The Easter Thunderball
Sunday (qualifying)

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Due to a power supply problem at the track, we will not be able to post any more updates or pictures this evening. This is totally beyond our control - apologies. We will post everything else as soon as power is restored either later this evening or first thing in the morning.

19:30

It's now raining heavily on the shutdown area and so qualifying has been called. Race Director Darren Prentice has already decided to complete qualifying tomorrow morning, with an earlier start than originally scheduled.

John Ellul has had his block repaired and staged to qualify for tomorrow's Top Methanol field. Even so, he pedalled it a bit too vigorously and blew a burst panel at half track. Steph Millam put in another observed run, again very gentle, and the wheelie bars were sparking on the track at the top end - probably just need adjustment.

19:30

The next round of the Pro Fuel Shootout was between Peter Beck and John Spuffard. Peter Beck made what looked like a planned half pass, another awesome pass from Peter. It's getting very cold here but the Top Fueller stuck to the track, header flames wing high. Also praiseworthy was Peter's 0.47 Reaction Time, after he had to wait the extra 0.4 seconds that was quite something. John Spuffard launched well and was going great guns before appearing to get out of shape just past half track and backing off. It should be said, though, that these are new combinations for both drivers so Spuff's half pass may well have been planned too. The gantry has had to be switched off because of power supply problems, so I could only scribble the times down from the PA, Spuff ran 6.10 to Peter's 6.56 - but these will be confirmed on the next update through the good offices of our friends at TSI Timers.

Smax put in his second observed run, this time to three hundred feet, all looking OK.

Nick Davies was the only participant in the final Pro Mod qualifying session, running a strong 6.782 again on a cold track. With a 6.8 and two 6.7s Nick is looking good for tomorrow's eliminations. John Ellis is not qualified having failed to get to the start line so we guess that's his weekend over. More on that as and when we get it.

Martin Hill has put in one run in Fireforce 2, the afterburner on this car is much more percussive than that on FF1 - it bangs rather than whooshes. Your reporter was at trackside and felt as if he was being smacked in the chest every time Martin hit the 'burner.

We would estimate that there is about another hour to an hour and a half of qualifying, and Steph Milam has just towed down to the collection area for another observed run. We'll be back later with news of this and the final standings in qualifying.

17:00

A world first for Len Paget here at Santa Pod Raceway. The Hyabusa bodywork on his Pro Stock Bike is the first anywhere - he has stolen a march on US PSB racer Dave Shultz who won't be unveiling his new bike for a couple more weeks.

In round two of Pro Mod qualifying, Nick Davies put in a great 6.76/206.92. Henri Joosten twisted off the start line and clocked 7.71/176.20. Excitement in Super Pro ET as Roger Moore pulled a massive wheelstand in the "Shaken Not Stirred" Herald, standing the car on its back bumper and leaving lots of broken bits of body on the track. Roger was A-OK and the car got off the track under its own power.

In Top Fuel Bike, BJ got a wicked shimmy at half track and had to get off it, recording 7.85/120.94. In the other lane, Steve Woollatt ran 6.77 at 199.34. Ian King and Chris Hampson then paired up, Ian running 7.02/193.49 and Chris 6.91/200.04.

In Top Methanol we had a great side-by-side qualifier from Rob Turner and Dave Wilson, Rob recording 5.80/222.39 on an early shut-off, and Dave running 5.94/231.57 after a brief bout of shake off the start line. Doug Bond was on and off the throttle on a 6.94/183.50, and Lex Joon ran 7.05/142.31, leaving the line very gently. Steph Millam took another gentle pass, holding the throttle down towards the end of the track.

We've got a hold for a combination of oildown and spitting rain, we'll be back later with qualifying standings.

13:30

It's been a great day so far. Peter Beck put in his second observed pass. Another huge burnout followed by a squirt of three hundred or so feet. The car seemed very soft off the line. Peter did not appear for round one of the Pro Fuel Shootout but we have no news as yet.

Smax Smith made his long-awaited debut in Fuel FC, a nice strong burnout followed by a sixty foot squirt just over 0.9 seconds.

MSA Top Methanol is led by Lindsay Deuchar. Several cylinders appeared to be out before the car left the line but it all came together nicely as soon as Lindsay hit the throttle. Rob Turner hit bad tyre shake and had to back out. Lex Joon was testing his new blower and got out of it early, whilst Doug Bond pulled a lengthy wheelie in his first pass in the ex-Sheavills car. Steph Milam took her second observed run, very gentle indeed to 330 feet. Top Methanol currently stands as follows: 1. Lindsay Deuchar 6.230/225.84, 2. Lex Joon 7.202/162.56, 3. Rob Turner 12.604/56.74, 4. Steph Milam 15.298/69.72, 5. Doug Bond 16.903/37.88

In Top Fuel Bike, that man Brian Johnson did it again, a 6.371/200.86! Steve Woollatt stands second at 6.762/200.78, and Chris Hampson third at 7.423/141.10. Ian King broke on the burnout.

In the Pro Fuel Shootout, Barry Sheavills and John Spuffard faced up in the first pairing, the handicap against the Top Fuellers confirmed at 0.400 seconds. Spuff clocked 6.315/124.43, the chute coming out just past half track. Barry to his credit waited for the green and then chased Spuff, getting way out of shape and clicking off to a 6.097/146.47. Peter Beck was a no-show for the second pairing, Gordon Smith taking a bye at 7.716/117.33 and paying a very close visit to the guardrail.

Pro Mod is led by Nick Davies with what looked like an effortless 6.807/205.01. Henri Joosten is still wheelying away from the line, to the fans' delight, recording 8.172/151.41. John Ellis didn't show for this round of qualifying.

Dave Beck leads Pro Stock Bike with a pass of 7.634/180.07. Paul Willis was second but was found to be underweight, promoting Chris Hope to second at 7.758/168.47. Funny Bike is led by Chris Hall at 7.498/175.91, with Ken Cooper on 7.762/162.79 and Steve French at 7.887/164.50.

Junior Dragster qualifying is getting closer and closer, six hundredths of a second separating the top six (JD qualifying is reckoned on Reaction Times). New boy Johnny Walker currently leads with a 0.536 RT.

Martin Hill's Fireforce 2 FC is sitting behind the tower ready for its first pass, a few problems with the fuel system preventing the first attempt a little while ago.

We'll be back later with news from the next rounds of qualifying. Stay tuned.

08:45

Good morning folks, thanks for coming back. This morning dawned bright and sunny, right now a bank of mist is drifting across the track but there is a breeze which will take it away in short order. The weather forecast is looking great for day two of the Thunderball and day one of the Pro Fuel Shootout.

We went and spoke to Peter Beck and crew after last night's amazing observed run. As you can imagine, they were overjoyed. Regula told us that they had not damaged any parts at all on that run, and that the plan for today was for a half- or three-quarter pass this morning and then into the Shootout this afternoon.

John Ellul's engine damage amounted to a couple of square inches of melt on the block. The head gasket gave way and then the hot stuff got onto the block. John told us that the run was a planned half-pass and that the trouble started as he was shutting off. He also confirmed that the car started to skate towards the top end. "I was going to use the handbrake to stop it, but when it got out of shape I pulled the parachute", he said. The team expect to be back in action for tomorrow's eliminations, Geof Hauser has been contacted to effect repairs to the block. It's a busy weekend for Geof since he is selling fuel as usual, and is overseeing his son Jay's Junior Dragster.

Crew member Paul Galea said that John Ellul's is one of three Top Methanol cars on the island of Malta, John's is the quickest. The Maltese season consists of six races, held over weekends, including two night races which run from 6:00 pm to 2:00 the next morning - definitely a case for a Eurodragster fact-finding trip we think.

We had a chat with Dave Milam about the "She Devil" TMFC. "we've been dreaming about this for ten years", he said. "The chassis was built in 1986 and we've had it since then, we've been waiting to be able to afford to run it, buying parts constantly during that time. But we wouldn't be here this weekend without our two crew, Dave Bryant (of the "Shockwave" Fuel FC operation), and Andy Robinson. Our clutch can failed SFI and so we had to get another one - Andy modified it almost overnight".

Dave told us that the plan is for Steph to put in three passes this weekend to gain her licence, and then to take the car home and strip it down and check it out. If funds permit, we will see the "She Devil" TMFC back at the Main Event. We hope to have a word with Steph later on today to find out what she thought of her first pass.

Nick Davies was happy with his short pass in his Pro Mod last night. We asked how he got away with the long rolling burnout in the presence of Crew Chief Rob Loaring. "Oh, they're old tyres", he said, "we were trying to put some life back into them".

Barry Sheavills has now got the new five-disc clutch installed on his Top Fuel Dragster. Hopefully this means we will see him out testing this morning before the Pro Fuel Shootout starts! We understand that Barry's Crew Chief Rune Fjeld has spent some time with Joe Amato and his team in the USA discovering the intricacies of the five-disc system.

Smax Smith told us last night that his car is good to go. Stuart on the Shockwave crew said that they too were ready to go. It's been a frantic weekend for the Shockwave team: as we've already mentioned, Crew Chief Dave Bryant has been helping out the with their Millams' TMFC, driver Gordon Smith has been helping Steph Millam out with driving tips, and the guys have also been working on Doug Ripleys' Super Pro ET altered.

The Nemesis TMD team spent last night swapping engines. The plan for yesterday was to put in a short pass on the current incumbent, which was the spare engine, and then to swap to the new engine. When formal qualifying was cancelled last night, Crew Chief Barry Redstone decided to forgo the planned run and get straight to work on putting the new engine in place. "Everything except the block is new on this engine", he said. "Pistons, rods, valves, crank, cams, camshafts, you name it".

It's half an hour to show time, I'm off through the mist to get some breakfast. Stay tuned and we'll be back later with the news from the track.