An Interview with former Saloon Stockcar Mildenhall Track Champion 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr
(interview published August 25 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 Championship at Mildenhall on August 29)

Age: 28
Home Town: King’s Lynn
Occupation: Plant mechanic and instructor
Family: Fiancé Kirsty and two children
Racing career: Started racing Ministox aged 10

The last two years, you have finished second in the World Final, do you consider it coming close both years or do you look at it as an improvement because in reality you were third on the road in 2013 at Cowdenbeath until race winner Eddie Darby was excluded following post-race checks?
It’s a bit of both really but for me the (2013) result in Cowdenbeath was a massive surprise. It was my first World Final there and I never expected to do any good at all and my hope was I might have managed to get a top 10 but even then I knew that would be a tall order. To get a third was just fantastic and the fact it then became second was a bit of a bonus because I was already over the moon to finish third so that was a great result for me. Last year at King’s Lynn was completely different. I was on pole and even though my shale form hadn’t been as good as it had been, I still thought I had a good chance and so in complete contrast to King’s Lynn I went into that race with the belief that I could win. In hindsight I think I put a ridiculous amount of pressure on myself and to be honest I probably did well to finish second because I’d got myself so hyped up for it. At the time I think I was a little disappointed to finish second, again it was completely different to the year before where I was so happy to finish third, but after a while, when it all sinks in you realise that second is a tremendous result and I had done really well in the race. I’d be happy to finish second again this year, especially as my shale form is still not the best or as good as it once was but of course I want to win, that’s always the target, especially in a race like this.

Much has been said about your terrible luck in big championship races, is it a source of frustration to you or do the near misses act as motivation in making you think that eventually your time will come?
Again, it’s a bit of both but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a lot of frustration from it all. At first when I’d be winning a big race and it would all go wrong I’d be so frustrated at the time but then again as the emotion wore off a little you’d go back to working on the car in the week and realise that the car was competitive and that you were driving really well and if a couple of things had gone differently then maybe it would have been yours. But now it is getting to a point where you are starting to think will it ever happen because there have just been so many times when it could have but it’s not happened for me. The most recent was at Skegness in the UK Championship where I was leading by about a length of the straight and Max Stott pulled out in front of me as he tried to get to the infield and we collided. Again I’d like to think it was out of my hands and there have been a couple of times at Mildenhall where I’ve been leading a big race and something has not gone my way. Even the last World Final at Mildenhall, I was keeping up with (Dave) Aldous going through the traffic and then someone span me out and that was the end of my chances for winning. I came back for fifth or something so that was a good result all things considered but it wasn’t what I was hoping for. I guess all the near misses does have an effect on your confidence in the end. Like I said it is starting to get to a point when you question yourself and whether it will happen for me or if I’m destined to be one of those drivers who never quite gets (a title) because there are plenty of others who have had that happen to them and they’ve been great drivers who you’d think would have won something. The trouble is when you start thinking like that you are going to struggle so I keep trying to put it out of my mind and I’m hoping I’ll be one of those drivers who once he wins one (championship), starts to win them all the time, it’d be nice to think it could happen (laughs).

This will be your seventh consecutive World Final, is it still an event you look forward to and are you pleased to have qualified again?
Absolutely, especially as I didn’t have the best of starts to the season and I did wonder if I would drop out of the top 24 in the World Rankings because things were going so badly but thankfully that didn’t happen and I’m in the race again which is the main thing. The championships are what we go racing for but the World Final especially because all the season counts towards it, it’s not just a one day or a one weekend thing so this really is what we work all season for and it’s great to know that your efforts were enough to get you in the race and you are still among the best drivers out there. The first time I qualified was in 2009 at King’s Lynn and that as via the last chance race and it was such a brilliant thing to be a part of the race and once you have a taste for it you always want to be a part of it and after that year, qualifying for the World Final has always been a target for me so again it’s good to be in the race. It’s very different to any other night of the year, it’s just the atmosphere which is so much more at the World Final, I think what makes it so special is you get so many more people come who you don’t usually see at a meeting but they come for the World Final and that just makes it much more of an occasion and a special thing to be a part of.

Having now raced in World Finals at all the modern day World Final venues, how does a Mildenhall World Final compare to a World Final anywhere else?
I think the biggest difference at Mildenhall is that it is a lot more open than anywhere else and every driver on the grid really does have a chance. At most of the other tracks where there is a World Final you can usually look at the grid at have a rough idea of who will be up there and who might win and while you can do that at Mildenhall as well I think the chances of you getting it right are smaller because it is such an unpredictable track and anything really can happen. A lot of it is simply because it’s such a smaller track and with a big grid like you get in the World Final, you expect it to be carnage and anyone can be a victim of that, you just never know, luck will play a big part in that.

You mentioned your shale form and you are a previous Mildenhall track champion but recent years have seen you struggle to match that form at Mildenhall, why do you think that is and are you close to being back to your best and with that in mind do you think you have a shot at winning this year’s World Final?
I honestly don’t know what went wrong exactly. I think I may have been guilty of getting a little complacent with the shale car, thinking of was good and not working on it as hard as I needed to and not pushing forward as much as I should have and the handling has been the biggest issue but we are starting to get a lot better now, even though we sometimes don’t seem to have the results to show it (laughs). I’ve also been quite unlucky at Mildenhall at times, it seems if I’m ever going to blow an engine it will be at Mildenhall and it’s usually in the first race of the meeting so then the whole night is a zero score and you don’t do well in track championships like that so it’s been a constant struggle but I do think we are turning a bit of a corner now and getting closer to where we should have been all along really and that does give you a boost going into a race like the World Final. You need to know that the car is ok because without that you have nothing but the great thing about Mildenhall again is I think with the race as predictable and as open as it is, sometimes it’s not all about having the best car, luck is more important so I do think it’s possible for me to win or at least do well again.

You are set to start the race on the outside of row five, how do you feel about this position?
I don’t think grid positions matter quite so much at Mildenhall, again I suspect it’s going to be a hectic race with a lot going on and I don’t know if there will be such a thing as a good or a bad grid position. The main thing for me is that I’m actually quite glad to be a few rows back this year and a bit more out of the limelight. Last year, being on pole and especially at my home track was really tough for me and the pressure was amazing, especially with the amount of people who came over and spoke to me and said they thought I was going to win it. I wasn’t quite ready for that and while it was very nice for so many people to say that it really added to the expectations and the pressure and I really didn’t enjoy that at all so I’m quite happy to be a bit out of that this year and I’m hoping it will make a difference, certainly I will be a bit calmer for this year’s race because I couldn’t have been any worse last year (laughs). This is a big difference between this and any other championship because you know your grid position for weeks before the race and you then overthink it. I know I did last year, I played out ever scenario in my head for the start and again all that really did was add more and more pressure to myself, this year I’m really trying not to think about. It’s not easy and I know it’s a cliché but I’m trying to just think of it as another race and not a World Final so I’m taking a very different approach to this year’s race and hopefully it will work out for me.

This season has seen the introduction of Zetec engines to the sport, is that something you are in favour of?
It is, although I’m still using Pintos at the moment (laughs). The plan was to use a Zetec in the tarmac car but there was a waiting list for the conversion kit and we needed to get on with the car so we decided to stick with the Pinto for the time being. The Pinto is still very competitive against the Zetec, I think I showed that by leading the UK Championship like I did, especially when a lot of people think the Zetec has the advantage on tarmac, I actually think the Zetec is a little better on shale myself but I think that just shows how close the engines are. The big thing is that the Zetecs are so much more cost effective and once you have the conversion kit, they are pretty cheap. You can get one from a scrap yard for under £200 and have an engine which is as good as Pinto which probably would have cost around £3,000 so it’s obviously a good thing for the formula and we will eventually be switching ourselves.

Much has been said of the tyre rules at the moment, what are your thoughts on this?
I would prefer one tyre for both surfaces rather than us having a tarmac and a shale one. The biggest problem is the amount of work you have to do using two tyres to get ready for the racing at the weekend, especially if we have a shale and a tarmac meeting. I’m lucky because I have two cars and you would think that would make it easier but now if we have a shale and a tarmac meeting in a weekend we either have to load up with two sets of tyres or go home in between rather than just travelling straight to the next meeting which is added work we could do without and I think it is a big reason why drivers struggle to do both surfaces, especially if there is a shale and tarmac meeting the same weekend because unless you have two cars you really have no chance of doing both meetings. But then there is the argument over which tyre we should use. Personally, I don’t like the shale tyres because they have such little grip and I think using them on tarmac would be a huge mistake so I guess I would like to use the tarmac tyre on both surfaces. The problem with that is that people think that would make the racing too fast on shale but the way I see it, I would prefer to be fast but be in control of my car rather than being a little slower but having less control. I think the lack of control is the problem and if they want to slow the cars down the answer is not to put us on tyres which limit our control but instead to do something to slow the engines down.

This season has unfortunately seen a number of drivers suffer injuries and we are now seeing more and more drivers using personal safety equipment, do you use any of this and is there anything you would like to see introduced to the sport to make it safer for drivers?
I’ve been using a Hans device now for three or four years, I think apart from Danny Colliver I was one of the first to use it in the formula and now I would never race without one and I think they are brilliant and should actually be mandatory in the formula. I started to use one after a big crash at Mildenhall where I hurt my neck quite badly and I wanted to avoid doing that again and it’s really helped me. There is the argument that they are uncomfortable but it’s like anything, if you do it enough you will get used to it and while they are expensive, they are not as dear as they used to be and they also last which is brilliant so I do think drivers should have to wear them, in fact I think it should be compulsory in all contact formulas myself, even all racing to be honest. Apart from that I guess the only thing I can suggest would be to try and slow the cars down but again I don’t think this should be done with the tyres we use, because a lack of grip and control is more dangerous so maybe something could be done to slow the engines down, especially if everyone is on Zetecs which will happen soon enough. Admittedly the speed is a buzz as a driver but I don’t think it’s the speed itself that drivers chase, it’s simply trying to be the fastest driver in a race. When I moved from 1300cc Stockcars to Saloon Stockcars it had nothing to do with wanting to go faster but in both formulas I’ve always wanted to be the fastest driver out there so if you slow that fastest car a little, I don’t see the difference.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My mum and dad, brother, Kirsty, the kids and my nan and grandad for all their help and support and all my sponsors, Double Day Group, Beck Row, McDonnell Caravans, Ideal Commercials and JH Butchers.