David Brown of Driven Media interviewed respected author John Smailes about recently passed motor racing great, Allan Moffat. It gives a fascinating insight into an often-overlooked aspect of the man and his approach.

Much has been written about Allan Moffat, but an interview on the weekly radio program and podcast Overdrive with John Smailes, the author of Moffat’s autobiography, highlights a side of the racing champion that is often overlooked. It reveals how a formative period in the United States, particularly at the Indianapolis 500, shaped the disciplined approach that underpinned Moffat’s success in Australia.

What emerges is a portrait of a driver whose achievements were not simply the product of natural ability. According to Smailes, Moffat built his career on discipline, preparation, and a sharp eye for what makes a winning team. These traits were forged long before his touring car championships and Bathurst victories, during his time working as a young helper for Team Lotus.

A determined young Canadian in search of opportunity

Smailes explained that Moffat, born in Canada, set his mind early on a future in motor racing. His first step was to get as close as possible to Team Lotus, who were running a touring car team in the United States. Without pay and without promise of progression, he offered himself as a gofer. His jobs included washing the cars and performing basic tasks, but the real value was in observing how a professional racing outfit operated.

In 1964 Team Lotus sold him a Lotus Cortina, which he took to Australia and used to win his class at the Sandown six hour race. While there was no certainty that he would stay in Australia, he returned to the United States to see what chances might arise.

On that trip he again visited Team Lotus at Indianapolis. They offered him another role as a helper, and he accepted immediately.

Learning from a race that changed everything

In 1965 Moffat found himself in the pits for the Indy 500 on the weekend Jim Clark won the race. His official job was simple. He held out a long stick carrying a cup of water for Clark to drink during his two pit stops. Yet what he witnessed around him had a lasting impact.

Smailes emphasised that Clark’s victory was not only due to his skill or the speed of the Lotus. It was also a result of the Ford Motor Company bringing in the Wood Brothers, a professional NASCAR pit crew. Their efficiency changed the expectations of what a pit stop could be. While AJ Foyt took 41 seconds for a stop, Clark took 19 seconds. That difference was decisive.

Moffat watched this performance in awe. He saw how discipline, coordination, and preparation could win a race even before the driver returned to the track. According to Smailes, Moffat came back to Australia determined that he would not only race cars but also assemble the best pit crew he could find. It became a lifelong philosophy.

Benchmarking excellence instead of idolising heroes

David Brown asked whether Moffat hero worshipped Jim Clark. Smailes explained that Moffat never had heroes. He benchmarked people rather than idolised them. Clark became the standard by which Moffat measured what a complete racing operation should be. Clark was a driver with talent, but more importantly, a competitor who could gather specialists around him and enable them to perform at their best.

Smailes noted that Moffat adopted the same approach. Whether in his preparation or his management of others, he sought to match the organisational strength that had helped Clark succeed at Indianapolis.

The difference between Moffat and Brock

Smailes drew out a useful comparison between Moffat and Peter Brock. While both were naturally talented, they differed in how they approached a race weekend. Brock could jump into a car and find a way to work around its problems. Moffat preferred to eliminate problems through preparation, testing, and detailed work with engineers. He treated racing with an engineer’s mindset and spent long hours refining a car.

This can lead others to assume that Moffat had to work harder because he lacked instinct, but Smailes said this was not true. Moffat worked hard because he wanted the result to be exact.

Smailes also noted that Moffat had two sides to his personality. There was Allan, the skilful and outward-facing racer, and Arthur (the name of his father), a more abrupt and serious figure that emerged in high pressure moments. Team members would sometimes ask who was present on a given day and adjust their approach accordingly.

Pauline and the wider Indianapolis connection

The interview also touched on Moffat’s then wife, Pauline. In earlier years they were seen as a power couple. Moffat could be caustic at times, and Pauline had the ability to charm the people he offended, making them an effective combination.

After their split Pauline moved to the United States, where she founded the Indy Fringe Festival, modelled on the Edinburgh Fringe. Smailes said that in 2012 she was named Indianapolis’s most powerful woman of the year. She only recently announced her retirement from that role. She is now married to Lee Dykstra, who had been Moffat’s boss and later his engineer during his early Ford testing days in America. Smailes emphasised that the timing of their relationship avoided any impropriety and that Pauline remains proud of the years she spent with Moffat.

A focus shaped by Indianapolis

The interview makes it clear that Moffat’s distinctive focus was not an accident of personality. It was the product of standing in the pits at Indianapolis, watching a world-class team demonstrate what preparation and precision could achieve. That lesson stayed with him, shaped his approach in Australia, and helped create one of the most disciplined and successful careers in touring car racing.

The reflections offered by John Smailes provide an important reminder that Moffat’s legacy is not only about trophies and lap times. It is about how he built a career around methodical excellence, learned from the best, and never forgot what he saw at the Indy 500.

David Brown has more than 35 years of experience road testing vehicles, supported by hands-on involvement as a privateer in a variety of motorsport events. His passion extends far beyond lap times and race victories. He is deeply interested in the characters, circumstances and communities that shape motorsport, and in the human stories that sit behind competition.

David has entered everyday road cars in Dutton Rallies, running them against high-performance machines that often had significantly more money poured into them. His curiosity about people has led to interviews with icons such as Sir Jack Brabham, followed by conversations with Brabham’s wife to understand how the family interprets their remarkable heritage.

He won’t be remembered for his motor sport results, but he may help us understand the nature and background of some of the characters that make up the sport.