JHYE RICHARDSON PACE ATTACK
Young Australian bowler Jhye Richardson set the Big Bash alight last summer with his blistering pace, so it won’t come as a surprise that he likes his cars quick.
The 22-year-old has a penchant for hot hatches. His latest ride is the potent Ford Focus RS — one of the hottest hatches on the market.
“I love it, it is a strange one, because a lot of people think of the Ford Focus as a grocery getter. But the RS is a bit of a sleeper, not many people know about how fast it is,” says Richardson.
The RS wasn’t his first foray into hot hatches. The young quick’s first car was the slightly tamer Focus ST. He bought it when he was 20.
Part of what drew Richardson to the hothatch duo was the fact that both were manuals. Shifting gears was a skill he picked up in his family’s old paddock basher well before he could legally drive on the road.
“It’s funny, when I look at buying something new — and I want to buy a manual because I find it so much more enjoyable — there’s just nothing out there. No one is really making pure manuals anymore, which is probably the reason I like my car so much,” he says.
Richardson would love to unleash his beast
on the track but he’s sticking with regular road driving for now.
“I would love to (do some track days) but you don’t want to really go back to the coach and say ‘hey can’t play today I was in an accident on the racetrack’,” he says.
If money was no option Richardson would set his sights on an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
“There are obviously the Lamborghinis and Ferraris, but I feel like I actually want to get let in at an intersection. I don’t want to be one of those guys that tries to get all the attention on the road. I want to be a sneaky head turner.
“It isn’t even necessarily for the performance. I went to the (dealer) the other day and sat in one. And you just feel so cool sitting in it. There is just something really special about it,” he says.
If he had to ferry a family, he’d blend performance with the space required for littlies.
“What I would love for a family mobile would be a Jeep Trackhawk. That wouldn’t be a bad family car would it?” he says.
While he’s pretty serene behind the wheel, one thing gets his blood boiling. “I really hate tailgaters. I just find it so dangerous.”