An Interview with Bro 247 Lee
Clarke
(interview published March 4 2014 in the lead up to the 2014 Unlimited
Banger BBA Supreme Championship)
Age: 25
Home Town: Woodton
Occupation: Car breaker
Family: Girlfriend Cassie
Racing career: Starting racing Ministox aged 14 and National Bangers aged 16
Congratulations on qualifying for this year’s race, being no stranger to big championship races, do you still look forward to occasions like this?
Yes, I do it’s always nice to be in races like this one, especially when they are full of the top drivers in the sport so I am looking forward to it, just as long as the weather is better than it was last year?
You are a former winner of the event, winning the last championship for National Bangers in 2011 before it switched to unlimited bangers in 2012. When the change was announced you commented that while you felt the change was good for the event, it might not be so good for you personally, do you still feel that way?
That’s right, I did but things have changed a lot in the last couple of years for me. At the time I didn’t really do much unlimited racing and was mainly doing 2litre and Mondeo type meetings but in the time since it’s now the complete opposite and if I never raced a Mondeo again I probably wouldn’t be too worried. I always thought it was a good move for the meeting and we saw that the first time it was unlimited because there was a great turnout and it was a great meeting and it probably would have been the same last year had it not been for the snow. But no, I don’t feel the same way anymore, I’m much happier it’s unlimited and that is a big reason why I’m looking forward to it, if it was still (National Bangers) it wouldn’t be as special for me.
With that in mind, having won the race as a National Banger meeting, do you see this year’s championship as a race you have already won or as a championship you have yet to win?
I’ve never really thought about it like that but I suppose it is a bit like that. I’ve won it, but not as an unlimited race and it is completely different so it’s hard to say honestly that you have won it before. It’s always been an important championship but I do believe the unlimited ones and a little more important and special. It just takes that much more skill to do well in an unlimited car than a 2litre one, that’s the big difference. It’s not just the Supreme though, I would love to win a World Final but an unlimited one would mean a lot more to me than one of the 2litre ones just because of the cars you are racing.
Despite your reservations you were going well in the 2012 event and led for a time, what are your memories of the race?
I remember quite a bit about it. When the race first started I was getting beaten all over the track and then it got stopped. During the stoppage I was kicking myself for the way I was driving, I was driving like a fanny and not focussed on what I was doing so I decided I just needed to go for it and plant it on the restart and when the race restarted the car was absolutely flying. I think because I was still a bit inexperienced in unlimiteds on shale, I was a little hesitant for fear of spinning myself out but on the restart the car was just ballistic. To this day, I don’t know why it was so fast. I think I knew I’d got into the lead, it was so hectic it was very hard to tell, when Andy Newton pulled out in front of me. I have no idea what he was thinking and I had no way of not hitting him in the driver’s door. It’s terrible because while I was worried I might have hurt him I was also thinking the car was still going well and I still had a chance and then the engine blew up and caught fire.
On a similar theme, what are your memories of last year’s race?
It was terrible, just awful and that was just me (laughs). I cannot get on with wet shale. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong or how other people do it but I just cannot get my head round it. I’ve honestly tried and I like to think I’m quite clever at figuring stuff out but wet shale is one thing I cannot get sorted. I assume it’s me because there are plenty of others who do it, Chubby (382 Jack Foster Jnr) was flying in last year’s race. I kept on going in the hope that enough people would retire or their cars would just die and I would get somewhere just by finishing. My problems with wet shale is actually quite a frustrating one for me personally, I usually have a tantrum and just give up when it’s wet.
Having said that you had a great run in unlimited events on shale last year winning the East Anglian, World of Shale and under 25 GB Championships at King’s Lynn.
Yes, but they were all dry! I have had a good run in unlimited meetings on shale, especially at Lynn. I’ve not raced an unlimited at Mildenhall since last year’s Supreme so it would be nice to think I could continue the form into this race but you never knew, apart from both being shale, Mildenhall and Lynn are very different.
The early indications suggest this year’s race might be as well subscribed as the 2012 event, is that something you would like to see and will that help your chances?
I think it’s ok when there is a big field of cars, it does make things more exciting than when there is fewer of you out there. It makes it more of a lottery as well, with a big field it’s very likely there is going to be a stoppage and probably a pile-up as well and it’s a matter of making it to the restart with a car still capable of winning. You need something which is strong enough to survive but quick enough to win in the final five laps. It’s hard to know what kind of race you will see, there really is no telling and it’s almost impossible to pick a winner. Most of the grid are proven championship winners and the ones who aren’t have just as good a chance as anyone else, but it would be nice to see an outsider or someone different win and that could happen here.
With that in mind, have you decided what car you will be racing?
Probably a Lexus GS300. I’ve been racing a lot of Soarers lately but the GS300 is a bit bigger and bit stronger and not quite as vulnerable with things like the legs and wheels which aren’t as strong on the Soarers.
The list of qualifiers includes several of your regular on track rivals, do you approach races like this differently?
No, the day you start worrying about who else is out there is the day you need to retire. You just do everything the same and take it as it comes and if it happens, it happens and you deal with it then, me and Nemesis (239 Steve Carter) love each other anyway!
A recent point of discussion has been the unlimited class at the Heartbreaker meeting at Birmingham with some fans voicing their disappointment at the meeting, as a driver racing at this event, firstly did you enjoy the meeting and what’s your take on the comments?
It was ok, it wasn’t the best of days for me but I was frustrated a bit with how my meeting went even though I finished second in every race, I just couldn’t get the car to go the way I wanted to which I think is because this was one of the first times I’d raced at Birmingham in the dry. For me, I was happy it was a quieter meeting because I was still suffering from Wimbledon the week before. Even on the Tuesday after the meeting I had to roll out of bed because I ached that much, honestly I was on deaths door and I think sometimes people forget that, I still have a black eye over a week later from Wimbledon which was where I head butted the steering wheel hitting Pikey (190 Steve Bailey) head-on. One thing which does frustrate me is the comments of why we don’t spin every car out we catch. Well when you’re trying to win and there is chance to nip past on the inside, of course that’s what you will do. It’s quicker and when you spin a car out you risk losing time or getting caught up and taken out yourself so I think those comments are a bit silly myself.
You mentioned Wimbledon, the Banger World Series has some significant changes like this, as one of the contracted drivers last year how do you feel about this element being dropped and instead greater prize money being made available for all and also the inclusion of some 2litre rounds?
The changes they have made are definitely better not having the contracted drivers. It’s one of those things that when it was first suggested it seemed like an excellent idea, especially have the drivers and teams who usually feud with each other all together, but for whatever reason it just didn’t quite work out. I was ok with the meetings but a few people struggled with the commitment involved so now if you don’t want to go, you don’t go and if you do there is more chance of winning something. I’m not too worried about the 2Litre meetings, as it works out they clash with other meetings I’m interested in doing so I might not be there anyway, but I don’t see a problem with them.
Have you made any plans for 2014?
I’ve always been the kind of guy to only plan a week or two in advance and I think that will be the same this year. We build a car and then race it and go from there, I want to try and do more of what I want to do this year rather than what I feel I need to do. I’ve been that way for a couple of years and it does add to the pressure involved.
Another large talking point in recent weeks has been the announcement of the technical rules for ORCi meetings in 2014, what are your thoughts?
My biggest issue is that they have taken far too long in announcing them. We should have been told months ago, not a month before they come into effect. I’m sure I’m not the only driver who would have spent the winter getting ready for the season, buying gear and building kit and now there will be plenty of people whose stuff is now no good. I’m lucky because everything I did over the winter is still ok but if it hadn’t have been I wouldn’t have been impressed at all. The biggest problem I now have is tyres. I can understand why they have banned the Goodyear Eagle but this should have been done months ago because now not only does everyone have them but you can actually get them without spending a fortune, I got one for £20 off eBay recently and also got one off a scrap car. It’s the profile of the tyres which is a bigger issue I think because I think this is actually going to force drivers to have to buy tyres because most modern cars now come with lower profile tyres. With the way the rules were, the money men would spend their money and they still will but now I think those who didn’t spend a lot of money on things like tyres will have to as well.
Is there anyone you would like to mention or thank?
My mum and Cassie for all their support and putting up with me, Luke for his sponsorship and Rug and anyone else who helps out, I could never do it all on my own.