The craziest race you were involved in?
A GP2 race in Spa, Belgium, during heavy rain. I couldn't see 2 meters in front of me and I was going over 300 km/h!
The worst crash?
I ended up crashing at Spa during the same rainy event. I was going over 270 km/h and crashed into a tire barrier. The car broke into pieces and I ended up in the middle of the track and Neel Jani-now a Red Bull Champ Car driver-didn't see me and hit me going 270 km/h. Both our cars were completely destroyed.
Ouch! How bad were your injuries?
I had swollen foot, a cut in my mouth, and that was it. Jani couldn't move his right arm or see for a few minutes.
How and when did you get into cars?
I knew I was going to become a race car driver ever since I was a kid. I knew how to drive by the time I was 10. I used to take my mom's car up into the touge. I was into drifting so I was pulling the handbrake and drifting an automatic FF Mitsubishi Galant. My mom didn't understand why the rear tires were always torn up. [Laughs]
Lacking a Daddy Warbucks, how did you learn to drive?
Unlike most racers who got their start in karting, I started racing in the street every weekend where I grew up-the Gold Coast of Australia. I had a Datsun 260Z. I had no money so it wasn't tuned. All I had were Bilstein shocks and cut stock springs. It was a mess. We used to go on the Gold Coast Highway and hit people up.
I remember one night I was sliding my car in a roundabout in a semi drift with a friend in the car. I did about three circles not realizing that there was a cop there the entire time. He turned on his lights and I turned mine off, and I got out of there. Three more squad cars joined in a 30-minute chase through the streets. When I got far enough ahead that they couldn't see me, I parked my Z in an apartment building and walked away with my friend.
So you got away?
Well, a pedestrian saw us run out of a car after driving all crazy with the headlights off and called the police. The cops caught us as we were trying to walk to a coffee shop. They were really mad. [Laughs]
Busted!
No, I pretended I didn't speak any English so they just frisked me and gave me a ticket. [Laughs]
Now would be an appropriate time to say, "Don't try this at home kids!" Besides almost getting away, what would be your biggest accomplishment in motorsports?Winning in Formula 3. Compared to the larger organizations-Toyota, Honda, Works-we were a small private team. There were 20 races and I won one, the only race that Toyota or Honda didn't win.
The most difficult moment?
Finding budget, meaning sponsors.
Ever have a tuned street car?
My previous car, an '85 Porsche Carrera, was built like a race car.
What's the next car you'd buy?
A '70 Datsun 240Z. I want to properly tune it, unlike my first one.
Switching gears, who is Daiki Yoshimoto?My brother inside of me. Daiki, my stage name, is the lead vocalist of the band, DOA.
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