An Interview with Saloon Stockcar young gun 389 Ryan Santy
(interview published June 8 2016 in the lead up to round five of the 2016 Mildenhall Track Championship on June 11)

Age: 22
Home Town: Diss
Occupation: Fix stockcars
Family: Girlfriend Mandy
Racing career: First race was in Saloon Stockcars at King’s Lynn, aged 16

The season appears to have been going very well for you so far in the Saloon Stockcars, are you pleased with your form thus far in 2016?
It’s been brilliant so far, for me to get into the top 20 in the National Points has been a real achievement, I think it is the first time I have done that so that was really great and so was getting to the red grade, it’s been superb so far and I’ve really been enjoying myself.

What has been the secret to your success this year?
It is definitely been the switch to Zetec engines. It’s made such a difference to me and a lot of others I think because it has made being competitive so much more affordable and I guess that has been the thing I have always struggled the most within the formula. When we were running Pinto engines, a good, competitive engine would be a lot of money, certainly more than I could afford and with that it was somewhat inevitable that you would always struggle a little. The Zetec engines are so much cheaper and they are all so evenly matched as well so it is allowing every driver to have the ability to be competitive but without spending anywhere near as much money as it needed before and it’s made a huge difference to the formula I think, I think it’s one of the reasons why the formula is doing so well at the moment. When Liam raced his car which I’ve been using this season, he unfortunately blew the engine up but I was back racing the car the following weekend and that is 100 per cent down to the (Zetec) engines. We bought a scrap car, a Ford Focus which had done around 124,000 miles which cost £100, just for the engine, got some of the money back by scrapping the car, put the engine straight in my stockcar and I was back racing the following weekend and the car was just as fast as it had been before, it’s just brilliant. The engine before had done around 137,000 miles when I got it so if this new one can last for another 13,000 miles that would be superb (laughs).

It must be quite reassuring to know that with a competitive car you are capable of doing well in the sport having as you said, struggled for some time before
(laughs) Well I’m under no illusions that the previous years in the formula I was just as much to blame as anything! I never raced anything before I tried the Saloons and I think that made a massive difference as well because there are a lot of drivers out there my age who have got a lot more experience in racing than I have and while I always struggled from not having as competitive an engine as some might have done, I also struggled because I was so inexperienced and I was still learning. I’m still learning now (laughs). You’ve only got to look at Liam, he raced the car at Mildenhall a few weeks ago, it’s exactly the same as when I’ve been racing it but he struggled and didn’t have the best of nights but I don’t think that was down to the car, it’s more to do with he needs more experience. Trust me, he’ll be just as good when he is able to race more often, experience makes such a difference and I think my season so far proves that.

How pleased were you about making it to the red grade?
It was brilliant, I was so happy but I’ve only done one meeting from the reds so far which was at Mildenhall (May 7). That is another reason why I think this season is going so well because this year I have only raced when I know the car is right. There have been many times before when if the car wasn’t quite ready, I would race anyway or I would rush to get it finished or bodge it or whatever and all that did was make things worse because when you race and the car isn’t how it should be you usually wind up with even more damage and work to do afterwards. So this year if the car hasn’t been ready we’ve not raced and it’s helped I think. The one meeting I did from the red grade was brilliant and I got some top 10 finishes as well which I was really pleased about. I would have finished second in the Allcomers but they said I jumped the start and was dropped two places. I swear I was set up because that was the one race I went from the front of the red grade and I went at the same place the others had all night but in that race I was the only one who went (laughs), it was a stitch up! It was really cool just starting a race at the back with all the top drivers and to be honest I wasn’t expecting the meeting to go so well. Usually I’ve been off the front and it was a matter of trying to stay in front of them but this was different because you start with them so there is no head start. It was great to be on the pace with those top drivers and be able to hold my own like that and it gave me a real confidence boost and I’m looking forward to racing from the red grade again.

As you have mentioned, the car you have been racing this year is actually you younger brother Liam’s, can you explain why this has been happening and given how well you have been doing have you tried to convince him to make the arrangement permanent?
(laughs) No, there is no chance of him agreeing to that I’m afraid. The car is Michael Allard’s ex shale car and basically what happened was that at the start of the season he had a car but no engine and I had an engine but no car (laughs). He wasn’t really in a position to race himself at the start of the year so he said I could use the car with my engine and obviously it’s been going really well so far but I really do need to pull my finger out now and get my own car done and get racing that. Liam is also hoping to get racing soon as well on a regular basis and of course when he is ready then he will have the car back so I do need to get sorted with my own car.

Are you looking forward to racing with Liam on a regular basis?
Yes and no, it’s always cool to race with your family and something we enjoy but at the same time it’s almost like a small distraction when you are out there because you can’t help but try and keep an eye out for them when in truth you need to completely concentrate on what you are doing yourself. At least if things start going wrong when he is racing I will have an excuse, I can say I only crashed because I was worried about Liam (laughs).

Speaking of family, the Santry family have a rich history in the sport and your nephews Dan and Charlie are currently Ministox racers at RDC, the former soon to retire from the formula, would you like to see him in the Saloons as well?
I actually asked him the other day if he wouldn’t mind doing 1300cc Stockcars for a couple of years because I’d just started to get somewhere in the Saloons and wouldn’t mind a little more time to get a few more wins before he starts (laughs). Yeah, I’d love to see him in the Saloons and I think you will eventually but I think he might go into the 1300s for a bit and then progress from there.

So far we have seen you largely race on shale, have you any desire to race more on tarmac?
I’ve done the meetings at Northampton and Ipswich so far and while I enjoyed them, Liam’s car really isn’t suited for tarmac because it was built very much for shale racing. But when I get my car finished I very much hope to race on tarmac more regularly. As the car I’m using at the moment isn’t mine I do try not to change it too much because that’s not really fair on Liam but obviously when I am racing my own car it will be different. Before I did more tarmac than shale racing to be fair but now that things have been going so well on shale I have no intention of doing less shale meetings but I do plan to race more on tarmac as well once the car is ready which hopefully won’t be long now.

You are currently third in the Mildenhall Track Championship, is trying to maintain that position a goal for the remainder of the season?
It would be brilliant to do that but I know how hard it will be to do that but after doing pretty good at the last meeting from the red grade it’s given me a boost that maybe it is possible. Before then I did kind of think that a big part of being so high in the points was because I’d been starting from the front of the grid and then I scored more points from the red grade than I scored from the front which was just awesome. I know it will be hard to do that every time but I’ll definitely be doing my best but as long as I’m enjoying the racing that is the most important thing. I do enjoy the racing at Mildenhall, it’s tough because the track is so small so there is always something going on and you always have to be thinking half a lap ahead so it is a real challenge but a great buzz as well.

We have two championship fixtures this season at Mildenhall with the National in July and the ORCi in November, are these fixtures you are looking forward to and how do you rate your chances?
I always look forward to the big championship meetings, they are always fantastic things to be a part of, a real buzz and if you can do well, even just qualifying for the championship that is especially good. As for my chances, I would never pretend to think I had a better chance than anyone but I guess if I had the luck, you never know, so much of those big races is down to luck and if you are on the pace and going well and things go your way when it matters the most it could happen, so maybe, but I doubt it (laughs)!

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
There is a lot (laughs). Diggy and Billy for all their help and letting me keep and fix the car at their yard, Welly for all his help and everything he has done to the car, Tam Tweedie for his bit of sponsorship which is much appreciated. Beck Row Car Spares, The Plumbers, Arbus, Marina CD Ltd, Sid and Dave Magewick, Jane Moody Engineering, 610 MOT, my uncle Steve whose been a great help, my mum and dad for getting me into all this in the first place and a big thank you to Mandy for putting up with me and Liam for lending me his car.