Russell Ingall of Supercheap Auto Racing during the Dick Smith Sandown 500, event 10 of the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship at the Sandown International Motor Raceway.
Briscoe was an on-again, off-again Supercars co-driver in the mid-2000s and early 2010s.
The last came with Ingall at the 2013 Gold Coast 600 in a Supercheap Auto-backed Walkinshaw Racing-run entry. In his 14 race starts, the last finally bore fruit for Briscoe who claimed third.
As Briscoe recalled, that was in the twilight of Ingall’s career – though the 2005 champion would have you think otherwise.
“I caught up with him [at Indianapolis] and that was awesome because he was like ‘I got you your best trophy ever, the surfboard at Surfers’,” Briscoe told Speedcafe.
“That was cool. Actually, it sits right up there. He was so much fun to be a teammate with, such a grumpy old man,” Briscoe laughed.
“He was on the verge of retirement. I remember being in the autograph line, everyone was coming up and people were saying, ‘When will you retire?’
Full Credit to the Noise – Your light-hearted take on motorsport’s biggest news Click here to listen
“And he was like ‘Well, I’m not fucking dead!’ He was getting pissed off with everyone.”
Russell Ingall (right) with Ryan Briscoe at the 2013 Gold Coast 600.
Briscoe made his Supercars debut in 2006 with the Holden Racing Team at a time when his open-wheel aspirations were on tenterhooks.
He had finally reached the top of Mount Everest in 2004 as a Toyota test driver in Formula 1 but in 2005 wound up in the United States with Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series.
His spell there was short-lived. Briscoe was dumped at season’s end and left to bounce between part-time drives in 2006 and 2007 with other IndyCar teams and the series’ rival Champ Car.
He also dabbled in A1 Grand Prix for Team Australia as well as the American Le Mans Series, Grand American Road Racing Championship, and the then-known V8 Supercars.
Briscoe’s time in Supercars is perhaps best described as fraught.
His debut at the 2006 Sandown 500 was a standout though, taking provisional pole position ahead of HRT teammate Garth Tander before qualifying seventh in the Shootout.
Briscoe and his teammate ‘Gentleman’ Jim Richards finished four laps down in 21st.
Blair Julian (left) with Ryan Briscoe (middle) and Robert Shwartzman. Image: Chris Jones
A month later, his Bathurst 1000 debut lasted just 25 laps after Richards stuffed the #22 Holden VZ Commodore into the wall on the approach to Forest Elbow.
“Another special memory was getting provisional pole at Sandown,” said Briscoe.
“I think I was seventh in the Top 10 Shootout. It was my first ever V8 experience and I think I kind of fluked a provisional pole – just sent it. but that was awesome.
“And then like a low was Bathurst. I never got to drive in the race because we shunted in the first stint before I even got in the car, so I went home and watched the race on TV.”
Briscoe returned in 2010 for another ill-fated campaign with Andrew Thompson in the Walkinshaw Racing-run Bundaberg-backed Holden VE Commodore.
They finished seven laps down after suffering damage on the opening lap.
His final Bathurst 1000 start came in 2013 with Ingall, where he finished 17th.
“I never really got a great experience at Bathurst,” said Briscoe. “But I did do it.”
Russell Ingall’s Supercheap Auto Holden VF Commodore.
It’s been 10 years since Briscoe last raced in the IndyCar Series.
He ultimately never won the crown, but enjoyed five years with Team Penske. His best season was in 2009 when he fell short of the gong to Dario Franchitti.
Despite the loss, Briscoe hailed the season finale his greatest drive.
“The year I came third in the championship, it was down to the wire, the last race of the season, and the last race was Homestead,” Briscoe recounted.
“I was racing for the win in the championship and it was actually the best race of my life.
“The way the points worked, I had to win. If either one of us – it was me, Dario and Dixon – whoever won the race would win the championship. But if I won and Dixon came second, he would win the championship still.
“I had to win and lead the most laps, because you got an extra point for leading the most laps, so Dixon knew that he couldn’t let me lead the most laps. We’re just flat out, trading lead laps, and I’m leading the most laps. We couldn’t let up and just cruise.
“Franchitti knew he couldn’t keep up, so he just went into fuel save mode. And then we didn’t have a single caution. We just needed one caution and I would have made it on the strategy we were doing and then we didn’t have a single yellow.
“Scott and I had to pit with four laps to go and Dario just cruised around and won the race and won the championships.
“It was such a good race for me. I was sort of doing everything I needed to do to win the championship and just fell short because we didn’t get a yellow. It was tough.
“I think I came second 11 times that year. Some of them, you were like, ‘Oh man, could I have won?’ Some of them were like second was a great result, and it’s not like I didn’t win races that year either but… anyway, it is what it is. Still a great experience and awesome racing.”
Ryan Briscoe won the final IndyCar race on the streets of Surfers Paradise in 2008.
Briscoe enjoyed a career that spanned more than two decades.
His crowing glory, in his mind, was winning on the streets of the Gold Coast where he had grown up watching IndyCar.
In 2008, Briscoe won the non-championship Indy 300 ahead of New Zealand’s Scott Dixon.
“I remember going there, I think it was ‘98 or ‘99, watching (Alex) Zanardi win at Surfers, watching him do donuts at the end of the race in the last corner after he won,” said Briscoe.
“That was sort of my dream, and then to be able to go back in ‘08 and win it, I was like, I’m doing donuts at the last corner.
“I was sort of reliving that image and that was really special. To do it in front of a home crowd and family and friends, that was amazing.
“I’ve had so many incredible things happen throughout my career.
“To have just raced for Roger Penske, have him call my races for six years, including sports car, I mean, I just learned so much so much respect for him and the organisation.
“It shaped me as a driver. They actually gave me my second chance.”