An Interview with National Banger driver 187 Andy Marshall
(interview published June 10 2015 in the lead up to the Unlimited Van Banger meeting at Mildenhall on July 4)

Age: 42
Home Town: Brandon
Occupation: Delivery driver
Family: Wife Tracy
Started racing: Aged 15 in Bangers at Swaffham

Having made your debut at our unlimited van banger meeting last season you were among the first to book in for this year’s meeting, is it safe to assume you enjoyed last year’s event and are looking forward to this year’s session?
(laughs) Yes, absolutely, I had a fantastic time last year and I thought it was a brilliant meeting. It was my first time doing it and I couldn’t believe how good it was. Driving a van every day for a living I guess made me want to do it a little bit more but even so it was still a lot better than I thought it would be, it was just great fun all night and that’s what banger racing is supposed to be. The only disappointment for me was that I rolled over in the last race which ended my night a little earlier than maybe it could have because the van was still running at that point. In fact rolling over was quite a painful experience and I was really sore from it the day after, I think having that extra weight of being in a van, it made for quite a thud when I landed (laughs) so I’ll have to try and avoid doing that again this year. I think what helps make the meeting a bit more special is that there are a lot less drivers racing at the van meeting than a normal meeting at Mildenhall. I know that might sound strange because usually it’s a case of the more cars and drivers, the more special the meeting but this one is different. Having less drivers in the pits makes for a great atmosphere at this meeting I found last year and it felt like everyone was enjoying the meeting together and I almost felt like at some point during the meeting I spoke to every driver that was racing which obviously you couldn’t do normally because there is so many more drivers racing but it was really cool to have that feeling that you were having fun with every driver out there. It was definitely a meeting that I wanted to do again this year and the minute last year’s meeting was over I spoke to Top Gun (76 Terry Mansfield) to see if we could sort another van for this year.

As you mentioned you are a van driver by trade, can we ask what you drive and more importantly are you a stereo typical van driver?
I drive a Mercedes Sprinter so it’s quite a lump but as for being a typical van driver, no of course not, I’ve got a certificate and everything (laughs). But you are right van drivers do get a very bad rep among drivers and so I think for me that was one of the reasons the van meeting was so cool because I got to go out on track and behave just like van drivers are expected to and live up to the stereotype which was a lot of fun! At least if I do it at Mildenhall I won’t get shouted at by other drivers (laughs).

From your work van to your unlimited van banger, can you tell us what you have in store for July 4?
I’ve got a big Iveco Turbo Daly thing and honestly I cannot wait to race it, I think it’s going to be an absolute blast. I don’t think it will be particular quick but that’s really not a problem for me, I’m never really in it to try and win races, I find the crashing much more fun and I think this thing should be good for crashing and that’s my hope, just to get a good night out of it and enjoy myself crashing into as many things as I can, just like a good van driver should (laughs).

Your team mate Terry Mansfield has become something of a specialist for big van banger meetings, does his enthusiasm for this meeting rub off on you?
Firstly I cannot say enough about Top Gun. Put simply I would not be able to race without his help. He helps me with everything, the cars, building them and getting them to the track so I couldn’t do any of this without him and his enthusiasm for the sport rubs off on me completely for everything but yes I suppose that is especially the case with this meeting because he definitely loves this one and last year he really did encourage me to get out there as well. He helped sort the van out for me and I’m so glad he did because it was a brilliant night, I didn’t need any encouragement to do this year’s meeting, let’s just say that. It’s also cool getting to race with Terry because we don’t race together too often and it’s always a bit special when we do and Hacker (26 Dan Holmes) is also hoping to do the meeting and it’s even rarer that the three of us race together so if we can pull that off that would be awesome.

How is the preparation work going with your van?
(laughs) Well not too well at the moment because the gearbox has just broke on my road car so that’s been the priority lately but that’s done now so I’m back to concentrating on the van but don’t worry it will be done, there is no way I’m missing it.

Recent months have seen you show a clear taste for unlimited meetings, is this your preferred format of National Banger racing?
Yes it is I think. It goes back to when I was young and first started in the sport when my dad raced and back then everything was pretty much unlimited or at the least it was rear wheel drive. I learned to drive in a Mk1 Escort estate, ragging it round a field so I’ve grown up in rear wheel drive cars and for whatever reason I just don’t get on with front wheel drive ones and don’t get anywhere near the same enjoyment so I just stick to what I enjoy the most and that for me is really unlimited racing. The other thing I love about unlimiteds is the noise from the engines. For me there is no better buzz than being on track with a full field of unlimited engines because the noise is just unbelievable and when you have a track blockage and you’re in the middle of it with all the engines screaming, that’s the best. I’ve had a Range Rover and Jaguar on the road, both with V8 engines, so I definitely have a think for big cars and big engines, I’d love to have a big American Muscle car on the road or on the track at some point that would be awesome and I’m sure the Jaguar I have on the road right now will end up at Mildenhall when it’s life is at an end (laghs).

You and Terry were very much last minute additions to the Unlimited EA team championship as Damaged Goods, how late of a decision was it for you to do the meeting?
It wasn’t (laughs), that was just Terry being Terry! He actually asked me about doing the meeting back at the Supreme Championship where I didn’t race my Jaguar because I had some problems with my car. He suggested me and him could be a two man team at the team meeting and I was up for that but he never booked us in (laughs). I kept mentioning it to him and he kept saying he would sort it so I never thought anymore of it and then the night before we realised we still weren’t booked in. It was a tense when he finally made the call to see if there was room for us, I’d have been gutted if there wasn’t but it was all alright and I’m so glad it was because that was another cracking meeting. It had everything I enjoy about bangers, good cars, good racing and good crashing and I thought it was a proper old school type of meeting with everyone getting stuck into one another with nothing too silly or stupid, just a proper wreck up and it was blast being in the middle of it.

Given your fondness for unlimited meetings, is the Suffolk Open and Steamer Memorial Trophy meeting in August among your plans?
Absolutely and I’ve got another Jaguar XJ-S for that one. I really like my Jags and the XJ-S’ are a bit cool and different. Again I really enjoy the unlimited meetings at Mildenhall and that meeting was another that was really good last year, proper banger racing with the same things as the team meeting this year, good cars, racing and crashing, it had a bit of everything so I’m looking forward to it again.

Have you any other plans for 2015?
To be honest I kind of take things as they come and to be really honest my plans are more what Terry suggests (laughs). Again I wouldn’t be able to race without his help and so my racing plans largely revolve around what he comes up with and his suggestions but we are hopeful of doing most of the rear wheel drive type meetings. Those are the ones we both enjoy the most and I guess it helps a lot that we have similar tastes in the type of meetings we enjoy but we’ll see how it goes. I had hoped to do some more racing this year but it’s not really worked out as I’d hoped but I’ll definitely be trying to do as much as I can.

You did the caravan DD last season, is that something you may do again this year?
I’m not sure to be honest. Don’t get me wrong I thoroughly enjoyed the race, it was brilliant fun but I can’t lie and I didn’t enjoy the waiting for the race because it was the last race of the day so that wasn’t too much fun. I might do some of the Crazy Races this year instead but we’ll see how it goes.

You started racing over 25 years ago but you are something of a newcomer to RDC, can you tell us a little about your racing career?
Well it’s a funny story because I’ve been in and out of the sport my whole life. I’d do it for a few years, then have a few years away, then come back and it would go on and on like that and there was never any great reason for that to happen. Then I became friendly with Terry and he had this Rover P6 which he used at a Mildenhall pre 70 and after racing it he was going to scrap it as he had another for the next year and the car he’d raced was still good to race again so I asked if I could have it the following year and he was more than happy for me to do that. So it got put in a corner for a year and I raced the following year and I got the bug again. To be honest I’m enjoying the racing so much now that I can’t quite figure out why or how I kept stopping all those times all the years before (laughs), maybe it’s a midlife crisis. In a way it’s a shame I did stop and start so many times because I’m not getting any younger and I suspect that when I stop the next time that will probably be the last time but hopefully that won’t be for a while.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
Well again I have to thank Top Gun for everything he does for me, again I could not do my racing without him and also his mum for everything she does and all the mugs of teas and sarnies she makes us while we are at the track, my bother Animal for keeping the cars running at the track and my wife for all her support.