INTERVIEW: RICHIE STANAWAY – COMING ATTRACTION
Richie Stanaway the coming attraction
Richie Stanaway has raced around the world, in all kinds of open-wheelers and GT cars. Now he has one focus – becoming a winner in Supercars
Richie Stanaway partnered with Cam Waters this year
NO ONE really knew what to expect when Richie Stanaway turned up for his first crack at Bathurst last year.
He came with big raps from the Aston Martin team in the World Endurance Championship, and he had been to Australia back in 2009 to race in Formula Ford, but this was The Big One.
Stanaway made no fuss, was extremely fast and fault-free with the Super Black team, and if there was still a Rookie of the Year award he would have sauntered away with it.
“Last year I hadn’t driven anything at Bathurst until race week, which is pretty much the worst-case scenario. But it worked out alright,” Stanaway told Auto Action.
He had hoped to use his enduro experience to claim a main game ride in Supercars, but when the Super Black door slammed shut he was forced to reconsider his moves for 2017 and beyond.
Which flips up back to the beginning and an oddball set of motorsport priorities.
When young Richie switched from motocross to speedway in New Zealand at age 12 he had two career ambitions.
“To be honest, I have only ever been interested in Formula 1 or V8 Supercars,” he says.
He set out to chase the F1 dream through Formula Ford in Australia and New Zealand, taking the Kiwi title as a rookie, before graduating from the Toyota Racing Series to a string of open-wheeler efforts in Europe. He won the Formula Masters series in Germany and the German F3 titles, but never had the money to go all the way despite his speed and skill.
“The obvious reason I went to Europe was to try get to F1, and I’ve done GP3 and GP2,” he says.
It is not like Stanaway’s results in open-wheelers lacked quality. In 2011 he won the German Formula 3 title, with Van Amersfoort Racing. He dominated; in 18 races he was only off the podium twice, and took 13 wins. A difficult 2012 and ’13 in Renault 3.5 saw him struggle, but going to GP3 in 2014 put him on the right track again. In 2015, he won twice at GP2 level, at Monaco and Sochi. He finished 10th in the championship, with drivers like Stoffel Vandoorne, Alex Rossi and Pierre Gasly ahead of him.
Richie Stanaway celebrating a GP2 win at Monaco
“I have driven a GT car for a few years, but it was something I was never realy interested in,” he says.
Despite his lack of total commitment, he was easily good enough to become an Aston Martin factory driver in the WEC as a member of the GTE team that’s under the wing of David Richards and Prodrive.
He was able to do double duty with the WEC and Supercars in ’16, and his Aston Martin commitment ended after Le Mans this year to leave him free for Supercars duty. That means sharing the Monster Falcon with Cam Waters in the endurance classics, and even doing taxi rides at PRA’s corporate days.
“When I came back here and was driving the car as a co-driver, it made realise what a difference it makes when you have passion and you’re enjoying it. Being back here it was ‘Whoa, this is where I want to be’. It made me realise I shouldn’t be doing a fall-back option in Europe.”
Stanaway even moved home to Auckland last year to make his life more enjoyable.
“It was just a lifestyle thing. I just wasn’t enjoying it in England any more. I’d been living in Europe for about seven years.
“But now I’ve been back in NZ for about a year. Logistically it works out as well. After Le Mans, most of our races in the WEC aren’t in Europe anyway. They are Middle East and Asia flyaways, so I figured I might was well get back to New Zealand.
This year I only drove until Le Mans anyway. Basically, we didn’t come to an agreement to do a whole season. So I just drove as the third driver up until Le Mans.”
Richie Stanaway at Le Mans with Aston Martin Racing
The end of the Aston effort has left the 25-year old to concentrate on Supercars and, although he is not saying much, it’s obvious that he is keen to move into the PRA squad for the main game next year if Jason Bright steps away from the steering wheel.
“Obviously I’d love to drive here at PRA. But I have no idea if that’s a possibility,” Stanaway says.
“I’d love to race full-time, but I haven’t had any discussions with anyone about it. Anything out in the press is just stating what I want to do, it’s not like I’ve had a discussion.”
But it’s obvious he is keen and would listen to other teams if they have an opening.
“Ideally, I’d like to do a full season. The tough thing being a co-driver is that it’s hard to stand out. There is no room for heroics.
“But, to be honest, I’d be happy if I didn’t get a full-time drive to co-drive again as a fallback.”
Looking back a little, Stanaway’s enthusiasm for Supercars is obvious. He says it was probably sparked when he saw the success of Greg Murphy in Australia.
“I think it as just a golden era. I think Murph was probably a lot to do with it. He inspired the current crop and me as well.”
But what about the cars, which are a long way away from a thoroughbred open-wheeler?
“I love them. I just have a high level of respect for the engineering. And that’s the thing that determines if I’m happy in a racecar,” he says.
“In Europe I’ve never really been in a position where I’ve been given a competitive car. I enjoy working with a competitive team.”
“I also really find them a satisfying car to drive. I expected to struggle more than I have.”
The bottom line is obvious to him.
Richie Stanaway in the enduros with Prodrive Racing Australia
“Supercars fits into that top tier of elite motorsport categories. And obviously it’s close to where I’m from. So that’s the philosophy of why I want to be here.”
Stanaway seems remarkably relaxed despite the pressure to establish himself in Supercars, but says it’s nothing new.
“I wouldn’t say there is more pressure. To be honest, it feels like less pressure,” he says
“Last year was really a worst-case scenario, where you couldn’t normally race in the main series, even as co-driver, with such limited experience. I happened to be a good fit despite the fact that I wasn’t really prepared.
“I was thrown straight into the deep end. When I did the co-driver session at Winton last year it was the first time I’d driven the car.
“The only thing now for me is calibrating my speed into one of these cars. Cam is having a good year so there is no reason why we cannot have a good result at Bathurst and in the enduros. There is no reason we cannot be in the running.”
So far the signs are good. So far in 16 Supercar races, three have been won by Australias – two for Chaz Mostert, one of Jamie Whincup. The rest have been taken by our NZ cousins; Scott McLaughlin, Fabian Coulthard and Shane van Gisbergen.
Another one is coming…
By PAUL GOVER, News Limited
Article originally published in Issue 1716 of Auto Action.
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