Michael Mallock Interview

by Chris Hall on April 23rd, 2011

This year sees Michael Mallock make a welcome return to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, and although the 2010 European FIA GT4 pilot made cameo appearances in the KTM X-Bow last season, it’s his first serious attack on the series in eight years.  Joining forces once again with Athanasios Ladas and the ABG Motorsports team, Mallock will contest the G4 class as he continues to carve out a name for himself in the motor-sport archives of the future. With the ink on his British GT Championship deal barely dry, we caught up with the Englishman to discuss his past, present and future in racing.

Q:     With the various 2011 race seasons about to get under-way, what are you doing at the moment?
A:     Well, I’ve just put pen to paper on a deal for a full season of British GT. I’m looking forward to it as although the main race season is only just restarting; I haven’t been out of a car for more than a couple of weeks since this time last year. I’ve competed in some of the UAE GT races and done an extended test program in the Middle East over the winter, so it feels like we’re quite a way into the season already!

With a surname like his, Michael Mallock has a lot to live-up to in motorsports. Suffice to day he's delivered.

Q:     What are you going to be competing in this year?
A:     I have one agreement signed, to run with Athanasios Ladas in his KTM in the British GT championship. The KTM is a great little car and I’ve really enjoyed the running I’ve done so far. ABG will be running the car and Peter Hignett runs a very good outfit, so I’m feeling very confident about the year. Mr, Ladas and I did the BGT rounds at Rockingham last year, and won both races, hopefully we’ll carry on our 100% win record!

Q:     What are your racing plans for this year, and how are they progressing at the moment?
A:     I’m still in discussion with several teams for a few other series. The Blancpain series has a great buzz, and I think I will be doing at least some rounds of that. As always it’s down to finance, not many teams have the finance in place to put in pro drivers, so it’s all down to finding the money, unfortunately the contract I did have for the year was cancelled fairly late so I had already passed up the opportunity to take some of the ‘prime’ seats. I’m working together with several teams on ways to put the finance in place so I can join them on the grid.
Le Mans is looking very unlikely now, as the car I was going to be in didn’t get an entry. But I should be doing some of the other 24hr races, such as Spa and Silverstone, I may even be taking on the Nordschliefe for the first time this year.

Q:     Does coming from a name with a rich racing heritage act as a double-edged sword?
A:     Definitely. At the start of my career it was a help as it meant I was noticed a little earlier than some others, but still had to work very hard to get that recognition. As I’ve moved on it seems I have to work twice as hard to get half the recognition! It’s very easy for people to perceive you as the ‘son of’ and I’ve worked hard to distance myself from the family in terms of race drives I’ve taken. I’ve consciously made an effort to work for a mix of other teams, and generally speaking I’d say people recognise me for my own merits now; not all the time though!
That said, I am hugely proud of my heritage, and I’m hugely fortunate to have had Dad as a mentor and sounding board throughout my career.

Q:     Now the dust has settled on the 2010 FIA GT4 Championship how do you reflect on the season and what do you feel was key to your good finish; but also what was instrumental in keeping you from the Championship title?
A:     Well I’d say 2010 was an average year as we only finished second in the Championship! We were caught out at the start of the year with the change of tyre manufacturer to be honest, and it took us a while to get the maximum performance out of the car, that and two mechanical failures, neither of them through the fault of the team, cost us the chance to take the overall honours, which is solely what we were aiming for. That car that beat us was suspiciously quick mind you….

Q:     Your European GT4 success came in the Aston Martin, a car you’ve built a wealth of experience from in various series in recent history. What’s drawn you to it?
A:     Aston Martin is a great brand, and one any British driver would be keen to represent, so there’s an obvious draw there. I was fortunate to be employed to drive the RSWilliams GT4 car following some races I did in an historic DB4 for Marshplant. They saw me sliding that around and gave me a shot in the more modern car; that lead to a three year relationship so it certainly has been a big part of my history.

The KTM X-Bow proved to be much more than a diversion for Mallock.

Q:     The KTM X_bow proved to be a rewarding diversion in 2010, with a couple of winning runs in the British GTs. That was probably a perfect match for you, half sports-car, and half single-seater. What were your thoughts on the car? Has the British GT changed much since 2003 when you last made an appearance?
A:     I certainly enjoy the KTM. It’s more like a sports-car than a GT car, it’s pretty slow on the straights but handles beautifully so overall you can drag a lap time out, but it takes work to do so. For me that makes things more enjoyable!

The level of the series has stepped up from when I was last involved, there’s a great atmosphere, good competition and loose racing, that’s a big part of the reason I signed up to race in the series full time this year.”

Q:     Although you’ve certainly dabbled in single seaters through your career, would it be fair to say you gravitate towards Sports Car racing? What’s the attraction for you?

A:     I fit in them!!

Q:     During your professional racing career you’ve raced for works teams, and independent private teams, what are the pros & cons of the two different types of organisation?
A:     The perks are usually a lot better for a works team! It’s a very different ethos from a big manufacturer based team to a smaller team running for a private customer, driving for Mercedes with the SLR GT programme was a nice experience. It’s good to have the support structure behind you in certain situations; quite often though the bigger the team the more politics become involved. The important thing in any team is the guys you are directly involved with, your engineer or more importantly the guy who straps you in, it’s important to have a good relationship with him.”

Q:     You’ve had the opportunity to race a huge array of cars, classic and modern, is there a stand out favourite?
A:     I love driving my old Mk18 Mallock, built by my Grandfather in 1978, the historic cars like the Aston DB4s and GT40s are great fun too, sometimes the modern cars have too much grip! One of my favourite races was in the Saleen at the Spa 24hrs, that was a great car, really easy to drive and great performance.”

Q:     Your own family is connected with some famous race cars, which gives you an intimate knowledge of the ‘Mallock Machinery.’ Can you think of a driver not from the family, that  you’ve watched in one of the Mallock cars  and thought ‘now that’s wringing the neck out of it’?
A:     No-one drives a Mallock as fast as a Mallock. Fact.

Q:     Looking to the future, what cars and series are you aiming for in one, five, and even ten years time?
A:     The goal is winning at Le Mans;  the rest is simply window dressing!