An Interview with third generation Saloon Stockcar racer 270 Matt Fuller
(interview published AJuly 8 2015 in the lead up to the Saloon Stockcar EA Championship at RDC's One Wild Weekend on July 25 and 26)

Age: 19
Home Town: Bedford
Occupation: Mechanic
Family: Fiancé Leanne
Started racing: Aged 12 or 13 in Junior Bangers at Swaffham

We are starting to look forward to our two day event at Mildenhall, One Wild Weekend at the end of July featuring the Saloon Stockcars EA Championship, is this an event you are looking forward to?
It is because I find the two day events are really beneficial for me. I’m still pretty new to all this and still have a great deal to learn and the two day meetings are excellent for me because I get to learn a lot more than I would over one meeting, or even two meetings in a row. Every time I race I always try and do something different to the car to try and make it go a little better but the secret to it I’ve learned is to just do little things, see if it works and go from there and just keep trying. It’s amazing really that even though I’m not a complete newcomer now I’m still trying new things and to be honest I don’t think I will ever stop because trying to get better and make your car better is what makes the top drivers as good as they are. With a normal meeting you only have a few chances to try some things out during the course of a meeting but at a two day event you get twice as many chances. After the meeting on Saturday, I’m sure I’ll be spending a lot of time going over the car having a hard think about what I can try the following day and the changes I can make. I suspect most of the other drivers won’t be doing that, that’ll be having a drink instead (laughs) but I’ll be trying to make the car a little better. These weekend events are a great chance for me to do that so I’ll definitely be doing my best to get the most from it. It’s amazing how much difference a small thing can make, even something like having an extra washer to give the wheel that fraction more camber, it’s incredible how much of a difference it makes when you get it right or wrong. The thing is though with Saloons, is everyone is completely different and so what works for one driver might really not work for me. So many of the drivers are really helpful and will give you great advice but ultimately the advice they have is what works for them so you have to find your own way but that is something I am really enjoying about the formula. And when you get it right and the car performs well and you drive it well, it’s just a wonderful feeling.

How do you feel 2015 has been going for you so far?
I’m enjoying it but I always enjoy my racing because I just love it but it’s been a bit of a mixed season really. The start of the year was excellent and I had two or three really good meetings where I was picking up places and doing really well and feeling pretty good about it and then I had a run of problems and bad luck and had no end of mechanical and handling problems which took a good while to get over but we are starting to get back to where we want to be now which is great and things are going a little better again now. It’s all part of the challenge really and like I said I don’t think you will ever be completely be happy with how things go, you are always pushing for that little bit extra.

You are still searching for your maiden Saloon Stockcar race win, is that a source of frustration for you or are you pleased with the results you are getting?
It’s a bit of both to be honest. I’m pleased with what I’ve been getting. The way I see it is with a formula as hard as this one, just finishing a race is a result I think and if you are in the top 10 then that is wonderful but at the same time I would be lying if I said not getting a win is a little frustrating because I’ve been getting closer and closer to it and every time it gets that little more frustrating but at the same time every time I get close I learn a little bit more. The last time I came close was at King’s Lynn and I got in amongst the back markers and there was one who I probably hit a bit harder than I needed to and he came back and took me out. Every race I do, grandad films it and we always watch them back at home to see what I did wrong or maybe what I could have done different and I guess the lesson I learnt that day was that sometimes you don’t need to hit people flat out as maybe if I’d just nudged him out the way he wouldn’t have come back and taken me out, or maybe I should have taken him out first (laughs). Either way there is always something to can learn and pick up and hopefully one day all those little things will come together and it’ll go my way. Having the videos to watch back afterwards is really helpful for me because most of the time the races are just a blur to me when they are finished and when I watch the video back you always see and remember things that you had completely forgotten.

Last year you enjoyed great success in our white and yellow grade series points but you have failed to repeat that form in 2015, is that something you are disappointed about?
Not really but that was partly because last year was such a massive surprise for me, I never expected to do as well as that and the whole thing was quite a surprise, to finish that high and get a trophy at the presentation night, it was all a wonderful surprise and something I’m still pretty proud about. This year’s hasn’t gone so well but then I’ve had those issues I mentioned so it’s understandable that I’m not too high in the points this time but I’ve still got enough that I should be in the final which will be enough for me. I really enjoy the white and yellow grade races which we now have almost all the time at Mildenhall and King’s Lynn and I think a lot of the lower graded drivers think the same. As I said I’m still very much learning so to have that race at the start without all the top names on your bumper is a great boost. I guess that in a normal heat you almost expect that the top drivers will eventually catch you but in those races you don’t have that feeling and everyone out there is almost of the same ability or experience so I think it makes for exciting racing. And the series final is especially so, I think they are tremendous races and ones that I really look forward to, hopefully I’ll have another good crack at them this year as I would love to win one of those races.

Earlier this season you qualified for the English Championship, was that something you were particularly pleased about?
I was although to be honest I think it was a bit of luck that I did as I just squeezed in and was the last car on the grid. But then again on that night I don’t think it was a bad thing, especially when the rain came so being at the back was kind of ideal for me. But it was great to be out in that race, especially as it was the one that my grandad won and it’s a race which I would very much like to win one day. This year I was just grateful to finish it because it was so tough, even though it didn’t have the biggest of grids but with the rain it was still very hard and I just kept going and going and I was really pleased to finish, even if I wasn’t in the top 10. I’ve had a few good stories with championships so far, I qualified for the European last year at Mildenhall and I qualified really well and was about sixth on the grid with people like David Aldous and Stu Shevill Jnr alongside me which was pretty nerve wracking but at the same time it was a hell of an experience but I think the English was a little better for me because I was able to start at the back which was a little better for me.

With that in mind, how special would it be for you to qualify for the World Final in August?
It was mean a lot and I will certainly be giving it everything in the last chance race to try and get into the race. My uncle won it and my grandad’s been in it too so to just be in the race as well would be very special indeed and you never know do you. Every race is different and especially in this formula, you just never know what’s going to happen. I honestly believe with Saloons it is 70 per cent skill and 30 per cent luck and you have no control over the luck part so who knows maybe if it’s my night I will make it into the big race which would be just brilliant.

Unfortunately the formula has suffered a handful of driver interviews in recent times, you are no strangers to the dangers of the sport as you were injured in October 2013, were you able to make changes to improve your personal safety and is there anything you would like to see changed in the sport?
Well, all I did was break my big toe which I don’t think was as serious as what some drivers have gone through recently but at the same time it bloody hurt (laughs). I’ve made a few changes since. After getting hurt we put a kind of foot rest in the car for my left foot to try and stop anything like that happening again and so far it’s done its job but that is a personal choice thing for me and I appreciate it wouldn’t suite everyone. However the biggest change I have made recently was getting a new seat. Before I had a typical all steel one and never really thought about what difference a set could make but my new one is so much better. It has a lot more padding in it so it has a lot more give and it fits around your body a lot more including around your head which stops your head moving about as much and I honestly think getting it is one of the best things I have ever done and I honestly think these seats should be compulsory in the sport because they make such a massive difference, I’ve not even had as much as bad whiplash this year which is incredible really. I really noticed the difference at the first meetings this year at Mildenhall where the track conditions were not very good and there were the big holes and ruts. I hit some of them really hard and I think before I would have really suffered but with this seat I didn’t.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
My grandad especially for everything he does to help me with my racing, Neil Payne and Gavin Anderson who are a big help to me at the track, especially when I’ve had a bad race of meeting, John Wagstaff for everything he has done on the car and to my uncle Roy for all his help and advice.