An Interview with 886 Chris Bradbury

You led the World of Shale qualifying series for the majority of it but decided on July 28 to race at Mendips for the last meeting there ahead of the World Championship Semi Finals rather than the final qualifier at Mildenhall and subsequently dropped to second in the qualifying chart. Do you have any regrets about missing the final round and are you happy with your grid position?
I have absolutely no regrets about racing at Mendips that do. The truth is I ever set out to top the World of Shale points, it just kind of happened. This year I have been racing very much where and when I want to and doing meetings which make my life easier, whether it being racing locally or doing an all tarmac weekend, rather than racing on both surfaces. In the end I think I only did about half of the (World of Shale) qualifiers but I was fortunate to have really good meetings each time so I was able to stay up in the points. My decision to race at Mendips (on July 28) was very much based on the fact that even though I was doing really well at Mendips I was still making tweaks and adjustments to the car in preparation for the semi final. I am pleased with my grid position for the World of Shale and after all I might need a bit of practise of starting from the outside of the front row (Chris will start the World Final the following weekend in the same grid position). I think the winner is likely to come from the first three or four rows so I'm there and that is good enough.

You are one of the few front runners in the World of Shale series who is also a leading name on tarmac and you compete in the majority, if not all of the major championship events in the sport, how does the World of Shale rank in terms of importance to you?
It's a really big deal, certainly among the top four or five for me alongside races like the World, British and European Championship. The reason for that is that it carries an official championship roof grade and for me these are the most significant races of the season. It's strange because the UK Open Championship for example is one of the biggest events of the year for F2s but it doesn't carry a roof grade for winning which takes away a little of the importance for me personally. The championships with a roof grade I think are the ones to win because all drivers want to have those special grades on their car and so by having the gold stripes the World of Shale is one of those races. It is a race I want to win, but then I go into every race with the intention of trying to win, that's what it is all about, but I'd love to win this one.

With that in mind, last year saw the introduction of overseas entries, do you think that adds to the creditability of the event?
Yes I believe it does. I have personal views on the amount of overseas entries there are in the World Final and now in this race but I do think it is good to have foreigners in events with World in the title because it does make them more meaningful.

You're starting to become something of a regular in the World of Shale Championship as this will be your fourth consecutive appearance but your best result still remains your fourth in your debut which was the last Mildenhall staged championship in 2010. Is it now an event you look forward to more at the start of the season?
It is. The first time I did it I scrapped onto the back of the grid as I only did a couple of qualifying rounds but I had a great race and really enjoyed it and then after that I started racing more and more on shale and started getting better and better. When I started to become more competitive on shale that was when I started taking more interest in this event and really started to want to try and do better in it. I qualified really well last year at King's Lynn but Rob Mitchell buried me at the start which was a good move on his part because he went on to win the race but now I race more on shale it does make the race more important to me.

Bearing in mind you were an early casualty last year, will you be mindful of that when the race starts?
You can't make too many plans in stockcar racing so we will have to see what happens when things get going.

What kind of race do you think we will see?
I think it should be a good race, I expect a lot of paint to be traded which is the kind of race I enjoy, a real stockcar race and I think that is what you will get, especially at the start. It may settle down a few laps in when people get spread out but we'll have to see. Track conditions will play a part as well.

Who do think are the main danger men for the title this year?
Again I think the winner is likely to come from the first few rows because there are such good drivers at the front so unless they all get taken out I think they are going to be hard to catch. George Turiccki has been going very well this year and so has Sam Wagner in my old car, Andrew Palmer has won this race so many times before so he knows what he is doing, Toon Schut is definitely going to be one to watch and I also fancy Daz Shaw and Andy Ford as well from a few rows back.

Of the seeded qualifiers you will start the race as the most recent winner at Mildenhall, having won the Grand National on August 10. Does that give you any kind of confidence boost for the race?
Yes and no. It's nice to have that under your belt but this is a completely different race. I didn't originally plan to do that meeting but at the last minute it dawned on me it was the last one there before the championship so we decided to go and it was helped because we made a few changes and again I think we've improved. Mildenhall is very different to almost every track we race on because it is that bit smaller so it's good to go there after a while and do well.

Is there any one you would like to thank or mention?
All the people who help with the car, especially my dad and my sponsors, SRD for the engines, Simpson Race Exhausts and D&S Hamilton Motoring Engineers.