An Interview with Shorty 148 Ian Redden

Age: 30
Home Town: Cambridge
Occupation: Panel beater
Family: Fiancé Kirsty and her children Jack and Lucy
Racing career: First started racing aged 11 at Banbury and started National Bangers at Mildenhall in 1999, aged 16

Having raced in the first unlimited Supreme Championship at Mildenhall in 2012 and failing to qualify for the main event last year, are you pleased to be back on the grid this year?
Yes, it’s always good to qualify for a big race like this one but this one is particularly hard to qualify because for me the only real chance I have is to do well in a championship somewhere during the year and I actually didn’t race in very many of the championships which count last year so I was actually quite surprised when I found out I’d qualified as I only came fourth in the World Cup (race winner 331 Jason Jackson had already qualified via the Supreme Championship and so the place went to Shorty instead). It’s one of the few big championships of the year now where I really think I have a good chance of doing well and challenging for the win, especially as it’s unlimited and at Mildenhall which is one of my favourite tracks. 

Having not qualified last year, was getting into the race again a target during the course of 2013?
It was but again it’s not something you have the greatest amount of say in, especially me because I only had a couple of chances to qualify and as I didn’t race so much last year I had no chance of getting in through the (TSR) points, so I suppose I got lucky. But it is a race that I do try to get into, especially now that it is unlimited.

Much like in 2012, you’ve qualified for this year’s event via the World Cup in Cowdenbeath, a race you won in 2011, is this still an event you enjoy as it’s brought you much success?
I do like the race, it’s one of my favourite big races on tarmac as I much prefer racing on shale and it’s always a good weekend away and the whole trip there and back is a bit of an adventure. Having said that I don’t think I will be going this year. It’s my birthday that weekend and we are thinking about going to Emmen for the weekend instead. I’ve not been there yet so fancy going over for a look because so many people speak so highly of the place. I’d love to race there but it is too far for me to take a car but I’ve made some friends over there now so maybe I could arrange for a car to be built for me but that would take a little organizing. I think the World Cup has lost a little of its spark lately so maybe having a year off would be good for me. 

How do you rate your chances for this year’s Supreme Championship?
You have to fancy your chances don’t you, I think if you go into any race not believing you can win then you probably won’t. But again this has a few things in my favour, it’s one of the tracks I go best at and it’s unlimited which is now my favourite format of racing so I would to think I have as good a chance as anyone else out there. 

Having been in the race before, what kind of race do you expect this to be?
Very unpredictable, especially if there is a big grid of cars again. You can never know what to expect in a race like this but when it’s at Mildenhall it just makes it even more unpredictable because of the size of the track, it will only take one small trigger and you will have pile-up and if that happens the result will be an even bigger lottery than normal. I think surviving is going to be the biggest thing here, if you can still be going at the end you will have a chance. Speed is till important, it’s no good to be going round slowly, you need to be on the pace but I think being able to get through and keep going will make a big difference which suites me because I like to think I’m a fairly smart driver with the ability to get through and keep out of trouble so hopefully it will help me.

Who do you think will be a contender for the title this year?
That’s pretty difficult. Bro (247 Lee Clarke) has being going very well lately and has won a lot on shale in unlimited bangers at (King’s) Lynn so he will probably be a good one but he’s a few enemies out there so that could make a difference. I think pretty much everyone out there has a chance really, you have to be good to qualify so by that everyone on the grid is capable of winning. That’s one of the reasons the race is so good, because the qualifying system means everyone out there is a good driver, just like a World Final.

Having plenty of championship experienced now, do you still get excited and look forward to a race like this?
Absolutely, it’s what you race for, to qualify for and try and win races like this, it’s what it is all about.

How special would it be for you to win the championship?
It would be massive. I think the best things I have done have been winning the World Cup and the (unlimited) Suffolk Open (in 2009) so to win this would be right up there with them, maybe even more so. It’s one of the very few unlimited championships to carry a roof grade (the only other one being the World of Shale at King’s Lynn). I’ve kind of accepted now that I’m not likely to challenge for a World Championship anymore because I don’t race so much on tarmac and the TSR event is for 2litres so the Supreme and World of Shale are now my biggest races of the year but they are also the ones I think I have the best chance in too.

Have you decided what car you are going to race?
I was going to use the Scorpio estate I had at the Icebreaker but if there is going to be a big grid of cars I might race a Volvo instead. They are a little tougher, the suspensions are stronger than a Scorpio and a Scorpio has a few weak points, like the drive shafts and if it’s going to be a hard race, a Volvo might be the better option and I think they are just as quick round Mildenhall as anything else. I won the Suffolk Open in one and that was after I got smashed to bits in my heat, we repaired it for the consolation, qualified and won the final in the pouring rain. The other good thing about a Volvo is they still go well after they have had a battering and that could be important. 

Speaking of success at King’s Lynn, you were part of the winning team at the Unlimited Icebreaker (17 Eggs) and you played a big part in the team’s victory, was that a good way to kick the year off and has that given you a boost heading into the Supreme Championship?
It’s always good when you are doing well and it gives you more enthusiasm to work on the next car and get ready for the next meeting where as when you have bad meetings it can be harder to get motivated so between the Icebreaker and the Heavy Metal Classic I’ve had a good start to the year which is very helpful. I was going to have the winter off but I had the Capri to finish off so I took that to Standlake and had a good day with it and then I was asked to race at the Icebreaker at the last minute and I’m glad I did. The Icebreaker was one of the few unlimited events at Lynn I’d yet to win. I’d come close before and been second more than once so it was nice to finally be in the winning team, especially when I could say I played a part in that happening. I’ve also won the Bandit (memorial), King of the Fens and Nutcracker at Lynn so it’s just the East Anglian and World of Shale left to try and win now. 

Continuing on the questions about TSR, they introduced a novel new prize fund scheme to several meetings in 2013, where they introduced start money at some meetings but at these events, the prize money was what was available after all the start money had been awarded so the more cars racing, the less prize money available, was that something you agreed with?
I think it is good to have something for racing and it softens the blow when you have a bad day but I think the idea was more to get people to book in and race and I think for that it definitely worked, but when you have a good day and don’t win as much (prize money) as you would have done before then it’s not so good so its swings and roundabouts really. 

As you already mentioned, you cut back on your racing in 2013, was there any specific reason for that and what are your plans for 2014?
It was mostly due to work and family commitments and just getting older. I hope to do roughly the same this year but we will see how it goes, I hope to do as many unlimited and rear wheel drive type events on shale as I can as these are the meetings I enjoy the most now. Again trying to win the East Anglian and the World of Shale are two races I’ll really be trying to win and also the Coventry Masters which is another race I’ve come close to winning before and always come up a bit short.

The next ORCi technical rules for 2014 have been a big talking point recently, have you any thought?
To be honest, it makes very little difference to me and I won’t have to change very much at all so we’ll be carrying on like normal. The only thing I think it the rules have focussed on the wrong thing. Rather than changing things like prop shafts and drive shafts I think more should have been done about the things which are making the cars stronger. A different prop or drive shaft won’t make the car stronger, it just stops it from breaking down so I would have liked to have seen more things done on things like bumpers and water tanks which are adding to the strength of cars.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
My dad for everything he does and for Kirsty for putting up with everything which goes with the racing.

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