An Interview with 2013 Super Rod Masters, Points, Southern and Kent Champion 3 James Donavan
(interview published May 14 in the lead up to the Super Rod Championship on May 26)

Age: 23
Home Town: Tilbury
Occupation: Operative at Tilbury Docks
Family: Girlfriend Claire
Racing career: First raced in National Bangers in 2007 at Mildenhall

Having won all of the Super Rod Championships in 2013, you defend the first of your titles, the Kent Championship, at Dover on Monday, May 26, are you looking forward to the race and how do you rate your chances?
I’m looking forward to it. It’s the first time I’ll be in a race as defending champion and I suppose it will be a little different. I keep telling myself that I need to treat it like any other race but the truth is I think it will be different and it will be a race I’ll want to try and win a little more than usual, I’ve just got to try and not let that get in my way because sometimes when you really want to win a race you try and push too hard and that’s when you make mistakes and the race can get away from you so I need to try and convince myself it’s just a normal race if I can (laughs). I think I’ve got a chance, especially having qualified pretty well and I should be starting in the second row or group. It would have been nice to have qualified at the front and I think though at the front will have an advantage, like I did last year and it won’t be easy to catch them but at the same time you never really know what will happen. I’m set to start with a good few cars already behind me and that will help a lot.

How do you feel the season has been going so far?
Pretty good really and I quite pleased with myself which helps with the first championship because I think myself and the car and good enough to do well again. I’m pleased to be third in the points after the first three meetings and there isn’t very much between us at the moment which is encouraging so I think it’s going to be quite close as the season unfolds. I’ve been quite consistent as well which I’m pleased about, I’ve been starting in the mid-pack for most of the races so far where as some have been having a good meeting and then starting at the back but unable to maintain it and then going back to the front while I’ve been quite steady which I think is good and that’s something I want to try and keep up. I was a little disappointed in the final last time out because I was going well in the final and had a small crash in the final which cost me some places. I was trying to pass Paul Apps on the outside and suddenly we just banged together and I went out wide. It was frustrating but it’s part of the racing sometimes, you have always try and remember that these things happen, especially with a track like Dover, it would be tricky enough racing round there on your own, let alone with others and sometimes a bump on the track or a small mistake can throw you off course.

This season has seen a great improvement on car numbers compared to this time last year, is that something you are pleased about?
Definitely, it’s much better having 10 cars to race against than say three and it makes the racing more enjoyable and exciting so I’m really pleased to see more people coming into the formula because I do think it is a good little formula to be in. I also like that we now have more variety in the cars which are racing as that makes things quite interesting as well. A Mondeo like mine tends to be a faster car on the straights but it’s not as good as say an Escort on the bends so that’s making things quite interesting because it’s a different element to the racing, rather than having everyone in the same car which has the same strengths and weaknesses. I also think the (standard of) racing has got better this year. The first meeting wasn’t the best with a lot of contact but the track was so wet I really don’t think that helped. I’m terrible in the wet, I just cannot get a car round when it’s like that but the two meetings since where the conditions have been better there has been a big improvement I think and that is really good.

Since you moved into the formula at the start of last year you have raced alongside your brothers Steve and David, how much competiveness is there between you?
(laughs) A lot! Especially me and Steve, we’re terrible really. We are always giving each other a lot of stick about whose better and David normally just sits back and laughs at us. Steve has more experience in the formula than me but I had a great year last year so I remind him about that a lot (laughs). I actually think we are more competitive when we race each other than when we are racing anyone else! The Kent Championship should be good because I should be starting with Steve like we did in the Masters but he had a problem at the start so we never had a race between us so I’m looking forward to that.

Prior to racing in the Super Rods, you raced in the Reliant Robins, what made you make the switch?
I really enjoyed racing the Reliants but there are a few things about the Super Rods I prefer. One of the things is there is more you can try and change on the car to make it go better where as with a Robin there really isn’t that much at all and I’ve enjoyed that side of racing the Super Rods and it’s another element to the racing I like. The other thing is that the racing is all in the main season and there is a real break in the winter. I found with the Robins that with the dates spread out all through the year you would be working on the cars on and off all year as well and with the Super Rods you get a real break. Don’t get me wrong it’s not a formula where you need to spend time on the car all night, every night but during the season we do spend a fair amount of time on it. It’s then nice to get to the end of the season and be able to put the car away and forget about it for a few months and when it’s time to go racing have it ready to go. The only drawback is we don’t have a meeting at Mildenhall at the moment which is something I would like to do again.

Having won all the Super Rod championships last season what are your goals for this season?
In a perfect world I would like to win them all again, I think that is everyone’s goal isn’t it to try and win every race you are in but being perhaps a little more realistic I would be really pleased if I could win just one of them again. This season is already a lot more competitive than last year with more cars and in turn better racing so I know it’s going to be a tougher challenge and so winning one would be a great result.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My old man who helps a lot with the car and getting me to and from the meetings and also my brothers because them being out there racing as well makes the formula a lot more enjoyable for me and adds a lot to the competition for me personally.