BRITCAR ON TOP GEAR

Fingers crossed that in 2008 this will be me at Silverstone for real in a CLIO. BRITCAR looks like a good series to start my car racing.

BRITISH GP- A PODIUM IN BOTH FINALS!

Pictures to follow, but a quick report to confirm that the GP plate was won today by Randal Lynn, followed closely home by Danny Allin and then Mike Comber. In a grid of the best TKM drivers in the country, including some who have been successful at Junior level, this was a very close event.

Most drivers practiced Friday except Mike who had work ties. The Klaassen awning comprised Josh Blackmun, the current GP holder Lewis Scouthern, Danny Allin, Mikes former Super 1 mechanic and himself. Back after almost two years away from being his mechanic, having been enjoying his Moto-Cross, was Leon Dolby (who can be seen on the Whilton video, valliantly pushing him for almost half a lap to get him going).

Despite being a Trent Valley club member, they don't run TKM, so Mikes last visit was at the same meeting last year. Saturday was spent playing catch up, with Allin and Lynn a second a lap faster than the rest. Sunday practice was good and in the first heat Mike gained a second place. In the second heat he started at the back, but drove through to 5th before losing some engine power we thought, as a result of a flooded airbox. With the track puddled with water, lap times were just over a minute for the fastest, with the karts barely doing 60mph down the straight.

In the pre-final, Mike was placed 3rd and although being pushed down to 10th after the first few corner, recovered to win a cup for 3rd place behind Allin and Lynn. In the final, once again Mike was bumped down the order, but again regained 3rd, by which time the two front runners we away. After 3 laps, the large score board showed that Mike was gaining on the front pair, and when they started to dice was ready to pounce, but again for the last 5 laps, his engine just lacked pace he needed. For some reason the head had come slightly loose from the barrel, thus causing a slight lack of power, possibly the couple of 1/10ths that would have made the difference.

To summarise, a good end to the season, where Mike almost beat the best in the class, so takes good form into winter testing and the 2008 Super 1 season, and again thanks David Klaassen for the support and kart preparation in 2007.

SKY SPORTS UK KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP

Just looked at the PSC website following last weekends trophy presentation, which included a free entry into the 2008 competition. This is what the site said;-

Rotax Max: TKM boys are moving in... but can they handle the experienced drivers? I say no.... It will be the usual suspects as favourites, although you can't write off the ex TKM drivers: Caudle has already won at Rye House and Comber successfully did Jnr Max in S1 some years ago..... Paul Janes & John Stewart 4/1jf, Luke Caudle 6/1, Martyn Lyell (Rotax Virgin) & Mike Comber 7/1

Not bad to be so high in the listings for a Senior Rotax Virgin. Equal standing with this years TKM winner Martyn Lyell, and just behind ex-team mate Luke Caudle. It all looks good so far, but it's all subject to David Klaassen sorting out a decent chassis and engine, and it will be a development year for driver and team. A top 5 place this time next year would be excellent given the class field now entered.

FUN CUP

Could this be the entry route into cars for 2008? With a range of races all over the country, this class could provide a good basic introduction to car racing covering both 4 hour and 25 hour races and includes SPA. If anyone reading this has any experience of the series, we would like to hear from you. Please email info@michaelcomberracing with your views. Many thanks from the web-team.

Biland Championship for 2008?

Having last raced a 4/Stroke in 2003, Mike is slowly being persuaded by Martin Capenhurst to enter his Biland Championship for 2008.

Back in 2003 on a TKM, Mike won the F6 winter series, several Super 1 rounds and the TKM festival before joining Maranello for the Junior Max Super 1 2004 season.

Hopefully Mike will get a test session in at Whilton Mill in December with Saxon Motorsport before making a final decision. Having been running reliably for the past 5 years and cost effectively, it would make a good practice tool should he also be fortunate enough to land the funding for a BRITCAR drive.

KARTMANIA THIS WEEKEND

KartMania Programme of Events Saturday

7.30 Kartboot Setup

9.00 Kartboot open

9.30 Show open

10.50 Fashion Show

11.30Motors TV Award Presentation

1.00 Dadson Award Presentation

2.00Biland Championship and Super Series Awards Presentation

2.30 Easy Kart Award Presentation

3.00 Fashion Show

3.30 Auction

5.00 Close of show

Sunday

7.30 Kartboot Setup

9.00 Kartboot open

9.30 Show open

11.00 Fashion Show

1.00 NKF Presentation Award Presentation

2.00 Fashion Show

3.30 Auction

5.00 Close of Show

Mike will be on the Motors Tv stand for some of the day

NEW VIDEO SECTION FOR WEBSITE

Thanks to Alan Taddei's sterling efforts with the camera over the past few years, we have a range of DVD footage which we plan to make available on the website. Webmaster Gareth is in the process of adding the material once we have edited it into smaller chunks.

Material will shortly include:-

2003 TKM Festival victory in Junior 4 stroke

2003 TKM 4 stroke victories in Super 1

2004 Junior Rotax max coverage of Super 1

2004 Footage of National Schools Championship Title wins in both class 7 & 8 at Whilton Mill

2005 Footage of National Schools Championship Title win in class 8 at Rowrah

2005 Footage of Club Championship wins in TKM Intermediate

2006 TKM Festval victory in TKM Intermediate class

2006 TKM Open victory in TKM Intermediate class

2006 TKM Super 1 National Championship Title victories

2007 Motors TV Championship rounds 1-10

We are delighted to be adding more content to the site based on supporters requests.

PAPERS PICK UP ON LOCAL SUCCESS

The Leicester Mercury ran this:-http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=132407&command=displayContent&sourceNode=132390&contentPK=18874595&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch

The Melton Times wrote a similar article the following week:-http://www.meltontimes.co.uk/sport/Comber-caps-fine-debut-season.3445403.jp

Many thanks to David Granger for reporting the stories, we hope you enjoy them.

2007 TKM Equipment for sale

Now the season is over - just the GP Plate to contest, we have several karts available for sale.

We sold all our 2006 equipment this time last year, and started with all new kit in January 2007. All the chassis are 2007 models raced just a couple of meetings, and won heats at Super 1 and other championships. The Karts will have been stripped and fully prepared by David Klaaassen. We can supply them as bare shells or as rolling shells. Prices start at £300.

Our contact details are on the website, and we will be at Kartmania this weekend. Messages can be left on the Motors TV stand. We are unsure of our involvement next season, so all our kit needs to go.

Sponsors evening a great success.

Mike would like to thank Andrew Granger & Co Estate Agents for an excellent evening at the Formula 1 indoor track. England manager Martin Capenhurst joined Mike in an entertaining evening where just 2 laps split the podium finishers after 100 laps of racing.

Mike and his partner narrowly beat Martin and his partner by a lap, while an excellent team ffrom Grangers came just a lap behind. In total 7 mixed ability teams enjoyed a couple of hours of fun followed by an excellent Indian and a few beers.

Mike would like to thank both the company and in particular David , Andrew Grangers son, for his support with items for this site and for the local media. We hope we can enjoy your company in 2008 and beyond.

Motors TV

Many thanks to Alan Taddei and his PSC Production team for an excellent 2007 series.

The presentations are being made this weekend at Kartmania, the Karting Show organised by Martin Capenhurst at the Royal Showground at Stoneleigh near Coventry.

Heading Mike on the podium will be Martn Lyell and James Tucker, who both drove well all season. Thanks must also go to Stephen Napier and Luke Caudle who gave Mike stiff competition all year.

The progran will shorly be on Motors TV, but a preview is available on the following link.

http://www.kartingtv.tv/pages/video.html

BRITCAR TESTING

Saturday 10th November at Silverstone was the first time out testing in the 2008 Clio Cup Car.

Mike just stayed for the morning session, and left the team more time to play with the initial set up, but further sessions are planned before the end of the year. Basically. the car handled very well in the damp conditions, possibly a little too stiff at the rear for the days conditions. The 200bhp was enough to keep up with Porsche 911 GT3 and BMW M3's om the Michelin rubber, but infuture it will have to run Dunlops. Most of the 2007 contenders were at Brands Hatch for the Night race, hich was eventually won by Lord Grayson and Jonny Cocker (who was Mikes ARDS examiner).
http://www.jonathancocker.co.uk/news_52.htm

Mike said after his run that the car had very positive brakes, which allowed the car to be later than any other on the track, plus on the International circuit, it was very nimble through the bends. It had more power than the cars he had previously driven, but for a front wheel drive car, it got the power down very well. After his drives in the SAXMAX at Brands and the Fiesta XR2 at Donington, Mike preferred the rear end drive from the Ginetta at Rockingham, but this was something else, and Mike left the track excited about the prospects of further track time with Matt Ash and Owen.

This route into cars seems to be the best option for 2008, as it allows Mike to guage his performance against the other experienced race drives and against others in the field driving much faster and more expensive equipment. Options that could naturally follow in 2009 could be Clio Cup or Ginetta G20 subject to funding. The advantage of having a couple of drivers in a team is shared costs, and if its a 24 hour race you should still get plenty of tracktime.

Mike passes on his thanks to the team, and to Rob the teams driving coach for his words of encouragement. Pictures should follow.

MIKE CONSIDERS BRITCAR FOR 2008

Following excellent test sessions in a range of cars, Mike is now considering his options for 2008. He is delighted with his first season with Klaassen Motorsport, and has had his contracct extended for 2008 to enjoy their support again, this time probably on a JKH chassis. Looking back at the results, a top 5 in Super 1 was a possibility, and with a years experience at Seniors, more likely second time round.

Mike was due to attend a Renault Clio elimination at Teeside this week, but has to pull out earlier in the year following his dad's illness. Now he could be driving a Modified Clio Cup car if testing at Bruntingthorpe goes to plan. It's difficult to know when to move out of cars, and budget has to play a big part, but fingers crossed that Mike can do some 24 hour races and Super 1.

MOTORS TV SUCCESS

Hoooton Park was the venue for the last two rounds. Mike was in 5th place, 20 points behind Luke Caudle in 3rd and almost the same distance behind Stephen Napier in 4th. The track was short and narrow and at just 35 seconds a lap with limited overtaking. A new MSA circuit, it was a shame that with the land available, it wasn't 50% longer and wider. Most drivers feared the damage it would cause being the final couple of rounds with everything to play for.

In Friday practice Mike was as fast as any and then ran engines in. On Saturday the weather turned, so timed qualifying was a gamble, with Mike on Slicks and most of the runners on wet tyres. Mike was seconds fastest while all those around him were on wets. A fantastic show of skill to keep the kart on the track in such difficilt conditions. In the race, Mike progressed from almost last to 2nd within 8 laps, and then a braking error from 'team mate' Matt Bell, took Mike off the track and back to last. On a difficult track to pass, he regained his composure and clawed back to 4th. By now Mike had moved into 3rd in the Championship, by a sim margin.

On Sunday morning practice was wet, but again Mike gambled on slicks in the damp, and was the fastest, gaining maximum points. For the final round all Mike needed to do was to keep close to Messers Caudle and Napier. Mike somehow got caught up in a mid-field tangle at the start, so Luke got away, but Mike caught and passed Stephen and would have got close to Luke, but was knocked off by young Napier who needed Mike to DNF in order to beat him. Mike got back on and caught him and took him, only to get knocked to one side again by him on the last lap. By then Mike had secured 3rd and will collect his various prizes at KartMania, which is the National Kart show being held at Stonleigh near Kenilworth in a couple of weeks.

Congratulations to Martyn Lyell, who drove well all season and to James Tucker who was also quick at times. Hard luck to Luke Caudle, who just missed out on his Super 1 championship and then finished 5th in this. Unfortunately the TKM class won't be run in 2008, but we have a free entry, so we will have to consider another class of Kart.

Finally brilliant work by Alan Taddie and his team. A really good series.

SUCCESS AT SHENINGTON SUPER 1

Although the weather was mixed during the weekend, the end result was a 9th place in the final round of the National Championship, which secured Mike a seeded number for 2008 should he decide to continue in karting. Foe his first senior season this was an excellent performance particularly as he spent the first five race meetings developing the TEC-MEC chassis.

It was clear at the British Open held at Shenington in August that with all the TEC-MEC drivers finishing well down the field and only Mike getting anything like a decent run in the final, that he had to try an alternative. Last month he used a JKH for the first time for England, and then at the recent club meeting Mike was very quick, so he stuck with the second hand chassis we bought earlier this year.

The TEC-MEC chassis was the main reason Mike lacked straight line speed and the JKH solved that problem, but he still felt that his motors lacked the pace of the front runners and if he does race in Super 1 again, this will have to be an area of improvement. Suffering from a heavy cold, Mike couldn't regain his qualifying pace from Saturday, but he did enough in heats 1 &2 to secure top 10 finishes, and was well placed in heat 3 when he was driven over on the second lap of eight and his rear bumper and exhaust became removed. Mike returned to the pits and his team did an excllent job of getting new items fitted within a couple of laps so he could rejoin and gain valuable finishing points.

In the final, Mike progressed well and was on his qualifying pace which let him gain positions, but with an 18 lap final, the kart started to lose grip after lap 8 and so he slipped down a few places, knowing that a top 10 finish would secure his status as a seeded driver. Considering there are over 500 TKM drivers currently racing, to get another top 10 finish is a fine achievement. Hopefully with some sponsorship in 2008, Mike will aim for a higher finish.

Thanks for help this weekend go to Josh his mechanic and David Klaassen his manager. Unfortunately Billy Baxter who is the junior TKM driver in the Klaassen team, just missed out on a seeded place for 2008, but with youth on his side, he has the potential to improve in 2008.

Just one meeting left for 2007 and that is the Motors TV last couple of rounds at the end of the month at Hoton Park close to Liverpool. The circuit is a new one so no one has the advantage of driving too much there. By then we hope to have a fresh race motor thanks to the new TKM regulations and barrels.

Leicester Mercury get the story

COMBER STARS FOR ENGLAND

10:30 - 15 September 2007

Michael Comber came away from the September international races with a damaged kart, the lap record and the Driver of the Tournament award.

In his first senior international meeting near Sunderland, the youngster dubbed Leicestershire's Lewis Hamilton twice broke the circuit lap record to help England to victory against the other home nations.

Comber, who finished third and fourth, said: "I was so proud to represent England again and make such a significant contribution."The national team manager, Martin Capenhurst, was the person who started my race career."So I am pleased that both last year, when I helped England win the junior title, and this, I have repaid him for his help."Apart from GP1 single-seaters, this is the only time I can drive for my country."So I am proud to have been in the winning team twice, and look forward to the meeting in 2008.''

In timed qualifying, Comber, who is supported by Bond Street Saab and his sponsors Andrew Granger and Co, beat the lap record of 54.4 seconds by three-tenths of a second to gain pole for the heats.In the last race Comber's axle, bumper and race suit were damaged.Comber restarted with the assistance of the track officials and completed a final lap to a standing ovation from the English supporters.

Capenhurst said: "While there were no individual trophies, I and the other selectors chose Mike Comber as team driver for his pace and skill to win two heats but also his unselfish team work to assist the team in the finals."

Melton Times Report

Comber gets the plaudits

Michael Comber came away from the September international races with a damaged kart, the lap record and the Driver of the Tournament award.

At Warden Law, near Sunderland, in his first senior international meeting, Comber, from Thrussington, twice broke the circuit lap record to help push his England team to a fine victory against the other home nations.After the races, which saw him finish third and fourth, Comber said: "I was so proud to represent England again and make such a significant contribution. "The national team manager Martin Capenhurst was the person who started my race career, so I am pleased that, both last year when I helped England win the junior title and this, I have repaid him for his previous help. "Apart from GP1 single-seaters, this is the only time I can drive for my country so I am proud to have been in the winning team twice, and look forward to the meeting in 2008."

In timed qualifying, Comber – who has been supported this season by Bond Street Saab and his sponsors Andrew Granger and Co – beat the lap record of 54.4 seconds by 3/10th of a second to gain pole for the heats. And in the first two heats he beat the existing lap record on both occasions. In the third and fourth heats, the team captain asked Comber to start further back and to work his way through bringing other team members with him. He secured second in heat three, and in heat four he made it to the front, but then was driven off the track by two of the Welsh team, who were later penalised.

By Saturday evening, England had secured the top three places for the Sunday finals. Comber started the pre-final in third and given the job of driving defensively to allow two English drivers to break away, while he held back the rest of the field for the 15 laps. This worked well, although his rear bumper needed replacing after the heat, but he had secured a maximum 1-2-3 finish ready for the final. Comber started the final race in fifth spot, with three other English drivers filling the first three positions, the aim being to grab positions 1-4. He quickly moved up into second and then was passed by two English drivers so they had the 1-4 formation. Sadly, the same two Welsh drivers set about Comber with a couple of laps left, with one driving over him, damaging his axle, bumper and race suit. Fortunately, this incident delayed the remaining drivers, so England still took all the podium slots. Comber restarted with the assistance of the track officials and completed a final lap to a standing ovation from the English supporters.

Last Updated: 13 September 2007 12:15 PM

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Internations Trophy

A kind guesture by England manager Martin Capenhurst to reward Mike for his recent driving performance, was to give the cup to him for safe keeping in his trophy cabinet. As a team event the cup is normally kept by the team manager, so Mike feels honoured and will post some pictures of the trophy soon. In 2007 all his trophies have been donated to David Klaassen Motorsport, as thanks for his great support, but this one is staying at home.

INTERNATIONS PHOTOS

ENGLAND INTERNATIONS VICTORY

In a very tense battle between the Welsh team of 4 stroke TKM's the Scottish 2 strokes and the English team of 2 strokes and 4 strokes, the English team drove to victory with a combination of good tactics and skill.

Firstly the 4 stooke Karts were a second a lap faster than the 2 strokes, so it was critical to secure top places. During practice, Mike broke the lap record, and was the quickest 2 stroke driver in the field, so it was decided that he should start off in pole for the heats and try to secure a lead while the English and Welsh 4 strokes battled out the remaining places.

The first and second heats worked to plan, with Mike breaking the lap record by 3/10ths and running away to victory in the first with a 1,2,3 and in the second, he was caught by Simon Mills while Rhys Jenkins drove really well to fend off the Welsh. In the third heat, the plan almost worked again, but this time Simon led and Mike followed and set another lap record, until two Welsh drivers drove Mike off the track and down to 4th, and fortunately the Clerk saw fit to penalised 10 points to each Welsh driver, so effectively England regained thier 1-2 status and some bonus points! In the final heat the Welsh tried heavier handed tacktics, and with Mike in the lead and Simon second, they first bounce Simon off the track and then on the last lap did the same to Mike, wrecking his axle and side pod. Fortunately both Welsh drivers were penalised with 20 points, giving England a large lead.

On Sunday was the Pre-Final, and all drivers were now warned that the clerk would be very heavy on rash driving. England had a considerable lead from Saturday, but then the scores were re-set to zero, so there was all to play for. In the pre-final Mike set the pace and then defended so that we secured maximum points. In the final Mike was again a battering ram, with Simon and Rhys leading, while Mike held off the Welsh for lap after lap until they lost their control, and binned Mike again. this time the wreckless Welsh driver rode up the back of Mike breaking his rear bumper, side pod and brackets and grazed Mikes arm as he flew over him. The two 4 strokes driven by Rhys and Simon won by half a lap, while the other England drivers drove round in support to receive the acclaim of the crowd. Mike rejoined last in his battered state to a massive showing of support from all the English supporters and worthy of a victory.

In reality this was a battle between the Welsh who should have should have won on their more powerful karts against the higher skill level and strategy from Paul and Martin in the England management. As a nice guesture after the award ceremony, Martin Capenhurst the winning England team manager awarded Mike the honour of being driver of the meeting. Mike was ably assisted by Super 1 drivers ;- Luke Caudle, Will Reed and Will Waterman who also drove with great skill to over come any threat from the Scottish 2 stroke drivers. A good time was eventually had by all those who participated.

MOTORS TV ROUNDS 8 & 9 AT LYDD

At our last Lydd visit, the TEC-MEC chassis seemed to reach a performance level and no matter how hard David Klaassen tried, he struggled to get Mike on to the front runners pace. In the final the Stub axle snapped so Mike was unable to gain many points and slid down to 13th in the National championships. He didn't want a repeat of that in Motors, so having seen how quick the JKH chassis were at the track, he borrowed a two year old one for the weekend. The weather would be very hot, but as the track had been flooded until Thursday, and then had Vega rubber on it, it was running about half a second slower than the TKM Super 1.

On Friday, he was on a par with Martyn Lyell, who currently leads the series. Martin is on a 2007 works chassis, so the team were pleased that he was instantly on the pace with the JKH. 'Ginge' from JKH said that the new chassis was at least 2/10ths quicker here and at some tracks almost 4/10ths faster than the 2005/6 model Mike was on.

On the Saturday practice, most were on new tyres, and again Mike was within a few hundreths of Lyell and Super 1 front runner Tucker, so in official qualifying it was a rewarding 3rd quickest. Starting towards the back of the grid(in this championship the fastest start at the back, but get more points for being quickest) Mike tried to keep with Lyell and Tucker, but as they slipped through the traffic, Mike was baulked by a couple of slower drivers. He eventually caught them and overtook them only to get blocked and taken out. Eventually he recovered and came in 7th out of 21 runners, saying that just 12 laps were not enough. With Lyell and Tucker, Mike was the only driver to get below 41 seconds.

On Sunday Martin Lyall was again the quickest although both David Klaassen and Martyn's dad had Mike a fraction quicker, but the official results placed the top 6 within a few hundreths. Mike could so easily have been 2nd, but recorded a 5th fastest time! Again starting from almost the last row, he was shunted down to last, but this time once the first lap had passed, he progressed steadily to gain 5th, with Lyell and Tucker just ahead. Fortunately for Mike, on both days he was faster and finished higher than current Super 1 leader Luke Caudle, who started the meeting in second and Stephen Napier who was in third place.

In the Sunday final Luke Caudle was originally black flagged and excluded for contact driving, but was included in the final places in 7th as the wrong flag was shown. It should have been the black and white warning flag, not the full black. So after all the video evidence etc, we believe that Martin Lyell now leads the championship by about 30 points from Tucker, with Mike Luke and Stephen all fighting over third place. Both Reed and MaCaulay are close enough to the top five to have an affect on the overall positions, but with just two rounds to go all Lyell has to do is to be quick and near the front on Saturday and the championship could be his.

Mike and Martin were joint points leaders after the first two rounds, but since then Martyn has driven consistently well and deserves it, while Mike had a poor couple of rounds at Rowrah and dropped about 30 points to Martyn in that weekend alone. That may well be the margin of difference when they race for the last time at Houton Park in October.

Another excellent meeting - well done to the PSC Production team for organising the event and to the scrutineers for catching out some more cheats trying to win by default. I get my information second-hand, so please check http://www.kartingtv.tv/ for more information and s the official results and tables. Next week Mike drives for England, and although he is booked to drive the TEC-MEC, I think he will be asked by Paul his team manager, to drive the JKH as it has a proven track record at Warden Law. Mike with be joined by Luke Caudle, Will Reed and Will Waterman. It is a first cap for both Caudle and Reed, but Waterman was in the Junior team with Mike last year and team race d well with Mike to help England to victory. Hopefully the Weather will be kind to us.

TKM 'o' PLATE at SHENINGTON

Despite the rain, a much better organised event than the Festival. Despite being part of a club round, there was plenty of practice on the Saturday and a couple of heats, with the third heat and final on the Sunday. We were pleased to find that there was also a clun round for TKM, so we took advantage of this and Mike was able to have a further three heats and a final on a different TEC-MEC chassis which allowed us to compare notes. In his first heat Mike finished 3rd and gained the fastest lap. In the second heat, Mike managed a top 10 finish. On Sunday, despite being in pole, his carb failed so he again just kept in the top 10. With about 50 top drivers in the TKM class, Mike was able to qualify 10th in the main final and held that position throughout in a very wet and windy climax. In the club event Mike used the Banchee chassis but with an experimental seat and a new brake system. He also used practice fuel and old tyres as his best were kept for the 'o' plate. Starting last in every heat as he was a late entry in a field of over 20, he managed to get three top ten finishes, and was in 4th for the final grid. Once again he experimented with a practice engine set to different ignition timing in the final, and the plan backfired as he slipped down to 7th. We left before the results were finalised and the trophies presented, as we feared that our race truck would be stuck in the muddy grass and wanted to get out before it became too dark and cold. Unfortunately no pictures as yet.

TKM FESTIVAL 2007

Sorry to report that this will be our last Festival. Unfortunately there was an hours delay mid-afternoon when a paramedic tripped and broke an ankle and this has a knock on effect of ruining the meeting. It was nice to see a good turnout of senior TKM drivers especially four on TEC-MEC. The class seems to be dying this year and now lack support at many of the major clubs, as the Rotax class continues to gain popularity. The best of the 100 or so TKM drivers competed over three heats for a place in the Elite final, while the remainder contested for the Festival cup. Three of the TEC-MEC drivers got into the Elite final and the other came third in the Festival cup. Unfortunately there was not enough time to run the final, just one lap being completed, so the result was based on the grid places. A baffling and complete farse in our opinion, as the eventual winner crashed out on the first bend causing the red flag. Mike had made a great start from 20th to 10th in the first lap, as he avoided the usual Kimbolton carnage. Following his victory last year, he was all set up to repeat it if he could. What a waste of a weekend and very sad as the TV company will have very little film to show on SKY later this year. Let us hope that the British Open next week is better planned so that we get a final race of the day over a decent number of laps. Not that it will affect us, but I would be suprised if this was the location in 2008.

GINETTA TEST AT ROCKINGHAM

An excellent day in new surroundings and in a Ginetta for the first time. Matt Nicholl-Jones, the 2005 series champion and current championship leader, was very impressed with Mike and his consistent laps of 1.36 during the morning session. Unfortunately the car had a gearbox problem as it wouldn't engage 3rd, so any improvement on this time in the afternoon was impossible.

Mid-afternoon, the Ginetta engineers said that the differential was also faulty, so that finished the session. Faster times were recorded in the afternoon by other drivers as the track gained grip, with the fastest being from the Panoz works driver Tom Kimber-Smith at 1.34 , which Ginetta informed us was a second faster than any other driver, but it was in the 2008 development car. Being under a second off the pace at this stage is encouraging, and prompted Matt to offer Mike a drive for the 2008 with Academy Motorsport.

Karting fixtures will be concluded in September, so the next step will be to acquire a car for winter testing.

LYDD SUPER 1 ROUND 5

Following last years success, this year has been a testing one in many ways. At most rounds of the championship, Mike has been on the pace by the end of Friday and very confident. The TEC-MEC chassis is just one amongst may JKH or Tony varieties, but it does its job well and is competative. This season, the Saturday on a new set of tyres causes the chassis to 'grip up', which in the wet is an advantage, but in the dry, it then struggles to get out of the corners quickly allowing others to slipstream and pass on the entry to the next corner. Initially Mike was able to drive defensively, but now as the circuits get warmer, the team are looking to lose grip.
The race rubber seemed to make matters worse, and times qualifying was only a few tenths off the pole, but at this level differences are measured in 1.100ths of a second, so Mike was just out of the top 10. In the first heat, he gained a few positions from his starting position but in the second, he started last and withing a lap his chain guard snapped, so he was forced to retire. In the final heat, he progressed well through the field, until the tyres became too hot, gripping the kart up even more.
The final grid position on row 10, was one of the worst this season, but with the clouds coming in and the track getting cooler, Mike started to make progress. At Lydd the kirbs are very high, and destroy a Kart over a weekend. This proved to be the case, as a stub axle snapped a front wheel off at the end of the main straight, sending Mike into the 'kitty-litter' and out of the final.

Congratulations must go to his young team mate, Billy Baxter. who won his first heat in Juniors, and then drove to his first podium in a Super 1 Junior TKM final. Hopefully some of Billy's luck will rub off on Mike when here returns here in a month for the Motors TV championship.

Ginetta Test at Rockingham on 1st August 2007

Following a recent visit to Ginetta cars, Mike has been invited to a test session with the current championship contenders on 1st August 2007. Mike will continue to assist with the development of the TEC-MEC chassis with Klaassen Motorsport, and provide assistance at kart meetings from the awning, but providing there are no clashes in dates, he plans to contest the Texaco series in 2008, either as an owner driver or subject to his testing performance with a leading race team.

For the test, Matt Nichol-Jones, who currently leads the 2007 championship, has kindly offered Mike the loan of his car and mechanic for the day, and will be at hand to pass on any driving tips. Mike has never been to Rockingham before, but we were suprised how close it is to us when we checked the route. Mike has never sat in a Ginetta although it was planned that he should test with Ben Elliott earlier in the season. Now he will be thrown in at the deep end!

If all goes well, another visit to the factory is booked for 2nd August to meet Richard Dean their Commercial Director. On the face of it the 18 round race budget we need to generate will be little more than our existing Karting one for Motors TV. Super 1 and the other National events. The only difference is the initial purchase of the car at £15000. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

MELTON TIMES QUICK TO PUBLISH GOOD NEWS

LEICESTER MERCURY PICKS UP THE STORY

SHENINGTON O PLATE TEST SESSION

A good test weekend. At the last meeting Mike finished 6th, but was always struggling for grip. With a slightly stronger field this month the quicker drivers were on the Tony Kart, so much so that eventual winner Marcus Allen switched onto one during the meeting! With the exception of the Jade and the rapid Helen Gardiner, Mike managed an 4th from 11th, a win and then an 11th from last in the heats. A grid of 4th was better than expected and Mike stayed there for about half the race, then Helen slipped past and just before the end so did James Bartlett on another Tony. The Klaassen team gained some valuable experience which should also assist at Lydd Super 1 and the Kimbolton Festival, which are both similar style of tracks.

ENGLAND SELECTION AGAIN

As a result of his excellent drives for the England Junior TKM team at last years Internations, Mike received the call this evening from England Manager - Martin Capenhurst to request his attendance at this years event.

This time Mike will be driving for the England Senior TKM team and is a reflection on his performances this year in Motors TV, where he has had to drive from the back rows in every round. We understand that fellow Motors TV front runners Luke Caudle and Will Read will also be driving along with Will Waterman, who assisted Mike in the Junior teams victory last year. No doubt Scotland will select his main TKM rivals, Lyell, Napier and Macaulay and the Welsh will be calling Alex Jones. No doubt Sky will be broadcasting it with the help of Motors presenters Ben Constoduras and Sam Park.

After last years English white wash in Llandow, lets hope for a repeat.

BUCKMORE PARK SUPER 1

What a mixed up meeting! Friday Mike was doing 41.5 second laps session after session, testing the Magura brake. Saturday briught rain, but the TEC-MEC chassis loves the rain, but Mike took a while getting on with the brakes in the damp, which sadly culminated in the timed qualifying with him doing just a couple of laps before they jammed on! The axle had moved and the floating disc was force up against one of the pads, so 41.9 was his best, which was almost a second off the quickest, so he lost valuable points.

With a new axle and brake to fit overnight, Sunday started poorly as the carb failed in the practice, so the first real test of the system was the first heat, where Mike started 25th and came in 12th. A similar result for heat 2 when Mike was struggling to get any power down on the track. In heat three, Mike started at the front, but was soon pushed into the tyres at the end of the straight. He had to wait for the others to pass before setting off at the back almost 100 metres behind the pack. In 8 laps he caught the slower drivers and finished 15th, which meant he just scraped into the A final towards the back.

In the final Mike was soon up into 15th place, passing 10 drivers in just 5 laps. With 11 laps to go a podium was almost possible, but he was blocked for 3 laps by a slower driver, as his engine seemed to be lacking power. He pressed on and eventually finished 11th, only to find in park ferme that his bottom jet had been screwed closed, meaning he had very little fuel going into the engine. This was later compounded when the flex from the exhaust manifold into the exhaust was snapped in two. One assumes this was a result of the previous shunt from behind in heat 3.

All in all a poor meeting at a circuit Mike normally does well at. Despite this he is still 8th, with a couple of rounds to go, so a top 5 seeded place, is still possible.

A HINT TO THE FUTURE ?

Mike recording a 55 second lap at Brands Hatch in a borrowed 'T' car. As a break from Karting, Mike has been offered a Formula Ford test at Donington next month. A drive in 2008 is available, but Mike will stay with karting in order to assist with the development of the TEC-MEC chassis.

Mike has already passed his ARDS test and set fastest laps in a SAXMAX in testing at Donington last year, so it should be a good day out, with the bonus of some supported drives in 2008 in the FF midlands championship subject to organising the funding for karting.

Buckmore Park Super 1

Probably the best known track in the UK. Buckmore Park is the home of F1 stars, John Surtees and Johnnie Herbert. Mike was lucky enough to win a special award in 2007 from the club to reflect his success in 2006. At the last three Super1 meetings Mike has finished in the top 6, twice on the podium. Its a very testing track on two levels with excellent facilities.

Following a weekend of testing at Shenington, David Klaassen Motorsport believe that one of their 4 TEc-Mec chassis will be the pace setter by the end of Friday. The engine Mike will be using, has won a Super 1 heat at the track before and there will be another major item under test, which should reduce lap times by 2/10ths. Mike currently has flu, but hopefully will recover in time to consolidate his championship position. A full report will follow on 25th June.

Shenington SuperPrix

My 17th Birthay on Saturday, so a picture of me and my car. We decided that the event would be a chassis shake-down, so the wet weather on Saturday allowed us to test 4 different chassis.

Our expectations of a good result on Sunday were low because we only took our 'donkey' motor, saving our best for Super 1, but Mike gained a creditable 6th place, closelt followed home by Nick Smith who was also on a TEC-MEC.

The top 5 were all excellent Super 1 drivers and Shenington specialists. With over 40 top drivers attending, Mike was delighted with the outcome, as he knows where he can make up the lost time. Many thanks today musy go to Klaassen Motorsport, Julie & Sophie for the cake and support.

16/17th June 2007 SuperPrix at Shenington

This weekend Mike returns to the circuit he won last years Super 1 title. Unfortunately Mike was taken out while leading the Final by a despirate move from Elliot Burton, who had been second in the championship following Mikes three heats and final win at Whilton Mill. Elliot was excluded and for some reason so was Mike, so for them the results stood from the previous round at Fulbeck.

Hopefully this meeting will be an ideal test session for the TKM O plate in August and the Super 1 round which follows in September. Following an excellent victory last month by TEC-MEC designer Sam Wilson, Mike hopes for another TEC-MEC victory. Sam was due to race, but it clashed with the LeMans 24 hour race, where they have customers racing. A full report Monday

MOTORS TV O PLATE 22ND SEPTEMBER

Mike has been invited to race at this exciting circuit for the first Motors TV Open. He won the TKM Open in 2006, but then progressed to the senior class, so has been unable to use it in 2007. Hopefully a victory in September would allow Mike to show the plate off in 2008.

Also his entry for the TKM festival to be held at Kimbolton near Huntingdon on August 11/12th. This year Mike will be unable to defend his Junior title, but hopes to break Ryan Coles run of three successive wins! Ryan is the TKM works driver, but the David Klaassen team expect the TEC-MEC chassis to be the one to beat with Mike driving.

MOTORS TV ROUNDS 5 & 6, JUNE 2ND & 3RD 2007

Feedback from Mike on Friday was that he was driving well, but the engines seemed down on power. The team tried 4 different ones and 4 different carbs, but Mike was visibly losing 3lkart lengths to the faster drivers on the main straight, and then catching 4 lengths back on the twisty section. The TEC-MEC kart was set up almost to perfection, with just one bend where it possibly flexed too much in the warm summer sun. In the end the team felt that the flexing was causing the brake to engage too soon and thus scrub off too much pace and 'bog down' coming out of the bend. A modification has already been suggested and will be tested at Kimbolton this weekend.

Back to the Saturday performance. Mike was second fastest in qualifying, missedpole by 1/100th of a second. Seeded 6th place in the championship meant he started on the 8th row of the grid 16 karts back. An excellent start behind the pace car meant no karts were lost at the first bend, and within just 4 laps Mike was upto 4th place. An rare error by the experienced George Lovell, caused him to turn in on Mike as he passed him and as the TV footage shows, Mike ended up with a bent axle and front steering through no fault of his own. Mike then drove in this hampered condition until the end to secure 10th and some valuable points.

Race director Alan Taddei said after the race 'It was unfortunate and hard luck on Mike Comber who deserved to win his first Motors TV round. He had the pace and got to the front quickly and should have walked away with it. Unfortunately the racing incident ruined his race, but on this evidence his first win could be at Lydd next month.' Mike was obviously very upset to have travelled so far and driven so well, but lady luck seems to have deserted him in 2007.

On Sunday with the kart repaired as best as it could at the race track, Mike qualified 5th fastest, just 1/10th off pole. The kart really needed to be re-jigged, but once agian in the race he again started on the 8th row, but this being more cautious of the slower drivers he slowly worked through the field taking few risks, and secured the points for 4th. The nett result, is that Mike comes away from the meeting in 5th place in the championship , just 10 points behind 4th place and within 20 of the leader, which means that with 4 rounds to go and almost 500 points available, an overall championship win is still possible.

Motors TV UK Karting Challenge Round 5, Glan-Y-Gors Park

Mike left Leicester this evening to meet up with the rest of the Klaassen Motorsport team before driving through the night to reach North Wales ready for tomorrows practice session. Most of the drivers have been there testing all week, but due to a tight budget and difficulty in the key memebers getting time off work, Mike will again start at a slight disadvantage, but hope to be on the pace by 5pm on Friday. Round 5 will takeplace on Saturday and then be televised the first week in July, while Round 6 takes place on the Sunday and will be broadcast towards the end of July.

Having slipped down the Championship table at the last rounds at Rowrah, Mike needs to have a couple of podium positions to claw back some of the lead the others have grasped. Mike goes with the confidence of the recent Whilton Mill test, knowing he has the best chassis under him. A full report and photographs will hopefully follow on Monday.

WHILTON MILL MAY MEETING

Mike practiced Saturday on the TEC-MEC Banshee chassis and was half a second quicker than the others, so it looked good for a win on Sunday. but then felt iil. His mechanic Danny Allin took the chassis out for the final test session, and then drove it on Sunday to a creditable 9th in Mikes place.

Mike will now have lost the lead in the championship, but will drop this round, so is still effectively leading it after dropped rounds. This week is the next two rounds of the Motors TV Championship at Glan-y-Gorse in North Wales. The last time Mike drove there he won the British Open. so he likes the track.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

SUPER 1 ROUND 3 RESULT

Typical Rowrah weather kept the teams guessing all weekend on final settings. During Friday testing, Mike proved he was one of the quickest drivers. Saturday testing on a new set of tyres showed Mike to be almost a second off the pace. A new set were purchased and Mike found the lost time.

Qualifying on the tyres supplied for the meeting showed Mike had another poor set, and struggled. Unfortunately those tyres had to be used on Sunday, so Mike had a real problem to over come. He won heat 4 and gained places in the other two heats, to make the main final, where he was 13th. The benefit of a good set of tyres was that some drivers were lapping in 49.6 seconds, while Mike was 50.1 nearly half a second slower. The advantage was getting less as the day passed so Mike still had high hopes of a podium As the chart shows, Mike quickly moved passed the others to be in 7th after just 4 laps, with 12 to go and the podium beckoning. Despite having a new chain and sprocket and with a chain guard and sprocket protectors, Rowrah is in an old quarry, and a sharp stone managed to find its way between the chain and the sprocket ripping the chain into two and ending Mikes challenge.

A positive to come out of the meeting was that Mike drove the Banshee version of the TEC-MEC for the first time, and it performed very well in the changing conditions and should be excellent for the next round in a months time at Buckmore Park in Kent. Having won his first Super 1 heat at Senior level. Mike now races at Whilton Mill this weekend, where he hopes to retain his championship lead.

SUPER 1 AT ROWRAH ROUND 3 19TH&20TH MAY

Just a quick update for May, as Mike has been doing some driver coaching since the last meeting at Whilton. It was decided that Kimbolton would now be used as a test meeting and last weekend, until the meeting was washed out, Mike assisted Billy Baxter on his spare TEC-MEC.

The previous weekend, the TEC-MEC chassis were at Rissington being tested by potential customers and they performed well, so hopefully all the good performances Mike has achieved are now paying off in new chassis sales.

All the Klaasson Motorsport team will now be using the TEC-MEC chassis for the rest of 2007, and hopefully beyond, as new developments are on their way. Firstly the Banchee will be tested at Rowrah, as will a different brake system, to offer an alternative feel. The current version is fine for seniors, but junior drivers find it hard work, so this will be attended to as part of the testing planned.

Hopefully a full report of Rowrah will follow once the team returns on Sunday night.

BRAZILIAN CUP - WHILTON MILL - APRIL 2007

This is a charity event organised by Whilton annually because there are 5 weeks available this April, so the club use the extra week to good effect. The event attracted a smaller than normal field, but most who attended in the TKM classes were front runners in both MotorsTV and the Super 1 National Championship. As current championship leader, Mike was expected to be a leading contender, and didn't let the spectators down.

The format was different, with a timed qualifying where Mike was last, as his spark plug failed on his second lap, follwed by a 30 lap pre-final and the proper Final. Starting from the back of the grid in the Pre-Final, Mike managed to get to 5th place, which was as good as we wanted. At Whilton you don't want places 2 or 4 as you always get pushed out onto the grass. It's a weakness of the circuit and something that should be addressed.

As anticipate in the final, Karts in positions 2 & 4 didn't make the first bend, and Mike was soon into second place. Karts in positions 4 & 6 made a chain of 5 Karts for the first 10 laps, with places changing on a regular basis. The final lasted over 30 laps, which is twice the normal race distance and over 20 minutes of driving at or near lap record pace.

With such close racing, it was all down to mechanical reliability and driver fitness. The first 'package' to fail was a chain guard on Luke Caudles Kart. He received the mechanical flag and after a few laps came into the pits. We believe this is the first time Luke has been beaten at the circuit this year. By then Mike was back in front and looking to gain a well earned victory, but unfortunately he sucummed to a late braking move by Will Reed with about 10 laps to go, which snapped a bumper bolt.

The bumper was secured to the chassis by a tie wire, so couldn't fall off, but it did affect the handling, and he dropped to forth. With 3 laps to go and no change to the bumper, Mike was then given a mechanical warning. According to the rules he had 3 laps in which to come in and get it checked. The final flag was produced, and Mike checked by the scrutineers and passed. By this stage Mike had dropped back to forth, so was off the podium, so no pictures I am affraid.

Then to his suprise and that of his manager David Klaassen he was called to the Clerks office!

After 20 minutes of a debate where the Clerk made several wrong assumptions and conclusions, he fabricated a reason for Mike to be excluded and given 4 points. This was in the opinion of the team and his fellow competitors totally out of order, particularly at a Charity event. I would have been worth protesting at a National level, but as the appeal money would have gone to the MSA rather than the Charity, Mike just accepted it as fate.

We do find it strange that in the 5 years of Karting, Mike has only ever received points at Whilton, and never for bad driving, while he has been removed from races a number of times and no one has ever been called up to account for their poor driving.

It's silly actions like this that make you wonder why you do it, and when you see clubs struggling for entrants. More to the point actions like this don't help to encourace new blood. Spectators were bemused why Mike was excluded as at no time was the bumper dangerous and he came in after seeing the flag twice. Any more poor decisions like this and Karting will be one driver less in 2008, or possibly even sooner if luck like this continues!

We now have a two week break before the next round of Super 1, as Mike has decided to drop doing the club rounds at Kimbolton and probably at Whilton in future as the risk of gaining more silly points out weighs the benefits of winning a club championship.

WHILTON MILL APRIL TABLE AND FINAL RESULTS

Please find here the link to the Whilton Mill site. Rather than copy and paste it, its much more accurate to use their file. Interesting to note the lap times in the Final, which were very similar to Super 1 times, so Whilton Mill is was obviously attracting a very good field of drivers.

www.whiltonmillkartclub.co.uk/tkm.htm

WHILTON MILL ROUND 4 APRIL 2007

Sadly a familiar sight on Sunday was Mike pushing his Kart! Once again, Mike was the quickest in practice on Saturday and although he was using it as a test session for next weeks Brazilian Cup, he was pleased to be going so quickly on tyres he had used in the last two rounds of Motors TV. The lap record is 39 seconds, and Mike was consistently doing laps of 39.2 all day.

With his main rivals Luke Caudle and Martyn Lyall not at the meeting, Mike was just focussed on getting more points than Lewis Scouthern in order to stay on top of the championship table. In the first heat Mike started last and had overtaken half the field, when he was driven off the track. The picture above shows him starting again, but at the back. In heat two he led from the flag and pulled out a large lead and set the fastest time of the day. In the final heat he started towards the back, but came through to 4th within the 8 laps, so was placed 10th for the final. Lewis had ended up in the B final. but drove well to win that and be placed in the A final with Mike.

At the start there was the usual TKM pushing from the back, and while Lewis came through from 30th to 13th, Mike dropped down to 12th to avoid the carnage about him. He then proceeded to work his way through the field, slowly dropping Lewis as he and fellow Super 1 driver Lloyd Ellison worked together cutting back the leaders. Mike said that the plan was to assist Lloyd to get to the front and then to challenge him if time allowed. Sadly with half the race to go, and the leaders just a few kart lengths ahead, the ignition failed and left him stranded. A podium was a certainty and victory probable. Without Mikes support Lloyd then came under attack and an overtaking move took him out. Lewis took advantage of the two places he gained and now it will be a close decision as to who officially leads the championship. The table will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

Let us hope that Mikes luck will return next week.

Thanks go to Dave Klaassen, who acted as mechanic for him at short notice. Best wishes to Danny Allin, who is recovering in hospital following an accident at work and to Jeff for keeping the team organised and on task. Once again the TEC-MEC was the chassis to be on, with young Billy Baxter also driving one very quickly this weekend. Mikes dad has now recovered so he can now drive, so hopefully his return to the circuit next weekend will bring Mike the luck he needs.