An Interview with 977 Dave Massey
This is due to be your 11th appearance in
the championship making you one of the most experienced World of Shale finalists
in this years race, are you looking forward to it again?
Yes I am, it's probably the biggest race of the year for shale drivers and
our World Final as such. I don't have too much interest in the World
Championship and I think it is the same for most of the drivers who only race on
shale like me. The World Final is more a championship for the tarmac drivers
these days, even on the odd years when the race is on shale, it's still very
hard for someone like me to have a great chance because there are more tarmac
qualifying rounds than shale ones and it's likely the semis will be on shale so
it would be extremely hard for a shale only racer to do well in the World
Championship. I went to the semis at Hednesford recently because I had qualified
and felt I should. I got buried almost immediately so it was a bit pointless.
But the World of Shale is a great chance for the drivers who only race on shale
or do most of their racing on shale to have a chance to qualify for something
special every year.
How do you feel your qualifying series went
this year?
I'm really pleased to have finished into the top 10 and I think if I'd not
had a bit of a blip in the middle of the qualifying rounds I might have done
even better. But the thing is I've always raced on a budget and so to be in the
top 10 and just behind some of the top drivers in the spot is pretty great as
far as I'm concerned. I've had a bit of better fortune this year because after
years of struggling with engine problems I finally bit the bullet and bought a
proper engine and Richard from Redline has really helped me out. It took a
bit of time to get everything going right but just lately things have been going
well. I won a final at Stoke the other week which puts me up to red grade which
I'm really pleased about and I had a second in the final at Belle Vue on the
bank holiday weekend so I'm hoping everything is coming together in time for me
to have a good race in the World of Shale Championship.
That said you have not had the best of
fortunate at Mildenhall, is that something which worries you at all heading into
the championship?
I've had an absolutely terrible year at Mildenhall! I don't know what it is
exactly, whether it's me, the car, my luck or a bit of everything but I really
have had a terrible year so far. I've been making a lot of adjustments on the
car though, I built it myself so I'm not relying on other people's technology so
I'm always learning as I go along but I've made quite a few changes since the
last Mildenhall and then I had the good results at Stoke and Belle Vue so that
is good news and I'm hoping it carries on into the championship. The
championship is a new race though, what you've done before doesn't really count
for much so we'll see how it goes.
With that said, how do you expect the race
to unfold?
It's hard to predict really but usually at Mildenhall you get a big push
into the first bend and so I would expect to see that again here. I'm hoping
that I might be just enough rows back to avoid getting wiped out in any first
bend push but it depends on what happens around me. I've a row of Dutch drivers
next to me and they are unpredictable because we don't race with them that often
so you've no idea what they are going to do and there is Andy Ford near me and
he likes to plant his right foot so he could be lively and also Mark Simpson is
just behind and he'll be eager to get a good start so it's sure to be a lively
start and surviving the first lap or so will be crucial because the race isn't
going to be won in the first lap. And it's a long race so it won't be like some
championships at other tracks where the field will get spread out as the race
goes on. Mildenhall is one of the smallest tracks we have so you are likely to
be in traffic all the way so you won't be able to relax at all. That might help
people like me catch those at the front or it might mean they pull further away,
you just don't know what is going to happen.
With that in mind who do you think are the
leading contenders and how do you rate your chances?
I think Chris Bradbury could be the one to watch from the front and if he
gets away he will be hard to catch but I also think Barry Goldin is going to be
a big contender. The only thing which might hold him back is a lack of racing at
Mildenhall in recent times but I think when you are as good as him and have been
racing as long as he has it doesn't make too much difference. He has been superb
at Stoke and Belle Vue this year and so I think he'll be one to keep an eye on,
I'd be surprised if he isn't on the podium.
As a seasoned competitor in the World of
Shale series what do you think of the big chances this year?
I like them but there is one small thing I don't like which is a personal
bug bear of mine which is I don't think the overseas drivers should be as far up
the grid as row three. This comes from the World Semi Finals, I think finishing
third in a semi and being on that podium should really mean something and those
top three in each of those races should be on the front three rows of the World
Final, not if you finish third you start on row four. I appreciate we don't have
semi finals in the World of Shale but I think here the top six in the qualifying
points should also be on the front rows not just the top four. I also don't
think overseas drivers who race in the qualifying rounds should be eligible for
the overseas grid positions which is the case in the World Championship because
they could effect the qualifying chances of someone like me and it have no consequence
on their qualifying which I don't think is fair.
Is there anyone you would to thank or
mention?
John Whittle who started us playing this silly game, Amy and Redline Racing.