Chip off the old block

Meet the 23-year-old who owns a car company and a race team, HSV's new boss, Ryan Walkinshaw

Ryan Walkinshaw is a young man on a mission. Since being put in charge of the Holden Special Vehicles and Holden Racing Team empire after the death of his father Tom last December, he's barely had a day off.

The car industry is a stark contrast to the path Ryan had been on. He's also a nightclub DJ, a model, an events promoter and an aspiring music producer. But he's left much of that world behind, for now, working closely with HSV for the past six months solid so he can get up to speed.

Ryan has taken very much a hands-on approach to running the business – he visits HSV's Australian operations for 10 days every month.

Although Ryan has always been around motor racing and the car industry because of his entrepreneurial father, he admits he still has plenty to learn.

In his first interview with the local press, motoring.com.au caught up with the younger Walkinshaw at the Australian International Motor show in Melbourne. Here's an edited transcript:

What were you doing before being put in charge of HSV and HRT??

I was producing, I was running events – I have an events company promoting and managing events all over the north of the UK and then Ibiza in the summers. I was DJing… and mixing music as well.

I was renting out big venues, sticking DJs in them, selling tickets, running the whole thing, organising the whole thing.

I was going to start a record label at this time last year. [But] obviously, with everything that was happening, I knew I wouldn't really have the time to do it.

How does it feel to own a car company at age 23??

Well it's pretty good. My dad could have been doing something really boring which I'd have to get involved with. But fortunately he was involved with motor racing and rugby – two things I'm pretty passionate about.

Did you share that passion with your father when you were growing up?
?

Yeah, of course. You can't really be in our family and not. I mean, I grew up in the Formula One pit lane with, you know, all these racing teams and Formula One staff and have been around cars all my life.

You've just ordered a car. You're getting a GTS delivered to your UK home. Are you going to leave the HSV badges on it??

Yeah, of course I am. I'm getting a black GTS with matte black badging and performance rims, performance exhaust and sound system.

What were you driving before you took over HSV?
?

I had an Audi A3 because, when I was younger, I couldn't get insured on anything higher. It's not the easiest thing to get insured on in the UK. They're pretty hard up against it, but, yeah, I'm just about allowed to do it [own a V8].?

Do you reckon a lot of people would be jealous of your position at your age??

I don't know. You tell me. I mean, I don't think people realise how much work's involved. Most people sort of think that if you're in my position you spend your whole time driving around in flash cars and coming to motor shows...

But, you know, seven days a week, ever since dad died, I've been involved doing everything, you know. I've only had a few days off [in six months], and that was when I came to Australia with my girlfriend to go up to Cairns for a few days -- just to come and actually visit the country a little bit. Ever since then, apart from those five days, I've been working every single day solid. So it's pretty hectic.

How often do you visit HSV in Australia?
?

For about ten days every month. I'm jumping between Russia and India every single time on my way back, as well. So, I'm normally away from the UK just over two weeks a month.

What business interests do you have in India and Russia?
?

In India we're starting a single-seater Formula series and [we will be] a support race for the first Delhi Grand Prix for the Formula One, which is cool.

I'm looking at developing that and developing the chassis... next year and turning it into a proper little Formula racing series. In Russia we're looking at doing some rugby stuff over there.?

What do you think you'll bring to HSV??
At the end of the day, I'm not a designer, and I'm going to leave that up to the professionals to do all that sort of thing. I'm not going to come in and start bashing heads, you know.

I'm here to learn [the business] inside-out and I'm under no illusions, there's a lot of hard work ahead. Obviously I'm going to have my input, but at the same time, I'm not going to go against the grain of people who've been doing this for a long time and are professionals in their fields. I think I'll let the professionals do what they do best, to be honest.?

What's been your impression of Australia's love affair with these type of cars, given that they're seen as a bit garish in the UK??

Well, I'm quite a garish person … I mean, there's nothing greater than driving around in HSVs in the UK because they're quite rare there and everyone stops.

If you've got a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, a BMW and a HSV GTS all lined up together, as I've seen in London when I took dad's old one over there, everyone stands around taking photos of the HSV, you know.?

No one gives a faff about the standard Lamborghinis that you see because, you know, [the HSV] is something different, it's cool, it's aggressive looking and, you know, you can't really beat a big V8, can you?

Are you happy with the outlook for HSV's future?

Yeah, completely. HSV's the best it's ever been.

We've got great people managing it and Phil Harding and everyone below him are great guys. They're passionate about what they do and they all buy into the HSV brand and they all love it. So, as far as that's concerned, I can't see HSV going anywhere but up.

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Chip off the old block

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