RYAN POLLEY
From: Cambridgeshire Car: Renault Clio 182 Position: 65th out of 1000
Istarted racing with the 750 Motor Club when I was 16, halfway through 2015, with a little Citroen Saxo in Stock Hatch. Then in ’16 I won the championship. At the end of that year, the 750MC stopped it because the numbers had dropped.
Everyone in Stock Hatch was going to Hot Hatch Class C, but I’m not a fan of mixed-class racing, I prefer one-make series so the Clio 182 championship was the next step for me.
I had a few difficulties getting used to it in 2017, but then my dad and I built a fresh shell for the start of 2018 and it was really good. We went to Oulton Park and I got pole straight out of the box. I had some bad luck during the year – there was one weekend I changed the engine three times – but to still finish third at the end of it, I was over the moon.
We’ve lost a couple of drivers this year, but Don de Graaff, James Bark and me are nose to tail every lap of every race – it’s so close. At Mallory Park, in qualifying, there was three hundredths between me and Don for pole.
You could say I was always destined to go racing. My grandad, George, won the Hot Rod World Final in 1976 and ’87. My dad, Stephen, raced in the 750MC’S old Hot Hatch Championship and won it in 1999. That was the year I was born so he then had to stop racing. My uncle races in BRISCA Formula 2 stock cars – one year he did 103 meetings! My auntie raced stock cars as well. She’s now in the Mini Se7en Championship.
I raced Ministox from age 11 to 15. It’s definitely a very good formula. I had a great time and won the British Championship when it was reintroduced in my last year. That was eventful – I was in the lead when there was a power cut and the floodlights went out!
Now, I’ve just got to take everything as it comes. I’ve previously made the mistake of getting too serious and it comes round to bite you because you get tied up in knots. After dropped scores, I’m leading by four points but there’s a long way to go.
There’s lots of things that I would like to do, but I need more sponsors to come on board to move up. The 750MC is very good value for money – I think you’d struggle to go elsewhere and get the same value. At the end of the day, racing is a hobby. I’d like to end up in touring cars or something but we’ve still got to come back to normality on a Monday, haven’t we? So just go and enjoy yourself.