The BRSCC Mazda MX-5 SuperCup season kicks off in spectacular fashion…..
Comber leads the way at Silverstone. Image courtesy of Jonathan Elsey Photography.
The Silverstone International Circuit was the scene for the opening two rounds of the 2014 BRSCC SuperCup. A fantastic grid of 24 cars turned out for start of the season with the majority of drivers arriving late Thursday/early Friday to get in some last minute testing with the new 2014 control parts and fine tune their set ups.
Fortunately for those drivers unable to make the Friday test, this season sees a 20 minute practice session prior to qualifying at the majority of rounds allowing everyone to get up to speed before the grid proper is decided. Reigning MAX5 champion David Chapman topped the practice time sheets in his Paul Sheard Racing run car with a 1.20.1 lap followed closely by Mike Comber, then Abbie Eaton.
Mike Comber on the International Circuit. Image courtesy of Jonathan Elsey Photography.
The weather for the weekend was the sort that all motor racers dread…. changeable. Overcast skies with occasional drizzle and a cool breeze was the story of meeting leaving drivers guessing right up to the last minute what set up to go for.
Qualifying
Qualifying on Saturday afternoon stayed dry as everyone tried to better their practice times, but with the new track limit rules being enforced more tightly drivers really had to watch their lines if they didn’t want any times disallowed.
David Chapman repeated his morning performance taking pole position with a time of 1.20.4, narrowly edging out Mike Comber who put in a quick lap late in the session to take 2nd. Matt Davies claimed 3rd, an improvement by over a second on his practice time to leave the top three separated by less than 2 tenths.
Further down the field, drivers improved as the running order was shuffled from practice but with only 2 seconds covering 1st to 12th position the slightest mistake on a hot lap could easily cost a couple of grid positions. These were all signs that the evenly matched SuperCup cars and drivers were all set to provide some excellent racing in the two Sunday Races.
Race 1
A late start on Sunday saw Race 1 get underway at 11.50am, light rain had left the circuit greasy off the racing line and particularly treacherous around the fast Stowe corner which remained like an ice rink throughout the race.
As the lights went out Mike Comber blasted into the lead from the dry side of the grid leaving pole sitter David Chapman and all those starting on the pit wall side of the grid struggling for grip on the damp line. John Davies coming from 4th on the grid made a demon start challenging Mike into the first corner but then tucking in ahead of David Chapman and Matt Davies as they exited on to the hanger straight.
With everyone safely around the first two corners the race was underway, with the track remaining slippery offline but steadily drying, overtaking was particularly tricky. The battling for 2nd place between John Davies, David Chapman, Matt Davies and Clint Bardwell gave Mike Comber the break he needed to hammer in some quick laps allowing him to break away at the front, a lead he would not relinquish to the flag.
Meanwhile a lock up from John Davies allowed David Chapman and Matt Davies to slip by and commence their own battle for 2nd which Chapman would eventually win on the second to last corner, the top three coming home Comber, Chapman and M. Davies. Although Comber’s margin of victory was impressive the top three finishers’ fastest laps were separated by only 0.1 seconds.
David Chapman and Matt Davies battle for second place. Image courtesy of Jonathan Elsey Photography.
Elsewhere a poor start from Abbie Eaton left her battling her way back up the field and returning MK3 racer Rob Way performed a similar task as he gained five places over his starting position by the flag. The unfortunate Liam Murphy, a championship new comer, suffered clutch issues off the start line curtailing his race 1 effort after a promising qualifying….and necessitating some slick work to change the clutch before race 2.
Throughout the field, close racing was the order of the day and in the slippery conditions all drivers did a fantastic job keeping it on the circuit and keeping the racing clean.
Race 2
Last race of the meeting saw the SuperCup drivers line up in finishing order from race 1 with one addition…Tom Roche, multiple Mazda MK1 champion and British GT driver joining the back of the grid as a guest in Paul Sheard’s own famous No.18 car.
As the drivers fired up the engines in the assembly area rain began to fall onto the previously dry track leaving a greasy surface for the warm up laps.
When the lights went out the rain stopped but enough had fallen to make the offline side of the grid very slippery. This allowed Chapman to get the jump on Comber from the outside and a blistering start from Abbie Eaton saw her straight to the front from row 3.
A slow start from the half of the grid on the damp side meant the cars arrived at slippery turn one very bunched, and heavy contact from a late braking Darren Standing saw the unfortunate Rob Way turned around in the middle of the pack with other drivers doing their best to avoid him. In the confusion the field became well and truly shuffled with back markers from Race 1 promoted well up the field, and front runners dropped to the tail of the pack.
The field heads round Stowe. Image courtesy of Jonathan Elsey Photography.
Unfortunately Rob Way was unable to continue because of damage. George Line, who had had a good result on his debut in race 1 was also unable to continue, which was due to a misfire which had appeared for the first time in the collecting area. Both drivers will be back out at Brands Hatch.
With lots of recovering drivers working their way through the field, the racing became a little too close at times with several unfortunate contact incidents occurring, amongst them John Davies, who had been making good progress to recover his starting position, was eliminated on lap 7 when a following car rearranged his rear suspension.
Another fast starter was Steve Andrew who leapt up to fifth by the first hairpin (but unfortunately suffered a spin later in the lap) and this squabbling over position allowed the front three of Comber, Chapman and Eaton to get the break they needed. Eaton leading briefly before eventually Comber, then Chapman found a way passed. By the time Chapman had made a move on Eaton stick, Comber was too far up the road to be caught and this would be the top three finishing order at the end.
Tom Roche who had started from the back of the grid, came through to be challenging for 4th by lap 8, and would then spend the remainder of the race fighting hard and clean with Bardwell and Matt Davies, the three crossing the line nose to tail with Roche in 4th in the end.
Mike Comber receives his trophy from Drew Furlong. Image courtesy of Jonathan Elsey Photography.
So following a fantastic weekend’s racing at Silverstone a double win for Comber at the opening round kick starts his championship campaign in fine style, but with Chapman, M.Davies and Eaton all right on the pace it may not be so easy at the next round at Brands Hatch on the 3rd & 4th of May.