An Interview with former BriSCA F2 Stockcar racer 289 James Waterfall
(interview published April 6 2016 ahead of round two of the Mildenhall Track Championship on April 16)

Age: 37
Home Town: Spalding
Occupation: Mechanical engineer and fabricator
Family: Wife Vickie and two children
Started racing: In Junior Rods aged 14 at Peterborough, stared 1300cc Stockcars aged 16 and BriSCA F2 Stockcars a couple of years later.

You enjoyed a good start to your season at Mildenhall with a hat trick of top 10 finishes to end the night joint second in the early track championship standings, are you pleased with how your season has started overall?
I am. We did a fair bit of work on the car over the winter so to come out at the start of the season and have results straight away is really good and makes all that work worthwhile so I’m pleased to see that work getting results. The car went really well at Mildenhall (on March 19), but I had the luck as well and that’s really important at Mildenhall because if you don’t have a bit of luck on your side it doesn’t matter how good you or your car is (laughs). I also had a good night at King’s Lynn (on March 5) at the season opener and was in the top six in all three races so that was an excellent start to the season and gave me a big boost. Unfortunately the meeting at Coventry in between didn’t go so well but again the car was good, things just didn’t go my way that night but I’ve been really pleased with how things have been going so far.

The King’s Lynn meeting was also the first World Qualifying round of the season, have you an eye on the World Semi Finals at King’s Lynn and the World Final at Mildenhall this year, especially after having such a good night at the King’s Lynn qualifier?
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to try and get into the World Final this year but then I would imagine every shale driver will be saying the same time as for a lot of the shale guys this is a real chance for them to try and win it, not just with the World Final being on shale but the semis as well. But at the same time I won’t be doing too much extra to try and get into the semis. I pretty much stick to just Mildenhall and King’s Lynn for my racing with the odd Coventry meeting if it fits in with what I’m doing. My years of racing every weekend are behind me now and between those three tracks that is pretty much enough for me but this year I’m hoping to make the effort to go to Stoke and Sheffield for the World Qualifying rounds but I won’t be doing any tarmac rounds, just those shale ones and hopefully it will be enough. The attendance points help and of course having a good night at King’s Lynn is a big help so hopefully I will make it to a semi-final but if I don’t it wouldn’t be the end of the world for me.

Do you think a good grid position in a semi-final is essential?
Not if you just want to get a top 10 finish and qualify for the World Final it isn’t I don’t think. I think if you want to win the semi and be up the front in the World Final then maybe being closer to the front of the grid will help but I’m not worried about that at all. I would just like to be in a semi and if I could get into the World Final then that would be brilliant and as long as you are on (a semi-final) grid I think you have a chance of qualifying. As for the World Final itself, I don’t think it matters at all where you start, especially with the race at Mildenhall, as long as you are in it you have a chance.

You know all about that as the last Mildenhall World Final in 2005 you finished fourth having only qualified in the consolation semi-final before the main event, was that a career highlight for you?
It was, I had such a great night that night, everything just fell my way and it was the most amazing buzz. I was thrilled enough just to qualify for the World Final, that was the target that night and anything else was a bonus so to finish fourth from that far back was just amazing. It is probably one of the best drives I’ve ever had, if only there had been a (race) stoppage though, I might have done even better (laughs).

A lot of people were surprised then that the race went without a stoppage, were you?
Yeah I was. During the race I was getting through the traffic and I kept thinking if I could just keep plugging away and stay out of trouble that eventually there would be a stoppage and then I might be in with a real chance but it never came (laughs), I couldn’t believe it!

Do you think that will happen in the World Final this year?
I doubt it (laughs) but you never know, no-one expected it to go flag to flag last time so it could happen again.

Mentioning the season opener at King’s Lynn on March 5, the meeting was held in largely wet conditions, do you enjoy those kind of conditions?
Usually I don’t but that is mainly because I often struggle to see when it’s wet on shale but for whatever reason on that night it wasn’t a problem so I was able to get on and do well but typically when it’s wet I don’t do so well.

Your points score on March 19 left you joint second in the early Mildenhall Track Championship standings, is challenging for that title a goal in 2016?
It’s far too early to be thinking like that but I plan to do all the meetings at Mildenhall this year if possible so if things keep going the way they started then maybe it’s something I could go for, to do well in a track championship would be a big deal for me because with the limited amount of racing I do, really my best chance for a major success like that would be something like a track championship at one of the tracks I race at regularly.

You recently returned to the formula after a lengthy absence, what brought about your return?
I was away for about eight years I think. I stopped because I simply wasn’t enjoying it anymore for some reason, maybe I just needed a break. My first child was born and the racing wasn’t as much fun at the time and I started to think to myself, what am I doing when I’m doing something I’m not enjoying and I’ve got my baby at home so that was it and I stopped. But I don’t think the bug ever completely leaves you, even though I didn’t go to watch very often, the bug was still there and a few years ago it was growing and I thought I would have a go and see if I enjoyed it again and I did and I still am. I think only racing a few times a year makes a big difference. Only racing at Lynn and Mildenhall and the odd Coventry is a lot less than what I was doing before and it makes a huge difference because there isn’t so much pressure and I can juggle work and time with the family without getting too stressed with the car and if I have to miss a meeting it’s not the end of the world for me because it really is just a bit of fun a couple of times a month.

Having raced three times in as many weekends at the start of the season the next meeting at Mildenhall on April 16 will mark your first appearance since the last Mildenhall meeting on March 19, does having a month off from racing help or hinder you?
I think now that I’ve been doing this for so many years it doesn’t make too much difference, hopefully I know what to do by now (laughs) but I think the drivers racing every weekend do have a bit of an edge as more time in the car helps any driver, not just with their driving but they are constantly able to make tweaks and changes to the car which can sometimes make a massive difference. But again it’s more important for me to have the time with my family and not get too busy with racing and work, having that balance is much more important than being a bit more competitive, it’s just a shame I guess for me that the dates fell the way they did with three in a row and then a month off but that can’t be helped. Hopefully a couple of laps into the first race and I’ll be back into the swing of it (laughs).

You mentioned the work you did to the car in the winter, were you busy during the closed season?
Yes and no. I had the first half of the winter away from the car, didn’t touch it at all and then after Christmas we started and in the end it was a bit of a rush so I guess I could have done with starting a little earlier but the break was nice (laughs). We stripped the car down completely, repainted it and make a few tweaks, things we thought might improve it and it seems to be working, it’s nice when you feel your effort is making a difference because it motivates you to keep trying to get better.

When you returned from your break from racing you did so under a new racing number of #289 having previously been #290, a lot of drivers are very attached to their race number, was this an issue for you?
I was actually a bit gutted to be honest (laughs) but I under the guy who has #290 now (Jay Tompkins) had wanted it for a long time as well and I can fully understand that. When I sold my car when I packed up before the guy actually kept my number so he didn’t have to repaint the car and I thought that was good because I thought if I did come back I might have been able to get my number back from him but typically he didn’t race it for too long so that plan didn’t work (laughs). But I’d not always been #290, I was #2 when I first started so it’s not like it’s the first time I have changed number but it did take a little bit of getting used to when I first changed!

You now still pretty much to shale racing, why is that?
I find racing on shale is cheaper than racing on tarmac but also I much prefer the style of racing on shale and enjoy it a lot more, it’s just more fun and I love being sideways. There is also a brilliant buzz about committing to a bend and the line you are going to take and then almost holding your breath that nothing happens in front of you because there isn’t the time to react most of the time, you have to make your decision and hope for the best. It’s more so at Mildenhall where as soon as you are out of one bend you and back into the next and you have to be looking so far ahead and trying to make the right moves half a lap beforehand, it’s a great buzz.

A lot of drivers have recently started using personal safety equipment when they race which is not mandatory in the rules, do you use any such equipment?
I don’t but over the winter I got a new seat which I have found so far has been really good. It’s got a better head restraint that my last one and just keeps me a bit tighter in the car and after the first three meetings with it, I’m really pleased, I think having a good seat is very important, if you don’t have that right then all the (safety equipment) in the world isn’t going to help and there are a lot of choices out there now for race seats, it’s just about taking the time to see which one is best for you.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
My wife and kids Liam and Ruby for their support, my dad and brother who all they do to help me with the car and my sponsors Fenfab Engineering, RS Electrical and Parson Drove Farm Machinery.