Can-do attitude key to success
On the eve of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, Kiwi Scott Dixon tells Clay Wilson why this country is so successful on the global motorsport landscape.
After 17 years living in the US, Scott Dixon knows exactly why New Zealand punches above its weight at the elite level of motorsport.
The defending and four-time IndyCar champion heads a pack of flying Kiwis taking on the best around the world.
Their combined success has led two-time world touring car champion Paul Radisich to state the country is experiencing a ‘‘golden era’’ in motorsport.
As he prepared for the 100th running of the prestigious Indy 500 tomorrow, 2008 winner Dixon didn’t hesitate to agree.
And the secret to the success, he said, was no secret at all.
‘‘Living in America, if your dishwasher is broken, you call somebody, if you need your rubbish removed, you call someone, you need a door fixed, you call someone.
‘‘Growing up as a Kiwi you just worked it out, you fixed it. That is why Kiwis do really well, especially in high-pressure situations.
‘‘Kiwis are really strong mentally and it definitely helps on many levels. I love the good old Kiwi attitude, we just get it done.’’
At 35, Dixon is the oldest of the current crop of high-achieving New Zealand drivers.
Kiwis are really strong mentally and it definitely helps on many levels. I love the good old Kiwi attitude, we just get it done. Scott Dixon
He left south Auckland in 1997 to race in Australia, and two years later was in the US.
That move has led to the most successful career in the 21-year history of IndyCar and the fifthmost race wins in the history of a category that has been running since 1920.
It is also a career, in the opinion of 2015 world endurance champion Brendon Hartley, that opened the door for the Kiwis following in his wake.
‘‘I’ve looked up to him since I started racing,’’ the 26-year-old said of Dixon. ‘‘I remember meeting him as a seven or eightyear-old in my old man’s workshop, Dad was building an engine for him at the time.
‘‘In a lot of ways, he paved the way for us other Kiwis doing well in international motorsport in the last few years.
‘‘I know there was a story asking if he gets the recognition he deserves in New Zealand, and he probably doesn’t.’’
While proud he is thought of in that way, Dixon is also humbled by the notion and deflects some of the credit to those who helped him reach the top.
He believes his success ‘‘opened the eyes’’ of those people, the likes of Kiwi car sales kingpin Sir Colin Giltrap and Peter ‘‘PJ’’ Johnston, to what was possible if aspiring young New Zealand drivers were given the financial leg-up so crucial in motorsport.
To be the first in a programme that has assisted Hartley, world rally championship star Hayden Paddon, 2015 Le Mans 24 Hour winner Earl Bamber and GP2 pilot Mitch Evans is ‘‘really cool’’, Dixon said.
Add in world endurance championship GT driver Richie Stanaway, V8 Supercars contenders Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen and reigning Japanese F3 champion Nick Cassidy to the mix, and you have one impressive group.
‘‘Right now is pretty special,’’ Dixon said. ‘‘New Zealand is heavily stacked with pure talent. Whenever I have downtime and I spot a race somewhere in the world with one of the [Kiwi] guys I know I definitely try to tune in.’’
With such a busy schedule, Dixon doesn’t get to do that as much as he’d like.
The same goes for coming back to New Zealand, which he does at least once a year.
Ever trip home reinforces how much he misses it and ‘‘mince and cheese pies, pavlova and fish and chips’’.
But it is far from all bad in Indianapolis, where he and wife Emma have lived since 2000.
‘‘You are not always fighting traffic, the airport is not too far to get to,’’ Dixon said. ‘‘Logistically everything is really easy and the people are really nice.’’