Paul Radisich

Paul Radisich (born 9 October 1962, in Auckland) is a retired New Zealand racing driver and businessman of Croat origin. He has competed in saloon cars for many years — both European-style tourers and the V8 Supercars of Australia and New Zealand.

Paul Radisich
Nationality New Zealander
Born (1962-10-09) 9 October 1962
Auckland, New Zealand
Retired2008
Related toFrank Radisich (father)
Matthew Radisich (nephew)
V8 Supercar
Years active1999-2008
TeamsDick Johnson Racing
Briggs Motor Sport
Triple Eight Race Engineering
Team Kiwi Racing
HSV Dealer Team
Starts106
Wins3
Best finish4th in 2000 Shell Championship Series
Previous series
1982-90
1982-84
1984 & 86
1987-88
1991
1993-98
1995
2002-08
New Zealand Formula Pacific
Australian Drivers' Champ.
British Formula 3
Formula Super Vee
US Formula Atlantic
British Touring Cars
South Africa Touring Cars
New Zealand V8s
Championship titles
1988
1988
1993
1994
New Zealand Grand Prix
New Zealand Formula Pacific
Touring Car World Cup
Touring Car World Cup

Early years

In 1983 he was Formula Atlantic runner-up, earning the prestigious Driver To Europe award. In 1985 and 1986 he raced in British Formula 3, alongside Damon Hill. He later raced in Indy Lights and Formula Super Vee with some success, before finishing second in the 1990 Bathurst 1000. This led him towards racing saloon cars full-time.

European Touring Cars

He won the 1993 and 1994 Touring Car World Cup events at Monza and at Donington respectively. 1993 was his first British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season, in a Ford Mondeo prepared by Andy Rouse. He finished 3rd in the series despite only competing in half the year. He would again drive for Andy Rouse in 1994 where he finished 3rd again behind Gabriele Tarquini for Alfa Romeo and Alain Menu for Renault. Radisich would again drive for Andy Rouse in 1995 but by the end of the 1995 season the car had reached the end of its development cycle and was increasingly uncompetitive during the end of the 1995 season and in the 1996 season when West Surrey Racing took over the Ford team from Andy Rouse. 1996 would be a disappointment for the Ford team with no podium places and Radisich finishing 13th in the championship. 1997 would see a new Mondeo however it to was uncompetitive and would not challenge the front running teams. In 1998 he raced for Peugeot where he again had a disappointing season. He left the series and went to race for Dick Johnson Racing in the V8 Supercar series in Australia.[1]

At the end of the 2004 season, Radisich entered the BTCC Masters event at Donington, and was considering a comeback to the BTCC the following year, but he instead chose to continue his racing career down under.[2]

V8 Supercar

In 1999 he joined Dick Johnson Racing replacing the departed John Bowe. He remained with Dick Johnson Racing until the end of 2002. In 2003 he joined Briggs Motor Sport which was later sold to British outfit Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2004. In total he has three race wins and eight other podium results in the championship.

Team Kiwi Racing

He surprised a lot of people by signing for the patriotic Team Kiwi Racing for 2 years in 2005 racing in a Holden for the first time, helping the team to their first ever podium finish at Shanghai International Circuit in China, (third). He finished the 2005 season in 14th place, TKR's highest ever finish in a Supercar season.[3]

In the 2006 Supercheap Auto 1000 endurance race at Mount Panorama he had a major crash at around 200 km/h in The Chase. While attempting to overtake Nathan Pretty he ran wide into the dirt and could not brake in time and careered into a tyre wall head on, flipping the car onto its side. Rescue teams had to cut the roof off the car in order to get him out. He was then taken to a nearby hospital and then flown to a hospital in Sydney for further scans. He broke his ankle and sternum in the crash and missed the remainder of the season.

In November 2006 it was confirmed that Radisich had signed for a further 2 years with TKR and would once again be back racing in a Ford for 2007–08. He has commented that he has unfinished business in V8 Supercars.

Paul returned to the cockpit at Barbagallo for the first time since Bathurst, to the delight of many fans. He had a very good result at Pukekohe, the final round to be held at that circuit, finishing 7th in the third race.

Ford Performance Racing terminated its contract to supply and service the TKR Falcon on 31 May 2007. Paul Radisich said he had terminated his contract with TKR following the team's fallout with Ford Performance Racing that ran the car on behalf of TKR. "TKR is in breach of contract and I have therefore terminated my contract with immediate effect."[4]

Toll HSV Dealer Team

The New Zealand international joined fellow Kiwi Craig Baird and regular drivers Rick Kelly and Garth Tander in the Toll HSV ranks for the big endurance races in September and October.

The formal announcement was put on hold until Carrera Cup star and Bathurst rookie David Reynolds was signed and sealed with Super Cheap Auto Racing for the enduros. Reynolds had been in line for a drive with Toll HSV in the big races in September and October, but was happy to transfer to Super Cheap for his V8 Supercar debut without the potential pressure of a fellow driver’s championship hanging over him.

At Sandown, Paul was paired with Championship front-runner, Rick Kelly. The car was qualified by Rick Kelly, and they started from 8th position on the grid. Paul and Rick Kelly drove the Number 1 Toll HSV Commodore to 2nd place, 2.8 seconds behind Triple Eight Racing's Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.

At Bathurst, Paul was paired with Craig Baird. After qualifying 9th after the top-10 shootout, Paul and Craig Baird started strongly, and were running on the fringe of top 10 for the majority of the race, slowed by persistent braking problems which also afflicted their more illustrious team-mates. Ultimately, the team withdrew from the race on lap 137 of 161 so as not to risk damaging Tander and Kelly's race cars for the championship battle to come.

Retirement and later career

Returning to the team in 2008, Radisich crashed heavily during practice for the 2008 Bathurst 1000, after the throttle jammed open at McPhillamy Park Corner, hitting the concrete wall in a gap in the tyre barriers. Radisich fractured both ankles, reopened the fractured sternum sustained in an accident two years prior, fractured lumbar and thoracic vertebrae, cracked ribs and suffered bruising to his lungs. His recovery has been protracted and brought an end his motor racing career.[5]

Paul raced a Ford Mustang S550 in the invitational non-championship Class Three of the 2018-19 BNT V8 Championship[6]

He was team manager of the Super Black Racing team[7] until the team was disbanded at the end of the 2016 season. He is managing director of New Zealand oil company Aegis Oil, a company founded by his father Frank.[8]

Paul is the in-studio co-host of the British Touring Car Championship segment of TV3's CRC Motorsport with Shaun Summerfield.

Career results

Radisich placed 14th in the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Season Series Position Car Team
1982 Australian Drivers' Championship 12th Ralt RT4 Ford Paul Radisich
1983 Australian Drivers' Championship 4th Ralt RT4 Ford Watson Motor Racing Pty Ltd
1984 British Formula 3 Championship 12th Ralt RT3 Golf Murray Taylor Racing
1986 British Formula 3 Championship 16th Ralt RT30 Golf Murray Taylor Racing
1987 American Racing Series 17th Wildcat - Buick Agapiou Racing
1987/88 New Zealand Gold Star Championship 1st[9] Ralt RT4
1988 SCCA Valvoline/Bosch/VW Super Vee Championship 4th[10] Ralt RT5 Ralt of America, Dave Conti Racing
1990 Australian Endurance Championship 13th Ford Sierra RS500 Shell Ultra Hi Racing
1991 Formula Toyota Atlantic Championship 20th Reynard 91H Toyota
1993 British Touring Car Championship 3rd Ford Mondeo Rousesport
1994 British Touring Car Championship 3rd Ford Mondeo Rousesport
1995 British Touring Car Championship 6th Ford Mondeo Rousesport
1996 British Touring Car Championship 13th Ford Mondeo West Surrey Racing
1997 British Touring Car Championship 13th Ford Mondeo West Surrey Racing
1998 British Touring Car Championship 14th Peugeot 406 Motor Sport Developments
1999 Shell Championship Series 16th Ford AU Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
2000 Shell Championship Series 4th Ford AU Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
2001 Shell Championship Series 7th Ford AU Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series 26th Ford AU Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series 10th Ford BA Falcon Briggs Motor Sport
2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series 19th Ford BA Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering
2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series 14th Holden VZ Commodore Team Kiwi Racing
2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 28th Holden VZ Commodore Team Kiwi Racing
2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 20th Ford BF Falcon
Holden VE Commodore
Team Kiwi Racing
Toll HSV Dealer Team
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series 47th Holden VE Commodore HSV Dealer Team

Bathurst 1000 results

Year Team Car Co-driver Position Laps
1988 Bryce Racing BMW M3 Ludwig Finauer 19th 113
1989 Mobil 1 Racing Ford Sierra RS500 Brad Jones 9th 153
1990 Dick Johnson Racing Ford Sierra RS500 Jeff Allam 2nd 161
1991 Dick Johnson Racing Ford Sierra RS500 John Bowe
Terry Shiel
DNF 152
1993 Dick Johnson Racing Ford EB Falcon Cameron McConville 8th 151
1994 Glenn Seton Racing Ford EB Falcon Glenn Seton DNF 82
1997 (ASTC) Esso Ultron Team Peugeot Peugeot 406 Tim Harvey DNF 70
1998 (ASTC) Brad Jones Racing Audi A4 Quattro Paul Morris DNF 84
1999 Dick Johnson Racing Ford AU Falcon Steve Ellery DNF 147
2000 Dick Johnson Racing Ford AU Falcon Jason Bright 2nd 161
2001 Dick Johnson Racing Ford AU Falcon Steven Johnson DNF 63
2002 Dick Johnson Racing Ford AU Falcon Steven Johnson DNF 29
2003 Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford BA Falcon Rickard Rydell 7th 161
2004 Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford BA Falcon Max Wilson DNF 116
2005 Paul Morris Motorsport Holden VZ Commodore Paul Morris DNF 26
2006 Team Kiwi Racing Holden VZ Commodore Fabian Coulthard DNF 71
2007 HSV Dealer Team Holden VE Commodore Craig Baird DNF 137
2008 HSV Dealer Team Holden VE Commodore Rick Kelly DNS 0

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position - 1 point awarded all races 1996 onwards) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap - 1 point awarded 1998 only)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 DC Pts Class
1990 Labatt's Team Ford Sierra RS500 A OUL DON THR SIL OUL SIL BRH
Ret‡
SNE BRH BIR DON THR SIL NC 0 NC
1993 Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Si SIL DON SNE DON OUL BRH
1
BRH
2
PEM
8
SIL
3
KNO
1

5
KNO
2

5
OUL
Ret
BRH
1
THR
2
DON
1

1
DON
2

2
SIL
1
3rd 110
1994 Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Ghia THR
Ret
BRH
1

5
BRH
2

4
SNE
2
SIL
1

2
SIL
2

1
OUL
2
DON
1

2
DON
2

2
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

Ret
SIL
3
KNO
1

2
KNO
2

2
OUL
Ret
BRH
1

14
BRH
2

DSQ
SIL
1

Ret
SIL
2

DNS
DON
1

1
DON
2

9
3rd 206
1995 Valvoline Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Ghia DON
1

3
DON
2

6
BRH
1

2
BRH
2

DNS
THR
1

Ret
THR
2

6
SIL
1

2
SIL
2

1
OUL
1

Ret
OUL
2

5
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

7
DON
1

5
DON
2

2
SIL
6
KNO
1

Ret
KNO
2

Ret
BRH
1

14
BRH
2

Ret
SNE
1

9
SNE
2

Ret
OUL
1

Ret
OUL
2

12
SIL
1

18
SIL
2

12
6th 130
1996 Valvoline Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo DON
1

Ret
DON
2

8
BRH
1

5
BRH
2

8
THR
1

Ret
THR
2

Ret
SIL
1

Ret
SIL
2

7
OUL
1

Ret
OUL
2

Ret
SNE
1

Ret
SNE
2

8
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

11
SIL
1

Ret
SIL
2

9
KNO
1

7
KNO
2

9
OUL
1

Ret
OUL
2

11
THR
1

Ret
THR
2

Ret
DON
1

17
DON
2

11
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

Ret
13th 27
1997 Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo DON
1

6
DON
2

7
SIL
1

Ret
SIL
2

Ret
THR
1

10
THR
2

10
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

7
OUL
1

8
OUL
2

7
DON
1

Ret
DON
2

Ret
CRO
1

Ret
CRO
2

11
KNO
1

Ret
KNO
2

Ret
SNE
1

6
SNE
2

Ret
THR
1

14
THR
2

12
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

4
SIL
1

10
SIL
2

5
13th 41
1998 Esso Ultron Team Peugeot Peugeot 406 THR
1

Ret
THR
2

8
SIL
1

12
SIL
2

4
DON
1

11
DON
2

Ret
BRH
1

8
BRH
2

12
OUL
1

12
OUL
2

13
DON
1

10
DON
2

Ret
CRO
1

11
CRO
2

Ret
SNE
1

18
SNE
2

10
THR
1

9
THR
2

Ret
KNO
1

10
KNO
2

6
BRH
1

10
BRH
2

10
OUL
1

Ret
OUL
2

Ret
SIL
1

6
SIL
2

14
14th 31

† Not eligible for points due to being an endurance driver.

‡ Endurance driver.

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Davy Jones
Winner of the New Zealand Grand Prix
1988
Succeeded by
Dean Hall
Preceded by
none
Winner of the FIA World Touring Car Cup
1993-1994
Succeeded by
Frank Biela
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