An Interview with Ministox driver 369 Harry Sargent
(interview published November 4 2014 in the lead up to the opening rounds of the 2014/5 Mildenhall Winter Series)

Age: 14
Home Town: Newmarket
Occupation: Studying for GCSEs at school
Family: Mum, dad and sister
Racing career: Started racing Ministox in January 2014

We are coming to the end of your first season in Ministox at RDC, have you enjoyed it?
Yes I’ve really enjoyed the year, it’s been a lot of fun and a lot of learning as well. I did drifting before Ministox and this is so different so this year has been able trying to learn as much as I can and I’m hoping to have an even better year next year, that’s my target now to try and put all the things we have learned this year into next season and hopefully have an even better year.

You mention your previous activities with drifting, can you explain how you got into that at such a young age and how you made the move into Ministox?
My dad is quite heavily involved in drifting with sponsoring things and stuff and that was how I got into it. I had the interest through my dad and wanted to have a go. The Ministox came from going to Mildenhall to watch Josh Simpson (301) in the Ministox. That was back in 2012 and I really liked it but we had just set everything up for my drift car so I did that for a while. Then we went back to Mildenhall on New Year’s Day to watch the Ministox again and I really enjoyed it and said to my parents shortly after that I wanted to try Ministox so we sold the drift car and got a Ministox, thankfully we were able to do everything really quickly my first Ministox meeting was later that month.

There are obviously many differences between a drift car and Ministox but what are the biggest for you and what do you enjoy the most about the Ministox?
The cars are the biggest difference. My drift car had 350 brake horse power and was rear wheel drive so it took a while for me to get used to the Ministox having such less power, it was fairly easy to drive I think but it still took a fair bit of getting used to. But I much prefer the Ministox mainly because of the contact in the formula, I absolutely love that about the formula and it is the main attraction to me and even though the cars are less powerful than a drift car the fact that we can hit each other gives me a much bigger buzz and I enjoy it a lot more, it’s really great.

In recent weeks you have enjoyed a top 10 finish in both the ORCi Championship and the RDC Drivers Shootout, were you pleased with those results?
I was and especially with the ORCi Championship because I think I drove really well in that race. With drivers from elsewhere coming to race my target was just to qualify for the final and so to get a top 10 was really good and I honestly think I did about as well as I could have done in that race. I wasn’t quite as pleased in the RDC Shootout because I don’t think I did as well as I could have done. I got taken out early and I was really lucky that the race was stopped when it did because it gave me a second chance and I was pretty lucky with that. It was good that I was able to recover so well and get a result despite getting taken out but for me personally the ORCi Championship result was the better of the two.

On the subject of championships you also visited Northampton in May for the National Championship, what were your thoughts on that?
That was a real eye opener (laughs). It was the first time I had ever raced on a tarmac track and we honestly turned up not having a clue what to expect and we weren’t really on the pace so we decided to not do the final in case we badly damaged the car but I did enjoy it and it was cool to race against all the others drivers from around the country. We’ve got a car now which we use just for tarmac meetings and we’re getting better with it all the time, I’ve been to race at Arena, Eastbourne and Ipswich already and we are hoping to try some new tracks as well next year and try and get a bit better with racing on tarmac. But I do prefer racing on the shale. It’s good for me because with the budget we have and time to spend on the car I’m never likely to have the best car and I think on tarmac that is more important, on shale it’s more about the driver and there is a bit more skill involved so it gives me a better chance.

You had a superb meeting at Mildenhall on September 20 with a hat trick of top three finishes which saw you return to the yellow grade after a brief spell in the white grade. Does this rank as a highlight of the season?
It does, I think that was probably my best overall meeting but my best moment so far was getting my first win on Good Friday in the white and yellow grade heat. My target now is to try and win a race with all the grades in, I came close that night with two seconds, and I’d also like to get to the blue grade. Again with our budget I don’t think I’m ever likely to challenge for a points championship or anything like that but I really want to win a race with all the grades out there and try and get myself into the blue grade, that would be brilliant.

On the subject of travelling you visited Dover Raceway this season, what did you think of the racing there?
I really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. It’s so different, not only to Mildenhall but anywhere that the formula races I think and that in itself makes it enjoyable. I had a win there which was brilliant, especially because I’d never raced there and a rollover in the Kent Series Final so that was pretty good as well. Again the good thing about Dover is that with all the bumps and stuff it’s not about how fast your car is but more about the skill that you drive it with, I think everyone is pretty even there so it’s good fun and the racing was always good when I went this year.

Looking ahead we are about to start the 2014/5 Mildenhall Winter Series, do you think you have a chance in that?
I hope so. I’m looking forward to it because I quite enjoy the meetings where it’s a little wet and trickier than usual. Again I think it helps someone like me and at meetings like that you often see drivers who maybe haven’t got the best cars get better results so I’m hoping that might be me (laughs). Either way it should be fun and having started Ministox at the end of the Winter Series this year it’ll be good to do the whole thing this time.

Looking even further ahead, have you any thoughts as to your racing career after Ministox?
I think I will probably race a 1300cc Stockcar. My sister is also keen to try racing now as well but she is to old for a Ministox so we are talking about both getting 1300cc Stockcars and racing together when I’m old enough. Basically I think they are a big Ministox so hopefully it will be a good formula to move into but I’m hoping to one day do Saloon Stockcars. That would be pretty good for me, especially with my drifting experience, I think Salons would be like a contact drifting formula in a way so I think I could do ok in them but they are a lot of work and money so I don’t think it is feasible for me to go straight into one but hopefully one day.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
All my family for everything they do for me and my racing.