An Interview with Saloon Stockcar UK Champion 219 Luke Grief
(interview published August 5 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 Championship at Mildenhall on August 29)

Age: 26
Home Town: Stenhousemuir
Occupation: Welder and fabricator
Family: Fiancé Melanie and two children
Racing career: Started racing in Ministox in 1999 at Swaffham and started Saloon Stockcars aged 16, in 2004 at King’s Lynn

This will be your 10th appearance in the World Final, is it still a special occasion for you and something you look forward to?
I do although I guess in a way the novelty has worn off a little bit now but it’s still the biggest meeting of the year and the race that everyone wants to win more than anything else and I’m just the same, this is still the one I want to win more than anything, especially as I’ve yet to win it and winning this would mean so much to me. I guess over the years with the more World Finals you get to race in you do get a little less nervous each time, I think that comes with experience but I also think what has helped me in the last few years is that there perhaps isn’t the expectations of me to do as well as there once was. The years when I qualified at the front of the grid and you start the race as a favourite, it definitely adds to the pressure you feel but more recently that hasn’t been there as much and you do notice a big different and I think that helps a little with the race, this year is the same, especially as I do most of my racing on tarmac now and it’s been a while since I’ve raced at Mildenhall so I think in a lot of people’s minds I’m not among the favourites and that suites me because it takes a lot of the pressure off.

How do you rate your chances heading into this year’s race?
I actually think I could do alright (laughs). I can’t really explain it exactly but everything is going really well with my racing again and I’m happy again and really enjoying it and that makes such a massive difference. I think a lot of it goes back to the last time Mildenhall had the World Final and I was set to start the race on pole but I got banned and it was a really low point for me. Prior to that, especially in 2008 and 2009 when I had most of my championship wins, racing was absolutely everything to me, it was my life, 100 per cent and there was nothing else and that was a big reason why I had the success that I did. Then I got banned and everything went a bit wrong really. It’s amazing what an effect it had on my racing. You’re off the track for so long and everything moves on without you and it’s so hard to catch up. I don’t think it helped me that the tyres changed while I was banned and that really hurt me when I come back but I lost a lot of interest and a lot of motivation at that point and ever since I’ve been trying to get back to where I was. In the meantime my priorities changed. Like I said back then all I had was my racing, everything I had went into it and nothing else but now I have a family and they come first and so if money is limited then they are the priority and the racing has to wait or I go without my racing but for the first time I think since I got banned in 2010 and missed the last Mildenhall World Final I really feel back ‘in it’ again and sometimes confidence is the most important thing in our sport and mine is definitely back and that is a massive thing. I think my chances will have a lot to do with how I get on at King’s Lynn in the National Championship because that will be a good sign of how my car is going on shale. It’s not always about how well you actually do either, race results are not as important as performance, especially on shale where sometimes luck can have a great deal to do with it, you can be flying but just have a bit of bad luck and that is better for me than having a result when the car isn’t going well so hopefully it will be the former and that will set me up well for the World Final. The last time I raced at Mildenhall was the European last year and the car was going really well but I didn’t get the result. I got taken out early on but at the end I was every bit as quick as Dave Aldous who won the race so had I had a better start, who knows what could have happened but the car was going really well and that is the most important thing so hopefully if I can get it going as well as that again then I will have a chance.

Do you think luck will play a big part?
It always does and I think that is especially the case at Mildenhall to be honest because of the nature of the track and more often than not it is just complete chaos and you just have to do your best to get through it all as best you can and go from there. But at the same I do believe you can make your own luck on the track sometimes and a lot of the time luck is down to the decisions you make but it’s easy to say that afterwards when you are looking back (laughs).

As it stands you are set to start the race on the outside of row seven, how do you feel about your starting position?
(laughs) Well I think it is pretty much the same place where I started when I won all three of my major titles at Mildenhall before. I was certainly on the outside for each of those races and I was a good handful of rows back from the front and they worked out well so I’m hoping it might go the same way this time (laughs). I don’t think your starting place will matter too much to be honest, I think the most important thing in this race will be the back markers as I think they are going to make the biggest difference to the race. It also depends who, if anyone, is able to make the break at the start. If it’s someone like (Dave) Aldous then I think they will probably win it. Aldous is just so good at getting through traffic, he really is fantastic at it, so if he makes the break then the backmarkers will probably play a lesser part in the outcome of the race. But if it’s someone like Deane Mayes or Danny Colliver who just have that little less experience then I think it will be a very different thing. Experience makes such a difference when it comes to getting through the traffic and it can be so easy to make mistakes. We’ve seen that before with drivers like Willie Skoyles Jnr whose led big races before only to make a mistake, maybe when the pressure gets to you a little bit. Guys like Dave (Aldous) it doesn’t tend to get to them so much, but only because they have so much pressure and there aren’t many of them on the grid so unless someone like him gets away I think the race will be all about the backmarkers, especially with the size of Mildenhall and the amount of cars out there, and that could help someone like me who is starting a little further back to get into the mix. Either way I’m sure it will be an exciting race.

You mentioned your form in 2008/9, a time when you won the British, English, National, ORCi and UK titles but you hadn’t won any more major titles until this year when you won the UK for a second time, do you see that victory as a return to form for yourself?
Absolutely and it meant so much to win that one, I think I’ve almost come full circle really. I’ve had so many highs and lows over the years in my racing and I had such a good run for such a long time and so much success and then as I said I got banned and it all kind of slipped away and I really never knew if it would come back again but I really feel like it has started to come back now. I guess it’s always been something that has worried me a little. There have been drivers in the sport who’ve raced for a long time but only had really good success for a short time in that period and I was hoping I wouldn’t be one of them. Don’t get me wrong I’m still so happy with the success I’ve had in the formula and if that was as good as it ever got for me I’d still be over the moon but to be in a position where I’m winning again really does mean a great deal for me and I really hope that the UK Championship is the start of another good run for me.

That said, how much would winning the World Final mean to you and despite now living in Scotland, would it have extra significance winning it at Mildenhall?
It would mean the world to win the race but I think everyone who’s in the race would say the same thing because it’s what everyone goes racing for isn’t it, to have a chance to win a race like this. I’m so proud to have had the success that I’ve already had but winning the World is still a massive goal for me and I think it would almost complete things for me. The ultimate would be to win the European as well and win all five major titles but I must admit 99 per cent of the ultimate goal for me is to win the World, the European would be the final one per cent, it’s the World I want more than anything. The biggest advantage I guess I have is that I’m still only 26, I had so much success when I was younger and I would hope that I’ve still a few more years left in me in the formula and now things are a bit more on track I hope it might happen. It would be special for me to win at a track like Mildenhall for a lot of reasons. Although I live in Scotland now a lot of my family are still local to Mildenhall and while Mildenhall isn’t my home track anymore, it still is. Another reason I would love to win it at Mildenhall, or King’s Lynn as well is because when I had my big wins in 2008 and 2009 people said I could only do it on shale. Now I’m racing mostly on tarmac and there are people saying I can only do it on tarmac so it would be brilliant to really show I can do it on both surfaces.

Mildenhall was the site of your first World Final appearance back in 2005 when you qualified via the last chance race, how special was that night?
Yeah, it was massively special, just qualifying for the World Final that year probably meant as much as it would to win it now. I never expected it that night and it was just an awesome experience, I remember the start (of the World) very well as I hadn’t even got to the first bend when (Shaun) Webster came charging past me! My dad was in the last chance race that year and he actually helped me qualify. He’d got taken out early in the race and re-joined in front of me and I was about 10th or 11th and he just charged into the bend and crashed out four or five cars in one go and I came through and finished sixth and was the last to qualify so I doubt I would have gone in without him and he was so chuffed for me to qualify, it really was a special night.

On the subject of the UK Championship, it is perhaps the biggest title in the formula to not have a roof grade, is that something you would like to see changed?
Absolutely, although I guess I would say that because I’ve just won it (laughs). But I honestly think it is one of the biggest titles we have, it’s not as special as the World or the British but I’d say it’s as good as any of the others and it’s always been popular with the drivers with loads of cars and great racing. The ORCi has just got a roof grade and I think the UK is a far better event than that so I think the UK should definitely have (a roof grade) as well.

Speaking of your current form, what do you put this return to form down to?
I think it’s mostly because I’ve finally got a happy balance in my life. Usually what you find is you have the money to put into your racing but don’t have the time or you have the time but you don’t have the money and I’ve experienced that a lot over the years. But just recently things have gotten so much better for me. I’ve got my business into a good position where everything is going well and I’ve also got some extra help to help me with my racing and it’s made such a difference and I think where the balance is better it’s made me happier and when you are happy and enjoying things it automatically makes things better.

We often ask stockcar drivers this but as Mildenhall tends to use red flags more often to stop raced that most races are you happy for red flags to be used when needed and what do you think to the change in rules this year where on lap sheet order restarts after red flags that back markers now stay in position rather than go to the back of the grid?
I definitely think red flags should be used, if a car has rolled over or a driver is hurt then it should be an automatic red. I believe that when I see a waved yellow I do let off but there are some who don’t, but when there is a red flag we all know to stop and sometimes that can make a massive difference and I agree with the way cars are relined up now for restarts as I think the back markers should be kept in place. If you are leading a race and it gets stopped you want the back markers you have passed to stay between you and the guy in second. Of course if you are second you might think otherwise but I think keeping (back markers) in place is right.

This season has seen the introduction of Zetec engines to the sport, do you think this has been a good move?
100 per cent, I think it is a brilliant move and has done wonders for the sport. I’m using them and it has allowed someone like me to be very competitive with drivers with engines which have cost them a lot more money. I’ve never really had the greatest amount of money to spend on engines and it’s something I’ve often struggled with so the Zetecs are brilliant because they are a much cheaper way for drivers to have a competitive engine and I think the SSCA and everyone involved has done a fantastic job of bringing these engines in and making sure they are very comparable to the existing Pinto engines. I’ve been using a brand new Zetec, straight out of a box from Fords which admittedly was a lot dearer than having one from scrap car but the reason I did that was for reliability because my first Zetec, I blew up within about three laps (laughs) but even a new one from Fords is a hell of a lot cheaper than having a built Pinto. What I would like to see now from the SSCA is to set a date where everyone has to use the Zetec and so in time everyone moves over to them and then once we are that stage we could look at ways maybe making them even better or even slowing the cars down a little which I think might be good for the formula but I think the best way to do that would be to get everyone onto the Zetecs first.

Another talking point this year has been the unfortunate amount of driver injuries, is there anything you think can be done to improve things?
I think unfortunately it’s always going to be a part of contact motor racing but I think the cars are about as good as they can be right now. The only thing I might like to see changed is the way the rollcage is supported, we’ve these extra bars now to the cage but I think they have the potential to be a problem if you ever needed to cut a driver out of a car so I’d like to see that looked into to see if there is a better option. I think the most important thing for drivers to do is to look at what they can do themselves to make themselves safe in the car. There are so many things out there now, I’ve started using a Hands device which I think is really good and there are these seats now which are more cushioned and I think they are excellent but what works for me might not work for someone else so I think it’s important for drivers to take some time and see what’s out there and what is best for them.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
Mel for all her support, although I don’t use them now I’d like to thank Lyndale Engines for everything they did over the years because there is no way I would have won all the things I did over the years without them and everyone whose ever helped me over the years and in particular Shaggy who was such a massive help to me for so long.