An Interview with BriSCA F2 Stockcar April 11 Grand Final winner 81 Mark Clayton
(interview published April 29 2015 in the lead up to round three of the 2015 Mildenhall Track Championship on May 9)

Age: 38
Home Town: Lincolnshire
Occupation: Engineer
Family: Wife Lynn and two sons
Started racing: Aged 10 in 1986 in National Ministox at Skegness

You have enjoyed a fantastic start to the season including winning the final at the last Mildenhall meeting on April 11 and are currently second in the track championship, are you pleased with your start to the season?
Yes, I’m very pleased, I’ve only done four meetings so far this year but I’m really happy with how things have gone so far. It’s especially pleasing for me because I would say 95 per cent of the car and the engine is my own work and so when you get good results and you know it’s with stuff that you have built yourself I think you get a little more satisfaction from that. I’ve always had a pretty good track record at Mildenhall, I think the track is especially well suited to drivers like myself. Being shale always helps make it a level playing field to a degree and takes away a lot of the advantage drivers can get from having the best equipment but Mildenhall is even more of a leveller because of the size of the track. It doesn’t have long straight where drivers with good engines can really get the most from their engines so that helps a driver like myself a lot. Another aspect where the size of the track helps a lot is because even if there is only 20 cars in a race, it always feels busy and there is always something going on and I think that plays into the hands of the lower graded drivers a bit as well because if there is nothing going on behind us it is a little easier for the top drivers to catch up.

As detailed you’ve had a tremendous start to the year at Mildenhall, but what about elsewhere?
I’ve so far done a King’s Lynn and Coventry meeting and the car has been going really well, I don’t think I’m quite as strong at those tracks as I am at Mildenhall but even so the racing has been good and I’ve scored some decent points so I’m really happy and I’m up to blue grade now which I’m really pleased about.

Your start to the season at Mildenhall is especially impressive when compared to your starts in other seasons where you have often struggled, have you done anything differently to get 2015 off so well?
Honestly, I haven’t really but I didn’t have a very good year at all last year and apart from a few good meetings at the end of the season I was pretty disappointed overall and thought it was a bit below my expectations so I may well have been a bit more determined when this season started to not have another year like last year and that may have made a little difference, I’m not too sure. I don’t want to think about it too much in case I jinx it (laughs). I’ve also started to think that I better make the most of my time because my eldest son will be old enough to race Ministox in a few years and he is already talking about it so maybe he’s hinting that it’s time for me to pack up and let him take over, I’m not getting any younger after all (laughs).

How special was it for you to win the final on April 11?
It meant a lot to me, especially as it was only the second final I’ve ever won in F2s, the other being at Mildenhall as well but it was a long time ago, maybe 2006, so it’s been a long time and it was very special. It’s funny because my dad has been saying to me for a while that it was about time I won another final and that I couldn’t only win one final in my F2 career and then it goes and happen so I think my dad and mum were just as pleased to see me win it and it meant a lot to them as well which was really great.

How tough was that race?
F2 finals are always hard races, it’s incredible how much harder than heat races they are, you wouldn’t think it but they really are and I suppose that’s a big reason why I’ve won so few finals in my life but I’ve been fortunate to win a good few heat races. Mildenhall is always tough, the final usually has a big grid of cars and with a track that small, it’s tough but even though the track is one of the smaller ones the racing is still just as hard and fast so the finals are always fantastic to be a part of. This one was pretty hard, those extra laps compared to a heat make it hard work, again you wouldn’t think four laps would make too much difference but it really does, maybe it’s because I’m getting old (laughs). I had a really good race with Steve Cayzer and was able to get in front and stay there. It’s a little different at Mildenhall because there is a lot less time to worry about what’s behind you, you just keep plugging away and hope that no-one’s catching you (laughs).

The win in the final sees you move to the blue grade, is that something you are pleased about?
I am, but what I’m really pleased about is that even without the win in the final I had scored enough points at the first meetings of the year to earn a blue grade anyway. I think even without winning the final at Mildenhall I would have done it and that means a lot. As special as it was to win the final, that is just one race and it’s a lot easier to have a bit of luck or good form in one race than it is to be consistent across the number of meetings and to have scored enough points over the meetings and know that I earned the blue grade either way means a lot to me. Going into this year I was quite keen to try and get a blue grade as I’ve not been in that grade for quite some time so it was a target for me and I’m delighted to have achieved it so quickly. I’m not sure how long I will be able to stay there, that’s going to be a challenge for me, especially as I don’t race too often, I usually do about 20 meetings a season so it won’t be very easy to keep the blue roof but I’m looking forward to the time in the grade regardless of how long it is and it will be another challenge to try. For me, the goal stays the same, my priority is always to try and qualify for the Grand Final, that’s how I start pretty much every meeting and if I can get some points along the way then that’s a bonus.

A talking point at the Mildenhall meetings so far has been the less than ideal track conditions, how have you coped with these?
It’s been ok for me. It helps that I’ve had my car for a few years now and I’m not sure there are many conditions which can be thrown at us where we don’t know what to do but again I think those kind of conditions help drivers like myself who maybe don’t have the best equipment because again it takes away a bit of the advantage the better cars and engines can sometimes have, so it’s probably been a good thing for me really.

How important is having success like this at this stage of the season for the next few weeks?
It makes a huge difference. It really boosts your confidence although to be honest where I’ve been racing now for so long I’m not sure it makes as big a difference to me as it used to but it definitely gives you a bit of extra motivation to do the work that’s needed on the car in between meetings. It’s so much easier to get on and work on your car after a good meeting that it is one where things haven’t gone well and also one really good meeting can get you through a lot more bad ones (laughs). It’s amazing the difference a really good night can make.

Your final win came at the first World of Shale qualifying round of the season at Mildenhall and you are currently now in the top 20 in qualifying points, is trying to get into the World of Shale a target now for 2015?
To be honest, it’s usually among my goals in every season. Before the championship was changed and it was the top 20 who were seeded directly in rather than the top 32 I used to normally qualify somewhere near the back but I haven’t done it since it was changed (laughs). Don’t get me wrong though, I like the changes, I think it’s good that it’s harder to qualify because it makes it more of an achievement and at least we have a last chance qualifier race now which I also think is good for the meeting. The only thing I’m not so keen on is having attendance points on the rounds now which is a personal taste because I think it makes it harder for me to have a chance of qualifying because I can only do some of the rounds and those who are able to commit to all the rounds have an automatic head start. I usually try and make a point of doing the qualifying rounds at the tracks I race at and that is still the case this year and I like to do the final, even if it’s at a track I don’t usually race at, it’s a day away at the least. So, yes we will be trying to qualify again, perhaps no more than usual but we’ll have a go.

On the subject of championships, much has been said already about the prospect of the World Semi Finals being at King’s Lynn and the World Finals at Mildenhall next year, is this something you are looking forward to?
I am and I’m not the only one (laughs). I’ve been in one F2 World Final which was at Northampton in 2005, the year the semis were at Mildenhall and I can honestly say it is one of the highlights of my career and I would love to have a chance to be in the race again and for it to be at a track where maybe I would have a chance to do ok would be something very special so it will definitely be something we will be looking at next year. We’ve a new car being built at the moment, the idea was for it to be ready for March but it’s running a little behind but I’m hoping to have it ready for some point this year which would be great because that way hopefully we can get it going well in time for the start of next season where trying to get into the World Final will be a target.

We often ask stockcar drivers this, but what are your thoughts on red flags being used to stop races rather than just waved yellow flags, especially as red flags are used much more commonly at Mildenhall?
I’m happy for a red flag to be used, sometimes it’s what needed and I’ve no problem with that especially now that the restarts have been changed so the order for a restart is the same with a red flag as it is with a waved yellow which I think is right and that was my biggest problem with a red flag being used to stop a race, especially if you were a lap down. It’s happened to me several times where a race would be stopped and I’d just been lapped and I would have to start from the back and then you’d pass a few cars only for the race to be stopped again and you’d go back to where you were so it felt like you were at the bottom of a mountain that was impossible to climb and that was very frustrating so I’m very pleased it’s been changed.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My mum and dad, dad for the technical help and mum for the sandwiches, my wife and my boys Max and Harry for all their support and my sponsors Ermine Engines, Impact Signs and Wicking Garage and Daz Carter.