An Interview with BriSCA F2 Stockcar World Championship Semi Finalist 979 Paul Moss
(interview published July 31 2014 in the lead up to the World Championship
Semi-Finals at Mildenhall on August 23)
Age: 18
Home Town: Cornwall
Occupation: Apprentice Engineer
Family: Single
Racing career: Started in October 2006 in Ministox at St Day
You have now successfully raced at all 18 World Championship qualifying rounds, how do you feel now you have completed this amazing feat?
Well for me there is still Ipswich to go (on August 16). It’s not a world qualifier but the ultimate aim was to race at every mainland track as well as doing all the qualifiers so for me it’s not quite finished but to do all the qualifying rounds was really, really cool, a lot of hard work but well worth it in the end and it’s been a fantastic experience and a lot of fun as well as some hard times so a bit of a rollercoaster in the end I suppose.
What have been the high and low points?
There have been so many to be honest. The win at Birmingham was a really good moment for me but I suppose the Scotland weekend was the toughest. To have four races were I didn’t finish and have all the engines problems with the original engine and then the spare was hard because we had Crimond the following day. I won’t lie, I didn’t sleep that night even though so many people had said they would try to help, I really didn’t know what we would do. I love Crimond but I don’t think everyone realizes how far it is and when you leave Cowdenbeath and you see signs for Aberdeen 130 miles away and it’s past that it hits you (laughs). So we did that trip on not much sleep, having had such a bad night the night before and not really knowing for sure if we’d be ok to race so that was probably the hardest bit. Then to get there and have Dennis Middler and his team waiting for us with a brand new engine we could use for the day was just the most amazing thing and I had my best round that day so to go from such a low to such a high was incredible, I would definitely say the Crimond round was the highlight for me.
Crimond is certainly a unique raceway, what are your thoughts on the place?
It is a bit wild (laughs). If it had Armco I honestly thought it would be one of the best tracks for F2s but the fence with the tractor tyres is a bit daunting and if you get it wrong you know about it (laughs). But the thing about the place is how friendly everyone is there and it really makes all the difference.
You’ve raced at several new tracks during the course of your travels, have any stood out?
It was only the shale tracks which have been new to me, I’d done all the tarmac ones before. We started the season on shale at King’s Lynn in March and of course we’ve done them all now and I must admit I’ve enjoyed racing on the shale. It’s very different and really enjoyable, I’m still learning when it comes to racing on shale but I definitely like it and it’s been great to try some new places out.
You’ve qualified on the outside of the front row of the second semi-final, was it your intention or hope to qualify so well and are you pleased with your starting position?
I suppose I did hope I would get at least a decent qualifying spot given all the rounds we did but I never expected to qualify quite as well as this so to be on the front row of one of the biggest races of the season is quite a thing and I’m really pleased to have qualified so well and am looking forward to the race now.
How do you rate your chances in the semi-final and given all the effort you have put in so far, how important is it for you to qualify?
I think I have got a reasonable chance. I feel I’m pretty good on shale now, not the best but definitely better than I was at the start of the year and the visits to Mildenhall this season have helped, especially the last one (on July 26) where I really felt like things were starting to come together and I do believe that was my best meeting there so hopefully it will come together for the semi-finals. I think if I can finish I will have a chance of a top 10 result because I do think it’s going to be that kind of race at Mildenhall where if you can finish and stay out of trouble you will be in with a chance of the top 10 but surviving the first few laps is going to be important and not easy at all. I’m not going to pretend and say it wouldn’t be incredible to qualify for the World Final but I’m realistic to know it’s not going to be easy and if it doesn’t happen then that’s ok, we’ll be at the World Final regardless and we’ll have another go in the consolation semi if we have to.
Your high grid position is in no small part down to your incredible attendance with attendance at World qualifiers now carrying five points per round, do you agree with driver’s attendance being rewarded?
I do because it gives going to the meetings more of a purpose and also gives you some reward if you come away without scoring any results which did happen to me at several rounds so at least I came home with my five attendance points so I can back with something which I think was important. But if the attendance points weren’t there I still scores 41 race points and I’m pretty sure that would have been enough to get me into a semi-final so the attendance points have not affected me qualifying or not, only my grid position and I do think it is good that those who put in the effort to attend as many rounds as possible get a little bit of a reward.
Your last visit to Mildenhall was on the first night of One Wild Weekend where track conditions were very slick due to the high temperatures, having mentioned this was your best Mildenhall meeting to date, are you hoping for similar conditions at the Semi-Finals?
Well I definitely don’t want it to rain (laughs). It was hard (on July 26) and very tricky because of the conditions but I suppose it was the same for everyone and maybe being like that helped me out a little, I’m not sure. I think if it is like that again it will help the drivers with a bit more shale experience compared to those with none.
Having seen the grid for your semi-final, what do you think of the starting grid?
Well it’s pretty cool to know I’ll be starting next to Gordon (Moodie) as that’s some pretty impressive company (laughs). There are a lot of good drivers in that race, I think both semis look pretty good. I think it will be interesting to see how the shale boys do in my semi, people like Carl Issit, John Wright, Martin Ford and Chris Mitchell who are all excellent on shale and will probably see this race as a huge opportunity to get into a World Final so I think they will be pushing hard and of course Rob Speak should be in my race and he is always one to look out for!
You made your World Semi Final debut last year at Mendips but failed to qualify, can you tell us about that and whether that race will help you this year?
There was a huge downpour just before the race started and my set up wasn’t right and we just didn’t have the speed to make much of an impact, but I did get to crash with Micky Brennan and Barry Goldin which was a small claim to fame (laughs). I don’t think last year will help me much this year. Everything about it is different, different track, different surface, different grid position, I’ve just got to do my best with it all.
During your travels around the country have you had much feedback from drivers and fans?
Yes quite a bit which has been nice. There have been plenty of people come up and shake my hand and say well done or say I’m mad (laughs). We had all the qualifier dates on the back of the van and that has generated a fair bit of interest and it was cool to see some familiar faces coming back and looking at it again to see what tracks we’d ticked off and where we would be next.
Would you ever try and do it (attend all the world qualifiers and race at every mainland track) again?
Yeah I think we might do it again but not for a couple of years at least, I think it depends on whether we can do it without mum listening to our plans or if we win the lottery (laughs).
Mini
Mossy's Monster Tour 2014
One of the biggest stories of the World Championship qualifying series has
been the incredible effort of Cornish based west county young gun 979 Paul Moss
who was successful in his quest to race at every single one of the 18 rounds. As
well as his driver interview, his father Jeremy kindly wrote this piece
detailing their epic journey around the country between March 1 and July 24
which we hope you will enjoy.
I think it was a wet day in November 2013 when I had this crazy idea to see if it was possible to get to every qualifying round in 2014 – you could in 2013 ! So a wait then until the Autosport Show for the fixture list and a planning meeting at Mossy HQ on the following Monday!
Sometimes the fixture planning doesn’t appear to have any planning !!!!!!! (but that’s another story ) however Kings Lynn on 1st March was the opening target. PJ, like me, had never raced on the shale – brother Dan had on his UK Tour in 2012, so off we go.................
Surviving the meeting was our aim and he did ............. 1 QR down.
Skegness was running on the Sunday and so to the east coast we go. A good hand of points meant the season was up and running.
Birmingham and Hednesford were next up on the QR tour – A pre-planned holiday with “er indoors” meant I was absent – step up reserve driver Dan ! A WIN – yes a WIN in the consolation, his first in F2, at Birmingham was reported to us in Lanzerote as we were dining – nearly choked so had to have a few more cocktails to celebrate
:-) ............ 3 QR’s down.
Bristol was next on a manic Easter weekend. Having been to Northampton on Good Friday afternoon and Skegness in the evening and winning a tyre, then to Cowdenbeath on Saturday, disaster hit at Mendips on the Sunday after the green flag when the engine and its oil fell out and the latter evacuated the scene. An engine change and then out for the Grand National ........ 4 QR’s down
It’s no secret that I love Scotland and having been to Cowdenbeath the previous Saturday it seemed logical to call in en route to Crimond for round 5. Once again, the gremlins came with us ! and 4 DNF’s at Cowdenbeath with engine issues, our spare engine no less ! despite the best efforts of our Scottish Sponsor, Keith Brown, left us feeling very low. Step up Dennis Midler (F2 - 641)and team with the loan of an engine ! An early start from our Dunfermline base to Crimond (it’s a 3 hour trip !) to meet Wullie Drager (F2 – 102)and Pete McCallum (F2 – 187) with said engine, changed it and out for practice at the most northern UK track. Some-one called Gordon beat PJ in three of the races but did let him win the Grand National ! much to a very emotional Dad but 25 valuable QR points ......... 5 QR’s down
So then came a dilemma ............ a St Day domestic meeting (45 minutes from
home) or Northampton ? The latter was always going to win with a night out in Cheltenham to celebrate the joint 60th birthday celebrations of fellow TART members, Graham & Ann Harding, the weekend was sorted, a few points gained........... 6 QR’s down
Up next was another long run from our home in Fowey, Cornwall to Mildenhall, the home of the semi’s and Arena Essex on the way home. PJ’s second run on shale and although nothing to show for it in terms of points, more experience was gained. Then, on Sunday, down the hill via the road to hell, the M25, for more points ............... 8 QR’s down
And then to Stoke, complete with “er indoors” for a lovely afternoon in the sunshine trying to guess what the commentator was saying ( another track with an awful PA system !) more shale laps, more experience ........... 9QR’s down
Then came rounds 10 and 11, another double header Cowdenbeath, for the 3rd visit of the season, and Sheffield. Occasionally work gets in the way and with me confined to barracks, Dan enlisted the help of friend and fellow TART member, Andy Maidment as navigator / mechanic for the trip to our Dunfermline “hotel”, and a massive thank you to Keith & Sharon, our hosts on many occasions !! Crashing out in the final leaves PJ a bit battered & bruised and back on the trailer
:-( On the way now to the “steel” city via an “open 7 days a week” cafe, recommended by a member of team Bingley, which apparently doesn’t open on Sundays !!!!!!!!!!!!! More shale, more experience ........... 11 QR’s down
Well June brings blue paint for the roof (Oh Dear !) It also brings 3 QR in 4 days !!
To Coventry we go for more mud and find fellow West Countryman Neil Hooper (F2 - 676)”having a go” in the steed that he has hired for the semi’s. Neil’s biggest fear, he confessed, was that he and PJ would end up in a big heap for the crashtastic section of the Unloaded Magazine to reproduce ! It didn’t happen but we can now see progress in PJ on the shale and the speed is coming ............ 12 QR’s down
A late night followed by some early morning paid work finds us at St Day, just 45 minutes from home !! A 9th in his heat from blue is our only reward but the car survives and drives onto the trailer, which sometimes is an achievement in itself
:-) ....... 13 QR’s down
Midweek meetings are always hectic to get to, leaving work at 4pm for the dash to Taunton means we missed paid practice and throttle cable issues mean we miss the final . Ah well, never mind ................. 14 QR’s down
I’ve yet to find where the gremlins hide in the van but they appeared again at Bellevue, a lack of oil pressure after 5 laps in the heat means a return to Cornwall with only attendance points to show for a 600 mile round trip ............. 15 QR’s down
Another double header for the first weekend in July sees us at Buxton on the Saturday and Barford on the Sunday. Buxton was busy and although PJ went well, lady luck was lunching with the gremlins and not concentrating on helping us get points ! At Barford niggly problems keep me busy, the racing is fast with lots of red tops in attendance and collecting points was always going to be difficult ......... 17 QR’s down
So to round 18 at Skegness, PJ was only here 2 weeks ago for Speed Weekend having had issues with our trusty Iveco en route, the gremlins deciding to pick on that instead ! we had high hopes of some success. I’ve never quite worked out how you finish one meeting with nothing mechanically wrong and yet by the time you get to the next, 4 days later, all hell breaks loose ! No practice, thankfully, as it turns out means Heat 1 is our first appearance on track and a cue for the oil in the engine to escape! A big plume of “wacky racers” style smoke leaves PJ in the middle having achieved 1 lap. We try a quick fix for heat 2, send him out and the same happens again. Skegness done ! ......... 18 QR’s down
All 18 rounds done !!
11500 miles on the Iveco !!!
To achieve what we have done requires a huge team effort and a lot of support along the way! So MEGA thanks must go to :-)
Dan Moss (F2 – 797) for driving when I couldn’t, curing some of the gremlins and all his other help with the stockcar and the van.
Keith Brown & Sharon in Scotland for their support in various guises including car repairs and hospitality at “Browns Hotel”
Andy Maidment for his support on the trip I couldn’t do
Graham & Ann Harding for the loan of the “blue rocket” when our trusty van had a bit of a stroke and so to get the boys to Skegness
Paul & Sandra Butcher for hospitality at “Michaelwood hotel”
Tart Motorsport for all their support and help as always
Mike Priddle (F2 – 14) for assistance with engines
Dennis Midler (F2-641) and his team for the engine loan, and Wullie Drager (F2 – 102) &
Pete McCallum (F2- 187) for the transport of said engine....... Sorry you couldn’t catch him at Crimond Dennis !!!!
And lastly, but by no means least, PJ’s Mum and my better half, Ally, who has had to put up with nothing but where, why, when since January when we first lined up this crazy idea and many evenings and weekends on her own and when we have been around, much stress, panic and tension in getting the cars prepared and ready to go
Why did we do it ??
Simple ...... no-one else has attended all the QR’s in one season which makes PJ the first !!!!!!!!!!
Mini Mossy’s Monster Tour continues....................................................................
Click here to go to Previews page
Click here to go to Interviews page