An Interview with TSR World Champion Gibbo 390 David Gibson
(interview published February 25 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship)

Age: 24
Home Town: Bourne
Occupation: Lorry driver for a skip hire company
Family: Girlfriend Rachel
Racing career: First race was in Juniors Rods at Skegness aged 12

If we can start by asking, you only confirmed your intention to race in the Supreme Championship quite recently, was there a reason for your hesitation and was there doubt over whether you would take your place on the grid?
Yes there was a bit. Basically I’ve been having no luck with unlimited bangers lately and the frustration was really starting to get to me and it effected my enthusiasm a lot and there was a while where I really did think I would give it a miss and maybe not bother (with the Supreme Championship). It doesn’t help happening at this time of the year when the weather isn’t exactly the best so it’s no fun being down the yard working on cars and when you feel like you aren’t getting anywhere it just makes it more difficult. I suppose it doesn’t help that I seem to be doing so well with the other formats of bangers and I’ve been probably making even more of an effort to try and crack unlimiteds as well and when you don’t get the results it’s really difficult.

What have the problems been and what changed your mind about the Supreme Championship?
I keep blowing engines which is obviously a pretty expensive problem to have as well, especially with unlimited cars because the engines aren’t cheap or easy to fix so when I keep blowing them one meeting after another it really hit me hard. Thankfully I had a much better meeting at the (unlimited) Icebreaker at King’s Lynn in January. It wasn’t my best meeting but it was probably the best meeting I’ve had in an unlimited in quite some time so that helped but what really made my mind up is that I have a few unlimited cars in the yard which I’ve already raced and I need to pull my finger out and race them because otherwise they will just go to waste (laughs). The trouble is I know that once I get to the meeting I will enjoy myself as I really enjoy my racing, it’s just all the work and stress you get before and unfortunately most of what I’ve been having lately has been from the unlimited cars and meetings.

Having said that, does this mean you know what car you will be using for the race?
Yes, it will be the Scorpio I used in the Ipswich World Final. I’ve two Scorpios built at the moment and a Jaguar XJ-S but I’m not overly keen on the XJ-S to be honest. I’ve had the car nearly two years now and had nothing but problems with it and when I finally did race it I wasn’t too keen, it was just a bit small for me and I felt quite cramped inside so I wasn’t comfortable in it at all so I’m not sure if I will race it again or if someone else will have it. The Scorpios are an ideal car really, the only problem is how expensive they are but for unlimited meetings there really isn’t too much that is better I think, they are a very good all round car if you ask me.

The 2015 ORCi construction rules have recently been announced and include a few rule changes which apply to the Ford Scorpio, what are your thoughts on them?
I’m glad you can use fabricated drive shafts again. When I first raced a Scorpio I didn’t know how bad they were and I just clipped the fence at Lynn and broke one and was left stranded on the back straight and took a couple of hits which nearly wrecked the car there and then. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind getting wrecked but when the cars are as expensive as they are for unlimited meetings it seems daft to me that you can’t use something which is quite easy and cheap to make which gives you half a chance of getting some time from the car so I’m pleased they are allowed again. I think restricting the engine guards is probably a good idea as well, just because some of them were getting so big, it was getting a little silly I think and it was getting to a stage where everyone had to have one so I think pulling that back was the right move and I’m pleased that dizzy guards are allowed again, on all cars as well which I think is the right move. We (the Mad Hatters) do a lot of 1500cc meetings and while we have plenty of cars we don’t have plenty of engines and spares because of the amount we have broken, having a guard will make a massive difference I think for a lot of people and hopefully by not breaking parts of the engine it will reduce the cost of racing a little.

This will be your second time in the Supreme Championship but your first in the race since it became unlimited, are you looking forward to it and how do you fancy your chances?
Now I’ve pulled my finger out and decided to get on and do it I am looking forward to it. The big races are always good and especially so when it’s unlimited, anytime you have a lot of the top drivers in the sport racing together it’s always a special thing. I did the meeting last year but only in the last chance race and I remember the championship race so it must have been a good one (laughs) and that it was pretty hectic. Hopefully it will be the same again this year. I like those kind of races because then it’s more about the driver and their skill rather than the car they are driving and for me that is how banger racing should be. It’s why I stick mostly to racing on shale because there it is more about the driver than the car so I find I’m able to compete better on shale but in a race like this hopefully it will be even more about the guy behind the wheel and what they can do and that’s what makes it so special to win, because it’s a race you really have to earn. I’d like to think I’ve got a reasonable chance of doing well. It’s another reason why I’ve pulled my finger out and decided to do it because I feel it’s a race where I have a chance to do well being shale and that it should be a lively race which suites me, I’ve just got to hope the car doesn’t let me down again (laughs). At the end of the day you have to go into every race you do thinking you are capable of doing well, whether that be going for the win or getting stuck in and entertaining the crowd, if you don’t have that belief in yourself you’ve probably already lost.

2014 was a fantastic year for you winning the World Final at King’s Lynn and the TSR Entertainer’s League but you fell a little short in the track championship, having to settle for second despite leading into the final month of the season, was that a big disappointment for you?
It was, it was more frustrating than anything because I really feel I threw it away in part. I was leading in October and there was a 2Litre RWD meeting at the start of November which only had about 20 cars booked in and really didn’t look too good so I decided to give it a miss and we all had a night out instead. Terry (Garrod) had a good night that night and my 60 point lead was cut in half and then at the (Unlimited Nutcracker and 1500cc National Championship) I blew both engines in both my cars and that was pretty much game over at that point. So it was disappointing and really I’ve no-one to blame but myself which was a little hard to take but I still had my best season by far, finishing first in the Entertainer’s League and second in the National Points alone was far better than any other season I have ever had and when you factor in winning the World Final I’m hardly in a position to grumble about how last year turned out.

What are your plans for 2015 and do they include another stab at the TSR points title?
I’ve honestly not given it the greatest amount of thought but I know that I will miss a couple of meetings at King’s Lynn this year because of holidays and other things that life throws up so I’m not sure I’ll be in a position to go for the points again this year but we’ll see how things turn out, but you know how it is, if things start to go well and you get hungry for it it’s hard to not go for it. We’ve not thought too much about the year so far, I think we will mostly do the meetings we have done before but hopefully if time and everything else allows it we might try and squeeze something else in.

One of the plans you have made for 2015 is the Mad Hatters are again booked in for the 1400cc Suffolk Open team championship on Good Friday (April 3), a meeting you have supported now for several years despite often being on the receiving end, what is the appeal of this meeting for you?
We all really like the small car meetings, we love them at Lynn and it’s not often we get to do them at Mildenhall but Good Friday is one we always make a point of doing and I love team racing as well. Yeah, you could say we’ve had a rough time at the meeting lately (laughs) but that’s part of the fun isn’t it! The small cars and really good for that kind of thing, you can get wrecked and pull it out and go again and on Good Friday you know it’s a long day which means if you keep fixing you will probably get three races and a DD so it’s a great day. I’ve had a quick look at this year’s entry and it looked pretty good to me but again it’s usually a good meeting.

Closer to home there are a few changes to the fixtures at King’s Lynn and TSR this year, what are your thoughts on those?
From what I’ve seen it’s mostly the meetings which were struggling which they have dropped like the 1500cc figure of 8, 2litre RWD and pre 70 meeting and I can fully understand why. I did the pre 70 meeting last year but only because I had a car from another meeting and while I enjoyed it, it wasn’t the same as it used to be. The cars just aren’t there anymore and the atmosphere has really gone, it’s a shame but that is the way it is and the same with the RWD meeting which is why I gave it a miss. I understand why (TSR) have dropped those meetings, it makes sense to try new things or have a meeting less maybe because it does get hard at times with the amount of meetings they have and having an extra Micro or 1500cc meeting makes perfect sense because those meetings are proving popular and doing well.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
My dad again, I’ve thanked him before and it’s still not enough for everything he does for me and the rest of the boys and we are all extremely grateful and also to all the boys who help me.

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