An Interview with Ministox final winner at Mildenhall on September 26 320 Luke Dorling
(interview published on October 14 2015 ahead of the 2015 RDC Drivers Championship)

Age: 14
Home Town: Diss
Occupation: Studying for GCSE exams
Family: Mum, dad and two sisters
Racing career: Started racing in Junior Rods aged 10 at Swaffham

We are starting to look forward to the RDC Drivers Championship at Mildenhall at the Halloween Havoc meeting on October 25, are you looking forward to this race?
I am, especially that now we seem to be making good progress with the car because we’ve had a difficult season a few times this year and struggled at times, especially with engines which have been a real problem but we seem to finally be getting somewhere now and the (September 26) meeting at Mildenhall the car was going so well and I won the final which was brilliant so to finally have a great meeting like that after having such a tough time this season meant a lot and hopefully the good form has come at the right time and I can do just as well in the RDC Championship. It’s also my first time in the race as I wasn’t RDC registered last year so I’m also looking forward to it because it’s something new and different for me, it should be good.

Before the Championship meeting we have the final qualifying round on October 17 where you are in a battle for the inside of row five on the grid with Josh Rayner, Harry Atkins and Danny Elbourn, do you think doing well on October 17 and improving your grid position could make a big difference on October 25?
I think it could, especially if you can get into a grid position where you can start on the inside. That can make a big difference, especially in a race like this with a close grid. If you are in the inside you just have a bit more space whereas if you are on the outside you start with cars everywhere and it kind of limits your options at the start of the race, you just have to go with the flow so to speak and let things settle down before you can make any moves and by then you might have lost a good few places but on the inside you have more options I think at the start and can try and make some moves as soon as the race starts and that could be really important in a race like this, especially as there will be some really good drivers starting in front of me and I need to try and figure out some way to catch them which isn’t going to be easy. I don’t think it’s going to matter so much what row I start on now, it’s going to be a good few rows back and so I think the middle of the grid is the middle of the grid, a row forward or back isn’t going to make the biggest of differences but starting on the inside might, we’ll have to see what happens I guess.

Heading into the October 17 meeting, do you approach it any differently to any other meeting regarding those who are on similar points to you for the RDC Drivers Championship?
No, I think you have to treat it like any other meeting. I guess you’d like to try and keep an eye on the guys you are racing against in the points but I think if you spend too long worrying about them then you aren’t worrying enough about what you are doing and that can be a big mistake so I’ll just try and treat it like any other meeting, make sure I do my best and see what happens at the end, you can’t really do much more than your best really (laughs).

How do you fancy your chances in the RDC Drivers Championship, knowing you are likely to be starting the race from around the middle of the grid?
I hope I have a chance. I think it will be difficult for me to get into contention to fight for the win from the middle of the grid, especially with a lot of good drivers in front of me but you never know. I’ll certainly be hoping for a good battle at the front among those drivers as I think that could help me a lot but again so much depends on what happens on the day, you can never tell as every race is different. The car was going well though (on September 26) so that helps because I know the car is good enough and if things go my way then hopefully I can get up there and be in with a chance, again all you can do is your best isn’t it and see what happens on the day.

You’ve mentioned the September 26 meeting a couple of times where you won the Grand Final, how special was that for you?
It was brilliant to have a meeting like that. As I said we’ve had a lot of issues with engines this season and was using a new one at that meeting and it went really, really well so it was so good to have a great meeting like that after all the troubles and difficulties we’ve had and it’s definitely given me a big boost.

Results like that much have a great impact on your confidence how important can that be for an upcoming meeting?
It makes a massive difference because when you start to doubt yourself or question yourself or your car it can really hurt you because you just don’t have that confidence to go for it because in the back of your head you are wary of something going wrong so when I knew the car and the engine were going well it gave me that push to really go for it and not having the worries of things going wrong. When you come up to try and pass a car, having that belief that you can pass them and they won’t be able to come back at you on the next bend really does make all the difference so I’m feeling really good at the moment and hopefully that will continue (on October 17 and 25), I certainly feel a lot better than I have done at some times in the season when things were going wrong.

Your success on September 26 sees you return to the red grade for the October meetings at RDC, are you pleased about that?
Yes and no. I am pleased because it’s always good to be in the red grade but at the same time I’m not because I’d done so well from the blue grade last time so it would have been nice to have stayed there (laughs). Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way but I do feel a bit more confident starting in the reds now after going so well (on September 26). Again that’s all about the confidence but having had such a good meeting last time does give you that confidence that you can do well next time, even though I’ll be starting in the reds this time. It’s tough from the reds at Mildenhall because you are almost a lap down on the white grade and there are some really good drivers in the lower grades and if they don’t make a mistake it can be really hard to catch them, usually you need them to make a mistake to be able to challenge them so it’s definitely going to be tough but I’ll see how we get on.

As you’ve already mentioned this season has seen you as an RDC registered driver for the first time but you have also continued to race regularly on tarmac and are also an Incarace registered drivers, do you enjoy your shale racing?
I do and it’s great that I am able to race on both surfaces the way I am because I do think it helps to make you a better driver when you are racing on shale and tarmac and not just one or the other. The thing I like so much about racing on shale is that in a way it is a little bit more forgiving. On tarmac it is so important to be smooth almost perfect lap after lap, you cannot afford to make a single mistake as just one can make a massive difference but on shale it’s not quite like that, you can make a mistake and still have a good race and a result and also I find it’s a lot more even on the shale as well between the drivers. As I said, at Mildenhall there are some really good drivers in the lower grades who are really hard to catch on shale but the same drivers on tarmac don’t do so well so the shale is good for that, it makes the racing better for everything I think when it’s more even.

You started your racing career in Junior Rods, why the switch to Ministox?
To be honest I always wanted to do Ministox but my dad felt it might be better to start in a non-contact formula and see how I got on so that was how I started and it was a good place to learn but it got to a point where I didn’t feel like I was progressing anywhere. The trouble with a lot of the racing in the formula is there was a handful of cars which were just as good as each other and so a race was just those cars following each other around until someone made a mistake. We then decided to switch to the Ministox and I’m glad I did as I much prefer them, it’s the contact I really enjoy and having the ability to move a car out of the way to pass it which was something I didn’t have (in Junior Rods).

Looking ahead, do you have any plans for racing in the future beyond Ministox?
I definitely don’t want to stop racing when I finish in the Ministox but I’m not sure what I will end up doing, ultimately I would like to race Saloon Stockcars like my dad used to, the formula is so good right now and the racing is just brilliant so I would love to do the formula and be a part of the races you see right now but I don’t think I will go from Ministox straight into Saloons, it’s possible that I might go into 1300cc Stockcars first, I think that makes a lot of sense really as they seem a good formula to go into from Ministox and then get ready for moving onto Saloons but we will see.

Have you any other interests besides racing and how involved are you with working on your car in between meetings?
My main interest apart from racing is just cars really. I’m not into many forms of racing other than (oval racing) but I guess I’m a little bit of a petrol head really and I love cars in general and tinkering and tweaking with them and stuff like that and I really enjoying the drifting which is becoming more popular now, I find that kind of car control to be pretty amazing really. As for my car, I do try but my dad usually says I’m getting the way more than I am helping (laughs). But it is something I enjoy doing and it’s cool to learn more things on that side of it.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My whole family really, my dad does so, so much for me but also my mum helps a lot and my grandparents and my grandad helps with the costs of it all as well which is really appreciated and also my sisters who support me.