An Interview with BriSCA F2 Stockcar Ben Fund Trophy holder 578 Mark Gibbs
(interview published August 31 2016 in the lead up to the BriSCA F2 Stockcar World Championship weekend on September 10 and 11)

Age: 49
Home town: Leek
Occupation: Lorry driver and mechanic
Family: Partner Nicky
Started racing: Aged 21 in Stock Rods at Hednesford

Your last visit to Mildenhall didn’t end in the best way as having initially been awarded a top 10 finish in your semi-final race in 2014 a subsequent investigation of the result confirmed another driver had been missed in the original top 10 which bumped you out of a World Final place, how big of a disappointment was that?
Well I’m over it now (laughs). Of course it was disappointing at the time, thinking you’ve qualified for the biggest race of the year and then finding out you actually just missed out, it was a shame and yeah I was gutted at the time but it doesn’t really matter that much does it, these things happen, I just wished they didn’t happen to me (laughs).

That said are you looking forward to returning to Mildenhall to take part in this year’s World Final and nearly 30 years into your racing career do you still look forward to the big occasions such as this?
Absolutely, I still get a huge buzz from races like this, it’s always exciting and ultimately it is a big reason why I go racing to try and get into the big events of the year but I think that is the same for most drivers because everyone wants to be a part of these races if they can and with the World being at Mildenhall that should be really good. While the result in the end in the semis didn’t go my way, the race itself was an excellent one, loads of action and a really good race to be a part of and I really enjoyed it so I would imagine the World Final will be just as good, if not potentially even better so yeah I’m looking forward to it.

This will be your first World Final on shale having previously competed in the big race in Barford and Taunton, does the shale element make it more exciting?
It definitely makes it different and it’s another reason why I’m looking forward to the World this year because it’s on shale because I’ve been doing more and more on shale lately and really enjoying it. From 1999 to 2015 I barely raced on shale, just the odd one here and there, usually because I had to for say a World Semi Final or something like that. I had an old tarmac car and the truth is the tarmac meetings my way, especially at Buxton were starting to struggle for numbers so we decided to do a bit of work on this old car to do a few shale meetings locally and that ended up with me buying a new shale car for this season (laughs)! When I first started racing and was doing Hot Rods I used to race mostly on shale at Crewe and Stoke but then Crewe shut and so I started racing at Buxton instead. I switched to F2s because one season there was only nine meetings at Buxton in the Hot Rods and 12 in the F2s so I figured if I got a stockcar I could race a bit more often and still stick to racing at Buxton. Last year I did 50 meetings so that’s didn’t last forever (laughs).

This season has seen you race a lot less, is there a reason for this and has reducing your amount of racing commitments helped you enjoy the racing you have been doing?
There’s not been one specific reason for it, just a lot of little reasons. For example on the Easter weekend we used to make that a proper weekend of racing and do all four days but this year I was away on Micky Brennan’s stag do so that was four meetings there. My partner has got a new horse this year so we’ve spent a bit of time doing that and then I’ve missed a few tarmac meetings simply because the low number of cars expected made me less enthusiastic about doing them and when you add everything up that’s why I’ve done less this year. But I have enjoyed what I’ve done. It’s been a real shame seeing so many of the tarmac meetings struggling and I’m one of these guys who would much prefer racing against 30 to 40 cars than against just 10 cars so that’s why I’ve been doing a bit more on shale this season, simply because I’ve enjoyed the racing more as there have been more cars to race against. I also think doing a bit less on tarmac but picking better meetings has helped because I have enjoyed the ones I’ve done. I did the World Final last year at Hednesford and after the meeting the car was put away and I didn’t race it again until the world qualifying weekend at Birmingham and Hednesford in April but I found I really enjoyed it and I also enjoyed the west country qualifiers as well which is a weekend I always do so maybe doing less has helped me enjoy what I’ve done a bit more.

You competed in eight World qualifying rounds this season, was qualifying for the World Final a target this season?
Yes, but then it is every season. It’s our biggest race of the year and I think most people would like to be a part of it if they can. I did do eight rounds but again they included the weekend at Incarace and at St Day and Taunton which I do most years because they are weekends I really enjoy so I guess I only did four rounds where I went out of my way to do them, I’m actually a little surprised I didn’t do more rounds (laughs)!

Almost half your World Qualifying points came from attendance which is still somewhat new to the series, are you in favour of attendance points at the qualifying rounds?
I am because I think it encourages people to make the effort and do the meetings whereas without them they might be less likely to because there is no guarantee of them coming away with anything. Take Andy Gibbs for example, he worked really hard to qualify for a semi-final this year and I saw him at a few of the tarmac rounds I raced at. I suspect he knew the chance of him scoring points wasn’t the greatest but at least he got his attendance points and I suspect if they weren’t available he might not have done those meetings.

You finished seventh in your World Semi-Final which puts you on row 10 of the World Final grid, are you happy with that position?
I am, I’m pleased enough to just be in the World Final and I’m not too worried about where I am, as long as I’m in it. I think everyone in the race has a chance, especially at Mildenhall where it’s likely to be a chaotic race with a lot going on. Hopefully being towards the back of the grid might help, normally I would prefer to be a little closer to the front but I think on this occasion it might not be the best place to be as I expect a lot to happen among the front runners. Well hopefully it will and that might give me a chance (laughs).

You are also starting on the outside, does that put you at a disadvantage?
Well I started my semi-final on the outside, I was on the outside in the English Open when I finished third, I started the Ben Fund Trophy on the outside and I won so I think I’m used to it now (laughs). To be honest if I was on the inside I might not know what to do!

Who do you think stand out as the leading contenders for the title this year?
I think anyone who is in the race has a chance, I really do. It’s going to be so unpredictable, any race like this is but being at a track like Mildenhall will make it more so. As I said the semi-final I was in back in 2014 was an excellent race, I can’t see this being any different so it’s going to be a good race to watch and be a part of and there are so many good drivers in it, how can you pick one. There will also be more drivers to come because whoever qualifies on the night is going to have a chance as well, if you have guys like Micky Brennan and Gordon Moodie at the back you still can’t rule them out can you.

Have you got a target or goal for the race?
I’d like to finish it but I think that might be easier said than done (laughs). Of course I’d love to win and have the gold roof, everyone would but for me, to finish would be an achievement enough and I’d be really pleased with that, hopefully if I can get through the start of the race ok I will have a chance.

Will a lack of experience at Mildenhall put you at a disadvantage?
I’d like to think it won’t. Although I didn’t get the result I’d hoped for at the semi-final meeting a couple of years ago, the car still went well and I was pleased with how it did so there is that and I’ve done a few meetings at Belle Vue and Stoke this year and I go pretty good there too and they are not a million miles different to Mildenhall so hopefully it will be ok. I’m planning to race at Stoke and Belle Vue on the bank holiday weekend so hopefully that will help me get ready for Mildenhall as well.

Much has been said about the 2016 season and the attempts to try and improve the sport, something you have been involved in as well in the various drivers forums, how do you think these efforts are going?
I think we are helping but the biggest problem I think is that while there are drivers who are quick to have a moan and complain about things there are much less willing to actually come forward when you ask for their help and input. There are 500 drivers in the formula, but there is barely a dozen of us who seem willing to try and make things better. I appreciate not everyone can because of their other commitments but even so, people can still contribute just by talking to each other and it has been a little frustrating the lack of input from some. Maybe they are worried their thoughts won’t be heard but we need more feedback from drivers to try and move things forward and make the sport better for everyone and I think we are starting to get somewhere.

One suggestion for the future has been the idea of introducing a shootout style series for the National Points Championship, much like BriSCA F1 Stockcars has, is that something you would support?
To be honest I’ve not read up enough on this yet and it is something I need to look into more but my biggest concern is that at the end of most seasons the majority of the top drivers in the National Points Championship are from Scotland and I’m not sure if they would all commit to a series like that, I’m sure there would be some who wouldn’t. A big reason why it worked so well in F1s is that the majority of the drivers in the series are there at every round and it would need to be the same in F2s so maybe it would have to be the top 10 drivers who are willing to commit to it or something because if there were only five or so drivers in the shootout at one of the rounds that would be no good at all.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
Nicky for putting up with it all, TTS Export, Tyrefit, J&R Brassey, Ford and Kid, TMR, AWR and a big thanks to Dave Billing for my engines.