An Interview with 2012/3 Ministox Mildenhall Winter Series Champion Crazy Frog 321 Marcus Skeels
(interview published October 7 2014 in the lead up to the latest rounds of the Ministox Mildenhall Championship culminating in the RDC Drivers Shootout)

Age: 15
Home Town: Wisbech
Occupation: Studying for GCSE exams
Family: Mum, dad and brother
Racing career: Started raced Ministox aged 11 in 2010 at Barford

We are now looking forward to the RDC Drivers Shootout for Ministox at Mildenhall on October 26, is this a race you are looking forward to?
Yes I am, I always look forward to the big races like this and I’ve less than a year left in Ministox now so I want to try and make the most of races like this because it would be great to get at least one more big win in the formula before I have to retire from it. The RDC Shootout is a race where I think I stand a decent chance. I go much better on shale now than tarmac so I don’t consider myself to have the greatest of chances when it comes to tarmac racing at the moment, I have a much better chance in a shale race so this is one I will be really going for and the fact that I seem to have found my form again at Mildenhall really helps things.

You mention your recent form which has certainly been impressive with a first race win at Mildenhall this year on September 20 followed by a podium finish in the ORCi Championship seven days later, were you pleased with this and what do you put this renewed success to?
I was really pleased because it’s not be the best of seasons. It’s been a bit up and down and I think I’ve had a lot of back luck but we decided to rebuild the engine before the meetings in September and it seems to have mad a massive difference. We did some work on the engine before that and we could see an improvement so that made us decided to do a complete rebuild and see if that would make things better and it has.

Did having the win on September help you get your result in the ORCi Championship and could that result help you at the meetings in October?
It does in a way because if nothing else when you have a good meeting you are a lot more enthusiast about working on the car again that week and getting everything ready for the next meeting and of course the more work you do on the car before the meeting the more it shows when you race. Everyone knows that but it is easier to get on and do that work when you’ve had a good meeting compared to when you have had a bad one. So when I got that win (on September 20), especially after all the work we’d done leading up to that meeting, it fired me right up for the ORCi Championship and again we worked hard in the week leading up to the meeting and it paid off and I’m still buzzing now and wish there was some racing before (October 18)! Hopefully I can get a good meeting there again which will get me going for the RDC Shootout the following weekend.

How important is the October 18 meeting regarding momentum heading into the RDC Drivers Shootout the following weekend?
I think it could be very important. Not just to have a good meeting but equally to avoid having a bad one because if you have a bad meeting then it will effect you the following weekend, sometimes it can take a little while to bounce back from a bad day where as when you have a run of good meetings it can keep you going for a little while so I think it could make a difference.

Although the grid positions are yet to be finalised you are set to start the RDC Drivers Shootout among the front few rows, are you happy with that?
It would always be nice to be closer to the front but I’m quite pleased with how it’s looking. The way I look at it, the further towards the front you are the less cars you have to pass, you only have to worry about the ones trying to pass you (laughs). I reckon I should start in a similar position to the ORCi Championship and that turned out pretty well so I will be looking to do something similar to that if I can. It’s certainly going to be a tough race, there are so many good drivers at RDC at the moment and the racing at Mildenhall has been really good this season and this should be the same, there are a good few drivers in the race who are going to fancy their chances.

Let’s talk some more about the ORCi Championship race, was that one you enjoyed and how pleased were you with your result?
I was very pleased with the result, especially again with how the season had been going up until a few weeks ago. If someone had said to me six months ago I would have finished third I would have happily accepted it so I was really pleased to get that and it was also good that it happened in such a good race because I think that makes a difference as well, when it’s been a good race and you’ve had a hard fight for it. The race I had with Liam (Aspin) was brilliant and when Will (Morphey) and the others were with us at the start of the race it was just superb and you really had to keep pushing hard because every lap they kept coming back for more and trying to pass you again so it was really tough racing. I would imagine the RDC Drivers Shootout will be similar because again there are a lot of good drivers towards the front of the grid and there isn’t much between any of them so it should be good.

You made an excellent start in the ORCi Championship, how important will it be to do the same here?
Very important I think. Again there isn’t much between the front runners at the moment so whoever gets the break and pulls away will be in a good position to win. It was like that in the ORCi Championship, Charlie (Morphey) got the start and while everyone else was fighting for second he was able to edge away and that could easily happen here so ideally you want to be the driver at the front making that break.

Your form in September saw you return to the red grade for the first time in a few months, was that something you were pleased about?
Yes it was. It’s always nice to be in the red grade because it means you are doing well and among the best drivers at the moment so of course that’s where you want to be and it’s good to back to red and now I’m hoping to stay there for a while, but it’s not easy, again because there are so many good drivers but I was pleased to get the results I did at the ORCi Championship meeting starting from the red grade.

After the RDC Drivers Shootout we have the start of the Mildenhall Winter Series which you want in 2012/3, is this something you have your eye on again this year?
It is, I like the Winter Series meetings to be honest. Yes the conditions are not always the best but when they aren’t it’s a lot of fun still and for me when it’s wet like it can be it takes away any advantage you can get from your car and engine, it’s much more about the driver and I like that and again it would be great to get a big win before finishing with the Ministox.

Speaking of that, have you any plans for when you finish in Ministox in April?
(laughs) People keep asking me if it’s true what they’ve heard and it is that I have a Saloon Stockcar at home which is half built and I can’t wait to be old enough to race it. I think because my brother (Ollie) does BriSCA F2 Stockcars people just expected me to do the same but I’ve a Saloon and I cannot wait.

What made you go for a Saloon?
I just love the formula and the cars and the racing, just how action packed it is. I think the racing is really entertaining to watch and I would imagine it’s even more so from on track so that’s what I want to try but I know it’s not going to be easy and a big jump so I’m hoping to learn as much as I can from the time I have left in the Ministox before moving up.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My mum, dad and Ollie for everything and all my sponsors as well, Eden Fabrications, Agramac, Bees Motors, Fenman Coolbox and AMS Electrical.