An Interview with National Banger Final Winner at Mildenhall on March 8 209 Tom Waller
(interview published March 17 2014 in the lead up to the second round of the National Banger British Championship qualifying series on March 29

Age: 21
Home Town: Southend
Occupation: Grab driver
Family: Girlfriend Sophie
Racing career: Started racing Minis at Henham aged 10

You enjoyed quite the night at Mildenhall on Saturday (March 8) in the first British qualifying round of the season, looking back how do you feel the night went and was it your intention to try and score as well as you did (Tom enjoyed a consolation and final double)?
I really enjoyed the night but I usually do whenever I race at Mildenhall. I can’t explain why, I just always seem to have fun there and to be honest I went to the meeting with no intention of going for wins. I’d raced at Standlake the week before and had a blast crashing and my plan was to go to Mildenhall and just have a crash and spend the night hitting as many cars as I could but I wound up rodding instead?

That’s not exactly fair because the truth was in all the races you were in, including the ones you won, you were certainly getting stuck in, at the least spinning many of the cars you caught?
I guess so but it nearly mucked me up in the final. I took out (323 Steve Leeper) when I could have got away with just getting passed quicker but he half span in front of me so I needed to finish him but he then re-joined in front of me and of course I couldn’t chance just passing him so had to take him out again and I think he knew I was coming that time so it slowed me down a bit but I still managed to hang on and win. At Mildenhall, to do well you have to drive like that, you can’t waste time passing cars, you just need to get them out of the way as quick as you can. It’s a very different atmosphere to a lot of tracks which is one of the reasons I like it so much. It really is, everyone out there for themselves, people don’t worry about who they are crashing into or spinning each other out which makes the racing really good.

You mentioned that chasing British Championship qualifying points and race wins was not in your game plan heading into the meeting, when did your intentions change?
I think it was in my heat when I realised how good the car was going. It was going well in my heat but I got taken out early on and despite getting going again and finishing I didn’t make the top 10 which I was pretty disappointed about so going into the consolation I wanted to try and qualify for the final at least and I wound up winning and then after that I thought I’d give (trying to win) the final a go as well and I managed to win it too.

After the final you were clearly pretty shattered, what was so tough about that race?
It was just a hard, hard race. Even though (turn three) was pretty tricky, it was still a really fast race and there was also the stoppages. I was pretty unlucky with the stoppages and it wasn’t just the final but the consolation got stopped as well. Every time there was a stoppage I’d made a pretty good start and got past a few white grade drivers and then the race was stopped and there was a complete restart so I had to do it all again which is frustrating but that’s just how it goes sometimes. Another thing about Mildenhall is you cannot relax. At some tracks I’m guilty of switching off and getting bored if a race becomes a bit dull and that’s when I make mistakes but you cannot do that at Mildenhall because there is always something going on. For me, it makes the racing more exciting but it also helps me because my mind stays switched on as well but it also takes a bit more out of you when it’s all finished. I think with the stoppages I probably did about 25 laps in the final by the time it was finished and having already done a heat and consolation I was pretty shattered, but it was well worth it.

After winning the consolation you commented that bent cars go faster, was that the case with your car in the final?
Yes, I honestly believe a bent car, a Mondeo especially, goes a bit better round Mildenhall than a brand new one. When the back end is a bit twisted, like mine was after the consolation, it just seems to make the car corner a bit better than when the car is new. There is nowhere else like that. Most places, if the car was like mine after the consolation you would have no chance in the rest of the races but at Mildenhall a bent car is just as quick, if not quicker.

You mentioned turn three which (on March 8) became very tricky with large holes and ruts developing during the meeting as a result of the wet weather in the winter, how hard was this for you?
It was ok, it just added a bit more of a challenge to the night. I had it worked out in the final and found a quick line through the bend where I went over the holes but I messed myself up when I span (511) Jack Licquorice and he was left stranded right in the middle of the line I’d been using so I had to come up with a new plan for getting round the pit bend which wasn’t as quick and that allowed (328) Dan Lathan to gain on me but thankfully I was able to hang on.

Speaking of Dan Lathan, he pushed you pretty hard at the end of the final, was you aware of how close he was and how tense were those final few laps?
I knew someone was behind me but I didn’t know who exactly. I don’t use a mirror but I could see a white bonnet over my shoulder and I wasn’t sure who it was and if they were second or a backmarker so I just kept pushing to try and keep in front and even though I was struggling a bit at the end because of Jack Licquorice’s spun car I managed to hold him off.

The two wins mean you’ve made a great start to this year’s British Championship qualifying series, is trying to qualify for this year’s championship a target of yours?
Every year I think it is something I should try and make an effort to try and qualify for. Usually I go to the first round and wind up crashing instead of going for points and because I don’t do any good at the first round that’s the end of it and I don’t worry about it anymore. It’s a championship race that I think I might have a good chance in because I love racing on shale and I like racing front wheel drive cars. Maybe not as much as rear wheel drive ones but I do like them and can do well in them so I think if I qualified for the British I would have a chance, maybe more of a chance than I would have in a lot of championships so having had such a good night (on March 8) I’m now definitely up for trying to get in this year. We’re getting ready for round two (March 29) and will go from there. But I’ve already promised myself I won’t take it too seriously. Enjoying the racing is still the most important thing for me and I enjoy going to Mildenhall so I don’t want to do anything that might take away that enjoyment.

On the subject of championships, you are booked in for the last chance qualifier at the Supreme Championship (on March 22), are you looking forward to that and do you fancy your chances of qualifying for the big race?
I don’t think you can ever think that, you’ve just got to see what happens on the night. But I’m looking forward to it and I think it could be an excellent meeting and the last chance race looks pretty good. There is a lot of lively drivers and crashers in it, so I doubt it will be a tame race so I might have a crash as well but if after the first few laps I’m in a position to try and qualify I might go for it, you just can’t tell. I think the championship race should be excellent, the amount of top drivers in it is brilliant so it should be a good one.

Have you made any more plans for the rest of 2014?
Not really. My main goal is to just enjoy my racing and part of that is just taking things as they come and perhaps not racing every weekend. A couple of years ago I think I raced too much and the pressure it brought took away some of the enjoyment so I don’t want to do that again, I want to race when I want and make sure I enjoy each and every meeting, rather than pushing myself to do meetings that maybe I don’t want to do as much or won’t enjoy as much. Last year I raced in Ireland a bit which costs a lot of money so I wasn’t able to race as much in England and as much as I love it out there, we had some fantastic weekends and I love the track (Tullyroan) and the way the drivers race out there, I probably won’t do that as much this year which will help me do a bit more at home. I do hope to go back to Tullyroan at some stage but ideally I’d like to take my own car as the other times I’ve had a car built for me and I would prefer to race a car I’ve built if that is possible.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
My dad, Jamie, Sophie for putting up with it all and Jay whose a big help as well.