Rusty's Garage

From Supercars CEO James Warburton’s faith in him before The Bend had even been built to the global award it received that he at first thought was a prank.

The importance of forging a relationship with Dorna and the fascinating Covid period convos with Formula One management.

Why he can’t stand still and the message for other promoters and circuit owners on acting now to stay relevant.

Plus the big news around MotoGP’s move to the streets of Adelaide from Phillip Island in 2027. Why it didn’t end up at The Bend & his part in bringing the key players together as a proud South Aussie including a secret track inspection after the Adelaide Grand Final last year.

And what about the rumours of World Superbikes heading this way too?

This isn’t just for motor racing fans. Business owners will be glued to his insights in this area too. And Sam shares a few ‘life lessons’ that are takeaways for us all. Hope you enjoy the listen as much as we did during the record.

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You’ll know Sam & the Shahin name from the incredible complex they’ve created in South Australia - The Bend Motorsport Park.

This is an incredible story of a family leaving its war torn homeland for what they hoped would be a better life down under.

An ad for a service station & how it leapt out at Sam’s father - the beginning of a dynasty in this space built on the back of hard work, vision & drive.

How Sam left a promising career in medicine to work in the family business & the lengths he went to ‘tool up’ for the role.

Where the idea for The Bend came from, the process to get it over the line, and the journey of discovery that took him right round the world to understand the best way to build it.

From the moment Sam candidly begins speaking you’ll be drawn into this conversation and he kindly shares details of his life and how it lead to Motorsport (in his 40’s) that aren’t widely known.

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Imagine riding your motorbike from Germany to Mount Panorama.
That’s exactly what Romolo Liebchen did! The former Audi Sport Customer Racing boss loves the #B12hr and has had this dream for a while now.
How he made it a reality, the incredible places he visited along the way, the planning, the bike & the challenges he encountered.
Plus where he’s off to next and the insane k’s he’s chalked up on two wheels during his lifetime.
We also chat about Audi’s change of direction in relation to its Customer R8 GT program and the big move into Formula One.
This little known story piqued Rusty’s interest when he saw the bike parked outside the Melbourne Performance Centre garage over the weekend while making a doco on the history making Quinn Family entry.
Romolo’s story is fascinating. Enjoy the ride.

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We’ve got the voice of Radio Le Mans on the pod for the first time and they recorded the ep in the National Motor Racing Museum at Mount Panorama!

Let’s face it between Rusty and John it was always going to be a big ask to keep the chat to a shortcast duration so there’s over half an hour of convo for you to enjoy ahead of this weekend’s race.

From human interest stories like the Quinn entry where driving duties will be shared across three generations of the family to the headline grabbing return of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi. He’s here because he wants to be!

Why this event has become so well regarded internationally not just because of the lure of this classic race track.

Can Maro Engel break a bit of a Bathurst hoodoo? And some of the standout Aussies in the field including Supercars champion Chaz Mostert and his rival who went so, so close to claiming that title last year - Broc Feeney.

Plus some of the other stories to follow like Kenny Habul, Matt Campbell, BMW’s hopes of going back-to-back and the highly anticipated grudge match between Chev and Ford as the Corvette and the Mustang GT3 machines line-up for this unforgiving 12 hour race.

Make sure you visit the National Motor Racing Museum the next time you get to Bathurst. Cars, bikes and all sorts of racing disciplines are celebrated with an incredible collection on display https://museumsbathurst.com.au/nmrm/
Our thanks to John for coming on too. For more on Radio Le Mans check out https://radiolemans.co/
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For a time, Grant Denyer - the Gold Logie-winning racer and TV host who’s in our library - was simply Craig’s son. Now Craig is Grant’s dad!
How Craig’s clever grasp of the commercial side of media and motorsport helped early in Grant’s racing journey.
The advent of Ute Racing and why it took off.
His gravitation towards Category Management, which would see him excel in this space for decades.
More recently, it’s been the growth and expansion of the TA2 class, which is in great shape.
The funny nickname his grandkids have given him and why it stuck, plus the project he’s working on now that could break a record!
Grant, Craig and Rusty all worked together for years at Ten Motorsport. It’s no wonder this enjoyable, rapport-filled chat flies by.
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