Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
Speaker 1: from news Talk zedb rat.
Speaker 2: To welcome back into the show one of New Zealand
Speaker 2: Motorsport's brightest young prospects. You may remember Liam Skeets joining
Speaker 2: us in studio back end of last year. He's had
Speaker 2: recent success in Asia, so we thought it was time
Speaker 2: to get him back into update this. Liam, welcome back
Speaker 2: to the show. We spoke to you, as I say,
Speaker 2: in early November and you were heading to the US
Speaker 2: to compete in Indie next So tell us what the
Speaker 2: last months have consisted of for you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you, Piney. The last eight months have been crazy,
Speaker 3: to be honest. Yeah, November last year was the US
Speaker 3: was the focus, IndyCar was the focus, and now it's
Speaker 3: completely changed.
Speaker 4: So yeah, started this year.
Speaker 3: That the opportunity came up to be racing in Lamborghini Asia.
Speaker 3: So with a roof over my head now, so that's
Speaker 3: been the biggest kind of difference this year and I'm
Speaker 3: absolutely loving it so far.
Speaker 2: So tell us about the series. You're actually take us
Speaker 2: back to how the conversation started and how we ended
Speaker 2: up here.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I mean the IndyCar pathway, I would have
Speaker 3: loved to have continued to go down but just the
Speaker 3: realities of motorsport means that it's it's incredibly expensive to
Speaker 3: go down that route. So unfortunately, yeah, I had to.
Speaker 3: I had to pivot, a bit of a strategic pivot,
Speaker 3: and and I was looking all over the globe at
Speaker 3: all the different race series to see what what might
Speaker 3: be best fit for me. And then one day, yeah,
Speaker 3: just just through reaching out to Kiwi's here getting getting
Speaker 3: your advice a key a really successful motor racing driver
Speaker 3: and himself Chris Vanderder took to him and he presented
Speaker 3: me this opportunity of here Lamborghini in Asia GT Cars
Speaker 3: Endurance Racing. So yeah, completely different to the indie next scene.
Speaker 4: And yeah, it was.
Speaker 3: It was a great opportunity, a lot cheaper than the US,
Speaker 3: so that was the most attractive point. But yeah, and
Speaker 3: then just signed signed a contract only weeks before the
Speaker 3: first round and that was held in April in Malaysia.
Speaker 3: And yes, since then I've had four rounds. But yeah,
Speaker 3: as I said, it's I'm super happy about this kind
Speaker 3: of strategic pivot I like.
Speaker 4: To call it. And you're just loving my time in Asia.
Speaker 4: And then Lamborghini outstanding.
Speaker 2: It's funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it. You know,
Speaker 2: you think you're going down one path and then another
Speaker 2: path presents itself. So so tell us about racing these Lamborghinis,
Speaker 2: what you know, Just give us the whole rundown on
Speaker 2: what it is that you're doing.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So there's there's so many new dynamics piny that I'm
Speaker 3: experiencing and having to adapt to.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Adapt is the key word for this year, because there's
Speaker 3: been yeah, so many new firsts. But Lamborghini it's it's
Speaker 3: I've got the biggest thing. And first of all is
Speaker 3: I've got a partner with me, a driving partner, so
Speaker 3: it's not just me now competing in the races. We
Speaker 3: do a pit stop middle of the race and change over.
Speaker 3: So yeah, that dynamic of having a teammate's new and
Speaker 3: I'm really loving it.
Speaker 4: His Dave's Gustave.
Speaker 3: He's from Poland and where we get along really well.
Speaker 3: I'm with an Italian team VSR. They're called Vincenzo Suspirior Racing.
Speaker 3: He's a former Formula One driver in the Shumaca days.
Speaker 3: And yeah, they're they've been awesome. They're they're leading team
Speaker 3: for Lamborghini, so surrounded by a great group of people,
Speaker 3: and yeah, we've had four rounds.
Speaker 4: It's all across Asia.
Speaker 3: We started in Malaysia, then we went to China, then
Speaker 3: to Japan and more recently South Korea. So I'm you know,
Speaker 3: on track, it's it's awesome driving of vting you know,
Speaker 3: Lamborghini with six.
Speaker 4: Hundred plus horse power.
Speaker 3: But but off tre having that Asia experience of of
Speaker 3: you know, being able to see all these new countries
Speaker 3: and meet all these new people, and it's yeah, I'm
Speaker 3: absolutely loving it.
Speaker 4: So I'm feeling very lucky.
Speaker 2: How long are the racers.
Speaker 4: They're they're about an hour long?
Speaker 2: Got ya? Okay, so you're in you're in the seat
Speaker 2: for what typically half of that? Is that how it
Speaker 2: typically worked?
Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, yep, yep. Twenty five to thirty five minutes.
Speaker 2: All right, and it's obviously going well. You had your
Speaker 2: strongest weekend of the season up in South Korea. Is
Speaker 2: it just have you just got the hang of it
Speaker 2: quite quickly or what made everything click so well for
Speaker 2: you in the latest round?
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, the first round of Malaysia actually we managed
Speaker 3: to win, which was a bit of a surprise really
Speaker 3: because yeah, it was my first race weekend and GT
Speaker 3: cars I've had, you know, little to no experience. But yeah,
Speaker 3: we managed to piece to get a weekend and get
Speaker 3: our first.
Speaker 4: Win under our belt.
Speaker 3: But then through China and Japan, you know, a couple
Speaker 3: of rounds went by them and we didn't really get
Speaker 3: close to winning and we were still on the podium,
Speaker 3: which was gay getting seconds and thirds, but yeah, that's
Speaker 3: not good enough.
Speaker 4: So we've been working very hard.
Speaker 3: And then yeah, on the weekend in South Korea, we
Speaker 3: managed to get another win, our second under our belt
Speaker 3: for the season and closing in the championship lead. So yeah,
Speaker 3: it's it hasn't been and easy process smoth sailing at all.
Speaker 3: I mean it's it's yeah, a lot of hard work
Speaker 3: has gone and you know over the last eight months
Speaker 3: to get up to speed in this car and learn
Speaker 3: as much as possible be a sponge. So yeah, but
Speaker 3: but all thank you to my team for you know,
Speaker 3: helping with that process.
Speaker 2: What sort of speed to you are traveling at? Top speed?
Speaker 4: Top speed?
Speaker 3: We came at Fuji in Japan and it was close
Speaker 3: to three hundred I think, not quite about two niney ish.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's moving. It feels far.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, So you've closed in on the leaders second in
Speaker 2: the championship now, I think, so how many rounds are
Speaker 2: they left?
Speaker 3: Two to go? We've got Shanghai at the Formula One
Speaker 3: Circuit in early September and then the World Finals at
Speaker 3: Monza and It'saly at the end of October. So that's yeah,
Speaker 3: that's that one's been circled on the calendar all along.
Speaker 3: That's where you know, all the Lamborghini drivers competition from
Speaker 3: Asia and from North America and from Europe meet at
Speaker 3: Monza for a big showdown. So that's the one we,
Speaker 3: you know, Gustav and I are really working towards and
Speaker 3: really want to win. It won't be easy, I mean
Speaker 3: the the side of the grid there will be about
Speaker 3: fifty plus Lamborghini's all on track together around Manza. But yeah,
Speaker 3: we're feeling confident, you know, with our progress we've made
Speaker 3: here in Asia that will be able to get to
Speaker 3: Europe and we'll be we'll be.
Speaker 4: In the fight.
Speaker 2: Amazing. And on top of that, in the last little while,
Speaker 2: you've been selected for the Lamborghini Young Driver Program. Tell
Speaker 2: us about that and how significant that is.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was very exciting news that I received the
Speaker 3: week of South Korea actually the race and yet to
Speaker 3: be one of fifteen drivers globally Lamborghini drivers to be selected. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it was a huge, huge on the privilege and how
Speaker 3: it works now has now been part of the ecosystem.
Speaker 3: I'm working with Lamborghini directly to me with you know,
Speaker 3: all off track on track aspects like media and sponsorship
Speaker 3: and communication and physical and mental fitness. In September, after
Speaker 3: my Shanghai race, so I've got to go to It'saly
Speaker 3: for a three day training camp. And yeah, that that opportunity.
Speaker 3: It's just the first step really, but now that I'm
Speaker 3: part of the progrand that the goal is to perform
Speaker 3: at Shanghai my next race and especially the World finals
Speaker 3: and and you know, become a factory supported, professional.
Speaker 4: Paid drive for lamb Guini.
Speaker 3: So yeah, now I've created that opportunity for myself. So
Speaker 3: it's just about you know, keep working hard and execute.
Speaker 2: Absolutely outstanding, Liam g What a what an eight months
Speaker 2: you've had made And so you say, you know, first
Speaker 2: step along the journey to where where where might this lead?
Speaker 2: Have you started to think about what the you know,
Speaker 2: the next say three to five years might look like
Speaker 2: for you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Asia is somewhere for the short to medium term
Speaker 3: I really want to build my my career. It's it's
Speaker 3: a great market for motor racing in the motor racing world.
Speaker 4: I think it's it's.
Speaker 3: Really emerging up and coming, and I don't think many
Speaker 3: young drivers are kind of looking there as the platform
Speaker 3: for the last For the long term, Lamon the twenty four.
Speaker 4: Lamon is main goal. I want to be the.
Speaker 3: Next next Kiwi to be to be flying the Kiwi
Speaker 3: flag at that race and following you know the likes
Speaker 3: of Brendan Hartley and El Bamba and yeah, other great
Speaker 3: Kiwi names that have that have taken part in that event.
Speaker 3: So yeah, that's yeah five in five years time, if
Speaker 3: you know. The goal is to be on that grid
Speaker 3: even less than and it would be awesome to be
Speaker 3: dealt with Landy Guiney as a as a driver for
Speaker 3: their manufacturer, with their support behind me.
Speaker 2: You mentioned a couple of names there, and you know,
Speaker 2: we've got such a proud history of producing world class
Speaker 2: racing drivers and all sorts of different cars, haven't we
Speaker 2: do you do you draw inspiration from from other Kiwis
Speaker 2: who have gone before of.
Speaker 4: Course, absolutely.
Speaker 3: I mean Scott Dick and when I was in the
Speaker 3: US last couple of years, he's someone that I really
Speaker 3: looked up to, and yeah, he was hugely supportive and
Speaker 3: an inspiration and you know Foxy Foxy on the weekend
Speaker 3: winning on the global stage.
Speaker 4: It's not just motor racing drivers.
Speaker 3: It's all KII sports people that you can draw inspiration from,
Speaker 3: and you know, come from you know, a little old
Speaker 3: New zeal And in the in the corner of the
Speaker 3: global the globe, and yeah, be able to have huge
Speaker 3: success in the world stage. So yeah, I'm spoiled for
Speaker 3: the amount of icons that there is to look towards
Speaker 3: and learn from, and yeah, pull inspiration from to to
Speaker 3: keep working hard and.
Speaker 2: Even just chatting to you mate, like you've mentioned some
Speaker 2: of the racetracks you've been on and will go to
Speaker 2: Monza and you know who knows what lies down the track.
Speaker 2: Do you still have pinch me moments or you're starting
Speaker 2: to get used to it?
Speaker 4: No, I still have pinch me moments.
Speaker 3: I Yeah, I feel just super appreciative every day to
Speaker 3: have these experiences. Yeah, I mean eight months ago when
Speaker 3: I was talking with you the indie next thing you
Speaker 3: know that that came to an end and honestly, Pineyer,
Speaker 3: I had nothing.
Speaker 4: I had nothing on.
Speaker 3: The cards and just just due to you know, the
Speaker 3: cost of motor racing, and it was really skipped to
Speaker 3: if I would even have my bum in a race
Speaker 3: seat for this year. So yeah, to be racing, Lamb
Speaker 3: mcghinny's all around Asia, to be still, you know, winning
Speaker 3: trophies and sprang Champagne. I'm immensely grateful and that's all
Speaker 3: thank you to my to my Kiwi partners here here
Speaker 3: in New Zealand. He's about eighteen of them, a mixture
Speaker 3: of people and organizations, and yeah, I would not be
Speaker 3: where I am of course without them. So it's it's huge, huge,
Speaker 3: huge thanks to them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well you're right to point them out, but I
Speaker 2: think it's also massive testament to your resilience, your tenacity,
Speaker 2: your determination, your ability to pivot into something different when
Speaker 2: well what they what do they say? When one door closes,
Speaker 2: another is likely to open, and you've walked right on
Speaker 2: through it into Lamborghini. Lamb, it's great to get the
Speaker 2: chance to chat timate. Thanks for up. We'll keep eyes
Speaker 2: on you and hopefully we can catch up in person
Speaker 2: at some stage later in the year.
Speaker 3: Of course, thank you very much, pining for the opportunity,
Speaker 3: look forward to speaking more.
Speaker 2: Yeah, me too, mate, Thanks indeed, Liam Skeets there one
Speaker 2: of our top young motor racing drivers. What a time
Speaker 2: for him.
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