He is a hardnosed competitor who scraps for every inch on the track. He is the guy you know will ‘lick the stamp and send it’, yet Richard is well respected as former manager of TTL, and now a key member of former arch rival Trans Tasman Racing. Richard is still a capable race winner and a legitimate championship contender in this years Logitech G Supercars Pro Invitational. Here’s what he had to say.

Richard, let's get straight to the point, can you win the inaugural Logitech Pro Invitational Super Series like you won the first ever V8SCOPS Championship? What is the secret to your approach?

I always believe in backing myself, so the answer is yes. But the competition is very, very strong and it will take a lot of hard work and a bit of luck to pull it off. To win I’ll need to race smart and play to my strengths, minimise errors and maximise the bad days. I don’t have too many secrets, though there’s a massive benefit to working in a team and I think TTR at the moment has a great atmosphere in everyone pushing each other to be better.

You have won 21 V8SCOPS races over the years, what goes into how you prepare for each race? What are the things you are looking for in your car to give you the confidence to go into battle?

It’s funny, some times I put lots of practice in and don’t go any good, and sometimes I put minimal practice and get podiums or even win. So it’s a hard one to call. But I think you’ve got to spend a bit of time focusing on your driving and a bit of time focusing on setup – but not overdoing it. VRS has been a revelation for me the last few years and it’s a great way to work as a team and learn off your teammates. I like a pretty neutral car, but I tend to struggle if the car is unstable under braking.

You have a reputation as one of the hardest racers on the grid, one of the hardest to get past, and one of the most intimidating for others to see in their mirror. Is this something that you embrace or does this ‘tag’ not sit well with you?

I like racing, and by that I mean the actual race craft side of things rather than just hotlapping. I feel my job as a driver is to make it as hard as possible for people to pass, and to pass as many cars as I can. Besides, Supercars is touring car racing which is all about rubbing doors and trading paint. So I’m comfortable with your description of me.

You spent years leading TTL against your arch rivals at TTR, you are now at TTR. Tell us how that came about and what sort of role you have assumed now at within the team?

Basically when TTL wound down I was unsure what the next step would be – if I was going to join a new team, stay as a privateer or even retire from sim racing. I pretty quickly worked out that I wanted to keep racing and that going it alone wasn’t going to be much fun. One day Madison Down floated the idea and I had a think about it, and pretty quickly came around to think it would be a great idea. When I first spoke with Madison about joining TTR we agreed that I could race as much or as little as I liked, and my only responsibilities would be around driving. This suits me perfectly and has really stopped sim racing feeling like a chore which it was feeling like towards the end of my days at TTL – and it goes to show that I actually race more now than I did before because I’m enjoying it more.

TTR is stacked with proven race winners and will undoubtedly prove hard to beat in this new series, who from outside of TTR are you looking at to be a championship threat? And which driver or drivers do you think might surprise everyone from the smaller teams?

Obviously the entry list hasn’t been released yet, so I’m not 100% sure who will be racing just yet. But any Supercar series Jarrad Filsell competes in he is the favourite, with very few exceptions. He has a 47% win percentage in SCOPS which is absolutely insane. Jackson Souslin Harlow proved to be extremely quick in the Supercars Eseries last year too. There’s a whole bunch of younger guys around too who are sure to be quick too.

What is it about the Supercar Pro Invitational that has you most excited this season? 

The competition. From what I know of the drivers who’ve entered the series is going to be right up there with the Supercars Eseries in terms of competition, but with race formats which are a little bit more interesting. It’s going to be awesome to be a part of the first season!

Thanks to Richard for taking the time to sit down and share his insights ahead of Round 1 of the Championship. We wish him all the best for the season which will be kicking off on May 11th. You can see the fill calendar by following the link below: