Belinda [00:00:09]:
Hi and welcome to the Motorsport Coaching Podcast. Sponsored by Motivate Training and Management. This is a podcast where we talk to drivers and industry experts to help you maximize your performances on and off the track. Let's get started with today's show. Hello, crew, and welcome to episode 158 of the most sport coaching podcast. I am your host, Belinda Riceley, and this week I am joined by mechanical engineer extraordinaire Wes McDougall from the complete race Drive. Before we get started in today's episode, don't forget applications close November 25. If you're looking to become a Motivate Ambassador for the 2024 race season, this Ambassadorship is open to every race category everywhere in the world.
Belinda [00:00:58]:
So if you're interested in working with Motivate and maximizing your performances on and off the track, please make sure you apply. I'll put the link in today's show notes. Our preseason program is also kicking off at the moment. You can access that at any time. If for more information, also check out the link below. And for those that don't know Wes wes has been around motorsports for around 30 years. His story is actually good and I'm.
Belinda [00:01:28]:
Going to let him tell you, so.
Belinda [00:01:29]:
You need to keep listening to know more about Wes, but he has definitely worked with all the big guns at Supercars here in Australia. Drivers such as Marcus Ambrose, Russell, Ingle, James Courtney, Tim, Slade, Lee Holsworth, Tod Hazelwood, Shane Van GIZ and as well as Jamie Winkup, Craig Lounge and Azayan Goddard. This year So I hope you get a lot out of today's show. Any questions, please make sure you connect with us [email protected] Au. Enough from me. Let's hear from Wes.
Belinda [00:02:08]:
Hey, Wes. Welcome to the Motivate coaching podcast.
Speaker C [00:02:12]:
Hey, thank you for having me on. Excited to be here.
Belinda [00:02:14]:
Well, finally, because I have been asking for a long time, very excited that we've finally found a date that works best for us. You're not new to motorsports, you have been around forever. And for those who don't know you, can you tell us a little bit about you and how you got started within motorsport?
Speaker C [00:02:30]:
Yeah, sure. I guess I've been doing motorsport for nearly 30 years now, so just coming up to 30 years. I first started back when I was in high school or secondary college down in Melbourne, and I got in touch with a local team called Ball and Racing. They're doing formerly afford, they make the Spectrum Formula Ford cars, which are still yeah, that was my first sort of foray into the world of motorsport. Always loved motorsport as a kid and just fascinated by how things worked and racing. So it was working there and seeing how the cars were put together and how they were built and being part of that process and just being around the team and the group of people and drivers was just an awesome experience to start sort of my motorsport journey.
Belinda [00:03:33]:
And so have you ever raced like is it in your family history or have you come from Antonio? How did you get the bum for motorsport?
Speaker C [00:03:41]:
Yes, dad did a bit of racing back in the day, just sort of club stuff, and he was always taking me to motorsport events and things as a kid and watching on TV, so I guess I caught the bug that way. I did try go carts a little. I think I was eleven or twelve. I think back then they didn't have sort of cadets, it was sort of rookie. So I think twelve was sort of the age where you first get in, but I think it was just a little bit too early for me. As much as I liked the driving and racing, I think I was even more intrigued as to the whys and the hows and understanding it from that analytical side of things. So gravitated more to that and engineering. And then sort of later on, the bug sort of came back, but by that stage I was sort of headed on the engineering path.
Belinda [00:04:49]:
So you're already bitten, it was in your veins. And you did obviously go to Monash Uni, which is, did I have a motorsport unit back then? I know it does now, but I.
Speaker C [00:04:59]:
Was just going to say it didn't when I started. So I guess I went to Monash Uni and I just started doing the stuff with ball and racing in high school and then went to Monash Uni a couple of years later when I finished high school and worked. Worked together between the Unicorse and working with Bourne Racing and yeah, they didn't have a former SAE program at the time. When we first sort of started that wasn't in the works. That's showing my age, how old I am. That wasn't around back then, but then in my final year, yes, that started. So it was the very dawn of it, I guess, in Australia.
Belinda [00:05:53]:
Fantastic. And then after you finished Uni, you headed over to England. Was that for career opportunities or further your education? Tell us about your trip to.
Speaker C [00:06:07]:
It was for my career, and the last, I think, ended up sort of working for ball and racing for about six, seven years. And that was just awesome. Training ground lots of different drivers at the start of their career and forming forward. It's a great category. And as I was graduating high school sorry, graduating university, I should say, trying to look to see where I might go, I had a couple of opportunities to go to IndyCar and then one of those teams shut down, so I was sort of actually all geared up to go to America and follow that sort of dream. And then last minute in December, I think of would have been 2002, it was right when sort of IRL and IndyCar were at each other's throats and a lot of teams are chopping and changing and stuff. So then I had a few contacts that helped me get a job with a team called Lister in the UK. So they ran cars and LMP cars out of England.
Speaker C [00:07:20]:
So, yeah, packing up the bags and heading off to new things overseas all by yourself. Yes.
Belinda [00:07:30]:
And so you worked at the LeMans 24 hours twice. How's that experience? And I guess without a doubt, over this period, that you're building up your network continually to help with your career progress as well.
Speaker C [00:07:42]:
Yeah, I think that sort of period. You're young, you're in your 20s, you've got a lot of energy. Looking back at it now is just awesome. And the really lucky thing, I guess, for me was that I was doing racing and LMPs. The team had just designed an LMP 900 car at the time, which is what's known as LMP One, sort of now or recently, and they had their program. So we were racing testing just about every week, so sort of there for a few years, but it felt like it was ten seasons crammed into just a couple of years. There was just a lot of racing, a lot of traveling, and when you're young and you've got all that time and energy, it was fantastic. And I think that happened.
Speaker C [00:08:44]:
My slur of things got to operate the wind tunnel program for the team, testing in different countries, tire testing. So it was a fantastic time, I think.
Belinda [00:08:58]:
And was it just a matter that you got a bit homesick and you returned to Australia back in 2005 to work with Stone Brothers? Or what was that turning point for you to return?
Speaker C [00:09:07]:
Yeah, look, I think there probably was a bit of that. It became a little bit sort of full circle. So one of the people that I knew from, and I think it all sort of goes show the network in motorsport. It's such a small community and it's know at times it's a helpful one, as you know. One of the people, Ken Douglas, who was a driver at Ball and racing with the Spectrum former Fords, he was one of the people who started Motec showing company in Mosport that I'm sure everyone knows. And he was helpful. The Spectrum former Ford's head motec. He helped me get a job overseas with Lister and then he was technical director at Stone Brothers.
Speaker C [00:10:03]:
So we had some conversations. There was an opening to come back and work as an engineer with SBR and Marcus Hambrose. And that was an exciting opportunity for me to come back and do that.
Belinda [00:10:22]:
Fantastic. Now it's okay to because you've got a long list of clients that you've worked with. So, apart from Marcus, who else have you successfully worked with over your last 30 years?
Speaker C [00:10:36]:
Yeah, I guess there's a few. When I first started, I was working on Marcus's car and Russ Lingle was there, and then James Courtney came through the ranks there. Then there was also a young Van Gisbergen on the nine car that came through SBR. And then I was fortunate to work with a lot of drivers in their infancy in Supercars. So we had drivers like James Courtney Shayna mentioned came through SBR's ranks then tim Slade, Alex Davison, a lot of people through there, lee Holdsworth, I was there from 2005 to when SBR changed into Arabis in 2013 and stayed on with what became known as Arabis.
Belinda [00:11:36]:
Fantastic. So eight years in a supercar, then you were with Arabis and then what happened?
Speaker C [00:11:44]:
Yeah, when Betty took over in 2013 yeah, it was crazy time for the sport. Not only was the model change, but also there's a new car, aerodynamics, so it's exciting to be part of that and molecate the new shape of car and the engine. And then because the Pole program came together in a record amount of time, I think it was sort of September when it got the sort of tick of approval. Then we were putting cars on track in January. It was crazy period of time, but yeah, also exciting as well.
Belinda [00:12:24]:
Yeah, what a fantastic I was going to say joy to be a part of a car is the right word, but process, like, how exciting to be a part of that process of the car of the future.
Speaker C [00:12:39]:
Yeah, absolutely. As I said, it's similar to what's sort of gone on now with Gen Three. And it was a new challenge for all the teams and for the drivers at the time. It was sort of the biggest shake up the sport had seen in a long time. And that presented a lot of challenges for the teams and drivers to try and wrap their head around.
Belinda [00:13:06]:
And in 2014 you had a health break for a few years.
Speaker C [00:13:12]:
Yeah, 2015. So I was born with like a heart condition, so it's sort of something I've always sort of been able to monitor and work with alongside my career. And then in 2015 sort of wasn't so sprightly anymore and all these little things come knocking on your door and you go feel a little bit more under the weather than I usually do and it just suddenly builds up. And then I just had a cardiologist that I always would go and see every couple of years and they were sort of saying, yeah, look, you need to have this operation. It's not life threatening right now, but if you don't, it's going to get worse and we sort of need to do it within the next twelve months otherwise you can't operate and the heart gets too big. I took some time off in the middle of that time of that year of 2015.
Belinda [00:14:27]:
Beautiful. And then when you came back, you came back as a consultant, is that right?
Speaker C [00:14:32]:
Yes. Then started my business the following year, sort of after I recovered and sort of took some time out of Supercars, I guess. Bit of a busman's holiday by still doing Super Two, still sitting toe in the water there and other jobs as well. So single seaters, Porsches, super two, all those things. And yeah, then that sort of led on to working with Tod Hazelwood. Again, another seems to define a lot of what I do, working with younger drivers. And that culminated in winning the championship with him in 2017 in Super Two. So that was, again, keep using that word, that was an exciting period of.
Belinda [00:15:28]:
Time and yet you keep getting dragged back to that supercar realm of excitement and then you had a bit of a break from the Supercar, but this year you came back. Was it this year or last year?
Speaker C [00:15:42]:
This year, I guess, been a little bit to and fro, so it sort of felt like I didn't have a choice. When I was working with Tod, he was with MSR doing Super Two and then that team stepped up. So I guess I helped them step up in their first couple of years into the main game again. So that sort of dragged me back in. And then I had the opportunity to go work at Eight in 2021 to be Jamie Wincop's engineer and he's to be Jamie Winkup's engineer and he's in his final year, so he decided to quit before I went there. I just want to make sure that across I got there and he's like, that's it, wes is going to end my career. I've had too many good engineers. Then Wes has turned up and I'll stop now.
Belinda [00:16:49]:
Yeah. Then after that, yeah.
Speaker C [00:16:57]:
Then again, just trying to manage life and manage career and family and all those fun things that come into the mix. And again, this is my condition. I was just completely burnt out and I didn't want to put the team AA works at such a high consistent level, put them or any of the drivers in a position where I couldn't give 100%, 100% of the time. So, yeah, I took some time out and then got back into it again this year in 2023. Where are we? 2023. Yeah.
Belinda [00:17:53]:
With who we've been helping this year.
Speaker C [00:17:56]:
With her this year, I guess running some parallel programs. So working again with eight. So great to be back with them. Running the Wild Card program. So with the super cheap wildcard So working with Craig Lounge, race engineering that car, and with Zane Goddard. So, again, a younger, younger guy like Zane and experienced guy like Craig. That's a good program to have to help give those younger drivers experience. That's been fantastic work with AAA and pleasure to work with Craig and Zane as that's.
Speaker C [00:18:42]:
I guess that formed one part of my year. And then the other part was, I guess exciting for me was that I started my own another sort of offshoot of the company with something called the Complete Race Driver.
Belinda [00:19:00]:
Yeah. So you've compiled basically 30 years of your knowledge love and expertise into some courses. Tell us a little bit about those.
Speaker C [00:19:10]:
Yeah, so it's basically aimed at any race driver that wants to be improving themselves. So I've loved the technical aspect of everything they've done in motorsport, but I also feel like formed a lot of great relationships with drivers and being there at their side and just had a ringside seat to see how they operate, how they work, how the best of their like Jamie, like Marcus Ambrose, all these champions of our sport. How they operate, what level they go to to be consistent and fast and competitive. And then I've also seen the drivers, what they struggle with when they first come into the sport, the expectations, the pressure, all those things. So I guess that all combined to get me thinking while I was having some time off about how I can help drivers. Whether they're coming up through the ranks from go carts to form their Fords or 86s or into Supercars Super Two or they're racing for fun, at the end of the day, it's all about being the stopwatch and being the competitors. So I just wanted to put a program together to be able to help drivers improve themselves and ultimately improve their driving using techniques that I guess are data driven. So it might seem a bit weird at first to have an engineer run this course rather than a driver.
Speaker C [00:20:57]:
But the thing that I always say is that often a driver can give you all the knowledge that they've acquired over the years, but it's sort of from a one person perspective. So you might be getting all their good attributes, but you'll also be getting sometimes their bad habits as well. What I'm trying to do here is compile all these hundreds of drivers I've worked with using that knowledge and using the data side. Ultimately, motorsport is not just hitting a bat in a ball sort of exercise. It's extremely complex and there's a lot of nuance in the car set up or how you're supposed to drive any one particular car compared to another. And sometimes you've got to be adaptable and change your driving to suit those conditions. So, yeah, coming at it from a sort of technical, data driven aspect, but hopefully also an easy to understand one in this online race driving course.
Belinda [00:22:09]:
And so it's self paced, people can access it at any time and it's got video content as well as worksheets.
Speaker C [00:22:23]:
Yes, it's predominantly a video course, so, unfortunately, you got to look at my head for a little bit of it, but there's videos of diagrams and videos to try and teach and understand for the drivers. And it's a one time fee that you pay up front and that gives you lifetime access to the course. So I think that's one of its strengths. Yes, it's not an in person at a racetrack driving school, but it's something you can access anytime. It's got nine chapters, it's over 6 hours of video, so there's enough to keep you coming back. It's not sort of something you can finish in an afternoon and feel like you got dutted for the money. I think it's good value that you can when you look at it over the hours of content and the fact you can keep coming back to it, I think it's really good resource for drivers to have. You might be struggling with your braking and you can sort of focus on that and come back and reread up on that.
Speaker C [00:23:36]:
And then there's sectional qualifying, the mental aspect of the sport, steering technique, why the tires provide the grip aero, all these things that drivers gradually build up in their bank over the years. It's sort of all there on display for drivers to learn. And yeah, you can keep coming back, keep repeating and keep improving.
Belinda [00:24:04]:
Fantastic. Obviously there's more information onto your website. What's that website link?
Speaker C [00:24:10]:
So the website is thecompletrace driver all one word. So that's where you go and you can find out more information and you can sign up and start learning and start improving.
Belinda [00:24:28]:
And of course that link will be in the show notes. So just scroll to the bottom of the podcast, find the link, click on it and we'll go directly to Wes's website. If you're not quite sure if the program is exactly for you and you want to know more, obviously there's more details on there, but Wes actually has a fantastic freebie on his website as well. Can you tell us about that free download that you have available?
Speaker C [00:24:51]:
Yeah, sure. So on the website there's the course. There's also giving away free track maps, I guess what we call initially free track maps. So it's full all Australian circuits that you sort of use as a driver to scribble down notes. So whether that's after a session writing down what the car is doing or what gear you need to be in for a particular corner, or when you're going on a track walk to write some notes for yourself. Yeah, it's just there. So you can use that digitally or print them off to take to your next race meeting or test. Yeah, find that a lot of drivers sort of print off dodgy track maps from around the world.
Speaker C [00:25:41]:
So it's just all in the same format, all with the official Motorsport Australia cornering system. Because I think that's another thing that sometimes happens is that some people don't call a kink the right corner number and Philip Island can have eight corners or ten corners or twelve corners and people are talking about the wrong corners and get pretty confusing. So, yeah, it's just like a motorsport and in life, just trying to keep the communication and everything correct.
Belinda [00:26:13]:
Fantastic. And you also do work one on one with drivers, tell us a little bit about how they can get in contact with you or about that service that you provide. Obviously, you're very busy, so you are quite limited in who you can help. But you do definitely work one on one with drivers?
Speaker C [00:26:32]:
I do, yes. There's been some drivers I've worked with that have signed up to the course and wanting to go further and get sort of all one on one tuition or race meetings. So, yeah, if there's any drivers out there, then please get in touch through the website. There's contact details to get in touch with me through there. And then really can just work one on one at a test day or race meeting, furthering the techniques and the disciplines outlined within the course. And then I guess that leads on to sort of next year looking at expanding that part of the business again and having not only myself but another driver that's at a very high level, it's going to come and join. And we'll have that opportunity to work with either myself or this driver or both of us to try and help any drivers out there that want sort of further tuition and further training. So, yeah, I guess watch this space for some.
Belinda [00:27:41]:
So what is the best space for people to follow your journey again, just because they can follow your success and what you're up to next? Is instagram the best. Or Facebook, LinkedIn? Tell us where to find you, Wes.
Speaker C [00:27:53]:
Yeah, I guess it's like streaming services this day, right? You got to have a little bit of everything. If you go to the website, I guess there's the completerace driver. It's got links to social, but, yeah, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, I don't do any dancing, so I'm not on TikTok. Apologies for that.
Belinda [00:28:22]:
That's fantastic. Now, ways you do have 30 years of knowledge, and this is called the Motorsport Coaching Podcast. So before I let you go, I'd love if you could share one or three tips for any of those grassroots motorsport athletes that are getting started on their journey, or they might be in the first couple of years on their journey around, how they can improve their performance.
Speaker C [00:28:45]:
Yeah, it's really good question. It's really important, I think, you get for young people coming through on that journey. There's so much information at the start, so many people telling you what to do, and everyone's got opinions, so it can be hard to sort of filter out the noise.
Belinda [00:29:14]:
Except for us, like, listen to us, like you.
Speaker C [00:29:16]:
And otherwise you wouldn't be speaking.
Belinda [00:29:19]:
That's right. The podcast and follow Motivate training.
Speaker C [00:29:25]:
Yeah, exactly. So you got those two things, that's all you need, right?
Belinda [00:29:30]:
That's right.
Speaker C [00:29:33]:
So, yeah, I think surrounding yourself by the good people and is super important and then going on from there. I think the two other sort of keystones are I think one be coachable. That's something that comes up time and time again is to be coachable and at some point in your career, it might not happen too much in carding. But then going through you're going to have people tell you how to drive at some point and you got to try and balance out your bravado and confidence with being coachable. So the best of the best have all been through that stage. And even when even someone like Jamie Winkup is there, he's still willing to learn, even though he's won seven supercars championships. If he's getting beaten, if he's not breaking later than his teammate, that's what the data says, then he wants to know that. So be coachable.
Speaker C [00:30:44]:
Don't think you've got all the answers, because you don't. No one does. And then I think the other tip is to one of the big things I talk about in my course is to be adaptable is the other, and that's you've only got to look at someone like Shane in this country. I guess using that example in Australia with supercars again or Brody Distecki, they jump in just about any car and they can be competitive. And that's a testament to their skill base and being adaptable, whether it's sprint cars, rally cars, obviously Shane's going to do NASCAR shortly. They can jump in different cars and be competitive in that they've got an analytical brain that can assess and again, be coachable to listen to people, what they're telling you, and they work out how to drive those different cars and then they bring that knowledge back into whatever they're doing and just raise the bar. Again, surround yourself by good people, be coachable and be adaptable. That'd be the three tips I'd use.
Belinda [00:32:07]:
And follow motivate training and the complete race driver.
Speaker C [00:32:12]:
Yeah, that's all encapsulating. That goes without saying. Exactly.
Belinda [00:32:16]:
Well, thank you very much, Wes, for sharing your journey. What a fantastic journey. I'm sure there will also be some guys and girls that may even get in contact with you about career in mechanical engineering. Wes is always happy to answer any questions. Aren't Wes?
Speaker C [00:32:33]:
Yeah, absolutely. And I've had quite a few engineers as well, sort of sign up to the course because that's I guess the other important thing is that it's technical, but it's also on the human level, you got to be able to communicate. So working out what makes drivers tick is important for engineers, too, to improve everyone's performance.
Belinda [00:32:57]:
Fantastic.
Speaker C [00:32:58]:
Always happy to talk.
Belinda [00:33:00]:
Thanks, Laz. Well, it's fantastic having you on the show. I really appreciate your time today, guys. Make sure you do race over and check out the Complete race a driver website. Again, the link will be in today's show notes as well as Wes's Instagram account. Make sure you DM if you've got any questions about driver coaching, engineering, mentorship, one on one training, he is the driver trainer for you, Wes. Again, thanks and goodbye.
Speaker C [00:33:28]:
Awesome. Thank you very much for having me, Linda. Thank you.
Belinda [00:33:31]:
See ya. Well, thanks everyone for listening to this week's show. I really hope you enjoyed that one.
Belinda [00:33:37]:
As much as I did.
Belinda [00:33:38]:
Now remember, all the show notes with.
Belinda [00:33:39]:
The links and the specials mentioned in today's show are available [email protected] au. If you haven't already, I'd really appreciate if you could head to itunes or stitcher type in Motorsport Coaching subscribe and leave us a review each week I'll read them out and you'll go into monthly draw to win a fantastic prize. If you have any questions or comments, please email [email protected] au or head over to our Facebook page.
