An Interview with Stoxkart Gold Roof Champion 295 Danny Nunn
(interview published April 27 2016 in the lead up to the Stoxkarts' meeting at Mildenhall on May 7)

Age: 32
Home Town: Outwell
Occupation: Contracts manager for a utility company
Family: Fiancé Karen
Racing career: Aged 18 in Rookie Bangers at Swaffham in a Lada

The Stoxkarts are set to make their annual appearance at Mildenhall on May 7, is this a meeting that you look forward to?
It is actually, mostly because it’s a local meeting for me which makes a big change as a lot of the tracks we race at tend to be a fair distance for me so it’s good to have one closer to home for a change (laughs). But I also tend to fairly well at this one. I usually have better results on tarmac to be honest and my shale form isn’t the strongest really but I seem to do a little better at Mildenhall than I do most of the other shale tracks, although I’m not sure why. I think it might be because Mildenhall is usually a little smoother than some of the other shale tracks and maybe that just suits me a little better. I came second in the British Championship (at Mildenhall) last year so it can’t be that bad of a track for me (laughs).

Many believe Mildenhall to be a good venue for the Stoxkarts, do you agree with that?
Yes I do, I think it’s an excellent track for the formula and I think a lot of the other drivers think the same which is why there is usually a good turn-out for the meeting even though it’s a long way for a lot of the guys. I think it’s just the size and shape of the track which works well for our formula. It’s pretty small so it keeps all the cars close together so there is always a battle going on somewhere but also because the bends are so wide it allows you to keep your speed up so for quite a small track it’s also a pretty fast one for us. You also get four abreast racing quite often and I don’t think we race at many tracks where that is possibly quite as easily as it is at Mildenhall so the racing is usually pretty exciting and always good fun.

You actually made your Stoxkart debut at Mildenhall, the first time the formula appeared at Mildenhall, how did that come about?
My brother (Carl) had just started racing them. I think like a lot of people I didn’t really take the formula seriously at all when I first saw them and actually took the mick out of him a lot for having one. But I would still go around with him and watch him and help him and from there I grew interested and fancied having a go. They offer hire karts and there was a chance to race at Mildenhall so I decided to give it a go and like almost everyone who tries them I got hooked on them, they are just great fun to race and shortly after that I got my own car and I’ve been racing them ever since.

What is the appeal of the formula?
There are so many. The costs is obviously a massive one because they are such a cheap way to go racing. The karts themselves are fairly expensive but once you have one you are set. The karts are incredibly tough and so far I’ve never done that much damage to one. The worst I managed was going in the wall at Cowdenbeath backwards very hard once which bent the rear bumper and axle but we were able to fix it in time for the next race. I think an axle is the most expensive part of the karts and they cost around £80 but on this occasion I was able to fix mine so even a crash like that didn’t break it. The tyres last forever, my brother is still using tyres he had when he first got his kart and a five gallon can of petrol is usually enough for two meetings so they are very cheap to run. The main expensive really is getting to the meetings which admittedly can be a bit for me with where I live but it’s still a very cheap way for me to go racing. The drivers are really great as well, everyone is so friendly off the track and the social side of the formula is just brilliant, especially the weekends away. We do a big weekend at Skegness which is just brilliant because everyone is there with their friends and families and it’s a great time and we also have a weekend in Scotland coming up which I’m really looking forward to, again because I love the weekend events, and I really don’t like Lochgelly as a track (laughs). Honestly I think the tarmac in the pits is smoother than the track (laughs).

The cars also seem very evenly matched, is that something you like about the formula?
Absolutely. Ian and the guys behind the formula do an excellent job in making sure the cars are as evenly matched as possible and that makes the racing really exciting to be a part of. There is very little you can do to the karts as well, only adjust the tracking and tyre pressures and the tyres you run but even if you get your set up spot on, the difference between you and someone whose got it completely wrong is still very, very small which again is great because it makes the racing really competitive like it should be and you always know that when someone has beaten you it’s because they were better rather than them just having a better kart. I think that is a big reason why everyone in the formula gets on so well.

You won the Gold Top Championship last year, was that a big deal for you?
Yeah it was pretty brilliant. I’ve only been in the formula for a few years and what made it so special for me was that I could step back and see that in a few years I’d gone from being pretty clueless in the formula to winning the biggest race of the year and I was so chuffed about that. It was a tough race, I think there were 38 of us in the race and to look at it and think ‘blood hell, I won that’ was a cool moment as well.

Have you any targets or goals for this season?
I also won the Points Championship last season so it was a pretty amazing year for me and while I can’t see me doing all that again I would like to try and win something this year. It’d be a little disappointing to have all that success last year and then not win a thing this year but it’s so hard in this formula, because the karts are so even and the drivers are so good. I admit that part of me winning the points is because I started the year in the blue grade and I think those few meetings before I moved up to the red grade did make a big difference so I think it will be very difficult to win the points from the back of the grid all year, especially as we have some excellent new drivers in the formula this year and if they keep going the way they are they will be really hard to beat. But I’d like to think I have a good shot at the Gold Roof Final again because it’s at Skegness which is one of my favourite tracks and I usually go well there so I’d like to think I at least have a good chance. But I’d be pleased to win anything, even a track championship would be nice. My main goal for this year is to try and do every meeting. After winning the Gold Roof Championship, I said I would try and do all the meetings. I think as champion it’s a good thing to do and try and show the roof off but it’s hard because we have a lot of meetings a fair way away, our next meeting is at Barford so that will be a fair trek (laughs). As long as I enjoy my year, that’s the most important thing.

How has the season gone so far for you?
It’s been ok but we’ve only had a couple of meetings so far at Birmingham and Stoke but they’ve both been pretty good for me and I’ve got a few decent results and been really pleased with how well the kart has been going.

You mention the costs involved in the formula, is there a lot of time involved away from the tracks?
Not really. Of course it depends on what happens at the meetings but again the karts are really well built so it’s rare you get really bad damage. Usually I only have to spend one night a week on the kart. I keep my kart at my brother’s and we usually spend one night a week together getting them ready for the next weekend. Obviously is there is more to do we might need to spend more time but it doesn’t happen often, the biggest job is just checking everything is how it should be and all the nuts and bolts are still tight, basic stuff like that.

The formula is a contact one and as we have seen in the past at Mildenhall the drivers in the formula are not shy about using the bumper, given the size of the cars and the fact that the rear bumper is immediately behind the driver, is it a tough formula to race in?
I love the contact side of it. I’ve never done non-contact racing and don’t think I ever would, it just doesn’t appeal to me so I enjoy the contact and the drivers do tend to get stuck in, maybe more than what it looks like from the terracing. You don’t tend to feel the nudges and the bumps that much but the big crashes you certainly feel and I’ve had my share of them and yes, I’ve been pretty sore the day after but generally it’s not too bad at all.

Has racing in the formula with your brother brought you two closer?
We’ve always been close but him being in the formula is a big thing for me and I admit I wouldn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as I do if he wasn’t racing with me. We do it all together, work on the karts together, travel together and race together and if he wasn’t around I’m sure I wouldn’t enjoy it as much. Also he does all the driving because I don’t have a trailers license which is great because it means I can sleep as well (laughs).

Is it a hard formula to get the hang off?
I don’t think so, after all I managed it (laughs). I think they are a little hard at first because they are so different. I remember at first when the quicker karts were passing me, thinking I would never be that quick, but soon enough you were on the pace, it’s like anything if you give it a chance you will get the hang of it and most people do relatively quickly.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
Ian and the gang for everything they do for the formula, my brother for everything he does, especially all the driving to and from the meetings, my sponsors CWS Home Improvements, Stagetec Limited, Neil Cawthorne Accident and Repair Specialists and NYG Home Improvements, Karen for all her support, especially with the weekends away and everyone whose ever leant a hand, like I said, it’s such a friendly formula that if you are ever in trouble or need a hand there is always someone who will help out.