An Interview with KIRS points champion 2 Georgie Lee
(interview published March 4 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship)

Age: 19
Home Town: Dagenham
Occupation: Window cleaner
Racing career: First race was in Ministox at Arena Essex aged 11

This is the second time you have qualified for the Supreme Championship having made your debut last year, were you pleased to learn you had qualified again?
Yes, I was really pleased. I consider qualifying for a race like this to be quite an achievement really, it’s a hard one to get into because you have to do something pretty special during the year to get in and it’s always full of top drivers so it’s excellent to be in it again and after last year I’m hoping I might be able to do a little better this time but we will have to see (laughs).

What is the main appeal of this race for you?
It’s shale and it’s rear wheel drive which is a proper combination for me. Although I’m registered at PRI and do a lot of my racing on tarmac I really enjoying having a go on shale when I can. There are a lot of drivers who are only any good on one surface or the other so it’s actually quite a thing for me to try and get to a stage where I can compete on both surfaces, it’s a personal target of mine and something I’m quite keen to crack. And I’m really starting to enjoy racing the rear wheel drive cars. There are a lot more fun than racing a Mondeo, front wheel drive cars are a lot easier to drive, whereas rear wheel drive ones always want to go their own way, or at least they do when I’m driving one (laughs)!

You actually led last year’s championship for a few laps, were you pleased with how you fared?
I was, especially because it was my first time in an unlimited on shale and so I was just pleased to not spin myself out on the first lap (laughs). To get in the front and lead for a while in a race like that was just brilliant and such a huge buzz and even though it didn’t last long I was still really chuffed with how well I did. I broke my drive shaft like a wally but thankfully it wasn’t just me that night so there was that I guess. That race gave me quite a confidence boost really and that confidence grew as the year went on and I think it’s made a big difference with how well I’m doing now.

Speaking of drive shafts, last year’s race was held at a time when fabricated drive shafts were not allowed, are you pleased that they are now permitted and have you any other thoughts on the 2015 ORCi rules?
I am glad they are allowed again, especially because the standard ones are so rubbish on the Scorpios and the people wanting want to see the cars racing not a load of cars broken down with broken drive shafts. Also the cars are so expensive now that it seems stupid to me that a car which costs so much can be made so bad just for the sake of fitting a different drive shaft. My biggest issue with the new rules is the tyres which I think is a joke. Every year the drivers find the best tyre to use and then it gets banned and we have a load of tyres which have cost a fair bit of money and they are useless and so we have to go out and do it all again with something new. I think a limit should be set on how much you can spend on a tyre and you simply cannot spend over that amount or better yet I think there should be a control tyre so everyone has to use the same tyre, that would be my suggestion. The engine guards is another thing I’m not so keen on, I think if people start smashing up engines all the time then drivers will be less willing to have a crash so it might have a negative impact on the race but I guess we will have to wait and see, at the end of the day the people watching want to see cars crashing and I think the engine guards helped that.

Have you made a decision on what car you will be using in this year’s Supreme Championship?
It will be another Scorpio. I just like them for unlimited meetings and think they are a fairly easy car to get and build and get to go well. They handle well, they’re quick and they are also pretty tough as well so all the things you need from a banger really. I think you will need most of those things in this race. Obviously last year was a very rough race with very few cars finishing and there is a good chance it could be like that again this year so it’s no good to have just a fast car. It’s nice but you need a car which can handle being crashed out and maybe get through a pile-up, hopefully if I’m fast enough I won’t be the one causing the pile-up (laughs).

What do you remember of last year’s race?
I remember it being proper (laughs). It was pretty rough but at the same time it was still pretty quick and you had to be on your toes and keep your wits about you and one mistake and that was it which is what happened to me so it was proper racing if you ask me because that is what a good banger race is, one which is fast but is still full of action with loads going on. Doing well in a race like that is a real accomplishment I think so to do well in the race this year would mean a great deal, I’d be absolutely buzzing if I could get a good result this time!

Have you a target or a personal goal for this year’s race?
I would like to finish. I think that has to be the first thing and again I don’t think that will be easy at all, just going the distance in a race like that is going to be hard work but that’s my goal and we’ll see what happened from there. Hopefully if I can finish I might have a chance of a top 10 as I would imagine there won’t be a large amount of finishers again and to finish on the podium would be absolutely brilliant.

After the Supreme Championship you came back to Mildenhall for the Unlimited Suffolk Open and finished second in the final, was that a boost for you and does that give you increased confidence heading into the championship?
I’d had a lot of encouragement to do more on shale from my dad and my brother so after the Supreme went so much better than I thought it would I was quite keen to have another go and the Suffolk Open was a really good night. I never expected it to go that well but to get a result like that was pretty great and it was a massive boost for my confidence, not just on shale but in all my racing really and I had a really good run of meetings after that and I think a lot of it was down to how I did at that meeting. Doing well in the Suffolk Open does give you a bit of extra belief heading into the Supreme that you are capable of doing well. I still think the Supreme is going to be a tougher race but hopefully I can do alright like I did in the Suffolk Open.

Have you paid much attention to the drivers booking in for the meeting and the race or do you not worry about that?
I never look at stuff like that, I just never have and just worry about it when I get there and then usually worry about whose there a bit too much (laughs). I’m always alright right up until the meeting and become a bag of nerves when I get there, I don’t know why I don’t look at that stuff but maybe it’s a good job I don’t!

2014 was a successful season for you, were you pleased to finish second in the points at PRI or were you disappointed to miss out on the top spot?
I was pleased with it. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to win but I had some bad luck towards the end of the year and blew a lot of engines which in the end cost me quite a bit but to finish second in only my second full season in bangers was pretty special and I was over the moon with that and it gave me a chance to race in the Ipswich World Final as well which was a great thing, especially as it was my first time in a rear wheel drive car there (laughs).

You did however win the Keep it Real Series points at Arena in 2014, was you pleased about that success and did it take you by surprise?
It did really because I never set out to do that and didn’t even know I was winning until near the end. I think it’s a shame that (PRI) have not carried on with the series this year. I know some of the meetings meant getting cars which were a little harder to get hold off but people were making the effort and for me it was about getting and building a car which was a little older than I would normally have and have some fun with it which was a good thing.

Have you any plans made for 2015?
I’m hoping to have another crack at the PRI points this year and see if I can go one better this year but I also want to try and travel around a bit more and do some more unlimited meetings and some at some different tracks. I’m hoping to do the Banger World Series rounds, or the unlimited ones at least and the Granada meeting at Mildenhall is another I want to do as I always have a car for that.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My mum and dad and brother mostly for everything they do to help me and everyone else who helps out.

Click here to return to One Wild Night page