[Applause] welcome to the inside Silverstone podcast a business podcast covering all things Tech engineering Innovation and Motorsport hosted by me Chris broom and me Fiona paie this is a series of unscripted conversations with leading business owners and high-tech Talent talking about their experiences within the Silverstone and Motorsport business communities welcome to this episode of inside Silverstone I am thrilled to introduce Leon price who is the team and sporting director for Envision r
acing who are a Formula E team located at Silverstone Park welcome to inside Silverstone Leon how you doing today hi P very well thanks uh thanks for having me pleasure to be along thank thanks for joining us I know you're meant to be in your Down Season offseason period and I'm sure we'll be jumping into that on how how much downtime you actually get um for those of you who for those of listeners that don't know Invision are actually the current uh season 9 world champions of Formula E so let's
jump straight into it what was it like being in London heading into those races in July NE neck and neck with Jaguar I think potentially on points as world champions the scene for us what was it like in terms of the prep what the team were thinking what you were thinking what the drivers were thinking take us through that yeah I mean you know to get just to get to that point you know with the with the the chance of winning the championship is obviously what you set out to start the season but y
ou know with a with a championship that's full of extremely strong teams and big manufacturers um it was um nice to uh nice to be there at the end so so um yeah it was quite it was quite quite stressful actually going into the the very last race because obviously London being a double header um we we we obviously lost some points in Rome the the event before where we we had a clash of jagar in fact but um then we had our our own little uh in team mishap should we say in the first race which you
know really set us back and um sort of made it even harder for ourselves a little bit going into the last race um because um you know then we were going into the last race even on points uh with Jaguar so um yeah it was really really challenging we had we had a we had a bit of a chat on the the Saturday night as a team because obviously Saturday was you know really tough for us all you know we you know with teammates hitting each other it's never what you want as a team and you know to to put us
in that position as well at the end of the day was quite hard so we we had a a little bit of a chat together at the end of the day the hotel um and um you know we we really came in on the Sunday really focused you know we knew we still uh had a great chance you know we were level we were starting again this was basically a shootout um for us on the final day so um you know we were ready for it and I think you know we started off well and I think just qualifying on pole it was just it really mea
nt you could see the reaction actually uh uh from the team from from all the from the team socials it was it meant so much because it was like the first battle one you know and and not just getting pole but it was three points as well so it just gave us that little little buffer before the start of the race so um yeah it was it was a bit stressful but you know the guys and girls are super professional and we knew what we had to do and we just came in and uh did the the job that we've been doing
all year so um but um yeah to to to win it in London in in front of the home fans and not just our own fans but also a lot of our families were there you know wives girlfriends husbands kids it was special to to do it in front of you know all of our loved ones as well so yeah absolutely and again for our listeners who may not be following formula a this is your chance to start uh following and supporting your vision um the events take place in a really condensed timetable it's not like Formula 1
or other B theories the races take place in City centers on Street circuits generally a couple of anomalies with that maybe with Mexico um and so the timetable is a really early start isn't it in terms of prep practice then you're back out again for qualifying you're back out again for racing so that coming together and you know for those that haven't seen it the drivers did did come together and it causes a lot of work and a lot of pressure in the system that is already pressurized and as a te
am manager I would assume being calm and levelheaded could be one approach and screaming and shouting could be another approach and I I know you very well you are you are very calm and level-headed but having more so with age more so with age okay so with age and experience you You' D it down down a bit Yeah Yeah but actually managing the adrenaline the pressure like not only for the drivers but for the people in the garage the mechanics you know there's big eyeballs on you like you said last ra
ce of the Season home H ground effectively I imagine you probably had quite a lot of sponsors and hospitality and you know that that is quite a pressure cooker to be under in such an environment uh yeah it is um for all those reasons and you know we had all our you know we did have all our sponsors we had our owner there as well for the last race of the season but you know to be honest with the section start of all all the prep work you kind of you're so focused on what you need to do and um as
I said the the team you know we're full of really you know high level professionals that really know their job and um you know and I think the way the team are and the way the team have been together you know we've had such good such good continuity between us over the years you know we've had a pretty stable team you know when people have been working together for for years they know each other they know each other's uh roles they know their jobs they know what they're good at what they're you
know need help with so and um the team just support each other throughout um so that really helps with that pressure environment because once the sessions start you just do your job you know what your job is and you do your job and um I have to say hats off to to all of the team and the drivers especially that went out in you know after a tough day on Saturday and um really did the business in in qualifying you know there's still a lot of work to do in the race but um you know I think the way th
e team went about the business after after a tough first race were you know just it really does show a high level um that we try and operate at and and we talk a lot about on this podcast or I like to talk a lot about culture and you know mentorship and how we support each other in the in the world of work you know um some people may forget that the racetrack is your office as much as the workshop might be it's your office it's where you do your work and I just want to touch on what you said the
re you you have been one of the customer teams since the conception of formul which is coming into its 10th season but you've had many different iterations of being that customer team so branding wise you've been virgin you've been virgin in Vision you've been there's been lots of different popping and changing and we can come to that but y but at the core the the people in the garage the people at the workshop have really been very consistent which is quite unusual in Motorsport sometimes it ca
n be a bit choppy changy yeah how would you describe the culture of Invision racing uh well you know myself I've been there what any nine years I guess this is my ninth ninth VI of the team and um I think you tend to stay somewhere if it's a good place to work you know if you know you're a team that's going to be you know competitive you know working in racing you want to ideally be a competitive team because it you know it's it's good for moot motivation and keeps you going um but you know I th
ink with anything I think that if you create a good working environment where people you know not just you know having a nice workshop for them to work in good facilities but you know taking care of and we have we have good incentives at our our workplace and you know with health care and all the other good things that come with you know big companies these days but just also that environment and that feeling where you know is is a a good you know friendly uh you know we we have the we have the
banter as well um but i' just like to think that people enjoy working there you know we are a competitive team but is a nice place to work you know we give them a good good working environment and and naturally people come and and come and go you know some people will do three or four years and they like to move on that's natural you you you have that everywhere but I think you know huge percentage of the team have have been there for four or five even longer you know some of the guys have been
there as long as I have so um it's really nice you know and and we always try to you know promote within the team as well which is a big thing you know give people a a feeling that they can move forward and progress within the team rather than having to look elsewhere to progress so yeah um you know I think it's um a really you know a family culture I know it's a bit of a cliche you know people throw the word family around quite often but we spend so much time together you know um outside of our
own families that you have to be you know you have to be able to socialize with each other and even outside of work we socialize with each other so that that's you know that's really key to to making um that work environment a friendly you know happy happy place yeah yeah and and we're in most of the time most of the time I mean all family fight right some be the unpopular no marriage is a perfect do um So currently we're in offseason um and talk talk us through you're going to be um you're tes
ting at coming coming up testing at the moment and then once you hit the season you're pretty much on the road aren't you for months at a time yeah I mean it's quite weird really um I mean there isn't really much of an offseason with with forly which sounds strange because you think well hang on the season finishes in July and the start in January what are you doing for six months well in fact you know we don't see the freight for you know the whole time the season's going so anytime we get to t
o repair or upgrade our equipment our cars is the three months between the end of the season and the first official test which was end of October this year so it's it's pretty intense I'd say it's actually our busiest time of year between end of season until the freight goes after the test so and then we have that sort of time which is now where we're doing a bit of testing we're doing a bit of prep work so it is a slightly less intense but there's still stuff to do but yeah once you hit the roa
d I mean you know the start of the season um we have a few gaps in the calendar now which I think is due to be officially released today but um there are blocks where it's every other week uh every two weeks so it it does get quite intense and the start of the season is all Long Haul races as well so you know I remember this year was up until I think the first five races were all long hauls and it was every two weeks it was pretty intense going to different time zones and um you know dealing wit
h a jet lag as well uh when you're working and coming back and flying but um yeah I mean it's it's p parcel what we do you know we have to we have to try and manage that and you know one of the other things that we we're trying to help with as well is you know having um a wellness coach coming in as well to help with those sort things so that's another good you know thing that we try and help everyone within the team manage uh things like um jet lag and and hydration and nutrition so um yeah it
is tough but we we try and try and look after ourselves the best as we can but um it's because it's condensed into condensed into a seven month calendar basically 16 17 races lot double headers yeah and that intense kind you don't have the luxury of sort of Thursday free practice you know Friday mucking about and yeah the the race days I mean to be honest they used to have both practice sessions on the same day now with the the practice session on the Friday evening it it does spread it out a li
ttle bit more so it doesn't make it too intense on the satday but yeah I mean you still have a practice s qualifying and a race in one day yeah so you can afford to have any um uh reliability issues or or accidents as well big accidents are you know a bit of a problem especially you know after or during fb2 which is on the Saturday morning because then you're really tight for it for qualifying so and what you were just saying there about your people you know people are traveling it it is potenti
ally long haul or or even sometimes it's harder when it's your home race right because you're busier for a different reason um and you are in a temporary structure in a temporary environment the climate is changing the food is changing the time zone is changing and so really looking after each other and and really simple things like staying hydrated eating well not yeah you know when I was when I was doing Hospitality for SRO days I had two Caterers I never ate anything it was my busiest time do
ality um so yeah so having that built into how are we looking after our people it's really important really important because it's such a huge uh part of performance you know and um you know simple thing like hydration you know you wouldn't believe how much it does affect your a performance if if you're not looking AR yourself and we we've been some really really tough climates you know Jakarta where it's mid-30 really high humidity even Rome in in in July was 40 40 odd degrees and um you know d
ifferent kind of heat but just you know it's really drains you so you have to really take care of yourself yeah I remember being in New York with you and it was humidity I mean unbearable um yeah yeah I mean it's and some ways it's it's even better in London because you're inside all the time so a dark all day yeah no no daylight yeah um so coming up for season 10 then you're in prep time um and you've got a a uh a family member returning to the fold so Robin Robin fres is uh is coming back uh a
s one of the drivers Sebastian Webby being the other one um you know you've got some experience there across your drivers you know from Formula 1 leemon sports car racing DTM as well obviously as as lots and lots of formulary experience now the the Swiss and the Dutch might not known for being hotheads but how do you manage the the kind of driver pairing and how do how do you manage help M them on track pre-t track oh yeah I mean and first of all you know I think you know just to say massive it
you know saying goodbye to Nick after the season he had you know we're obviously disappointed that he left but completely understood and he had an incredible season um and and and a great great three years with the team and he'll be um he'll be missed and you know we wish him all the best uh Jaguar but you know what a what a um what a chance to bring um so robbing back to the team you know who also spent years here and had some great results and he's a top top driver uh absolutely no doubt about
that and we're absolutely sure he will win races in this car um and um with Seb as well he incredible pairing um and uh you know Robin's you know a different character he's he's though chill he's almost horizontal most of the time he's you know um yeah most of the time if you can't find him he be asleep somewhere but when he gets behind the wheel he he just fix a switch and uh he's incredible Talent um and has been for for years and um so it's a it's a real pleasure to welcome him back to the t
eam and and not just a a good driver top bloke as well so um and having and SE staying with us you know Bast Bast experience um showed real real speed last year um you know with a few pole positions uh had a bit of unfortunate race breaking his hand which set him back a little bit but um say yeah but you know he continued he kept going he kept bugging away and then we saw the performances coming back again towards the end of the season so he's going to be he's going to be on fire next year um bu
t yeah managing I mean I I've never actually work with said but you know I I I clicked with him immediately um you know he's a he's a you know he's he's a very emotional character for sure but um you know he he he he channels that emotion into his driving you know um and you know once it's you know if he does have a little uh have a little moment it's done and dusted and then we move on and it's but yeah I I really get on well with them I think together um they're going to be a fantastic pairing
there's a lot of strong pairings to be fair you know Jagua got a really strong pairing Porsche DS they're not sure strong drivers so it you know it was important that we had a strong pairing and you know we feel we've got an excellent chance of um retaining uh our title so it's going to be tougher but yeah in terms of managing them I think um you know they they're pros and you know you're not it's not like we're in the junior form now you've got sort of kids coming through you know these guys h
ave been doing it for years you know they they know what's required and you know they're super professional so exciting stuff so definitely go for the driver's Championship as well as retaining the world championship hopefully well yeah that's that's always the target but as I said it's um incredibly Fierce competition out there so yeah yeah so let's let's go back in time obviously you know you as as team and sporting director um of Invision but take us take us right back to the beginning how ho
w did you get the bug why why are you working in Motorsport how did you begin well it's easy it was my dad you know it was um I I grew up um with motor racing in the family you know my dad was was racing and you know I was going to RAC tracks at from six onwards you know uh go to the odd race in the car watch from the garage on a set of tires where I weren't allowed on the pit Lane but uh you know I had all that I had the the environment if you like um you know all the the time as I was growing
up and I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I was at school and um you know and we it just you know my dad said well just come and work for me in the composite Factory for a little bit and you know learn a skill and until you know what you want to do and you know I did that for for three years to be honest because it was a again a really good uh learning curve for me and um learning a skill but you know I think you know all along that it was really important to learn all the aspects of
of the game and you know composits was a big part back then you know we're talking mid to late 90s so you know some time ago you know when carbon was still relatively relatively new in that sense so um and then sort of after three years of that I joined the race team which was literally just next door so and they were they were doing sports cards and was a little bit unsure at first because I was very young you know I started working when I was 17 and um was only until I got to about 90 that I w
as ready to make that sort of commitment to to to spending my life away from home so um uh but yeah I mean I a look back since really and um yeah that that that gave me my opportunity but you know joining the race team I started you know the very bottom again after having three years of building up a good level of skills i' come back down to to cleaning cleaning the floors humping tires around and and and things like that so make a good cup of te i w bad to be fair I had all to practice so yeah
I had no choice my my sister my sister doesn't drink hot drinks and so uh I have this theory that she makes a terrible cup of tea because um uh that way you don't ask her to make a good to make her any tea because she's like well I don't drink it anyway so there was there was a few yeah a few people like I think they purposely did it but so so moving into so your your dad's team was uh DPR yeah in sports cars so you're mechanicing and kind of starting from literally sweeping the floor and and ev
entually Hing how was it working with your dad um well it was mixed that family thing again yeah I mean to be honest um well one it was great because I got spend you know all my time with him but it was hard because um as you can imagine there was a bit of a uh bosses son sort of element to it which you know when you're young as well you not you're not quite there in terms of mentality and attitude and you know that's what try and tell a lot of young people now it's a lot about the attitude beca
use um you know I did have a few fallouts to that's for sure but I deserved it so you know I I detoured every now and again but he was pretty quick to put me straight back on the on the straight and narrow so um but uh yeah it was tough all right he always said to me need to work twice as hard as anyone else because you know because they're going to be looking at you thinking r on so in fact I did it was it was tough but it it was actually also a really good education for me you know um on how h
ow it needs to be so um and what to expect so and you carry that on through throughout your throughout what I've carried on throughout the rest of rest of my career really so and then through your career I don't know which way around this would be but you did poacher turn gamekeeper or by spur say you jumped ship from being in teams to Championship management with um gp3 yeah what was that what was different about the culture there than than within racing teams cuz my experience is only from fro
m that side of it and I and I can kind of understand what it's like being the government let's say yeah what was it like for you well to be honest it was it was different it had its pluses and minuses to be honest um I I missed the competitive nature of it you know um going to a track first of all it was incredible experience for me and you know it was what it was really important um I had five really good years there and um it teaches you a different element of uh the sport as well you know I w
as lucky enough to to spend spend time in in in race control with with people like Charlie Whiting you know what's not to like about learning off the great man himself you know um and just listening to him talk and taking advice of him and Herby and some of the other guys so that was really really good really good experience really important and um and it just actually going back into the team makes you realize with how how the governing body like the FIA have to think about things differently t
o teams and how how the um Championship have to think about things differently to teams and it's very interested in seeing the different mindsets from from both and then somewhere you kind of meet in the middle and you know work it out but um it was it was really good but I did miss I did miss the excitement the buzz of racing I didn't miss the packing up that was I did don't did when the race finished and you you can go home that was quite quite good but all in all it was a really really good e
xperience um so I'm I'm really pleased I did it great um so talking about your your dad and for those of the those audience members that maybe don't know um your dad uh David Price or pricey um as he was affectionately known unfortunately he passed away and you know uh your family held a memorial for him which was really set up as a celebration of his life um and uh Tony Jardine did a fantastic uh day of of comparing and having you know lots of different people coming up to talk about their thei
r funny stories there was quite quite a few swear words as as was his Mo um often um what's your what's your fond dis memory of your dad's your dad's racing career or or or whether you were part of it because obviously he started racing in the 70s what what do you think of when you think of him and his career well I first of all when I think about his I think CH am I going to emulate his career you know and that's what I think on first but he chiev so much in the sport and I think for me the one
thing that sticks out the most growing up was um the mons win uh with the Mercedes in the 80s um because I was I was still at school then I think I was just finished in primary school I was actually on a on a I think on a venture holiday Wales with the school somewhere and back then when you didn't have phones I was sent a letter from my mom uh telling me that your dad had come first second and fifth at L Mon and you know it's huge really to win lemon's um at all all ever you know um so know hi
m him personally there was that was you know what I always look back on think you know incredible and I love the the nostalgic F3 years as well in in the mid 80s with with the Dum freeze and even brundle but when you know Dum freeze with in the British Championship so probably those two really stick out but you know going to Lemons with mad ourselves and and finishing there as Privateer team you know I think actually one of the pictures by one of BMW um in 99 we finished fifth their overall and
that was against some Hefty Hefty competition he big big manufacturers and you know we were a privateer team so to finish the race and then to finish it Fifth overalls was you know really special so that was kind of probably our biggest um you know moment I think um but there's been loads you know race wins and that we've had together but yeah I think for him for him his personal achievements I think lemon was Lon was the one that always stood out yeah for for the people watching online that pic
ture over Leon's shoulder if you want to um which one that one or that one at the top that's the one he was talking about um what was the again what was a uh cuz Motorsports full of lots of stories that are not very glamorous and I'm really putting you on the spot here so you know if you can't think of anything that's fine what was the The Squeaky bum moment cuz there is often something like that when you're on the road and the truck breaks down or the driver doesn't pay or you know like Motorsp
ort is full of loads of almost sliding door moments look back go how do we get through that there probably a few actually to be fair I could I could be probably take out this whole podcast with that but uh I suppose one that stood out for me which was one of the scariest moments uh was probably when I I I fell asleep behind the wheel one of a High car I think it was the first ever gp2 race in IMA and I don't think we saw a hotel room all week um we were we were up pretty much all night every nig
ht and uh yeah that was pretty uh that was pretty scary I don't want to do that again that was that wasn't wasn't great um but yeah I know tough one I'd have to troll through the uh the the memory bank for that one but uh yeah that that that one was probably the scariest for me which was uh it's not a nice way to be woken up put it that way when you're in the back of another vehicle so I imagine um and at the at the memorial it I kind of of my biggest takeaway lots of people got up and said love
ly things about your dad and he came I didn't know him very well I worked sort of with him a little bit in in the FIA days um but generally it was he was a really nice bloke and he liked to have a lot of fun and he really liked to enjoy his work you know it wasn't that he wasn't serious about it but it was that you know within that seriousness it's like let's enjoy this journey this weird and wonderful experience because it's not a normal day job right yeah yeah I think he summed it up perfectly
there to be honest um he loved what he did um you know people knew when to be serious and when he was being serious um they knew and he he'd have no problem telling people when they weren't pulling their weight yeah um but the same token um you know he loved loved doing what he doing what he did and um you know was always generally smiling happy to come in to work and um you know he he just had that positivity around him and I sort of learned so much of you know what he gave uh from him you kno
w just you know just being around him all the time and working with him so so I was so happy to have worked with him for so many years because it taught me an awful lot um you know coming into you know my uh later years um so um he he he he loved what he did he did it for a very long time and even at the end you know when he you know we were telling he was hanging on in there and doing little bits and pieces out in Spain and um you know I suppose when it's in your blood it's hard to give it up a
ll together when you spend your life on the go and traveling all the time and you know and then it's hard to just thought not do it anymore so um but he did in the end which is great you know he got a chance to you know enjoy enjoy a calm quieter life before fortunately that it came to an end living in Spain and going on Long dog walks where the sound exactly yeah no it was lovely lovely and again my takeaway from that experience was there were all of these mainly men talking about how he had ma
de them feel and I wondered how often they had told him face to face and I know you and I spoke about this a little bit before um and we know how people make us feel but in the spirit of movember or mental Wellness or you know whatever it is sometimes men don't have an opportunity to sort of say you're all right mate or thanks for this or in a in a way that was so abundantly evident during during that time together yeah you're absolutely right it wasn't really the dumb the dumb thing um even tho
ugh like you know my dad was always there to listen and would always been but you know you don't you don't tend to you know the only time you hear good things you know well it's too late but good things are normally said about you when you're dead hope hopefully good things are said about you but uh you know um but yeah I mean over the years men haven't really been great at talking to each other it's a fact you know but noway and the awareness uh that's around and I think it's changing and chang
ing for the good as well because you know we all have moments and times and and people that you'd never expect that you know were struggling you know to come and say 20 years ago you'd never have known um probably 10 years ago um but that's changing and like I said for the good because you know PE sometimes people struggle and you know might just need a mate to put their arm around him and say it's all right mate don't worry we're going to be fine so um you know uh and and personally this year h
as been probably one of the hardest years I've had you know because you know with dad passing away in February it was right in the middle of that you know which I spoke about earlier right in the middle of that long haul um that long ha set of races and i' say the team were incredibly supportive and um you know put their arm around me and said look you don't have to go racing but I didn't want to stop because my dad wouldn't have wanted me to stop he I could just hear him now how get on with it
you know go work L you know but it's true you know if i' have sat around at home and I'd have I'd have felt even worse because I wasn't there helping the team you know uh try and try and win a race so um but they were really supportive and we've carried on talking and whenever I felt like talking I've been able to talk but um and also I think you can see in workplaces now people are generally opening up a little bit more and and companies and and workplaces are trying support people in that way
which I think is really important because you know you have to look after your staff in in in many ways and mental health is such a big part of um our lives you know it you you spend your life in the gym or on the bike training you know your body for Fitness but we never actually take care of our head yeah yeah so you know it's a huge part so um yeah I think it's it's changing for the good but for sure yeah for sure back then you know I think probably they they probably did maybe after a few she
rbets but um yeah I think that that sort of it didn't really happen so much back then but it was lovely it I mean it was it was lovely listening into all the all the words and and and seeing so many people there and a lot of people couldn't make it as well you know um there was so many people there I I didn't actually get a chance to speak to everyone which is a real shame because there was so many people there but it was it was lovely having people there to share their their memories and show t
heir respects so um you know that's really it was a it was a nice nice send off for him yeah yeah very fitting just a little maybe thinking point for the for the listeners you know if you're not if you're not feeling right tell someone absolutely yeah there's always um there's always people that are there to support you you know friends colleagues uh family if you don't um if you don't speak up then they'll never know and um you can't you can't um you know as someone myself who struggled um a li
ttle bit this year with you know the loss cuz it's left a huge hole in my life because you know my dad was you know my best friend we spoke pretty much every day yeah um so uh yeah him him going was really tough but you know I've got I've had lots of people around me that have supported me so it's and equally I think if you know you want to bestow some love onto someone that you maybe haven't said that before you know you're a right mate or whatever it is yeah you know do that yeah exactly yeah
yeah and um I go back to a little bit about the culture of our team you know um you know a it's a relatively small team in in in some respects in terms of it being a um a customer team but you know we are all there together and we you know we try and we try and be there together we talk to each other we we even like I said socialize together as well in in a sense where we'll go maybe riding mounting by or whatever um and yeah you do you need you do need to lean on each other because it's um it's
a tough job anyway and when you're away from home so much time and you live at each other's Pockets Christ you might talk to each other and and that leads us nicely in you know you yourself have a very big family you've got you've got three kids and a lovely wife and actually as much time that you spend away from home for the racing your your family are not BAS at Silverstone you also hang on you it's gone all dark again oh sorry Break um yeah as much time as you spend away racing actually your
your family don't don't live near Silverstone either so you're commuting to Silverstone as well and and finding that balance of being there for the kids and and being there you know for your wife and also doing your day job like H how do you manage to do that uh well first of all having an un understanding wife helps I think i' it also helps um that I've been doing this job all my life so it was it was it's what I did from the very start let's not say it's easy it's not it's hard enough as it i
s when it's just the two of you but when there's three other elements uh thrown in as well it's it's incred ibly challenging you know for all of our all of us all of our partners all of our families that are left at home to fend for themselves it's um it's really tough you know and you think you know formula is tough you imagine you know what Formula 1 is like you know they're away even more I can't imagine that you know they have a a similar even more of an issue but um you know yeah my wife's
incredibly understanding um you she knows it's my passion it's what I what I've done forever um and uh it's tough on her you know looking after three kids pretty much on your own for a long part of the the year is is is very hard and um you know I'll try and try and support as much as I can when I'm back um but like I say even when I'm back it's you know it's long days because you're you know you're traveling up to Silverstone and getting back late and um so yeah I I think it's it's important to
try and do as much as you can when you are home and spend as much quality time when you're when you're home and um you know just to try and support as much as you can when when you are back because it is very tough um but fortunately she loves me very much and who wouldn't Leon thank you darling I mean like you say it you know it was no surprise kind of it wasn't like you suddenly picked up this career of yeah yeah I mean she very much walked into a a career from well I mean obviously knew with
with dad and myself you know we were we were off together most of the time so uh back back when we first got together so so being on the road so much how was it I'm assuming you were lockedown with your family in covid how has that change because you know you're you're very transient as you know people that working Motorsport and then all of a sudden the handbrakes been pulled yeah I mean I guess perspective it's there were a lot a lot of bad bad things going on in the world and racing wasn't w
asn't uh you know suddenly it wasn't it's not a priority that you know I think yes it's it's challenging and you go back to the mental side of it it's um I think it affected an awful lot of people uh negatively um being being at home and um you know I think the Fallout from that is is still still obvious um adult and kids I think yeah exactly I mean my kids were you know young they were important parts of their education and all of a sudden they're at home missing year or two of education and yo
u know for us to try and home school was yeah I mean I think you ask any parent and they'll be H if they're going to give you an honest answer they'll say it was it was really tough because you know it's not what your what you're program well it's not what I'm programmed to do is teach math is is definitely not um so um it was really tough um and yeah you you do get sort of itchy feet as as such because you used to being moving around but I like I said in in grand scheme of things it wasn't you
there was a lot of other things going on in the world which needed to be you know corrected and um you know any I guess we all look back and think no you know what a period but um yeah it it wasn't easy uh but I think you know a lot of people a lot of people suffered from it so just glad glad that's over and hopefully uh hopefully don't ever see that again yeah fingers crossed don't know yeah I've heard rumors there might be another one anyway moving on swiftly um um so let's go back to Young Le
on and tell us about what was your what was your first car or early car experience what do you what do you remember from well I was um I was quite quite lucky actually I had a I had a proper boy racer uh xr2 Fiesta the fog lamps on the front all all the business all the tricky steering whe and everything um yeah it was good it was good pretty good first cut to be honest um yeah a lot enjoyed driving around to that and then think I upgraded to a Golf GTI after that but then I I think from then on
i' I I got it out the boy racer side out of my system fairly quick and then went on to motorbikes and uh had motorbikes really for a few years and um I think that all stopped when we had our first kid I was like yeah these need to go now so um I went from uh two wheels with with engines to two wheels with pedals so um I'm not sure which one's more dangerous to be on I was gonna say you're you're a very committed cyclist aren't you and actually as a team you you know some of the guys and girls h
ave jump on their bikes and and you like to go cycling yeah yeah it's good it's really good um so we got a few few few people in the team that love to ride and I say socially sometimes we do even even in the winter months when it's dark we we get the light headlights out and go off into the woods up at Wen so uh um yeah we don't let the uh the darkness or the weather weather stop us so um yeah it's good good good for you really good for your mental health great for your Fitness you know what's w
hat's not to like not great not great for your wallet though well I think any any sort of hobby whether it's you know cars or bikes or go or you know it might be it can Splash out why not right right um I think we're going to draw the podcast to a close just there so thank you very much Leon we wish you all the best for season 10 uh for those of you who want to follow Invision racing and uh see what they're up to and support uh the team and the drivers uh in the next season uh the links will be
in the show not so thank you Leon for a lovely conversation and uh my pleasure pleasure thanks for having me it's been great all right we'll leave it there bye PE byebye thank you for listening we hope you enjoyed this episode if you did don't forget to like subscribe and please give us a five-star review the insid Silverstone podcast is produced by the team at Longhurst to listen to more episodes please visit insid Silverstone doc. please note neither Fiona or Chris work Silverstone Park Silver
stone technology cluster or Silverstone [Music] circuit
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