An Interview with former National Banger Hot Shots Champion 527 Michael Norman
(interview published June 3 2015 in the lead up to the National Siamese Banger meeting at Mildenhall on June 27)

Age: 27
Home Town: Cambridge
Occupation: Mechanic and postman
Family: Daughter Mia
Started racing: Aged 13 in Baby Bangers at Henham (Stansted) Raceway

You were among the first group of drivers to book in for the annual National Siamese Banger meeting on June 27, is it safe to assume this is a meeting you are looking forward to?
Yes, it definitely is. Last year was the first time I had done the meeting and it was brilliant fun, it’s one of those meetings where it’s not about racing or having a crash like a normal meeting would be, you don’t measure it by how well you do or how many hits you get, it’s just about how much fun you have and I had a brilliant time so it’s always been one I’ve wanted to do again.

Your debut at the meeting last year saw you team up with Craig Osborne who you race with again this year but the partnership came about in a slightly unusual way, can you explain what happened?
Well basically Craig was going to do the meeting with Dan Lathan who he’d done it with before but Dan was suspended and couldn’t race so Craig asked me and I jumped at it. I’d always wanted to do it but I’d never been able to find someone to do it with. I saw one of the first Siamese meetings and straight away I thought it looked like great fun and wanted to do it myself but unfortunately it wasn’t as easy as that because you have to find someone to do it with. I share a yard with Sid Cooper but he was doing it with someone else which ruled him out and until Craig called last year I assumed I would be missing out again but when he asked I was well up for it and I’m glad I did. We had a great night last year, we did a bit of everything really, we won the heat, rolled over in the final and then won the DD and had the big hit at the end, so it was a brilliant night and obviously I really wanted to do it again this year.

You are Craig live a few miles apart, does that make building the car for the meeting more of a challenge?
It does a little but it’s not too bad as he’s only around 30 minutes away so it’s not too far. Last year I built the bottom car because I had a Mondeo estate which we both agreed was the best car for the job. It has a longer roof than a saloon which makes it a lot easier to fit the top car onto and also being an estate you have a bit more room to get hit from behind with. So I built the bottom car and then one night I took it to his yard and we fixed the top car on top. We’ve not actually started this year’s car yet (this interview was conducted in mid-May) because we really want a Mondeo estate again and typically neither of us has one yet but we’re both on the lookout and I’m sure it will be find. I think the plan this year is to build the whole thing at Craig’s yard so I’ll just find some evenings to go up there and do my share of the work, again it’s not too bad because he’s not that far away and we’re good friends so you usually have a bit of laugh when you are working on cars together and that makes things easier.

How did you decide who drove what car?
Well last year I drove the top car but it wasn’t exactly by choice (laughs). Basically the year before when Craig raced with Dan he drove the top car and he really wanted a go driving the bottom one and I was so eager to just do the meeting I went along with it (laughs). We’ve not spoken about it yet but hopefully we’ll swap over this year and I’ll have a go in the bottom car but then again we did so well last year maybe we should keep it the same!

What is it like driving the top car?
It’s weird! The thing is once you get up there you realise how high in the air you are. It’s hard to appreciate it until you are in the car because even when you build the cars you don’t think you will be that high up but when you are up there and you look, it’s a long way down (laughs). When you are racing you can help but move your feet as if you are on control of the pedals, you just forget you only have control over the steering, it’s just a natural thing to try and brake or accelerate when needed isn’t it (laughs). I must admit when I realised how high up I was I was a little worried about rolling over, I figured falling from that height would hurt a bit but I was amazed that it didn’t, it all just seems to go in slow motion. It’s also cool being in the top car because I swear you hardly feel the hits. Some of the photos you get from the meeting make the hits look massive but I think it’s more because of the weight of the cars and so the hits probably look a lot more spectacular than they actually are because in the top car you honestly don’t even feel that much which just adds to the fun of it all.

Have you any means of communication with your team mate and do you and Craig have any plans or intentions for this year’s meeting, especially after rolling out of the final last year while challenging for the lead?
We didn’t have any plans this year, we just jumped in and went but it seemed to work ok (laughs). We didn’t have any means of communicating with each other, I don’t think it would be worth making plans at a meeting like this because they would go straight out the window when you start anyway (laughs). There was no disappointment from not finishing the final last year, we’d already won the heat which was a great result and we were really chuffed about that, me especially because it was my first time doing the meeting, and then in the final it was cool just to have a rollover, especially as it didn’t hurt like I thought it would (laughs). And then we had such a great time in the last race and won the DD so we were buzzing after that and the result in the final really didn’t matter. I think it will be very hard to top that this year but I’m sure we’ll still have fun.

You mentioned that you were eager to do the event having first seen it, what was the attraction?
Just the fun element. Although racing is always meant to be about having fun, it does obviously come with a serious side sometimes and sometimes there are meetings where you are trying a bit harder than others but this meeting didn’t look like that at all, everyone was just having fun which is how it should be really. You could clearly see all the drivers were having a blast, something you don’t always see and even the people watching were loving it as well and so there was a great atmosphere and straight away it was something I wanted to try and have a go at and thankfully it turned out to be just as good as I thought it would. I do like the more fun meetings, the unlimited van meeting is another one, that’s just so much fun and there seems to be a different atmosphere that night and everyone else is there to have fun an enjoy themselves. I’ve got a van at the moment but I’m not sure I will have the time to do it this year but hopefully I will as it’s another enjoyable meeting.

Have you any plans for the rest of the year?
I’ve not been able to do quite as much this year. Some things have changed in my life and I’ve had to get my priorities right and my little girl is very much at the top of that so unfortunately the racing has had to take a little bit of a back seat. On the plus side I think I have enjoyed the meetings I have been able to do a little more because I’m not able to race quite as much as I would like. I’ll be doing the final British qualifier (which took place on May 31) as I’m hoping to stay in the top 12 and qualify for the British. That would be great. Again the racing is all about having fun and I don’t think you should take it too seriously but at the same time it’s great to get some results and having been in the British before I would love to get into the race again. It’s one of those races where almost everyone in it wants the same thing, they want to try and win it and so it’s a big buzz to be in it and push yourself against those guys. I’m also hoping to do the Spedeworth World Final meeting again. I’ve enjoyed that in the past, the meeting is so big with so many drivers and people and with people from all around the world as well and so the atmosphere is just incredible and something I’ve enjoyed in the past.

We’ve seen a little more of you in unlimited meetings recently, is that a format of the racing you enjoy?
I really enjoy the unlimited bangers but the problem is the cars are just that much more expensive and especially with the value of scrap being so low at the moment that it’s not easy to get these cars for me. I’m very much a one man band, I get a little help sometimes but I mostly build the cars myself and I finance it all myself, I don’t have any sponsors at all and of course racing is just a hobby so I can only do what I can afford and it’s just not practical for me to race unlimited cars all the time, but I do enjoy them very much when I can.

The sport is still very much reeling from the news of the tragic death of Keir Millar, as a racer, how has the news affected yourself?
It really is a terrible thing. It’s something I suppose we all try not to think about too much. Again this racing is a hobby, it’s something we all love doing and to think that you can lose your life doing something that we all enjoy and are all so passionate about is pretty hard to get your head round, especially when in this case it is someone so young who we’ve lost. I don’t think it has affected me, other than the feeling of grief I think everyone in the sport has felt. I still love my racing and I think I always probably will and while we all know the risks and the dangers I guess it just reminds us all that they are always there.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My mum and stepdad, my stepdad especially as he drives the lorry to take my cars to the meetings and my mum for looking after my daughter when I race, my little girl is my biggest fan so I’m thankful to her for all my support and also all the boys in the yard, we’re like a little family there and Lee and Chris White who’ve helped me as well.