Marcos Ambrose: Standing Out

[GTRMagic]

Interesting show on OneHD last night before the F1 pre-show and race.

It details at a superficial level Mr Ambrose's career in NASCAR, and explores to some extent his career here in V8Supercar.

I didnt think the interviewer actually pushed hard enough to understand why Mr Ambrose was so unhappy in Australia that he had to escape the whole country to obtain his new validation.

You also got the feeling that Mr Ambrose considered that he had won 'everything' there was to win in V8Supercar and it was time to move on. It seems that the championships mean more to him than the big events like Bathurst too!

You kinda get that view reinforced when Mr Ambrose talks to having perhaps 4 more years in NASCAR and the game may conclude on his driving career. No talk of a championship, no defined goals... which is odd for a race driver. Maybe he just didnt communicate the feelings and end game?

I suspect some of the issue is because of a feeling of not being loved, by his team, or Ford, or financially... or perhaps worse than that, by the media.

We know of the various problems with the media, of the Rick Kelly/Indy thing, the Greg Murphy/Bathurst thing, niggles with Russell Ingall, the inability to get him a hot teammate as quick as him.. and other things... but was there something else too?

It would be an interesting view to explore I should think. Whether Mr Ambrose would want to share would also be interesting....

It seems he wont be back to race here again... ever!

Mr Stone was polite, and complimentary, knowing that this guy was special, but also that the circumstance, and environment at SBR, allowed him to showcase his talents. Perhaps he too would have liked Mr Courtney to be more like him...

The show is being replayed at 12.30am Friday 31/7 on OneHD

[F J Nedos]

I saw the end bits of this. There were some interesting insights. You've covered one of them - the fact that it seems to be given that when Mr Ambrose finishes his US excursion, he will come back to tassie, buy a farm and we will never hear from him again.

The other insight was that of his mindset towards his place in the series he drives in. He always thought he was "below" or a visitor in someone else's championship. And even though in V8's, he beat the guys he was humble to be around, he still thought of himself as someone who probably shouldn't be around famous people? Or thoughts to that effect...

He thinks the same of the guys he races in the main game nascar series. He brings up the big names over there and simply wants to earn their respect. I think he is getting there with that, and it was clear that he earned respect for his time here.

He might be a more complex character than many think.

[Pro Racer]

not a bad watch, good on him.

he is starting to get abit of the american accent.

[mountainstar]

Nascar has a very punishing schedule and I'm familiar as I have friends in the sport. It's tough for everyone involved and it's hard for people to go for more than a few years without a break from it. I think you'll see that in shorter drivers careers. Mostly it's a seven day a week job, sometimes six.

I read a book about Marcos last year(can't remember the name) and from everything else I know about him, he is a pretty insular person.

[NewsStalker]

You also got the feeling that Mr Ambrose considered that he had won 'everything' there was to win in V8Supercar and it was time to move on. It seems that the championships mean more to him than the big events like Bathurst too!

Or maybe its about time that Australians stopped beiving in the hype that Bathurst is the be-all and end-all - it isn't - it is one race a year that whilst big in this country is NOT as big as many think it is elsewhere.

If you (the Royal You btw) wanted to make an impact in motor racin g overseas, what you rather have on your resume? 'I won once or twice at Mt Panorama' or I am a two time Australian V8 Supercar Series Champion?

The first means **** all (go the censor!) really - it really means jack. Think about it logically. You (again the Royal You) didn't win Bathurst, YOU were part of a 2 driver team that won a 1000km race.

But - You, as a Series Champion, means you can drive on more than one circuit, know how to adapt to various track layouts and, in a nutshell, don;t insulate yourself to one track and one race.

This aside, GTR, I think its about time you stopped trying to look for hidden, deep meanings in programs and accept what some people say may have some truth in it - he had done all he needed to do in Australia to prove what he was capable of - to himself - he didn't like the European scene, wanted to give NASCAR a try and has been reasonably successful in it.

Or is this so unbelievable?

[Racenut7]

it is now on youtube

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Racenut7

it is now on youtube

Here

[retro]

I thought it was an interesting insight into his lead up to V8's and the move to Nascar...and he seems to be taking a different attitude to his racing in the US.

But there was some strange things bought up like he kept repeating he felt like he was 'boxed in' here without really explaining what he meant...[to me anyway]...and then Ross Stone goes on to say he would have had to take a year off had he stayed in Australia...

I'm speculating that there might have been a lot of back room talking about his racing career here that we will never hear about.

Then with his move to Nascar he has found some excellent backing by people that really believe in him and he finishes off by saying that he thinks 3 years there might be enough...and Ross Stone puts in a throw away line about coming back here and never racing again and buying a farm in Tasmania...

The whole thing in the end left me wondering WTF...!!!

I'll have to watch it again and make sure I saw all that in the right context.

[rdmdog]

Certainly could have run for an extra 30 minutes to explore at least some of the above. Still worth watching.

Do we all really think he will come back once he is done there and not give Bathurst another go (even if he reads NewsStalker's Post ) before retiring to the Tassie hills Harry Hogge style?

[bluesport]

Originally Posted by rdmdog

Certainly could have run for an extra 30 minutes to explore at least some of the above. Still worth watching.

Do we all really think he will come back once he is done there and not give Bathurst another go (even if he reads NewsStalker's Post ) before retiring to the Tassie hills Harry Hogge style?

It can be hard retiring to the quiet life on the farm after living such an adrenalin filled lifestyle......others have tried it and failed.

[bazil]

Originally Posted by bluesport

It can be hard retiring to the quiet life on the farm after living such an adrenalin filled lifestyle......others have tried it and failed.

Marcos is a racer. He lives and breathes racing and may well have a break at some point down the track if he left NASCAR. However it would be a huge surprise to me if he walked off into the farm to forever drive his Massey around. At 33 even with 3 or 4 more years in Sprint Cup (I reckon it will be longer...) he will only be 37 or 38. A nice year or so off to relax and he would be toey again. As for his age and it needs to be remembered that by then he will have had 8 or more years of 35 + race meetings a year and nearly all of them a Bathurst distance (with no Co driver).A return to Supercars and a 15 or 16 round championship will seem like a part time gig or holiday itself.

[Bimmerhead]

Are you guys serious?? What a great ambassador for motor racing, Australia and himself. There was nothing in that interview that made me think anything of Marcos other than he is a committed, professional race driver and a great Australian. There are a few of the whingers running around in V8SC right now that could take a BIG lesson away from watching that footage.

I, for one, hope Ross Stone is wrong, wrong, wrong. I'd love to see Marcos teamed up with Frosty at Bathurst...........

[Silver 3]

Originally Posted by Bimmerhead

Are you guys serious?? What a great ambassador for motor racing, Australia and himself. There was nothing in that interview that made me think anything of Marcos other than he is a committed, professional race driver and a great Australian. There are a few of the whingers running around in V8SC right now that could take a BIG lesson away from watching that footage.

I, for one, hope Ross Stone is wrong, wrong, wrong. I'd love to see Marcos teamed up with Frosty at Bathurst...........

Well said--and Newstalker too--excellent points.
The petty jealousy seen in V8 Supertaxi's towards Marcos only reflected poorly on those afflicted . From the time he set foot back in Australia he was obviously a 'gun' and many who did not have the balls to run the gauntlet overseas wanted to put him in his place.
Most in Australia have no idea how hard it is in the big world for the financially disadvantaged to make their way and be competative overseas.
The big problem here is that we start to believe the stupid hype that we have the "best" -- series, drivers,teams etc -- and to rationalise that we point at that the "failure " of overseas drivers when they get to make the sojurn to Bathurst. None of that is to say I do not have the utmost respect for the top guys in Australia - they are very good-- and Marcos beat them repeatedly.

[Forda]

Originally Posted by NewsStalker

Or maybe its about time that Australians stopped beiving in the hype that Bathurst is the be-all and end-all - it isn't - it is one race a year that whilst big in this country is NOT as big as many think it is elsewhere.

If you (the Royal You btw) wanted to make an impact in motor racin g overseas, what you rather have on your resume? 'I won once or twice at Mt Panorama' or I am a two time Australian V8 Supercar Series Champion?

The first means **** all (go the censor!) really - it really means jack. Think about it logically. You (again the Royal You) didn't win Bathurst, YOU were part of a 2 driver team that won a 1000km race.

But - You, as a Series Champion, means you can drive on more than one circuit, know how to adapt to various track layouts and, in a nutshell, don;t insulate yourself to one track and one race.

This aside, GTR, I think its about time you stopped trying to look for hidden, deep meanings in programs and accept what some people say may have some truth in it - he had done all he needed to do in Australia to prove what he was capable of - to himself - he didn't like the European scene, wanted to give NASCAR a try and has been reasonably successful in it.

Or is this so unbelievable?

Bathurst is Australia’s only consistent, variable-free, motor racing event that has spanned 4 decades.

It’s something the average Joe on the street, who doesn’t even follow motor racing; would have actually heard about.

The V8 Supercar championship, and it’s inclusion of the once stand-alone Bathurst race; is something contrived by VESA to suit their own hype.

The tracks used, the number of races held per meeting, the points formats – are all ever changing variables.

Its history is little more than a decade old, and the series could well change completely should another organisation take over the series’ rights.

Despite VESA’s best attempts, not everyone has been fooled into thinking the VESA championship outweighs Bathurst as an outright event. Hopefully Ambrose can be counted as one of them.

[NewsStalker]

Forda - think you missed the main point here - Bathurst may be 'variable free' (if you forget the Chase, realigned skyline etc etc.

But Bathurst means bugger all to the international series (and note the word SERIES) where the money and exposure is for drivers. These series and teams that compete in them don't care for a Bathurst winner - they look for drivers who can drive anywhere, any time and under all conditions.

[Henry]

Funny how quick we are to mark Ambrose down for his apparent dismissal of the importance of Australian tin-top racing... but how soon we forget that his career before 2001 had been focussed on a much headier goal... and that it was arguably funding that prevented him going on to continue locking horns with the Jenson Buttons et al in an upward spiral.

Ambrose seems a most complex individual, and did during the time he spent racing here: how often would you see him comprehensively and coldly outrace the opposition, only to all but talk himself out of winning positions, hearing noises in the car, jumping at shadows?

The concept that he had won everything important to him here without a Bathurst crown? What was it Frank Gardner said in Bill Woods' Legends of Speed? Apparently he didn't subscribe to the "Bathurst is EVERYTHING" tenet of the opposition, on the grounds that after a career driving at places like Spa or The Green Hell on your spare weekends, you could probably think of better places to be than Mt Panorama... similarly, one wonders whether Alan Jones lies awake wishing for a win on The Hill, or Webber, or Schuppan...

For a guy who admits he felt overawed among the company he was keeping here, he was not one to respect reputations here.

Anyhow, the self-admission, later voiced independently by Ross Stone, that a couple more years might see him out left me with no small degree of melancholy; he's a rare one, Our Marcos. A calculating racer who also sends thrills and chills through his audience. Fire and Ice.

[davester]

Marcos' history has been entirely rational.
He went to Europe to have a go at getting to F1, and like the majority he didn't quite make it...not far off though.
He came back here to consolidate into professional career when the F1 path went cold for a steady job, and did VERY WELL. With that job done, and with a view that the world doesn't end in Oz, he saw the challenge of NASCAR.
He's been humble enough to start NASCAR in Trucks, and mature enough to listen to his peers in the US that all say steady, steady, steady is the only way to go.

How anyone can fault the steps he has taken is beyond me.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by davester

How anyone can fault the steps he has taken is beyond me.

Tall poppy syndrome. Don't give a champion an even break. I think they are all P'd off he actually had the gonads to leave SC and do something else.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by davester

How anyone can fault the steps he has taken is beyond me.

Neither can I. And he's done a good job of applying himself to racing here in the USA and considering his age it was the right time to come over. And financially now he probably clears a multiple of what he used to earn in Australia.

[NewsStalker]

Originally Posted by Casper

Tall poppy syndrome. Don't give a champion an even break. I think they are all P'd off he actually had the gonads to leave SC and do something else.

And has been reasonably successful at it.

Like the special pointed out - he has succeeded where the likes of Johnson and 'the pastry cook' didn't!

Probably the only thing it didn't mention was WHERE he took his maiden victory, where he has been qualifying lately as well as his Sprint Cup podium and top ten finishes.

[Muznik]

Marcos was the driver we Red fans loved to hate.

Whilst respecting his driving abilities he always seemed to have a gripe or whinge ready.
(much like some other drivers I guess)

Since he went to the States I have been following his progress and am unashamedly a fan. He started at the bottom and worked his way up.
Got some results and earned the next step.

The way he conducted himself after the Robby Gordon incident was a credit to him.
I think he earned a lot of respect amongst not only the fans but his competitors with the drive and reaction afterwards.

I thought the show was good but a little shallow. It really could have delved deeper into his personality but I guess he is really a shy type.

Anyway he is an Aussie racing the good ol boys at their own game, so go hard Marcos!

[chavez]

Originally Posted by Henry

similarly, one wonders whether Alan Jones lies awake wishing for a win on The Hill, or Webber, or Schuppan...

Jones (and Brabham to a lesser extent) spent a lot of time and money trying to win at Mount Panorama.

AJ even said that you are nothing as a driver in Australia unless you have won Bathurst - no doubt with a touch of sarcasm.

[rdmdog]

Originally Posted by NewsStalker

Like the special pointed out - he has succeeded where the likes of Johnson and 'the pastry cook' didn't!

Dick was there for promotional reasons as Palmer's Red-Kote was being pushed to the US Market, he didn't plan to cut Australia away totally.

As for the few others that have tried, Coca Cola World 600 (?) starters were Grice (Fosters Olds?) and Robyn Best (IIRC?)

IS it Barry Graham that has done very well for himself with the 1800-BE-PETTY NASCAR Drive school?

[Speed Kills]

Marcos came across as someone who wasnt going to be satisfied running around Australia a dozen weekends a year for the next 10 years. He achieved a lot in a very short time time, and he is now performing similarly in NASCAR and racing week in and week out.

Now with his rise, ONE showing it each week, and with the events of 888 today, the V8s will die, and all we need is a RED driver to follow in Marcos' footsteps to make it really interesting.

[Silver 3]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Interesting show on OneHD last night before the F1 pre-show and race.
You also got the feeling that Mr Ambrose considered that he had won 'everything' there was to win in V8Supercar and it was time to move on. It seems that the championships mean more to him than the big events like Bathurst too!
Maybe he just didnt communicate the feelings and end game?
I suspect some of the issue is because of a feeling of not being loved, by his team, or Ford, or financially... or perhaps worse than that, by the media.

Hey GTR -it looks like nearly every poster has nothing but praise for Marcos and what he has achieved already.
Perhaps you can enlighten all of us ignorant "outsiders" on the "inside" information that created the jealousy from so many "insiders" ?