Webster Race Engineering Test Day (1)
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20:15
Today's pictures have now been posted, you can view them via the Event Index page.
That's the end of our coverage of today's Webster Race Engineering Test Day, thank you very much for tuning in. Thanks for their help today to Jon and Jeanette Webster; Chief Starter Ian Marshall and the Santa Pod Raceway track and safety crews; Steve Horn, Martin Wallis and David Anniwell of Santa Pod Raceway's timing crew; Darren Prentice; Spencer Tramm; Danny Allen; and Heather Bond.
Eurodragster.com's next Event Coverage will be from next weekend's Power Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway.
Today's Event Coverage has been brought to you in association with American Car Imports.
17:25
We're done for the day here at Santa Pod. The last few runs were from Steve Venables, Natasha Garcia and Joe Kellett. Steve clocked yet another seven at 7.998/176.90, whilst Natasha improved still further to 12.111/115.14 then 11.828/115.98. Joe Kellett clocked 13.869/43.28 in his Junior Dragster with Yours Truly running the Tree for him courtesy of Ian Marshall, a new personal best for Joe on the last run of the day, well done Joe!
We will be posting today's photographs in a couple of hours after we get back to base, stay tuned and we will let you know as soon as they are ready.
16:30
Paul Wratten has made his third run of the day in the Top Methanol FC, even further on the burnout this time, about 300 feet, Paul then set some sort of record for backing up quickly as Charlie Draper and the crew signalled him to slow down. Given the go-ahead Paul went into stage and straight up on the revs, no mucking about, and then a very nice 7.603/182.87, a straight pass with no sign of problems, nice one Paul!
Next up after Paul Wratten was Steve Venables on his SSB, a 7.882/185.20 with a couple of wheelies, these guys are making seven second passes look routine.
Joe Kellett pulled a big -0.118 cherry on his latest pass, 17.237/31.73, sounded to us as if the plug problem might have come back.
The track is open until 17:00, stay tuned.
16:15
Jamie Sneddon has taken Low ET of the day with a tremendous 7.742/184.40 on his Honda Blackbird SSB, Paul Watson and the team delighted with that pass, Paul boogying on the start line! Well done Jamie! Steve Venables had run shortly before and was obviously not happy with the pass, backing off before half track and clocking 12.416/52.94.
Matt Gatland has very quickly got a handle on his new car, a 9.749/142.40 his latest pass in the Firenza which we understand is headed for Super Gas.
Paul Hamilton and Rick McCann paired up in their VW and Camaro respectively, Rick got there first at 10.380/130.00 to Paul's 10.449/119.96 which was much straighter than his previous passes.
15:50
...and another huge round of applause here at Santa Pod as Richard Stubbins clocks 7.941/180.19 on the Big CC SSB, well done Richard! Steve Venables left another black stripe off the start line on his latest pass, 8.206/188.99 whilst Jamie Sneddon clocked 5.141/140.88 at the eighth on his latest pass, getting off it and leaning the bike again at half track, 9.062/97.13.
Joe Kellett had a problem with the spark plug on his Junior Dragster, after he and his team searched far and wide they found a replacement and Joe has put in two passes of 14.167/42.94 and a PB of 13.973/42.97 with reaction times of 0.066 and 0.064 respectively.
Matt Gatland has put in two more checkout passes in his Firenza, 11.093/103.90 and 10.244/122.93, nice one Matt!
15:10
...and a big round of applause in Race Control as Richard Stubbins goes even quicker on the Big CC Super Street Bike, 8.037/173.04. Nice one Richard!
Brendan Clancy's latest run in the Dublin Up Super Gasser came to an unfortunate end, the car launched very strongly but almost immediately the revs went through the roof and lumps of metal appeared from underneath the car. No word yet on whether it was transmission or rear axle which broke.
We have one import with us today, a Honda Civic whose driver's name we don't yet have. The car seems to have trouble getting off the line but the latest pass was a much-improved 12.519/121.23.
Matt Gatland is getting to grips with his new Firenza, a couple of launches and then on his latest run under power to about 300 feet, 14.341/58.76.
14:55
Paul Wratten's second run of the day in the Wratten Brothers Top Methanol FC was an 8.297/171.68. Paul pulled another excellent burnout, 200 feet this time, then the car pulled a wheelie off the line and got very slightly out of shape, Paul pedalled it then stayed on the throttle all the way down.
Steve Venables has gone even quicker on his "testing over the first eighth", clocking a great 7.880/180.01 on his latest pass. Richard Stubbins is certainly the model of consistency today, running 8.404/173.03...as I type he is back on the start line...and consistency be damned, a fine run and a new Personal Best, 8.077/182.28 and it wasn't in a straight line so there's more in there yet, well done Richard! Jamie Sneddon had a bit of a time of it on his latest pass, looking to touch down quite hard from the first wheelie only to pull another, then the bike was moving to the left and Jamie was really leaning it over to stay on the straight and narrow, 10.110/80.46.
Paul Hamilton's VW Beetle made a hard move to the right again on his latest pass, drawing an "Ooh!" from everyone in Race Control, but as usual Paul hung on and clocked 10.370/124.59. Natasha Garcia recorded 13.620/103.17 on her latest pass, again without a burnout.
Finally for this update Rick McCann ran 10.222/130.48 in the Heaven and Hell Camaro. Carla Pittau told us that the 10.1s came about because they cured "the simplest of problems".
14:15
Jamie Sneddon was next up after Steve Venables, Jamie looked to be on a good pass on his SSB but shut off at half track, 9.046/107.23. Chris Reed again hit problems on his next pass, it sounded as if he could not get third gear and was off the throttle at half track, 11.906/70.20.
Neil Midgley seems to have cured the nitrous burps on his Funny Bike, a very strong launch on his latest pass, 1.118 to sixty feet but the bike was veering left, Midgo got off the throttle but couldn't stop the bike running over the 330 foot sponge.
Brendan Clancy has gone quicker still in his Super Gasser, another strong straight pass and 9.672/135.97 at the stripe. Paul Hamilton was lined up in the bleach box alongside Brendan and we thought they might run alongside one another but it is just as well they didn't since Paul's Beetle made a very hard move to the right at about 1100 feet and crossed lanes just after the finish line, 10.697/123.20.
Natasha Gacria passed up the burnout on her latest pass and clocked 11.458/116.29 in her VW Pro Beetle.
13:45
Steve Venables was first up after the lunch break with a superb (and brave in this crosswind) 7.967/185.81 on his SSB.
13:20
Richard Stubbins, Steve Venables and Chris Reed each put in one more pass before the lunch break, which has just started. Richard put in a very solid and ever-improving 8.402/171.72. Ven clocked 8.380/180.58 on a far-from-straight pass, but no blackstripes this time, whilst Boisy shut the bike off and sat up at half-track, 13.645/48.48, then pulled over to the guardrail and was rescued by the top end crew.
Malcolm Francis' latest pass was an 8.234/167.11 whilst Natasha Garcia clocked 11.736/113.64 with a slight hesitation off the line. Thanks to Adam Watson for letting us know that the very rapid purple VW Beetle belongs to Paul Hamilton, Paul's latest pass was a great 10.357/119.32 with a double wheelie off the start line and much straighter in the shutdown area.
The last pass before lunch was a 400 foot pass by Richard Colby in his very nice-looking Outlaw Anglia. Be sure to keep an eye out for Richard's car in our Photo Gallery later on.
12:40
Paul Wratten just picked up Wild Ride of the Day with his first pass in the Wratten Brothers Top Methanol FC which looks just great in its blue paint. A great burnout to about sixty feet and then when the FC launched it turned hard left almost immediately, up on two wheels, a great job by Paul got the car back down but by then he was in the left-hand lane and so he took it gently up the track. It transpires that when Paul hit the throttle fuel leaked under the left tyre.
Richard Stubbins' next run of the day on his SSB was an 8.479/151.05, we could hear Rich feathering the throttle as the bike tried to go left in the breeze.
Malcolm Francis has put in two passes in his Grand Am, a 10.188/161.22 with the throttle stop in for what seemed like an eternity, and then a flat-out 8.025/169.70. Gordon Appleton's Crew Chief Adrian Spencer is crewing with Malcolm today.
Brendan Clancy's next run in his Super Gasser was a very solid and straight 9.800/135.11. Jon Webster was working with Brendan on this pass. Rick McCabb followed up with another best for the Heaven and Hell Camaro, 10.134/130.87, Carla Pittau's scream of joy could probably have been heard in Wellingborough.
Finally in this set of runs Matt Gatland put in a great burnout and a launch in his new Firenza race car.
12:10
Steve Venables' first pass of the day on his SSB more or less finished on the start line as the bike laid down a serious blackstripe and the back end moved out. Ven kept hold of it and then got back on the throttle, 8.970/157.89 - if you look on the webcam you can see his blackstripe in the right hand lane!
Jamie Sneddon followed up with his first run of the day on his Honda Blackbird SSB, almost a whoopsie on the way out of the burnout as it looked as if Jamie's right foot suddenly snagged under the peg. The run looked and sounded good from here but Jamie was obviously not happy as he was off the throttle well before half track, 12.637/68.680.
Natasha Garcia's second run of the day was much stronger although the car was making a serious move to the left for the first half of the track, Natasha pedalled a little towards the top end but still clocked 11.233/110.27.
Simon Cooper's second run of the day was another gentle run, 15.097/94.15 under the watchful eye of the Pop's previous owners Bob and Stuart Doignie.
Back to two wheels and Neil Midgley followed Simon Cooper, the bike sounded great in the burnout, then a strong launch but a nitrous burp at about fifty feet and Midgo pulled over to the side of the track.
Next up we have Richard Stubbins, Malcolm Francis and Paul Wratten - stay tuned.
11:45
Brendan Clancy's first run of the day was a 12.789/58.34, under power to four hundred feet. The Dublin Up Super Gasser looked and sounded just fine to that point, a straight and strong pass. Joe Kellett followed on with his second pass of the day in his Junior Dragster, 0.043 reaction and 14.361/40.36 at the stripe.
Back to two wheels and Richard Stubbins' second pass on his SSB was 8.437/179.86, it sounded as if the tyre was spinning in just about every gear, but a much straighter pass this time. An interested spectator was Paul Watson of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Dynospeed Development, Paul is here with Jamie Sneddon.
Super Street Bike racer Steve Venables popped up to see us and said that he has a new boost controller on his seven-second Kawasaki. "I will be working on the first eighth today", he said. Ven has yet to make his first pass but he was headed purposefully back to the pits after speaking to us so it probably won't be long.
Rick McCann was next up in the Heaven and Hell Camaro, another very strong sounding pass, 10.224/130.79 with a nice 0.028 light. Finally from this tranche of runs, Natasha Garcia clocked 16.084/96.97 in her VW Pro Beetle. The Beetle seemed to have some sort of transmission problem off the line, just as the start line crew started to walk towards the car the engine picked up and Natasha was off and running.
11:15
Next up was Simon Cooper in the ex-Doignie Super Street Pop, a very good burnout and then gently up the track to get the feel, 16.432/79.08.
Rick McCann followed in the Heaven and Hell Pro ET Camaro, as soon as the car left the line the engine was screaming and you could tell it was a good pass, 10.154/131.57, a best for the car. Carla Pittau didn't know whether to be happy about the new best or sad that Rick had beaten her own best!
After Rick was a Volkswagen Beetle which I don't think I've seen before, maybe one of our friends on Volksworld can help us out. The Beetle is purple and has VW Speedshop decals on each side, it also has number plates. The car is on slicks today, the first run was preceded by a great burnout and then off the throttle at 1000 feet, 11.244/100.66. The car came back very shortly afterwards, another great burnout and then a wheelie off the line, a slight pedal at 1000 feet and then back on it, 10.477/127.53. When the driver got off the throttle the car went for a long wander to the other lane in the shutdown area, that wasn't the wind since the wind is right to left and the car went left to right.
Joe Kellett's first run of the day in his beautiful Junior Dragster was a 14.532/42.09, Joe deep staged and squeaked a 0.027 red light.
10:45
Chris Reed returned very quickly and put in a much better pass on the Super Street Bike. Drifting to the left all the way down, I suspect the stiff crosswind had something to do with that, 9.463/140.11.
OK, so we can see Tim Adam's trailer but it's neither of Tim's cars. In fact Tim's crew Matt Gatland has been building himself a race car and today is its first outing. As soon as Matt brings the car down we'll let you know more.
10:35
The first couple of racers to venture out onto the track were Super Street Bike racers Chris Reed and Richard Stubbins. Chris went first, again on Mark Pointer's bike, the bike left the line strongly but then at about 100 feet sat right up with a big wheelie, as it came down there was a bang and a flash of flame and Boisy got off the throttle, rolling through to a 22.407/24.71. Richard Stubbins then put in a very nice-looking pass, quite gentle off the line but then wound it up at about 200 feet, he drifted left some but stayed with it and clocked 8.451 at a huge 184.43. Given that Rich left the line very gently there is doubtless more to come there.
10:00
Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway on a very bright but breezy morning. It's the first Webster Race Engineering Test Day of 2005 and we're here to bring you all the news in association with American Car Imports.
The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and is broadcasting a picture every two minutes. We did originally plan to put the webcam outside in a new position but there is a very stiff breeze blowing and we would probably have been continually readjusting it.
We've only been on-line for a short while and we have already had Good Mornings from Ruth Curbishley, Andrew McKenzie and James Hands, good morning to you too guys. Good morning also to our good friend Gittli Koller of Peter Schöfer Racing who is tuned in from Germany and also to our US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman who are tuned in from New Hampshire.
We understand that we have fifteen racers booked in today. From our vantage point in Race Control we can see the Wratten Brothers' Top Methanol Funny Car, Tim Adam although we can't see from here whether he is here with his Falcon or his roadster, Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Malcolm Francis with his Air Sea Logistics Super Comp/Super Gas Grand Am, Carla Pittau and Rick McCann with their Pro ET Camaro, Brendan Clancy (Super Gas), Natasha Garcia (VW Pro), the ex-Doignie Super Street Ford Pop, Neil Midgley (Funny Bike), Steve Venables (Super Street Bike), Richard Stubbins (Super Street Bike) and Chris Reed (Super Street Bike). Also in the pits is a very tidy-looking Plymouth Barracuda which we've not seen before but which looks to us like a full-on race car, we will get more details on that later. That's just what we can see from here right now.
The original plan for today was to post a lunchtime and then end-day report, however we will be posting regular updates all day so stay tuned and when the track action starts we will be right back with the news.