BRSCC MX-5 SUPERCUP: THE STORY SO FAR
This is the most common view the other SuperCup drivers have had of Mike Comber's Mk3 this season! Photo: Jon Elsey
The BRSCC MX-5 SuperCup heads towards the second half of the season at its fifth meeting of the year at Anglesey on 9th/10thAugust. The meeting is a “triple header” with three races being contested over the course of the weekend. That makes the meeting key in deciding the ultimate fate of the championship.
The story of the season so far has been the consistency of championship leader Mike Comber. Not only has he been able to string a together a succession of consecutive wins but he has also finished on the podium in every race so far. This has resulted in a points total which is 220 more than his nearest title rival, David Chapman. There is a catch however, in that the championship points scoring system allows a competitor to have a poor weekend and the occasional non-finish, while still retaining a chance of winning the title. At the end of the season each competitor’s worst three scores will be dropped from the final tally.
All of Comber’s nearest challengers have had poor weekends at some point. David Chapman and Tom Roche have had non-finishes, either through mechanical problems or accident damage, while Abbie Eaton and Matt Davies have both had weekends where they finished much lower down the order than they are accustomed to. Despite these problems for the chasing pack, when dropped scores are taken into account, a mere 35 points separates the top five in the championship. Mike Comber’s winning streak ended at Snetterton where he achieved a second and a third place, but he will need to get back to winning ways if he is to secure the title. If he manages to win all three races at Anglesey his lead in the title will look almost unassailable.
Is that achievable? Mike has shown this season that he is certainly capable of winning all the races at a meeting but a chink in his armour was revealed at Snetterton….both races were wet and he didn’t manage to claim the top step of the podium. Anglesey may possibly be a hot and sunny weekend but it is in North Wales which has the highest rainfall of any part of Britain!
What do the other drivers have to do to overtake Mike? Abbie Eaton and Matt Davies have to up their game. Despite being on the pace in terms of lap times, they have not yet translated that into race wins. For Tom Roche the situation is slightly different. He made the top step of the podium in both races at Snetterton but he cannot afford to slip up. His three dropped scores are all zeros, and one more non-finish would mean that one of those zeros would have to count towards his championship points tally. Another DNF would put an end to his title chances. For everyone it is very simple…they must beat Mike Comber!
More generally, the BRSCC MX-5 SuperCup has gone from strength to strength this season. Last year in its inaugural season the highest number of cars at a meeting was 18. In 2014 there are 30 registered drivers in the championship 28 of whom have competed in races this year.
The outlook for the second half of the season must be good with more new drivers coming into the championship all the time and some of the best circuits on the calendar still to come. After Anglesey the championship heads to Oulton Park and finishes in October at Donington. All these circuits are “driver’s circuits” and we look forward to racing every bit as close as we have seen so far this year.
Andy Davies
For more information about the SuperCup visit MX-5 SUPERCUP
