An Interview with Ministox driver 350 Liam Webster
(interview published September 16 2015 in the lead up to the latest rounds of the 2015 Mildenhall Track Championship in September and October)

Age: 15
Home Town: Watton
Occupation: At school, studying for GCSE exams
Family: Mum, dad and sister
Racing career: Started racing in Ministox at Mildenhall aged 13

You’ve recently secured your first race win at Mildenhall having netted your maiden race win in Ministox at Dover in the summer, how special was your first win at Mildenhall and how did it compare to your first ever race win?
It was really special and meant a lot to finally get a race win at Mildenhall. The first win I had at Dover was also really special, mainly because it was my first win but I think the Mildenhall one was a little more important because I do most of my racing at Mildenhall and it’s where I start and also because I think Mildenhall is a faster track so the racing tends to be a bit harder than you get at Dover and there are also more cars racing at Mildenhall and so more to beat so it was really great to finally get a win at Mildenhall, especially after coming so close a few times before! The first win at Dover was really good as well though, I love racing there, it’s always great fun and it’s nice to now have a win at both (RDC) tracks.

Your maiden win at Mildenhall came on the same evening as the Saloon Stockcar World Final, did the occasion make the achievement all the more special?
I think it did to be honest although I guess it wouldn’t have mattered when it happened, just to have a win at Mildenhall was really brilliant but to do it at one of the biggest meetings of the year and in front of a really big crowd does add to it and made the whole thing a little more special for me, the atmosphere was really great that night but then I think it always is when you have such a big crowd, it automatically makes it better.

You mentioned that there had been a few times prior to August 29 when you had come close to winning a race at Mildenhall, had the near misses caused any frustration for you or where you increasingly confident that a first win at the track would eventually come?
It was a bit of both really. With every good race I had I started to think more and more that one day it would finally happen for me and got a little more confident which would help in the next race or the next meeting but at the same time it was always frustrating and a little disappointing and with each race that got away from me that feeling would get worse and at the time you would question yourself about whether it would ever happen but once you got passed that feeling you would realise that you’d done well even though I hadn’t won and that I was getting better which was the most important thing.

Now you’ve got that first win at Mildenhall, what is the next target and what do you think you need to do to achieve that?
My next goal is to get to the yellow grade. I’d like to get all the way up to the red grade before I finish in the Ministox in July so the first step is to get to the yellows and go from there. I think in order to do that I need to become more consistent, my biggest trouble is that quite often I will have one good race at a meeting but then don’t do so well in the other two and so I need to try and start doing well in all the races and I think to do that I need to be a little more aggressive. There was a time when I was really wary about hitting other cars and I think I’ve got a lot better with that but I still need to get better really but it’s difficult because sometimes you can be too aggressive and that can be just as bad.

There is a family element to your racing as you race alongside your cousin Molly Smithson, how is that racing against her?
It’s quite interesting really. My mum and her mum are sisters but before we started racing I never really saw Molly too much, especially as we don’t go to the same school but now we see a lot more of each other because of the racing and that’s good but it can be hard when you are racing because you can be quite wary of each other because I don’t think either of us want to take each other out because we’re cousins when I guess we should treat each other like any other car or driver but it has been nice because the racing has definitely brought us closer.

How did you get into the sport to start with?
It was through Jack (Goldsmith) who is also my cousin. He was racing and we went to watch and I really fancied a go and thankfully my mum and dad were very supportive and we got a car and it went from there. I’d been before when I was younger but never really had the interest of doing it myself until I watched Jack race and me and Molly got into (the Ministox) at about the same time. Jack’s been really helpful for me as well with the car so it’s nice to have all the family helping out at times.

We’ve a run of Ministox meetings coming up at Mildenhall in September and October ahead of the Winter Series, do you enjoy these busy runs of meetings?
Very much, I’d like to race every weekend if I could (laughs). But I much prefer racing on shale or dirt and don’t do very well on tarmac. The trouble is my car isn’t really the best on tarmac, I think now you do need a car that is set up purely for tarmac to be competitive and I don’t have one so I’ve stuck mostly to shale and Mildenhall and Dover so the more meetings the better for me and I’m looking forward to the weeks coming up as it should be really busy. Hopefully we might look into getting a car for next year to do some tarmac racing but we’ll see how it goes, ideally I’d like to race at Arena and Hednesford if I get a chance.

Among the meetings we’ve got coming up is the RDC Drivers Championship at Halloween Havoc, how do you hope to do in that one?
I’ll be going for it like any other race. You always go into a race with the hope and intention of trying to win it and that will be the goal but I know it will be a hard one but I’ll definitely do my best.

After that we have the Mildenhall Winter Series starting in November, is that something you enjoy?
I do like the winter meetings because I enjoy the wet conditions. I think the wet meetings tend to help someone like me because it makes for a more level playing field and I don’t think I’ve got the best car out there and a wet meeting can help me a lot sometimes and give me a better chance of doing well. The trouble I have is that sometimes my car can be a bit hit and miss, one meeting it will be flying and then the next it’ll be terrible and there is no obvious reason why so that’s something we need to try and work on, again it’s about trying to be more consistent.

Do you do much of the work on your car or do you rely on the help of others?
I’ve been trying really hard to do more and more on the car myself and I’m always learning new things. I really enjoy working on the car and try and do a little on it every night. I don’t have any hobbies outside of the racing so I’ve a bit of time to spend on the car and it’s really pleasing to be able to learn how to do things for yourself. The main thing I struggle with at the moment is welding. I can do it, but it’s far from the best (laughs) but I’m trying to get better. I raced a Junior Banger recently at Swaffham. I got given a car to race and decided to give it a go and I was able to build it by myself which I was really pleased about.

As you mentioned your Ministox career will end next summer, have you any plans for when you turn 16?
I would like to race a Saloon Stockcar. I really like the formula and love the racing, the World Final was just brilliant and I would love to one day be good enough to race in a race like that and I also like the fact that the cars are rear wheel drive but I think when I finish Ministox I will probably move into 1300cc Stockcars first and do some time in them and hopefully build myself up to be able to race Saloons in the future

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
Just my mum and dad and sister for all their help.