An Interview with Saloon Stockcar World Final rookie Cracker 218 Jacob Downey
(interview published August 25 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 Championship at Mildenhall on August 29)

Age: 20
Home Town: Wisbech
Occupation: Machine operator
Family: Single
Started racing: Aged seven in Go-karts

You are making your World Final debut this season, how special is it for you to qualify for the race for the first time?
It’s a big deal and it means a lot, simply to be in the race is very special for me and I’m really pleased to have made it, especially as I was away for so long at the end of the qualifying period for the World Ranking points and especially I missed the UK Championship weekend at Skegness and I thought that was going to hurt me a lot more than it did. I was around 20th before I went away for work and I honestly didn’t think I was going to hang onto a qualifying place for the World because I missed so many meetings and championships as well but in the end I finished 25th which was good enough to get me in with the few people who can’t race. It was a little disappointing to not finish in the top 24 in the end but I’m quite confident that had I not been away with work I would have managed to stay in the top 24 as it was pretty close in the final points and even then to finish 25th and qualify despite missing a big chunk of the season was still an achievement for me.

Was qualifying for the World Final a target for this season?
Yeah it was really, although this is now my third season in the formula I really didn’t do very much at all in my first year so it was never going to be on the cards to qualify last year and I consider this my first real crack at trying to qualify. The way the (World Ranking) points work you really have to do a full year of racing from World Final to World Final to have a realistic chance of qualifying. Don’t get me wrong it can be done and we have seen new drivers come in at the start of a season and in those few months up to the World Final do enough to qualify but it’s not easy because there are so many points you can score the season before after the World Final and that was what I didn’t have last year. With this year’s World Final being on shale which is my preferred surface and especially at Mildenhall which is a track that I like I was pretty keen to get into the race this year because after this one it will be three years before we have another on shale so it was a bit of a goal for me and thankfully I had some good results in some of the championships this year, especially the British and European which I think have made a big difference and helped make up for the points I lost at the end of the (World Ranking season) when I was away.

Of the qualifiers from the World Ranking points you are the only one to be making his debut this year, does that underline what an achievement it is to qualify for this race and does it make qualifying all the more special?
It’s isn’t easy that’s for sure. Like I said you have to really be racing for a whole season leading up to the World Final and of course you have to do more than just be racing, just being there isn’t enough and you need to have the results to back it up and really I would say you need to get a few good championship results to get in and that is never easy because those races are so hard, much like this one will be. But it does make qualifying all the more special, to know I’m the only one whose qualified for the first time is a pretty cool feeling, if half the grid had done the same then obviously you wouldn’t think it would be as good.

How do you think you’ll be feeling on August 29 on World Final night?
I honestly don’t know. I can’t tell you why but I’m one of these drivers who doesn’t really get too nervous before I race. I think it’s because I’ve been racing since a very young age, starting in Go-karts when I was seven and so I think because I was doing it then I’ve just got so used to it. But last year in the European at Mildenhall I admit I was very nervous because I’d qualified on the front row of the grid. It was the first time I’d started a big race in a place like that and the nerves really got to me then which was a little unusual for me as I don’t normally get like that. It could be the same in the World Final but being so far down the grid I don’t think it will be. Personally I’m actually quite glad to be starting towards the back of the grid as hopefully it will take a lot of the pressure off, when you are that far back, really the only way you can go is forwards (laughs) so that should make the start a little easier. But obviously I’ve never been in the World Final before so I really don’t know how I will feel but I know I’ll be excited and I can’t wait to do it.

You mentioned your grid position which is set to be the outside of row 12, are you happy with that?
Well I would have preferred the inside of row 13 (laughs) but yeah I’m happy to just be in the race. Being on the outside might not be the best, especially at Mildenhall. It’s not like some tracks like King’s Lynn for example where you can ride the wall with a bit more confidence of not doing damage to your car so actually starting on the outside could be considered an advantage, at Mildenhall you try and stay away from the wall because it can catch you out and damage your car or puncture a tyre so that’s the main advantage of being on the outside at the start but then again if you are on the inside I think you have a greater chance of getting spun out at the start of the race. I think the goal at the start of the race will be to get to the inside as quickly as possible. I was fortunate in the English Championship this year at Mildenhall where I started on the outside of both starts and was able to get on the inside straight away and it helped so that’s the idea when the race starts but I suspect everyone will be looking to do the same (laughs), it is almost a point where it’s just aim and hope.

How important is the start of the race?
Yeah it’s very important but it’s the same with every race I think because you need to get through the start in one piece to have a chance of doing well and that is the same in every race you are in. I think the conditions will be a big factor, especially if it’s wet because everyone will be just wanting to keep their car in a straight line when the race starts, that’s the most important thing.

Do you have a goal for the race?
Obviously I would like to finish and if I could get a top 10 that would be amazing but I actually think I’ve a better chance of getting a top 10 than I have of finishing if that makes sense (laughs). I guess I’m a bit of an ‘all or nothing’ kind of driver so I do have a habit of not finishing races because I push too hard to try and get a better position rather than just settling with the place I have but that is how I am and that’s how I enjoy my racing. I did three World Finals in the (BriSCA) Ministox and I was pretty much the same in all of them so you would have thought I would have learned by now (laughs). I expect it’s going to be a very hard race and I would imagine the majority of finishers will be in the top 10, especially those who manage to finish on the lead lap so again if I can finish the race I think I’ll have a chance of getting a result, but I’ve got to get there first (laughs).

As mentioned already, you’ve been absent from the tracks for the last few weeks, can you tell us why?
I’ve been working in the Ascension Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean for the last three months. It’s just of the coast of South Africa and it’s been a great time to be honest. We were working for the American Airforce doing tarmac work on the runways at the airbase there which they use for refuelling planes and stuff like that. It’s one of the strangest places I have ever been to, the population is only about 800 people so it’s absolutely tiny and very secluded but it’s a lovely place and very hot. We were fortunate enough to finish our work about three weeks ago so we stayed there and had a bit of a holiday and it’s been fantastic, we went fishing one day and the fishing is just incredible, we caught a yellowfin tuna which weighed 238lbs one day and that was unbelievable.

Was there ever a question that you wouldn’t be back in time for the World Final?
At one point it did look doubtful because the job we was on should have continued until after August 29. But we had a guy working with us who was a football player for a club in London and because the season was starting he got permission to come home so when I found out I was in the World Final I decided to ask if there was any chance of being allowed home to race and they were really supportive and said they would fly me home and back if needed but the job got done a lot earlier than planned anyway so it didn’t matter but thankfully I would have been back whatever happened, obviously I didn’t want to miss it.

Having not raced for several weeks, are you concerned about your first race back being the World Final?
I’m sure I will be a bit rusty but there isn’t much I can do about it really, I’m very glad there is a practise evening the week leading up to the World Final and that was brilliant news for me and I’ll definitely be looking to make the most of that to try and get myself back into the swing of it. It doesn’t help that I’ve not raced at Mildenhall for so long. I could have done the (July 4) meeting in the end. That was the day we were meant to fly out for work but the flights got cancelled and by then the car wasn’t ready so it’s been a while since I’ve raced at Mildenhall but hopefully this practise session will help and give me a chance to try a different things as well. The good thing is that I know the car is roughly where I want it to be so once you have it there you can try and few little different things because sometimes those little things can make a big difference.

A big talking point this season has been the introduction of the Zetec engine, what are your opinions on this?
Well I’m still using a Pinto but I have ordered a conversion kit so I will be switching over at some point but it won’t be for the World Final although to be honest I think the Pintos are still better on shale and definitely at Mildenhall where I think it has been harder to get the gearing right for a Zetec engine. I do think the new engines are a good thing because they are reducing the cost of racing a lot and that has to be a good thing but the key to it will be ensuring it is policed correctly and all the rules are enforced which I think might be harder than when we used Pinto engines, just because the more modern engines are a little more advanced but if the rules we have are kept and enforced then it will be a good thing for the sport.

Another talking point has been the tyre rule in the formula, what are your thoughts on this?
Personally I think we should use the tarmac tyre on both surfaces. Using just one tyre would definitely be better than what we have now, having a shale and a tarmac tyre because having two means we have to have twice as much stuff and that can be a real pain if we had one tyre for both surfaces then we’d have half the stuff and everything would be easier. But I’m not keen on the shale tyre and I definitely wouldn’t want to use it on tarmac. I appreciate the idea is it slows the cars down but what I feel it does is give the drivers less grip and control and I think that is worse than going fast because at least if you have better grip you are more in control of the car.

A question we often ask stockcar drivers is that of the use of red flags to stop a race, a practise which is more common at Mildenhall than almost anywhere else, are you happy for red flags to be used to stop races or do you think a waved yellow flag is sufficient and also how do you feel about the changes to the restart orders for 2015 where now back markers stay in position following a red flag just like they do with a waved yellow?
I think with stopping races it should be that if a driver is in trouble, like they have rolled over, or they are hurt it should be a red flag and if they are just spun out or stuck on the track then a yellow is ok. As for the restarts, I actually preferred the old way where the back markers went to the back. Admittedly it wasn’t the best if you were a backmarker but I think that way gave the race a bit more life because it bunched all the leaders back up again and made it more exciting.

Unfortunately this season we have seen a number of driers suffering injuries on track, is there anything you would like to see changed or improved to help with driver safety?
I think the rules are ok but maybe we should be doing more to enforce drivers making their cars stronger because I think there are drivers out there whose cars are not as strong as they could be because they are trying to get a competitive advantage. The cars are still legal but I don’t think they are as strong as they could be so maybe the rules could do with a little tweaking to make drivers use certain thickness’ of metal for their ironwork, especially on the driver’s side of the car but I think the biggest thing we need is a meeting every year where all the drivers and car builders can come together and we can talk about the rules because at the end of the day it’s us who races the cars, yet we seem to have very little input into the rules which I think is wrong.

A lot of drivers are now using more and more safety equipment which isn’t mandatory in the sport, do you use any of these things?
The biggest change I have made is with my seat. I now use a carbon one which is actually approved by the FIA. I’ve fitted it exactly how they recommend which is mainly by mounting it to the floor and the seat just holds me in better and has a little bit of give to it and it makes a huge difference. I broke my tailbone racing which is why I decided to change seats as I felt that was part of the problem and so far I’ve had no problems, I had a big rollover at Skegness this year and although it hurt my feet, my back was fine and I think a lot of that was because of my feet. I think I might get a Hans device again as well. It’s weird because when I raced BriSCA Ministox and F2s I used one and I then I sold it and never got another and I can’t really explain why but in Saloons, because of where you sit in the car it does help to be able to move more and look around you but I do think I should get one again.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
I need to especially thank the Legend, Harry ‘Gobby’ King as when I went away he said he was going to strip the car down and get it all ready for the World Final and he’s done a brilliant job and was sending me photos of the car while I was away to show me how he was getting on. Also Cracking Motorsport, KFC and Budweiser for fuelling our nights in the garage on the car and all my sponsors.