An Interview with 2013 Bangerstox Points, Southern and Kent Champion 1/9 Chris Young
(interview published May 14 in the lead up to the Bangerstox Southern Championship on May 26)

Age: 32
Home Town: Ramsgate
Occupation: Scaffolder
Family: Girlfriend Samatha
Racing career: First raced Bangerstox five years ago having previously raced go-karts

You are set to not only defend the Southern Championship at Dover on May 26 but you will be trying to win the race for an incredible fourth time in a row, are you looking forward to the race and does it come with extra pressure?
Yes I am looking forward to it, it would be a hell of a thing to win it for the fourth year running but I’m not to sure how likely that is, I’ve always been incredibly lucky in the Kent and Southern Championships (he is also going for a fourth consecutive Kent Championship in August) and at some point that luck has got to run out but I will be giving it a good go again and we’ll see what happens. I suppose there is a bit of pressure, being defending champion and I won’t lie, these are races you always want to win and do try and little bit harder. I must confess, the big appeal for me is I love having the fancy fluffy roof grades on my car (laughs), I think they look really smart and that is the big thing for me that if you win one of these races you get to have a fluffy roof on the car which is cool. The misses isn’t so keen on the trophies though (laughs). I was very lucky in this one last year, it was (Jay Powell’s) race and he got a puncture and I was just in the right place at the right time and took the win but it so easily could have not worked out that way and luck always plays a big part in a race like this.

This race is somewhat unique in that is the only championship race of the year where the grid positions are determined by a random draw, how important is that to winning the race?
Very and like I said, luck will be very important I think. It’s not so much about where you start, you can win races from the back or finish well from the back and I think I’ve been able to prove that a few times already this season because me and some others have done well from the back but it’s more about where everyone else starts. If you are at the back that’s one thing in a normal race because all the other top drivers are at the back with you but it’d unlikely that it will happen in this race, the odds are there will be one top driver near the front so the draw will make a big difference. For me, I just try and treat it like any other race and try not to push too hard or make mistakes, if you tell yourself enough that’s it’s just another heat or a final and keep racing like normal and trying to pass as many cars as you can you have a better chance I think.

Are you pleased with how well your season has gone so far and that you are third in the points after the first three meetings at Dover?
I’m really pleased actually, especially as I didn’t go to Mildenhall in January this year and I didn’t have a lot of luck at the first meeting at Dover so to be doing that well is really great. Trying to retain the points championship wasn’t really something I was considering this season, hence why I didn’t go to Mildenhall (in January) but it might be something I might have to reconsider. What is especially encouraging for me is that I’ve had all my results so far from the back of the grid while those in front of me started the season towards the front and are now moving back so to be up there with them already is really encouraging.

Having won the points championship last year you decided to race with the number one in 2014, something you didn’t do when you previously won the points, why did you make that decision this year?
Honestly, it was because this time I felt I deserved it and deserved to race as number one. The first time I won the points I still considered myself a newcomer and I honestly didn’t feel I deserved to race with the number but last year was such an amazing season. To win the points by such a big margin and to also win the Kent and Southern again was so huge for me, I never expected to do that well. It was really cool when I realised it was a record breaking score since the number of meetings at Dover had been reduced and I think if you compared it to when Dover had 14 meetings a year it could still be considered a record breaking score so I was just over the moon with it and this time I really felt I deserved to be number one.

The one thing which remains on your CV is the Masters Championship, is that a big goal for 2014 or do you think it is something of a cursed race for you?
(laughs) Oh it’s definitely a curse. 100 per cent it’s cursed for me and I don’t think I will ever win that race, no matter how hard I try. I’ve had some good tries already, been in with a shout and then had it all go wrong one way or another and I think all the luck I’ve had everywhere else means there isn’t any left for that race (laughs). Still I can hardly complain but I would love to win that race, that would complete things nicely for me and I’ll be giving it a good go again this time but I can’t see it happening.

What has made your early season form all the more impressive has been that it has come racing in some of the biggest Bangerstox entries we have ever seen at Dover, have you enjoyed this boom in numbers in 2014?
Well I’ve mixed views on that! (laughs) I won’t lie, I wasn’t very happy after the first meeting because I got a lot of damage on my car and the toys certainly came out of the pram that afternoon! But I’m glad I got over it because the last two meetings have been much, much better, maybe because the track wasn’t wet because of the rain I’m not sure but the racing has been a lot better. It’s been interesting having that many cars, I always count how many cars are in front of me in every race I’m in, it’s a habit I’ve always had and there’s been a few times this year where it’s been nearly 30 and you start thinking you’ve no hope at all and all you can try for is a top 10 if you are lucky and then the last two finals I’ve finished in the top three which has been brilliant.

You’ve been in the formula for several years now, what is the appeal for you and why do you think we’ve seen this sudden increase in numbers?
I think a big reason for the increase is that you can now use injection engines which just makes it a lot easier for people to get out there and have a go if they want and it’s opened it up for a lot of new and different cars to be used and I think that’s the biggest reason because it is a lot easier now for people to race. For me, there are a lot of things why the formula appeals to me. I like (Dover Raceway). I know it’s not a bit of everyone but I think it’s got character and it’s a challenge and the buzz of passing someone on the outside is absolutely fantastic because I really don’t think it’s an easy thing to do. It’s weird because I really don’t like Mildenhall, I just can’t get on with the place and most drivers in the formula look forward to the one or two meetings there more than the whole season at Dover where as I can’t wait until they are over (laughs). I also like that it’s only a few meetings a year, they are nicely spread out, there’s a big break in the winter and that it’s still a fairly cheap formula to race in. I’ve thought about grass tracking but that is quite a bit more expensive and you only race against a few cars so the Bangerstox tick a lot of boxes for me and it suites me very well.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My other half who has supported me religiously ever since I got into the racing and my dad who has also been a big help.