Caine’s 2006 Motorbase car

I know, not exactly TVR, but Mike is one of our driving coaches…he still helps with our Monster Griff and Trackdays…was the only Factory driver – ever…and he’s a mate of mine. So there!

Mike will again be competing in the Porsche Cup (GB) in 2009 and this year he’s returning to Team Motorbase…from whence he came. Mike started in Cup (GB) with Motorbase in 2006 and had a pretty tough time of it. Being in the third car, it always seemed to be his gearbox that went, his car that was the last to be tested and his qualifiers that were spoilt. He still made a name for himself with some great recovery drives from the back of the grid, usually just before he was taken out by a guy who had considerably more money than talent!

He did enough to progress to Team Parker racing, who brought him in to develop drivers, who he managed to out gun on several occasions. But again, the same issues occurred. When you’re in a team at that level, sponsorship is king. You need to bring many tens of thousands of pounds…no matter how fast you are. It costs £400,000 to run these cars for a season, so a guy with less talent and deep pockets will often be chosen. In his first season 2007, issues persisted with a bit of Politics in there too, but Mike still managed several stellar drives being featured in TV coverage many times.

In 2008, Team Parker focussed on the Porsche Cup in Europe. Mike asked for his car and a mechanic so that could continue in Cup (GB) on his own. This turned out very well indeed with Mike only just missing out on the title to Tim Harvey, the most experienced Cup (GB) driver and ex BTCC champ. It came down to the last race and the last round and Mike had Tim set up for a pass to take the title when his gearbox went. Who said Porkers are bullet proof? It was a bitter pill for Mike. He had led for most of the season, had won many races and was well away before reliability issues bit the latter part of his season.

Anyway, 2009 is all that matters now and when Sponsorship money is increasingly hard to get hold of and when the Pound is losing more and more to the Euro (Porsche do everything in Euros) he’s done really well to get a competitive season together.
Mike said

“I’m really looking forward to it. Motorbase are giving me a new car for 2009 and there’s a chance of a WTCC drive too. With all the seasons commitments…” (Mike is also competing in Britcar) “…testing, driver coaching and my day job I going to be very busy.”

We wish him the best of course!

If you would like driver training with Mike or if you want him to source a TVR or any other car for that matter (his day job) then drop me a line. info@tvrmonster.com

The Porsche Cup (GB) Season
4/5 April Brands Hatch (Indy)
25/26 April Thruxton
16/17 May Donnington Park
30/31 May Oulton Park
13/14 Jun Croft
1/2 Aug Snetterton
15/16 Aug Knockhill
29/30 Aug Silverstone (National)
19/20 Sep Rockingham
3/4 Oct Brands Hatch (GP)