Peter Stark, project manager by day and car lover 24/7, explains how he gets the best of both in the motorsport world.
Peter, from Aberdeen, who has been an avid car lover since he was a young boy, first started rallying when he was 17 years old, taking part in local competitions once or twice a month and working his way through the ranks.
In 2002, Peter took his passion a step further by setting up his own side-line business, Stark Motorsport, to not only race but also build cars for others.
This year, he has also switched rallying for karting, after deciding it was time to ‘do the adult thing’ and divert rally funds towards buying a house. However, as he explains,
he still gets the same level of enjoyment from the
similar sport.
He said: “I definitely still get the same buzz from kart racing as I did when I was rallying, but it has been very hard to teach myself to drive differently on the track rather than on a rally stage.
“I have always loved all types of cars, so it has been fun to try out a different side to motorsport but also a major learning curve.
“It was meant to be a cheaper alternative but I am not sure if it is, as I don’t think I appreciated how finely tuned racing karts are.
“You have to work very hard to get a kart operating at its optimum, and one or two incorrect settings and the rest of the field will literally drive away from you.”
Peter, who works for Aberdeen-based office furniture specialists, Claremont Office Interiors, which is also his title sponsor, has worked hard to get his kart ready, re-building it from scratch and spending most nights in his workshop to get it in perfect condition.
“I purchased the kart second hand, stripped it bare, and then everything was either rebuilt, recondition or replaced with new parts to make sure it was operating at its best. I bought all new bodywork, and coated it to match Claremont’s colour scheme. I also purchased a brand-new engine so I could be 100% sure that it was operating at its best.”
However, Peter is also kept busy helping to assist four other rally cars at Stark Motorsport.
“What started out as a hobby has essentially become more of a lifestyle for me, as I spend so much of my time dedicated to it.
“Through Stark Motorsport, I assist four other rally drivers to maintain their cars and get them ready for rallying events.
“There is often a high number of crashes so the cars don’t often come back in one piece, and it is a good feeling when I get them back in top condition for the next race.”
Peter, who regularly races and practices at his local track in Boyndie, Banff, is aiming to attempt to gain some credible results in Scottish karting this year with various championships taking place across Scotland.
On top of his busy work life, both at Claremont and Stark Motorsport, Peter has busy weekends attending as many rally events as he can.
He said: “Although motorsport takes up a lot of my spare time, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I would thoroughly recommended motorsport to anyone, as it can teach you a great deal of life skills.
“You don’t need money to be involved as there are a huge variety of roles to get involved in, from marshalling to driving. Behind every event is a huge team of volunteers, helping to organise each event and ensure everything runs smoothly, and without them the sport wouldn’t exist.”
Peter is already planning his return to the rallying world for 2016 and can’t wait to get back inside a rally car again. However, hopefully one day he will get the chance to drive his dream car, an Austin Metro 6R4, one of the iconic group-B rally cars.