An Interview with BriSCA F2 Stockcar White and Yellow Grade Series points leader 662 Steve Wycherly
(interview published June 8 2016 in the lead up to round four of the Mildenhall Track Championship on June 18)

Age: 50
Home Town: Holbeach
Family: Wife Nicky, four children and three grandchildren
Occupation: Fencer
Started racing: In Ministox aged 11 at Boston, first raced BriSCA F2 Stockcars at Skegness in 2003

How do you feel about how the 2016 season has gone for you so far?
I’m really pleased so far, I’ve been enjoying my racing which is the most important thing and the fact that I’m doing ok with the race results is a really nice bonus. There was a time when I took my racing more seriously but right now, it is very much something I do for fun. Don’t get me wrong though, I still want to do well and with the limited budget we have for the racing to be on pace with some of the red tops is something I am really pleased about. A great example was at the last Mildenhall meeting where I got spun out in the final in the opening laps and I was able to get back into the race and pass quite a few of the red tops and get back into the top 10. That was a brilliant result for me and something I was very pleased about. It was just as good as some of the race wins I’ve had this year, again because it showed that when everything clicks and the luck is on my side I can be as good as anyone else, that’s a great feeling knowing that (laughs).

Have you any targets for the remainder of the season?
I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to be in the World Final and the World of Shale at the end of the year. I think anyone who races on shale regularly will want to be in the World Final this year and the World of Shale any year but at the same time I’m not letting goals like that take too much of an influence over my racing. If they happen and I make it into either or both of those races I will be very pleased but if I don’t it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I think when you start setting goals like that for yourself and take them maybe a bit too seriously, that is when you can start making the sport less fun for yourself because you set yourself up for disappointment if you fail to reach those goals. So for me, at the moment the main goal is to just carry on enjoying my racing and carry on being on the pace, obviously being on the pace does make it more fun usually (laughs). I’d love to get to the red grade again, I think that is the pinnacle in our formula but I think for a driver like me, with the budget I have and the meetings I do, I think that might be a little out of my reach unless I win some Finals (laughs).

Do you think the grading system needs to be restructured to perhaps create a greater chance for the shale only racers to be higher up the grades?
It’s hard, for me, yes I would but that’s only because it would benefit me (laughs). In other formulas, the grades are done by a driver’s average score and I can see why that would be a good idea because it would mean a driver who races maybe once a weekend has just as good a chance of being a red grade than someone who can race more often. Also I think under the current system you can have really good drivers in lower grades than maybe they should be, simply because they cannot race as often as others are able to. But at the same time I fully appreciate the efforts of those who do race all the time, it’s a hell of a commitment and their efforts do deserve them being up in the points charts and up in the grades so I’m not sure what the answer is, maybe a bit of both (laughs).

You are currently fifth in the Mildenhall Track Championship, is that something you are pleased about and have you given any thought the championship over the remainder of the season?
Again I try not to think about long term goals now because I think you just set yourself up for disappointment sometimes but to be fifth, even after just three meetings, is really good and something I’m really pleased about and it goes without saying that I will try and keep that up during the rest of the season. All the years I’ve raced a full season at Mildenhall I have usually been around the top 10, either just inside or just outside so to still be able to do that is really good and again shows that I’m still on the pace which I guess at my age and after all these years is something to be proud off (laughs). Don’t get me wrong it would be brilliant to finish the season in that place or even higher but I’m not thinking about that at all.

You are also leading the White and Yellow Grade series points at Mildenhall, are you looking forward to the final?
Always, I’ve won it before and it’s always a good race and one you try and do well in. Again, even though it’s the White and Yellow Grade Series Final, you get some excellent drivers in it because again just because a driver isn’t in the top grades doesn’t necessarily mean they are not a great driver, they just might not be able to race as often as they would like and of course you also get some drivers in the higher grades who have been graded lower during the season. So it’s always a tough one and one to look forward to.

Given your form at Mildenhall, is it a track you enjoy racing at?
I do, it’s quite a challenge because it’s so small but it’s still a fast track so it’s very busy when you race there. I think that is the best word for it and it makes it quite a challenge but also I think the track levels things up between those with bigger and smaller budgets and presents a really even playing field which I think all the drivers enjoy, well I know I do (laughs). I think I do prefer the smaller tracks because I’ve been visiting Belle Vue a bit more lately and I’ve been doing well there as well.

The next meeting at Mildenhall on June 18 is the Mildenhall leg of the world qualifying series, does this make the night more important to you?
No, it’s just another race meeting for me and I’ll be trying at least to treat it no differently to any other meeting. Don’t get me wrong, it would be great to do well and score a load of (world) qualifying points but we’ll have to see how it goes, again if it doesn’t happen it won’t be the end of the world. Maybe if I don’t think about it being a qualifier too much I’ll do well (laughs), sometimes putting extra pressure on yourself can be a big mistake, it goes back to what I was saying about not setting goals for yourself.

You are doing well in the World Qualifying points at the moment, are you hopeful of at least qualifying for a semi final?
Yeah, I have done quite well but I’m not sure how (laughs). To be honest when I’ve gone about my racing this year I wasn’t even looking to see which meetings were qualifiers or making a point of doing them and I think I have only done two qualifying rounds this year and by some good fortune I did well at both of them (laughs). But it was more by luck than anything else I guess! But I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t want to be in a semi-final, again I think every driver who races on shale will want to be in one, especially this year with the World at Mildenhall.

How important is a grid position in the Semi Finals?
I think it will definitely help so I think you probably need to be in the top 10 of the grid to have a good chance but I don’t think you want to be at the front but I think that’s the case with any big race, being at the front just makes you a target (laughs). There are going to be a lot of good drivers in those semis and that’s why I think you are going to need to be somewhere near the front to have a chance of qualifying, I’d imagine it’s going to be lively as well. The semi finals usually are but especially this year because you are likely to have a mix of tarmac drivers near the front having a go on shale and some more experienced shale drivers at the back who really fancy their chances of simply qualifying for the World Final.

Should you fail to qualify in the Semis would you fancy your chances in the Consolation Semi Final and how would you feel about your chances if you made it to the World Final?
I think at Mildenhall, any race you are in you have a chance in, it’s so unpredictable at Mildenhall and that gives anyone a chance and you have to go into any race believing you might be able to do well and have a result. I think I’d have a better chance if it rains though (laughs). I qualified for the World at King’s Lynn and managed to get up the front after a couple of laps but then it all went wrong, I just seem to go well on wet shale so if it rains it might help me (laughs)!

You returned to the formula at the end of last year after a break from racing, can you explain why that was?
I was going to make a switch into BriSCA F1 Stockcars but it never came off. Truth be told I got quite despondent with the F2s, more so because I had a really bad run in the formula. I’d had a really good run and was doing well and then it all went wrong, everything I did was wrong and I think I blew up eight engines in a row or something crazy like this and I got very down hearted about it all and started to struggle to see the point in all the effort we were making to get so little from the racing. Then the offer of the F1 came up, basically it was a straight swap between my F2 and the F1 but it never came off but in the end I stopped racing for about 14 months because of it. In the end I got my F2 back and did a few meetings at the end of last year which I’m glad I did because I needed those few meetings to get back into and remember exactly what to do (laughs) and that helped me start this season well.

Is there still any ambition to race a BriSCA F1 Stockcar in the future?
It would be nice but I think at my age now it’s probably not going to happen. I guess the plan was to have the F1 and do maybe a season or two to end my career but maybe sticking to F2s I can carry on racing a little longer. As I said the plan to move into F1s was more from my frustration at the time with how my racing was going in the F2s and now things are going so much better I have no need to look for an alternative. The other thing with F1s is there is so much work involved. The cars are obviously much more heavy duty so you need better means of transport than what you need with an F2, there is more work involved in the car and really you need a big team behind you which I don’t really have so in hindsight I’m not sure now that F1s would have been for me. I’m very lucky with my F2 because my dad does so much of the work for me at his garage and without his help I wouldn’t be able to race as much as I do, that wouldn’t have been the case had I gone into F1s.

Another track you have enjoyed success at this season is Coventry which is believed to be in its last season of racing, will you be sad to see the track close?
Of course, I’d be sad to see any track close but especially a shale one but I think losing Coventry could have a big impact on the formula on shale, especially for guys like me who live where we do as without Coventry we only have King’s Lynn and Mildenhall unless we want to travel up north. It’s not quite so bad for the guys up north who have Stoke, Sheffield and Belle Vue but it will definitely be a big blow to the formula and all the drivers who race there.

Is there anyone you would like to thank?
My dad again for everything he does and my wife as well for her support, she is so brilliant and without her behind me I wouldn’t be able to do all this and also to Ivan who has helped me with tyres.