An Interview with National Banger Crimond Points Champion 230 Scott Patterson
(interview published February 17 2016) ahead of the 2016 Unlimited BBA Supreme Championship)

Age: 22
Home Town: MacDuff
Occupation: Works for an oil and gas company
Family: Just cars and the pub
Racing career: Started racing Bangers aged 16 at Crimond

You are set to make your debut in the Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship this year, is this something you are looking forward to?
I’m buzzing for it (laughs). This will be the third time I have come down for the meeting and it’s pretty cool because each year I’ve sort of worked up the bill. The first time was just for the support races, last year I did the last chance race and now I get to be in the championship which is brilliant and I’m really looking forward to it.

When was you aware that you had qualified?
Pretty much straight away because I won the points at Crimond (Raceway) last year and I was as certain as I could be that it meant I had qualified as I was pretty sure that was how Colin (Riddell) had qualified last year so when I won the points at the final meeting I was fairly certainly that meant I’d also won a place in the Supreme Championship which was great and I started making plans straight away.

Was taking your place on the grid a decision that required much thinking?
(laughs) No, not at all! I would have come again anyway because the last two years have been excellent experiences and I’ve enjoyed the visits so much so I had every intention of doing the meeting again, the fact that I have qualified for it is just a massive bonus and it will be brilliant to experience the big race for the first time. Also, you never know if these opportunities will come up again, I’ve never won the points at Crimond before, in fact I’ve never even come close (laughs) so it probably won’t happen again so there was no way I was going to turn this chance down.

Speaking of winning the Crimond points, was that a target for you in 2014 and something you are pleased to have won?
I’m really chuffed that I’ve won it. Before last season I never considered myself much of a racer, I was much more about the crashing, that was just what I enjoyed and what I did so I was never up in the points or anything like that. But at the start of last year I got a really quick car for the first meeting of the year at Crimond and had a win with it. Before that I’d had two wins in six years of racing and suddenly I was getting race wins. Don’t get me wrong it was more to do with the car than me (laughs) but I made such a good start to the year that I figured I had to go for (the points championship). So I made the extra effort to do all the meetings and it all worked out well in the end and I won which was a big deal for me.

Do you consider the Crimond Points Championship a big achievement and will you be wearing the silver roof in 2016?
Absolutely, I’ve actually already painted the roof (silver) for the Supreme Championship! I think it is a big deal, especially in Scotland where Crimond has a pretty good regular banger season. We usually have at least 20 cars at most of our meetings which is pretty good for up here and the bigger meetings can have twice as many as that. Admittedly there are a couple that get fewer cars but I think that happens everywhere and not just up here. And there are plenty of meetings, it’s every fortnight in the season and there are some good drivers who race here so it’s not easy to win and it’s certainly very special to me to have won the title and it will be cool to do the Supreme as points champion and with the silver roof on the car.

It is 554 miles from your home to Mildenhall, what is the appeal that has made you make the incredible journey for the last few years?
I just love racing on shale. I wouldn’t say I prefer it to racing on tarmac as I enjoy that as well and to be honest I don’t think you can compare the two either, they are just so different. Obviously we haven’t got any shale tracks in Scotland so it’s a bit of a novelty as well going to race on a shale track and it’s usually so much fun to go and throw a car around on the dirt. And doing it in a RWD or unlimited car is even better. Before I raced at Mildenhall for the first time I had done three meetings at King’s Lynn, two 1500cc Icebreakers and a non Mondeo meeting and I really enjoyed them, but they were all in FWD cars and I couldn’t believe how much more fun it was to race on shale with a RWD car, it was just such an amazing buzz. In fact my first unlimited meeting was the first time I came to Mildenhall (laughs).

What was that like?
It was honestly the most nervous I have ever been before a meeting. I wasn’t out until the consolation which I think helped a little as the races before mine were pretty rough and a lot of the cars were pretty battered and twisted before I went out and I kind of figured that would help me so I felt a little better and then I lined up and Ace Ash (521 Ashley Riley) was in front of me and then I got very nervous again (laughs). I actually managed to spin him out but I’m not sure it was by design (laughs). I’ve since done an unlimited at King’s Lynn and that was great as well so unlimited meetings on shale are definitely something I enjoy very much.

It’s over 1,000 miles for your round trip to Mildenhall, how long will it take for you to get here?
On a good run it should be about 13 hours to get there. It’s an hour longer than King’s Lynn and an hour less than it takes to get to Ipswich but then I live about a mile from the sea so it’s me a while to get to almost anywhere (laughs). To be fair, the trip is part of the fun, we leave on Friday and usually get to our hotel in Mildenhall on the Saturday in time to get a few hours sleep and then head to the track and travel home on the Sunday so it’s a great weekend away.

You mentioned that you had visited the Supreme Championship prior to racing at the meeting for the first time and were present the year of the awful snow storm, did that not put you off coming back?
(laughs) It’s nothing we aren’t used to in this part of the world but it was pretty horrible and I’m glad the weather has been much better since. It’s weird how different the weather can be because the first year I came it was almost like summer, it was a lovely day but then again where I live we can get snow in July (laughs).

The support of the Crimond drivers since the meeting became an unlimited fixture has been incredible, why do you think this is, especially given the distance involved in getting to Mildenhall?
A big part of it is that we get a place on the grid which doesn’t happen in a lot of big races in the sport so it’s good to repay that support but it also helps that the meeting is before our season starts so when we have come down before, getting ready for Mildenhall has almost given us something to do during the winter and for the small group of us that have been coming it has really become a bit of a highlight of the year and it’s brilliant to come down and race against some of the best drivers in the sport, which is something we don’t get a chance to do very often.

Have you decided what car you will be racing in the championship?
I’ve my Scorpio which I took to King’s Lynn for the World of Shale. Unfortunately I blew an engine that night but the car itself is fine and I’ve not had a chance to race the car since so it’s been put aside for this one and hopefully it will go a bit better this time (laughs).

Having seen the championship race several times, what kind of race do you expect?
I think it will be a rough one again. It’s hard to see it being anything else really as long as there is a good grid of cars again which I expect will be the case. It’s a small track so it’s going to be lively and I would imagine there will be blockages and stuff like that but I enjoy that kind of thing and that might help me out, if I get a bit of luck!

Have you any goals for the race and do you think your previous visits will help?
Well both times I’ve been the car has been good enough to race again so I suppose that’s not bad going but being in the championship is going to be completely different so we’ll have to see. I’ll be happy if I do a lap (laughs), finishing the race would be amazing.

As you mentioned the banger scene at Crimond Raceway is quite healthy, how do you think things are in Scotland in general right now?
I think the biggest problem is just the lack of cars that are about. The Micro meetings are good. I went to Loch Gelly the other weekend and there was a good turnout and it was a great day and the Micro meetings in general up here seem to be the best ones we have and I think that is because the cars are there. Crimond does well because we have quite unique rules on the cars we can race which is very flexible and I think that makes a big difference because it allows people to race the cars they can get their hands on. Even the World Cup at Cowdenbeath has dropped off the last few years and I think that is a combination of the lack of unlimited cars that are around up here and the prices of the ones that are so drivers find it hard to do those kind of meetings while the cost of fuel makes it hard for the English drivers to come up like they used to, it’s another reason why it’s nice to go to England and race against some of the big names because not all of them are able to come up here now.

Have you any plans for 2016?
I think I will be taking it as it comes really and not making too many plans in advance. I would like to try some more shale tracks, I’d like to get to Coventry but I’m not sure that will be feasible really which is a shame because this could be the last year the track is there and Stoke is another place I would like to visit, I did fancy Sheffield but to be honest I’m not keen on the (post and wire) fence (laughs).

What is your opinion of the new ORCi ruling prohibiting drivers from exiting their cars while a race is in progress?
I think it had to happen really because there were too many drivers taking too many chances and I think it was almost inevitable that something had to change before a bad accident happened again. To be honest it doesn’t make too much difference to me because I would very rarely get out of my car on the track anyway. I find it a little strange that you have to stay in your car even if you are on the infield but if that’s how it is then so be it, I just think drivers and officials have to be a little more thoughtful now when drivers are stranded on the track, especially if they are in a dodgy place.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My dad mostly for everything he does to help with my cars, especially with any engine problems I have and helping with my transport to and from the meetings as well.