An Interview with BriSCA F2 Stockcar Mildenhall Track Championship leader 103 Carl Issit
(interview published September 7 2016 in the lead up to the BriSCA F2 Stockcar World Championship weekend on September 10 and 11)

Age: 46
Home Town: Spalding
Occupation: Self-employed engineer
Family: Wife Maxine, three children and one grandchild
Racing career: Started racing in non-contact Superstox at Peterborough aged 21

This will be your 14th appearance in the World Final and your first time in it since 2011, are you excited about being back in the World Final?
Oh yeah, big time. I admit that sometimes when we race week to week I don’t get excited. Don’t me wrong I still love the racing and enjoy it very much but I’m not sure I would use the word excited but races like this are very exciting, especially now they don’t come around that often for me anymore, as you said it’s been five years since I was last in a World Final so it’s great to be in the race again, especially at a track where I think I have a good chance of doing well and maybe even winning it.

Was qualifying for the World Final a target for you this year?
Definitely. As soon as it was announced that the semi-finals were at King’s Lynn and the World at Mildenhall, it was a target of mine to be in the race and I guess it was probably the same for the majority of the shale drivers because for most of us this will be our best chance to win the race and let’s face it, everyone would love to win this one. But I didn’t really do anything extra to try and qualify. I don’t race on tarmac anymore and I wasn’t going to start doing extra meetings on tarmac to try and qualify so I just stuck to the shale rounds and I actually missed the one at Belle Vue as well so in the end I only did five but I was very fortunate in that I had good meetings at all of them. That was lucky because only your top five scores count in the series and so had I had a bad meeting it would have counted in my final score but thankfully it didn’t happen which was how I got such a good grid position in the semi-finals, finishing fourth in the qualifying points by only doing the shale rounds I did was pretty amazing really.

Mentioning the World qualifying series, do you agree with the rule that only a driver’s top five scores count and what do you think about the recent change with attendance points now awarded?
Personally I’m not in favour of the attendance points but I fully understand why they are there, to try and encourage drivers to do the meetings but I don’t agree with drivers either getting a semi-final place or improving their grid position simply by the amount of meetings they do, it should be earned with race results in my opinion. But I do agree with the five round rule because I think it puts everyone on a level playing field, especially the shale drivers as there are only six rounds on shale so that rule gives everyone a chance of qualifying without racing on a surface they don’t race on or travelling hundreds and hundreds of miles. Obviously those that are able to do that still have an advantage because they can do more rounds and afford to have a bad round or two and then not have them count at the end but I think that rule is good because it gives everyone a fair shout at qualifying for a semi-final.

Was you pleased with your third place finish in the Semi-Final and how do you feel about your grid position on the outside of row four?
I was pleased with the result but, and I know how big headed this will sound, I was pretty confident going into the race because King’s Lynn is a track where I tend to go well so I was feeling confident of at least qualifying and I must admit that it was more a case of that I’d have been absolutely gutted if I hadn’t qualified rather than being especially pleased that I did. The race was a tricky one. I managed to get past Chris (Burgoyne) for the lead but there was a crash by the pit gate and I had to back off for a second to avoid it and fair play to Chris he took the chance he had and fired me into a stationary car on the next bend to take the lead. I was able to continue but the crash bent my bumper and it was very close to touching the front wheel so I had to protect that as I was aware that any more damage to it could have ended my race. It was a little tricky towards the end because I got in some traffic and I wasn’t able to use my bumper like I wanted to, I had to sit back a bit and wait for the gaps to open on their own rather than make them open so that was hard and considering that I was very pleased to finish third. I truly believe the winner of the race will come from the front five rows, I really do. There are so many good and fast drivers in the first few rows, and I hope I can include myself in that (laughs). I think unless the weather and track conditions are bad or something really bizarre happens that someone from those first few rows will survive and get away and win the race so because of that I’m pleased to be in those first few rows. As for being on the outside, it could be a disadvantage at the start but you never know, especially being on shale, it just depends on how the track is for the race but it’s done now and there is no point in worrying about it.

Given what happened in the semi-final, will you be extra wary of Chris Burgoyne should your paths cross?
(Laughs) No, not really, in a race like the World Final it’s very simple, you cannot pass a single car without making sure they can’t come back at you on the next bend or the next lap, it’s not enough to just pass people, you have to get rid of them so they aren’t a threat because if you don’t, they will came back at you and that will apply to every single car in the race.

You’ve said you think the winner will come from the first five rows, have you a specific pick and do you include the first row of overseas drivers in that?
I think Andrew Palmer has positioned himself as a favourite now, winning the semi and starting on pole and he can be very quick at Mildenhall. From where he starts he has a chance to get away at the start and if he makes the most of that he could be very hard to catch. I do include the overseas drivers as contenders, personally I think you see Wim Peeters and Barry Bauer on the third row and they are as quick as anyone else in the race and have just a good a chance as anyone else.

You head into the World Final as the Mildenhall Track Championship leader and the driver who has won the most F2 races at Mildenhall this season, do these stats help on the night?
They can’t do no harm can they (laughs). Yeah, I know it’s just another race but I think stuff like that does give you that added confidence to know you are capable of doing well and that is very important in any race, especially one like this. You have to believe in yourself and knowing that I’ve been going well at Mildenhall this season helps. It was the same in the semi-finals at King’s Lynn, I’ve been going well there this year and that made me feel confident about the race and it made a big difference so hopefully it will the same in the World Final but of course there are no guarantees, especially in a race like this and a track like Mildenhall which is unpredictable at the best of times because of how small it is.

Saying that, will the Mildenhall regulars have an advantage in the race?
I think they might. The difference with Mildenhall and almost every other track is that it is so busy out there, because of the size of the track. When you have a race like this which is going to have a big grid that is going to be even more the case so it’s totally different to most tracks. Take somewhere like say, King’s Lynn which is so much bigger and the cars get a lot more spread out, that won’t happen at Mildenhall and in this race, you are going to be surrounded by cars for the whole race and the drivers who race at Mildenhall all the time will know that and be used to it and I think it will give them an advantage, but then again, most of the qualifiers are Mildenhall regulars (laughs).

Have you a target for the race?
Obviously I want to win it, that’s the ultimate target. I’d be happy with a good result, I’ve never been on the podium, but I want to win, it would mean everything to me to do it and dare I say it this is the best chance I’ve ever had and probably the last real chance I’ll have of winning it so I’ll be going for it with everything I’ve got.

Much has been said about the formula in 2016 with various attempts to try and improve the sport, how do you think things are right now?
I think things are good on shale but not on tarmac but I think the biggest problem is one which is never going to be easy to solve and that is that everyone who has an opinion has a personal reason for it and in most cases that opinion is based on what’s best for them. We’ve just been asked to do this survey and while on the one hand it’s nice to be asked for our opinions the chances are the majority of those who answered will say what they think is best for them and that might not necessarily be the best for the formula as a whole. I’m not saying everyone will do that deliberately, there will be people making honest suggestions based on their own experiences but just because it works for you, doesn’t meant it is good for the sport so it’s hard because while it’s great to have all their opinions you cannot listen to them all and even harder to decide whose opinion is the right one. So it’s very hard but it’s good that people are trying.

There is talk of introducing a shootout series to the National Points much like BriSCA F1 Stockcars has, is that something you would be in support of?
I think in 2006 I finished sixth in the National Points Championship but at this stage of my career I’m not likely to ever be in a position like that again so I don’t think any change like that will affect me to much (laughs). At the end of day, my personal belief is the same guy would win it anyway but it could add some spice and interest to the season after the World Final. It has certainly had that effect in the BriSCA F1s and that wouldn’t be a bad thing at all for F2s as well.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
Lyndale Engines who’ve helped me so much for the last 20 years or so, HCD who have also been a massive help for a long time and my dad who’s my main mechanic and has been for a long time.