A conversation with... Darren Manning.

Last year at Rockingham, Harrogate born Darren Manning was the new kid on the Champ Car block thanks to his one-off deal with Team St George/Dale Coyne Racing. Now the 28 year-old is a permanent fixture in the Series with his RAC-backed Walker Racing Reynard and is preparing to thrill his home fans with a top showing in this weekend's London Champ Car Trophy at Brands Hatch.

Last Thursday, Crash.Net caught up with Mr Manning in the rather luxuriant surroundings of Quaglino's restaurant in central London where, over an exceptionally sumptuous repast, we were able to steal a few comments about the most keenly anticipated event on the 2003 British Motorsport calendar.

Crash.Net
So, what has the build-up to this event been like for you?

DM
Pretty calm really to be honest, I mean there's been a lot of PR and events such as this lunch here, but overall it's been pretty normal. I've been over here [in Britain] for a couple of weeks now.

Crash.Net
Get some time off?

DM
Exactly, its nice to come back to home soil and see my family and friends and things. Its been a bit of a novelty really because, over in the States, you're flat out from weekend to weekend, so its nice to have a bit of time.

Crash.Net
You said last year that your CART debut at Rockingham, at the time, was the biggest race of your career, do you think that view will change next weekend?

DM
Yes, this will be the biggest race of my career. You know, I'll be the British boy, and there's been a lot of publicity and build up whereas, with Rockingham, I only got the drive a couple of weeks before the race so there wasn't a lot of PR and build-up to that.

I still got a lot of support there but this, ever since I signed in January, it's had all the build-up and the hype and everything and I've also got a few races under my belt this year in the Championship. I'm a Championship contender and I think it's going to be mega.

Crash.Net
Traditionally, the Brands Hatch fans have been feverishly patriotic - we've witnessed early displays of 'Mansell Mania' and some momentous scenes around Carl Fogarty. Are you hoping for an outbreak of 'Manning Mania' next weekend?

DM
Yeah, I hope so. The feedback I've been getting from everybody has been great and the amount of people that should be turning up, I mean, Bank Holiday weekend is a bit of a traditional Touring Car weekend and, now, with Champ Cars as well...

Crash.Net
Good weather too?

DM
Good weather, yeah, but still we'll race whatever happens so, hopefully, there will be plenty of spectators rain or shine.

All the races I've been to so far I've had a lot of support, even in Mexico there were Manning flags over there, it's been great.

Crash.Net
Speaking of support, you visited an air force base in Southern California before the last round at Long Beach....

DM
We were supporting the US Air Force in Long Beach, so there was a lot of support from that.

I mean its just the whole CART atmosphere, it's very accessible for the fans so they can get to know you, you get a good following that way.

Crash.Net
You've raced in Japan, around Europe in F3000 and in the Formula One type environment. Is that how the Champ Car environment differs?

DM
Especially in terms of the European style of racing, it's definitely more of an open atmosphere [in CART]. The spectators have got a lot more access to the drivers and the teams; they can come to the [garage] awnings and have a real close look at the cars being prepared.

The drivers do an autograph session for an hour on Friday night and it means that the drivers are very close. There's a good camaraderie between us whereas, in Europe, it's very cold-nosed, very political. Fans aren't given very much access and its all 'superstar status'. But the comradeship and openness in Champ Cars is really what I like and it's an enjoyable environment.

Crash.Net
Is that the type of atmosphere you like?

DM
Personally, I flourish in it. I'm a very down to earth Yorkshire lad - I mean I don't mind the hard-working high-pressure environment of Formula One, but it suits me a lot better in the Champ Car series.

Crash.Net
You said you'd be quite happy to stay in CART for ten years.

DM
Absolutely.

Crash.Net
Does that mean there aren't any NASCAR/Indy 500 ambitions at the moment?

DM
Well, to be honest, I'm just trying to concentrate on my job in Champ Cars for as long as I possibly can because its top level American racing, probably second only to Formula One, if not pretty equal. So there's no real point for me to aspire to anything else at the moment but, [grinning broadly] in a few years time, if I'm a big star in America and the NASCAR boys want me to run with them, or if there's an opportunity to earn a few million bucks at Indianapolis or even something else, I can pick and choose whether I do it rather than just take anything.

Crash.Net
If a spectator had enough money to go to either the London Champ Car Trophy or the British Grand Prix, apart from yourself racing of course, what tips the balance in favour of CART?

DM
I would say that CART is a lot more exciting racing, especially at Brands Hatch where you'll be able to see the whole circuit. There are nearly 20 cars, up to 190 miles per hour and it's just going to be nose-to-tail action. It's a long two-hour race and there'll be plenty of incidents and lots of overtaking.

In Formula One, I know this year has been a little bit better but, if you're not in a Ferrari or a McLaren, you're generally not at the front. In CART, whatever team you're in, whatever car you're in, you still stand a chance of winning.

Crash.Net
Prior to this weekend, what past favourite memories have you got of Brands Hatch?

DM
Well, I started my career in Formula First there and that was great fun racing - you know, going around the outside of Paddock in these little 1600cc groove tyre things, slipping and sliding everywhere. I was straight out of karts and jumping into these things was great. It seemed such a massive circuit to me back then, but it's not going to seem that big in a Champ Car....

Crash.Net
Do you still get a chance to do any karting for fun, to unwind?

DM
A little bit yeah, the guy who used to run me in karts, Steve Ogden, is a good friend of mine and I still go up to see him every now and then in Yorkshire and pop in when he's testing. I'll just jump in a kart he's running and go out for a thrash. I'm hopeless [laughing] - no I'm not, but it's good fun."

Crash.Net
Moving back to bigger machinery, could you compare what its like to drive a Champ Car against the BAR Formula One car you tested and the F3000 Lola you used to race. That's a pretty good mix?

DM
Obviously, the F3000 is similar in some ways with regards to the gearbox, no power steering and slick tyres, but a Champ Car has similar horsepower to Formula One and its quite high tech in terms of its electronics. The Champ Car has a manual gearbox, but it hasn't got traction control. It's still got similar horsepower, similar downforce and similar braking to F1 but its got no power steering. It's a bit more of an animal to drive, a bit heavier than a Formula One car too."

Crash.Net
Do you prefer that?

DM
Its harder in some respects, but maybe more driver-dependent - a better driver can hopefully get more out of a Champ Car than they could a Formula One car. In Formula One, you generally see drivers going as fast as the car will go where, in a Champ Car, you can wring its neck and get a bit more out of it.

Crash.Net
You're one of six Reynards in the field and you've been one of the fastest all year....

DM
Well, I've been fastest Reynard virtually every time out at the start of qualifying and that's my first goal really. Nobody will ever really know how much difference there is between the Lola and the Reynard so they [the other Reynards] are the first people I've got to beat, and obviously my team-mate. People can at least say I'm the first of those guys.

Crash.Net
Have you had any indications as to whether the Reynard will like Brands Hatch?

DM
I think so. The Bridgestone road course tyres suit our car pretty well and also Brands is pretty smooth, which the Reynards tend to like as well. I know the circuit pretty well too. I'm not counting my chickens but, hopefully, everything's going to go pretty well our way.

Crash.Net
So what is your goal this weekend?

DM
Well, I'll be going for a win, but I think a top five will be good. It's going to be a long race and very tight with backmarkers and so, if I can keep my speed in the top five or six, then I stand as good a chance as anybody of winning.

Crash.Net
What would a Champ Car win in front of your home crowd do for Darren Manning?

DM
It would be unbelievable. It would be pretty emotional for a start, but I think it would set me off and confirm my space in Champ Car's future. That's my job really, to make sure that I stay here and that people want Darren Manning.

Crash.Net
Looking ahead slightly, have you given much thought to the Rookie of the Year prize?

DM
Not really, no, I'm just going about every race as it comes. There's still a long way to go in the Championship - there's 16 races to go and that's a lot of racing. A couple of wins, or a win or a couple of podiums, can just totally transform your season, even towards the end of the year. It's close, but it would be nice to get Rookie of the Year, seeing as you've got people like [Sebastien] Bourdais in the Newman-Haas car, which is a Championship-winning car, so it would be great to beat him. But it would be good to get in the top ten in the Championship.

Crash.Net
You seem to be good at getting the car to the finish. Bourdais has had a couple of poles, but he's made the rookie mistakes.

DM
Exactly, that's one thing I tend to look at. I want every part of my driving to be the best, the speed, qualifying well, racing well, not shunting, everything - fitness, working with engineers, press, PR, I want everything to be the best.

Crash.Net
Did the year in ASCAR prepare you for places like Lausitzring and Milwaukee?

DM
And Rockingham last year. Even though it is a stock car [ASCAR], you learn about setting up with stagger, setting up with cross-weight, making it turn left easier and all those kind of things just gets your brain working in that kind of scenario and so its not too alien for me.

Crash.Net
Moving away from racing for a minute, there was a press release last year that said you held the land speed record for reversing in a Caterham. Care to embellish on that?

DM
Well I co-present an ITV programme called Pulling Power and somebody wrote in and had this great idea that, with a motorbike engine in a Caterham, when you make it road legal, you have to have a change-over-box to get reverse because motorbikes don't have a reverse gear. So they thought, when you do that you actually get six reverse gears, so it could go as fast in reverse as it could forwards, and so we did a piece on that.

Crash.Net
And you did it?

DM
Absolutely, I'll do anything. Actually, it was pretty spectacular. The record was 86mph and I raised it to 102.

Crash.Net
Didn't that make you feel a bit queasy?

DM
Well, it was pretty dodgy to begin with, put it that way. It took me a few runs to get used to it because the suspension is all.... it's not all the wrong way, but it doesn't work perfectly put it that way.

Crash.Net
Finally, to the British public who may not be too aware of what Champ Car is all about, why come to the London Champ Car Trophy?

DM
It's going to be something like they've never seen before, ever. Its going to be a complete spectacle, nearly 200mph cars, no traction control, a short little circuit where you can see everywhere, its just going to be two hours of pure excitement.

Crash.Net
Thankyou very much indeed

DM
Not a problem.