5 MINUTES WITH MICK: ISSUE 13, 29 JANUARY 2015
Mick Kelly is connected.
World champion observer, winner of the Southern 80, top racer, mentor to
newcomers, sometimes outspoken, always with the best of intentions, Mick’s up for a
chat.
So why not share it. In each edition of Racer’s Edge Micks going to put one of our
members under the spotlight.
You don’t have to be famous, don’t have to be a winner. But you do have to be
committed and you must love our sport.
That’s what turns Mick on, and why he wants you to spend:
5 Minutes with Mick…
JESSICA PEARSE, 26, 99 Psycho Clowns team member
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Years Racing:
Jessica Pearse
JP, “The V8 Mermaid”
26
Echuca
Started skiing at 12yo
13 years as a skier, 2.5 as a driver
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Let’s start at the Beehag Jess, an amazing drive for 3 rd outright with the
boys, and coming at a tough time for the team. How much did that mean
to you?
The Beehag was awesome, it meant so much. We had a great result at
Grafton for my first ever race in unlimited, so the pressure was on to just keep
to my goal of finishing in the top 10.
I was ready at Sydney and keen to drive, then the Ringmaster had the
accident and we lost the heart of our team. After Sydney we were not even
sure if we were going to race, even going out to the start line of the Beehag
with the boys (Steve and Codie) it was still questionable– it was incredibly
emotional and the plan was let’s just see what happens and have some fun –
it’s the boys call– we will do what they want - well by the first bend Wombat
realised they were serious– let’s have a crack– they were in race mode and
we wanted to do something special for Bakes… It was the most amazing
feeling to pull it off for our team, it was a huge lift for everyone.
Was it also good to silence the doubters (of which I’m sure there were a
few):
We have a tight group, we hear what everyone says. I would not race until I
was confident and I could lay down a good time that other drivers could not
ignore. I had to trust Dan when he said that I was ready, but it’s not just about
me, it’s having a great observer and skiers that trust you, having an awesome
support team and of course a boat that can punch out a good time on the day.
Seriously – I wanted to be true to myself and make my team proud as they
have given me so much faith and encouragement – and do you really think
Dan would let me drive his boat if he was not confident in my ability?
Have you reminded Dan that your time was quicker than his best
Beehag time?
Mick Kelly – you are our statistics man and you were the first person to have
pointed this out.
Dan says he will take the boat off me if I mention it again, so it is not really
spoken about anymore.
However, I do remind Dan when he tries to change my driving style 
Yeah I was…..
Now we’ve given him sh!t, give the big fella a wrap – how invaluable a
tool has it been to have someone like Dan ‘mentor’ your driving?
Dan is the most incredible, kind, caring and patient man I know, he puts
everyone before himself. I had quit like 30 times, there have been tears on
numerous occasions, but he just gives me some chocolate and tells me to pull
my head in, then let’s go try that again. He spent endless hours working on
the boat, testing, and changed the whole setup of his boat to suit my style
(Basically put training wheels on it for me). He has taught me so much and
hooked me up with some amazing people that are really supportive, the whole
99PC is a real compliment to him.
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We should probably rewind a bit though – how did you come to be
driving the blue 99PC rig?
I drove 70mph for 2 years and gained a lot of very valuable experience. Dan
wanted to run an under 19 team as well as a superclass team so he could
bring some talent through, and we had Ringmaster as well as the blue rig, so
would have been able to run the 2 teams.
At one point both you and I were going to share the role of driver/observer if I
remember correctly? But it was getting extremely hard to find skiers that
would be happy with both you and I in the boat, so you got dumped as a
driver and got made a skier, I got dumped as an observer and made the driver
and we headed for Grafton.
Pretty much it in a nutshell – still not fair I didn’t get to drive!!
Having had a pretty good window into your driving career, I was able to
see the time and commitment you put into it, does it frustrate you that
people probably don’t recognise that?
It frustrates me that we are prepared to put time, money and effort into any
team we put together, but we still get the odd group of people that are not
keen on me driving. It really annoyed me that a team who I have admired for
my entire racing life tried to stop me running a race because I might get in the
way, that was extremely hurtful and unfair – they looked at me as a girl – they
didn’t even consider my 2 years of driving in the F2 boat, my overseas driving
at the European Cup in France, or the point scores and they didn’t even
consider that there was a male rookie driver in the same race. Thanks to Noel
Griffin, Mark Cranny, Kenny Cheetham and Brian Nutley for putting the right
perspective on that incident.
Now let’s move forward and remember – girls can race too. Look at Jenny
Grech, Donna Aylmer, Alisha Brooks and Karen Pet – we girls have just as
much right to be out there racing too – you can’t get better if you can’t get out
on the track and try.
Amen Sister!
You’ve got a pretty serious ‘race face’ as soon as the helmet goes on –
do you think you should smile more when you drive?
I have been taught to get in the boat early, run things through in my head and
start to get focused. I get very nervous, so I’m usually focusing on my
breathing and trying to relax haha.
The second we cross that finish line however, I relax, I smile a lot … I smiled
so hard at the Beehag my cheeks hurt for a week.
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Having skied Grafton Bridge with Oompa behind you, I’ve got to say
you’re one of the smoothest drivers I’ve ever skied behind – is that what
you aim for, or did you just go easy on me because I’m old?
Ha, ha, ha trust me – you got no special treatment Bankrobber, I know how
hard you can ski!!!
I had to develop my own style, I like what I have – every single person I have
towed has said I’m really smooth, so I’m happy with that and it works for me. I
started as a skier and spent many years observing before I got in the drivers
seat. So I have that ability to read the water and have a greater understanding
of what the skier will be going through.
You were a pretty handy skier back in the day – what was your highlight
and are there any plans to get out the back again?
I am not sure. I wouldn’t mind – I loved doing marathon – perhaps next
season after a lot of exercise and training??? I found that I had become more
interested in travelling the world than I was in putting in the hard yards and
training for the ski racing. That’s why I was keen to try driving, I didn’t have to
go the gym (ha ha) that is why I have the greatest respect and admiration for
our skiers that put in all that hard work and training, and have the ability to
possess a very determined mind set.
So you’re suggesting Dan doesn’t spend hours in the gym????
The absolute highlight of my skier years was the 2008 Australian Titles at
Grafton where I won the Under 19 Girls behind Hellrazor with Mark Cranny
driving and Damien Matthews observing.
(I was originally going to ski with Peter Strike’s Elm Street with Danny
Timewell driving, but unfortunately there were boat issues so thankfully Mark
Cranny came to the rescue).
The same year I got 3rd in Marathon – might have won if Tony and Pete had
not got lost up the river-ha ha – great memories and awesome teams.
Speaking of plans, where is your racing career headed? Superclass?
Catalina? The World??? (senior social?!)
I would absolutely love to be a serious contender in Superclass one day, but
that is years away, I still have a lot more to learn.
Catalina and the Diamond Race are two very high on my list to achieve, but I
have a lot of rough water training to do before I attempt those.
The biggest goal would be to team up with a young gun skier and have a go
at the worlds, it has been spoken about, but I have not committed to anything
yet. The whole team is up in the air at the moment after the crash, we are not
sure what direction we will run in the future.
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I see 99PC as more than just a race team, what are your thoughts on
that?
A skier said just recently, when he was asked what he thought when Dan
asked him to ski with the 99PC team, he said he felt very privileged. It’s so
true, everyone feels privileged to be part of the 99 Psycho Clowns team, you
are surrounded by people who go out of their way to make things happen, you
have some of the fastest boats in the world, you have a massive fan base,
they race all over the world, its arguably one of the most popular brands in ski
racing – it is way more than a race team. We respect each other, chat all the
time, and enjoy each other’s company on and off the race track.
Cheers Jessica – good luck at the eighty!