An Interview with BriSCA F2 Stockcar World Championship Semi Finalist 995 Michael Lund
(interview published August 13 2014 in the lead up to the World Championship Semi-Finals at Mildenhall on August 23)

Age: 23
Home Town: Clitheroe
Occupation: Trainee transport manager
Family: Girlfriend Amy
Racing career: Started racing BriSCA F2 Stockcars aged 18 in 2009 at Skegness

This is going to be your third time in a World Championship Semi-Final but you are yet to qualify for a World Final, are you pleased to have got into a semi again and how important is it for you to qualify this year?
I’m really pleased to have qualified again and I think this is probably my best chance at getting into a World Final because the semi is at a track I race at regularly and on shale which is obviously my preferred surface but having said that with the World Final at Cowdenbeath I can’t say that I think I would have the greatest of chances in the World Final if I did qualify, although I suppose being at Cowdenbeath there is a good chance it will be a hectic race and if I could finish that would probably give me a chance of getting a decent place as I suspect not too many will even finish.. So because of that, qualifying isn’t the be all and end all for me, if I do it will be brilliant to finally get to race in a World Final and experience it all but if I don’t it won’t matter too much and I won’t be greatly disappointed which I suppose helps a little because it takes away some of the pressure. If the World Final was on shale then I would be much more determined to try and qualify for it and sometimes when you think like that it just makes everything tougher on yourself.

Was trying to qualify for a Semi-Final a target for you this season?
Not, especially but I have been trying to do as many of the shale meetings as I can this year as qualifying for the World of Shale Championship was my biggest target and I guess I had some good results at the shale (world qualifying) rounds and the attendance points helped so it got me in. I am really pleased to be in a semi again, they are usually good races to be a part of and one of the things I really like about the meeting is it brings a lot of the drivers together. Unfortunately the sport is getting more and more divided between shale and tarmac drivers and a meeting like the Semi-Final brings both sides together, more so than the World Final itself I think so it’s a good meeting to be a part of and there are people in my race I’ve never raced against so that will be cool just to race against new drivers. The semi-finals are always exciting so I’m glad to be a part of them.

Now you have seen your semi-final grid, how do you rate your chances of qualifying for the World Final for the first time?
I think I’ve a fairly reasonable chance but then again I think most people do. You never know what will happen in any race at Mildenhall, let alone something like this, it is going to be so unpredictable. I think my race has got a few more shale drivers in it than the other one which may not be a good thing for me because I would imagine most of those shale drivers are going to fancy their chances of getting a top 10 and getting into the World Final, especially those like me who’ve never qualified before and hope with the semi being on shale this year will make the difference. But then it could also help because having more experienced shale racers around me might make the race go a little smoother and make it more like any other shale race and being on row five that could be a good thing so you never know.

With the Semi-Finals on shale and the World Final on tarmac do you think that fact gives extra credentials to whoever wins the championship?
I think it does. It’s always good when it falls that way and I think it means that whoever wins the World Final will be a more all-round driver and not just someone who is good on one surface so I guess it is better for it to be this way and whoever wins the World Final will have certainly earned it the hard way. I think this format does favour guys like Chris Bradbury who is good on both surfaces, even Gordon Moodie who won his World Championship at Mildenhall, I think people like that are going to have a bit of an advantage because they know they can do well on both shale and tarmac and that will give them an edge over the drivers who only really race on one surface.

Have you given any thoughts to your tactics for the Semi-Final race?
I think the most important thing is to be there at the end. It’s like they say, you can’t win a race in the first lap but you can lose it so everyone will want to get through the first lap in one bit, but beyond that I’ve not really given the race too much thought, it’s near impossible to because you just don’t know what’s going to happen but getting through the first few laps with no damage is definitely going to be important.

Despite not attending every meeting at Mildenhall this season you are currently inside the top 10 in the points, are you pleased with your form at Mildenhall this season and does that give you extra confidence for the Semi-Finals?
I’ve been really pleased with how the season has gone everywhere but Mildenhall has been good to me and I had some good success earlier in the season when I was starting in the yellow grade. It’s much harder from the red and superstar grade, especially at Mildenhall where you almost start a lap down on the white grade but it makes the results you get a bigger achievement. Having some good meetings there does help heading into a race like a semi-final. It’s all down to the night and your luck on the day but knowing you’re capable of doing it definitely helps.

You mention making the Superstar grade this season, was that a highlight of 2014?
Absolutely. I had a goal to try and get to the red grade and with that in mind we made a big effort to do all the shale meetings at the start of the season which was tough but it was totally worth it in the end and when I found out I made it to superstar that was just amazing. It’s been hard from the back of the grid but it’s been a fantastic achievement for me and I’m really pleased I managed to do it.

You’ve qualified very strongly for the World of Shale Championship this month at Coventry, how do you rate your chances in that?
Obviously it’s on shale which is my favoured surface so I think I’ve a chance but everyone in that race will fancy their chances. It’s our big one of the season and it should be a great race and I’m looking forward to it and I’m really pleased to have qualified so well which gives me a chance of doing ok.

One of the talking points this season has been the reduction in the prize money in the formula, what were your thoughts on this?
It’s not the end of the world, I suppose it’s more frustrating than anything. Winning £5 or £10 isn’t going to make the biggest of difference but it would by your chips on the way home so it did help, every little bit did but we’ve managed to cope without it.

It’s no secret that at Mildenhall red flags are used more frequently than other F2 raceways, are you happy for red flags to be used in certain situations or should only waved yellow flags be used?
I think if you have something serious on track like a car rolled over, a red flag should be used. Yes it can be frustrating, I was winning a Grand National at Mildenhall this year when the race was red flagged but it just made me more determined to still win and I managed to win anyway so that was good. But the most important thing is to keep drivers safe and so if red flags are needed then they are needed.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
All my sponsors, Triffitt Trailers, Keith Clements Auto Electric Services, Gateway Options, Greens Salvage and John Lund Steel, my girlfriend for all her support, my team for their help, especially my dad and my mum for making all the sandwiches and my sister Emma who comes every now and again and usually gets bored!