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.