Back in the 1990s, when the Australian Super Truck Championship was at its peak, Rodney Crick well and truly established himself as the driver to beat. Up against a high-quality field that included such names as Inky Tulloch, Rob Russell, Luke Sieders, Bob Middleton and Frank Amoroso, Crick was able to win the national title no less than six times.
In an era when truck racing drew mammoth crowds, Crick’s achievements on the track earned the admiration and respect of many, including Formula 1 superstar Mark Webber who became one of his close friends. So when Rodney passed away unexpectedly in May 2013, at just 47 years of age, it sent a heartbreaking shockwave through the entire motorsport community.
However, while Rodney may no longer be with us, his legacy lives on through the endeavours of his son Cameron, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence since his circuit racing career began in 2016.
After a few seasons learning his craft in the Toyota 86 Series, Crick’s tireless efforts have enabled him to put together a dual program in 2019, competing in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge with GWR Australia and the SuperUtes with Team Triton Racing.
In 2019, he has won two rounds of SuperUtes, and been a consistent top-five runner in the second-tier Porsche category.
“There’s no doubt I developed an interest in motorsport from an early age, growing up with my Dad and soaking up the atmosphere at those truck racing events,” Crick said.
“I didn’t start karting until I was about 15, and I wasn’t competing at a particularly high level – I was mainly doing endurance karting,” he said.
“After Dad died, it inspired me to push hard and do everything I could to chase my motorsport ambitions, because I wanted to maintain his legacy and keep the Crick name alive on the motorsport scene.
“The Toyota 86 Series started at the perfect time for me really, because I needed an affordable category that was on the program at some big events.”
Crick finished 14th and 15th in his first two seasons of 86 competition, but made dramatic improvements in his third year in the category, finishing third in the 2018 standings.
“When I first came into the category, I had high expectations of myself, but I soon realised the level of competition was extremely tough,” he said.
“At that stage, I was completely new to car racing, but I was racing against people who had much more experience of wheel-to-wheel combat in Formula Ford and other categories, so it was a steep learning curve,” he said.
“In 2018, we took a big step up – we updated to a car with front-running pedigree, my driving technique clicked, and the results started to come.
“The 86 Series taught me a lot about race craft – with so many cars separated by such tiny margins, you have to drive with a lot of finesse, and you can’t afford to make mistakes.”
Crick’s strong T86RS form caught the attention of GWR team owner Garth Walden; discussions began at the end of 2018, ultimately leading to Crick’s GT3 Cup Challenge drive this season.
“The GWR crew have been fantastic, and there’s no way I would be racing in Porsches without their support,” Crick said.
“We’re operating on a tight budget, which means we’re not able to do as much testing as some other teams, so we’re punching above our weight in terms of the results we’ve already been able to achieve.”
Crick’s ultimate goal is to race Supercars, but says it’s not his only option.
“Dad was fortunate enough to race in the Bathurst 1000 as a privateer in the 90’s, and I’d love to follow in his footsteps,” Crick said.
“Racing in the SuperUtes Series has been very helpful with my off-track relationships; commercially, it’s a very strong category.
“Racing the Porsche has really helped develop my driving technique, and there are possibilities there as well, including Carrera Cup and various international events.
“Not many people have the chance to race professionally, so if I can achieve that goal – be it here in Australia or overseas – it would be awesome.”
