An Interview with 229 Sean Riddell
(interview published February 25 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship)

Age: 18
Home Town: Aberchirder
Occupation: Mechanical fitter
Family: Single
Racing career: Started racing Ministox at Crimond aged 11

You are yet another driver to be competing in this year’s Supreme Championship for the first time, are you looking forward to it?
Yes, I can’t wait, I’m really quite excited about it to be honest. I was hoping to do the meeting anyway as I had hoped to come down last year for the last chance race but unfortunately I couldn’t arrange transport to Mildenhall so I had to leave it and ever since I was hoping to at least do the meeting this year so when I found out there was a place for me in the championship, that was it, there was no way I was missing it then.

You are in the race as the seeded entry from Crimond Raceway but you weren’t first in line for the place, so what was your reaction when you found out the place was yours if you wanted it?
I was over the moon. As I said I was hoping to try and come down anyway but when I was told I would in the race, that made the decision final and there was no way I was going to miss a chance like this, it’s quite a thing for someone like me, especially from where I come from, to be in a race like that so there was no chance I would turn it down.

Have you any experience of the event?
I came down the year my dad (John) raced in the final which was 2012 and I was really impressed with it. At the time it was the first really big unlimited banger meeting I had ever been to in England. I’d been to a couple of big meetings which weren’t unlimited and I was quite surprised at how different the atmosphere was. I didn’t expect that, I just thought all the big meetings would be the same kind of thing but being unlimited, there was definitely something different and more special about it. It was also the first time I had seen a lot of the sport’s top drivers in action so that was really cool and the thought of being on the grid myself and experiencing that atmosphere first hand is something I am really looking forward to as well as the chance to race against a lot of the top drivers in the sport.

This will be the first time you have raced unlimited bangers on shale but you have got unlimited and shale experience, albeit not at the same time, do you think that experience will help you here?
I’ve done the World Cup at Cowdenbeath the last two years and actually managed to qualify for the championship via the last chance race. I’ll admit the first year it was a fluke and I qualified simply because I finished (laughs). But last year was a lot better and I honestly felt a lot more comfortable and competitive so that did was a big boost for my confidence in those kind of cars. I do consider myself a pretty fast learner and have often been able to get to grips with what I’m doing pretty quickly which is really good because I’m definitely going to need to do that here (laughs). I’ve enjoyed the meetings I’ve done at King’s Lynn on the shale but they have always been in FWD cars so we’ll see how much that helps me here, I’m definitely better on tarmac than shale but hopefully this will make me a little better. One of the things which I’m hoping might help me a little was that I raced a Transit at Crimond at a wet meeting and was able to handle that pretty well. I know it will be completely different to this but again I’m hoping the fact I managed to get to grips with that pretty quick might mean I can get to grips with this as well.

On the subject of cars, have you decided what car you are racing in the championship?
I’ve got a Volvo 940, simply because it has come from my granddad (Jim Riddell) who offered me the car when I told him I was in the championship which was really good of him because the only other suitable cars I had really were BMWs and I’m not sure they would have been big or strong enough for a race like this and I think if I’d taken one of them I’m not sure I would have lasted too long. But Volvos are a good, strong car which I think is going to be particularly important for me with this being my first time in the race, at Mildenhall and on shale in an unlimited. I’m bound to make mistakes and so you need a car which is capable of surviving them and keep on going and I think a Volvo will be a better option for that. Also my dad used one the year he went and he did well with one and Colin (Riddell, Sean’s uncle) has taken one every year he has gone and has also done fine, he finished fourth last year and there weren’t many more that finished so that says a lot really.

Have you any particular targets or goals for the race?
I’m happy just to be in it. It’s the biggest thing I have ever been a part of. I’ve been in the World Cup at Cowdenbeath twice now and that is really good, especially being a Scottish driver but this is a little more special because I’m seeded straight in the race, rather than having qualified on the night which I think makes the whole thing a bit more special. I would love to finish it, I guess that is the target really and I think that if I can finish I’ve a chance of being in the top 10 because most years it seems not that many people actually finish the race so I know that finishing myself is going to be far from easy but it’s something to aim for (laughs).

If we see another rough championship race, will that benefit you?
I think so, it makes everyone’s chances a bit more even and if it’s more about just surviving then any disadvantage I might have could be reduced I suppose because you are more worried about just doing the next lap rather than how fast you go. It just depends on your luck on the night but I like to think I’m quite good at finding gaps and stuff like that so I’m hoping a rough race might help me out a little bit. You also have the likes of Bro (247 Lee Clarke) and DWO out there and a few other battles so if they start taking each other out and I’m able to stay away from it, then that will help as well, hopefully I’ve a bit of a low profile and everyone won’t be too worried about me.

Much has been said of the distance the Crimond drivers travel to attend this event, can you remind of how long the journey is and what is the appeal of this event?
It’s around 12 hours depending on who is driving (laughs). It won’t be more, that’s for sure, I’ll probably be asleep! It’s a major event, that’s the appeal I think and the fact that Crimond drivers are invited is a big reason why we go. We don’t get invited to that many things like this so we try and make the most of it and it helps that it’s a good meeting, like I said the year I went the atmosphere was the thing which stood out and I was just watching.

You mentioned the attraction of racing against some of the sport’s leading names, is there anyone you are particularly looking forward to competing with?
All of them really but especially guys like Boxer (331 Jason Jackson) and Chubby (382 Jack Foster Jnr) who I think are among the best. It’s nice to have raced against them when they have come to Scotland for the World Cup but it will be nice now to race against them on their own turf so to speak but just to be a part of a grid with so many top drivers will be really special for me. A lot of the drivers are ones I grew up watching when I raced Ministox and it’s still a little surreal to be on track against them.

Have you any plans for 2015 and what are your thoughts on the Scottish scene at the moment?
Well I’m currently working on four cars for the start of the year. My Volvo for Mildenhall, a car for the World Cup at Cowdenbeath, a (Rookie) Banger for Loch Gelly and a car for the first meeting of the year at Crimond. I’m hoping to do most of the meetings at Crimond again and also whatever else we can do in Scotland. I’ve started doing a few Rookie meetings at Loch Gelly and while I admit to not being a great fan of the track it’s nice to get some more racing in and I think it all helps me improve. It’s a real shame what’s going on (in Scotland) with Loch Gelly now running on Saturday nights against Cowdenbeath. I think both will suffer in the end when they should be working together but I also think it might help Crimond because now it’s the only track running on a Sunday so if people race on a Saturday and their car is ok we might see them at Crimond on the Sunday which would be great for us but we’ll have to see.

Have you any more trips to cross the border and race in England this year and what is the attraction of racing in England for you, especially given the distance involved for you?
We are talking about possibly doing Skegness. They have a non-Mondeo meeting (Crash Attack) which I fancy. I’ve been before and it looks like a great track and dad has raced there and speaks highly of it so I would like a go myself and I hate racing Mondeos so this meeting looks like a good bet. We do really enjoy racing in England, for whatever reason my family has always been something of a target in Scotland but in England everyone just seems to hit everyone and we get treated very much the same as the next guy and that is something I have always enjoyed on my visits before.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My whole team who help with my cars, Jimbo and Andy who take me to the meetings when my dad is away and my mum and dad for everything they do.

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