Full Transcript for Roberto Moreno - Part 1

remembering that Alan is in our library, and so is Roberto's good friend and manager, Greg Peewee Siddle. 26 00:02:50.423 --> 00:02:54.225 I hope you enjoy this chat with Roberto Moreno as much as I did. 27 00:02:54.285 --> 00:02:55.285 It's a new year. 28 00:02:55.665 --> 00:03:09.291 We're kickstarting 2025 with a three-part feature app, something we don't often do because I know that many of you, our loyal Garage listeners, just love the long-form conversations. 29 00:03:09.671 --> 00:03:13.573 This is a story of someone who never gave up. 30 00:03:15.706 --> 00:03:18.608 Roberto Moreno, welcome to New Zealand. 31 00:03:18.628 --> 00:03:21.270 I actually should start this by saying welcome back. 32 00:03:21.630 --> 00:03:22.931 How long has it been since you've been here? 33 00:03:22.951 --> 00:03:24.031 It was the late 80s, wasn't it? 34 00:03:24.051 --> 00:03:26.093 And you've loved being back in this country. 35 00:03:26.333 --> 00:03:30.996 Yeah, I came to race in the late 80s, so 82 actually. 36 00:03:31.676 --> 00:03:38.301 I started Formula Atlantics in 81 at the end of the year. 37 00:03:38.461 --> 00:03:44.225 My great friend from Australia who helped me in England throughout my career, was... 38 00:03:44.785 --> 00:03:53.809 put together a race for Nelson Piquet to race the Australian Grand Prix at the end of 81. 39 00:03:54.209 --> 00:04:03.894 When Bob Jane wanted to try to get the Grand Prix there, what he did is he set up Grand Prixs with Atlantic cars, and he invited the world champions. 40 00:04:04.354 --> 00:04:05.896 So Alan Jones was there. 41 00:04:06.376 --> 00:04:09.218 He had won the last race in Vegas in Formula One. 42 00:04:09.238 --> 00:04:12.401 Nelson had won the championship. 43 00:04:12.661 --> 00:04:13.962 Those two guys were there. 44 00:04:14.643 --> 00:04:18.686 And Pee Wee squeezed a backup car for me. 45 00:04:19.027 --> 00:04:19.207 Yeah. 46 00:04:19.427 --> 00:04:23.010 So he convinced Ron Toronight to put a car for me. 47 00:04:23.030 --> 00:04:24.031 And... 48 00:04:26.921 --> 00:04:31.363 I was my first Atlantic race. 49 00:04:32.403 --> 00:04:35.004 I was able to set the car up quite well. 50 00:04:36.085 --> 00:04:40.647 And while Nelson was able to get qualifying tires, 51 00:04:41.987 --> 00:04:43.968 I wasn't allowed them. 52 00:04:43.988 --> 00:04:44.529 Okay. 53 00:04:45.129 --> 00:04:57.455 Only Nelson was able to have those qualifiers from Avon because Pee Wee convinced Avon to build a new tire for Nelson, the world champion, and also a qualifying tire. 54 00:04:57.996 --> 00:05:01.758 So we came with a brand new set of tires that nobody knew. 55 00:05:03.158 --> 00:05:07.140 Alan Jones had all kinds of other tires like Goodyear's, Dunlop's. 56 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:09.662 He had all of them except Avon's. 57 00:05:10.482 --> 00:05:15.421 But he was able to get avantages for the races, for the race itself. 58 00:05:16.767 --> 00:05:19.589 So I end up winning the Grand Prix. 59 00:05:19.709 --> 00:05:20.830 Nelson came second. 60 00:05:21.450 --> 00:05:24.992 Alan, I believe he didn't want to finish second. 61 00:05:25.072 --> 00:05:28.975 So I believe seven laps before the end, he stopped the car. 62 00:05:29.415 --> 00:05:35.719 And if you listen to his interview, why he stopped the car, it gives some doubts what really happened. 63 00:05:36.260 --> 00:05:41.783 And at the end, his mechanics went there, started the car up and drove back to the pit. 64 00:05:41.803 --> 00:05:44.045 So I think he just... 65 00:05:44.485 --> 00:05:52.251 Didn't want to finish second in the Australian Grand Prix after winning the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Formula One. 66 00:05:52.812 --> 00:05:56.995 There's so much you have just opened the door on here that I want to get stuck into. 67 00:05:57.035 --> 00:06:01.338 So firstly, Greg Siddle, Pee Wee, has been on my podcast. 68 00:06:01.378 --> 00:06:10.085 He's a great man who's, I mean, from time with Larry Perkins all through Europe, working with you, working with Nelson. 69 00:06:10.105 --> 00:06:12.707 How did you guys first cross paths? 70 00:06:12.727 --> 00:06:13.288 How did that happen? 71 00:06:13.888 --> 00:06:19.673 Well, Nelson and I, we got together in Brasilia. 72 00:06:20.154 --> 00:06:23.276 My father moved to Brasilia, which is the capital of Brazil. 73 00:06:24.037 --> 00:06:28.541 Actually, the capital was in Rio and moved to Brasilia, a brown-new city. 74 00:06:30.222 --> 00:06:33.906 Brasilia itself was built for half a million people. 75 00:06:34.746 --> 00:06:38.389 At the time we were there, we were only 70,000, more or less. 76 00:06:39.350 --> 00:06:40.571 All the roads were built. 77 00:06:41.512 --> 00:06:44.576 For this great big city with no people. 78 00:06:45.777 --> 00:06:59.993 So we could do anything we want on the roads, especially because the people that were living there were sons of ministers, house of commons, the military, 79 00:07:01.094 --> 00:07:05.277 Only the high-end people of Brazil was living in Brazil at that time. 80 00:07:05.818 --> 00:07:11.501 So the police would not do anything wrong to the kids of those famous people. 81 00:07:11.562 --> 00:07:14.764 So if you had a motorbike, you would have a lot of fun, clearly, wouldn't you? 82 00:07:14.804 --> 00:07:15.444 Exactly. 83 00:07:15.544 --> 00:07:21.608 So I convinced my father that he took me away from Rio, the beach, to buy me a motorcycle. 84 00:07:22.069 --> 00:07:25.992 And he bought me what is called a Yamaha Mini Enduro. 85 00:07:26.172 --> 00:07:26.372 Uh-huh. 86 00:07:27.335 --> 00:07:34.698 In this shop in Brasilia, they used to sell bikes, go-karts, and tune road cars. 87 00:07:35.578 --> 00:07:36.638 Was the only shop. 88 00:07:36.698 --> 00:07:38.259 The shop name was Cumber. 89 00:07:39.039 --> 00:07:45.881 Was owned by Alex Ribeiro and three more friends who actually got the Formula One at one point. 90 00:07:45.901 --> 00:07:47.682 Yeah. 91 00:07:48.262 --> 00:07:52.004 I bought this

bike there and I was only 12. 92 00:07:53.725 --> 00:07:58.568 And I used to put it apart because I love to put the bike apart. 93 00:07:59.189 --> 00:08:01.170 But sometimes I couldn't put it back together. 94 00:08:01.190 --> 00:08:07.314 So I used to go to the shop, ask the mechanic who was seven years older than me, how to do this. 95 00:08:07.754 --> 00:08:10.376 And he would very carefully teach me. 96 00:08:11.562 --> 00:08:12.783 And he had a lot of patience. 97 00:08:13.724 --> 00:08:19.489 And the more he saw my interest for the mechanic side of things, the more he was willing to help me. 98 00:08:20.410 --> 00:08:23.453 So every so often I would go back to him and ask for things. 99 00:08:24.434 --> 00:08:30.919 And then after school, my school was in the mornings, I started to go to this shop. 100 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:36.144 which the name was Kamba, and hang around with those people. 101 00:08:36.945 --> 00:08:46.252 And why I was getting the mechanic to teach me more about motorbikes, because I love motorbikes more than cars, 102 00:08:50.074 --> 00:08:57.317 He started to give me more jobs of his own so he could move to the car side. 103 00:08:57.337 --> 00:09:05.060 Okay, so each day he gave me more jobs and I started to do all his work on the motorcycle side. 104 00:09:06.756 --> 00:09:08.457 And we became good friends. 105 00:09:09.158 --> 00:09:13.181 And he teached me everything I knew about mechanics at that time. 106 00:09:13.781 --> 00:09:15.302 And that guy was Nelson Piquet. 107 00:09:15.482 --> 00:09:15.962 Unbelievable. 108 00:09:15.982 --> 00:09:18.184 So you became really good friends, you guys. 109 00:09:18.204 --> 00:09:20.706 I mean, to this day, like a brother, I think you've described him. 110 00:09:20.726 --> 00:09:20.946 Yes. 111 00:09:21.186 --> 00:09:22.207 On more than one occasion. 112 00:09:23.047 --> 00:09:24.128 Before I come to Nelson... 113 00:09:25.066 --> 00:09:39.551 What intrigues me about what you just talked about in relation to spending that time at the shop and the learning and things is you developed a very good reputation for being able to set up cars, to develop things and so on. 114 00:09:40.412 --> 00:09:49.875 Is the foundations of all of that from your time here in the work, did that help inspire that love in you, that ability? 115 00:09:49.895 --> 00:09:49.995 Yeah. 116 00:09:50.295 --> 00:09:51.216 See, this shop. 117 00:09:51.856 --> 00:09:56.300 If you imagine four friends, they're all 17 years old, 18. 118 00:09:56.380 --> 00:09:58.041 I was the youngest one of them all. 119 00:09:58.862 --> 00:10:01.985 They got together because they love racing. 120 00:10:03.166 --> 00:10:08.510 And they developed this shop that was to tune cars and then started to sell go-karts and motorbikes. 121 00:10:09.371 --> 00:10:14.596 And the more they got to be known, the more things they found to sell in the shop. 122 00:10:15.596 --> 00:10:20.479 In that shop, anybody with an idea would be welcome.

123 00:10:21.540 --> 00:10:27.983 So it's one of those places that NASA would love to have some people coming from. 124 00:10:28.824 --> 00:10:33.627 So, and I started to develop the motorcycle side. 125 00:10:34.928 --> 00:10:49.663 Nelson eventually decided to go Super V racing in Brazil, and he bought two go-karts to practice two months before he had to go to Sao Paulo and start his racing season. 126 00:10:51.520 --> 00:10:54.303 He didn't have anybody to go with him, so he took me. 127 00:10:54.323 --> 00:10:55.304 Fantastic. 128 00:10:55.744 --> 00:10:57.145 And he said, well, give it a go. 129 00:10:57.165 --> 00:10:58.987 See how you like the go-kart. 130 00:10:59.448 --> 00:11:00.429 And I loved it. 131 00:11:01.009 --> 00:11:03.111 And Nelson said, you know, you're not too bad. 132 00:11:03.992 --> 00:11:05.774 I think you can do really well. 133 00:11:06.514 --> 00:11:09.677 So I convinced my father to buy the go-kart. 134 00:11:10.658 --> 00:11:12.980 Which he said to me, look, I can only buy it. 135 00:11:13.380 --> 00:11:15.241 I cannot support you racing. 136 00:11:15.822 --> 00:11:16.602 I said, no problem. 137 00:11:16.662 --> 00:11:20.745 I will work at Cumber as fixing motorcycles. 138 00:11:21.286 --> 00:11:24.048 And I'll have enough money to go racing. 139 00:11:24.548 --> 00:11:25.929 So we did that. 140 00:11:26.710 --> 00:11:32.113 And straight away, Nelson won the first race in his class. 141 00:11:32.534 --> 00:11:33.595 And I won in my class. 142 00:11:34.818 --> 00:11:37.000 And everything started from there. 143 00:11:37.181 --> 00:11:39.783 And he'd teach me how to do engines in karting. 144 00:11:40.644 --> 00:11:47.390 So I started to fix other people's go-kart engines during the week. 145 00:11:47.631 --> 00:11:52.515 And I would fix my one on the weekend with the money that they paid me for. 146 00:11:52.956 --> 00:11:54.137 What were you two like? 147 00:11:54.157 --> 00:11:55.838 Were you cheeky? 148 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:58.021 Why did you become such good mates? 149 00:11:58.621 --> 00:12:07.552 Well, Nelson, I think he liked to see how curious I was and how dedicated I was. 150 00:12:08.292 --> 00:12:09.334 And he just helped me. 151 00:12:09.354 --> 00:12:13.939 Nelson, we were not very close friends. 152 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:16.602 It was like a brotherhood more than anything. 153 00:12:17.483 --> 00:12:20.508 So he would tell me off most of the time. 154 00:12:21.769 --> 00:12:22.931 I wouldn't leave him alone. 155 00:12:23.752 --> 00:12:26.336 But we developed something quite good. 156 00:12:26.356 --> 00:12:31.103 I always look what he does, and I try to do a little bit better if I could. 157 00:12:31.123 --> 00:12:31.563 Awesome. 158 00:12:32.084 --> 00:12:33.746 You would get to know... 159 00:12:34.752 --> 00:12:37.715 Peewee, Greg Siddle, at what point? 160 00:12:37.815 --> 00:12:42.240 By the time you got to England and you're with Van Diemen, Ralph Fuhrman, where did you go? 161 00:12:42.460 --> 00:12:43.822 It was quite early. 162 00:12:43.842 --> 00:12:44.783 It was in Brasilia. 163 00:12:45.003 --> 00:12:45.864 Ah, okay. 164 00:12:45.884 --> 00:12:48.587 Because I started to race karts. 165 00:12:48.747 --> 00:12:48.887 Yeah. 166 00:12:49.548 --> 00:12:51.230 And I also went to race super Vs. 167 00:12:51.911 --> 00:12:53.793 So I did four years of karting. 168 00:12:55.307 --> 00:12:58.850 And in 70s, I started in 74. 169 00:12:59.671 --> 00:13:06.716 In 76, I was the first guy from Brasilia to win a national championship. 170 00:13:06.736 --> 00:13:06.956 Awesome. 171 00:13:08.037 --> 00:13:16.044 And a month later, I went racing motorcycles in the streets in Brasilia, and I broke my ankle. 172 00:13:17.165 --> 00:13:21.748 And it took me a year going to the hostel every day to fix it. 173 00:13:22.749 --> 00:13:33.996 So I and then I a year later I went back into carts and I was trying to race cars in Brazil because now I have my license. 174 00:13:34.056 --> 00:13:34.996 I'm 18 years old. 175 00:13:35.056 --> 00:13:36.337 I'm actually 19. 176 00:13:36.457 --> 00:13:41.140 I was because I had to spend an extra year fixing my leg. 177 00:13:43.821 --> 00:13:46.883 Nelson happens to arrive in Brasilia at the end of the year. 178 00:13:49.405 --> 00:13:55.069 And he had won everything that was to win in Formula 3 in England in 78. 179 00:13:56.910 --> 00:14:04.916 So he comes for Christmas in Brasilia and he says to me, Roberto, you're not going to race in Brazil. 180 00:14:05.537 --> 00:14:08.078 I said, no, I'm trying to do this and this. 181 00:14:08.199 --> 00:14:09.319 No, no, forget it. 182 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:11.341 I already looked everything. 183 00:14:12.742 --> 00:14:13.702 Racing in England. 184 00:14:15.203 --> 00:14:28.449 It's cheaper than racing in Brazil for some reason, but you race three or four times more races with the same money that you would race eight races in Brazil. 185 00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:33.571 So forget about Brazil, you're gonna go to England and race Formula Fours. 186 00:14:34.651 --> 00:14:36.932 I say, hang on, Nelson. 187 00:14:39.093 --> 00:14:43.255 How can I race in England if I don't even speak English? 188 00:14:44.583 --> 00:14:48.826 And he looked at me in a cheeky way and said, well, do you need to speak to drive? 189 00:14:48.846 --> 00:14:50.428 I said, no. 190 00:14:50.448 --> 00:14:52.890 I said, well, okay. 191 00:14:53.310 --> 00:14:56.653 And then I said, well, I don't know anybody in England. 192 00:14:58.394 --> 00:15:00.676 How can I make things happen there? 193 00:15:01.357 --> 00:15:01.917 Don't worry. 194 00:15:02.257 --> 00:15:06.461 This guy that worked for me this year, Pee Wee, 195 00:15:07.478 --> 00:15:11.143 You're going to meet him because he's going to spend Christmas and New Year with us. 196 00:15:12.985 --> 00:15:14.186 I already talked to him. 197 00:15:14.767 --> 00:15:21.094 He's going to help you to buy your road car, to buy your race car, to buy your

race engine. 198 00:15:21.855 --> 00:15:26.881 And he's not going to charge you anything because he made a lot of money with me this year. 199 00:15:27.742 --> 00:15:29.203 And he's just going to help you. 200 00:15:29.984 --> 00:15:32.226 But you're going to have to work on your own car. 201 00:15:32.246 --> 00:15:33.988 I said, well, that's not a problem. 202 00:15:34.388 --> 00:15:35.309 I'm a good mechanic. 203 00:15:36.690 --> 00:15:40.754 PUE is just going to make the entries, buy the cars, sell the cars. 204 00:15:40.854 --> 00:15:42.996 If you have a problem, he will step in. 205 00:15:43.456 --> 00:15:45.138 But you're going to have to do it yourself. 206 00:15:45.158 --> 00:15:46.299 I said, no problem. 207 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:49.402 I said, yeah, Nelson, but how... 208 00:15:51.939 --> 00:15:54.762 What am I going to find money to go racing? 209 00:15:55.423 --> 00:16:00.609 I said, well, one of my old sponsors, he doesn't want to go to Formula One with me. 210 00:16:01.490 --> 00:16:03.072 I'm going to convince him to help you. 211 00:16:03.433 --> 00:16:03.853 Fantastic. 212 00:16:03.913 --> 00:16:04.634 I said, well, great. 213 00:16:04.674 --> 00:16:05.075 Great. 214 00:16:06.508 --> 00:16:20.578 Eventually the help that he meant I thought it was gonna be a full help But it was like a third of the money I needed to raise Formula Force in England So we we got a bunch of other friends like five different friends in Brasilia. 215 00:16:21.058 --> 00:16:33.707 They all chipped another thousand dollars each and $8,000 came from this sponsor 10th another 5,000 from five other friends and I got $13,000 216 00:16:35.949 --> 00:16:36.689 to go to England. 217 00:16:37.110 --> 00:16:37.570 Oh, no real. 218 00:16:37.850 --> 00:16:46.614 He would need $25,000 to do 25 races, 25 tests with Van Diemen, the best team. 219 00:16:47.174 --> 00:16:48.614 Plus money to live. 220 00:16:49.835 --> 00:16:50.455 I had 13,000. 221 00:16:50.535 --> 00:16:52.636 I did 22 races, 22 tests. 222 00:16:58.008 --> 00:16:59.208 With $13,000. 223 00:16:59.569 --> 00:17:00.149 Crazy. 224 00:17:00.269 --> 00:17:00.509 Yes. 225 00:17:01.569 --> 00:17:03.430 And I had to sleep in the car. 226 00:17:03.450 --> 00:17:05.511 I had to have PeeWee help me for free. 227 00:17:06.411 --> 00:17:12.753 PeeWee found some local sponsors for me from British BP. 228 00:17:13.774 --> 00:17:21.197 And a guy that used to have a shop at the back of the Routt factory where PeeWee worked with Ron Tornak. 229 00:17:21.217 --> 00:17:21.857 Tornak, yeah. 230 00:17:22.837 --> 00:17:25.338 called Formica, Weybridge. 231 00:17:26.198 --> 00:17:34.699 So he got him to sponsor me a little bit, and we had to sell our car and everything at the end of the year to pay some of the other bills. 232 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:45.301 But we made 22 races, 22 tests, and that was PUE, that if it wasn't him, I wouldn't be able to do everything I did. 233 00:17:46.121 --> 00:17:49.522 Then I ask a last question for Nelson before deciding to do this. 234 00:17:49.702 --> 00:17:49.862 Yeah. 235 00:17:50.770 --> 00:17:53.971 I say, Nelson, I only race cars in Brazil. 236 00:17:54.351 --> 00:17:58.772 I tried to do two races in cars, and I never made past the first lap. 237 00:17:59.453 --> 00:18:03.854 Something happened with the car, and it broke down. 238 00:18:05.034 --> 00:18:06.735 What about if I'm not good at this? 239 00:18:07.726 --> 00:18:08.887 I've only done karting. 240 00:18:09.528 --> 00:18:11.910 What about if I go to England and I'm not good? 241 00:18:12.491 --> 00:18:15.574 I've seen you drive, I've seen your dedication, you are good. 242 00:18:16.034 --> 00:18:17.095 What do you do in kart? 243 00:18:17.275 --> 00:18:19.217 You can do in Formula One and succeed. 244 00:18:20.278 --> 00:18:26.825 See, yeah, but let's say I don't like the food, I don't like the weather, I get homesick. 245 00:18:27.025 --> 00:18:27.946 I'm homesick. 246 00:18:29.647 --> 00:18:31.728 That took him a couple of minutes to answer. 247 00:18:32.488 --> 00:18:34.008 And then he said, oh, you know what? 248 00:18:34.568 --> 00:18:56.732 If you don't get going well there for some strange reason, you went to England, you've learned a second language, but with the time that you're going to spend there because you're going to be forced to learn another language, you're going to come back home with a second language to work in anything you want, and somebody would have paid that bill. 249 00:18:57.915 --> 00:18:59.197 I say, great, let's do it. 250 00:18:59.858 --> 00:19:02.062 And that's how I made the decision. 251 00:19:05.210 --> 00:19:08.053 Listening to Nelson to go to EmRace in England. 252 00:19:08.373 --> 00:19:10.074 The start of a great adventure for you. 253 00:19:10.355 --> 00:19:12.116 Indeed it was. 254 00:19:12.256 --> 00:19:21.164 When you left, and I don't want to make you upset when we talk about this, but your lovely mother said something to you, didn't she? 255 00:19:21.204 --> 00:19:24.707 And it became your motivation. 256 00:19:24.768 --> 00:19:26.009 Inspiration, yes. 257 00:19:26.369 --> 00:19:30.393 You see, my mother said to me, look, I'm going to leave your room the way you left. 258 00:19:31.173 --> 00:19:31.913 Not going to change. 259 00:19:31.973 --> 00:19:33.174 Nobody's going to sleep on it. 260 00:19:33.914 --> 00:19:42.097 If things don't work out, you come back and you have a place to live. 261 00:19:42.977 --> 00:19:48.619 Every time I had a hard time, I used to think, well, if I go back home... 262 00:19:50.297 --> 00:19:56.283 And my mother sees me as a failure, although she's supporting me to be back home and all that. 263 00:19:57.384 --> 00:19:59.466 In my eyes, I would be a failure to her. 264 00:20:00.487 --> 00:20:07.014 And that was my inspiration through the bad times to get over and fix things. 265 00:20:07.134 --> 00:20:08.155 I have to make her proud. 266 00:20:08.335 --> 00:20:09.196 I have to make her

proud. 267 00:20:09.236 --> 00:20:10.077 Yes, indeed. 268 00:20:10.737 --> 00:20:13.240 And that always touches me even to this date. 269 00:20:14.140 --> 00:20:19.344 So in that period, Pee Wee's an immensely loyal guy. 270 00:20:19.424 --> 00:20:22.525 What he says, he's true to his word, I've always found. 271 00:20:22.565 --> 00:20:29.630 If he's going to commit to doing something for you and you're loyal to him, he's absolutely loyal to you. 272 00:20:29.790 --> 00:20:33.192 So you stitch that together, you go to England… 273 00:20:33.932 --> 00:20:38.316 And at this period here, you talk about it very fondly, Roberto, don't you? 274 00:20:38.336 --> 00:20:45.281 I mean, Formula Ford, I mean, you'd go on to make Formula One and to race an IndyCar and have success in those and so on. 275 00:20:45.401 --> 00:20:48.543 But you loved that Formula Ford chapter, didn't you? 276 00:20:48.563 --> 00:20:52.106 Oh, indeed, because Formula Ford was my first one. 277 00:20:52.666 --> 00:20:56.349 Pee-wee gave me this electric fan heater. 278 00:20:56.509 --> 00:20:57.030 All right. 279 00:20:59.360 --> 00:21:01.381 And I bought like 300 yards of wire. 280 00:21:01.421 --> 00:21:03.342 You put it in the car? 281 00:21:03.362 --> 00:21:04.402 Did you put it in the car? 282 00:21:04.462 --> 00:21:10.044 Put it in the car, and I would plug into the bathrooms in the racetracks, you know? 283 00:21:10.604 --> 00:21:14.426 And that's how I slept in England, because it was so cold. 284 00:21:14.786 --> 00:21:17.667 Once it was warm, I could sleep anywhere, no problem. 285 00:21:18.407 --> 00:21:24.810 So I did that, and each time I slept in the car, I saved 10 pounds of a hotel room. 286 00:21:25.930 --> 00:21:30.594 And a tyre for the Formula Ford car would cost £10. 287 00:21:31.295 --> 00:21:35.919 So four nights out of a hotel, I would buy a set of tyres for my car. 288 00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:40.102 And in those days, a set of tyres would last four or five races. 289 00:21:40.743 --> 00:21:44.906 The stats for you in a Formula Ford were very impressive, right? 290 00:21:45.887 --> 00:21:48.369 Why do you think it clicked so well for you? 291 00:21:48.389 --> 00:21:51.111 And you have immense respect, I think, for Ralph Fuhrman and Van Diemen. 292 00:21:51.271 --> 00:21:51.872 Right. 293 00:21:52.868 --> 00:22:09.627 Initially, because I didn't have money to have my own shop, Pee Wee went to Ron Toranac and convinced him to let me use an old shed that had old parts across the road from the route factory. 294 00:22:10.656 --> 00:22:13.940 It was a good thing because Rome was proud of me. 295 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:16.102 He used to keep an eye on me. 296 00:22:17.003 --> 00:22:22.149 And he used to very often at night come and talk to me and give me some ideas. 297 00:22:22.229 --> 00:22:22.670 Nice, nice. 298 00:22:23.290 --> 00:22:26.994 He would let me see the development of the RT3 and RT4s. 299 00:22:29.105 --> 00:22:34.089 And I became part of the Rout

family at that young age. 300 00:22:34.389 --> 00:22:44.498 So what made a big change for me was one day Nelson was living about half an hour away from the factory, from the Rout factory. 301 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:48.441 And one Sunday I was there, he showed up. 302 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:50.281 I said, what are you doing here? 303 00:22:50.461 --> 00:22:51.904 He had a nice Mercedes. 304 00:22:51.964 --> 00:22:55.829 I said, what are you doing? 305 00:22:55.869 --> 00:22:57.111 I said, I just came to say hi. 306 00:22:57.131 --> 00:22:58.413 I said, oh. 307 00:22:58.573 --> 00:23:00.536 And then he asked me, what's the next race? 308 00:23:01.417 --> 00:23:04.181 I said, oh, the next race is Silverstone Club Circuit. 309 00:23:05.822 --> 00:23:06.642 Oh, really? 310 00:23:07.343 --> 00:23:07.843 Wow. 311 00:23:08.543 --> 00:23:19.648 Over there, I remember I made my car so fast on the straight line because Silverstone Club, there are three straights and three corners. 312 00:23:19.768 --> 00:23:20.668 It's a triangle. 313 00:23:22.189 --> 00:23:29.572 And I was very careful in the corners, but I made my car so fast on the straight, nobody could catch me. 314 00:23:30.531 --> 00:23:31.472 I said, how did you do that? 315 00:23:31.752 --> 00:23:39.299 So I machined the inside of the wheels about an inch and a half or an inch, an inch and a quarter each side. 316 00:23:39.879 --> 00:23:43.583 So my car was, the track was narrow. 317 00:23:44.263 --> 00:23:49.568 By almost three inches, two and a half inches. 318 00:23:50.389 --> 00:23:53.391 And I put the car on the weight limit. 319 00:23:54.807 --> 00:24:00.469 And I lowered everything that I could on that car so it would be fast on the straight. 320 00:24:00.849 --> 00:24:04.010 So my helmet was actually almost above the road bar. 321 00:24:04.990 --> 00:24:05.730 I said, oh, really? 322 00:24:05.790 --> 00:24:06.150 Okay. 323 00:24:06.170 --> 00:24:08.871 So he went home and I continued there. 324 00:24:09.811 --> 00:24:12.192 So I come to work the next day on Monday. 325 00:24:13.354 --> 00:24:28.787 And I called Nelson and said, can you find me some lightweight nuts from the Formula One factory so I can change the nuts on my car and make it lighter? 326 00:24:28.868 --> 00:24:31.830 Because they helicopter nuts, much lighter. 327 00:24:31.850 --> 00:24:34.993 We didn't use those in those days, only Formula One. 328 00:24:36.518 --> 00:24:41.643 So he brought me a bag of all kinds of nuts, very lightweight. 329 00:24:41.683 --> 00:24:48.589 So I changed all the nuts on the cars and I actually, the screws, because the nuts are very small. 330 00:24:49.470 --> 00:24:54.855 And I saved, maybe a couple of kilos of just bolts. 331 00:24:55.676 --> 00:25:00.200 My car was overweight by, I don't know, 16 pounds, something like that, crazy. 332 00:25:01.622 --> 00:25:01.862 So, 333 00:25:03.066 --> 00:25:09.298 I put a motorbike battery in the car, which was only good to run the car, but it wasn't good to start the car. 334 00:25:10.120 --> 00:25:12.384 That saved me another couple of pounds. 335 00:25:17.523 --> 00:25:20.765 I checked the car and I was eight pounds overweight. 336 00:25:21.786 --> 00:25:26.488 And this car was designed by Pat Siemens at the time. 337 00:25:26.708 --> 00:25:29.150 Pat was starting his career. 338 00:25:29.310 --> 00:25:30.550 A young Pat Siemens. 339 00:25:30.590 --> 00:25:34.292 Yes, he used to smoke a lot, but he was young. 340 00:25:35.133 --> 00:25:42.837 So I look at that nice bodywork that Pat Siemens designed all the way past the engine to the back of the car. 341 00:25:43.985 --> 00:25:48.532 And I said, there's a lot of wasted weight in the back of the car there. 342 00:25:49.393 --> 00:25:55.521 Because Ron Turanac, if you look at the Formula 3 cars, he never really used engine covers. 343 00:25:56.162 --> 00:25:59.247 Because the engines were very narrow to the chassis. 344 00:26:00.308 --> 00:26:05.971 So I thought, well, if he doesn't need engine covers, why do I need one? 345 00:26:06.811 --> 00:26:16.336 So I got a Huxo and a Huxo, the engine cover, and bodywork behind the anti-row bar, all the way to the back. 346 00:26:17.077 --> 00:26:22.900 And I made a nice, I rounded the edges so it would look nice. 347 00:26:25.153 --> 00:26:27.574 But the car changed the look. 348 00:26:27.974 --> 00:26:30.154 It was such an ugly car. 349 00:26:30.975 --> 00:26:37.996 And I went to the... One of the mechanics had a Ford Cortina at the route factory. 350 00:26:38.757 --> 00:26:42.197 And I asked him, because he had some wheels that looked off-centered. 351 00:26:43.678 --> 00:26:47.179 So I said, can I try those wheels in my car to see if they're off-centered? 352 00:26:47.339 --> 00:26:49.739 He said, no way, you're not touching my wheels. 353 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:52.260 So one day he went to lunch... 354 00:26:54.523 --> 00:26:57.684 And I took his wheels, put on my car quickly, measured. 355 00:26:58.144 --> 00:27:00.324 It was about two and a half inches narrow. 356 00:27:01.624 --> 00:27:06.285 And I put it back on his car and I knew what wheels I needed to get. 357 00:27:07.265 --> 00:27:08.345 So I asked Peewee. 358 00:27:08.365 --> 00:27:13.086 And to talk to Peewee in those days, I had to call Nelson's wife. 359 00:27:14.187 --> 00:27:15.167 No mobiles. 360 00:27:15.207 --> 00:27:15.727 No mobiles. 361 00:27:15.747 --> 00:27:22.448 No mobiles from the route factory or from the house I was living because I was living in a bed and breakfast room. 362 00:27:24.602 --> 00:27:27.669 And she would translate to Pee-wee. 363 00:27:28.271 --> 00:27:30.475 Pee-wee would translate back to her. 364 00:27:30.535 --> 00:27:31.758 She would tell me what he said. 365 00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:33.622 So Pee-wee. 366 00:27:34.968 --> 00:27:48.877 told me where a scrapyard was, I went there and I've chosen four wheels of Cortina cars that were looking like the ones of that car that I tried in the Formula Ford

car. 367 00:27:50.398 --> 00:27:57.442 So I bought four wheels, I cleaned them, I paint them, and the car looked so ugly. 368 00:27:58.483 --> 00:28:00.704 You would not imagine, okay? 369 00:28:00.804 --> 00:28:04.207 But it was on the weight limit and it was narrow. 370 00:28:05.285 --> 00:28:06.647 And I went to Silverstone. 371 00:28:07.468 --> 00:28:18.866 And in Formula 4 those days, you had between six to eight competitive championships throughout England. 372 00:28:21.653 --> 00:28:27.555 One or two times a year, there was only one race where everybody used to go to that race. 373 00:28:27.775 --> 00:28:33.457 So you get all the best drivers from all the championships racing one main race. 374 00:28:34.558 --> 00:28:37.899 And that was the next race in Silverstone Club. 375 00:28:38.959 --> 00:28:40.540 All the factory teams were there. 376 00:28:41.442 --> 00:28:49.304 And Pee Wee, what he did, because I arrived in England in May, was too late to start a full championship. 377 00:28:50.065 --> 00:29:01.288 He decided to enter me in different championships so I would learn the racetracks or the race circuits throughout England for the following seasons. 378 00:29:02.288 --> 00:29:07.210 When the first practice came, I didn't do too bad to learn the circuit. 379 00:29:08.243 --> 00:29:11.264 When qualifying happens, I happen to put it on pole. 380 00:29:12.965 --> 00:29:21.209 And I put on pole in front of all the best drivers in England in Formula 4 in these days. 381 00:29:22.790 --> 00:29:24.090 I went in the race. 382 00:29:24.671 --> 00:29:27.412 I happened to win the race in front of... 383 00:29:27.912 --> 00:29:31.734 The Van Diemen drivers and we had a good fight throughout the race. 384 00:29:32.155 --> 00:29:49.685 He tried to do me a brake test three laps to the end I got I got out of it and then I gave him a brake test Before the end and I won the race so I learned quick and They took my car away Everything proved to be legal 385 00:29:50.900 --> 00:30:00.944 I got a phone call from Ralph Furman on Tuesday through Pee Wee saying I could drive a Van Diemen car anytime I want from that day on. 386 00:30:01.684 --> 00:30:07.567 And he was very, very impressed with what I'd done because he thought I was illegal. 387 00:30:08.407 --> 00:30:11.548 But it all proven to be legal, and he was really impressed. 388 00:30:12.488 --> 00:30:20.570 I said, Rolf, I don't want to change cars now because I need to sell my car at the end of the year to pay for bills. 389 00:30:21.510 --> 00:30:25.691 Plus, if I start driving a different car now, I have to get used to it in mid-season. 390 00:30:26.671 --> 00:30:30.592 So I'd rather continue with my car, but I want to race for you next year. 391 00:30:31.152 --> 00:30:32.312 And that's how we did the deal. 392 00:30:32.673 --> 00:30:33.273 Fantastic. 393 00:30:33.293 --> 00:30:34.233 We sealed the deal then. 394 00:30:43.536 --> 00:30:57.147 If you go right back to the early days of Rusty's Garage in 2018, you'll find a brilliant episode with former F1 driver Tim Schenken, who was summoned to a meeting to talk about racing sports cars for the great Enzo Ferrari. 395 00:30:58.328 --> 00:31:07.675 So still with my overalls on, they took me immediately to a village just near Monza and into the dining room there in the back corner was Enzo Ferrari. 396 00:31:07.695 --> 00:31:10.517 So with an interpreter, I did my deal there. 397 00:31:12.167 --> 00:31:19.551 When Tim retired from driving, he went on to work for what became Motorsport Australia for decades, contributing significantly. 398 00:31:20.052 --> 00:31:24.074 The 70s and 80s were a great era for an emerging Roberto Moreno too. 399 00:31:26.696 --> 00:31:35.041 Ron Turanac, most Australians that follow motor racing will know him, the legendary things that he did with the late Sir Jack Brabham and so on. 400 00:31:35.221 --> 00:31:38.043 What was it like being around Ron Turanac? 401 00:31:38.083 --> 00:31:40.244 What was he like as a person back then? 402 00:31:40.948 --> 00:31:45.093 Rome was a very dedicated man to work. 403 00:31:47.556 --> 00:31:50.279 It was no if and buts with him. 404 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:52.282 It's yes or no. 405 00:31:53.003 --> 00:31:54.004 Black or white. 406 00:31:54.765 --> 00:31:56.207 There was no gray with him. 407 00:31:57.488 --> 00:31:58.609 So I learned very early. 408 00:31:59.820 --> 00:32:01.601 How to deal with people like that? 409 00:32:02.222 --> 00:32:03.082 That was good for me. 410 00:32:03.103 --> 00:32:04.023 It was a good lesson. 411 00:32:04.764 --> 00:32:08.446 And I couldn't step wrong at the factory ever. 412 00:32:08.787 --> 00:32:10.348 Because he would be on top of us. 413 00:32:11.048 --> 00:32:12.810 And he was on top of everybody. 414 00:32:13.530 --> 00:32:22.377 Ron would have his eyes in everybody throughout the whole day, in everything at the route factory, and his race team. 415 00:32:22.397 --> 00:32:24.218 He was racing Formula 2s at the time. 416 00:32:24.238 --> 00:32:24.338 So... 417 00:32:29.216 --> 00:32:34.218 I see this very dedicated man fully to racing. 418 00:32:34.979 --> 00:32:37.340 And he would work. 419 00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:40.241 It would get dark at five, everybody would go away. 420 00:32:40.261 --> 00:32:46.384 And Ron would still be in his office drawing bits for his new cars always. 421 00:32:47.565 --> 00:32:53.608 And he was always inventing new brackets and changing things on the things he already built. 422 00:32:55.330 --> 00:33:03.077 We used to call him the bracket man, because he would change something and make some brackets for it. 423 00:33:05.479 --> 00:33:18.130 Another thing that took my attention is a lot of Japanese people used to come to the route factory at night and have these long meetings with Rome. 424 00:33:19.498 --> 00:33:37.887 eventually I've learned they were the the Bridgestone people and the Honda people because his association with Honda and Kawamoto who

became the president of home later is the meetings were 425 00:33:38.915 --> 00:33:48.202 when Honda wanted to go to Formula One, Rome helped them to direct Honda to Williams. 426 00:33:48.702 --> 00:33:49.062 Wow. 427 00:33:49.703 --> 00:33:58.309 And if you look, Rome Toranac's Formula Two car in 84, it's a ground effect car. 428 00:33:58.849 --> 00:34:02.612 It was pretty much a copy of the Williams Formula One car. 429 00:34:03.052 --> 00:34:03.472 Amazing. 430 00:34:04.012 --> 00:34:09.995 So you have proven to Ralph Thurman that the door is open there for you. 431 00:34:10.055 --> 00:34:13.996 You go and do some terrific things with him. 432 00:34:14.016 --> 00:34:19.178 In your mind then, are you fully, I'm going to Formula One? 433 00:34:19.438 --> 00:34:19.678 No. 434 00:34:19.918 --> 00:34:20.819 Where are you at this point? 435 00:34:20.879 --> 00:34:22.099 Never thought about Formula One. 436 00:34:22.179 --> 00:34:22.479 Really? 437 00:34:22.619 --> 00:34:22.859 Yes. 438 00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:29.162 I was just happy being a mechanic and going racing. 439 00:34:30.062 --> 00:34:32.283 I had no intention to go to Formula One. 440 00:34:33.917 --> 00:34:36.720 I just wanted to do well what I was doing then. 441 00:34:38.341 --> 00:34:47.650 And Nelson told me, Roberto, so my success, the success in my mind was what Nelson set up in my mind earlier. 442 00:34:48.391 --> 00:34:52.234 He said, if you do well, a factory team will, 443 00:34:53.190 --> 00:34:57.876 will hire you, you will need no more money to go racing. 444 00:34:59.378 --> 00:35:06.788 So, concentrate in being a technical guy, fast, and the factory will take you. 445 00:35:07.789 --> 00:35:09.652 And that's what I've done in that first year. 446 00:35:10.934 --> 00:35:32.211 Your career, when you look at it, has a number of those moments where, you know, you might do it tough and you have this immense determination to, you know, that's why you weren't afraid to sleep in cars and things like that. 447 00:35:32.231 --> 00:35:32.832 That kind of... 448 00:35:35.848 --> 00:35:39.252 It does sum you up in some respects, and it gave you that immense determination. 449 00:35:39.493 --> 00:35:47.102 For young kids that are listening to this, Roberto, I think what I'm trying to say is that motor racing nowadays is a game that requires a lot of money. 450 00:35:48.090 --> 00:35:56.495 But you proved that on pure love and lots of hard work, you can do it, can't you? 451 00:35:56.555 --> 00:35:59.877 There were different days, but it's still possible today. 452 00:36:00.417 --> 00:36:01.598 Look at Lewis Hamilton. 453 00:36:02.418 --> 00:36:13.625 But in those days, Ralph Thurman from Van Diemen, if he won the championship, he would sell at least 120 cars the following year around the world. 454 00:36:15.012 --> 00:36:23.416 So he would invest in a factory team just so he could win the championship. 455 00:36:24.097 --> 00:36:28.879 My teammate was paying for most of the bills because he was a young guy, also from Brazil. 456 00:36:30.180 --> 00:36:31.900 And he was paying a good amount. 457 00:36:32.361 --> 00:36:36.102 And he was covering a lot of the bills for both cars somehow. 458 00:36:36.743 --> 00:36:39.364 But Ralph was so determined. 459 00:36:40.004 --> 00:36:43.046 Ralph was so, how can I say... 460 00:36:44.988 --> 00:36:55.792 The easiest way to put is the person who throughout my career Loved the most Formula Ford cars. 461 00:36:56.092 --> 00:36:56.852 Yes ever. 462 00:36:57.392 --> 00:36:58.192 It's Ralph Furman. 463 00:36:58.692 --> 00:37:00.853 He just loves developing a car. 464 00:37:00.893 --> 00:37:12.457 He just loves to To invent something new to make sure you beat the competition He was a real racer. 465 00:37:12.617 --> 00:37:12.737 Mm-hmm 466 00:37:14.364 --> 00:37:26.122 We used to test almost at least three times a week, sometimes in the summer from eight to eight, a full day. 467 00:37:28.283 --> 00:37:48.696 And whenever I had to go and take or bring parts for the factory, and I would arrive near five o'clock, he would say to me, call me half an hour before you are near the factory, which was across the street from Snatterton Circuit. 468 00:37:49.836 --> 00:37:55.620 He would hire Snatterton Circuit from five, which was closed, until dark. 469 00:37:57.367 --> 00:37:58.468 And I would test. 470 00:37:58.748 --> 00:38:01.069 And he would say to me, okay, call me half an hour before. 471 00:38:01.789 --> 00:38:02.849 Don't go to the factory. 472 00:38:02.869 --> 00:38:04.330 Go straight to the racetrack. 473 00:38:04.610 --> 00:38:06.191 Your race car will be ready to go. 474 00:38:06.671 --> 00:38:09.292 Somebody will pick up the van and bring it to the factory. 475 00:38:09.652 --> 00:38:11.293 And you're going to continue driving. 476 00:38:11.693 --> 00:38:16.775 Sometimes I used to change while I was driving to the Snetzerton before I get there. 477 00:38:17.095 --> 00:38:19.016 And I would be already on my race suits. 478 00:38:19.176 --> 00:38:21.677 And I would change while I was driving the van. 479 00:38:23.878 --> 00:38:28.300 So that's how enthusiastic Ralph was. 480 00:38:29.041 --> 00:38:34.664 He was a maniac about perfection developing. 481 00:38:35.624 --> 00:38:43.529 And if I give him an idea, he would follow that until it was proven that it was better or worse. 482 00:38:45.712 --> 00:38:47.993 One day we were testing this floor. 483 00:38:48.253 --> 00:38:51.753 I was so good at snatterton because I did so many laps there. 484 00:38:53.214 --> 00:39:04.136 Then I used to do five laps, stop, change something, do five laps, I'll do exactly the same laps or better depending on what the change or even worse if the change was worse. 485 00:39:05.336 --> 00:39:08.417 So this day I played a joke with Ralph. 486 00:39:10.395 --> 00:39:11.596 I did five laps. 487 00:39:11.636 --> 00:39:14.377 He changed the bottom of the engine. 488 00:39:15.498 --> 00:39:19.320 We had two

rods from the chassis to the gearbox underneath of the engine. 489 00:39:19.821 --> 00:39:30.987 He put an aluminum honeycomb underneath to replace the rods and hoping that was going to be better. 490 00:39:31.788 --> 00:39:38.072 So I drove the car and when it was time to test the aluminum plate, I went... 491 00:39:38.972 --> 00:39:40.473 a tenth and a half faster. 492 00:39:42.013 --> 00:39:45.375 And Ralph was so happy, oh, I knew this was gonna work. 493 00:39:45.495 --> 00:39:48.876 And I come in the pits and I say, Ralph, it's the same. 494 00:39:50.077 --> 00:39:52.178 And then he starts smoking, because he gets upset. 495 00:39:52.198 --> 00:39:53.739 What are you talking about? 496 00:39:53.759 --> 00:39:55.059 I say, it's the same. 497 00:39:56.080 --> 00:39:57.640 No, you just went quicker. 498 00:39:57.660 --> 00:40:00.682 I say, Ralph, there's a reason that I went quicker. 499 00:40:00.842 --> 00:40:01.682 It's not the car. 500 00:40:02.823 --> 00:40:03.303 No. 501 00:40:04.223 --> 00:40:08.045 I say, okay, put it back, and I'll go just as quick. 502 00:40:09.102 --> 00:40:13.843 So he quickly got mad and got a change and sent me out. 503 00:40:13.923 --> 00:40:15.083 And I went just as quick. 504 00:40:15.183 --> 00:40:22.504 I said, okay, you little son of a gun, tell me what you've done. 505 00:40:22.524 --> 00:40:25.765 I said, well, Ralph, go to turn one. 506 00:40:26.345 --> 00:40:30.986 There's a cone there that the school puts in there. 507 00:40:32.706 --> 00:40:37.467 On my last lap of the first run, I moved that cone about a foot in. 508 00:40:38.585 --> 00:40:45.807 And when I came on the next run, I was quicker because I was short-cutting the racetrack a little bit. 509 00:40:46.768 --> 00:40:48.448 So he jumped on the car. 510 00:40:48.488 --> 00:40:49.249 He went there. 511 00:40:49.269 --> 00:40:50.229 He moved that thing. 512 00:40:50.269 --> 00:40:51.829 Okay, now you go back out again. 513 00:40:51.869 --> 00:40:53.110 And I went a 10 slower. 514 00:40:55.180 --> 00:40:58.322 From that day on, he started to trust everything I said. 515 00:40:58.962 --> 00:41:06.926 I love the fact that you are a student, if you will, on the mechanical side and the engineering side, if you like. 516 00:41:07.346 --> 00:41:09.127 But at this point, are you also... 517 00:41:09.147 --> 00:41:11.188 I mean, you were here this weekend at Hampton Downs. 518 00:41:11.208 --> 00:41:12.669 You were with us last week in Topor. 519 00:41:12.689 --> 00:41:18.992 You have been lending your experience to young racers here in the CTFROC series with Kiwi Motorsport and so on. 520 00:41:19.592 --> 00:41:24.457 Are you becoming a student of the art of race driving at this point? 521 00:41:24.497 --> 00:41:25.818 Because you're now in Formula Ford. 522 00:41:25.838 --> 00:41:26.538 You're winning races. 523 00:41:26.558 --> 00:41:28.260 You're having success with Ralph and so on. 524 00:41:28.761 --> 00:41:35.347 Does it become a thing for you where, like, I really am enjoying this and the art of race driving? 525 00:41:36.149 --> 00:41:47.455 Indeed, and if I just go back and I remember all the things I've done and I came up with, I was really good at that thing. 526 00:41:48.256 --> 00:41:57.240 And Ralph one day says to me, four years later, I think, I don't know how many years later, but I was already much further into my career. 527 00:41:57.761 --> 00:42:02.743 And I went to visit Ralph at one of the races in England. 528 00:42:03.084 --> 00:42:04.865 And he brought me, said, Roberto, 529 00:42:06.170 --> 00:42:12.593 Found a kid after so many years that he's like you It's it was Paulo carcassi, okay? 530 00:42:13.074 --> 00:42:23.079 He was racing for our firm and then this guy is the first one that is dedicated as you are and Knows a lot about the cars and 531 00:42:24.234 --> 00:42:25.615 And he introduced me to him. 532 00:42:25.715 --> 00:42:29.456 So I think he was very proud what the work I'd done for him. 533 00:42:30.097 --> 00:42:45.764 And when the Formula Ford, just before the Formula Ford Festival come, I got a phone call from Dave Minister and said, Roberto, I think I found an agent that has a little bit of edge like Ralph wants. 534 00:42:47.044 --> 00:42:47.605 Oh really? 535 00:42:48.405 --> 00:42:49.125 Can we try? 536 00:42:49.145 --> 00:42:50.406 So yeah, it's on its way. 537 00:42:52.750 --> 00:43:17.616 I said what have you done say well, I got your spare engine and I had here under the bench our old block that had a hole in it that blew up of Rod one time and it threw I made a hole on the side of the block the block and That ain't that block. 538 00:43:17.696 --> 00:43:20.457 We know was a little better the most 539 00:43:21.648 --> 00:43:23.549 So we put a patch in it. 540 00:43:23.889 --> 00:43:30.233 We machine it, we've made four holes, we put a patch to cover it. 541 00:43:31.214 --> 00:43:39.099 We put all the parts from your spare engine in that block and the engine has one and a half horsepower more. 542 00:43:40.720 --> 00:43:42.541 Which is lots in Formula Ford, isn't it? 543 00:43:42.561 --> 00:43:43.241 That's important. 544 00:43:43.321 --> 00:43:44.622 Which is normally what 545 00:43:46.034 --> 00:44:00.207 Builders do they always have one next engine that has a better block or if all the parts are better and I find you had an engine has a bit of an edge like Ralph wanted 546 00:44:01.460 --> 00:44:04.681 And we won the Formula Ford Festival easily. 547 00:44:05.301 --> 00:44:11.623 Tommy Byrne was just as quick, but he missed the boat a little bit on the hits and things. 548 00:44:12.303 --> 00:44:21.686 And I got an edge on him, and I won the Formula Ford Festival, which was called the World Cup that year, the Malbert World Cup. 549 00:44:24.119 --> 00:44:48.125 in a very spectacular way, breaking the lap record every time I went out, and quite impressively, which led me into Peter Collins been watching me, and suggested that Colleen Chapman sign me as a test driver like Manson was before. 550 00:44:48.585 --> 00:44:49.065 At Lotus. 551 00:44:51.305 --> 00:44:55.687 So winning that race so... 552 00:44:56.107 --> 00:44:56.627 Convincingly. 553 00:44:56.667 --> 00:44:59.508 Convincingly opened that door for me. 554 00:45:01.349 --> 00:45:03.690 And my next step, I had no money to do. 555 00:45:04.830 --> 00:45:13.874 So having money to survive in Europe was key for me to find my next drive the following year. 556 00:45:14.054 --> 00:45:14.274 Yeah. 557 00:45:15.854 --> 00:45:19.636 And also, throughout that year in 80... 558 00:45:21.499 --> 00:45:25.962 Ralph wanted to build a different car, which was the RF-81. 559 00:45:26.182 --> 00:45:36.729 It had to be different, but it took us a long time to make the RF-81 quicker than the 80. 560 00:45:37.569 --> 00:45:38.630 It took a lot of effort. 561 00:45:39.570 --> 00:45:40.851 Eventually, we made it. 562 00:45:42.012 --> 00:45:48.396 And that car, with the patch special engine, became Senna's car the following year. 563 00:45:48.636 --> 00:45:48.976 Wow. 564 00:45:49.536 --> 00:45:49.796 Wow. 565 00:45:50.357 --> 00:45:50.677 So... 566 00:45:52.563 --> 00:46:00.047 It was a great season to race for Ralph Fuhrman and the Van Diemen family. 567 00:46:00.727 --> 00:46:03.689 Angie, his wife, was so dedicated as well. 568 00:46:06.230 --> 00:46:09.152 I've learned so much in Formula Fords from Ralph. 569 00:46:10.272 --> 00:46:13.194 And the passion, the dedication, the development. 570 00:46:14.375 --> 00:46:16.456 It was all there, every day, every week. 571 00:46:17.707 --> 00:46:28.759 And I used to, there was a coffee shop down the street that today is a big hotel, Ed's Cafe. 572 00:46:30.845 --> 00:46:38.311 that for me to have lunch there, I convinced the owner to let me wash up to have lunch free. 573 00:46:39.191 --> 00:46:49.059 So I used to test the car in the morning, stop for lunch, have lunch, wash it up, and go back to test in the afternoon. 574 00:46:49.399 --> 00:46:50.360 Unbelievable. 575 00:46:50.660 --> 00:46:54.403 So all this happened in my first two years. 576 00:47:02.178 --> 00:47:08.260 Those hard yards, that hunger, such a cornerstone of the career of Roberto Moreno. 577 00:47:08.600 --> 00:47:13.182 That is the end of part one of my feature episode with the former F1 and IndyCar driver. 578 00:47:13.642 --> 00:47:15.342 But he is just warming up. 579 00:47:15.602 --> 00:47:16.123 Can you tell? 580 00:47:16.343 --> 00:47:20.324 And there is plenty of twists and turns to come on his way to Formula One. 581 00:47:20.844 --> 00:47:21.665 an IndyCar. 582 00:47:21.725 --> 00:47:22.926 Don't miss that, whatever you do. 583 00:47:23.186 --> 00:47:36.639 When you're ready, jump back to the library and fire up parts two and then three as his story of sacrifice and looking at almost insurmountable challenges as Opportunities continues here on Rusty's Garage.