{"id":345027,"date":"2023-11-09T04:40:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T05:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=345027"},"modified":"2023-11-09T06:02:44","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T06:02:44","slug":"what-these-racers-have-in-common-with-bathurst-legends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=345027","title":{"rendered":"What these racers have in common with Bathurst legends"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Million-dollar race cars going door-to-door might have you thinking motorsport is all glitz and glamour, but even Australia&#x27;s best racers have to pay their way to get there.<\/p>\n<p>In the heyday of touring car racing, it was commonplace to work during the week and race on the weekends.<\/p>\n<p>Wages went towards paper-thin budgets to run cars that became iconic Down Under, like the Holden Commodore and the Ford Falcon.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Stan Sport is the only place to watch every second of the 2023 SpeedSeries.<\/strong><\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/9.nine.com.au\/DnH61N\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><strong>All the action streaming ad-free, live and on demand<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Even then, some of Australia&#x27;s most well-known names had humble beginnings before making it big.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"49d10f77-295a-4bbd-a1a2-2481946b3dfc\" src=\"https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/49d10f77-295a-4bbd-a1a2-2481946b3dfc\" alt=\"Dick Johnson returned to Mount Panorama in 1981 where he won the Bathurst 1000 in a Ford X Falcon.\" data-width=\"1264\" data-height=\"843\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Three-time <a href=\"https:\/\/wwos.nine.com.au\/bathurst-1000\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Bathurst 1000\">Bathurst 1000<\/a> winner <a href=\"https:\/\/wwos.nine.com.au\/dick-johnson\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Dick Johnson\">Dick Johnson<\/a> spent two years in the army in the 1960s, worked at Repco, and owned a service station in the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n<p>Another Bathurst 1000 winner, Allan Grice, was a pastry chef and became an icon at <a href=\"https:\/\/wwos.nine.com.au\/mount-panorama\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Mount Panorama\">Mount Panorama<\/a>, winning the Great Race twice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/wwos.nine.com.au\/cricket\/news-2023-meg-lanning-retires-australia-captain\/69997cc5-fe43-4992-88c3-9406b8e3d3f9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"\"><strong>Teary Lanning&#x27;s reason for &#x27;scary&#x27; retirement<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/wwos.nine.com.au\/cricket\/world-cup-news-2023-glenn-maxwell-double-hundred-cramping-australia-physio\/8701b090-d80e-4904-ae25-99afa86e3785\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Physio&#x27;s message to Maxwell after saying &#x27;I&#x27;m done&#x27;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/wwos.nine.com.au\/nrl\/news-2024-state-of-origin-series-mcg-to-host-game-two-of-as-maroons-face-uphill-battle\/9b2857b3-f71a-4b43-86b4-27bddee0bdf5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Maroons stung in 2024 State of Origin draw<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Rally champ turned touring car icon George Fury was a farmer, earning him the nicknames &quot;Farmer George&quot; and &quot;The Talmalmo Farmer&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>Motorsport has come a long way since. Cars have advanced exponentially and costs have risen accordingly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"0f3da338-6ed6-4020-8625-94a7693c8d5f\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0f3da338-6ed6-4020-8625-94a7693c8d5f-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Aaron Cameron leads the TCR Australia Series at Sandown.\" data-width=\"2959\" data-height=\"1973\" \/><\/p>\n<p>However, one thing has remained the same \u2013 drivers still work day jobs during the week to fund their racing dream.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/wwos.nine.com.au\/speedseries\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"SpeedSeries\">SpeedSeries<\/a> is littered with drivers with different jobs. Grice&#x27;s son Ben, who races in the National Trans Am Series, is a signwriter.<\/p>\n<p>TCR Australia Series front-runner Aaron Cameron works as a concreter while his Garry Rogers Motorsport teammate Jordan Cox runs his own automotive workshop.<\/p>\n<p>Supercars star and TCR champion Will Brown works in his family&#x27;s car dealership while Bathurst 1000 podium finisher Tony D&#x27;Alberto runs a caravan manufacturing business.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"8c7ea44b-1590-485a-b6fb-4773fb7e3419\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/8c7ea44b-1590-485a-b6fb-4773fb7e3419-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Aaron Cameron (middle) stands atop the podium with Jordan Cox (right) and Lachlan Mineeff.\" data-width=\"3000\" data-height=\"2000\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Ian McDougall is a commercial insights analyst for the AFL while Ben Bargwanna works as a delivery driver.<\/p>\n<p>TCR Australia Series leader Bailey Sweeny worked at Bunnings up until recently.\ufeff<\/p>\n<p>Lachlan Mineeff, Josh Buchan, and Zac Soutar all utilise their racing prowess as driving instructors.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;A lot of people think it&#x27;s just all just racing cars on the weekends, sitting back sipping lattes during the week,&quot; Cameron told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;We do get our hands dirty and there are so many guys who do a lot of different things during the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&quot;We all come to the racetrack and have some pretty cool stories of what happened during the week, who screwed up what.&quot;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CXCwYgVvuyr\/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"embed-social embed-instagram\" data-show-caption=\"true\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CXCwYgVvuyr\/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cameron said he&#x27;s fortunate his work is understanding of his racing commitments.<\/p>\n<p>He&#x27;s often taking time off to test in rural Victoria and travels across the country to race once or twice a month.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;The guys I work for are great with the time off that I need to go racing,&quot; he explained.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I can&#x27;t always be working Monday to Friday, so to have that flexibility of (saying), &#x27;Sorry boss, I can&#x27;t make it this Friday or Thursday&#x27; it&#x27;s been really great to have that sort of flexibility and still be able to work with the boys and do something away from motorsport.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Cox understands that his situation isn&#x27;t too dissimilar to other athletes trying to make the big-time, except his chosen sport requires tens of thousands of dollars to make happen.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"13c7f692-167a-4c9c-aa4c-466885b4ab47\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/13c7f692-167a-4c9c-aa4c-466885b4ab47-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"The start of the second TCR World Tour and TCR Australia Series race at Sydney Motorsport Park.\" data-width=\"4000\" data-height=\"2667\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&quot;Even guys that are very good at their craft in tennis or soccer or whatever, they&#x27;ve got day jobs until they make it to a level that they can get paid for their time and effort and live off that,&quot; said Cox.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Motorsport, really, is no different in that regard. When you&#x27;re paying for it out of your own pocket, it costs you a hell of a lot of money than kicking a soccer ball around the park.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Most drivers pay their way by sourcing sponsorship. When they&#x27;re not working, they&#x27;re spending time on the phone, meeting one-on-one with prospective sponsors to help pay the lion&#x27;s share of the bill.<\/p>\n<p>Getting those sponsorship dollars goes a long way towards having a safety net to focus on driving. However, there are often instances where drivers can&#x27;t get enough money and simply can&#x27;t compete.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Obviously there&#x27;s a fair difference,&quot; Cox said of the gap between professional, semi-professional, and amateur drivers.<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"b5509006-21b5-4d47-800d-95128cc5998e\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/b5509006-21b5-4d47-800d-95128cc5998e-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Jordan Cox talks to one of his Garry Rogers Motorsport crew members.\" data-width=\"4000\" data-height=\"2667\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&quot;For me, I probably don&#x27;t think of that too much. I&#x27;m incredibly happy and content just doing what I&#x27;m doing \u2013 just being here is a win for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I&#x27;m very much aspiring to go even further where I can and I think the mentality and the personal preparation would be much better if you were a professional race car driver that only drives race cars every weekend and spends his time focusing on your headspace and your physical fitness during the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Obviously there&#x27;s a lot more to it than that being a pro race car driver. Once you get to that level, I think you got the opportunity to really maximise yourself.&quot;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportAU\/status\/1722053915611468005\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"embed-social embed-twitter\" data-show-caption=\"false\" data-conversation=\"none\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportAU\/status\/1722053915611468005<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cameron and Cox will be in action at the Bathurst International on November 10-12 at Mount Panorama as part of the combined TCR Australia Series and TCR World Tour.<\/p>\n<p>That&#x27;ll be supported by the National Trans Am Series, Touring Car Masters, Australian Production Cars and Australia Production Invited, V8 Touring Cars, and Porsche Sprint Challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Stan Sport will carry coverage on Saturday and Sunday from 11.30am AEDT and 10am AEDT respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Nine will have coverage on 9Gem and 9Go from 2pm to 5pm AEDT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Million-dollar race cars going door-to-door might have you thinking motorsport is all glitz and glamour, but even Australia&#x27;s best racers have to pay their way <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=345027\" title=\"What these racers have in common with Bathurst legends\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":303131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345027"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=345027"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":345033,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345027\/revisions\/345033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/303131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=345027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=345027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=345027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}