How are they all feeling about the second year of this format?

Yeah, it's a good point, Hills, because what we saw at the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago was very different to what we saw at the Gold Coast 12 months ago.

12 months ago, it was just win or die.

They were into it.

It was absolutely cutthroat, whereas it was much more calculated this time at the Gold Coast a few weeks ago.

But I don't think you can be like that this weekend.

So you mentioned there's five of the seven that are in the finals this weekend have got a teammate that are not a finals contender.

What are these guys like, the personalities on and off the track of Kai Allen and Matt Payne? Yeah, it's

How are they all feeling about the second year of this format?

Yeah, it's a good point, Hills, because what we saw at the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago was very different to what we saw at the Gold Coast 12 months ago.

12 months ago, it was just win or die.

They were into it.

It was absolutely cutthroat, whereas it was much more calculated this time at the Gold Coast a few weeks ago.

But I don't think you can be like that this weekend.

So you mentioned there's five of the seven that are in the finals this weekend have got a teammate that are not a finals contender.

What are these guys like, the personalities on and off the track of Kai Allen and Matt Payne? Yeah, it's a good

How are they all feeling about the second year of this format?

Yeah, it's a good point, Hills, because what we saw at the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago was very different to what we saw at the Gold Coast 12 months ago.

12 months ago, it was just win or die.

They were into it.

It was absolutely cutthroat, whereas it was much more calculated this time at the Gold Coast a few weeks ago.

But I don't think you can be like that this weekend.

So you mentioned there's five of the seven that are in the finals this weekend have got a teammate that are not a finals contender.

What are these guys like, the personalities on and off the track of Kai Allen and Matt Payne? Yeah, it's

What was he saying there, Garth? Do you yourself like the finished product? Do you like the journey? Do you like how it's ended for you? Have you grown?

Oh, absolutely.

I mean, what I learned from my dad, one of the things my dad first said to me when I still stick out is that, you know, you often don't listen to your parents, do you? And I've got kids now that absolutely do not listen to anything I've got to say.

But one thing that did stick out was if you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best.

So we always went looking for competition and we always looked for the best competition we could find and then tried to succeed at that.

And then I learned the best way to do that was also to challenge yourself.

How could I be better? How could I look to improve my skill set? Not so much as driving the race car, but as an athlete operating within the race team environment.

Who helped you?

What was he saying there, Garth? Do you yourself like the finished product? Do you like the journey? Do you like how it's ended for you? Have you grown?

Oh, absolutely.

I mean, what I learned from my dad, one of the things my dad first said to me when I still stick out is that, you know, you often don't listen to your parents, do you? And I've got kids now that absolutely do not listen to anything I've got to say.

But one thing that did stick out was if you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best.

So we always went looking for competition and we always looked for the best competition we could find and then tried to succeed at that.

And then I learned the best way to do that was also to challenge yourself.

How could I be better? How could I look to improve my skill set? Not so much as driving the race car, but as an athlete operating within the race team environment.

not how it was done back

And Matt Payne, uh, your winning co-driver from last year, can he go back-to-back?

Well, he's done the first job and got himself inside the top 10 shootout, only just be at that, but he's in the top 10 shootout.

And all you've gotta do, and every other car up and down pit lane, regardless whether it's Matt Payne, the defending champion or not, is just build throughout the course of the day.

So you start where you start, that's what it is, and, and the grid from 11 to 26 is already set now, and we will find out the top 10 tomorrow evening.

But just build through the day and get yourself in a position where you've got a car that has no damage, uh, that you're in a s- good, strong strategic position with an hour and a half, two hours to go, and then drive the thing as absolutely as fast it'll go for the rest of the race, and if you get-- able to do that, you're absolutely within a shot.

Is there a different feeling there this year?

Yeah, there is and, and there's a l- a lot of celebration of what Brock was able to achieve here at Bathurst and, and Peter was the absolute master of this place.

I mean, when you win the R- the Bathurst 1000, you win the Peter Brock Trophy.

And Matt Payne, uh, your winning co-driver from last year, can he go back-to-back?

Well, he's done the first job and got himself inside the top 10 shootout, only just be at that, but he's in the top 10 shootout.

And all you've gotta do, and every other car up and down pit lane, regardless whether it's Matt Payne, the defending champion, or not, is just build throughout the course of the day.

So you start where you start, that's what it is, and, and the grid from 11 to 26 is already set now, and we will find out the top 10 tomorrow evening.

But just build through the day and get yourself in a position where you've got a car that has no damage, uh, that you're in a s- good, strong, strategic position with an hour and a half, two hours to go, and then drive the thing as absolutely as fast it'll go for the rest of the race.

And if you get able to do that, you're absolutely within a shot.

Is there a different feeling there this year?

Yeah, there is, and, and there's a l- a lot of celebration of what Brock was able to achieve here at Bathurst and, and Peter was the absolute master of this place.

Yeah.

Because you could list 10, 15 cars that are capable of winning this race, and that's what makes Ba- Bathurst so special, it is so competitive and so tough to win.

But, you know, Brodie Kostecki in, in the Shell V-Power Mustang's been in incredible form.

Um, Matt Payne and Will Davison, you know, Matt's obviously still the reigning champion, as is Penrite Racing.

They'll be very strong this year.

Will Davison joining him, he's a two-time winner in the past as well, so he knows how to get it done.

The Red Bull Ampol cars, they're super strong.

That's it.

Talk to me about, you know, the changes in Supercars and the different eras.

Oh, look, each, each era I think is, is unique and special in its own right, for sure.

Um, but I, I feel very fortunate.

You mentioned when I started in the late '90s, the sport was sort of in this very beginnings of the transitions where, um, it was becoming a fully professional sport.

Like when I started, there were still guys turning up with cars on the back of trailers, towing them with a road car, no truck sort of thing, and competing in, in Supercars to the time where I finished, and clearly it was... it's a fully professional, um, level sport.

So, um, you know, to be part of that transition and through the incredible growth phase of, of Supercars through the, you know, early 2000s to, to sort of 2010, the growth phase through there was immense.

So I, I was, you know, fortunate to be on the rollercoaster when all that was happening and, and enjoy that ride.

What'd you call this weekend? I mean, how much have you call this weekend on, on any Bathurst is really about, it's about luck and a bunch of stuff you can't see coming.

I mean, you

always look back fondly at the successful ones, that's for sure.

And yeah, you mentioned Matt and just the crazy race that was last year with the weather and all the chaos that was going on in the last sort of 10, 15 minutes of the event.

Um, but it's incredible.

Bassist has this incredible ability to have these wacky, crazy storylines that if I was speaking to you at 10 AM before the race even started, and I said, look, you know, these 10 things are probably going to happen today.

You'd look, you'd look back at me and say, I'm crazy.

And then inevitably it always does seem to happen at Bassist.

I guess you're biased, but having watched a lot of motorsport myself, if you look at your coverage, you know, the stuff that you guys do on supercars, I mean, that's world class, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, that's

after Bathurst last year and you didn't quite realize it until you realized it.

Yeah, it was, um, you know, obviously, I mean, you, you mentioned just then, like the, the book doesn't happen and my career doesn't happen if Gary doesn't give me an opportunity to start my career, but then also importantly stick by me when I'm sort of crashing into everything that's not bolted down for the first sort of six months.

We've been very easy for him to turf me out and try and put someone else in.

And I actually saw him do that through, throughout my time at GRM.

So, you know, you, I am forever indebted to Gary because of, because of that.

And then obviously we had a huge amount of success together.

Look, it didn't end as well the second time round as everyone would have hoped, but I understand business is business.

So that was a very real possibility.

Yeah

... decision, I think.

Um, because, uh, I mean, you don't wanna be absolutely not being greedy when you're thinking in that mindset about, oh, well, you know, I, I must get another podium, therefore I'll just keep going until I do.

Because Bathurst is the type of race that'll just kick your ass and won't let you have that t- that podium to have your fairy tale.

So I, I was very much of the mindset leading into last year's race that, and it's all on record and it's in the book, that, um, I'm gonna go and enjoy it as though it is my last.

I, but I am going to, um, I still was contracted to do another year.

I was contracted to be, to be driving this year.

Totally.

What's the balance feel like to you at the moment? Is it more of an experienced co-driver's world, if you like, at the time? Are they the drivers who are gonna be making the difference in this and maybe the next couple of Enduro campaigns?

No, I think it's very 50/50 at the moment.

Um, you know, we saw some really strong performances from young co-drivers at Tail-in Bend.

Um, Lockie Dalton, uh, Jarred Hughes were very, very fast for Erebus, particularly in the very wet conditions.

Um, and then you had guys like Tim Slade and Will Davison and, um, Todd Hazelwood, um, Mark Winterbottom, that are, you know, such dependable, reliable campaigners that, you know, you know when they're driving the car, they're not doing a job audition.

And that's the balance, particularly I think if you're a young co-driver, is it is a job audition.

You are putting yourself in the shop window with all the teams up and down pit lane, not just the team that you're driving for.

How do you see them going, given this is, you know, the, the biggest stakes weekend of the year? Uh, do you feel like that they've, they've been fumbling too much recently with that car to, to really have a, a good challenge?

On an overall, were you a fan of the final system?

Look, last year I was really open-minded because it was a big shift, massive, massive shift in our sport to go to finals.

So last year going in, I was like, well, let's just see what this is all like.

But every weekend, as soon as we got to the finals, the first round of finals on the streets of the Gold Coast, the intensity level went through the roof.

And you could just feel it building race from race to event to event through the finals.

And I became a massive fan of it.

And yes, look, there was some controversy at Adelaide in the final round with Brock Feeney and all the rest of it.

The new Adelaide circuit that was revealed not so long ago, last week or the week before, for the MotoGP, which will come into vogue, I think, 20... maybe um 28 yep and the turn eight turn eight at adelaide having been there having witnessed it in yourself having driven it many a times taken out what's your thoughts

On an overall, were you a fan of the final system?

Look, last year I was really open-minded because it was a big shift, a massive, massive shift in our sport to go to finals.

So last year going in, I was like, well, let's just see what this is all like.

But every weekend, as soon as we got to the finals, the first round of finals on the streets of the Gold Coast, the intensity level went through the roof.

And you could just feel it building race from race to event to event through the finals.

And I became a massive fan of it.

And yes, look, there was some controversy at Adelaide in the final round with Brock Feeney and all the rest of it.

The new Adelaide circuit that was revealed not so long ago, last week or the week before, for the MotoGP, which will come into vogue, I think, 20... maybe um 28 yep and the turn eight turn eight at adelaide having been there having witnessed it in yourself having driven it many a times taken out what's your thoughts

On an overall, were you a fan of the final system?

Look, last year I was really open-minded because it was a big shift, a massive, massive shift in our sport to go to finals.

So last year going in, I was like, well, let's just see what this is all like.

But every weekend, as soon as we got to the finals, the first round of finals on the streets of the Gold Coast, the intensity level went through the roof.

And you could just feel it building race from race to event to event through the finals.

And I became a massive fan of it.

And yes, look, there was some controversy at Adelaide in the final round with Brock Feeney and all the rest of it.

and the turn eight turn eight at adelaide having been there having witnessed it in yourself having driven it many a times taken out what's your thoughts

But, um, yeah, I'm excited and ready to go.

Big year, mate, it's been for you.

First one.

Um, you know, that, that in, in itself, uh, for a young man like yourself, I mean, that, that achievement, just, just massive.

Um, you know, coming now and being the lead driver, you know, in a team and, and now with a co-driver, that kind of thing, I mean, mate, it's happened so fast, right? This moment was just huge.

It was, a- and, and unexpected as well.

[laughs]

Two race wins.

Who's primed to dominate, you reckon?

Uh, yeah, as you said, uh, big weekend ahead, uh, here at Queensland Raceway and home for quite a few of the, the Supercars teams.

So we don't really have a home ground advantage these days in Supercars because the teams are heavily restricted about the amount of testing they can do in season.

So it's not like footy where you sort of have, you know, your home ground advantage who's playing home and away.

But a few of the Queensland-based teams like Red Bull Ampol Racing and, and Shell V-Power Racing are based here in Queensland, so they have, uh, a little bit more home ground advantage, if you like, going into the weekend.

So you'd expect to keep an eye out on the Red Bull cars and the Shell cars.

But Matt Payne for Penrite Racing, who currently leads the championship, has been the form man so far in the championship.

Yes.

Yeah

... spent any sort of meaningful time with, and that was from his Formula Ford days.

Uh, he came from a very similar background to me, didn't have the money to do it himself.

He and his family, they needed help.

Walkinshaw gave him a bit of help and gave him on their way.

So I, I sort of helped him where I could.

Uh, he was like the number three, he was like the apprentice on my car at HSV dealer team.

Yep.

Oh, well, I was 23 in 2000 at Leagues

Club and...

No iPhones back then.

No iPhones, so I didn't have to worry about social media.

You pounced back on Monday morning a bit sharper with your...

Yeah, I was probably a little dustier in 2000 than I was in 25.

But yeah, the race went late because of the rain.

So what did you learn and see almost as the proud sort of mentor to go, ah, that's what we've been talking about.