An Interview with Victor 188
John Reeves
Age: 34
Home Town: Hawkinge
Occupation: Machine driver
Family: Married to Stacey with children Codie, Lexi and Keya
Racing career: 23 years, started in Junior Bangers at Dover aged 11
You have been a regular in the championship ever since you won the event, is it a race you still get excited about and look forward to?
Yes I do, especially now it is unlimited. I used to look forward to it anyway but I think if it was 2litre type cars still I probably wouldn’t get the same buzz about it that I do now. The combination of unlimited cars and racing on shale is a really good one for me and especially now that I seem to be getting a bit better at racing unlimited and rwd cars means I am looking forward it. I just hope the weather is better than last year.
We might as well get that out of the way now, you’ve raced in some pretty extreme conditions before but how bad were the conditions in last year’s championship?
Yeah I have certainly raced in some bad weather, but that’s part of it sometimes. I wouldn’t say last year’s race was the worst I have raced in but it was definitely one of the worst. I think the worst weather I’ve ever raced in was at Dover the other year (the 2012 season opener) when it rained all weekend and all day and was just awful. I still did the whole meeting and even won the DD but it wasn’t any fun at all, it was just terrible. I think that is the worst but the Supreme came close.
Is winning the Supreme Championship your greatest achievement in your near 25 year carer or is there something else which you consider more special?
I think it is definitely the biggest championship I have ever won, it’s the only championship race I have won with a roof grade so that makes it special straight away but for me the things I’ve enjoyed winning the most is when we (the Dover Boys) have won team events. I just get a massive buzz from the team winning, much more than when I do well as an individual so I’d say the team championship wins have been my personal highlights and winning the Dover Track Championship (in 2011 and 2012) was also very special, because it’s my home track and where I started racing and I still consider it one of the toughest tracks out there.
You lost the Dover track championship in 2013, was that a disappointment to you and is trying to win it again in 2014 one of your goals?
Yes it was I suppose if I stop and think about it. I really would have loved to have won it three years running because there is very few people who have ever done that so a hat trick would have been pretty cool but it wasn’t to be. The Dover Track Championship is probably always going to be something I’ll be going for when I’m racing and I’ve every intention to do all the meetings at Dover again this year so I will be trying to do better this year.
Going back to the Supreme Championship, do you still get a buzz from racing in these big events having competed in so many of them?
I think every driver does, I certainly get nervous and I think all drivers do, I’d say anyone who says they don’t are probably lying. I remember the first time I did the Spedeworth World Final and that was an incredible feeling, it was like my very first race in the Juniors again and my leg was twitching on the clutch pedal it was that bad but at the same time it is an amazing feeling. I won’t be quite that bad when it comes to the Supreme I don’t think but that is mostly because it is at Mildenhall and I know the track a lot better than Ipswich so I feel a little more confident but there will still be butterflies, especially when you look around and realise that you are racing with most of the sport’s top drivers.
How do you fancy your chances this year?
Not very highly to be honest. Even though I’m happy the event is unlimited now I probably would have had a better chance if it had still been a National meeting but again I’m getting better with the unlimited cars and I won the (RDC) rear wheel drive points last year so that was good and I suppose everyone out there will have a chance. The chances are it’s going to be a lively race and that will suit me. If it was down to the fastest or the best car I don’t think I would have much chance but I don’t think that will be the case and that blows it open, especially if it is wet because then I think the tarmac drivers might struggle more.
If you were a betting man who would you fancy for the title?
I’ve honestly not looked too much at the qualifiers but you can never go against Boxer Jack (331 Jason Jackson) and he nearly won last year so he’ll be a contender whatever the weather but then again he has a few enemies who could stop him. I’ve honestly no idea, there are plenty of drivers capable of winning but if it’s a hard race it could be anyone, it’ just down to your luck on the night I think, but that’s good and makes the race a bit more exciting.
You’ve mentioned your improved RWD and unlimited form in recent months, is that something you are pleased about?
Yes I am. I think at the moment most people consider unlimited racing to be the best format in the sport so it’s good to be able to hold your own at these kind of meetings but I think part of it for me is that the modern types of unlimited bangers are a little bit easier to race and that has helped. Either that or I’ve suddenly got a lot better and I can’t see that! The unlimited racing is good as well at the moment because most of the drivers out there are the experienced ones. A lot of the younger drivers tend to stick to the limited cc stuff so most of the unlimited meetings are drivers who’ve been racing for a while and probably started when all the cars we raced were RWD and that sometimes makes for better meetings. And you can’t beat unlimiteds on shale when the track and weather is good.
You had a win at the Unlimited Icebreaker at King’s Lynn in January, was that a confidence boost for this?
No, not really I think. Don’t get me wrong it was nice to have a win, especially at a big meeting like that and being unlimited. It was also my first win at Lynn which has been a long time coming but the truth is Mildenhall is completely different to King’s Lynn so I don’t think it will help me too much, but at the same time it hasn’t hurt at all.
Have you decided what car you are going to race?
I’ve a few options. There is an Omega built, a Scorpio which is have built and a modern (S Type) Jaguar which I have. Chances are I will go for the Omega. Not just because it is built but because it’s a 2litre which I think is the right engine for Mildenhall. When I’ve raced Granadas, they’ve always been 2litre because I think anything more is too much for Mildenhall so I think the Omega might be the right car for the job.
What plans have you got for 2014?
Hopefully a busy year again. I cut back on 2013 because me and Stacey were getting married and as a result this year I’ve plenty of cars and no wedding so I hope to do most meetings, both at Dover and Mildenhall as well. I still enjoy it, I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t but I also enjoy being down the yard working and preparing the cars and that is important because if you can’t enjoy that then the enjoyment will soon go away and it all becomes a lot of hard work.
The ORCi has recently announced the technical specifications for 2014, are you happy with this year’s rules?
They don’t really make too much difference to me to be honest, the things which have been changed I wasn’t doing anyway so I really won’t be doing much very different at all which is good. The main thing people seen to be talking about is tyres but I didn’t use the ones which are now banned so again it’s not made any difference to me and I think the ones who are upset are mainly upset because they’d gone out and bought loads of them. My main concern is over distributor guards as I’m not sure if you can still use them on some cars. I’d been using them on Almeras for instance and it helped make the car last a meeting rather than keep breaking down and I’m not completely sure if you can still use them but I hope that’s not been changed as that would be a shame.
Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
Mike, who strips all my cars, Kevin for all his help and Stacey for all her support, nagging and racing my cars at Dover.