An Interview with 2011 Supreme Champion Bro 247 Lee Clarke
(interview published March 11 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship)

Age: 26
Home Town: Woodton
Occupation: Car breaker
Family: Fiancé Cassie
Racing career: Starting racing Ministox aged 14 and National Bangers aged 16

This will be your ninth consecutive appearance in the Supreme Championship, the second highest in the event and you have appeared in the race more than only a handful of drivers, are statistics like that something you are aware of or something that interests you?
I’m certainly not aware of them, I think it is quite hard to keep up with things like that but I must admit I never knew it had been that many times, I guess it shows how quickly the time goes by and also how long I’ve been racing for now because sometimes you forget these things. But it is interesting to know stuff like that, I must admit every year at the (Spedeworth) World Final I tend to have a look at some of the stats in there and find that kind of stuff interesting. It’s especially so when the information involves yourself and people you are friends with. For years (Luke) Parfitt was right up there with the most consecutive appearances before he decided to retire and then I was getting up there as well until I broke my wrist and had to miss one. It’s shame when you miss one after building up a record like that, like I said I never knew I had such a record in this race so that’s really good to know that.

Having been competing in this championship for almost a decade now, is it still a race you look forward to?
Absolutely. A big part of that for me is that it is a roof grade carrying championship and for me they are the most special ones of the year because winning a championship roof for a year is a really special thing in the sport because it immediately sets you aside from everyone else and that’s such a great thing to have on your car, so me all the championships with the roof grades, they are the big ones. It also helps that this one is unlimited because while there are not that many roof grade championships, I’m guessing around half of them maybe are unlimited so this is even rarer I guess and as almost all my racing now is in unlimited bangers, these are the races you want to win more than anything.

You are a former Supreme Champion winning the event back when it was a National format meeting, we have yet to see a driver win the race in both a National and an Unlimited Banger, how special would that be for you to be the first?
It’d be fantastic, of course it would. As I said anytime you get to win a race like this it means a lot but to win it twice and under different formats would just be something else and it’s also brilliant whenever you are the first to do something because that can never be taken away from you. I was actually thinking that no-one who won it when the race was a National meeting had won it again since it became unlimited but didn’t realise how few people had won it twice which I think says a lot about the race and how hard it is so yes, it would mean a lot to win again but I know that’s going to be very difficult.

Your were in fact the last driver to win the race as a National Banger meeting, how do you feel now about the switch to unlimited?
It’s funny really because at the time I didn’t think it would be a good move but I think that was partly down to my personal preferences because at the time I wasn’t doing much unlimited racing but in that time I think there has been quite a big shift in the sport and I’m not the only one who now much prefers racing unlimited bangers. I think it has made the meeting better, the two years where the weather has been good, the race itself has been really good with lots of cars and plenty of stuff going on which is what you need for a good banger race and those two years the turnout has been really good as well so clearly there are plenty of drivers who like it the way it is now and it looks like this year could be the same again. I think part of the reason why there has been this shift is because unlimited cars are a bit easier to get hold off now, well I think they are at least. A few years ago it was much harder for me to get cars for unlimited meetings but now there is a lot more modern stuff out there which you can get and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. The problem is that they take so long to build, or at least to build properly. While I can build a Mondeo in a week of evenings I simply can’t do that with an unlimited and when it’s me and (mechanic) Rug building an unlimited it will usually take almost all of two weeks of nights. That’s ok and I don’t mind doing that but when they take that long to build and there are now so many unlimited meetings these days there is no way you can wreck a car every time you race, if you do then you will start missing meetings. You often hear people complaining that unlimited meetings can be a bit racy and that people load up cars before the DD and stuff like that but all the while there are so many meetings that’s never going to change.

Given that around 40 cars are expected in the Supreme Championship, do you expect the race to be as rough as previous years and if so does that suit you?
I think anytime you have that many unlimited cars, or any cars really, at a track the size of Mildenhall, it’s bound to be lively. You can never say if that is good or bad for you, it all depends what happens in the race. I think it does help if you are drawn at the back of the grid because when the field fills the track the people at the front can’t run away from the pack, they are in the traffic almost the same as the people further back which makes the chance of getting caught out the same after a couple of laps so it does help even out everyone’s chances. But I will say that I think if you do well in a lively race, one where you have had to work really hard to win it and maybe fight through the traffic and pick a way through a pile-up and stuff like that it is a lot more satisfying to win them than a quieter race where everything just goes your way. A win is a win, but races where you’ve had to fight for it, they mean a lot.

Have you decided what car you are going to use in the race?
I’m going to take the Toyota Supra I first used at the World Final. I’ve done a couple of meetings with it and it goes really well and I had three wins when I took it to Standlake (on March 1). I used one when I defended the title the first year it was unlimited and it was absolutely flying and I took the lead but then hit a spun car and was getting back towards the front and it blew up. I blamed Luke for that because I said he got it too hot when we was on the parade lap (laughs). I know it’s a good car and I know these cars go well round Mildenhall so I think it is an ideal choice really. I have got a Mercedes there but I’m not as keen on them, I still need to do some work on them to get them how I want them to be. There are advantages to taking a used car. I know it’s not perhaps what you should do for a big race like this but whenever you race a fresh car it is like stepping into the unknown because until the first race is over you never really know what you have but at least with this I’ve got half an idea. I have raced it on shale, I took it to King’s Lynn for the Nutcracker but I didn’t have a good day but I think a lot of that was down to tyres. Just recently I have been saving my money for good tyres for tarmac meetings and because of that I’ve been using tyres we’ve found in the yard for shale and I think I’ve been suffering as a result. That’s what I’ve always done when I’ve raced on shale, I won the World of Shale at Lynn on ‘yard tyres’ but I guess those tyres now aren’t as good (laughs) and it does make a big difference. So I’m going back to using Kingpins, they are not exactly expensive, a good one is around £25 which is a lot cheaper than what we’ve been spending on tyres for tarmac but you know what you are getting and I’m hoping that will help me here. With the championship being first, having the car right from the start is so important because there isn’t a second chance but I think that is something I’m good at. I always try and have my cars ready at least a day before the meeting so I can spend that day before doing all the fiddly bits. I guess you could say it’s fannying around but it does make a different. Take Standlake, I’d even done my tyre pressures before we left home and I went out and won the first race. On the other hand, take Ben Smith who hadn’t touched his car since the Icebreaker until the day before and he was rubbish (laughs).

You have some well known enemies in this race, does that effect your game plan going into it?
No, you can’t think that way, you have to try and put anything like that out of your head and just treat the race like any other one and go from there, if it happens it happens but you can never plan for it. My plan when I go in will be to see if I can have a stab at winning it. I would think that will be the case with anyone on the grid and anyone who says different, I think they have admitted defeat before it even starts.

What are your thoughts on the construction rules for 2015?
It’s been quite interesting because a few months ago (Spedeworth promoter) Deane Wood asked me for my thoughts on the rules. It’s difficult because I can see all the issues, there is a need to tone it down so to speak but at the same time every driver wants to get the most from their cars. I think the engine guard thing was the biggest issue. It was said to me that it was either limit the guards or limit the engine mounts, well no-one wants their engines to fall out so I guess restricting the guards was the best way and I admit some had gotten a bit much and the rule did need a bit of tweaking.

A big talking point at Spedeworth this season has been the lack of the Banger World Series round at any of their East Anglian tracks, as a Spedeworth East Anglian, what are your thoughts?
To be honest I think it is a bit of a joke really and I’ve been quite vocal about it. I just don’t think that it is fair because I think there are about three Wednesday night Eastbourne meetings I need to do this year for the World Championship series and to then not have a BWS round at one of our home tracks, I just don’t think that is fair. Having said that my bigger concern is having meetings with large amounts of attendance points on like the Micro team meeting at Yarmouth at Christmas because I think by doing that you are almost forcing people to race and again I don’t think that is fair. Also I’m not so keen on having meetings with world qualifying attendance points on in the winter. A few years ago we used to have a proper winter break. Of course there were meetings but if you wanted to do them, that was down to you but now there are a good few meetings in the winter which count towards the World Final and again I just think it’s a bit too much myself.

Have you any other plans for 2015?
Well I was hoping to do a bit more travelling but I’m not sure how that’s going to go now as the fixtures haven’t fallen to well for me personally, like a Micro meeting at Ipswich the same night as the World Cup at Cowdenbeath. I love going to Scotland but it seems a bit daft going all the way up there when I’ve a meeting on my doorstep, especially as we have so few meetings at Ipswich this year. I’m planning on going to Ireland in June for the BWS round, I enjoy it in Ireland and I’ve not been to Agodewy before so that will be something new.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
Cassie and my mum for all their support and Rug, Curtis and Parfitt for all their help.

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