Rusty's Garage

Shane van Gisbergen is back on the pod and he tackles your questions. With the NASCAR community raving about his performance this year (especially on road courses) we get his thoughts on the progress he’s making on ovals. Will he do some Sprintcar Racing or even the Chilli Bowl during the off season and has he nearly pulled a ‘hammy’ kicking that Rugby ball into the crowd. SVG ma...

The PR agency he established which became a benchmark with a strong automotive footprint and bluechip clients like Toyota. How working in TV complimented his business and why he always remained eyes forward when a chapter in broadcasting came to a close. The awkward moment between Rusty & Smailsey when their careers intersected and the respect they have for each other now. How a bet on Wayne G...

He wrote to Ferry Porsche in his teens and got a reply! Then his hero, the 1960 Australian Touring Car Champion David McKay, would help start his long career in the media. Many listener’s will remember John Smailes from his time on the ABC commentating with Will Hagon and a young Neil Crompton. It became one of the first soundtracks of Aussie Motorsport. JS also worked for the Packer’s...

Hear from the top 3 combos shortly after the celebrations wrapped up at an epic Bathurst 1000. Winner’s Matt Payne and Garth Tander reflect on the what it means to win one of the most memorable editions of the Great Race for the Grove squad. David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth chat about the stress of the final few laps and how they reveled in the conditions to move into podium contention...

Respected Motorsport engineer and Data Analyst Scott Sinclair joins us at Bathurst to look at some of the key considerations for Sunday’s Great Race. He worked with James Courtney back in 2010 when he won the title for Dick Johnson Racing and listner’s may also know him from stints with the Holden Racing Team and more recently with Kelly Racing’s Nissan program. These days he len...

Rusty is on the ground for this weekend’s F1 night race and he caught up with the world championship leader before the action gets underway. In something of an exclusive Piastri isn’t doing a huge amount of media here as he focuses on the title race. (We get it and we’re grateful he came on). How he feels about the tough weekend in Baku last time out and the way he processes thos...

We’re joined by Codesport’s Matt Hickey for a Grand Prix debrief after a weekend to forget for Oscar Piastri. Why he is in the best spot to bounce back mentally and in the race for the title. Is Max Verstappen now in the mix? Could this two horse race be about to face the ultimate disruptor? Liam Lawson’s drive of the season and the timely nature of his top five result.  Doe...

Mark Winterbottom made a very memorable appearance on the pod 12 months ago but a bit has changed in his world since that Feature Episode. His role now as a codriver netted a podium first time out with his old race family at Tickford.  The battle between the coey’s and was there any initial rustiness? How much he’s enjoyed mentoring the team’s Super 2 drivers and the co...

Jayden joins the pod for the first time beaming in from Adelaide after a win in GT World Challenge Australia last weekend. He stayed on in South Oz ahead of this weekend’s Bend 500, the first of the Supercars enduros. We preview the big race which marks Ojeda’s return to Walkinshaw Andretti United. What it’s like working alongside another rising star in Ryan Wood and the tra...

Full disclosure - there is nothing short about this edition of the shortcast.  Rusty is in the middle of nowhere (actually near Mildura) for the Sunraysia Safari. Just before competitors set off for 1200ks of cross country he caught up with Rob & Dean Herridge under Maximum Motorsport E-Z Up. What brings them back to this gruelling event and the ‘David n Goliath’ fight they wa...

Just like the great riders and drivers this is a story of a self taught artisan who passionately dedicates himself to the craft spending long hours every day to personalize helmets that could easily be on display in a gallery. Working with Chaz Mostert, Greg Murphy, James Courtney, Shane van Gisbergen and many more to capture and express their personalities and to keep bringing a freshness to each...

Codesport’s Matt Hickey is back in the Garage as F1 fires up for the 2nd half of the season. McLaren reckon their drivers are getting on well (unlike some of the other inter team rivalries over the years) but surely there’ll be a blow-up between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at some stage? Cadillac will give Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas the keys next year. Makes sense right?&...

The Junior World Rally Championship leader joins us from his home away from home, Finland. At just 21 years of age the Aussie already talks like a seasoned pro and has crammed a lot into his career with some firm objectives in the next five years. The wildcard opportunity that helped him spread his wings and just how much is riding on the European Rally in October, the final round of the 2025 seas...

It’s panel discussion time. For this ep of the shortcast Rusty is joined by Tom Moore from Dick Johnson Racing and Trevor Long - the Tech and Gadget guru you may have seen on the Today Show. Trev is a massive Motorsport fan! There is so much talk around the exponential growth of AI at the moment and how it will change our lives, so what about Motorsport? Rusty moderates the convo to look at...

The move to Team Green and why timing is everything. In many ways Robbie was ahead of the sport’s international growth curve. Losing a remote control plane over the aerospace division at Kawasaki HQ and please explains from their security. Hotrodding Golf Carts at Sugo and taking a bit of bark off. Wowing fans at home at Phillip Island and ballsy rides at Spa in Belgium. Waking up in ho...

Cutting laps of Albury Airport after dark and showing fearless talent on the dirt. Captivating stories of racing during a golden period that included names like Mick Doohan, Graeme Crosby, Aaron Slight (who are all in the Rusty’s Garage library), the late Gregg Hansford and many more. Doing it on a shoestring, winning against the odds and all while having fun. Meeting Mick Hone and &lsq...

With F1 starting a much needed summer break the NZ Herald’s Alex Powell joins us with some thoughts on the sport he loves. Lando Norris is looking stronger as the 2025 title fight seesaws between the McLaren drivers. Drawing parallels with the 2016 championship battle between the then Mercedes drivers as Lando and Oscar Piastri make this a clear two horse race. Why Liam Lawson will be on the...

It’s been a big 24 hours in the Supercars paddock with the final piece of the endurance driver line-up locked away - Nash Morris joins us on the pod for the first time to talk about it. The selection process he went through at Premiair and why he was no certainty to get the co-driver’s job alongside former Bathurst winner Richie Stanaway. Nash also shares a funny yarn on what made him...

The comeback from a frightening crash in South Australia and the moment he realized it was time to get back on the horse. Hustling a two wheel drive on the way to the Australian title in 2014 and a little sentimental attachment to that Renault Clio which is still in the garage. Challenging himself on the world stage in a Ford Fiesta R5 machine and why Scott is rightly proud of the performance in F...

This is a timely Feature Episode with an ageless star of the Australian Rally Championship who’s been fast and successful across several eras of competition. Sharing co-driving duties with his brother until Mum said “no more”. The Ford Escort that properly started the journey and reaching an early crossroads after demonstrating serious talent in tennis against the likes of Mark P...

The Walkinshaw Andretti United team owner checks in to give fans an update on the Supra GR & when it will hit the track for the first time. Why a stable driver line-up is so important as the team gets ready to make the big switch. The part Chaz Mostert has played in recent years in galvanizing the squad. And the emergence of Ryan Wood.  Rusty & Ryan Walkinshaw also talk enduro pairing...

James Allen from Motorsport.com joins Rusty to try and make sense of Christian Horner’s sacking now that some of the dust has settled. Is this the end of the biggest story of the Formula 1 season or is there another twist still to come? Why following Max Verstappen’s private jet flight path and Toto Wolff’s Sardinia sailing route makes absolutely no sense during this mid season b...

Recorded on the eve of round 3 of the E-Road Australian Rally Championship in QLD Rusty chats to the driver who’s taken the reigns of the series. Adrian Coppin used to set-up stages in the yard at home as a youngster before an inevitable move into the driver’s seat in his teens. The early guideance from Neal Bates and the funny little secret behind his first set of wheels, an early &ls...

Driver, Administrator, Promoter… How his grounding (in and out of the car) was perfect for a pre-pandemic move to the other side. Working on Rally Australia and a plan that was hatched to take the WRC to Sydney and Bathurst. Getting a career changing call from Motorsport Australia in a moment of a crisis and how it lead to Circuit Racing opportunities too. And future goals for the ARC now t...

A rookie sensation who had a breakthrough weekend in Darwin joins us to talk about his first podiums and being a part of the sport’s next wave. How he’s found the step up to Australian Touring Car Racing’s premier league and why things worked so well at Hidden Valley, a venue he’d never turned a wheel at. Applying himself after Waneroo and the things he learned in the West...