An Interview with Ministox racer 390 Nina Leigh
(interview published July 23 2014 in the lead up to the Kent Series Final at Dover on August 3)

Age: 13
Home Town: Buckingham
Occupation: School, studying for GCSE exams
Family: Mum, dad, two sisters and a brother
Racing career: Started racing Ministox at Mildenhall aged 11

The next meeting for the Ministox at Dover is the Kent Series Final, how do you rate your chances in that race?
I think everyone has a chance to be honest, just because it is at Dover and you really never know what’s going to happen there, every race is completely different and it’s so unpredictable, especially if it’s wet again. You could easily see everyone crash and then anyone could come out and win it so I do think it’s anyone’s race and I think it will be important to not make a mistake and spin out or get taken out because one mistake will probably end your chances of winning, unless everyone goes out (laughs)!

Like many of the Ministox drivers who race at Dover , you are hardly local, how long does it take you to get to the circuit each time?
It’s about three hours each way if the traffic is ok. We enjoy it though, it’s only a few times a year and it’s always a good day out with the family, we have a few good sing-a-longs to the music on the radio as well (laughs).

You’ve not missed a meeting at Dover since your first visit at the start of last year, what is it about the track that you like?
I think mainly that’s it’s always a lot of fun. It’s so different to the racing at Mildenhall so it does make a change a couple of times a year to go and race there as well and try something different. The bumps make it interesting as well (laughs), normally at Mildenhall I only hit my head when I crash but at Dover there has been a couple of times when I’ve done the whole race without crashing and still ached a bit afterwards, I think it’s the only track I know to do that.

You’ve had a bit of success at Dover this season with two heat wins at the April meeting, for you what was the bigger highlight, those two wins or your final win at Mildenhall in December?
They were both really good to be honest, especially the Mildenhall one because it was my first and because I’d come so close to winning the previous race an Liam (Aspin) got me on the last bend but I was able to come back and win the final but having my first win at Dover was also really good and then to go back and win the next race was great as well so they were both really good moments for me.

All three of your wins so far have come at wet meetings, is it safe to say you don’t mind racing in the wet?
No, not at all, I quite enjoy it really and I think it suites me. I’m not sure why but I think part of it is because my first meeting was the (2012 Suffolk Open at Mildenhall) when the stadium was hit with a massive thunderstorm just before the start and it flooded the track. It was my first time and everyone had told me to keep tight to the inside but no-one told me about the puddles and of course I drove straight through the huge puddle on the pit bend (laughs). I’d like to think that meeting was about as wet as you could get and so having that as my first meeting I suppose the rain just doesn’t bother me anymore.

You’ve been very busy this season racing at several tracks away from RDC, which ones do you enjoy the most?
I really like Ipswich and Arena is pretty good as well. I’m getting to like tarmac and again it’s different to the racing at Mildenhall and Dover which is fun, I especially like Ipswich because it has the markings on the track to show you where the racing lines are which is really helpful for someone like me who is still learning and I think that has helped me there quite a bit. I could probably use them at Mildenhall but I don’t think they would last long on shale (laughs).

Can you explain how you got into racing Ministox as you’re family does not have a history in short oval racing?
No, but we’ve been involved in racing. My granddad used to race cars and my dad lived in Zimbabwe for a while and raced bikes. Back at home we all used to watch BriSCA F1 Stockcar racing a lot, mainly at King’s Lynn and it went from there and I started to get interested in racing myself but my older sister and brother and not so interested although they do come and watch and help me sometimes, but my younger sister is keen and might try it one day. She’s really good at racing games on the Nintendo Wii and always beats me so I reckon she’d probably do ok!

With so many junior formulas now, what attracted you to Ministox?
I think they are safer to be honest because the cars are armoured up and while the crashes can hurt because the cars don’t bend you are safe inside the car so while it can hurt you don’t get hurt. Having had the interest in BriSCA F1 Stockcars we did look into doing the BriSCA Ministox but in the end we went for ORCi Ministox and I’m glad we did because I love the racing and couldn’t imagine doing anything else now. I do enjoy the contact side of the racing, it’s all good fun but some of my friends think I’m a bit crazy because of what I do at the weekend and wonder why I enjoy it so much (laughs). Another thing I have found with the ORCi Ministox is that most of the drivers are really friendly, not just at RDC when you racing with the drivers you race against regularly but also when you go to other tracks and that is great and makes things a lot more fun.

Have you given any thought as to what you would like to race when your Ministox career is finished?
I would like to do BriSCA F2 Stockcars. As I said, as a family we used to follow the F1s a lot and still enjoy them but they are far too expensive for me to even consider but because of my interest in them I would like to do F2s.

Aside from racing and school, do you have time for other hobbies?
No, not really, it’s just racing but I like it so much that it doesn’t really matter for me because that’s all I want to do. We’ve been working on the car tonight, taking the engine out because I’ve got a bit of damage and it was easier to fix the damage without the engine in the car so that was a pretty big job but it’s all good fun. I like that side of things and I have learned a fair bit since I started racing. I couldn’t do any big jobs on my own but I can help and I can do a lot of the simpler jobs on my own now, I can charge a battery now as well, that’s one of the new things (laughs)

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My mum and dad for everything they do, also the people who dad works for because they let us do so work on the car there sometimes, Gary Hillier whose a big help and Fineline for all my stickers.

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