Back by popular demand, we bring you part two of our catch up with J-Dub as he prepares for round four of the V8 Supercars championship at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway.
And let’s just say he’s a little disappointed that team-mate and good buddy Craig “Crackers” Lowndes got the jump on him to terrorize the streets of Perth’s CBD in the all-new Red Bull Racing Australia show car this Wednesday.
Yep, after J-Dub tore up the main street of Auckland last month in his 640bhp VF Commodore, the boys are at it again. Lowndes will give a special, very lucky and most likely terrified guest a tour of WA’s capital like they’ve never experienced before.
“I certainly had my hand up to do it, but it’s only fair Lowndesy gets his turn,” J-Dub says, as he checks on the arrival time of the engine block that will complete the restoration of his 2012 championship-winning Holden.
“But it was a helluva lot of fun in Auckland. You get to scare the s**t out of everyone down the main street of somewhere. It’s good fun, really good fun,” he adds with a somewhat evil laugh.
But it’s not like you can go that fast, right? You’re under police escort…
“They try and limit the speed but you know, you spin the wheels and just be a general idiot on the street,” he continues, still laughing.
“Well, not an idiot – that’s a joke. It’s a controlled environment with police escort and we’re in a race car with a professional driver, so it’s as much as creating a spectacle as you can within the realms of safety.
“But it’s always good fun because you don’t get to do it any other time. Lowndesy is going to have a blast and expect to see a few s**t-scared punters Wednesday afternoon in downtown Perth.”
So what will J-Dub be up to while Lowndes takes the new, fully-specced show car for a spin? Probably trying to squeeze in a skydive somewhere.
“Yeah, I’m talking to a few of the guys at Australian Skydive about getting my license to jump alone,” J-Dub says.
“This time next year I might be able to do it solo. I love it. I reckon it’s wicked. I just want to be able to get my own parachute and go solo.
“It’s not so much about the daredevil thing, it’s more so I go through the mechanical side of it all and you’ve got two parachutes and there’s a lot of fool-proof stuff. Obviously things can go wrong, but if you do the job properly it should be all right.
“At least I’ll be able to get to the track without any traffic,” he finishes with a chuckle.
But come Tuesday, he will be pulling back on the helmet as he and Lowndesy prepare to go head-to-head in a race like no other at a secret Perth location. Stay tuned…
