An Interview with Stoxkart driver 249 Jack Morgan
(interview published July 9 2014 in the lead up to the Stoxkart meeting at Mildenhall on July 19)

Age: 20
Home Town: Leicestershire
Occupation: Parts adviser for Nissan and Renault
Family: Single
Racing career: Started racing Stoxkarts at the end of 2011

You made your Mildenhall debut in the Stoxkarts last season which was also your first visit to the track, can you tell us a little about your first impressions of the track?
I was really impressed and I've been a good few times since to watch the racing since and I've been looking forward to racing at Mildenhall again ever since last year's meeting. The Stoxkart meeting last June was the first time I had ever been to Mildenhall, not just to race, but the first time ever so it was a bit daunting at first because it's never easy racing at a new track, let alone one you've never watched at either so I didn't really know what to expect. I was a little fortunate last year because we had split heats and I wasn't in the first one so I could watch it and get a rough idea of what to expect. The track was quite wet for the first heat as it was the first race of the night and so I expected it to be quite tricky but by the time my first heat came round the Saloon Stockcar and Bangers had been out so the track was almost perfect and ideal for us and I had a great time. I think Mildenhall is a great track for the formula and I had a brilliant night racing there last year and I'm really looking forward to coming back.

You mentioned Mildenhall being well suited to the formula, can you explain that a little?
It's the size and shape mainly. As our cars are quite small I think we're better suited to smaller tracks. Larger tracks like Coventry and King's Lynn are good but there are probably a little too big and the karts get spread out and the racing isn't quite as exciting. At somewhere like Mildenhall we tend to be a bit more bunched up and because of that the racing is I think better and more exciting with a lot more going on. The formula is doing really well at the moment and we usually have good grids of cars wherever we go but obviously when we race at a smaller track it looks even better because the cars are more packed together and it just makes the racing better for everyone. I've spoken to quite a few drivers in the last few weeks who are all looking forward to going back to Mildenhall so I think it's become one of the meetings drivers look forward to.

You didn't have the best of success at Mildenhall in 2013 failing to get a top 10 finish, was that a source of disappointment for you and what are your hopes for this meeting?
I wasn't disappointed at all, especially as it was the first meeting I had done as a blue grade driver on shale. I think I'd had one meeting in the blues before Mildenhall but it was definitely the first meeting I did from the grade on shale so it was a new grade and a new track and it was a bit of a steep learning curve but I had such a good time racing I didn't care about the results at all, the enjoyment factor was far more important. This year's meeting is a Gold Roof qualifier and I've not had much luck in these meetings so far this year, I think I'm pretty much at the back of the grid so I would like to score a few points to help improve my grid position but this is going to be my first shale meeting since going up to the red grade so it's not going to be easy again (laughs), but as long as I enjoy it, that's all that matters. 

How has your season been going in the formula?
Really well. Like I said I'm up to the red grade for the first time which I'm really please about and I've had some great meetings. The best was probably at Stoke a few weeks ago where my brother (Kane, 13) raced the car in the junior class and won all his heats and the final so there was a little pressure on me to have a good night as well and I managed to do the same in my races so between us we won 10 races that night which was pretty amazing and a big reason why I've made it to the red grade now. 

You mention your younger brother using you car in the junior races which feature at many of the Stoxkart meetings, is that a big appeal for the formula for you?
It is now, yes. It wasn't originally the idea when we first got into it but I got my own car in 2012 and about half way through the season when we'd got things sorted he wanted to race as well and he really enjoys it as well. Of course it's great at the moment that we can both race and only need one kart to do it so it's a fantastic way for us both to get some racing in but he's already looking forward to being old enough to racing with the adults and we are hoping to have a second car shortly which can be his. The Junior formula is coming along really nicely with new drivers every year and most of them go on to race in the adult formula which is great for the formula. 

Can you tell us a little about how you first came to race in the formula?
I've been watching BriSCA F1 Stockcar racing for quite some time and always wanted to try it but we don't really have the mechanical knowledge or the finances but then I heard about Stoxkarts and after looking into it some more decided to have a go. My first meeting was at Birmingham at the end of 2011 in a hire kart and I loved it straight away so the next season I did a few meetings in the hire karts and every meeting I loved it a little more and a little more and that led to me buying my own car. My kart cost me £3,500 and came from a guy who was moving into V8  Hotstox and so it came with a trailer and a lot of spares so it was a good deal. But the car is so cheap to maintain and race. It doesn't take a lot of fuel to run, we fill a petrol can every meeting which costs about £7.50 and that's usually enough for me and my brother to race all night. Tyres last a whole season unless you get a puncture and then it's only repairing damage but things like a new nerf rail are only around £20 so it's not too bad and I've been lucky and managed to avoid any big repair bills so far. It costs us £30 every time we race and that along with our fuel to get to the meeting is the main expense, running the car is really cheap. The cars are also really ideal for a family like us at home. I still leave with my parents and we've a small conservatory at the side of the house which we use as a garage. The car fits in their quite snugly but there is enough room to work on it when we need to and it keeps it dry so it's ideal. 

The formula prides itself on keeping the cars as close to each other as possible in terms of competitiveness, is that another selling point of the formula for you?
Definitely. I think it is brilliant that the engines are sealed and tested to try and keep them as level as possible and it makes it much more about the driver and your luck on the day and this also makes for good, fun racing as well. They really are great fun to race and I think they are quite hard to drive so there is certainly a bit of skill needed. It's especially hard on tarmac because the cars have no suspension so you really feel every bump on the track and there is quite a lot of contact as well, especially at a track like Mildenhall where everyone is more bunched together and it usually makes for lively racing. 

Beyond Mildenhall, have you any plans or hopes for the rest of 2014?
I want to try and stay in the red grade, I think that is the aim for almost any driver who races to try and get to the top grade and then stay there when they get there and I also hope to do a bit better in the Gold Roof qualifying points and have a good go at that at Northampton at the end of the season. 

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My dad especially for everything he does, he really is the main man when it comes to the car and works on it all the time, even in his lunch break so I really own him a lot and also B and K Services, the car came from them and they've always been there to help when I need it and they've been a great help more than once.  

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