Father and son Allan and James Moffat shows the passion of motor racing can run in the family. Source: Supplied
JAMES Moffat's phone rang an hour after his first race in a V8 Supercar. It was 2009 and the rookie had won a development series race on debut.
"Tell me about the race?'' said his father Allan.
"What happened?''
James was happier about the call than the race win.
"That was the first time Dad showed an interest in my career,'' James, now driving for Kelly Brother's Racing, said.
"That was the moment when I think I finally got his support.''
Many think that James Moffat is only a V8 driver because of his Dad, Allan Moffat; the V8 legend, the Ford God. The same people that sit in pubs debating whether Allan was better than Dick Johnson, or more talented than Peter Brock, sip their beers and dismiss James as another spoilt kid who has an easy ride. But nothing could be further than the truth. Now finally stepping out of his father's shadows with a break through year that has included a race win, the Nissan factory driver has revealed his father warned him against racing and showed no interest in his son's career until 2009. There was no coaching, no advice, and certainly no money to fund his dream.
"Dad never showed an interest in what I did,'' James said. "I guess I had to prove that I was good enough and committed enough to make it before he did. He never used to come and watch me in the Carrera Cup or Formula Ford. Dad was very guarded when I told him I wanted to make a career out of racing. I guess it was because he knows how hard the sport is. It is easy for people on the outside to think I was given my career, but my surname had nothing to do with it. He didn't spoon-feed me, if anything he ignored me. He never showed an interest, he just sat back, I guess waiting for me to prove I had the talent to make it in the sport.''
And that day came in March, 2009, when James won his first race in the development series.
"I think he saw something that made him believe I could do it,'' James said.
"And he is a lot more interested in what I am doing these days.
James might have cared about the knockers that claim he is living on his Dad's legend before his win in Adelaide. But that one phone call from Dad validated his talent, and confirmed his dream.
"I have heard people say it is all because of Dad,'' James said.
"I have had to live with that all of my life. I really don't care what they say. I guess I showed him that I could do it. We had conversations over that weekend and they continued. He had only seen me race a handful of times before that and now he watched all the time. He saw I was prepared to do whatever it took to make it and he couldn't ignore that.''
A win this year in the V8 Supercar series proper has silence many of his knockers. He is slowly escaping his father's shadow.
"It is nice if I have shut them up because I am certainly not a race car driver because my Dad choose me as a race car driver,'' Moffat said.
"I am doing it because it is what I love and my Dad just happens to have been a race car driver that was very good at it. I am my own man and I don't think about it too much.''
In his third year at the top, Moffat has earned the respect of his peers and shown fans he has enough talent to make it on his own.
"Now it is up to me to earn some of the success Dad had,'' Moffat said.
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