Best mates living life in the fast lane

Adam spent the 2023 Australian Grand Prix rubbing shoulders with the premier team taking to the track in the past couple of seasons – Red Bull Racing – courtesy of a friendship that dates back to when Matt was seven years old growing up in the English town of Taunton.

Matt is best mates with Rob Marshall, a Formula One engineer, currently in the top job at the allconquering Red Bull team, that has master minded a number of driver’s world championships, as well as constructors’ championship titles since joining what was then Benetton in the late 1990s, starting what has been an almost three decade association with the sport.

“We met at school when we were seven and realised we lived only a few doors down from each other in the same town and we stayed friends all the way through school and have been best mates ever since,” Matt said.

“We have always kept in touch, we were best man at each other’s wedding, we go on holidays together and we catch up every year when he comes to Australia for the Grand Prix.”

Their friendship was built on a mutual love of rugby and cricket and both will be eagerly following England’s fortunes in the upcoming Ashes series, where Matt is backing ‘Baz Ball’ against his adopted homeland, the Australians.

And there is, in fact, a small group of five from those school days on the rugby field and cricket oval that have stayed in touch over the years, with Matt and Rob heading to Sydney to visit another one of the mates from that strong friendship group, post the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.

Send details of your community event to [email protected] COONAWARRA AFTER DARK VARIOUS CELLAR DOORS COONAWARRA April 14 & 15 RIVOLI BAY JETTIES JUNIOR FISHING COMPETITION BEACHPORT April 17 – 27 (Presentation on April 28) LEGENDS MASTER TOURNAMENT BLUE LAKE SPORTS PARK MOUNT GAMBIER April 21 – 23 GENERATIONS IN JAZZ THE BARN MOUNT GAMBIER (OB FLAT) May 4-7 MOUNT BURR & TANTANOOLA LADIES NIGHT TWILIGHT FOOTBALL MATCH & MOUNT BURR April 22 ROTARY HEADLIGHT & TYRE CHECK MOUNT GAMBIER, MILLICENT & BORDERTOWN April 13 And while Matt enjoys the opportunity to get a front row seat to all the action of Formula 1, Rob equally enjoys relaxing in Mount Gambier and with wife Kathryn in tow on the most recent trip, the couples played tourist, taking in the Blue Lake, Port MacDonnell, dinner at The Barn and the Coonawarra wine region, among the sights and sounds of the Limestone Coast.

“He loves coming to Australia,” Matt said. “It is important for his work as the engineers get a lot of data from the first race of the year that they can use for the rest of the season and he loves being in Melbourne, visiting Mount Gambier. He usually comes to our home for two or three nights before the Grand Prix and just having some time to relax.”

He has also built a relationship with local motor racing hero Peter Gazzard Rob’s father was an engineer and Matt said even from a young age, Rob was always tinkering with something.

“He was always interested in engineering type things, always doing projects at school and he was re-building classic cars with his dad at home” Matt said.

was a 1930 AJS motorcycle that he received in two tea chests of parts for his 16th birthday and had to figure out how to reconstruct it.

After completing university in Cardiff, Rob literally became a rocket scientist, working in the aerospace department for Rolls Royce, before the need for a change of direction saw Rob secure that role at Benetton, which was eventually taken over by Renault in the early 2000s, eventually rising to Head of Mechanical Design.

It was in 2005 when Rob first reached the pinnacle with the first of his Driver’s and Constructors’ Championship titles with Fernando Alonso in the driver’s seat.

Always on the hunt for a new challenge, he eventually crossed to Red Bull racing.

For the past two seasons he has again found himself at the top end of the competition with Max Verstappen taking out the past two driver’s championships and Red Bull adding another constructors’ championship last season. “He is a man in demand, teams are always hunting around for his services,” Matt said.

CELEBRATING FRIENDSHIP & SUCCESS: Red Bull chief engineer Rob Marshall & Mount Gambier’s Matt Adam at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix

SHOWCASING THE REGION: Kathryn Marshall, Matt Adam, Rob Marshall & Ilana Adam exploring the Coonawarra.

FORMULA 1 CHAMPIONS: Rob Marshall (second from right) with Formula 1 world champions Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen & his first ever world champion driver Fernando Alonso