On Austin the town
The first time I came to Austin was 11 years ago in 2003. I was here with a friend doing some cycling and I didn’t come back until F1 came here. I really enjoy downtown with the atmosphere, everyone’s very welcoming. I had friends come to my last F1 race here in Austin. A lot of Australian’s enjoy it here – I think we’ve got a lot in common, so that works well!
Cycling in training for Endurance racing
We need to be in pretty good shape obviously, because we’re driving for long periods of time. I’ve got to make sure I’m not eating too many burgers and getting too big, so I can get into the cockpit! My exercise and diet regime is pretty sensible and I have to be consistent with it. But the longer cycling trips are good fun. I love the outdoors anyway, so I’ll do a bit of running as well.
Difference in atmosphere compared to F1
WEC is a pretty laid-back category. Obviously Formula One is extremely intense. There’s a massive media focus, some of which is a little bit of smoke and mirrors, but then it’s the top flight of motor sport – in Europe anyway! Obviously here you have NASCAR which is massive, but F1 is big on a world scale. After competing in that environment for a long time, you get here (in WEC) and it’s a calmer championship but still super professional and very intense. The battles are strong, but again a calmer environment for me to do my work which is perfect for me at this age.
Changes in racing line at Austin compared to F1
I’ve driven the 919 Hybrid on quite a few tracks and adapted reasonably quickly. The racing line here is reasonably similar. The car has four-wheel drive capabilities so the exits of the corners are a little bit different compared to a Formula 1 car, but the racing lines around the world are within a tight tolerance between the two categories.