An Interview with former British and Mildenhall Track Champion 673 Darren Fendley
(interview published February 25 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 Unlimited Banger BBA Supreme Championship)

Age: 29
Home Town: King’s Lynn
Occupation: Paint sprayer
Family: Fiance Kelly and two children
Racing career: Started racing aged 17 in Rookie Bangers at King’s Lynn

You’ve previously told us that when it comes to championship meetings you actually prefer to qualify on the night via the last chance race because it gives you a chance to see how your car is performing, with that in mind how are you feeling about qualifying for this year’s Supreme Championship?
I think I’ve got over that phase now (laughs)! It does help doing the last chance race sometimes but that only works if you succeed in qualifying so I guess it is better to be in the race straight away. I think qualifying on the night is a much bigger help for me if I’m racing a new car because until you race a new car you never know quite how it’s going to go, even if it’s a type of car you have raced loads of times before, they are always a little different and sometimes they are a lot different. It helps me a little bit that I’m racing a car I’ve already raced, with the Omega estate I used at the (unlimited) Icebreaker and it went really well at King’s Lynn, so I’m confident it’s a good car and that gives you a bit of extra confidence going into a race like this because sometimes racing a new car in a race like this can be a little bit like stepping into the unknown.

Is the fact that your intended car for the race has performed so well in the past the main reason why you’ve chosen to use it here?
No, the main reason is because it’s built (laughs)! We’ve had a bit of a break over the winter with the cars and it’s been nice to not be as flat out as we are in the season and having this car ready to go has just saved us a lot of work which is nice, also if I didn’t use it at the Supreme, I’m not sure when I would use it again so I want to get it used up because I’m hoping to do a few more unlimited meetings this year and I need to get it out of the way but it does help that the car has been proven to be a good one and that gives you that extra bit of confidence that the car will be ok for the championship race.

This will be your fifth time in the Supreme Championship, is it a race you still look forward to and having raced in the event as both a National and an Unlimited meeting, do you prefer it as an unlimited meeting?
I am looking forward to it, especially now that it’s unlimited. It’s funny because when it changed (to an unlimited format) I was probably one of the guys who wasn’t so pleased to see it change because at the time I was largely a FWD kind of racer. I’ve always enjoyed RWD more but a few years ago I just couldn’t get RWD and unlimited cars which is why I didn’t race them very much but now things have changed and it’s actually Mondeos which I find the hardest cars to get hold off. But now there are more modern cars which we can use for unlimited meetings and so I’m able to get them a bit more easily. It helps because a lot of them come with big engines and gearboxes and sometimes they have two catalytic converters which means you can get a bit more of your money back which helps a lot. But the RWD cars have always been more fun and enjoyable for me and I always look forward to these meetings and to have a big unlimited meeting like this at Mildenhall is definitely something to look forward to.

You finished fourth in 2011, do you believe you can do better than that this year?
It’s impossible to say. In races like this, the first five laps are just so important. I don’t think it is a matter of doing especially well in those first few laps, it’s just about surviving. Unless someone makes a big break from the front of the grid, which is especially hard in a race like this, then I think as long as you are still going after the first few laps you are going to have a chance. I didn’t last three laps I think last year and in something like this you often don’t have much control over that, those first few laps will be pretty manic and if you can come out of them then you are in contention.

Is there anything you can learn from last year’s race and do you like races like this, where the result is more of a lottery?
(laughs) No there was nothing I could have drawn from last year. I got turned left into the fence and smashed to bit by the traffic. That’s just racing sometimes and especially in a race like this. When the races are graded order I usually start at the back so there is a little less chance of that happening to me at the start but in a race like this everyone is in the same boat so it can happen to anyone. I think it’s also a bit more likely in a championship where the vast majority of the drivers in the race start with the goal of trying to win so everyone is pushing really hard at the start and that makes it all the more harder to survive. But I do like races like this. You have no idea whose going to do what going into a race like this, it’s impossible to predict who might win and that’s brilliant, it makes the whole thing so much more exciting. Races like this, it’s also much more about the driver than their equipment. That is always more so when you race on shale at the moment but again in a race like this it is even more the case because there is a lot of cars and a lot going on so success is less about the car and more about the driver and that’s a much better environment I think, it also adds to the achievement if you have a good result because you know that you’ve done well yourself, that’s proper banger racing in my opinion.

Can you predict any leading contenders for this year’s race?
(laughs) No, but that’s mainly because I’ve not looked at who is doing it! I never really pay too much attention to things like that. I just worry about making sure I’m there when I’m supposed to be racing, that is the only thing which really matters to me, I’ll think about who is there when I get there but even then I try not to worry about stuff like that, I don’t see the point really.

We must talk about your recent success at the unlimited Icebreaker where you won the final after a superb drive against the Team Grey and Black drivers which was enough to earn your team the championship.
Yeah, it was a pretty brilliant race when I actually watched it back on DVD. At the time I had no idea of what was going on. I don’t’ run with a mirror so I had no idea what was going on behind me and that when the race restarted I had all four (Team Grey and Black cars) behind me. I know one of them had to be up there as Tom Foster was trying to stop me so I figured there must have been some of them chasing me but I didn’t know quite how intense it was, I just drove my own race and it was enough to get the win. Watching it back on the DVD though was pretty cool though and I can understand why everyone got so excited now. It was especially cool for me because we were racing as Team Bash for the day which has always been my team so to speak and so to win the championship with that name meant a lot to me.

On the subject of team racing, you are a regular with the Dover Boys now and one of your highlights of 2014 must have been the Old Skool team meeting where you won the head to head heat, again against Team Grey and Black, did that stand out for you?
It did, but I love all the team meetings and the Old Skool is especially special because of the head to heads which are brilliant things to be a part of. I think it dawned on me that I was the last (Dover Boy) left when I was stuck in the back of Alex Savage and I realised there was no-one else left but I was quite happy there because at least Wes Starmer couldn’t hit me head-on (laughs). It was funny because on the last bend all of the team were going nuts on the infield and I actually saw Victor (188 John Reeves) pointing at the chequered flag which was waiting for me and all I could think to myself was ‘thanks mate, I know where I’ve got to get to!’ (laughs) I couldn’t hear the crowd in the car but a lot of people said about the cheer when I got free and took the win so that was pretty cool.

Have you any plans laid out for 2015?
Well we do but my plans have a habit of changing! The intention is to do a little bit less this year but to do some different stuff and race some special cars hopefully. I’ve a couple of cars which I’ve had for a while but they have kept getting pushed to the back of the yard while we worry about other things and I need to get on and race them now. One is pretty special and the idea is to build that for the Steamer memorial meeting and I’ve another unlimited car which isn’t as rare but is still one you don’t see very often and I’m thinking of building that for the (unlimited EA team championship). Like I said I’m finding it easier to get unlimited and RWD cars now and I really enjoy racing them so hopefully I’ll do some more.

One meeting you are already booked in for is the 1400cc Suffolk Open team championship on Good Friday (April 3) with the Dover Boys, are you looking forward to that and is there any pressure of the Dover Girls doing better than your team?
Yeah, it’s always a great meeting, it’s another one where you really don’t need to look before to see whose coming, you just know it’s going to be a massive meeting with loads of cars and loads of action and the team meetings are also great fun in the pits as well. As for pressure (laughs), no I'm fine, it's Andy (Battle) and Victor (John Reeves) who need to worry about being beaten by the girls!

You narrowly missed out on the top spot in the Winter Series this year, something which continues to happen to you, was that a disappointment and did you enjoy the winter meetings?
It wasn’t a disappointment, again it’s just racing and I did enjoy the meetings apart from getting left stuck in the pile-up in the last race at the last meeting when I was still running, that wasn’t funny! But apart from that it was good. There is something very enjoyable about those meetings, even though they are usually pretty wet, again there is no advantage to having good cars and equipment which I think is something everyone who does those meetings enjoys but the atmosphere is a little different as well, everyone seems a little more friendly and willing to help each other. Maybe the meetings aren’t quite as intense as others, I’m not sure what it is but they are a lot of fun.

Is there anyone you would like to mention or thank?
My dad for all his support and help, Kelly for being so supportive of my racing, all of my family really who are fantastic and Simon Ward and all my mates who help me out.

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