The V8 Sleuth Podcast

We’ve had an incredible chat with George Smith that set a new benchmark for the longest recording in the history of the V8 Sleuth Podcast powered by Castrol.

He shared so many stories from a career in the sport that has seen him in the middle of many of its most memorable and iconic moments that he and Noonz ended up chatting for almost four hours!

We’re releasing the first two parts this week. In Part 1, he talks about his current project: restoring the Big Kev Commodore that sat untouched for over 20 years following Paul Morris and Mark Larkham’s horror start-line crash at Oran Park in 2000.

He then shares stories from his days with Dencar, his chassis building company with Dennis Watson that was responsible for underpinning many of the Holden Commodores that competed in touring car racing from the early-1990s to the mid-2000s, including a tale involving the production line in Elizabeth that Holden executives certainly didn’t find funny at the time…

He then talks about how he got involved in the sport in the first place in Tasmania, landing a job with Harry Firth at the Holden Dealer Team, then linking up with Colin Bond’s Sydney-based HDT outpost.

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V8 Sleuth’s Aaron Noonan runs through the key news from the Repco Supercars Championship this week, headlined by a string of co-driver announcements ahead of the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 enduros. Noonz also puts forward a radical solution to getting more racing into Supercars race weekends.

Find the right Castrol product for your vehicle or equipment here with the Castrol Product Finder >> https://www.castrol.com/en_au/australia/home/oil-selector.html

V8 Sleuth Live Night at Bathurst featuring Tony Cochrane >> https://bit.ly/3yXh6cb

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For this Ryco Rewind we're going back to the Hidden Valley round of the 2009 V8 Supercars Championship Series, one where Tim Slade and Paul Morris Motorsport were accused – but cleared – of intentionally causing a Safety Car to benefit a teammate.

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This week’s ‘mini’ edition of the V8 Sleuth Podcast powered by Castrol features Dick Johnson talking about how his team built what were widely renowned as the world’s fastest Ford Sierra touring cars in the late 1980s.

In this snippet, Dick talks about how he initially had to buy management system chips from Andy Rouse, their very blunt parting of the ways and how the team was able to go its own way on developing the turbocharged rockets, culminating in DJR’s ‘ego trip’ to the 1988 Silverstone TT to take on Rouse and the factory-backed Eggenberger cars.

This Mini came from Episode 14 back in 2019 when we were talking to Dick ahead of writing the sold-out, limited-edition book ‘Dick Johnson Racing/DJR Team Penske: 40 Years of Cars - 1980-2019’. To listen to the rest of the chat, covering the Tru Blu XDs and Greens’ Tuf XEs, Group A Mustangs and Sierras, and early Five Litre-era Falcons, tap this link >> https://bit.ly/V8SP14DJohnson

We also did another chat with Dick on Episode 157 in 2021 looking at his highs and lows at the Bathurst 1000, which you can listen to here >> https://bit.ly/V8SP157DJohnson

Find the right Castrol product for your vehicle or equipment here with the Castrol Product Finder >> https://www.castrol.com/en_au/australia/home/oil-selector.html

V8 Sleuth Superstore >> https://superstore.v8sleuth.com.au/

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Race Control: V8 Sleuth’s Aaron Noonan chats with Supercars’ Driving Standards Advisor, Motorsport Australia’s Craig Baird, who explains all the details behind the calls made in Race Control during the latest Repco Supercars Championship round – the betr Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway.

The V8 Sleuth Podcast appreciates the support of Motorsport Australia in putting our Race Control episodes together.

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V8 Sleuth’s Aaron Noonan runs through the key news from the Repco Supercars Championship this week, headlined by the on-track action from Friday at Hidden Valley where, after qualifying, just one driver remains in contention for the Triple Crown.

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Tickets are now on sale for our annual V8 Sleuth Live night at this year's Repco Bathurst 1000, but there's been a few changes for 2024 that Noonz will take you through in this episode - as well as revealing the identity of this year's featured guest!

Secure your tickets now via the link below ... they are limited and we've sold out very quickly in the past, so book now so you don't miss out!

TICKETS >> https://bit.ly/3yXh6cb

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We’re talking to Andrew Miedecke for this week’s episodes of the V8 Sleuth Podcast powered by Castrol – and we’re releasing both parts at the same time!

The second part of our two-part chat looks at the end of the road for Miedecke Motorsport as a touring car operation in 1989 and his union with Peter Brock, going from full-timer to co-driver for a host of elite squads, culminating in a Bathurst 1000 podium finish with Mark Larkham and Stone Brothers Racing in 1997.

Miedecke also tells stories from racing NASCARs and winning Targa Tasmania, as well as going racing with son George and their current success in GT4 – which led to an unexpected congratulatory call from one of the biggest names in the automotive world!

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V8 Sleuth Superstore >> https://superstore.v8sleuth.com.au/

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We’re talking to Andrew Miedecke for this week’s episodes of the V8 Sleuth Podcast powered by Castrol – and we’re releasing both parts at the same time!

In the first part of our two-part chat, he talks about choosing racing cars over horses in his native Tasmania, the story behind a one-off ATCC start in a Volvo in 1971, getting serious in open-wheel racing and trying to go overseas, getting into the car sales business and moving to Port Macquarie, returning to racing in the 1980s and earning the nickname ‘Mad Andy’, and finally hitting the big-time in touring cars with a Ford Sierra run on a shoestring budget. 

Find the right Castrol product for your vehicle or equipment here with the Castrol Product Finder >> https://www.castrol.com/en_au/australia/home/oil-selector.html

V8 Sleuth Superstore >> https://superstore.v8sleuth.com.au/

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For this Ryco Rewind we're going back to the Canberra round of the 2001 Shell Championship Series, one where Marcos Ambrose’s loose left-rear Bridgestone stole some of the limelight with a remarkable, unrepeatable, ‘not in a billion tries’ feat.

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