An Interview with former Saloon Stockcar driver 641 Willie Skoyles Jnr
(interview published May 28 in the lead up to the 2014 European Championship at Mildenhall on June 7 and 8)

Age: 26
Home Town: King’s Lynn
Occupation: Plant mechanic and trainee instructor
Family: Girlfriend Kirsty and two children
Racing career: Started racing Ministox aged 10

The European Championship at Mildenhall is starting to loom on the horizon, it is still a few weeks away but have you given much thought to the event?
No more than you give to any championship meeting really. Races like this are always in your mind somewhere because they are the ones you want to win more than anything else so you are always thinking about them to a degree. Really all the other meetings of the season are about trying to get yourself and the car ready for the big races so each time I’ve been to Mildenhall this year I have been thinking about the European to a certain degree.

Going into the race, do you feel like you have a chance?
I guess so, especially with how many times I’ve come close to winning a big race now so that makes you think like you do have a chance even though I can’t help but feel but the better my chances the greater the likelihood of it not going my way. I had a great night at the National last year, qualified on the front row and was leading and going really well and got taken out by a back marker. The last World Final at Mildenhall I was in second and I felt I was gaining on (Dave) Aldous and I got held up by back markers and that was the end of that. There was the year I was leading the English at King’s Lynn and felt I had the race under control and I spun myself out so I’ve been close before and that does give me the belief that I can do well and have a chance.

With all the close calls you’ve mentioned, does it add to the pressure, is it a source of frustration or is it a motivator to egg you on to finally win a championship?
It’s a bit of all of those things but more than anything it motivates me. Each time you get close it make you want it more and I’m now at a stage where I want to win a championship very badly. I suppose that might add a little pressure but in races like this there is always going to pressure no matter what your goal is so I don’t think that is too much of a problem myself. It’s strange because I do notice it more in the shale championships because I suppose those are the ones I think I have a better chance in. When I went to Cowdenbeath last year for the World Final I would have been more than happy with a top 10 finish and in the end I finished second and the exact same happened in the English at St Day the other week so maybe if I had lower expectations it would make a difference but we are all competitive and we all want to win so I don’t think that’s going to change (laughs).

This year’s European Championship is being held across two days at Mildenhall, do you prefer that format or would you have preferred it to have been a one day event?
I’m honestly not too worried because at the end of the day it is the same for everyone. But I think it could be interesting because we’ve seen before at two day meetings at Mildenhall the track change a great deal on the second day. Shale tracks change every race, ever lap sometimes but when it’s two days it changes a lot and at Mildenhall we’ve seen the track go very slick on the Sunday which could shake things up a bit. But there isn’t BriSCA F2 Stockcars on at this weekend and that could make a difference as I do think the formulas you have racing with you, and the direction in which they race, makes a really big difference. Again it will be the same for everyone but I think keeping on top of the conditions is going to be important especially as it is very hard to set a car up to be good for a whole race on shale, usually you make it good for the beginning or the end but it’s hard to have it right for the whole race.

The European Championship will be the first Saloon meeting since April 26 but your first since March 29, does the gap between meetings makes a difference to you or do you know the track well enough to cope?
I think I know it well enough to be ok, the bigger challenge for someone like myself is when you race with one car and you are changing from a shale to tarmac set up and then back again and it is important to get the changes right but I think we know enough now to start in a pretty good position.

Who do you think the main contenders are for the championship or do you think it is a wide open field?
I think it’s pretty wide open which is one of the great things about the formula right now because you just cannot pick a winner from any race, it’s so competitive and there are so many good drivers and with the nature of the racing you can never rule anyone out. If I had to pick someone, well do I really need to say his name? (laughs). It’s Aldous again, I think there are a lot of drivers who measure themselves against how they do against him, he really is in fantastic form at the moment and I think a lot will pick him to do well again.

How much would it mean to you to win this or any other Saloon Stockcar championship?
It would be everything to me. I’ve won championships before in other formulas but this formula is without doubt the best thing I have ever been a part of so to win a major title at this level would be the world for me.

Can you give us an idea of the amount of time you spend working on your car in between racing, it’s far from the idea some have of race it at the weekend, put it away all week and it’s ready to go for the next weekend isn’t it?
(laughs) I wish it was that easy. I work from 8am to 5pm and on the nights we spend on the car I go straight to my mum and dads where the car is and after eating we usually work from 6pm until at least 9pm depending on how much work we have and then go home. I always have Fridays off to spend time with the family and try to have Tuesday or Wednesday as well but sometimes that just isn’t possible.

We’ve been asking drivers for their thoughts on race suspension processes, are you happy for red flags to be used in the formula or should it be only waved yellows?
I definitely think red flags should be used when needed. Driver safety is the most important thing and if a race needs stopping then it needs stopping. If you are the guy not in trouble then you might not be glad to see the flags, especially if you are leading and it’s red but if you are the guy in trouble you just want the race stopped and ultimately they are the most important person. I’ve been in that situation and it’s no fun, believe me. All I think we need is more consistency and not necessarily across the tracks because I’m not sure that would work as the tracks are all different and what works at one might not work at another but as long as it’s the same at one track all the time so when you go there you know what to expect that is the important thing for me.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
All of my family, especially my dad because it’s his workshop we use and he spends so much time on the car with me and at the meetings, I’ve always said it is a family sport and the support they all give me at the track is a huge help as well and also my main sponsor which is Graham of the Double Day Group who does an awful lot to help too.