An Interview with Saloon Stockcar driver 682 Paul Sparrow
(interview published October 7 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 White and Yellow Grade Series Final)

Age: 33
Home Town: West Row
Occupation: Engineer
Family: Fiancé Sarah and daughters Chloe and Maya
Racing career: In 2008 in National Bangers at Mildenhall

You are now coming up to the end of your first season in Saloon Stockcars, how do you feel it has gone for you?
I’ve really enjoyed it and I can definitely say that I’m enjoying it more than I was enjoying National Bangers when I decided to make the change so I’m really glad that I made the switch. A big reason why I’m enjoying it so much is for me it’s a lot less work in the stockcars than it was in the bangers. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a lot of work involved and I think for me it’s easier because at the moment I am only racing at King’s Lynn and Mildenhall as for this year I have stuck to shale and my local tracks. I think I’ll probably do as many meetings this year in the stockcar as I did last year in the Bangers but I do think this year has been less work for me as the most I think I have had to spend on the car in one week was a couple of nights in one week and that was mainly because I’d got damage the weekend before and needed to replace a bumper before racing the following weekend. But apart from that I’ve been able to do all the racing I’ve wanted to without spending all my time in the garage on the car and that was a big reason why I made the change, especially having just had a baby, I wanted to start spending more time with the family but at the same time I wanted to still be able to race so this has been ideal.

How have you found the racing compared to National Bangers?
It’s a completely different kettle of fish that’s for sure but I’m really enjoying it now although I will admit it did take some getting used to and it was a bit of a shock to the system when I first started. So many people had warned me about how the driver feels the hits so much more in a stockcar than in a banger that I actually expected that to be worse when I first started (laughs) but everything else was a lot harder. The biggest change for me was learning how important it is to have a car set up correctly as that was something I’d never really done much with in bangers. I’ve even bought my own set of scales now and realised just how important that is for this formula and it makes a massive difference. But at the start of the year I didn’t know very much about that kind of thing at all so that’s been a big learning curve for me. The racing itself, I love that. Again it’s taken some getting used to because while I did some unlimited and RWD meetings in the bangers I was much more of a FWD kind of driver so it was a bit of a change moving into the Saloons but now I absolutely love the style of racing, especially on shale where you are always sideways, it’s excellent and the racing is so much more intense compared to bangers, you never have a chance to breath in a Saloon race. Again when I started in the formula that kind of caught me by surprise because I wasn’t used to it but now I am, I really like that.

Compared to National Banger, has the change to Saloons been an expensive one?
It’s not been too bad. The fact that Saloons are now racing on Zetec engines was a big reason why I decided to give them a go because that has reduced the costs a lot and had they still been racing on Pintos I’m not sure I would have been able to move into Saloons because a good Pinto would be a few thousand pounds whereas the Zetecs were much cheaper and I’m fortunate because I had a load of Mondeos from racing Bangers and when I sold them I kept the engines for me to use in the stockcars. Having said that I’ve used the same engine all season and it’s been fine. It is starting to get a little tired now but my intention is to use it for the final few meetings this season and then put a new one in the new car I’m building for next year and hopefully I will get a full year from that as well. But again they are so much cheaper, they are a fraction of the cost of a good Pinto engine, so you wouldn’t mind if you did have to change one or two during the season. I admit that when I started in the formula I did spend a little bit of money but a lot of that was on safety equipment. I bought a really good seat and a Hans device as well because I was a little wary of going into the formula and the levels of contact and wanted to protect myself and I’m glad I did. The Hans device has been excellent and I would recommend them to anyone and I wouldn’t race without one now, even if I decided to go back into bangers I would still use one, they are excellent and I think between that and my seat and a few other things is a big reason why I’ve felt fine all year in the formula despite the knocks.

You have finished fourth in the White and Yellow Grade Series points at Mildenhall and with Martyn Parker set to start the race at the back of the grid as a reigning champion you are set to start the series final on October 17 on the inside of row two, are you pleased with this?
I had no idea I was doing so well in the qualifying points until I got the invitation which had the final points and I was really chuffed. I guess because this is my first season I’ve not been paying too much attention to stuff like points because I knew I would never be up there near the front so I just never looked so to find out I’d done so well in the white and yellow grade points was just brilliant and I was really pleased. I’m very happy with my grid position, especially starting on the inside now which is always a little easier than the outside and will hopefully help a little at the start of the race.

Have you any targets for the series final?
It’s the same as any race in this formula and that is just to finish (laughs). I think any time you finish a Saloon Stockcar race you have done well and what I’ve found is that quite often when I manage to finish a race I do fairly well at being in the top 10 which I guess is partly because I usually start near the front. So that’s my goal, just to finish and hopefully if I do I will be in the top 10 as well which would be great but I think in this formula, where the racing is just so hard it would be kind of foolish to ever expect anything more than that, you just never know what’s going to happen.

On the subject of points, you are currently 11th in the Mildenhall Track Championship, how pleased are you with that and is trying to end the season in the top 10 a target for you?
(laughs) Again I had no idea I was doing that well, I really should pay more attention! That’s really good, I never expected to be that high up, even with the good meetings I’ve had I still didn’t think I would have been doing that well. Again I’ve no targets really, it’s especially hard to do that in this formula, it’s almost pointless really, so all I will do over the final meetings is try and finish all the races I can and hopefully from that I will pick up some points and we’ll see if it’s enough, I’m not expecting it but to finish in the top 10 would be a great achievement, especially in my first season in the formula.

The final meeting of the season at Mildenhall is the ORCi Championship where, unlike the recent World Final, qualifying is done on the day ahead of the championship, is this a race where you think you have an opportunity?
It’s hard to say. I suppose every race is an opportunity and it’s been great that already this year I’ve had a chance to do a few championship meetings and it’s really surprised me at how different they all are. Qualifying for the World Final was a massive thing for me and has really given me a big confidence boost which I guess will help at the ORCi Championship. At meetings like that I try to never think of them as championships, just try your hardest to treat it as any other race because otherwise I think you put too much pressure on yourself and that’s when it all goes wrong (laughs). I suppose at a meeting like the ORCi Championship, anyone has a chance, I’m not sure I would include myself in that though but I will definitely give it my best shot, just to qualify for the championship would be a big deal for me really.

You mentioned the recent World Final meeting which was particularly impressive for you, not only qualifying for the big race but also entering a fine performance where he held a top 10 position for several laps until being forced out of the race.
Yeah the World Final was a brilliant night for me and so much more than I ever expected, it was just such a shame to have to retire from the race when my harness broke and came undone which was so disappointing because I’d been doing so well up to that point and I honestly believe I could have held on for a top 10 finish which would have just been incredible but at the same time, just to be in the race and hold my own that was very special as well. I was so pleased to qualify, especially because I thought I’d blown it at the end, I hit the wall and the ignition cut off and I didn’t realise at first and by the time I realised and got running again I thought my chance had gone but thankfully I recovered just in time and still got through and just being in that race was amazing but to get up to the top 10 and stay there and be on the pace was amazing and it’s given me a massive boost in confidence which is so important in racing because without confidence you really are wasting your time.

You’ve had some success at Mildenhall this season including a heat and final double, what was more special for you, the first race win or your first final?
The first win (on May 31), absolutely. As brilliant as it was to win a final and for it to be a heat and final double, the first win was the one, just because it was my first win. I didn’t really expect it in my first year when I started and then when I first started in the formula I actually wondered if I would ever win a race because it is such a hard formula, so to then get one, especially at my home track where I’d raced bangers for so long, it was just an amazing feeling.

Have you given any thoughts to the 2016 season?
I’m in the process of building a new car which I’m hoping will help me a lot. One of the biggest problems I’ve had this year is that the car I’ve got is quite an old one and where it’s a bit bent and twisted it’d been harder to get it set up exactly how I want it and that’s made things a little more difficult. I’m hoping with a new car, I will be able to have it exactly how I want it and that should make things a lot easier. It’s going ok at the moment but I admit it’s already been more work than I imagined but I still think I will get it finished for the start of the new season which is still very much the target. The plan next year is to stick to shale still as that was always really the plan for me in saloons and it’s about the right amount of racing for me but hopefully with the new car I might do a little bit on tarmac because it will much easier for me to set it up for a tarmac meeting and back again for shale than it would be with the car I have at the minute.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
Sarah for all her support and putting up with me and all my crap and my mum and dad for letting me use their workshop to do my cars.