An Interview with Super Rod Points Championship leader 10 Ben Palmer
(interview published May 13 2015 in the lead up to the Super Rod Southern Championship on May 25)

Age: 23
Home Town: Ramsgate
Occupation: Builder
Family: Fiancé Stacey and a four-year-old son
Started racing: In 2009 in Bangerstox at Dover

After the first three meetings of the season in the Super Rods you are leading the points championship, are you pleased with how things are going so far?
Yeah, I’m obviously really, really pleased with the meetings so far, to be honest I couldn’t have asked for it to have gone much better I don’t think, it’s been excellent and a bit of a surprise really for me. I guess I was hoping that things would go well this year, after finishing fourth in the points last year I suppose deep down I was really hoping to do even better this time but I knew that wouldn’t be easy but to be doing so well at this stage is fantastic. Having my first win was a big deal as well, that meant a lot and it would mean a lot to have a really good result in the Kent Championship (on May 25).

Speaking of the Kent Championship, as the current points leader you are set to start the race on pole position, are you pleased about that and how do you feel that will affect your chances?
It’s great to be on pole position and it gives me the best chance really. I talk a lot with Robin and Jack Miles and they’ve often said that if you start on pole you have a great chance of winning but the start and the first lap or so are going to be so important. I’ve made a few mistakes this year and so I’m going to try to not make them again because one mistake could make the difference between winning and not. In the final (on May 4) I got into the lead and I made a big mistake when I braked too late into the bottom bend and then braked too hard and it cut the engine out and I lost the lead. It was raining for that race and I don’t seem to go quite so well in those conditions so I’m really hoping the weather and track conditions are good for the race as I definitely seem to go better in the dry so that will make a big difference. I’ve also had a couple of races this year where I’ve struggled at the start and make mistakes so I know that it will be important to not do that here because a bad start can make all the difference at the end. I was looking good to finish second in the Kent Championship last year but the car broke down with two laps to go which was so disappointing for me and going into this season I really wanted to try and have a good result in the race this year to make up a little for what happened last time so hopefully I will have a good shot at it.

Mentioning the problems you had last year, reliability was an issue on the May 3 meeting where several cars failed to finish the final, your reliability this season has been a big factor in you leading the points championship at this stage, how important do you think it will be over the rest of the year?
Reliability is always important and trying to make sure you at least finish every race I think will prove important come the end of the season. It’s something we try and do our best with and in between every meeting I spend quite a bit of time going over the car to make sure everything is ok and how it should be and I will definitely be spending some extra time doing that before the next meeting and the (Kent) Championship because obviously I don’t want to have the same problems as last year. But at the same time there are some things you have no control over but for me that’s part of the excitement, that bit of unpredictability and not knowing exactly what is going to happen next, it’s one of the things which gives you a real buzz for racing.

This season has seen you switch to a Ford Focus for the Super Rods, can you explain the switch in cars?
I started last year with a Ford Escort but we had some problems with the engine and couldn’t get another so I started racing a VW Golf instead. I did a couple of Super Rod meetings at the end of 2013 and really enjoyed it so last year was pretty much about just getting a full season of racing in and trying to gain some experience, it was never about being in contention for championships and stuff like that so when we had the issues with the first car, I wasn’t too worried about the replacement car, I just wanted to be able to get out and do the meetings. While the Golf wasn’t the best car it did a good job and I got a lot of experience from it which I think has really helped me this season. The Focus became available and we thought it would be a good car and it’s proving to be the case but best of all it’s been quite an inexpensive race car as well.

What is the attraction of the formula for you and the racing at Dover?
I’ve always had an interest in motor racing and the want to do it but typically it’s a pretty expensive hobby, certainly if you want to race at somewhere like Brands Hatch where the cars and the racing there costs thousands and thousands of pounds but I’m able to race a Super Rod at Dover and it only costs me a few hundred pounds for a whole season which is brilliant. I’ve been pretty lucky with my car, it wasn’t very expensive and apart from a few tweaks it’s pretty much standard but it’s been really competitive and that’s great, there aren’t many types of racing where you could get that kind of thing without spending a lot more money which I simply haven’t got (laughs). I particularly like the Super Rods because I like the non-contact style of racing. I find the wheel to wheel racing to be a real thrill and a fantastic buzz. When I first raced at Dover I tried the Bangerstox and while I enjoyed it I much prefer the non-contact racing myself, for me it adds to the challenge because I suppose it is harder to pass another car without making contact with it and I get a buzz just from making a pass on someone, especially because every driver in the formula right now is a good one and a lot of them are champions and former champions so knowing you’ve managed to pass one is a cool feeling. Because of how well I’d done (on April 19) I started near the back (on May 4) and in the first meeting I finished fifth so that was something I was really pleased about and I got a huge buzz from that. But the thing I like the most about the racing is the people, I just find everyone to be so friendly and everyone is really helpful as well and I love that side of it. In all honesty I’ve had a few personal problems lately and having the racing has been such a huge help for me because it’s given me something else to think about and I love the whole weekend when we have a race meeting. If there is a meeting on the Sunday or bank holiday Monday I swear, I’m buzzing the minute I finish work on Friday (laughs). I’ll be up really early on race day because I can’t wait and we’re usually among the first in the pits which means waiting longer for the racing to start but I don’t care because I just love it (laughs).

You mentioned earlier about hoping to improve on your points position in 2014 this season, given your early season form, has that goal changed?
I’ve honestly tried not to think about it too much. It goes without saying that I think the target for everyone is to do the best you can and I would love to win all the championships if I could but to win just one would be absolutely amazing, especially because again there are a lot of good drivers in the formula right now and a lot of people who have won championships so even though there isn’t the biggest amount of Super Rods, it’s a hard formula to succeed in and winning any championship would be a big deal for me. I’d love to challenge for the points championship as well but we’ll see how it goes, if I could do better than last year I would still be really pleased.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
I’d especially like to thank Robin Miles for all his help and efforts with me, without him I would never be doing as well as I’m doing right now but also Jack and the whole RBM team for all their help and support and also to Stacey for all her support as well.