An interview with new BriSCA F2 Stockcar World of Shale Champion 977 Dave Massey

Firstly congratulations on winning the World of Shale Championship, has the victory truly sunk in yet?
I think it is just starting to now. At first it really didn’t, I never expected it, I really didn’t so when it happened it didn’t seem exactly real but now the weekend is over it’s starting to sink in. I’ve had a lot of messages from people congratulating me and that has made a difference I think. Sunday was a little strange but I think today (Monday) has been different because it’s been back to normal. I got up at 6.30am for work and there has been a lot of banter at work about winning and I think that made it sink in a bit more. I’ve also ordered the gold stripes for the car as well now and that was pretty weird so I think when we put them on the car and race with the gold stripes that’s when it will be complete. I’m lucky because I’m away with work in the next couple of weeks but I’m back long enough to race at King’s Lynn next weekend so I’m really looking forward to that but unfortunately I’m away again for the last Mildenhall meeting which is a pity because it would have been nice to have raced there again with the stripes but it can wait until next year.

What have other people’s reactions been?
It’s been pretty incredible really. My dad still gets tearful now when we talk about it so it clearly means an incredible amount to him and my girlfriend as well, she was a bit in shock when it happened. She came on the track afterwards and neither of us could really believe it. It was pretty incredible afterwards as well, the amount of people congratulating me after the race, just an amazing experience.

You inherited the lead with four laps to go when Andrew Palmer slowed with a broken brake pipe, what were you thinking at that point and how were the final few laps?
When the race restarted for the third time I really wasn’t thinking too much about winning. There were a few back markers between me and Andrew and with a clear track in front I figured the race was his. At that point I was looking to take second or third which would have been my best finish in the race so that was my goal. When the race restarted I was watching Andrew very closely and I saw his front wheel dip a little bit and I thought there might be something wrong and on the next bend he went to the outside and slowed down. I won’t lie I was grinning from ear to ear when I took the lead because that was when I realised I could do it and I had a chance to win. The final laps were ok to be honest. I’d had some real problems with the car in practise and compared to that the car was going much better and although it did get a little loose in the final couple of laps but it was still ok. I had some back markers in front of me and I really didn’t want to risk passing them because they were fighting each other for position and at that point I don’t think any of us knew exactly where everyone else was so if I had gone past them they could have easily wiped me out thinking I was racing them for position. So instead I backed off a bit and kept an eye behind me and kept just enough ahead of (H47 Patrick Tersteeg) to win. The only problem was in the heat of the moment I couldn’t remember if the last lap board at Mildenhall said ‘last lap’ or was a number one. So when I was given the board with ‘one’ on it I spent the whole of the last lap thinking is this the last lap or is there another and when I came out of the last bend I was just trying to see if there was a flag or another lap board! The last few laps were quite strange because everything seemed to go by very slowly, so much so that on one of the final laps I was able to glance into the crowd where my team stand and could see them jumping up and down ad going pretty crazy which was a very cool feeling.

In the final section of the race Patrick Tersteeg lost some time battling with back marker Liam Bentham, do you think that could have made the difference in him not getting close enough to administer a last bend hit?
Maybe, there were so many things going on in the race that all made a difference one way or another. When the race was first stopped Wim Peeters passed me under the yellows and I lost a place on the restart but it all worked out ok in the end. I think in the end all these small things cancel each other out but it was certainly close and I could see him in my mirror and knew that if he did get too close I would have to pull my finger out and risk getting mixed up with the back markers but it didn’t come to that.

You mentioned the car not performing well in practise?
Yes I had a terrible time and the car was pretty awful. By the time I got out to practise the track had gone hard and slick and my car really doesn’t like those type of conditions. I also had an engine problem so altogether I was pretty fed up. Thankfully for me the track was worked on before the meeting which made a big difference for me and also by practising we found we had a problem with the valves which were able to take care off and while it wasn’t 100 per cent right it was an awful lot better when it was time to race so practising made a huge difference in my winning the championship. 

We’ve spoke about the end of the race, but what about the start, it looked pretty wild.
It certainly was. I saw George (Turiccki) and Chris (Bradbury) go out which I think blew the whole race wide open really. I had a feeling something might happen between those two and when they went out I figured it gave everyone else a better chance because I believe if they had broken away they would have been uncatchable. It was pretty crazy until the yellow flags came out for the first time but I was able to keep going and at that point that was the most important think, just surviving, they say races aren’t won in the first lap but they are lost there and this was definitely the case here because a lot of people’s chances ended early on.

How were you during the stoppages because a couple of them were quite lengthy due to drivers needing medical assistance?
I was pretty calm actually. I could have done with a drink mind and I did see George (Turiccki) walking around on the infield with a can of pop and though about asking him for a bit but didn’t know if that would count as outside interference so thought better of it!

How big of a deal is winning this championship for you?
It’s massive. I don’t race on tarmac so I’m never going to be World Champion so for me this is as big as it gets. I never thought it would happen, finishing on the podium would have been a big enough achievement so to take the win and be champion is just incredible, it’s the biggest thing ever. I’ve been racing since I was 16 (Dave is now 32) and this is the most important thing by a long way. My first win and my first final (win) were pretty special but if I’m honest I’m struggling to remember when they were and I don’t think I will ever forget this. 

Have you given any thought to your year as World of Shale Champion?
I’m looking forward to it. I’ve just gone up to red and I didn’t think I would stay there long but now I’ll spend the rest of the year at the back so that is going to be a new challenge I’m looking forward to. I really want to try and race at Emmen while I’m champion. I think that would be good, especially after so many drivers from Holland are racing over here now so it would be good to go over there as champion and race for them. I would also like to visit the new track in Austria and that is already being discussed so that would be pretty cool to go and race there as champion as well. 

Much has been said about the standard of the shale racing scene at the moment and one of its best features is drivers saying they can compete without the largest of budgets. You are living proof of that, can you tell us a little about your car which is one the many self-built cars on the shale circuits right now?
Yes, I built it completely myself two years ago and we are coming to the end of the second season of racing it and she’s doing fine so hopefully it has some good time ahead of it yet. Forgetting the engine, gearbox and diff, we ordered all the steel for the car which cost £480 and I reckon all told the car cost between £650 and £700 to build and it was done in around a week. My girlfriend went away for a week and I spent every night working on the car and by the end of it it was pretty much finished. Jake Walker wants a new car now and my girlfriend is away for a weekend soon and I said to him to get the steel ordered and we’ll do it while she is away and I reckon we’d probably do the majority of it. I’ve had a good engine this year from Redline but even with that I would like to think I’m racing on a much smaller budget than a lot of drivers and hopefully I am a little proof that you can do well without spending a fortune. I think it’s great that a driver like me has won the championship. I’m not the only one, there are others out there just like me doing well for themselves on a regular basis and it’s what makes the racing on shale so good at the moment. 

Now the championship has taken place under its new format, what do you think of it and how do you feel about defending the title at Coventry in 2014?
I didn’t realise it was going to be at Coventry. That’s cool because I like it there and the car usually goes well there so I’ll be looking forward to that. I do like the changes and one of the things I like the most is the last chance qualifier. Not all drivers can do all of the qualifying rounds, especially considering the distance between all of the shale tracks so not all drivers are going to have a realistic chance of making the top 20. But most drivers will have a good chance of at least making it into the last chance race which means come the championship they will have a chance to qualify for the race and I think that is good. I thought the last chance race was really good to be honest. 

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
My dad, girlfriend Amy, John Whittle who got all this started in the first place, I’m glad he was there to see me win, I think he nearly had a heart attack though watching the race and Redline who’ve been an incredible help to me.