Rockingham 2015 - Super Mighty Minis Championship

The Northamptonshire track of Rockingham Motor Speedway was the venue for rounds 3 and 4 of the Super Mighty Minis Championship. After the roller coaster ride at Oulton Park, which saw our man Alex Comis qualify 2nd only to have electrical gremlins strike in both races, Comis was up beat about his chances at “The Rock”.

A blustery but sunny mid May day saw Comis put in 7th fastest time in qualy:

“It’s good to see that we seem to have cured the electrical issues, though I was hoping for a bit better than 7th. To be fair I didn’t get much of a tow down the oval section which is critical here, and there were a couple of places I think I could have squeezed out a little more pace. Hopefully I can put it together for the 1st race.”

With the cars on the grid in the gleaming sunshine, the start procedure was soon under way. Lights out and Comis made a cracking launch. By the 1st hairpin he was challenging for 3rd, alas this was soon short lived as Steve Maxted put in a demon move up the inside for turn 3. Comis was now in the main pack fighting for position. The battle for 3rd continued for lap after lap. Comis sitting in 5th place was looking strong and ready to make a move. At the end of the flat out oval section, with the cars bouncing off the rev limiters, Comis committed to breaking from 110mph down to around 30mph for the hairpin. Unfortunately he braked just a fraction too late and found him self on the grass and trying to cut back on to the track. With such close racing, that small mistake put him in dead last. It wasn’t long, however, before he was back in the mix and soon fighting for 7th. With 5th, 6th and 7th all squabbling, Comis went for the cut-back out of the final chicane; it was now a drag to the line. Alas Comis crossed the line just a fraction away from snatching 7th place.

“Yeah, that was a good little race, lots of clean but incredibly close racing. I just made a couple of errors which really cost you when the racing is as close as it is in this championship.”

Race 2 saw Comis on pole after his number was drawn out of the hat. At the start, though his launch was solid, it was not as clean as that of Neven Kirkpatrick who got the Jump. However, by the hairpin, both were consumed by Championship leaders Jamie White and Scott Kendal. Comis was now in 3rd with the entire pack hounding him. With the long, long oval section, the cars in the pack could take advantage of the aerodynamic wake of the cars in front. With 1st and 2nd now in the distance, the cameras, crowd and commentators were focused on the epic battle between 6 cars all challenging for 3rd spot. This was heart stopping stuff; amazing racing. With Comis at the back of the pack, it was his turn with the aero tow. From 7th to 3rd and deep on the brakes to get the car turned in to the hairpin that caught him out in race one. With Ant Ford along side him, it was another drag to turn 3. There really was nothing to choose between the 6 cars and it really was anyone’s for the taking. At the Flag, Comis crossed the line in 7th, just a couple of seconds separating 3rd to 8th!

“That was one of the closest races I’ve ever been in. Gutted I didn’t get 3rd place but the car ran well and it was a strong result to build on for the rest of the season”.

Rounds 5 and 6 see the championship race and the Mini Festival at Brands Hatch on the 27th and 8th of June. Be sure to be there for more of the closest racing around!

Importation rules regarding vehicles are very specific: Only those over 25 years in age may be brought in to the USA without compilance to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).