All images courtesy of JonElsey
The weather makes life interesting in Norfolk
For rounds 8 & 9 of the championship the BRSCC MX5 SuperCup visited Snetterton in Norfolk, famed for its long straights and challenging braking zones. Annoyingly, these days, weather forecasts are very accurate and sure enough, as predicted the weather played a big part in the weekend’s racing. Mike Comber came into Snetterton following a dominant weekend at Cadwell but with Tom Roche finding more pace each time in the car, a little more consistency could see him taking a win.
Saturday – Practice
A 20 minute free practice session just before lunch gave all those who hadn’t had the opportunity to test on Friday a chance to fine tune set-sups and learn the lines. This was the MX5 mk3 racers first time on the 200 layout since 2011. Cool dry conditions were ideal for quick times and the drivers didn’t disappoint, Mike Comber topping the time sheets with a 1:27.6 followed by Tom Roche and Abbie Eaton, only 3 tenths of a second covering the top 4 cars. Further down the field Liam Murphy again looked quick on his first ever visit to the circuit. Returning drivers Adam Brindle and Justin Newnam also settled back into their MX5s.
The cars sweep left at the end of the Bentley Straight
Qualifying
By mid-afternoon a big swing in track conditions looked set to shake up the order from practice, the sun had come out and track and air temperatures shot up. A very tactical session saw drivers cooling tyres mid stint for one final quick lap and dicing for position trying to pick up a tow on the long Snetterton straights. The high temperatures however didn’t stop Mike Comber taking pole virtually matching his time from the morning practice. Second was Matt Davies, 0.4 secs off Mike’s pole time and narrowly ahead of Roche in third. Eaton appeared to struggle with tyres and spent most of the session circulating alone with no other cars available to slipstream, in the end finding herself down in sixth when the flag came out. Championship second place man David Chapman joined her on row 3. Further down the field the times remained tight with just 2 seconds covering sixth to twelfth, Geoff Gouriet and Simon Fleet both improving on their morning times.
Sunday Race 1
As the Met Office predicted, while the rest of the country bathed in sunshine, changeable weather hit Snetterton Circuit for Sunday’s racing, starting with a brief rain shower as the drivers assembled on the grid. As the lights went out it was Comber on pole who lit up his rear tyres allowing Davies then Roche through into turn 1. Into the first hairpin Roche slipped up the inside of Davies for the lead and, as the pack bunched into the Montreal, slight contact allowed the fast starting Eaton to also get ahead and take second onto the Bentley straight. The pack fanned out and arrived virtually four abreast into the braking zone under the bridge, with Liam Murphy braking latest to slip ahead of Davies but then the slightest of contact on the damp track sending Murphy sideways on the corner exit. Over the line for lap 2 and it was Eaton leading Roche, the two racing hard for the position and changing places numerous times over the first four laps until Roche made the decisive move at the hairpin and pulled a couple of cars lengths
Further back, Comber had taken third from Davies, the two briefly working together in an attempt to catch the leaders, until they arrived at Riches which had been almost dry the previous lap but where it was now raining heavily. It caught out Davies sending him spinning on the grass at the exit. He was followed there by Will Chappell who arrived next, the two embarking on a recovery drive for the remainder of the race.
At the front Comber began to close down Eaton in second, windscreen wipers flashing on and off depending on the corner as the rain continued to move around the circuit. Three laps from the flag Comber made a tough move stick on Eaton heading into Murrays, to grab second but despite setting fastest lap, ran out of time to stop Roche taking his first SuperCup win.
Last corner: Close between Roche and Comber
Mechanical trouble for championship title hopeful David Chapman meant race two would also be a tough one starting from the back of the grid. While the difficult conditions has strung most of the field out, Simon Fleet pushed Chappell hard to the flag and returning driver Jeremy Crook was pleased to better someone else’s time as he continues to get to grips with the car.
Race 2.
Less than an hour before the start of race 2 the heavens opened and the Snetterton circuit was flooded in seconds. The Formula Jedi race on circuit at the time was red flagged because conditions were judged too dangerous to continue. The TVR race was up next and was conducted at very low speed with the cars producing a bow wave over the start line. The rain actually eased a little as the SuperCup drivers completed their two green flag laps before the race and the sun shone as 5 second board was shown…. but the circuit was 100% wet.
It was wet!!
Off the line Comber made the best start followed by Roche while the rest of the pack drove into a wall of spray. With everyone safely round the hairpin and onto the back straight it was Roche now leading from Comber then Eaton and already a small gap to Davies in fourth. Conditions were tough as the circuit was wet, but the rain had now stopped. As the drivers tip-toed around for the first lap Roche was beginning to break away with Eaton pressurising Comber. Two laps in and Eaton took second as Comber struggled for pace. After this the gaps in the field began to extend as different set ups and driving styles played to the conditions. The result remained the same at the flag with Roche making it a double win and Eaton getting a well-deserved second.
Further back, David Chapman had fought his way back through the field to fifth after a first race DNF, hunting down Davies in fourth and taking fellow Paul Sheard Autos driver Justin Newnam with him. As the track began to dry in the warming conditions, Chapman passed the struggling Davies going into the hairpin only for Davies to slip stream passed down the Bentley straight and defend hard to hang on to fourth position to the end.
Simon Fleet seemed to enjoy the wet conditions again hunting down Will Chappell at the finish and missing out on ninth by just a tenth of a second. Despite the sopping conditions all drivers made it back in one piece by the end. Also good to see was Tom Collins joining the SuperCup with assistance from the Mike Comber Racing team and it was certainly interesting conditions for a first race in a SuperCup Spec MX5!
So Tom Roche takes his first win in the SuperCup at Snetterton and makes it a double, while a slightly tougher weekend for Comber means he wasn’t able to extend his championship lead over David Chapman as much as he would have liked. We are now at the half way point in the season and, although Comber’s lead in the points table looks commanding, with Tom Roche now up to third, couldhis be turn out to be the turning point in the title battle?
Bob Marsh presents Tom Roche with his trophy.
The remainder of the season takes place on the circuits all drivers love, Oulton Park, Rockingham and Donington Park, but first a triple header at the stunning Anglesey Circuit on the 9th and 10th of August. With the help of the 2014 spec Eibach anti-roll bars expect to see new lap records set now we reach the twistier half of the season.
Full race result from TSL Timing: http://www.tsl-timing.com/brscc/2014/142833xsc.pdf
Championship Standings: http://www.mx5supercup.co.uk/standings
Next Round is Anglesey on the 9/10th August.
