EP#44 - Andy Wilksch talks racing overseas during COVID, his career and more.

As a professional racer, the COVID pandemic killed plenty of promising careers. With racing in Australia essentially on hold for almost 3 years and no great opportunity to travel overseas and race, professional riders had ton make some hard decisions. There was the hotel isolation, the expensive flights, travel restrictions and more to deal with but through it all Andy Wilksch managed to line up a few different rides in the EnduroGP. It mean being away from his partner and support network for 9 months with a return to Australia not an option considering quarantine time. This is Andy's story and how he pushed through the hardest time in off-road racing history. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Welcome to the ADB Podcast, where we talk all things dirty with your host Mitchell. Okay, ADB team, welcome to another podcast. We have uh a guest on our show today that we're gonna talk to to get to know. And um and yeah, we're gonna dive into his career and kind of where he's come from. That is Andy Wilch Welsh. Uh Andy, thanks for coming on the podcast, bud.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

And thanks for having me. It's uh yeah, something growing up reading your magazines and uh yeah, being one of those kids that never love reading but love looking at all the motorbike pictures, and yeah, to now be doing a podcast is pretty surreal.

SPEAKER_03 0:35

It's funny, hey, we got we get a lot of readers uh sending us letters that ask us to write kids' books because um you know their kids won't do anything, won't read anything but a dirt bite mag. And when you walk into school in you know year five or year seven or whatever it is, and you're telling your teacher, I'm only reading this, it doesn't go down that well. And so they're like, Can you do a book so it looks more formal? And I'm like, oh, we don't do kids' books, we just write stuff in mags anyway. Um that's cool. Uh and of course I have Briggsy. Jeff Briggs is our uh my co-host for all these podcasts. Briggsy's got lots of questions for Andy today um to get to know him as well. And actually, Briggsie's racing the AEC, which as we're gonna find out is the championship that Andy races as well. Um so they're kind of gonna cross paths a fair bit this year at the racing when Andy's back. So um yeah, it'd be good to have Briggsy on today. Thanks for joining, mate. Back again.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Yeah, back again. Uh all right, before we start to get to into you know Andy's career in bits and pieces, I do want to thank our sponsor. That's Dunlop. Uh Dunlop is sponsoring the podcast with the 8082 tire. It is a multi-directional tire, so you can flick it around and you get different traction depending on the side of the knob that's biting into the ground, which is pretty cool. So it's kind of got a soft and a hard pack uh side to it. Briggs is actually running the tyre, um, he's testing it for us on his Shirko long term, and he's been racing it at AEC. Is it good, mate? You would like it?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yeah, I do. I actually really like the front, but probably more than the rear. Uh but uh definitely an upgrade from the MX34 for me.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it certainly is. Uh, but more on that later. Uh so yeah, let's start, let's get into it. Let's talk to Andy. We want to know, mate, everything about your career. We've we've never actually profiled you in in ADB, and and obviously you're you know nearly 30, so you've been in the racing scene for quite a while. Um, and we've followed your career, especially with all with the manufacturers you were on before you're now with Beta. So we've kind of been able to watch you from a distance, and we've you know we've covered your racing and the things that you've achieved. But this is our chance to get to know you. And I guess the the place we like to start all the time is where did it start for you? Are you one of those prodigy kids that jumped on a bike at like four? Was you know, a friggin' Chad Reed by the time you were seven, and then it was just the typical story from there, or where did it all start? Where'd the bike the the bug bite you?

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Um, yeah, it all started with three older brothers, I guess. Um my dad was into trail riding, he wasn't allowed a bike when he was growing up. So yeah, as soon as he could get the money together to buy one, he bought one um and was pretty obsessed, obviously, with the the thought of motorbikes. And yeah, he got into it um when he was living in New Zealand, um, when he was a teenager. And yeah, bought his first bike and went around New Zealand, uh, I think just before he moved back to Australia on one and then yeah, moved back here, I think. Don't quote me on it, but when he was around 18, 19 anyway, and yeah, was back been in Australia since then. So I've obviously been born here and uh yeah, he sort of was probably the driving force of getting me on a bike and giving me that opportunity. And then I got to watch uh my two older brothers ride around, so I was sitting there running around chasing them and seeing what it was all about, and then I guess seeing them get around on one definitely inspired me to get on one. And I think my first ride would have been back when I was three, rode around from the house to my neighbours to show them I could ride a bike, and yeah, I don't know if I'd say the prodigy thing, but definitely, definitely love riding bikes from a young age.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

So what was the bike at three?

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Uh yeah, my brother's P P We 50, and that was honestly the only Yamaha I've ever raced. So that's uh yeah, so yeah, senior career. I grew up on Suzuki's, and um, yeah, our local dealer was one, so that kind of helped uh with us, and it was the most cost-effective way of us doing it. But um, yeah, that's sort of how I got into it, watching my brothers and whatnot, and going from there.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

And being a Victorian boy, you're th uh nearly 30 years old, you're a couple years behind Chucky, and uh then even more behind Milner. You probably wouldn't have raced them. You were you would how old's Snotty? Snoddy's a Victorian, but he's a bit younger than you. He'd be 28, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Yeah, yeah. So Lindo's yeah, a couple years younger than me. Um he me and him definitely raced. He was obviously coming up behind me, so he was yeah, uh doing really, really good and someone to sort of yeah, build up with. Um, yeah, Milner, my first probably memory of him would have been I reckon on an 85, like a YZ 85 in my first year of the Vic Off Roads. Um I started in 2006, and I think it was a couple of years earlier than that, obviously. So I do remember, yeah, I didn't see it, but hearing of him riding a farm bike, and I reckon his style's stayed from that. But nah, he's um pretty pretty incredible, like what he's been out there. But yeah, he's uh yeah, been able to see him grow up and then obviously Chucky too. Like I was seeing Chucky obviously rocking up with old KDMs, and I think at the time Alex Stevenson was a top kid in Victoria, and like Chucky was always second to him, and you're thinking, you know, he's a little bit rough around the edges, but his hard work definitely never fade faded at all throughout his career, and he's uh done what he's done, I think, from that.

SPEAKER_03 5:34

So how do you go from banging around on a PWE 50 to you know you've been on two factory teams now for our off-road uh series, obviously with Sherko and with um Beta currently? Um how how do you go between but from there? Where did it develop? From the age of five, you started going a little 50 races, and then did you start? Was it motocross that you kind of most kids start obviously with motocross, then they can transition into enduro. What was the path through to that you just mentioned on an 85 RM85? Um, you jumped into Vic Offroads. What happened between a 50 and then?

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Yeah, so I started yeah, obviously on the P We 50. Um, Dad took me to the local motocross track. I thought I was doing all right, and I forgot how to turn and went straight over the first berm into a fence. Um yeah, sort of started from there, but yeah, just kept doing like local club days. Um, I think till I think my first year racing was just them, and then we have like a Western Region series um in here in Victoria, so just a regional motocross series that take us all over the place. And I did that till I was on a KDM 65. We bought like off our a friend of ours was a plumber. I think we ran his graphics for a year there, just um a secondhand KDM and raced that through all that series, and then we I think I think it must have been no, I was on a KX 60 before that, and then jumped on that the first year I had that. I started doing off-roads. So did a couple motocross races, then I was old enough to do my first off-road um at about nine, I think it was. So like a nine to twelve year old class I had. And then yeah, started the Vic off-roads back in 2006. And um yeah, just pretty much. I think I went into my first sprint. Um, I had a kid which uh don't know if this will get to him, but Zach Barber was his name, and he had the trickest 65 ever seen. I think his dad worked for a company called Electramold, I think it was called, and they anodized all the parts on bikes. And um, yeah, dad was scrutineering that day, my first first off-road, and um he's looked at this 65 as like the lowest 600 number you could get in that class. Everything tricked out, and he's like, Oh, looks like we're getting not getting first today, Andy. Sorry, buddy, this bike's trick is anything sort of thing. And I was like pretty psyched out heading into my first sprint saying that. But um, yeah, I think that day I won every test and didn't, yeah. I think my I can't remember what something still stood out to me, but I think it was like my slowest test was faster than his fastest test. That was pretty cool. So that was when I learned about yeah, sprint times and things like that. But um, yeah, that was sort of my introduction to off-roads and definitely never went back to motocross after that. I enjoyed it way too much. And I think just the bike time and stuff got me pretty hooked, and um, yeah, we had a really strong series as well to sort of get us into the sport. So at that time it was yeah, my dad raced and me and my uh eldest brother were racing. So we had three of us uh forward territory in a trailer and just went around to be chasing all the races at that stage.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

So awesome. Oh, that was gonna be my question. What what was what did you prefer? Was it motocross or in juro? And then obviously you did your brother's race, but you've answered that. But do you still dabble in a bit of motocross?

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Yeah, so I did my first Prime X uh yes, so in 2024, um up at MX Farm there. Um yeah, that was just sort of a bit of a I guess a bucket listing. I had a bit of a um not straightforward year that year. I come obviously my first year with beta off like a knee reconstruction, so I wasn't really in a championship hunt, but um, yeah, got to do a bit of motocross there that year. That was kind of my first proper proper serious motocross race, let's say. I've done obviously those western regions every now and then as a junior and had a taste for it and always trained it like all the top off-road boys do. We always sort of do a lot of motocross training to keep that intensity up. But um, yeah, that was the first time properly dabbled in it, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

Yeah, cool. That's cool. Um, and so what is it that attracted you to Enduro? What did you like more about Enduro than motocross?

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Yeah, I think honestly, the bike time, the fact that there's less, I guess, influence on what you do to your bike, it's more up to the rider, I feel. Like if you, you know, can't remember a track or you don't know how to get over an obstacle, it makes a massive difference. Whereas if um, yeah, I feel with the motocross stuff, it's a little bit more repetition and um, you know, really finding those one percenters with the bike and you know, maybe you know, training a little bit more. Whereas if you've got the skill of uh getting over all those different things and then obviously adapting to different conditions, it does pay off, I feel a little bit more in off-road. So um, I'm not sure if it comes from like a little bit less of a cost-effective way for dad and and my family. It was, you know, obviously they're spending the money they are, and if I could come home a bit more worn out and go to sleep, I'd probably be happier than if I'd only done 30 minutes of riding a day. But yeah, either way, it was um yeah, off-road just kind of the first one I did. I think I just had so much enjoyment going out into the bush exploring as you're racing, and then yeah, just uh from a riding point of view, it's quite exciting sort of thing.

SPEAKER_03 10:36

We did who was the first manufacturer to approach you um to in with some significant support? You mentioned you had support from dealers and stuff. Which who was the first manufacturer to approach you with some um significant support and how old were you?

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Um, so yeah, I guess like locally, I obviously went through our local dealer and I had a little bit of support, Suzuki, towards the end of my time there. Um, but we're only talking like a little parts budget and discounted bikes kind of thing. So I guess the most uh significant support would have probably been from Sherko um back in 2000 and yeah, end of 2000, 2016, sorry. So started with them in 2017. Um so that was probably that stepping stone of almost ready to throw the towel in where the families tipped in everything they have, and then uh yeah, there's an opportunity there. So that kind of kept the career going and um yeah, I was happy to sort of learn and develop with those guys.

SPEAKER_03 11:31

So you were early 20s at that stage when Sherko came along and said we can you know support you um to go racing for the year. Um what what has to change for kids out there listening that are going in there in that age, like you said, you're kind of at a stage in your your life where you're like, do I go and finish and go get a trade? Do I go to university um or do I chase this racing thing? You get you get an offer that's kind of tempting, you know, like that from Sherko. There's no offers really in Australia that are like, cool, I can take this now and retire at the age of 30 because it's gonna be so massive. We were all well aware of that. They just don't exist anymore. Um, so so so like uh like mentally, emotionally, physically, like what's the process of going from do I chase this dream or not at in the in your early 20s?

SPEAKER_00 12:17

Yeah, so I think I was pretty lucky. So dad's uh builder by trade, um, and he was pretty realistic with me my whole career. Um, he'd sort of kick my feet out from under me, as he'd say, um, quite a lot. Just I always wanted to be a professional motorbike rider growing up, and dad's like, yeah, that's cool, but how are you gonna you know bring the money in and how you're gonna support yourself and stuff? And at that time, even when we were coming through, I think the top Victorian was Blake Hall. Um, and yeah, I don't think he was even doing it full-time back then, sort of thing. So yeah, that was the way he seen it growing up. Um, and so yeah, he was pretty adamant for me to get a trade as soon as I could. Um, I was actually working at McDonald's as soon as I could, so that was the youngest age I could um get a job locally. I think it was like 14 or nine months or something I could get a job. So signed up there, fainted on my first shift, believe it or not. Just something I have to get out there before my dad does. He'll say that to everyone otherwise. But um, yeah, just what happened? What happened? It was hot hot on the flopping. Hot day, didn't eat enough. Um, yeah, I don't know how that works. Your body obviously just gets lightheaded from not enough nutrition in it, probably. And figured that one out the hard way, serving customers on my first shift. I was thrown in the deep end, just no warn uh warm-up though, getting absolutely hammered on a hot day and yeah, chucked in in behind the counter serving people and just said, uh, I just need a minute, got two steps and then face down and staff uh do you want us to call the ambulance or do we pick him up? And so yeah, that one's um yeah, that was I don't know, just basically led from there, did a couple years at Maccas and then started a building apprenticeship after that. So um yeah, luckily dad could help us with that, pass on that knowledge, and then obviously uh understand the racing and work balance, which was pretty rare. So um yeah, was quite lucky there. Um so sort of did that from I think it was year 11 onwards. Um, yeah, didn't do year 12 instead, went full time with the building apprenticeship, and then yeah, just as I sort of got that offer with um to sort of do racing a bit more serious was just as I was finishing my apprenticeship.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

So yeah. All fell into place, sort of thing, really. Yeah, definitely. Um, so you said you had the two older brothers who raced as well. Who was uh who was the quickest in the family? And and at what stage did you sort of start overtaking them or dad and sort of leaving them in the dust? It would have been a good bit of rivalry there being a family full of uh boys racing for sure.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Yeah, yeah. Um, so growing up, I can't honestly remember my brother. So I've got like Anthony, who's I guess the second eldest, and David, um, they're the two two brothers that raced with me for a bit there. Anthony was six foot on an 85, so he outgrew like a small 85 really quick. And um he I remember one day at a at our local motorcus track, I think he caught his foot on a landing and he broke his toes, and he's just like, nah, screw this, I'm over this bike stuff kind of thing. And he he was um he just focused on his sports and that after that. But um David he raced until he did like uh intermediates, like which is like 16, 18 year olds, and then into Clubman and a couple other classes, and I think he was he wrapped it up uh early 20s sort of thing. Yeah, um, but yeah, it took me a bit to chase him down. I can't exactly remember. I reckon it might have been like maybe big wheel eighty-five, I was starting to get close to him. Um, but then yeah, I remember dad. We had transponders come in in 2008 in the Vic series, and dad was racing the same loop as me one day. Up until then, there was always a debate whether I was getting close to him or not. But the the lap times were on paper there, and um yeah, he couldn't deny it anymore. So yeah, so I was always always had someone to chase, which is good.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Quite dry home, that one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:03

It's it's funny, I got this this like theory that I feel, especially with ath with athletes, that those who come from families with multiple siblings seem to have more success in our careers, say, than uh, you know, kids who only have one sibling or don't have any siblings, or siblings are maybe further apart in age. Um, do you think the rivalry and the competitiveness uh where do you fall? Do you say you're the youngest out of all your brothers?

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Yeah, I'm the youngest, so Jace is uh two years, we're all two years apart. So it's like me, then Jace and Tony, and and David's my eldest brother.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

Yeah, so you see you're one of four, so you're like you're forced as the youngest to keep up with three older brothers, right? And so I've got this like theory on you know, it'd be interesting to listen to someone who's done a lot more sports uh yeah, you know, investigation than I have, but that it breeds competitiveness, it breed and it forces you to um mature and grow up in that particular sport that you're doing, than say you know, a kid who's on his own. Do you think that was the case for you? Do you think it was because you were the fourth you felt like you had to constantly keep up with your older brothers?

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Yeah, I definitely I can't say I really probably thought of it too much, but I just knew like you're always, you know, trying to chase what they're doing, copy what they're doing, kind of thing, and and um see if you can do it as good as them, sort of thing. So yeah, it definitely definitely plays a part. Like we all grew up doing sports together, so I was always trying to be better than sports we do, and then obviously my two older brothers riding, trying to chase them around and stuff. So um, yeah, I think it definitely contributes to it a lot for sure. You just every day you wake up, you're trying to compete against them. Sort of forces, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:34

Okay, so your early 20s, and you've got a you know, semi-factory ride with an Australian team here. Um, you know, Sherko have good support and everything else. You're still working full-time as a um builder, probably by that age, early 20, you're probably yeah, qualified.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

Yeah, still building, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:48

Yep. Um did you ever think to yourself, I need to go overseas or I need to branch off into another discipline or whatever it is, in order to actually potentially make a living out of racing a dirt bike?

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Yeah, I always I definitely always had that dream, and I guess seeing what the guys in front of me had done, um, yeah, like I'd sort of seen, say, Phillips grow up. He used to come and do like motocross rounds like at my local club and seen him transition into off-road, and then obviously Milner and him were at the same time, and then Chucky just behind them. So seeing what those guys had done um was definitely inspiring to just sort of see, okay, that's what is possible, and you know, they're doing the same races as I'm doing kind of thing, or you know, there's uh that pathway there. It's just I think timing was pretty influential, I guess. Like it's I feel like um at times I've been on the tail end of the rise of it kind of thing. I I got to obviously see that sweet spot of support and uh opportunities, let's say. Um, but yeah, I've been super lucky with what I've what I've got to see as well. So yeah, it was always just down to I guess the the finances a little bit on what I was trying to achieve um at that time. Yeah, it was just whatever the best support I could get was with um Shirko, and they were supporting my racing to keep it going, which is really cool. And we could still do all the national stuff, and then uh the mechanic which uh I was was running the team, Dave Suda, he kind of out of his own pocket paid for me to go to Europe at the end of that year and just get the experience of what it's like to race over there, which was really cool. Um that year 2017 it was, they cancelled the four day. Um, and so he obviously had some allocation left over from that, and he's like, Oh, we'll put that in to get in our top rider. So as me and at the time, Nick Tomlinson were teammates um with the brand. And yeah, we actually it was in our contract, it was whoever's you know the top rider in the team will um have the opportunity to race in Europe with the connection that that brand has been based over there. Um, and so yeah, that was quite cool to be able to have that opportunity. Um, and that planted the seed, I guess, uh to to try and chase it more. We got to race in Germany at the end of that year, and um my last name is a German last name, so it's quite cool hearing them say it and they nailed it each time, which is quite hard to get right, even though I have to think about it sometimes. So um yeah, what's the German pronunci?

SPEAKER_03 20:08

What's the German pronunciation?

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Uh so it's Wilkesh. So it's sort of like I his way I break it down is like wilk and then sh at the end.

SPEAKER_03 20:19

All right, so so you're you're you're you're over in Germany, um, and you're doing how many of the GP rounds did you do? And like what was you just it's like a hit and you know, a hit and whatever they call it, run kind of job. You weren't planning to be there for a season. Um like how do you what was your expectation and what how do you live over there if you're only there for a short period of time?

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Yeah, so yeah, this one was, I guess, like you said, like a bit of a hit and run sort of trip where we just came in for the the race and then went home. Um yeah, my expectation initially was to try and like what every kid's dream is, go and impress them and try and land a ride sort of thing. Um, but then I think the week before we or two before we flew out, I was doing like a sand race down at Rose, uh, where was it? Beachport. I don't know, there's a sand track. I've fully blanked on it, but anyway, it's like a really cool sand dune track in South Oz. Um that yeah, I did a race at and I caught my toe in a berm and it ripped it around. My foot sort of twisted on itself and just swelled up straight away. I'm like, oh, here we go. And then yeah, went to hospital to get it checked out. Um and just turned out to be really bad bone bruising, and I was just swollen up, but you could barely walk on it, kind of thing. And I was like, ah, that's not gonna be easy to ride with, sort of thing. So flew over just to give it a crack and um yeah, still could manage it, but definitely didn't have that confidence to to hang it out, kind of thing. So um, yeah, either way, like considering where I was in my career, I definitely hadn't done the bike time, probably needed to be at a level that they'd seen. So I think the guys that had gotten the deal, I guess you dream of, was Phillips before me. So he was battling for outrights here. Whereas at that time, I think my best result that year was like a sixth or seventh outright. Um in that first year with those guys. So it was up there, but not probably quite at the level needed to get a full-time ride over there. But yeah, either way, it was a pretty awesome experience. Everyone was sort of like, Oh, don't be worried if you don't finish this event. It's always known as one of the gnarliest ones over there in Chappelle in Germany. So yeah, it was quite cool to do that and get that experience with those guys.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

Yeah, pretty awesome. Um what's your favourite terrain to ride? Obviously, being a Vico kind of guy, I'm guessing a bit of sandy limes right up your alley. Um how do you go on hard pack and all that sort of stuff?

SPEAKER_00 22:39

Um, yeah, I think like I grew up on granite sand. Um, so quite similar to uh I'm trying to think of the name, but Cherubar, I think we raced at um when I come home from 22 there. Um so it's like granite rock boulders and then the the saws, yeah, like a sandyish kind of loam. Um so yeah, I've grown up on that uh where I lived uh near Saul our atway sort of thing. And yeah, so that's probably I guess my strong suit, just knowing over all the years what it does. Um but hard pack and clay I didn't do really any of. So especially when we go to a Vic round, say near Chucky's or something like that, that's red clay. It was um a bit of an eye-opener, fig figured out shiny, slippery, and um yeah, all the fun stuff that you figure out the hard way.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

So yeah, well the reason I asked that is like Europe's traditionally kind of really odd terrains, but just wet generally. So it would have been a bit of an eye-opener just even in Germany of the different soils and and everything that you have over there compared to here, from everything I've heard.

SPEAKER_00 23:43

Yeah, it was um, yeah, they had a quite a variety there that event I did. It was, you know, you had a pines test where here and Vic would have it a lot more green, but over there it's like they've cut all the little branches off the pines and just left them. You're just literally going across like pine branches and just you know, hoping this one doesn't kick you and wheel spinning on exits. And I've never ridden anything like it. Um and then they had a quarry test, which I actually really enjoyed. I always loved the more technical stuff, and uh yeah, a bit more like a motocross track and using the borders of it in the bush and stuff. So yeah, it's quite a variety. Um yeah, it was a bit of a wetter one too, so um, not something I'd practiced a lot till that part of my career, but yeah, really, as I said, really, really cool experience either way.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

So you're on Sherko's for six years, roughly. Um what did you did you stay on one particular capacity or prefer one capacity that entire time? And then um throughout the six years it was COVID interrupted, obviously, towards the end there, especially as well. Um, was there a reason that you left that just was no longer a ride there? How come you left Sherko?

SPEAKER_00 24:47

Um, yeah, so I started with them in 2017 and then till the end of 2019 and into 2020. Um, yeah, the support, it just I think just the way the the industry and the world was going, it went from like the first year is probably the best year of support, the way um the finances were with every brand. And as I got through that time, it just sort of sadly got harder and harder for them to justify the racing as other brands as well. Um, and then yeah, just I was sort of progressing with my career, and it was quite a hard balance of like you're sort of doing better and better, but the support's getting less and less. Um, and then yeah, I basically it happened with the other brands too. A few boys, um, I think at the time Lindo was with KDM and his support got dropped quite a lot um from what he was used to, and he was weighing up whether he went to the US or not, and he just sort of pulled the trigger on going over there and just um going over for no sign on riding with the Kawi team there, and um yeah, that freed up a spot with the KDM group. So at the time they had uh I think two on a KDM team and two on a Husky team. Um, and so yeah, I was sort of up in the air on what I was gonna do. There's another sort of breaking point of my career, really. Like I didn't know whether I was just gonna buy bikes or what I would do, um, just because it got to a pretty tight level there. Um, and then yeah, the uh Glenn Carney at the time was team manager and he reached out to me just before Christmas there. He was like, uh Lindo's gone. Um so there's a spot free with the Husky team, it's sort of there if you're willing to take it. Um and at the time that was like the dream run for me. There was such a a powerhouse team. Chucky had just won the championship the year before, and um, yeah, it's gonna be teammates with him. So heading into that 2020 season, uh I had uh yeah, a really cool opportunity with that uh factory team and my first time on, I guess, like a um a team of that level. So that was really, really cool experience to jump on with those guys. Um and then yeah, we sort of worked our way into that year. Um, and then obviously had all the lockdowns and stuff, Stadley.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

So Yeah, two rounds in, we we were done, weren't we? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:59

Did you did you think at that point, especially during the lockdown period, uh when we've talked with some of the guys who have did head to the US in and around that time, they kind of did it because there was no racing here. Even Milner talked about heading overseas because he's like, What the hell is going on? We're not allowed out of our homes. You at any point think is this the opportunity now to jet go and go to the US? And and you knew some of those guys, so the transition might be easier. Were you tempted to move in and around that 2021-2 period?

SPEAKER_00 27:27

Yeah, so yeah, it was it was quite yeah, quite frustrating, obviously, to finally land like a ride like that and not get to to make the most of that opportunity. So I had a really good off season, um, was able to put a good amount of time on the bike and all that kind of thing. And yeah, with it getting cut short like that, I went back to building work because that was one thing you could do. Um, and I just did that as a full-time builder for probably the first time in my career where I didn't have interruptions on the weekends or whatever it might be, and saved a bit of money for once, which was good. And we uh yeah, me and my wife now, Emma, um, we were sort of actually looking at a house because they had all the grants going on and things like that. And we're like, oh, maybe we can get ahead, buy a house, start paying it off, and then get back into racing when it all starts back up and had that plan. And then um, yeah, we put an offering on a house locally and we got knocked back for like five grand or something. Like, oh really? They want an extra five grand. And then the next day they announced racing in like did GP's in Europe, they started racing again, and Em's looked at me and she's like, Are you really gonna be happy like working on a house when you know you could have been racing in Europe or something like that? And I'm like, Yeah, but what about on the money towards the house? She's like, You're not gonna be happy if you've got a house and you're not racing, kind of thing. And so she knew me better than most. And uh yeah, we she let us sort of go over there and and spend that money that we'd saved up all that time on paying for a ride over there. Um, and yeah, just paid to do the last two GP rounds for an Italian husky team. Um, I still have my husky here, so I could train on it. They had a 450 over there that their um rider had a practice bike I could race on. So um, yeah, once we connected all the dots and they were interested, yeah, we sort of pulled the trigger on that, went over there in the middle of lockdowns when like no one was getting out of the country. And I had like a sporting, I don't know what it was called, a letter saying you're traveling for sport basically. Um and so yeah, went into Melbourne airport on my own. There was literally no one in any of the shops, anyone in the airport, waited in the waiting like area for the plane on my own, and then just yeah, walked onto the plane with I think like five people. There was no one for Italy.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

So strange.

SPEAKER_00 29:35

Yeah, and then yeah, got to live out that experience, sort of spent yeah, two months in Italy. Um, went there not knowing if I was going into a lockdown or what, but got there and she was, yeah, they were cruising over there, which is really cool. So did Emma did Emma go with you then? Yeah. Nah, so we couldn't afford for the both of us to go, which was pretty, pretty hard. But um, yeah, it was we had just enough for me to to get over there, pay for all the expenses to do it, and then um to the point where I didn't fly home, like I was only there's races only for a month there, and then I stayed an extra month just to save on paying for a like crazy flight back home. I think it was like 10 grand to get home if I wanted to come home uh a month like after the racing. Because everyone was trying to get home for Christmas and whatnot. Um, and it was the tail end of 2020. So I stayed there until late December and flew home just before Christmas and then did the quarantine over Christmas New Year.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

Oh bugger, yeah. So for those that don't know, Andy's wife is Emma Melisovic, so the racer. So she would have been in full support being a racer herself, I'm guessing. And uh yeah, pretty awesome story, actually.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

Yeah, yeah. Through all those lockdowns, they would just, you know, tell me about their time. Like Emma actually raced the the women's world championship and was based out of the Netherlands for a couple years. Um, so yeah, she had a lot of really good experiences getting to race there, and just hearing of the little things, just kind of like getting to see and experience from being there, I was like, oh man, this is like a no-brainer if I can pull it together kind of thing. Um, and yeah, obviously they understood how much excitement and how much of a good experience it was for them, so they were pretty supportive of it, likely.

SPEAKER_03 31:16

So what was the hardest part about travelling and racing during that COVID period? What was the hardest thing? Was it the lockdowns, was it having to go into quarantine in a ho fel hotel for two weeks, or was it, you know, being at events with all the other people when at the time we didn't kind of know what would happen if you got sick or whatever it was? What was the trickiest part about racing through COVID?

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Um, yeah, it was just more the nerve-wracking side of no one really had any confidence in what was going to happen the next day, I guess. Like we we're in a we're doing an Italian national or round, so it's sort of yeah, over there it's similar to like a state series round, but they're quite big in Italy. Um, and we're racing one of them, and we're meant to head to Portugal the next week for the GP. And everyone's, you know, all the GP teams are based in Italy, so they're all like, Well, we're committed, we're just gonna go and show up. Like Portugal's literally going into lockdowns, like the city we were going to, and we're like, are they gonna run this thing? Is it gonna actually happen? Or we're just driving 20 hours for the fun of it, kind of thing, and yeah, travelled across there, got there, everything went into lockdown, but they still let the event go ahead. So um, you didn't have like the big crowds or anything like they normally would, obviously. But the racing was still there, and you look around the world at that time, nothing was going on, so it was quite surreal to be out there racing while everyone was barely getting out of their house.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

So yeah, okay, pretty crazy sort of a setup. When um when you got there, what what was the bike like and the team? Did you take your own suspension or did you do some testing there when you could? Obviously, they've had lockdowns over there as well, so it would have made it hard. But how'd you go when you first arrived? And then how big was that team in comparison to some of the teams in Europe or your team back here at the time, even?

SPEAKER_00 33:01

Yeah, so I'd say um size-wise, pretty similar to the team that was here. Um it's like a dedicated race team, let's say. So they had like a a showroom office, office lady, uh Franco, the team manager, had his own office and all that, obviously. And then yeah, showroom of like Merriman's old CR252 stroke was in there, which is quite cool. Uh I spent a few days looking at that. And um just yeah, admiring like the the history, I guess, of that team. And um, yeah, then a workshop out the back, all the spares and stuff upstairs, and then uh I can say it because I'm not living there anymore, but an apartment upstairs that we're all living in.

SPEAKER_03 33:38

So it's all you guys, every time we interview someone, even Will Rupert when we're talking to him and he was talking about where he first lived, he's indicated like I don't think there was anything legal about the uh living situation.

SPEAKER_00 33:51

I honestly thought Italy was the place to be because I'm like, oh, they get to do this, this is all legal and stuff, and then yeah, one day our bins were over full. They're like, hey, you gotta make sure these bins aren't looking too full because I think someone's living here or something. I'm like, all right, cool.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

It's good to know.

SPEAKER_00 34:05

So yeah, no, it was um, yeah, no, a good setup over there though. It's um they had everything we needed, so and the the bike was sold, yeah, yeah. So that was the same um same bike as what I was on, like the Injuro model 450 Husky. Um, and they actually ran Air Forks, which I wasn't a big fan of, but they yeah, sort of had some success with Salvini on that bike a few years earlier, and that's what he'd ran. So um I think if you'd spent more time on it, you'd probably adapt to it a bit more. And on a 450, it was actually not terrible. Um, but yeah, sort of standard standard shock air fork setup, and then they ran a five-speed gearbox instead of six to just make the engine a little bit lighter. Um but yeah, overall it was honestly a pretty good bike. I enjoyed it. Um, it was quite similar to what I was on at home, so I didn't take long to adapt to, just get my head around the air forks and know what they did and how to predict what they were gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

You would have been on cone valves back here then, wouldn't you?

SPEAKER_00 35:06

Yeah, I'd gone from cone valves, yeah, cone valves to them. And yeah, just a lot lighter in the front end, so just trying to compensate for that um and get my head around that pretty quickly. I got there, yeah. So I think I had I got there two, three days later. I did like two days on the bike and then did like a husky only event. So over there, there's like enough huskies that they can run their own race meeting with just that brand of bike. Um and so I went to one of them events uh because it was obviously a Husky Italy team sort of promotion for them and uh did that event. And I think on halfway through the first day, I was on a bit of trail, hit a rock, rear end skipped out in high side and smacked my shoulder into the ground, and then basically, yeah, like stretched ligaments in my shoulder. So I had like basically a dead shoulder heading into all my GP races and fun things like that. So um yeah, sort of tried to throw a 450 around it the following weekend at an Italian national, which was my first, I guess, proper race. Um got through that okay, but nothing special, and then went to Portugal straight after and tried to race that one. It was pretty gnarly event with rain and granite rocks, which I was stoked to see, but um yeah, 450 and a shoulder that could barely hang on was not the combo you needed. So um, yeah, sort of got through that one, rested it up for the the following weekend and had a bit of a better weekend the following one.

SPEAKER_03 36:27

So what was the the toughest thing about being over there and riding over there when we when we speak to a lot of rouders? Some of them say it can be nutrition and food or it can be uh lack of light. I know Will said that it was just hard, but he went up to Scandinavians and Scandinavia and he just said the weather and the conditions just were not what he was used to. Um what was did you find was hard? Any was any of it hard? And what was the hardest?

SPEAKER_00 36:52

Um yeah, I'd say the food initially I figured out that it was cheaper and easier for me to just cook my own food kind of thing. Um going out to restaurants was really hard to find like a balanced meal, let's say, as a lot of pizza and pasta, but not a lot of veg. And um yeah, I don't know. I at the time I didn't know it, but I was like gluten intolerant and it makes a lot of sense to why I had some struggles while I was racing there. But um, yeah, it's sort of just basically my body wouldn't process it properly and whatnot, and that was pretty much all I was eating. So um food was probably the hardest thing and one thing I appreciate the most coming home now. Um but apart from that, weather-wise, when I was there, they're heading into winter, so it's starting to get colder and wetter and stuff like that the first trip. Um, and then when I went back, I ended up locking in a deal with them the the following year. Um, I did it, it did enough to show them enough potential to sort of support it next year and still self-funded it and got a heap of people together. Um, family chipped in a lot of money to help me get over there and basically um yeah, pulled every bit together to try and do it. So um, but stayed there all the 21 and living there was yeah, once I got my head around the food, like a supermarket's got pretty much everything you need. You just need to prepare your own food. I had it a budget down to the point where I started staying with the team in accommodation and then figured out about I think halfway through the Italian championship before the GPs had even started, I'm like, I need to start camping the track because I'm gonna run out of money real quick if I keep buying accommodation every round and and staying with everyone as much as it's comfy. It's like I'm not gonna be able to pay for my fuel to train halfway through the year if we keep this up. So I started um my team manager had a sleeping bag and yeah, took a sleeping bag, a pillow, and a mattress in the truck and just threw it out under the pit tent next to the awning and stayed there the rest of the year. Every now and then I get to sleep in the if it was an Italian round, sleep in the um sleeper cab in the truck, and yeah, that was like luxury living if I got that otherwise, yeah, under the pit tent.

SPEAKER_01 38:50

That would have been cold too over there.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

Yeah, it was it was kind of lucky, like when yeah, I did the first couple races in 21 with accommodation halfway through before the GP started, was uh middle of the year. So for them, it's heading into their summer. Um I figured out okay, if it's above 25, it's gonna be too hot to be comfortable sleeping outside. And then if it drops to 20, you're pretty sweet. Yeah, and then that was good to get through like probably half of the GPs. And then I got to France, I think my last GP, and it was negative three or something overnight. And I had beanie, jacket, socks, two sets of pants, something crazy. I was doing everything I could to still sleep at the jack save some money, and it was like frosted on top of my sleeping bag when I woke up, had the sleeping bag above my head like a swag, dreaming I wish I brought me swag, sort of thing. And um woke up the next morning shivering, and the mechanics come to me like, You're so crazy, Aussie boy, or something like that. And come come in, and they um yeah, they're like, uh, nah, screw that, just stay with us. And I was like, I could have said that before, but anyway.

SPEAKER_03 39:51

Did you get any sleep or did you race on like one hour?

SPEAKER_00 39:54

Nah, nah, I got sleep. I was fine. I just woke up cold. I was like, it probably wasn't any good for me, but I was um, yeah, I was yeah, just trying to make it work with the money we had together.

SPEAKER_03 40:05

So what what did you learn? So so you were over there the second year you got the same ride with Husvana, um so that would be 2021. Uh and then 2022 you came your home racing the series here in 2022. Uh yeah, yeah, yeah. So so what did you learn? What did the Europe stretch teach you?

SPEAKER_00 40:23

Um, I think just obviously I was pretty lucky. I got to train with some really good riders, and I guess just seeing where their strong suits were. Um, there's certain things that I thought I was all right at, but then it was like I was I was putting the effort into the wrong areas, let's say. Um I was putting effort in, which was the main thing, but yeah, just seeing, oh, okay, they don't actually push that hard there, but they get this perfect every time, or things like that, like f just figuring out um where you can come unstuck and waste the most energy, and then where they're smart with their energy kind of thing. And um, yeah, got so many crazy experiences now just flowing through my head, kind of thing, of like things I got to see. But um just from different riders, like I I was pretty lucky I trained with say Brad Freeman and Hey Mitch McDonald a lot, and um Danny McCanney. Um yeah, it's sort of pretty much most people that were based in Italy there, and then I think an odd occasion um yeah, got to ride with like Billy Bolt and those boys on motocross tracks and um did like one day in a spot we definitely weren't allowed in, but some hard and duro stuff and um yeah, just some really cool stuff where you just kind of seeing how they attack it and break it down, and you know, even if they stuff it up kind of thing, it's like how they fix it and little things like that to sort of give you a bit more confidence on what to do when this happens and whatnot.

SPEAKER_01 41:38

So yeah, right. So, how how far were you kind of off the pace of the top guys at that time? And then what sort of did you find you struggle the most on? Was it the extreme tests or was it more the hard enduro sort of like that style of riding? Um, it seems to be where like our AEC tracks are pretty fast flowy. We don't have a lot of that technical, slower, hard enduro stuff in our tests. And Will and that mentioned the same thing that that's probably where he struggled a bit and had to work a bit more, and Daniel the same. Um is it were you kind of the same as well?

SPEAKER_00 42:15

Um, yeah, I in my personal experience I was sort of like a paying rider on a team, so I didn't have access to all the good stuff, let's say. Yeah, um, for example, like I started on fully stock suspension on a Husky 300 that 21 year. Um 300 in the fact that that was the bike that the brand wanted to get out there the most, not the best bike to be on. Um, but I was I enjoyed riding it because it was lighter, uh, didn't get away from me as much as a 450. And um, yeah, suspension-wise, I sort of preferred just a spring fork over an air fork. So just made that work, but it was way too soft. I actually remember Wheel coming up to meet the first Italian that year. He's like, I have never seen a bike so soft before. You're like bottoming out before the braking bumps even start. I'm like, I don't know, it felt good on the on the extreme stuff. I thought, you know, I don't want to struggle on the extreme stuff, so I'll make sure it's set up for that and compromise everywhere else. But um, yeah, from my experience, I honestly probably being on a 302 stroke was really comfortable in the technical stuff, yeah. Um, but struggled on the faster stuff in my experience of being there. And um, yeah, like a prime example was probably the best, I guess, standout thing for me was Portugal. So where they're actually racing the sixth day this year, um, down south there in Portugal is sort of sandy, and being from where I grew up, I was used to more sandier soil than we have a lot of sand racing in Australia, and I knew how to ride sand pretty well when it's smooth because my bike was good for technical stuff, but I never got to ride rough tracks when I was in Italy. That's sort of another challenge. Um, is unless you're riding motocross tracks a lot, you're not really getting rough track. All the trails and stuff are pretty rocky and they don't break apart as much as uh the racetracks, let's say. Um so my bike was really good in training, but probably too soft for racing. So um yeah, that was my biggest struggle. Uh was probably the faster stuff opposite, probably the wheel. Um I f was my strong suit was the technical stuff. But yeah, when we got to Portugal there, when the track was smoother, had um yeah, like the first lap, so basically first three tests, like extreme um cross tests and injury road tests. I was sitting third outright um and had some really good tests where yeah, was just nailing things for probably the first time in my career over there. And um yeah, as the track got rough though, my bike was way too soft. And uh yeah, definitely struggled as the track got rougher and dropped back down the order. So um yeah, my my weakness was the rough stuff when I was there, just didn't do enough testing or access to enough stuff to get it probably better in those areas, but um the technical stuff was almost my strong suit. I think my best result was in Italy, one of the more technical rounds that year, and got like a 14th overall. Um and yeah, that was kind of yeah, my I guess experience of it was just trying to make the the 300 work good and it felt comfortable in that stuff, whereas uh the rougher stuff wasn't something we were on top of.

SPEAKER_03 45:09

It was probably a good time to go because there was nothing happening back here, so it's not one of those moments where you can be like, Oh, do I I might have had an opportunity here to do so to do some racing which might have sent me in a different trajectory um you know, but instead I went overseas. Is there anything like you look at during that weird COVID period of travelling overseas, coming back, being stuck kind of in limbo, trying to you know figure out what ride you're on next that you wish you had done different now in hindsight? Just because it was such a different period of history that we've ever had to anything in the past where you can make a decision on whether or not you go overseas or you stay here a lot easier. Is there anything that you wish you might have done different?

SPEAKER_00 45:46

Um, yeah, over there, like getting over there, I think was the best decision I I was, you know, able to achieve. Let's say like it was timing-wise, like initially, I'm like, oh man, like am I, you know, shooting myself in the foot by jumping over here, paying for everything and and not setting it right up back home. But then when obviously everything got cancelled, I was kind of oh nah, nah, this is the best place to be right now. And yeah, those, you know, end of 2020 was just to set that up, and the whole 21 season worked out really well. Um, to be able to still be riding, still be training. Um, yeah, it was I feel the best thing for my career, and it definitely helped step my game up to where it where it's been now. So um all that all that knowledge I gained from that 21 season. I I feel like I knew what I had to do if I was to keep going over there, and I personally wanted to stay there, but just didn't have the finances to keep paying for it, sort of thing. So um, yeah, it was kind of like a bummer to come home, but then I also had the knowledge of what I would have done different and better if I was to stay there to be more competitive and uh felt like I learned a lot in that year to to really put it together moving forward.

SPEAKER_03 46:51

Is it possible Emma went with you, I'm guessing, for 21 because that was a longer stretch um than 2020. So she got she was back here for all of 21.

SPEAKER_00 47:00

Yeah, so Em stayed back here all of 21 too, so we did uh nine months long distance and yeah, yeah, it was pretty tough. Like same thing. We um I'd as I said we stretched every dollar we could for me to stay there, and that was the level we went to. So um, yeah, it was not easy by any means, but she um yeah, as anyone would know, like most understanding with it also.

SPEAKER_01 47:22

And she was racing then too, wasn't she?

SPEAKER_00 47:25

Yeah, so she was doing at that time some off-road events as well. She was actually leading the Aussie off-roads before they got canned, and um, yeah, racing pretty much full time for Honda too. So in the motocross series as well.

SPEAKER_03 47:38

Yeah, Briggs and I were talking before we got on the phone to you about um yeah, like how much our sport take can take from you, and then what you gotta kind of sacrifice. And I think you know that's probably a really good example of that was your stretch during COVID where it was like, Well, what do I do? There's nothing really happening here. You know, you're in probably in the peak, what should be the peak of your career, your mid-20s, like this is when if you're gonna make something happen, this is the chance to do it. And then to have to be on the other side of the world from the people that you care about and that are your support network, uh, and then also walking into a um uh a country where you don't even know if you're gonna get locked down or not. You obviously you've got no language, no food. It's you know character defining, it really is in that period of your life. Um and so uh you're coming back from uh 2021, you finish up over there and you come back from overseas. Um what did 2022 throw at you? Who when when did the deal with Beta come about? Because that was 23 off the top of the yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:35

Yeah, were you husky 22 still?

SPEAKER_00 48:37

Yeah, so I come home. Um and because it was so late, same again, I think I stayed um yeah, because it was lockdowns again. I think I was I come home late anyway, um, to get uh a cheaper flight. And um, yeah, it was I remember being in lockdowns in uh quarantine, sorry, um in Melbourne there and it was in late December, so most things had been teed up for the following year. I was pretty late to the party to try and lock anything um in. And I had Paul Roach uh reach out when I was in the lockdowns. He said he actually the year before was like a obviously the husky thing isn't happening if you they had like sort of a smaller base team. Um pretty much just like a fan, a lot of families that got together doing all the same races and just thought, hey, let's put together a bit of a team. We're all gonna be buying the same thing and and create a team from that, and it just kept growing, I guess. Um, and yeah, anyway, he was sort of managing it at the time and and reached out to me um and said, like, hey, what are you doing? Are you gonna be racing? I'm like, yeah, I'd love to. Um, just trying to lock some stuff together. And um, he was able to pull together a deal for me and get some bikes together to go racing. Um, a couple of sponsors that had helped me over the years jumped on board to help get suspension for it. And the stuff I learned, I definitely need a good suspension from that year in Italy. I'm like dreaming of having cone valves and a track shock again and just couldn't afford them. So I'd seen what they can do and what it was holding me back. So yeah, got a lot of stuff together in those early months of 22 and yeah, um, started with not a crazy amount, was sort of selling by kind of level of support, and then um went into round one up against the factory boys and uh borrowed dad's van to get up there and drove there on my own, had no mechanic, just rolled into round one at Cherry Bar there, just thinking, what am I doing? Looking past all the teams. I think at the time Shirko went from a van to a truck, and I'm like, man, I've missed the boat here, like I've gone away when everything started to step up and a lot of head noise. But um, yeah, just sort of had some good guidance. Actually, got some coaching from Grabbo a week or two before it, and um just to double check, I was on the money with the bike setup and my riding after coming home from Europe, and he sort of yeah, had some really good advice for me, which was really handy and just um helped keep me focused as I went into that and make the most of that scenario, and um, yeah, the rest is history. Started that season off really strong with P2 um both days and battling Kyron for the outrights.

SPEAKER_03 51:05

So yeah, what a what a return. What did um what was the the advice that Grabbo gave you? Can you enlighten us any more on any detail that he provided?

SPEAKER_00 51:15

Uh it was just it was honestly pretty simple. It was just don't get caught up in all the uh focus on what you need to focus on, kind of thing, and don't get caught up in I guess everyone wanting to catch up and how's Europe and all those things, just don't let that distract you from what you know you need to be doing, kind of thing. And um, yeah, just mainly his knowledge of bikes and stuff. He's obviously done so much work in getting bikes to to do well up at Fink and all the off-roads over the years and stuff, and just more having his eye over and be like, Yeah, you're on onto the money there and you're doing the right thing, or hey, consider this and that.

SPEAKER_03 51:46

So yeah, that that sounds like very Grabbo info, which is uh just ignore everyone, mate. Yeah, just ignore everyone and go and ride your dirt bike. I mean, like having known Grabbo for fifth 16 years and we've run tours together and everything else, and we'd have people coming up asking for like, oh, I'm doing this wrong in a corner, and then they'll say, Should I stand up or sit down more? And his lot his advice is well, what feels more comfortable? And they'll be like more. So, yeah, that's funny. It's the same thing, we know.

SPEAKER_00 52:14

Yeah, definitely. Nah, but yeah, just little things like that, I guess, fell into place, and um, yeah, it'll all help to to do what we got to do.

SPEAKER_03 52:20

So yeah. So then tell us how the beta deal came about. How did it how did that transpire over the course of the year you kind of uh you know, on your own bike?

SPEAKER_01 52:29

What were your results for the year too? Like it was that that was a pretty decent year, I think.

SPEAKER_00 52:33

Yeah, yeah. So yeah, obviously coming back, um, yeah, sort of went into that unknowns. Uh when I left Australia, I think so 2019, uh, well, actually my last race before lockdowns, I come back from an injury, and I think I finished 10th. I think Braco has beat me on a 125 and I was on a factory husky, and I was not in a good way. I was like, what am I doing? He's like, just chill, just keep at it, you're fine, you're young, just keep going, kind of thing. And I was like, I'd rushed back from an injury, so I wasn't really probably ready to put my best foot forward. But either way, yeah, so I think I was like a 10th or something in the best I'd done before that was a sixth overall. And so I was like, Oh, if I can be a top five guy, that'd be great. And I remember checking the timesheet after the first sprint, I'm looking like six, seventh, like, oh shit, my name's not there. I'm not even side of top 10. And I looked up and I'd actually won the test by like 15 seconds or something. And I was like, oh, what the hell? And I'm walking, so I've just cruised back down, riding past like the Yami truck and all the other trucks, and everyone's just kind of looking at me, and I'm just like, oh, that's why they're looking at me when I was walking up, kind of thing. I'm like trying to figure it out. Like, did I do something wrong? Like, am I just struggling? And yeah, so that was kind of set the tone for that year. I was like, okay, I've got the speed now, like I know I guess how to go fast and what that feels like. And then it's just a matter of um, yeah, just managing that through all the different conditions we had. Um, yeah, had you know, I think that year Kyle was super, super fit and he was riding extremely well. So he got me those first two rounds. Um and then we went to Mackay. Um, I actually had a little bit more support. I had my old mechanic from Shirko days, Dave Suter. He was at a state round the weekend before, come and had a look, and he's like, Who's prepping your bikes? I'm like, uh, me. Like, I'm just trying to piece it together. He's like, Oh, I'll I'll set this one up for you. So he prepped my bike that week, which was really cool, and travelled up there and then went and won my first outright the following weekend, which was really cool up there. And um, yeah, just from then on, just sort of was always that up towards the top three most rounds, and um yeah, I think got another outright in Kingston um in South Oz there. And then yeah, I think heading into the last round in Tadsey, which I knew being in Karen's backyard was a tall ask. I think I was within three or four points of the outright. So we had shirts, which I didn't know about, luckily, made just in case. But um, yeah, either way, it was a close year and uh it was a really cool experience to sort of come from where I was to be able to be that competitive and and I'm up there sort of battling with those front boys. What class were you in then? E2? Uh E3, yeah, on the 500.

SPEAKER_03 55:05

So you won it that year, E 2022 the E3 title.

SPEAKER_00 55:11

Yeah, yeah. So I was able to win that 2022 title in in the E3 class, and as I was see, yeah, when you're that close to like going for an outright, you're sort of pretty focused on that. But looking back at it as quite a cool achievement to be go from where I was to there, and um, yeah, second overall in the uh AORC back then, but AAC now.

SPEAKER_02 55:29

So that's pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_03 55:30

Yeah, and that's your first year back from Europe. So is it do you think it's obvious that Europe did fine-tune some of those skills you talked about, especially in 21 when you had to work out what you've got to improve at to make you a better rider coming back?

SPEAKER_00 55:43

Yeah, like those rounds where I showed really good speed in Europe, but then faded as like pretty clear, okay, you won't be strong enough when it gets rough, and your bike setup's off, you're not pushing when it gets rougher than you showed you had speed, but not when it gets to those conditions. So yeah, when I come home, I just tried to make all my tracks as rough as possible, get used to riding them in not the funnest conditions, but know how to ride them well. And yeah, I think that just helped with that that racing. My strong suit was the fast, rough stuff, and then the the more the being on a 500, the more solar, slippery stuff was the weakness kind of thing. So um, yeah, just I think gave me confidence in knowing, hey, this is what the world top guys in the world are doing. You're not that far off, you just need to get these things right and um work hard at sort of working on those weaknesses.

SPEAKER_01 56:28

So that would have that would have been a good year, like very satisfying in one way, but then kind of disappointing in another way that you weren't sort of on a team, probably getting bonuses like other blokes that you're beating. And did that result in did you have people asking you to go ride from halfway through the year as well? Or was it just you stayed wet with what you were doing because you were succeeding, I guess?

SPEAKER_00 56:52

Yeah, it was um, yeah, it started out. Um I can't remember if we even had, I don't think we even had bonuses on on uh on offer, sort of thing. Obviously, being a smaller team, bike should store a shot. And then when obviously did really well at the first round, um Paul sort of chased it up for me. He's like, hey, look, he's doing this for the brand. Like, and I think at the time Waters was the top husky supported rider. Um, but I sort of outperformed him sort of thing. So that his argument was like, well, the bonuses are there, like they're there to be one sort of thing. And I was able to get access to that, which is really good. And that kind of helped a lot. Um, and I literally got to a point there where say I won my first outright at round three there, and I just started explaining to Adam, like, hey, I've got a chance at going for this. Can I just like take more time off work and really just focus on getting organized? And um, yeah, just lived off my bonuses that year to try and train more and be as competitive as I could. So that's cool that at least you got access to them.

SPEAKER_01 57:48

It definitely would make racing a lot easier as a privateer in that sense.

SPEAKER_03 57:53

Yeah, and without access to that bonus, those bonuses, you there's literally you just would have still had to have worked four days a week every day of the year. There's there's no other money coming in anywhere else, is there?

SPEAKER_00 58:03

No, like I was I was pretty lucky, as I said, like with suspension and a few bits and pieces. I had um some supporters that helped me get to Europe that stayed on board and and they helped kind of cover a few of the the costs to get to all the events, which is really helpful. Um, but yeah, the living costs are all up to me. You definitely had to to work um for that and make sure you you're bringing in the money to to pay for all the ongoing bills and whatnot.

SPEAKER_03 58:24

So do you ever feel at that period between 2020 and 2022, they're like the most formative years of your you know racing career essentially? Do you ever feel like for you and your generation specifically, you're a little bit robbed because that is a chance for even if you had a state in Australia? I'm sure if we didn't have a shutting of racing for essentially nearly three years, um there might have been more series that would have run, there might have been an opportunity to be seen more. Do you ever look back at that and go friggin' COVID? That that ruined any chance I had of doing what I don't know, Sanders or Phillips or anyone else did, or even the guys who have gone to the US?

SPEAKER_00 59:05

Yeah, I definitely um yeah, it was definitely challenging when obviously the lockdowns and stuff kicked in um just to know what to do. But I think as you said, that was kind of the turning point in my career. It's like, okay, you could easily just go to work full-time and um worry about the finances of it. But I just felt like from when I've started writing, I've always had more to give and like I haven't really shown what I'm fully capable of. You always feel um, yeah, like you've got a skill, you may as well use it, kind of thing, and see what the maximum of it is. And um, even to this day now, I don't feel like I've quite fully achieved that. I've shown obviously some really good results and good um things throughout my career, but I'm always learning um and taking knowledge from every experience I've gone through, kind of thing. So yeah, it was a turning point for me, I guess, in that time of my career to be like, nah, I really want to chase this, I really want to see what the maximum of it is, and don't feel like I've made it yet. So um just kept chipping away.

SPEAKER_03 59:59

So when you're kind of chipping away, like you said, through that period, that's quite tough. You're away from your partner, um, you're away from your family, you're kind of on your own, especially, you know, even over there. Um, they might have had more freedom than we had here, but you you can't socialise like you would have in any other year to get to know your mechanic or the people in and around the team you're working on to try and build friendships. Was there anything else in your life that you like had to rely on that you depended on to try and help you get through that kind of you know, weird two years?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:28

Yeah, I'm pretty we're pretty sport these this generation about a FaceTime and um and have phones to contact each other. Like as hard as it was, I still spoke to M like every day we'd speak. I think the time frame was like it was at night and in the morning basically. Um, like they're going to sleep when you're waking up and you get maybe two hours um when they're heading to sleep when you're you know after training or something and you've got time up your sleeve. So we'd kind of make the most of those time periods um each day. And I still spoke to her twice a day kind of thing, which is probably most relationships, even in Australia sometimes. But it's um, yeah, it was definitely harder not getting to see each other sort of thing. Um, but we're in the that's what kept me going, I guess. Like it wasn't like I was spending weeks and months away from hearing from one another, um, which yeah, we're pretty sport with these days, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:20

Because especially a lot of the time guys go to Europe, they come back and forth, back and forth a fair bit, especially if there's a bit of a break in the injured GP series, they might come back for eight, nine weeks and then kind of go back over. Obviously, you know, you didn't have that luxury because going back and forth during COVID just simply wasn't an option. So you you're essentially stuck there.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:37

Yeah, yeah. No, and that that is definitely the hardest thing. I you sort of I think like anything, you sort of know, like that was off the cards for me. One, we couldn't afford for me to fly back and forth as much as we would love to. Um, and then two, yeah, with those, you sometimes just didn't have that option even at all. So yeah, it was just one of the things I think once you understand, yep, this is my limitations, don't even worry about them, just focus on what you can control and focus more on that than I guess the other the other part of it.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:03

Um, all right, so 2023 rolls around or end of 2022. Um, and I'm assuming Beta Australia approached you at that stage and was kind of like, hey, we've got a ride.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:14

Yeah, so um, yeah, the end of that year, I actually got approached by or I was already working with obviously the KDM group, and um yeah, at that time I got approached by Kyle Blunden, the motorsport manager, and he was actually quite keen for me to jump on the KDM. So jumping from um Husky across the KDM, they sort of had a bit better of a budget to support the racing and stuff like that for me, which was really cool. Um, and so yeah, that honestly turned into a full-time gig. So the first time I'd ever had a wage from racing, um, didn't have to worry about going to work and yeah, had the finances there just to fully focus on it. So um that was sort of end of 22 that all got locked in and then had into 23 season with that opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:58

Yeah, okay. And so talk us through 23, so you're finally in a in a on a ride, you've you're now what 27 at this stage? Uh-ish. Um yeah, you come out the other end of a pretty covert riddled three or four three or four years there where you didn't already know what you were doing, unsure as to the future, and then KDM drops this into your lap. Um what's how do you are you nervous? Because you're like, oh, this is actually a decent, this is a big role, and this could be a bit of a launch pad to, like you said, make this I don't have to build for at least a little while while I do kind of this.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:31

Yeah, yeah. No, it was um it was sort of like yeah, I was really keen to sort of show what I was capable of doing at full time, obviously without those um, yeah, distractions and stuff like that. Uh just being able to dedicate yourself to it and started like heading into that, probably come into it with just yeah, a good headspace, being able to dedicate myself to it full time and was actually training a lot of induro cross. They had like a locally um well, they were starting up like a national level Super Enduro series that year. Um, and I personally was like from my career better at that stuff than the off-road stuff. So I was quite excited that that was coming back into the scene here in Australia. Um, and their first event was like a local town here in Ballarat where I'm living now. So um they had a few US boys coming over to do it. And um, yeah, my offseason was spent a lot of the time training for that. Um and then yeah, at the time I was still on a, I think I was still on a husky at the time, I hadn't quite gotten on my Cato yet. Um and yeah, I was training uh down at one faggy and just sat into an exit bump too much and then had a stock set up, wasn't yeah, pushing probably the limits of it a little bit too far, and it inswung me and then landed on the high, like the upside of a bump, and then yeah, same thing, injured my shoulder and tore some ligaments in there. So that was the start of my year with that opportunity, which was far from ideal. Um, and then spent, I think, five weeks off the bike, did the whole KDM photo shoot, you know, without any. Um that was the first time jumping on the Cato, and I was still not quite ready, but did the photo shoot because I wanted to do that event to try and help have KDM involved in it and also get it off the ground because I felt like it's a really cool um discipline of our sport that shows off rider skills in front of a crowd. Um, something we obviously struggle to to do with um our sport at times. So yeah, sort of rushed back to do that one and and rode it um sort of half injured still, just trying to put my best foot forward to try and um yeah, boost the I guess the uh atmosphere of the different disciplines we can do. And went into that event, sort of yeah, underdone a little bit, qualified really well in third in front of a US, I think, um, rider and pretty competitive with no bike time for five weeks, kind of thing. And then last lap of quality, I tried to put down another heater, sort of went to do like a matrix rhythm sort of thing, was going to come. Up short, so at the time you just hit it, lean back, and take the impact through your shoulder. Because my shoulder wasn't quite ready yet. Took the weight off it, and for some reason put my leg out, put my leg out to take the fall, and then done my knee.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:11

So that was kind of ACL, MCL and a fracture, I believe.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:17

Yeah, yeah. Just basically the knee put too much pressure through it and fractured the top of your leg. So um 2023 done. Yeah, well, that was yeah. At the time we we had it like on the verge of ruptured sort of thing. It wasn't fully ruptured, but it was like, hey, if you give this, I think it was six or eight weeks, it could heal on its own and you'll be good without surgery. Um and so yeah, we missed round one to avoid surgery, and then got to the eight-week mark, started riding, went to QMP with like a week on the bike and toughed it out there just to try and show our face and not write the year off completely. Um, I think yeah, they weren't too great a results there. And then a couple weeks later had a state title and it just about got to the point where it was um comfortable again. I could start pushing, um, sort of battling for a win there. And I don't know if I was in the lead or second or something, but yeah, basically went across like a little rock garden thing and the front end slid out, put my leg out, and then ruptured it and just like that. So didn't didn't even crash, but did the same, felt exactly the same as the other instance with it. And then um, yeah, that was a week out from the four-day in WA. So I um yeah, I was sitting there on the side of the track, clinching my knee, like, what am I gonna do? Finished that lap, pulled out, obviously, and couldn't put any weight through my knee that day, and then was um, yeah, limping around, just had everything teed up to leave two days later to go to WA. I'm like, what do I do? Do I pull the pin? Do I go? And then um, yeah, at the time I was uh speaking with my physio and he was sort of like, oh, if we can get the fluid down in time, you should be able to manage it. You're obviously not it's gonna wobble if you're not careful, but if you you know keep activating your muscles around your knee, we should be able to manage it, sort of thing, and we'll just keep trying to strengthen it that way. So um, yeah, went into that one. I think I had crutches when I got to the race. I got to the four day and trying to keep some weight off it. I think the first day of track walk I tried to do with crutches and like this is too hard. I'll just try and limp it out, sort of thing, and got through yeah, the start of that race and um raced it and still I think we still finished third in E2 and um yeah, second in the final motto, um, which was quite cool. And yeah, it was one of the one of the rougher years, but just kept building from there. Got back to an outright win by I think rounds eight or something like that. Yeah, round seven, you're on seven, yeah. You've got South Australia.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:43

I've got them. Yeah, first in E2, first outright. It was a cross country, cross country, right? A tough one.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:49

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I had like a I kind of got to a point where I'm like, well, my knees buggered, let's just try and work with what we got. And um yeah, sort of kept building my strength up. We had a GNC the weekend before it was quite rough and three hours in the sand, got a third there, I think it was. And um like, oh, I got through that, so I should be right to get through um yeah, this the hard pack sort of South Australian round. So I actually won my first South Australian outright there back in 2015 or something on a Suzuki. So I knew that area pretty good and um was keen to try and pull it together by then and yeah, won that outright, which was quite a cool feeling. I was like, okay, sweet, let's finish this year strong, show everyone what we could have done if we had a you know a bit better of a run. Um and then yeah, the next day let out the first sprint. Um, I was doing like a line where I was jumping a creek and I basically took the impact, and as I took the impact, my knee just gave out, and then I tore my meniscus and had like a what they call like a bucket handed bucket handle tear, I think it's called, and it basically catches in your joint and locks your knee out, so you kind of will be good and then a lock out, and then you can't remove your knee when you need to, and things like that. So um, yeah, I tried to keep going with that, but basically every impact I was taking with my scenario was um yeah, getting to the point where I wasn't keeping good control over the bike. So um, yeah, that was sort of the end of that. Um, yeah, DNF the following day after winning an outright, which is not the best uh way to finish your weekend, but um yeah, looked into a few different things, honestly looked into getting a fill-in rider just to try and keep the cato out there for for the brand and um yeah, give someone an opportunity, but things didn't sort of come together for that. Um, and then yeah, just ended up uh the swelling sort of come down enough to where I could manage it the week before the following, like the next AORC, which was like two or three weeks after that one. And then um, yeah, just raced out the last couple of rounds the best I could with that, and that was the end of that. So and did you get surgery after that? Yeah, so we weighed it all up. It was either keep battling through and wearing out the meniscus from the specialist I spoke to, or get it tidied up, get an ACL put in, um, and yeah, try and do it properly, sort of thing. So um, yeah, it was tricky. I was up in the air if I'd keep my ride because I obviously heard that Milner was coming home and um I was like, he's gonna need a ride. He's got some pretty good runs on the board. So um, yeah, it was quite tricky. And and honestly, just as all that was coming together, um, yeah, sort of beta reached out, so that was quite good timing. Um sort of explained to the guys at Cato kind of reading between the lines that could happen. I said, Hey, I do have an offer here. Um, and uh they I think they were quite happy to hear that because they didn't really want to, you know, break to me that Milner was signing, but they you know couldn't knock it back realistically. So um it was quite quite good timing that Beta wanted to to push into the support, and um, yeah, it worked out really well in in my end and could still um you know keep racing after a pretty rough year and and had that opportunity to keep progressing.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:05

So could was there an opportunity to get on a different capacity in that KDM team? Obviously, Milner was coming back to ride at 450, you were in the E2 class. Could you jump on another bike?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:16

Yeah, the from my experience it wasn't really um an offer sort of back to before Europe kind of support. So yeah, yeah. It wasn't um, yeah, it wasn't, I guess, coming off like a full-time ride, that was like a pretty big step backwards. Whereas um, I guess the the support that Beta were able to offer me was a much better option kind of thing. So um, yeah, it wasn't a a lot of finances around at that time. So um, yeah, sort of like a one uh the years before was kind of like a one-rider deal is what they could offer, sort of thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:45

So and were you um were you doing some other races during these years as well, Hatter um sort of thing, or did you look at doing Fink ever? Or and what is your favourite race? I know Hadda is definitely my favorite race, but yeah, even though it's tough, it's still one of the best races in Australia, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:04

Yeah, no, I do love HADA. I've grown up doing it. It was only four hours from home. So um, yeah, I've done both of them. I did think back in 2018. Um, and yeah, I I did enjoy it. The atmosphere up there is really cool, but Hatter's definitely my favourite out of those two. Um, and I think as a standalone, probably one of the best we have in Australia.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:27

Um, yeah, just uh I think comes down to how much work you put in. It definitely shows um a HATA. Think does definitely too, but the finances to do the same is quite a lot more than what it is to do Hatter, I feel yeah, yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:41

I reckon it's probably 10 to 15 green era, like you can pretty much go to HADA on a motocross setup and and do well, especially you top guys. Whereas Fink is just its own animal where you need a bigger tank and stags and and you still want that stuff at HADA, but just the logistics as well. You can't just drive there overnight like a lot of people in Australia can.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:02

Yeah, yeah. Um, hey Andy, would you say then 23 was probably your most challenging year? I mean, you you went through lockdowns trying to race in lockdowns in Europe, you know, other side of the world to the rest of your support network. Um and you know, you'd had a few injuries, bits and pieces, but 2023 was just so up and down. I mean, you probably had the high of like I'm on the best team in the pits at the moment, you know. Um, but to I keep getting hurt and I can't, you know, do any of these rounds at my full you know capacity. Was that the hardest year, you reckon? 23 for you?

SPEAKER_00 1:14:33

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think it was that um yeah, that really hard realization of like everything can uh come together, but then it's so easily can come undone as well. So it was um yeah, quite tricky to face. Um yeah, likely, you know, had good support around me to to guide us through that one and um keep ahead in the game, let's say, and just kept chipping away the best I could. Um but yeah, to bounce back from that, it's it's just a matter of obviously learning what what you would do different and um just trying to make sure that that didn't define me kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:06

So yeah, for sure. So jumping on a beta then for 24, what was the biggest like difference for you going from a KDM to a beta? You've never ridden one before. You've ridden Shercos, which is a good I guess a good opportunity to get on something other than you know the big European brand. But what was the hardest thing to come to terms with jumping on a beta coming off a KDM?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:27

Yeah, honestly, and the reason why such like I was excited for it was like I grabbed a few demo bikes from a local dealership and um tested them the end of that year, just as I knew that was a possibility. And yeah, jumping on them uh didn't take me long at all to adapt to them and put down the same times as I was doing on my KDM. So I was like, okay, no, this is good, like I don't have to worry about you know getting this part in, spending money on this, whatever it might be. Um I can go be competitive on a on a standard one. So that was um probably the most exciting part was that they like have just done the groundwork. They're obviously a brand trying to build up and um they're doing a really good job of that, and you got to have a good product first and foremost to do that. So um from my end, it made my job a lot easier. I just had to pretty much just spend the time on it um in some areas that like say rougher stuff, making sure our setup was down pat with it, but um, we didn't have to buy parts for it or anything like that, which was really cool. So um yeah, it was uh a pretty easy transition. I actually decided to get my knee fixed, so I signed the deal without riding. I had actually just gone and got surgery, so I spent three months off the bike doing rehab, making sure my knee was 100% before I started riding again, and that landed us uh I think it was two weeks out from round one. So I jumped on the bike two weeks out, um, and then yeah, just went into round one, just pretty much adapting to the bike and doing the best we could up at Romo in 24.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:59

Okay. And so did like did you get to pick a capacity when you went across the beta? Was like any bike an option, or did they say you've got to race in this class? Because they've they've got more bikes than anyone. Capacity is.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:12

Yeah, yeah, it was actually pretty, pretty hard pick. Um, at the time they had Ben Kearns on board as well, and he was on the 390, which I would have liked to test that one a bit more, but I know he had sign with that, I was like, oh, we can't both be on the same bike when they've got so many different models. So I thought I wanted to try a smaller bike, and then coming off no bike time, I knew a 350 would be a really uh good bike to adapt to. It wouldn't be getting away from you too much. But then I when I tested, I really liked the handling. Like I could sort of have more mid-corner speed and things like that than I'd felt before. So um, yeah, we we ran with that uh that year and um yeah, felt quite comfortable on it. Um, we didn't have to do a lot to it to to feel comfortable at speed and um yeah, had some pretty good showings on it, which was cool.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:58

Yeah, that's good. Um on one year deals with Beta? Are we going year to year, or have you managed was the was 24 and 5 at two year or is that one to one?

SPEAKER_00 1:18:07

Yeah, my whole career's been year to year. So um yeah, you you sort of can't plan ahead too much, but um yeah, you just pretty much uh make the most of each year and see what you learn the following.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:17

Are you are you currently working full-time and racing?

SPEAKER_00 1:18:21

Yeah, so I'm actually um pretty much committed full-time to coaching at the minute. So obviously, with uh yeah, my injury at the moment, I can't sort of jump on the tools and swing a hammer with my wrist and stuff. So um, yeah, we sort of weighed it all up and we're living in Ballarat, which is like a bit more of a populated area than where I grew up. Um, there's quite a lot of people that ride around here and um just sort of tried it out a little bit tail end of last year, and there was sort of enough people riding around here to support um yeah, the coaching side of things, which is really cool. So um at the moment, just knuckling down with that, trying to provide as much, you know, different sessions and stuff to support that as we can, and um, it's keeping me busy, that's for sure, in between this time of recovery and all that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:04

Yeah, for sure. Um and then so the wrist injury you got right now, um, you obviously we know you've got a wrist. We knew you had a wrist injury before the rest of the world knew you had a wrist injury because uh Tom Mendy hit me up and he's Tom's the marketing guy over at Beta, and he's like, hey, if one of our riders wasn't gonna make round one and he's still gonna be hurt, do you have anyone that would want to race the Beta factory to? So I hit up Braco and I'm like, oi, I got a ride for you. Uh and he's like, Oh, I can't get to Queensland. I hit up Briggsy, I'm like, uh Brixy, I know you're going up there. You want to race Beta one day, Shirko the next, because he has a little turmoil. Anyway, you and I was gonna Braco was meant to ride your bike in um yeah, Dungog, but uh but we've just heard from Tom that you there's a chance you'll be at Dungog on your bike. Is that the hope?

SPEAKER_00 1:19:53

Uh yeah, that's up in the air. Like a hide, yeah, we're not too sure yet. I've got to get a scan on it still to see if it's um healing up properly. Um so Dungog's touch and go. Um, but we're yeah, we'll wait and see. We're hoping for the following one.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:07

And what what are you riding this year?

SPEAKER_00 1:20:09

480? Uh 430. So um, yeah, we're on the RR 430 um racing model, and that's sort of what we did all of last season on. And I find it to be that sweet spot between sort of good handling, it's a little bit less than the 450, so not quite as much inertia, but it's still got plenty of punch. I think it it matches all the 450s on a dyno chart. So it's um, yeah, it's quite a good balance for the off-road stuff, I find.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:36

And so there's really no deals left in Australia for off-road stuff that allow you to just do that full time. So, what's day-to-day look like at the moment when you're not injured? You you're doing some coaching, but you're trying to train every day. Um, and with the beta deal, is there a bonus kind of structure whereby if you win, there's just there's bonuses there as well as obviously all the support they give you through bikes and parts and everything else?

SPEAKER_00 1:20:58

Yeah, yeah. No, beta guys pretty much now that with um with racing, it's the only thing that would be the dream run would be to do it full time. So um, yeah, everything else they've done probably honestly better than anything I've experienced, just been a really, really good experience on my end. Um, but yeah, it's just uh a matter of the day-to-days, like you said, just sort of coaching um as much as we can during the week and then uh the odd weekend and then training, yeah, every day we can pretty much to try and figure out you know how to get stronger in those areas that you're like, yep, I want to be better there, sort of thing.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:30

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:31

I'm um I'm surprised they haven't offered Emma ride and throwing her into the women's class.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:36

Yeah. Yeah, I think they are. She's obviously starting to um to make the 254 stroke over in in Italy there. So it could be on the cards, but um, yeah, she's sort of just getting back into racing now, which is really cool to see. And um, yeah, after a year off to get her health on track, it's been really cool to see her jump back into it on the weekend. And that's the other thing that's been keeping me busy, is um any anyone that races knows quite a lot of work that goes into the prep and then the back end of it.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:01

So yeah, that's all right. Um okay, so then what's the the plan for this year? Hoping to be back weekend after round after next, potentially even in Dungog. Who you you've seen the competition at round one, it was obviously cut short because round two got rained out. Um, where do you see yourself if you're full fully fit and healthy from rounds five and six onwards? Where do you see yourself fitting into that outright title?

SPEAKER_00 1:22:24

Yeah, obviously um before my accident last year, I was sitting uh just outside of P3, like I think heading into the last round I did, I was P3 overall and um battling with Corey McMahon there. So um, yeah, I've sort of grown up and trained a lot with Corey and uh he's he's quite competitive now. And obviously drive been a teammate with him last year, um, and then will over the years. Uh I think we've him racing since under 19. So uh yeah, for me, obviously want to be chasing for those overalls again. I haven't done it for a few years now, and that's definitely still the motivation to to get back to that. Um, I've had glimpses of it, but haven't, you know, had a run where we've shown our potential consistently. So um that's definitely the goal. Get get healed up and just um definitely feel like the the preseason I had going was on track to do that, but um, we'll just have to wait and see. We're just uh the boys are riding really fast, and obviously having Will Home from Europe is you know beating the world's best. So to all be pushing for that now, I think it's gonna just lead to us all becoming better riders and excited to get amongst it with them again. And um that's yeah, kind of the goal is just get healed up and get back to that.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:30

Uh any other random races this year, Hatter, or anything that you're thinking later in the year that you you'll do outside of AEC?

SPEAKER_00 1:23:37

Um, yes, I do all the Victorian Off-Road Championship each year. Um, it's just growing from strength to strength at the moment. Um, yeah, they're they're quite quite good events to do. Um, and obviously being a Victorian, they're nice and logistically pretty easy. So um, yeah, that's kind of the goal to continue to do them around the AEC and and the Hatter Desert race. Um, and then that kind of fills up, I think it's what 13, 14 weekends of the year. So um, yeah, you're not left with too much more. You do the odd fun race around it here and there and um coaching and whatnot, and the year's done.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:11

So oh, how is Jay as a teammate? Because he's such a good kid, it would have been a bit of a pleasure to have as a teammate, I reckon. Um, and then also it not a lot of people know, and it's not real big in Australia, but how do you go being a Christian with racing?

SPEAKER_00 1:24:28

Yeah, so I guess first off, um, yeah, with Jay, he's the most chilled teammate I've ever had in my whole career. Um, to the point where, you know, obviously I was there for his first outright last year, and I didn't see one like jump, yell, scream, nothing, like any bit of emotion. I was like, dude, you just want an outright, like I'm more excited for this than you kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:49

Sounds like Joe.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:50

Uh just yeah, but to his credit, he's uh yeah, keeps a level head always. And um, yeah, I did see him get angry last year for the first time. That was that was truly, I think, pretty rare.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:00

But uh I haven't seen that either, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:03

Yeah, not not bad, but just like not smiling for once. So yeah, no, he's um uh he's pretty yeah, it's pretty cool to see, and he was uh obviously an awesome teammate to have under the pits and um yeah, super helpful. So um that's it's cool to see him doing well this year too. And yeah, probably the upside, I guess, off-roads as we're all all mates realistically.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:22

So yeah, it is it's good, good vibe in the acts, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 1:25:26

Yeah, definitely. So um, and then secondly, I guess, yeah, with uh being a Christian in racing, it's always been something I uh have been super vocal about. It's it's not something that I guess um yeah, I guess is well understood, sort of thing. Um, everyone has I guess their own interpretation of things in life, and um, yeah, you sort of don't want to jump out at it in case someone thinks you're their interpretation of it, let's say. Um so but yeah, for me it's just something that's kept me on track through all this. I think without it, um with the adversity you face and whatnot, um, it could easily gone down a different path. But I had um, you know, a good upbringing where my grandpa was a pastor in a church, and I guess seeing the way he lived his life, um, he, you know, was always super generous with time, good with, you know, communicating with people. And um, you know, his I guess like when he passed away and stuff, last time I got to see him, he his parting words always kept lines of communication open. And I think for anything I've gone through, like any hardship, whatever it's been, that's always made things a lot easier. And um, that's purely down to that, I guess, um, is that side of my life. And I think it's yeah, it's something I haven't always shared with people, sort of thing. And um something I definitely um, you know, as you're building throughout your career, you're relying on people's interpretation of you and to try and land support and all that sort of thing. Um, but yeah, heading into this part of my life, I guess it's just trying to show people in case they are curious, like, oh, how does how do you deal with that or whatever? That's definitely something I've leaned on and gave me a bit better understanding through everything.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:55

So yeah, it's a funny one. Like in America, Christianity seems to be a big thing. In Australia, uh, you're almost made to feel like a bit of a weirdo, um, which is a shame. Like, you know, it's it's taken me a little bit to to be more open about it myself. And you know, you spread something on social media, and I I guarantee I've lost followers from it. I'm not there trying to push it on you, it's just I have a strong belief in my beliefs, and you know, it means a lot to me. And yeah, so it is a challenging thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:25

And yeah, and on that, to be honest, um, I noticed, which was really cool to see actually on the weekend at the Primex, uh, MA have actually supported, I think it's called Moto Ministry. Um to yeah, for that exact reason. For it's quite a lot of stuff that happens in a career of racing bikes and um a lot of hardship that families go through um that can be hard to understand. But um, yeah, they brought that initiative in where uh yeah, there's sort of I think two younger guys and a and an older guy that they call the chaplain um that was at the Primex on the weekend and um yeah, cool to see that they The importance in that and that um hopefully it can help those that um feel like it's a pretty challenging spot to be in when things don't always go right or you're going through some hardships, and um yeah, it can definitely help.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:10

So awesome. Yeah, and there's certainly lots of hardships in our sport, unfortunately. It's just part of the course, eh? Yeah, that's it. Um well Andy, mate, it's been really good to get to know your career and that journey, especially through COVID, you know, was like I said, would have been quite tough. And to see you come out the other end and the other side. You've like you said, too, you've seen both sides of our off-road industry the pro from the professional since a lot of kids kind of getting into it now need to, you know, probably listen to this podcast and and and realize that you've seen probably the end of the peak 2016-17. Um, and then through to now, where we there might not be the same support from some of the uh manufacturers, but um yeah, obviously still it's still going. I I think probably our AEC championship is better than the AOIC has been in the past. So um, if any of that is to go by, it's improving, and hopefully, you never know, in the next few years we might see that support return to what it was 10 years ago when it was, you know, um at its best.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:08

Yeah, you're sort of in that unlucky generation, too, that when you come into the professional scene, it was actually dying off financially. I mean, we lost a lot of track trucks in Australia just as you sort of come into the scene, and now it's starting to grow again, thankfully. Um but yeah, hopefully it it bounces back to what it was. I know the Vic series, like you said, is doing really, really well. I'm hearing numbers of like six to eight hundred riders at rounds. So hopefully that carries over to the AECs, and yeah, our chairmanship becomes another great one.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:40

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:42

Yeah, no, it's um yeah, it's all good experiences, and I guess see how things are running. That's kind of I guess the success to the Vic series at the moment is the the ones that are running it, uh got to see it in its prime and could see which direction is going. Like, hey, no, we just need to, you know, focus on this and that. And um, yeah, it's helping strengthen it more and more. And um, yeah, with the coaching thing, it's blowing me away how many people are actually out there on bikes. And I think that was, you know, due to the lockdowns, everyone bought bikes, but whether been riding them is the other thing. So, yeah, there's a lot of people with bikes out there, it's just a matter of creating opportunities for them to use them. And hopefully from mine, like from everything I've seen and my wife's seen over our careers, we can pass on that knowledge, like, hey, yeah, we tried this, don't bother doing that, or yeah, this is you know, best way of doing that, or you know, just focus on this to make you riding better and more enjoyable.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:28

So, yeah, for sure. Um, all right, Andy, we'll we're actually gonna get you to come back on the podcast throughout the season too, once you get back to racing, because we like to we do a uh AEC wrap uh after each round, and um we love to get on some of the guys who are you know with we're at at the rounds and and taking part and who have been up the pointy end to see what it was looking like from there. So um we'll get you back on when you're kind of back in the frame, probably after Dungog, probably for rounds five and six by the sounds of things. That'd be fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:54

Yeah, awesome. Nah, I look forward to it.

unknown 1:30:56

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:56

Yeah, we'll be catching up with you at the races.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:58

Look for Briggsy. You can't he's can't he's got a cat. I'm arming him with a camera and a mic, and he's gonna he's interviewing people, he's doing a kick ass job at trying to do what we can for the series.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:07

It's hard racing and doing it, but yeah, we'll get it. No, you've done well. I did hear him, so you're doing good. Getting there, thanks, mate. Thanks, Andy. Easy, catch up. See you, bud.