Yes, the highly motivated team of Danny Allin, David Klaassen, Mike Comber and myself, all wait with anticipation at Whilton for the final race in round 2 of the championship.
By his own admission, Mike struggled on Saturday to be the quickest on a drying track. The big bonus was that Mike managed to run in another couple of engines, so he now has 6 very quick ones to choose from, each matched to a carb and gearing to maximise their performance.
The TEC-MEC chassis was fine, in the end when we stuck on a race engine, it was just the driver having an off day. Rob and Sam Wilson who manufacture the chassis were there to lend support, but in the end we all concluded that Sunday had to be a better day for the team.
When the sun started to shine on Sunday morning, we started pumping up the slicks, but they stayed in their tyre bags all day David decided to test Mike's abilities running a meeting old wets down to intermediates ready for next weeks Super 1. Heat 1 was good with Mike starting last (30TH) on the grid as a result of his late entry, and then getting up to 4th in just 7 laps. Heat 2 was easier as he started in second and having got into first, slipped wide to allow Luke Caudle through to win the heat. Heat 3 was a 6th position from mid-pack, which was enough to secure a pole position in the final.
The final was wet and knowing how well he drives in difficult conditions it was no suprise that the main contenders, being Luke Caudle and Danny Fiske would break away with Mike for the first few laps. By lap 7 Mike was setting the fastest lap of the day and had a four Kart lead, but then he came across a very muddy patch where someone had obviously left the track and rejoined. Being on a wet bend, Mike ran wide, which allowed an attentive Luke Caudle to make a pass. Mike could have defended, but with an eye on the championship points, he allowed Luke through, determined to pass him on the last lap. Alas, by lap 12 the three had lapped half the field and being a clever driver, Luke just managed to get a back marker between him and Mike on the last lap. Mike was second just 0.54 seconds behind Luke with Danny a further 0.6 seconds behind Mike. the three were the 12 seconds ahead of the rest, which were straggled all round the track. 9 drivers failed to finish the race such were the poor conditions.
We think that Mike now leads the championship by about 60 points from his nearest rival Lewis Scouthern, the 2006 GP winner. The official results will be available in the week, and we will bring those to you as soon as the club posts them. An excellent weekend, especially as Mike did all this on old tyres. We had a new set stood ready, but knew that they would give us about half a second advantage, so we have that now in hand!
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