An Interview with National Banger racer Stress 317 Callum Jacobs
(interview published May 6 2015 in the lead up to the 23rd annual Pre70 National Banger meeting at Mildenhall Stadium on May 23)

Age: 23
Home Town: Ipswich
Occupation: Mechanic
Family: Girlfriend Mellisa
Started racing: Aged 16 in (Rookie) Bangers at Ipswich

Having raced at the pre 70 meeting for the first time last year you were among the first to book in for this year’s meeting. Was it one you were keen to do again and can you tell about the car you have for this year’s meeting?
I had a fantastic time last year, even with the horrible wet weather I honestly think it was one of the best meeting’s I’ve ever had. It was the first time I had done a classic car meeting and raced something rotten and old and I just loved it, it was so much fun so trying to get a car for this year’s meeting was a bit of priority for me ever since and in fact the car I got came from my girlfriend Melissa who bought it for me so that was a pretty cool present even if it is rather rotten (laughs). I’ve got a Ford Corsair which probably won’t be the best car out there btu I’m pleased just to have something and I reckon it should be a good night again. There were so many things I enjoyed about last year’s meeting. My Hillman proved to be a pretty good car, a lot better than I thought it would be and I couldn’t believe I managed to get four races from the car which made all the hard work worth while. Like I said the wet weather didn’t bother me, in fact I think it helped me a little bit because I think if it had been dry and the track had been at it’s best I’m not sure I would have had such a good night with it because it really wasn’t the best car so the wet track might have done me a favour. But I don’t think it was just me that thought that way because the atmosphere that night was just amazing. You really noticed it in the pits and it was completely different to a normal meeting, I don’t know why, maybe the drivers there and the cars everyone had, but it was a very different atmosphere and it was fantastic to be a part of that, you could see how much people were enjoying themselves simply by the amount of cars which did the DD, so I’ve been looking forward to this year’s meeting ever since.

Have you started work on your car and if so how are things going?
(laughs) Well it was pretty rotten so we’ve been working on it on and off now for a couple of months and it’s finally at a stage where we can start building it. That’s how bad it was! All the work we have done so far has been just to get the car into a state where we could actually start building the thing. But it’s not so bad, with these older cars you know it’s going to be a lot more work than a normal banger but it’s only once a year so you don’t mind it so much, I’m not sure I would be so keen if I had to do this for every meeting! It’s weird though because on cars like this, all this work is a big part of the fun. Like I said you wouldn’t want to do it every time you built a car but on stuff like this you tend to enjoy the work a bit more and so far it’s all going ok and now we’ve done everything to get this far it should just be a matter of building it like any other banger.

Last year your father Graham, who raced at Mildenhall back when RDC first started promoting back in the early and mid 1990s, raced, was that something you enjoyed and are there any plans to do this again?
He’s not got a car for this year’s meeting but he is talking about doing the Unlimited Suffolk Open which he says will definitely be his last meeting but he keeps on saying that so we’ll se (laughs). It was nice to race with him, we’ve raced together before but this was the first time at Mildenhall and in National Bangers as the previous time was in the Rookies at Ipswich where I smashed him up (laughs). We were actually first and second and there was a pile-up and he went in and got stuck and I was right behind him so you can guess what happened! I think that might be why he keeps on having one more go, just to try and get me back so maybe I should let him and let it be done with (laughs). It was a bit strange because as much as I enjoyed racing with him again I was really nervous having him out there, having him racing made me a lot more nervous than I normally would so that was strange.

Last year’s pre 70 meeting was the first at Mildenhall where turning round and attacking on opposite was outlawed until the Accumulator qualifier and Destruction Derby, is that a ruling you agreed with?
Very much so. These cars are so hard to get hold off and if you are able to find one they are then a lot of work to build and while we all know that you can do all that and get smashed up on the first lap, I’m glad people can’t turn round anymore because it does give you a better chance of at least getting a race from these cars and I think most of the people who do these meetings will think the same way and want to get a few laps first and then smash them up later on so yes, I think it was a good idea to not have turning round until the end and I think it made a big difference last year, especially with the wet weather.

Last year’s pre 70 meeting marked a rare outing for you in RWD machinery, do you enjoy this kind of racing?
I actually prefer racing rear wheel drive cars but the problem is I only earn a mechanic’s wage (laughs) and the rear wheel drive, and especially unlimited stuff, is a lot more expensive. To be honest I love my racing, whatever the cars are but the Mondeos are especially handy for me. I’ve got almost all of mine for very little money through work so I’m pretty fortunate in that respect and once you’ve built one the rest and pretty straight forward and while some would say the cars are a bit too hard the advantage is that their strength means you’ve usually got a decent chance of getting a decent night’s racing with one so they are a good car for someone like me to get a bit of racing during the season. Having said that I have got a few rear wheel drive cars now which I’m really looking forward to racing and hopefully the Suffolk Open this year will be my first unlimited meeting so that is something I’m looking forward to.

You switched to RDC fairly recently having raced mostly in the Rookie Bangers at Spedeworth, can you explain the change and are you enjoying things at present?
Me and (brother) Kurt just weren’t happy with what we were doing and we weren’t enjoying it anymore and the truth is we were on the verge of calling it a day and moving on and trying something else and dad suggested we give Mildenhall a go before we did that. He’d raced there years ago when we were only young and he’d enjoyed it so we figured we might as well have a go and we’ve been there ever since. The first time we went to Mildenhall, I remember Kurt went out before me and I still remember the smile he had when he came off the track, honestly I think it was the biggest smile I’ve ever seen him with. It’s just totally different to what we were doing before, you really can’t compare them but what we are doing now is much more suited to us and we’re really enjoying ourselves.

With that in mind have you any more plans for the rest of this year?
Just to really try and do as much as we can. Me and Kurt have both got Transits for the Unlimited Van meeting which is one I’m looking forward to. He did it last year and it was a great meeting so that’s one I’ve wanted to do ever since, the great thing about that kind of meeting is it’s a fairly straight forward building process, they are not too much hard work before hand so that’s always a good thing. The other meeting I’m definitely doing is the His and Her meeting because I did that last year with Melissa and she had a great time and really wants to race again that’s definitely on the plans as well.

Last year’s His and Her meeting was the best to date and also saw a number of lady drivers, Melissa included, who then raced with the men at the 1400cc meeting in January, is that something your are pleased to see?
Well, yes it’s great but not so much in my case because she wound up sticking it to me on the track (laughs). I suppose I might have deserved it because I’d been winding her up that I was going to go her and so she got me first in the end! It is good to have more women out there, there’s no reason why they can’t race with the men and we’ve had some excellent lady drivers in the sport so it’s always good to see more out there having a go.

Another meeting on your horizon is the Accumulator Championship which you have qualifier for, is that one you are looking forward to?
Yeah, I’m really pleased to have qualified especially as Kurt qualified last year and I didn’t and he wouldn’t let me hear the end of it so I’ve been busy getting my own back this time and I’ve been giving him loads of stick which I think is only making him more determined to qualify again to shut me up (laughs). With the amount of racing I do, I appreciate that I’m not going to always have the chance to race in events like this so when the opportunity comes up it’s something to make the most of. I watched last year’s championship as Kurt was in it and it was a great race, I’m one of those guys who likes to have a race first at a meeting, rather than just drive into the first car I see, I prefer to save that until the end and the Accumulator championship was a good one last year so I’m looking forward to having a go myself this year. But I’m amazing I’ve qualified to be honest, I won the qualifier at the Micro meeting (on April 25) and I didn’t have two wheels pointing in the same direction when the race started so I’m not sure how managed that, maybe the rain helped me again (laughs).

Qualifying for the Accumulator Championship is one example of your success so far in 2015, do you feel this year has been an improvement on last year and if so is there a reason for the difference?
This year has been better and I honestly think a big reason for me for that is that I have started locking my diffs and it’s made a massive amount of difference. It’s a bit frustrating thinking back that I didn’t do it sooner but I never expected it to make such a difference but it’s really helped and it’s definitely worth that little bit of extra work.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My old man and Kurt who do so much to help with the racing, Melissa for all her support and putting up with everything that goes with the racing, Martin my mechanic for all his help and work for all the cars they’ve helped me get.