An Interview with former Ministox RDC Drivers Champion 301 Josh Simpson
(interview published July 2 2014 in the lead up to the Ministox Suffolk Open at Mildenhall on July 19)

Age: 14
Home Town: Balsham
Occupation: Studying for GCSE exams
Family: Mum, dad and brother
Racing career: Started racing Ministox aged 11

Having suffered some bad form in the Spring you have bounced back to top form in the Ministox and are currently second in the Mildenhall points and will return to the red grade on July 19, are you pleased with your season so far?
I am, I’m really pleased with how the last few meetings have gone in particular and I think everything is going really well right now. It’s especially good to be back to the red grade for the first time since the Winter Series which has been a target of mine since dropping down the grades. With the way the racing is at RDC right now, it’s not easy to get to the red grade so I’m really pleased that I’ve got back there now and now the target is to try and stay in the grade which won’t be easy but I do think I can do it, as long as I keep doing my best.

After the Winter Series you dropped to the blue grade and had some disappointing meetings in March and on April which led to a drop to the yellow grade for the April 26 meeting, do you think there was a specific reason for your drop in form or was it just a case of bad luck?
I think bad luck was a big reason for it, I’ve always known that in our racing it won’t go your way all the time and I just think I had a bit of a bad run. It wasn’t anything wrong with the car or even me as such, just things not going your way which can always happen in stockcars.

The April 26 meeting saw you bounce back in the best possible fashion with a hat trick of wins, how important was that for you in getting back to where your season is now?
It made a big difference, definitely. I was dropping down the points and so I needed a good score to get back in the frame and that was the most I could score so that was a big boost to my points championship but it also gave me a big confidence boost. I think confidence is very important with racing because if you don’t believe in yourself you are probably going to struggle and although I think it was more to do with luck where I’d had the bad run before that you do start to wonder a little if maybe it’s you and so to get three wins there was excellent and just what I needed. I think it’s made a difference to all the meetings since because I’ve scored well from the blue grade at both meetings since to get back into second in the (Mildenhall) points and back to the red grade.

The next meeting at Mildenhall is the Suffolk Open, which is a rather unusual event in that the races all start in graded order, because of that do you fancy your chances or do you think you stand a better chance in the big races later in the season when the grids are determined by points?
I would like to think I have a chance if my luck is in that night but I admit it will be hard starting from the back and I might need a stoppage to have a good chance but you never know. I think we should get a good turn-out for the meeting so I reckon it will be a good meeting again and when the racing is like that you never know what might happen so it could be anyone, especially because there are so many good drivers out there at the moment, hopefully there will be a good finish again (laughs).

Speaking of good finishes, you were a part of the amazing finish in the May 10 final for the Ministox at Mildenhall, what are your memories of that?
It was pretty exciting to be a part of (laughs). I was behind Dan (Santry), Cole (Atkins) and Liam (Aspin) and was doing my best to stay with them and going into the last bend I really didn’t know what to do so I just floored it and hoped for the best. I never expected the finish to be quite like that and didn’t really appreciate how close it was at the time so it was pretty cool when I watched it again on video. I was ok despite crashing at the end, to be honest I was more worried about Liam who took two big hits in the crash but I was pleased to see he was ok.

We’ve mentioned your position in the Mildenhall Championship, do you have your eyes on trying to challenge for the title?
I hope to. Liam (Aspin) has quite a lead on me but I think there is still enough time and meetings to try and close up on him but it won’t be easy but I think if I do my best at every meeting I’ve certainly got a chance. Having won the RDC Drivers Championship a couple of years ago it would be brilliant to win a points championship as well and that is another of my goals in the formula.

This year we have seen you racing elsewhere a bit more including several meetings on tarmac, is this something you’re enjoying?
Yes, it’s been good and it makes a change from racing on the shale and I think racing at different tracks has helped me improve as well. I really like Ipswich, it’s a really fast track and it’s a great buzz racing there and Arena is another of my favourites and I’m hoping to go to Taunton in August for the British Championship if I qualify.

On that subject you raced in the National Championship at Northampton in May, how was that experience and are you pleased to see these championships back in Ministox in 2014 and are you looking forward to the ORCi championship at Mildenhall in September?
Northampton was a good afternoon. I didn’t have the best of days but I really enjoyed it because there were loads of cars and the racing was really, really good so it was a lot of fun and I think that proved it was a good decision to have these events back, especially if it’s going to make for racing like that and I would imagine the ORC will be good as well. The racing at Mildenhall this year has been really good so with a championship and hopefully a few visiting drivers it should be a great meeting and great race.

The last meeting at Mildenhall saw your younger brother Callum make his Ministox debut, how was it for you having him on track with you?
It was pretty nerve wracking actually (laughs). I honestly don’t think I’ve been that nervous racing before but I was really a bit worried about him for some reason which is a bit silly really because I think he’s a good driver and it won’t be long before he is getting really good results. My dad kept saying to not worry about him and worry about my own racing but it was really hard to do that and I kept finding myself looking around trying to see him and if he was ok!

Although you still have some time left in Ministox, have you given any thought as to your racing career after Ministox?
Ultimately I would like to race Saloon Stockcars. I think it is a brilliant formula and that is what I want to do in the end but I don’t think it will happen straight away, I think it is far too big a jump to go from Ministox to Saloons so I might do 1300cc Stockcars for a while first.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My mum and dad and nan and granddad as without them I wouldn’t be able to do the racing like I do.