EXCUSE US, BUT how did you end up owning the largest motorsport empire in the UK?
I had the Palmersport business, doing corporate events at Bedford Autodrome, and was eager to expand the business but didn’t know how. Then in the middle of ’03, the Octagon circuits (Brands, Oulton etc) came up for sale. There was huge interest from developers but that business was losing three million a year. Those that had the ability to run it were pretty few and far between. From the 80 organisations that expressed an interest in buying it we made the final five, we offered the least amount of money but we were a solid offer.
And now you own them all, Do you sneak in when its quiet and have a blast around your tracks?
I don’t actually because, well, I don’t know why! If there was a car in a pit lane then I probably would, often when I’m up at Bedford Autodrome I jump in something and go and have a play, if it’s accessible for me then I go out. But the problem is when I do go out I don’t want to come back in!
There was concern from fans that you would sell off tracks to housing developers. Can you guarantee this won’t happen?
I have got absolutely no intention of selling the circuits collectively or individually. I love the racing business. Frankly, if I sold them all and made a load of money from them the first thing I would want to do is buy some circuits to have some fun with. I’m doing what I want to do.
How do you feel bike race spectators differ from their four-wheeled counterparts?
More passionate, there’s more of them, they’re more knowledgeable, more opinionated and just so enthusiastic. I really enjoy walking around during an event and chatting to spectators, it’s nice when they know my name and tell me that they like the improvements to the circuits.
Do you ride bikes, and can you do wheelies?
When I was a medical student in London I had a Suzuki GT250, but I don’t ride on the road anymore. I do have a couple of motocross bikes I thrash around the fields at home. I keep trying to do wheelies, I love them but just can’t seem to master them.
You developed your own racecar for the road, any chance we could see a Palmer race bike?
I don’t know enough about bikes to do one properly. I admire Simon Saunders at Ariel for his plans for a bike, but I understand cars way more than bikes. Maybe later down the line this might be possible, but at the minute my name just isn’t synonymous with motorcycles.
Of all the disciplines of racing that you host at your tracks, which is your favourite?
I talk to lots of racers that come through the gates, but in all honesty I think it would have to be Brands BSB. I know many of the riders and the crowds are great. WSB is bigger but I just don’t know as many of the riders.
How did it make you feel when james toseland won his last wsb races at brands?
Absolutely brilliant, I have huge respect for James, I think he’s an amazing bloke. Such a talent on a bike, and on the piano. And he’s a good-looking bastard. He’s phenomenal with the crowds. If you had to genetically engineer the perfect racer, it wouldn’t be far off James Toseland. I was thrilled he did it, that’s the stuff of future legends, that is.
Would you agree with Murray Walker that Lewis Hamilton will win a championship before JT?
I don’t know enough about James’ team and bike, so I’m afraid not really qualified to say.
So why no MotoGp at Brands?
I think because of the amount of work we would need to do to the circuit. I’d love to see the MotoGP here, so would the fans, but there are a lot of licensing issues that just get in the way.
We need to know: Are you the Stig?
I think the Stig is a number of people, and I am not one of those people. Anybody that knows me knows I don’t have the time to even consider being the Stig, anyway!
Qatar motogp was a floodlit night race, any chance of a night-race for bikes at Brands?
Goodness, no. I would guess that the real reason they floodlit the Qatar race was so you couldn’t see the near-total lack of a crowd! But no, I can’t see it working here. Maybe as a gimmicky one-off thing but then the amount of complaints we get on a normal race day here can be pretty bad, never mind at 11 o’clock at night.
Track days are huge business but how do you deal with the health & safety issues in this safety-obsessed world?
People have to understand that when they undertake dangerous sports, there is a risk that they could be hurt or killed. If you have an accident and it wasn’t anyone else’s fault, just take it on the chin. People are now suing when they have a crash. When people try and sue their case is picked up by some no-win no-fee solicitor, and through preparing our case we can spend up to £200,000 in legal fees, only to have the other party realise they aren’t going to win the case and pull out. We are never going to get that money back so it has to be recouped through track day fees. I think a lot of people are pushed into making a claim when they shouldn’t.
Are you sure you’re not the Stig?
Haha, no! Now bugger off, I’m a very busy man.
