Speaker: 0:09

Alright guys, we're back with another a DB podcast and we have another special guest with us today. It is, uh, KDM DM 31, Daniel Milner, uh, Milner Dukes. Thanks for being on the podcast and, uh, to support us with this interview. We've got Jeff Briggs. Briggsy is, he's been on a few of our podcasts and he's pretty well connected within the industry. He also races a EC, has raced plenty of seasons and he's actually gonna do next season, supposedly. Anyway, Briggsy, thanks for coming on. I believe that's why you're getting a push cycle to try and get into Shape to Run. Run a season of a e. Oh, awesome. Um, alright, well Dougs, we wanna talk to you mate today about everything from, um, 2025 season Friel. Um, you know, you and I were talking the other day and we were trying to work out when the last time was a manufacturer clean, swept an entire, every single class. Um, and obviously the outright And we, we were try, we couldn't 20 11, 20 10, possibly one of the KDM teams we were trying to work out, I think. Definitely. I think, um, I think the problem after 2011 was when that was when you started racing professionally and then I think maybe the KDM team might have won all three in 2010 or nine or 11. But then you got in the way Matt Phillips got in the way. Uh, then Kyron Bacon got in the way of a manufacturer kind of securing all three until, uh, yeah, you did it this year, which is impressive. So let's just, um, we wanna talk first about this season. Um, and, and probably, actually also a bit about last season too,'cause it was your first season coming back, um, onto the KDM team and uh, back to Australia. So, um, this season, perfect season first, title two for J, which is pretty exciting. Um, mate, talk us through. Like what it takes as um, let's start with what it takes as team manager and rider to get every one of you guys through an entire season of a EC without dropping round.'cause there's not enough rounds to drop one and then really make it back up. If you miss an entire round, that's probably championship for that class done. What does it take, mate to get a team through an entire season, relatively unscathed and on top in all three classes? Yeah. And so busted knee, um, is he having surgery now? What off season surgery? I'm guessing

Speaker 4: 5:29

man.

Speaker: 5:44

Yeah, I've had meniscus pulled outta my knee. It's not comfortable. But also, man, that's an impressive recovery as a punter. It took me months before I was kind of confident around my knee strength to be able to, um, get back on a bike. So, wow. There you go. We didn't know that. Um, did, um, and, and so, so, you know, winning, you, you, you probably have gone from being able to train 24 7 on a bike, um, or, um, you know, in the gym to now running a team. Um, and as team manager, I assume you're chasing sponsorship. You're also, um, you know, liaising with KDM head office about getting press releases out after every race. You're doing all the admin stuff that team manager's doing, but you're also trying to prepare to go racing. Was it harder this year to get yourself going as fast as you possibly could? Like you, you have been in previous years when you haven't been managing. Were there any other riders? Obviously we had John t and Corey on the team this year, had Buxton on there last year. Were there any other riders that you were speaking to in preseason, either before last season or this season about riding that tried to get a deal done? Either not enough. You know, support money, time, whatever it was that couldn't get the deal done. Was there anyone that you were, anyone else you were talking to? Well, okay. You talked about working full time. Is it hard in a ECI mean, you guy to see KDM come out as the team, the essentially that you have put together, uh, you've raced for KDM in the past and we've had so many other KDM teams in the past that have, um, been factory teams. I guess you'd kind of say, I mean, we'd factory in Australia is a bit of a loose term. Um, financially is it tricky to r race full time off road in Australia? There you go. Prepping your own bikes. Hey, I wonder if it's the, uh, first time in a long time. We've seen the outright champion, I guess, last year too, prepping their own bike in the lead up to a, to a race. Times have changed little. Did you have a preference? If you could pick last year's bike or this year's bike, the EXC or the xe, which one do you think you can go faster on at a, at a race scenario? And so tell us like what, what, what sets your team apart then from the other teams, um, before you came back last year. You know, in the media and, and most punters were kind of wondering where you'd be and where you'd sit. It's in the, um, since you'd been gone, there'd been a whole bunch of new guys coming through. Um, you know, Kyron Bacon is obviously left now. He was kind of pushing through to be the next Daniel, either a Milner or a Sanders. Um, so like what, what, how, what's different, what do you guys do different from the others that you can tell? You've raced on so many different teams. You've raced on the Yamaha teams here. What is it that you're doing different? Yeah. Yeah, it's, um, it's incredible the success that you've managed to have across different teams, but, um, yeah, and it doesn't seem to matter like where you've been or, or injuries the year before or coming back, you know, it seems to be success seems to follow you, mate. Um, I want to talk, start talking about your career, but before we get into your career, a couple more things about the 2025 season. You started the season strong, you guys, um, had a lot of, uh, top podium positions. And then Will Rupert started to perform a bit of a comeback through the midway part of the season, and then towards the end there. Had you kind of worked out, you know what, I have enough points in the bag here to bring home, to not have to worry about clearing everyone out in every single round. Did you kind of go into, um, yeah. Into, you know, safe mode at all through the season, or were you pushing all the way to that very last sprint?

Speaker 4: 23:21

Yeah.

Speaker: 25:56

2025. We, sorry, go Briggsy. Might be a little hint, little hint as to the future for, uh, Daniel Miller. We'll see. Um, mate, A 2025 was a new, new name, a EC, um, and formally recognized the outright champion kind of in line with Indu gp. Um, would you reckon step in the right direction for 2025 with, with everything that that changed from 2024?

Speaker 4: 28:15

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Love it.

Speaker: 30:07

Yeah, it has always been something they've struggled with. I think from a a media side, it is difficult'cause of how remote Australia is. And I understand there's big distances between events and we're a small population, but I've been impressed this year with how well they've done across social media, uh, press releases, digital media, a lot of video. So it's good to see. Hopefully it continues to improve. Um, yeah, 2025 season done and dusted. Briggsy, anything else before we start talking about your career, which is has been, which is gonna take quite a lot. Mate, it was your sixth outright. I mean, we're gonna call it an outright, uh, title, which is pretty cool. I mean, it's the first a EC, so you technically, you've only, actually only ever won one a EC outright title, but it's, it's six Aussie outright titles in title. Um, so mate, it's very impressive. And that means that puts you as an equal, equal best, uh, off-road racer in Australia, which is pretty exciting. I think. So, um, so let's talk about your career. Let's go back, um, try and take you back to when you first started. So 2011, as we discussed earlier, was your first year that you started racing professionally, but I feel like 2012. Was the first year that really stood out to us in the media and probably to punters because you won the four day outright, uh, in Warragul. Um, 2013, you won A ORC outright, uh, as well after that. So kind all started happening quite quickly and you won 2013 on a two 50 cc. I think you were the first, uh, two 50 cc four straight rider to win outright A ORC. Um, then you kind of, your career took off from there. Um, so mate, we wanna know, before we even get to that first 20 12, 4 day title, how did you get into Enduro? Is your, is your background in motocross like so many kids is and then your transitioned into Enduro or were you in Duro from real early days? We're glad you went down the motorbike road mate, for our sake. So it's because it's been a pleasure to watch for the last whatever that is, 15 years. Um, so mate, you, so you didn't actually start racing then until 11, 12, 13 kind of age bracket. Hmm.

Speaker 4: 36:22

There you go.

Speaker: 37:25

Support a team. Yeah. Yeah. Um, it's, it's kind of refreshing to hear someone who's achieved as much as you have in your, uh, racing career, you know, have kind of started later in life because we, we get, kind of get bombarded with this idea that if your kid's not on a 50 at from the moment they can walk, you know, they're not gonna achieve what the likes of Daniel Miller has achieved. Um, so yeah, I guess it's refreshing as someone who has young kids as well, that yeah, they, everyone just finds their own way and in their own time and it doesn't necessarily mean that they're gonna be unsuccessful or that they won't be able to go and chase kind of dreams in our sport that they can chase. So that's, it's awesome to hear that. Um, so 2012, you win four day outright. Um, that was probably when us and we in the media too, took, started to take notice of your name and, and who you are and everything that you're starting to get kind of starting to achieve. Do you remember. The anything different happening in 2012 to win a four day outright? You had some pretty impressive company, um, racing back in 2012. What, what, I'm taking you back a long way, but can you remember if you did anything different and do you remember anything that stood out in that four day in 2012?

Speaker 4: 39:03

Yeah.

Speaker: 41:17

It's amazing to think that, you know, that's 10 years from when you really first started racing to being the fastest, um, Australian on a dirt bike in the bush is, uh, such an achievement. And um, yeah, that's pretty cool to think. It's just a decade. You think that kind of takes decades, you know, not just 10 years. So that's impressive mate. Look, you, you've kind of,'cause your career's gone so long and you've, um, you've stayed within our sport, we've seen a lot of other guys transferring to rally or whatever it is when they've been at the top of their game. Um, so because you've been there for so long or they've gone to Europe for extended period of time, like Merriman or Carnegie and gccs, that kind of thing. Who you've, you've come across so many eras of champions. You know, you started at the back of Merriman, um, coming off, you know, coming back to Australia and his dominance in Endure around the world, but also here, Glen Carney was kind of getting to the latter stages of his career. And even Hollis by the time you started, probably only knew he had, you know, less than 3, 4, 5 years to go. Um, before he wasn't gonna be as competitive. And you were just starting who, who had, who has been probably your biggest influence in, in your career over the 15 years. Um, and who has been probably your biggest rival that you've had in that 15 years?

Speaker 3: 44:33

Yeah.

Speaker 4: 47:17

Hmm. Yeah.

Speaker 3: 49:53

Mm. Hmm.

Speaker 4: 52:14

But. Ano. Yeah.

Speaker: 53:26

Man. Lot to unpack there. Format. Their format of racing is endur, is is enduros in Europe. Just so different to what we do back here that the transition's tricky.

Speaker 4: 54:36

Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Well, oh God. Yeah.

Speaker: 58:54

Gosh.

Speaker 4: 59:58

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: 1:02:16

When you transitioned to tm, did the living situation improve? You talked about, you know, being a country boy and being able to live on, on a bit of land so you can get out and about in the fresh air to going to a high rise building in, in, um, in a town in Italy with ftic. Did the living situation improve under tm?

Speaker 4: 1:04:05

Uh, so.

Speaker: 1:06:45

And, and talk us through. You know, how hard is it? You got your wife and kids over there, you got kind of no family support and bits and pieces. You talked about both trying to go cycling. How do you manage family life in a foreign country? And do you think that would've been an easier thing to do? Had you maybe picked up and left in 20 13, 14 kind of thing, just after you'd had your recent bit of success like some of the younger kids have done now?

Speaker 4: 1:07:25

Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: 1:10:00

Mm. It's naughty. Mm. Yeah. Um, alright, let's, let's talk about four day wins. You've won five, four days outright. Yeah. Any particular year? Stand out. Let's exclude the first year that you won. Um, any other year that stand out in the year four day outright wins.

Speaker 4: 1:12:39

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: 1:14:09

Oh, Mattus, Mattus, Bellino. Six

Speaker 4: 1:14:20

day. Yeah. That's. Yeah. Yeah. It's.

Speaker 3: 1:24:01

Wow.

Speaker 4: 1:25:41

Yeah.

Speaker: 1:25:52

Marketing. Yeah. Marketing. Kinda roll. Yeah. Getting blank set up. Um, so tell us Doug's between for what is it, fi? Uh, five A four D wins six outright AO C slash EEC wins Perfect. Season 2017 outright. 2018 ISDE, uh, win and now clean sweep. As team manager and racer, uh, of a EC. Is there one, is there any of those that stands out as, that is the milestone that I'd like to peg my whole career on.

Speaker 3: 1:27:38

Hmm.

Speaker 4: 1:28:52

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: 1:30:18

Yeah. Yeah. Was it Greenie on that team? Greenie was the other rider,

Speaker 4: 1:30:26

yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh God.

Speaker: 1:32:56

So, yeah, go briggsy.