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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