An Interview with former National Banger World Champion Magic 33 Gary Magewick
(interview published February 17 2016 in the lead up to the 2016 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship)

Age: 42
Home Town: Mildenhall
Occupation: Builder
Family: Wife Lee-Ann and three daughters
Racing career: Started racing in Ministox in 1985 and National Bangers in 1990, both at Mildenhall

Despite this being your first appearance in the Supreme Championship for over a decade you were one of the first to confirm your intention to compete in the big race, is this something you are looking forward to?
Absolutely. I admit I have barely raced on shale the last few years, I think it was 10 years before I did the World of Shale championship at King’s Lynn and a BWS round at Stoke so it’s been even longer since I have raced at Mildenhall. It’s mad really isn’t it, I’ve got two tracks on my door step and I’ve only raced at one of them once in the last decade or so (laughs). But whenever you qualify for big races like this you have to take the opportunity do you and for me, living in Mildenhall it would be pretty rude of me not to do it (laughs). I must admit that as well as looking forward to the race as well, I’m also looking forward to the fact that once I’ve finished racing I will back at home within about 15minutes which will make a really nice change (laughs). I look forward to any race like this, what I’ve found in the years I’ve raced and the formulas I’ve tried my hand in, and I’ve tried almost all of them now (laughs) is that when it comes to big races, you cannot beat a big National Banger race, there is just nothing like it. Of all the formulas I’ve been in, I think the formula I enjoyed the most apart from bangers was the Lightning Rods because you could have an excellent race where you be fighting for just ninth place or something but nothing compares to the buzz from a big banger race and I’m sure this will be no different at all.

As you mentioned it’s been a very long time since we have seen you in action at Mildenhall and you have raced very little on shale in that time as well, can you explain why this is and whether you think the lack of track and shale experience will hinder you in the championship?
The truth is I just much prefer racing on tarmac or maybe it’s because I simply do better on tarmac (laughs). Despite racing a lot on shale many years ago I never considered myself to be particularly good and I think the reason I got the results I did was partly because the standard of the drivers at that time wasn’t as special as it is now. No disrespect to the guys from years ago at all but I think the quality of drivers in the sport at the moment is much higher, it’s incredibly tough and I doubt I would have done as well on shale if the drivers were like they are now. I guess we’ll find out in the Supreme (laughs)! Another big reason why I tend to stay away from shale is simply because of the mess. I build my cars at home on the drive and I just could not handle having the mess which comes from racing on shale, especially at wet meetings. It’s hard enough building the cars at home in between work and spending time with my family as it is and that would be even harder if I was racing on shale because of the extra mess that goes with it.

You last raced in the Supreme Championship in 2002 at Northampton, having debuted in the first staging of the race at Hednesford, do you remember much about those events?
I honestly didn’t even know I was in the one at Hednesford. I really don’t (laughs). I remember doing a National Championship there but maybe it was the Supreme, I’m not sure. That’s terrible isn’t it (laughs). I remember the Northampton one though because I had a really good race and nearly won it. It was a near photo finish on the line between me and Shane Brown. He led to the last bend and I managed to get up the inside of him but he held on and just beat me to the line but it was a brilliant race to be a part of and I do remember that one quite well.

Despite not being in the race for so many years, is it an event you pay much attention to?
If I’m honest I don’t really, usually what happens is someone will mention it to me after it’s happened, either telling me whose won or asking me if I know. Truth be told, I struggle to keep up with the racing that I do so it’s hard for me to keep up with much else but at least this year I should know who won it (laughs). But it is a race I’m very aware of, there is no denying it’s a big deal, any race like this, especially being an unlimited one.

Is the fact that the meeting is now unlimited a reason you are taking your place on the grid?
Very much. I really don’t like 2litre Bangers or any front wheel drive cars really but a bit like my reasons for not liking shale so much I think most of that is because I just never seem to do very well in a FWD car, I just can’t get on with them so had the meeting still been a (National) meeting I doubt I would have done it to be honest but being unlimited was much more appealing to me.

That said, have you decided what car you will be using for the race?
I’ve got a Lexus (LS400) which I took to the Bears meeting at Eastbourne in the summer which has very little damage to it and I’ve almost been looking for a meeting to use it again so that’s what I’m using. It’s hard sometimes because between work and my family there isn’t much time for building cars. My wife is a carer so most days when I get home from work she goes to work and I then look after my three daughters so it doesn’t leave a lot of time to work on cars. Thankfully I’ve got a great amount of support and help and together we manage to make it work but I’ve got the Lexus there ready to go which is ideal as I don’t really have the time to build anything different. I think it will be a good car for the job though, they are pretty good and tough cars and I think that is what you are going to need?

What kind of race do you expect it to be?
It depends on the amount of cars in it but assuming there is a good grid, 30 something or so, it’s going to be lively, big cars and such a small track so I can’t see it not being lively at least. I like those races though, as I said I don’t think I’m the best or the fastest driver out there but if the race is a bit lively, it’s less about how fast you are and more about getting through the gaps which I think I’m better at, especially if you have a little luck.

Have you paid much attention to the qualifiers and if so who do you think stands out as a favourite?
I’ve not really. I had a quick look and noticed my mate Josh (Vowden) had qualified and I was gutted for him because he’s away in Australia at the moment playing cricket and I know he would have loved to have been in the race but I’m sure he is better off where he is. I actually told him to go and threatened to smash him up every time we raced together if he didn’t (laughs). But beyond that I’ve not really looked but I don’t tend to do that. I guess because when I started racing you didn’t know who would be there until you arrived in the pits so maybe studying entry lists to see who is racing has never really mattered to me that much. The most I might do is just see how many cars are booked in or see if there are some feuding drivers or teams booked in but that is more to see if it’s a meeting I should try and watch the other races at in between mine! As for contenders, I guess most of them will won’t they. It’s not an easy thing to qualify for, everyone in it has done something pretty special to qualify so they are all good and capable of winning and I’d guess that the majority will go into it with the intention of trying to win, even the ones who might think they are going for a crash will probably change their mind if an opportunity to try and win comes up.

Have you got a target for the race?
I want to finish it, after all you have to finish first before you can do anything else so I’d be pleased to finish, especially as it’s my first time at the track in so long and the two meetings I’ve done on shale recently I think I managed three laps between them (laughs). If I can finish I’d be really pleased to be in the top 10 but I suspect that it will be one of those races where if you finish you will either be in the top 10 or not far from it.

As already mentioned you are predominantly a tarmac racer these days, much has been said about the state of the sport on tarmac, do think the problems are as extreme as some claim it to be?
Of course it’s not that bad! Yes it is bad and yes it’s probably getting worse but it is still nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be and it does make you laugh when you hear or read what some people say or think is going on. Tyres is the main issue, you do need to have good tyres to compete on tarmac but there are not expensive as they used to be but apart from that I don’t spend very much on my cars at all and I’d like to think I’m still competitive, I finished third in the (Spedeworth) World Final at least. I think a big help at the moment is the modern cars are pretty quick without having any work done to them. A lot of the modern cars have adjustable suspensions as standard and some of the cars we are using now are bordering on sports cars or are at least luxury cars, take the Lexus I’m using at Mildenhall, they were expensive cars when they were new. I think by the time you put a heavy door plate on, the batteries on the driver’s side and the driver you have more than enough inside weight so while I guess there are some who do corner weight their cars and stuff like that I don’t think it is anywhere near as many as what people say, I certainly don’t. I think a lot of the problems are in people’s heads, it is a mental thing. I have it as I always think if a car looks rubbish then it will go rubbish. I went to Wimbledon at the end of last year with a Mondeo, spent the whole journey looking in my mirror thinking how ugly (the car) looked and sure enough I had a terrible meeting.

Despite being a seasoned racer, you have embraced the more modern cars, do you enjoy racing these?
Yes but to be completely honest it has been more out of necessity than anything else. Another big expense in the sport right now is on the cars themselves, the money a (Scorpio) shell changes hands for it absolutely mental, hence why I’ve not raced one for years (laughs). I get a lot of help from Beck Row Car Spares on cars and most of the time I get the cars that no one else wants but sometimes I will buy a more expensive one and again I’m very lucky that my mechanics will help with the costs but I’ve been using the modern cars primarily to keep the costs of my racing down but I think it has worked well because these modern cars have been really good.

On the subject of negativity, your home promotion of Spedeworth have received a lot of negative press recently, do you think these comments have been justified or unfair?
It’s funny because I was at the NEC show a couple of weeks ago and was talking to a friend about the comments on (internet message board website) Ovalchat about the BWS Wimbledon meeting and Spedeworth were getting a right hammering because of some of their decisions and then they made a couple of tiny changes and everyone changed their tune. I thought it was hilarious. At the end of the day you can never please everyone and I think when you are in the public eye you are always going to have those who pick fault with the things you can do but as a driver I have no issues at all, I just think it’s people making a fuss.

A new rule has recently been announced by the ORCi prohibiting drivers from exiting their cars while a race is in progress, is this something your agree with?
I do to be honest. There have been so many close calls lately and I’ve seen it where people have been very lucky when they chose to get out (of their cars), I seen a couple of scary incidents as well so I think this is for the best. My brother told me years ago that the safest place is in your car and I’ve always felt that way so it’s quite rare for me to get out of car when I’m on the track anyway so I don’t think things will change for me too much at least. At the end of the day with every driver, preservation will be the main key so I think if a driver really does have to get out of their car, they still will and will just explain it later, I think the most important thing is that the promoters and officials need to be somewhat understanding when a driver does chose to get out as long as their reasons are justified.

What are your plans for the remainder of 2016?
My main goal again is to try and qualify for the (Spedeworth) World Final. It’s hard to explain it, but I just love that night and that meeting, it is an incredible thing to be a part of and again that’s my target to be in that race and the rest of my season will be shaped around getting into that race. The way it works at Spedeworth, you have to do the meetings to get the points more from attendance than race results so that kind of dictates what you have to do and when and with the time I have it doesn’t leave much time for much else really. I’ve started the year well and made a point of doing a lot of the early meetings that count for points to try and give myself a head start which might give me some breathing space later in the year so maybe if that’s the case I could do some different things or just take it a little easier (laughs). I would like to try and get to Scotland though this year as I’ve still not raced there. I went with (nephew) Sid in his stockcar to Cowdenbeath and it was absolutely brilliant so I’d like to race there if I can.

Speaking of your nephew Sid, while you have not raced at Mildenhall for many years, Sid has in his Saloon Stockcar and had a tremendous season in 2015, are you able to follow and support his racing much?
Not as much as I would like to but yes I do keep track of him and try to watch him when I can and if I can’t make a meeting I’ll always make a point of phoning to see how he got in. I think he is doing really well at the moment, the (Saloon Stockcars) is such a hard formula for anyone to do well so it’s great that he is doing so well. If he had a brain he would be even better but as his dad always says you can’t put brains in coconuts (laughs)!

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
Beck Row Car Spares for their continued support over the years and all the cars they have helped me with, Carly, Simon and Knightsy who have been a massive help with my racing for a long time, my misses for her support and understand especially with the noise and mess I make with the cars, my brother for signwriting the cars when I beg him enough, my mate Josh, my boss Jeremy at Fresh Water Estates as he is a very understanding boss who has helped me a great deal and everyone else who helped me.