What have you got? Do you have many cars? Do you have you got
01:49:21
a holden? Yeah, I've got I've got um I've got one Holden Holden ute um that
01:49:26
was the last of the the um Holden Australia built well yeah that no one else built utes. Um so I've got one of
01:49:34
those but that's that's the only Holden that I've got. >> What about your mental health over the
01:49:38
years? How's how's that been? >> I'm pretty mental. Yeah. >> Um no pretty good, you know. Yeah, I've
01:49:45
had had moments. I had uh yeah, this you know, but no, no. Um uh yeah. you know, I've I've not not
01:49:53
really um really felt that I've needed to >> I think I think you know quite significantly
01:50:07
um there's been some some stuff over the last few years that I think it's really
01:50:15
um not really given me a huge amount of help. or be it, you know, it's been a
01:50:20
couple of times I've had conversations with people and, you know, just about
01:50:24
um, you know, maybe some some moments or some things that, you know, you want to
01:50:29
talk about. So, I've I've sort of felt that I that that's always been there,
01:50:34
whereas obviously people a lot of people don't feel that they can do that. >> Who who do you talk to?
01:50:38
>> Oh, goodness. I got some very close mates and things. Yeah. So, you know,
01:50:42
and actually to be fair, you know, with what the guys at the Rock have done, you
01:50:47
know, um and you know, done their fundraising and stuff around mental health, you know, I've um talked to them
01:50:54
um number of times as well, you know, and just engaged and and >> like off the air.
01:50:59
>> Yeah, off the air and and on but um done stuff but but off the air as well, you
01:51:03
know. Um, so yeah, a couple of times just around that time of when they've been talking about it as well. And
01:51:11
that's that's, >> you know, and I think uh I mean, yeah, I can easily sort of
01:51:18
I think um be quite open about that kind of stuff. It's not, you know, I don't I
01:51:23
don't feel like I should be holding anything in at any given time. So, as I say, I've got some got some, you know,
01:51:29
still a really good close group of mates. don't see them enough, but you know, they're always always there.
01:51:37
>> That's really cool. Um, I think that's a really big thing. I'm about the same age
01:51:41
as you, and I know a lot of guys our our age and our demographic in particular find it really hard to like open up and
01:51:46
have those open and vulnerable discussions. So, it's that's really powerful.
01:51:50
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't I I've not I can honestly say I don't think I I'm
01:51:55
sure I don't feel like I've really ever struggled in that space, you know.
01:51:59
Um uh so yeah um I I think I'm pretty >> pretty good in that space and I would
01:52:08
hope that my other people I know my mates that I know too would be would feel the same to be able to you know
01:52:14
talk to me if they needed to. >> Oh good on you. What >> because it is a challenging space and
01:52:21
world and for all sorts of so many bloody reasons these days. >> Oh it's tough and there's been a lot
01:52:25
going on the last 5 years probably since the beginning of the pandemic. There's
01:52:28
been a lot and yeah totally it's been a tough time for a lot of people >> and I and I don't you know and it's it
01:52:34
it sometimes is really >> it's difficult isn't it to you know to see things from different
01:52:40
perspectives but it you know and understand some of these things that people are going through um and how
01:52:48
they're seeing things and how you know >> uh they might not see an outcome or a
01:52:53
way through stuff and that you know that that is it's Uh yeah, really must be so
01:53:00
difficult to have to try and deal with that. Really must be. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So difficult if people can say,
01:53:06
"Oh, keep going, you know, and nothing last's going to change." But if your
01:53:09
last 100 days have been [ __ ] and today's [ __ ] then of course you're going to
01:53:13
think tomorrow is going to be no different, right? Um, no, but it's I think that's um probably one of the most
01:53:18
powerful parts of this podcast today, like you you sharing that that that you're okay to have these open and
01:53:23
honest conversations with friends because I don't know, a lot of people probably think from um the murf that
01:53:28
they know, the hard-nosed racing guy, they probably think he's not the sort of
01:53:33
guy that would have those conversations with people. >> Oh, maybe. But um you know, you're just
01:53:38
a normal person at the end of the day. As I say, I didn't I didn't um um set out at 10, 12, 15, 20 years old
01:53:49
to to to have the life that I had. I mean, I didn't know what was I didn't
01:53:54
know what was in store, you know. >> So, I'm I'm, you know, I've had uh some
01:54:00
amazing moments um which again I did for me primarily. At the end of the day, it was it was it
01:54:08
was because that's what I wanted to do for me. It just so happens that it was
01:54:14
in a um open arena where a lot of other people were watching, right? >> And they were able to decide if they
01:54:26
were like if they like that, didn't like that, like me, don't like me, like
01:54:30
Holden, don't like Holden, whatever. to come up with their own their own um uh
01:54:38
belief or thoughts around who I was, what I am. You know, I've had that many
01:54:44
people go come up to me since I've stopped racing and go, "Oh, used to be a
01:54:50
Ford fan. I used to think you're a real [ __ ] dick, but you know, I've seen I saw you doing
01:54:55
this and like, oh, you seem like you're an all right guy." I'm like, "Thanks,
01:54:58
man. That's cool. I don't mind. That's okay." um you know and that and and
01:55:03
you're perceived as something they don't know who you are. >> Never spoken a word to you. You're
01:55:09
judged because of what you said on television. >> That's it. >> Or a persona really.
01:55:15
>> Yeah. and and and and all because they like motorsport and you just happen to be a driver that's in in
01:55:23
there and you've gone and crashed into their favorite driver or you've beaten
01:55:26
them or you've said something on TV that they don't like and it's like you're a
01:55:31
dick. It's like we've never met. >> You know nothing about >> we could be best mates.
01:55:37
>> Yeah. >> For so many reasons and yet that's how you that's how you're perceived. That's
01:55:43
how you're judged. which is a which when if you honestly want to think about that
01:55:47
and again look at social media and the the most heinous horrible things people are prepared to [ __ ] write
01:55:55
on a on a on a um comment >> about someone or something that they know nothing about.
01:56:03
>> Don't know backstory. Don't know anything. Don't know the person, but
01:56:06
they're prepared to write something abusive and heinous about that you know is beyond me. I just am in I just cannot
01:56:15
fathom that people get so wound up about stuff that's not certainly when it comes
01:56:20
to sport >> which is just there's there's it's not important it's entertainment
01:56:26
>> in so many ways >> it just makes no sense I mean but okay some people are very passionate about it
01:56:32
but when it comes when you go that far you've gone way way too far way too far
01:56:38
I don't mind if you go ah you're a holding driver you know, [ __ ] I don't
01:56:43
like you because you're a holding driver. That's fine. No problem. >> But if you know, it's like, I wish you
01:56:48
would I wish you would die. >> You know, the amount of things that people say that are just, you know, you
01:56:54
really you really should have privileges taken away from you for that kind of stuff. It's just the damage and
01:57:00
dangerous the harm that's done, you know, through that stuff is just horrendous.
01:57:03
>> Does make you wonder what those people have got going on in their >> own and obviously challenging. Obviously
01:57:07
massively challenging but it still doesn't that still does not give >> any you know permission to to or reason
01:57:16
to do that kind of stuff. >> No absolutely not. I suppose there's no way of knowing this because most of your
01:57:20
career was done like pre social media. >> Well when I you know when Marcus and I
01:57:24
had our bingle on the mountain um um I got my death threats came through people writing letters
01:57:32
and and sent to Kmart Racing. Oh no sorry. Super Cheet Racing. It's like you're a [ __ ] wanker. I hope you you
01:57:39
know bloody hell [ __ ] hope you die and all this kind of that was people had to write that [ __ ] or type it and print
01:57:46
you know and put it through a word process or a printer or something and put it in an envelope and lick a stamp
01:57:51
and [ __ ] send it to you. >> Then the next morning wild week later it's like so old news. You've missed the
01:57:58
boat, mate. You've missed the boat. >> You can understand like typing on your
01:58:02
phone and then hitting send and it's gone. But to write a letter and then take some effort. I actually I've got to
01:58:07
give that credit, you know. You've got to give that credit. >> Yeah. >> What's um what is a perfect day for you
01:58:12
these days? >> Oh, shoot. >> What brings you What brings you the most
01:58:16
joy? >> Um what brings me the most joy? I I mean, honestly, uh doing bugger. Um you know, um
01:58:31
it's great. I I mean I I spending time with you know with your with your kids
01:58:35
is is is always um pretty amazing if they can be bothered anymore. I missed I missed a lot of the time that I you know
01:58:42
with them when they actually wanted to be with you. I wasn't around. Um so you
01:58:49
know and then they they grow up and they're teenagers and then all that sort
01:58:51
of changes. Albeit when they want money they they all of a sudden you're pretty
01:58:55
friendly. Um >> want to go want to go car racing dad. you know, uh, what are we going to do
01:59:00
about what am I what are we going to do? What are Yeah. >> Um, listen, I I I like riding my dirt
01:59:07
bike. I like, you know, um, I like doing sweet FA as well. You know, I'm quite
01:59:13
happy being at home. I'm quite happy, you know, mucking around at home. Um, you know, I'm quite happy mowing the
01:59:20
lawns to be fair these days. Um, if I've got the time. Um, you know, so it's it's
01:59:28
a lot of different stuff really. >> Um, a lot of things that I I would like to
01:59:33
do more of that I don't do more of. I like flying, but I don't get to do a lot
01:59:37
of that at all anymore. >> Oh, you're a helicopter guy? >> Yeah, helicopter license. I've got a
01:59:41
helicopter license, but it's just not being utilized in any way, shape, or form, which is which is something that's
01:59:45
um >> um yeah, I would like to do more of, but it's again, it's time and
01:59:51
>> and resources. But um um yeah, I got bunch of stuff I like doing, but I I
01:59:57
also yeah, I'm also very happy not doing a lot at times too. So yeah, >> I like boating, you know, in summer. I
02:00:04
like we spend a bit time at Lake Topo and and um you know, like wake surfing and doing, you know, those kinds of
02:00:11
things. Sort of anything. I like my mountain biking. Not doing as much as that at the moment, but I'm quite happy
02:00:16
firing faring down steep hills as well. Quite like that. But again, it's all
02:00:19
sort of adrenaline stuff. >> Yeah. Oh, so so you're still scratching that itch or finding ways to scratch
02:00:25
that itch. >> Yeah. Yeah. I I don't know much of it needs um I mean if I don't do it for
02:00:31
don't do something for a month. It's it's not like it's it's driving me mad
02:00:34
kind of thing, but I do enjoy doing it. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> What are if anything um what are you
02:00:39
still working on as a man? >> What are the >> Oh Jesus? It's endless.
02:00:45
>> Yeah. I um Yeah. Still lots of improving to do in many areas. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
02:00:52
Is this you saying this or your wife tells you or your kids tell you what you need to work on?
02:00:56
>> Well, you know, it's so there's I think a part of my personality is is has made
02:01:01
it made u pissed them off for from for many years, I would say. Um >> well, I saw um an Instagram post um
02:01:09
happy birthday Instagram post to you from one of your sons. >> Oh, really? It was really nice. And
02:01:13
there was a carousel of photos and he goes, >> "Happy birthday, Dad. I love you." And
02:01:16
then in brackets like even though you can be a real cactus sometimes. That's
02:01:20
the That's about right. I think if you go back through um every 12 months prior
02:01:25
to that, there might be a similar one to be fair. >> What What does that mean? Like prickly
02:01:29
on the outside. >> Real prick. I think um >> if they're being if they're being
02:01:34
honest. >> What about regrets? Any regrets? >> Oh, far out. That's that is really
02:01:41
difficult because um yeah there lots of moments in time you regret you you know you wish you'd done things differently
02:01:48
or whatever and and some of that is definitely um yeah trying to should have been around more when my wife was
02:01:56
dealing with three kids and stuff and you know it's just uh was yeah I just probably was focused on some of the
02:02:03
wrong things. >> It's funny you say that. I've had so many guests on the podcast and the ones
02:02:07
that spring to mind just off the top of my head like um Peter Leech, Lori Mains,
02:02:12
Grant Fox, they all say the same thing like um that's the one thing they regret
02:02:16
like the time that they didn't have with the kids. >> Yeah. >> You can't get it back.
02:02:21
>> No, you can't. Um >> Yeah. You just It's just like the focus
02:02:27
was just not right, you know? you're just just so caught up in professional life and and stuff
02:02:36
and you just sort of you're like I don't know how I would have done it better but
02:02:39
I'm sure you could have >> you know >> um and then when you are there be real
02:02:44
present be more present you know um a lot of the time >> suppose that's yeah just being ruthless
02:02:49
with time management so when you're there you're you're fully engaged
02:02:53
>> yeah yeah >> what about future goals like where do you see yourself in 5 years 10 years
02:02:58
>> oh god Oh, cheese. I asked I asked everyone in that um in that podcast that
02:03:02
I've done, you know, that same question and think it's easy to answer. It's not
02:03:06
easy to answer, is it? Um uh I don't I don't want to be this busy in 5 years is
02:03:12
what I am. Um I would like to be able to, you know, um be putting a little bit more time into some of these passion
02:03:21
kind of projects like, you know, um fixing fixing road safety and stuff like that. Um, I would like to be able to,
02:03:29
um, yeah, spend I think my wife and I would both like to be able to be be Yeah. Uh,
02:03:37
enjoying more more of the things that we do like doing together. Um, and and not be so caught
02:03:46
up in in um, in trying to make a living and and set ourselves up maybe for the future. Um, you know, cuz at the end of
02:03:54
the day, you know, it's not like it's not like we're >> we're uh certainly in Struggle Street,
02:04:00
but you just tend to keep saying yes and keep doing things and um cuz it's it's
02:04:06
it's sort of in your it's just the in your in your bu in your in your makeup,
02:04:11
you know? It's sort of the way it's always been. >> So, I've got to I've got to do better at
02:04:15
that. I've got to do better at saying no. Um but the thing is I enjoy I enjoy
02:04:19
everything that I do. Uh, which is a problem as well. You know, you go, "Ah, gez, I wish I wasn't
02:04:25
as busy." And then if you're not, you're like, "What the hell? What, you know, I
02:04:28
need to be busier." It's just ridiculous. >> It really is. So, I enjoy I enjoy
02:04:33
everything I do with the people I work with. >> So, that makes it sort of challenging to
02:04:38
to say to say no. >> Um, I don't I mean, done a bit of traveling. It's not like I I need to do
02:04:45
a [ __ ] ton more of that, but I um I would like to actually spend some more time um in some parts of New Zealand. I
02:04:53
love Central Targetgo and spending time down there and I, you know, I would like
02:04:59
to do some more fun stuff like riding my adventure bike and and doing a bit more
02:05:04
mountain biking and a bit bit more of that stuff and seeing actually some more of bits of New Zealand that I haven't
02:05:08
seen to be fair. M >> um I don't know. There's heaps of other stuff.
02:05:12
>> What about fears? A lot of people probably think Greg Murphy is fearless.
02:05:16
>> Uh >> well, I think that's a valid fear. It's very reasonable.
02:05:22
>> [ __ ] hate crocodiles. >> Terrified of them. >> Same. Like sharks get a bad rap because
02:05:30
I feel like sharks when they attack humans, it's seems >> Yeah. But they're not as ugly.
02:05:34
>> Yeah. Mistaken identity when sharks do it. I feel think they feel bad about it.
02:05:37
Yeah. Didn't give a [ __ ] Yeah. Yeah. >> Um it's your funeral and um there were
02:05:44
three words that you your your family and your friends had to >> god Dom three words that you
02:05:51
>> you've found my weakness. Fears answering these questions. >> Three words that that that you'd like
02:06:01
family and friends to use to describe me. >> Oh Jesus Christ. Did all your podcasts go this long?
02:06:08
>> This is quite a long one, but I've I've probably deliberately stretched this one
02:06:11
out because I knew how much you were dreading it. No, actually, I've cut I've
02:06:14
cut corners. There was a lot to talk about that I've sort of edited out as we've gone.
02:06:17
>> Does that mean I've talked too much? It's >> been engaging. How's this been for you?
02:06:21
Has it been awful? >> No. >> No. >> But, you know, it's not it's not
02:06:26
life-changing. >> I know you'd rather be like back in your hotel room just on your own right now
02:06:31
rather than >> Yeah, I'm quite happy in that space. So am I. So am I. I think I'm like um
02:06:37
>> probably I'm suppose I'm like extroverted introvert. >> Now you've got me thinking I would hate
02:06:42
to I don't know. What would what would I like people to say? Three words. >> Yeah. Like so so so you you're dead,
02:06:48
your family and your your three kids are there and your wife's there. Like how
02:06:52
would you like them to see you? >> God Jesus. You know I haven't thought
02:07:03
about that. Eh That's not going to come quickly. >> How would I like them to feel? Do people
02:07:18
answer that really quickly? >> Some do. A lot. A lot don't. >> Yeah. Right.
02:07:22
>> Yeah. Just It varies. [Music] No, I'm have to I'm have to um I'm going have to get inv I'm going to
02:07:38
have to get advice on that one. >> If Eddie McGuire was here, I'd get you
02:07:43
to phone a friend. >> Yeah, exactly. Yeah. >> No, I'm not sure. >> What? At least one of the three words.
02:07:50
>> Oh god. I I think if I'd thought of one, I would have told you. >> Yeah. Loyal. I reckon you you'd be you'd
02:07:55
be fiercely loyal. Like once once you once once you're lock once you're locked
02:07:59
in with Murf, as long as you don't [ __ ] you over, you'll be loyal for >> Well, yeah. Well, I was very loyal. I
02:08:04
was I was very loyal to the to uh in during my career to to the brand to to the Red Side. Um you know, I think
02:08:12
that's that's a big big part of it. Um they would probably they might say that.
02:08:20
I think my friends would probably say that. M >> um >> that's a great quality.
02:08:25
>> Um >> yeah, that would probably I would hope Yeah, maybe I'd hope that would be one
02:08:31
word. >> They might all struggle to find any more be I I would probably be accepting of a
02:08:41
few, you know, derogatory ones to be fair. Yeah. Cuz I'd go, "Yeah, man. It's
02:08:45
true." >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Competitive. >> He's a bit of a prick. Yeah.
02:08:50
>> No, I I like the funeral thing because it's like no one has anything bad to say
02:08:53
about someone. >> No, I like like I tell you again because I am not a uh religious person. I am so
02:08:59
far not. And um so it would be you know it would be a it would just be everyone would be it would be a demand
02:09:08
that everyone gets pissed >> and just you know >> um you know some kind of you know sort
02:09:14
of it's a it's just a acceptance of the situation and and move on you know but
02:09:19
it's like you know all right have a drink and >> celebrate the what it was and and and
02:09:24
move on really that's that's what it's got to be. >> Okay. >> Can I try and answer that one for you
02:09:29
then? We'll go we'll go um again I don't know you very well but I've spent a bit
02:09:34
of time with you in this past year. Uh we'll go loyalty integrity. Um blunt.
02:09:40
>> Mhm. >> Blunt's good. >> Two out of two two out of three ain't
02:09:44
bad with good words. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Can we lock those three in?
02:09:48
>> That's fine. >> Y >> I'm okay with that. >> Why is he scared of crocs? They are just
02:09:54
they they're just prehistoric killing machines and they're terrifying terrifi like there's a so the supercars
02:10:05
goes to Darwin every year right and um the place and like people love Darwin. Oh, it's great to go up there. It's
02:10:13
like, okay, well, oh, it's hot and you know, it's on the water. I'm like, the
02:10:17
water is full of sharks, crocodiles, and and um um jellyfish. Bottle uh what are
02:10:23
they? The bad ones. >> Oh, the blue bottles. >> Yeah, whatever they are. Right. And it's
02:10:27
like, so I'm sorry, but a place that's surrounded by water, but you can't go
02:10:31
in, not that attractive to me. And and then they've got this this thing there
02:10:36
that you can swim in a tank and on the other side of the thick glass is a [ __ ] crocodile.
02:10:45
>> No thanks. >> And you're like, I don't give a [ __ ] if the glass is 12 ft thick.
02:10:51
It, you know, don't tell me there's not a chance that that's going to end up in
02:10:55
the same place as you. It's not happening. Also, I think sharks like you go into their their ter you're in their
02:11:02
house when when you get attacked. But um yeah, the fact that crocodiles can go on
02:11:06
land as well. I don't know. They're a threat on land animal. >> Okay, last one. Greg Murphy, are you
02:11:11
proud of yourself? >> Uh I don't know. I think there's there's
02:11:16
room for improvement across the board. >> Yeah. when you when you sit and do a
02:11:22
podcast like this and a lot of it sort of like a highlights reel of some of the stuff you've accomplished. Um you know
02:11:27
you've built this family, you've got a successful marriage off the track and
02:11:30
then there's the racing stuff. Um >> I got I got I got three I got three
02:11:34
amazing children. Um and I've got a an incredibly incredibly um oh how do you
02:11:41
describe my wife? >> Tolerant. a she's ma incredibly tolerant, but also um she's got a she's
02:11:48
got a a uh she's also got a great temper. Um she's very stubborn. Um but
02:11:54
she's brilliant and you know is uh raised three incredible kids almost by herself in some respects.
02:12:03
>> Um you know, and she's incredibly smart and determined and and uh very
02:12:08
motivated. Incredibly motivated. She leaves me for dead as far as motivation goes. Um, you know, so, you know, I'm
02:12:15
I'm just so lucky. I know. I mean, I'm proud, but I think I feel I'm more lucky
02:12:19
than than than anything else to have have that. Um, >> that's a huge success.
02:12:24
>> You create your own luck, though, don't you? >> Well, you do. You do, but it it comes
02:12:28
But it's a but that that partnership is just um >> Yeah. So critical, right? to to have,
02:12:35
you know, to have got the three children we've got and have them the way they are
02:12:40
um is is um it's testament to yeah a bit of teamwork I suppose but um yeah uh the
02:12:48
foundations were probably more built by what she was up to >> what she did um through all that time
02:12:54
cuz you know see we had two two boys under three that had type 1 diabetes um which is was just in you know I had a
02:13:03
lot of lot of parents go through some incredibly challenging things with their children, no doubt.
02:13:07
>> Yeah. >> Um and this was, you know, it was something we knew nothing about. It was
02:13:10
it was quite challenging and she she, you know, became an absolute dead set expert on on that
02:13:16
>> um that issue and and um you know, had to deal with that, you know, uh let's
02:13:23
say five days a week by herself pretty much, you know, if not more sometimes. >> So, you know, that's that's pretty
02:13:29
amazing. Um um so yeah. Yeah. Listen, I I think you know I feel that maybe um hopefully if I can
02:13:43
get some proper change going on a few things especially around the road safety thing that would make me pretty proud to
02:13:48
have been to be a part of trying to actually improve that. >> Yeah, >> I don't think we've achieved bugger all
02:13:54
at the moment. Um, I'm proud of um the Street Smart program that um I'm a part
02:13:59
of that was set up with Holden in back in 2017 and and is off the ground again now thanks to thanks to some incredible
02:14:06
contributors like Tony Quinn who's who's allowed us to get that cracking again
02:14:10
because I I know that's making a difference. I know we're we're um improving safety and making kids that do
02:14:16
the course. I know that they are better off and I think the parents that come with them are also better off because
02:14:22
they've got a better understanding. And so that is um really significant in a
02:14:27
professional >> sort of space and and more important than winning ba'ist and more important
02:14:33
than than winning races in cars. That stuff making a difference changing outcomes for people so that their live
02:14:40
lives aren't destroyed. That is the most I think that's that's as at a
02:14:44
professional side of things that's the most important thing you can do. So hopefully we can can continue to do more
02:14:50
of that. Um and if I can, you know, get some stuff um changed or support and be a part of hopefully instigating some
02:14:58
change in our road safety space in New Zealand, then um that will be that'll be
02:15:03
something to be very proud of as well. But um I'm not holding my breath at the
02:15:07
moment because I don't believe we've got a a political system that is is smart
02:15:11
enough to do it. >> I think that's a great place to end it. Um I want to change that word, too.
02:15:18
We'll go um loyalty, integrity, and um passionate. You Yeah. I mean, this is
02:15:25
what you >> passionate can be Yeah. can be construed and and be seen in many different ways.
02:15:29
>> No, but like um your your passion towards um making the roads a safer place is um it's commendable.
02:15:36
>> It's commendable. And that's a big theme with this new podcast series that you've
02:15:39
got coming out. >> Um and I've learned a lot from being >> I just don't get I just don't get why
02:15:44
it's why these things are so difficult. Yeah, >> it makes honestly the amount of money
02:15:50
that we waste in this country and get nothing for it >> is I don't think it's any different to
02:15:55
most countries, but in this little country we can do so much better and we are just we are doing a [ __ ] job in so
02:16:02
many spaces and yet and yet wasting so much along the way and it's it's uh very
02:16:08
frustrating. >> Well, Greg Murphy, you're a great New Zealander, >> not a legend.
02:16:14
>> Yeah, good. Great news agree with that. Um even yeah racing aside like this the
02:16:19
the stuff that you're doing in the road safety sphere. It's um incredible and
02:16:23
it's been great to finally get you on the podcast. I know there's a hund
02:16:26
places >> you'll judge that by how many people listen to this and then comment on it.
02:16:33
>> No, I'm I'm happy with it. I think it's a great podcast. Um
02:16:37
>> I do ask that question to a lot of guests. It wasn't that long ago.
02:16:40
>> What was it? What Yeah. Are are you getting more emotional in this chapter
02:16:43
of your life? >> No. No, it just um um a really um tragic um uh moment in mine and a lot of other
02:16:52
people's lives um um about six weeks ago. We lost a lost a very close mate. So yeah, at a young age.
02:17:02
>> Yeah, I'm sorry to hear that. >> This has been great. Thank you, mate.
02:17:07
Really appreciate it. >> Don't ask again.