FIA European Finals Press Day
Santa Pod Raceway, 4th September 2002
The latest updates will be at the top of the page. Click on your Browser's Refresh key to be sure of seeing the latest news. Click here to go back to the event index.
18:15
Today's pictures are now available, you can get to them from the event update index.
That's the end of our Press Day coverage. Our FIA European Finals coverage continues with day one of qualifying; we will be posting pit notes first thing in the morning and then we're into the action. Thank you for tuning in today and we'll see you on Friday! Today's coverage was brought to you in association with American Car Imports.
16:35
Hakan Nilsson has fired a warning to his competitors this weekend with an awesome 6.481/213.47 to finish the day here at Santa Pod. A 0.489 RT, sixty foot of 1.054, and half-track of 4.206/173.47, all add up to a pretty solid pass.
We're now going to load up today's pictures, stay tuned.
16:35
Roger Johansson is now tying with Andy Robinson for worst tyre shake of the day. A nice burnout and a 0.52 RT followed by a 1.132 sixty-foot by which time the car was already shaking, coasting to 11.884/86.18.
Anders Larsson didn't make it down the track on his latest pass. The bike was shut off after the burnout, started and stopped again, and then broke off the start line.
Martin Boye got close to the centre line on a 10.177/135.68, getting it straight without lifting.
Paul Watson got into the eights again on his Super Street Bike, 8.87/152.58 whilst Jim Draper is creeping up on it with a 9.33/134.72. Paul Morris at 9.85/127.14 and Rachel Pattison at 9.47/158.10 rounded off the latest cycle of racers.
Peter Schöfer and Jorg Johnsson are the latest racers to arrive at the track.
16:15
Hakan Nilsson has just stepped it up big time with a 6.59/211.41 in the Veidec Pro Mod. 0.52 RT and 1.061 sixty-foot. We understand that Hakan wants to put in at least one more pass today.
Just as we went to post this update Roger Pettersson has come to the line on his Pro Stock Bike...final checks...0.47 RT, 1.145 sixty-foot and 7.424/178.56, the Veidec team have two- and four-wheeled bests today.
16:00
Anders Larsson came out for another pass and clocked a very nice 7.52/174.07 on his Pro Stock Bike. A very smooth and straight run and very little hint of tyre shake.
Jim Draper's latest pass in the King Rat Pro Et altered was 9.47/132.81, whilst Peter Lane put in a 10.46/140.57 in his Super Gasser.
15:30
Roger Johansson has just put in another pass in his Mustang Pro Mod, shut off briefly after the burnout but then fired up again and a very nice run: 0.54 RT, 1.106 to sixty feet and 6.73/207.94 at the finish line to take today's high speed.
Filipp from Greece's second pass netted him an 11.90/113.13, the engine sounded as if it was misfiring big time. Martin Boye's second pass of the day was a 10.13/137.48 in the wheels-up Impala.
15:15
We didn't think Roger Pettersson was going to let Anders Larsson's pass go unanswered and did he answer it! 0.48 RT, 1.153 sixty-foot and 7.432/178.91 which Crew Chief Roger Lyren tells is is Roger's quickest pass here at Santa Pod. If you haven't got your tickets for this weekend yet then it's time to get them I'd say!
Shaun Branch followed Roger with a 7.55/173.57 on his Funny Bike, 144 mph at half-track and a great wheelie off the line.
The latest racer to turn up is Denmark's Martin Boye who got the car straight off the trailer and round to the collection area very quickly! A nice wheelie off the line then 10.33/135.04 with some feathering of the throttle. Steve Wells followed up with a 10.40/122.32, without a passenger this time.
Latest arrival in the pits is Leif Andreasson's Top Methanol FC.
15:00
Anders Larsson just put in a very nice pass on his Pro Stock Bike, ET of the day so far at 7.613/175.91. Looked like a tiny bit of spin off the line but a solid baseline for further passes.
Andy Robinson went next, another nice burnout to 120 feet and then 0.56 RT, wicked shake off the line, a pedal and low ET/high speed of the day at 7.273/201.78, 1.143 sixty foot time.
Hakan Nilsson followed up, burnout to the Tree this time, lots of care lining him up on the start line and then a storming pass, 6.674/204.52 to wipe out today's best time and speed. RT was .54 and sixty-foot 1.052.
Peter Lane ran without a passenger on his latest run and clocked 9.806/142.92 in the Mac Tools-sponsored Super Gasser, with a superb 0.42 RT.
Paul Morris put in a pass of 10.60/128.05 and Sandra Chaplain passes of 10.59/129.52 and 10.62/130.65.
Just as we went to post Jim Draper put in a 9.60/131/30 in the King Ray Pro ET altered. More dry hops! The car sounded very strong indeed particularly in the burnout.
14:45
Hakan Nilsson's second pass was aborted on the start line. Hakan pulled a 150-foot burnout (you reading this, Freddy?) but his crew were not happy with what appeared to be a fluid leak and shut him off on the line. The car is now sitting in front of the barn.
Filipp, our visitor from Greece who ran at the Fallnationals last week, is here today and has just put in a 12.549/113.43 in his Pro ET Sierra. He had a lot of wheelspin off the line so there is plenty more to come there.
Steve Wells has put in another passenger ride in his Pop pick-up, 10.63/119.91 with another huge wheelie. Sandra Chaplain is going for the Press Day number-of-runs record today, her latest pass a 10.53/130.45
Anders Larsson and Andy Robinson are in the collection area, we'll be back with news of their runs shortly.
14:30
Dennis Wratten pulled a short burnout in the Top Methanol FC but then tuner Charlie Draper motioned Dennis back behind the bleach box, the car is now sitting in front of the barn. The starter motor is being put back on the car as I type.
Roger Johansson pulled a great burnout, all the way to the Tree in the Mustang Pro Mod, but was then shut off on the line with a fluid leak. Roger is towing back to the pits.
Dennis Wratten is now back on track. A very nice burnout to about fifty feet...the body is raised on the start line...and the engine is shut off. Stay tuned.
14:15
We thought we saw a familiar face crewing with Peter Lane's Super Gasser, and it turned out to be none other than fellow SG racer Dave Gadney. Dave left for Australia last year but he and his family have come back to the UK. "The car is on its way back, we'll be out next year", he said. Peter just put in a 9.99/138.86 with a passenger. Fellow Super Gas racer Pete Creswell has unfortunately done a rocker stud in his engine and so will not be racing this weekend, which is a real pity because Pete is way overdue some good luck.
Other runs we have had since the last update are Paul Watson 8.91/153.23 with a big wheelie off the start line, Paul Morris 9.84/132.10, Sandra Chaplain 10.57/133.57, 10.622/129.36 and 10.591/130.78, and Jim Draper 9.69/124.64 with throttle feathering.
Since the last update, the Lorentzon and Möller and Carbon By Design Top Fuel Dragster rigs have arrived. We also have the Showtime and Shockwave Fuel Funny Car trailers here.
Stay tuned as Dennis Wratten is about to put in a pass in the Dirty Harry TMFC.
13:15
Andy Robinson has just put in his first pass of the day in his Pro Mod. A great burnout to 80 feet, 0.54 RT, 1.068 to sixty feet. The car drifted a little and Andy was off the throttle at half-track, he had the brakes on before the finish line and clocked 8.24/111.27.
Jim Draper has just been showboating for the media in the Pro ET altered, pulling dry hops towards the line. He was off the throttle by 330 feet though. Paul Morris went just before Jim with a 9.79/137.02 on his 9.90 Bike. Sandra Chaplain followed up with a 10.368/131.11 with a 0.69 RT.
We've had our first passenger ride of the day, too, as Pete Creswell ran 9.609/141.09 with a passenger on board, 0.42 RT. A passenger doesn't seem to be making much difference there.
Just as we went to post, Steve Wells put in a passenger ride of 10.54/122.38 with a huge wheelie off the start line.
13:00
Here's a log of the runs which we have had since the last update.
Anders Larsson put in a 330' pass on his Pro Stock Bike. 0.53 RT and 1.195 to sixty feet before cruising through the rest of the track.
Hakan Nilsson pulled a one hundred foot burnout in the Veidec Pro Mod before hitting bad tyre shake off the line, 0.62 RT and a very good 1.05 to sixty feet - particularly good since the tyres were clearly shaking from about thirty five feet.
Paul Watson put the gas on his Super Street Bike and recorded 8,74/155.06. You could tell it was on a good one, the bike shot off the line. A new PB for Paul and we understand the first time he has run with weights on the front axle.
Steve Wells 10.81/92.31 half-pass and 10.22/124.94
Peter Lane 9.51/140.96 and 9.56/141.49
Stuart Peck 9.953/123.44 and 10.18/116.84
Sandra Chaplain 11.06/131.69, 10.80, 10.61/129.81, 10.62/128.71
Paul Morris 10.737/135.84
Stay tuned.
12:00
Hello and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's the Press Day to promote the FIA European Finals and we are here to bring you the action in association with American Car Imports. We have a number of racers here to put in demonstration passes and take the chance to test before the weekend's race.
Just before we start a big Hello to Spigot and the staff of Marriot's in London, whom we know are tuning in today.
Now, let's give you a run-down of who is here and what they've got planned. Darryl Bradford is here with the Wildside Inc Top Fuel Dragster. We understand that he is not planning to put in a pass, but that the car may be warmed up. Car owner Lesley Wright knows all about that, having sat in the car for a couple of warm-ups at the Donny South event at North Weald. "It was cool", she said. "I wasn't nervous or anything. But then on the second day John (husband and Crew Chief - Ed) blipped the throttle and the car jumped. And I jumped with it! After that I sent Darryl a text message to tell him that we didn't need him to drive the car any more!"
Swedish Pro Mod racer Håkan Nilsson is here as promised. He sees today as a good chance to test things which the busy NDRS schedule doesn't allow. "We're going to try stupid stuff which you can't do at races!". Fellow Swede Roger Johansson agreed. "We're going to try very silly things!", he said. Both Håkan and Roger are planning three passes today, Roger said that he may put in a fourth pass if time permits. "The track already looks fast", said Håkan. Roger's first pass today was hit by tyre shake, 0.61 RT and 1.111 to sixty feet, cruising after that.
Super Gas racer Pete Creswell has just put in his first pass of the day with a BBC mini-cam strapped to his dashboard. Pete clocked a 9.815/145.21 with a 0.47 reaction time.
UK National 9.90 Bike Champion Paul Watson, who moved up to Super Street Bike this season, is running in 9.90 again this weekend as SSB is not contested at the Finals. His break-out record in the 8.8s is under threat this weekend from a number of SSB racers who are running 9.90, notably Graham Dance. "Let him come!", said Paul. Paul ran at North Weald at the weekend and clocked 9.98/156, damaging the clutch. Paul's first pass, which he has just put in, was a 9.80/137.80 with a .71 reaction, and a second pass netted a bang-on 9.90/136.01. Fellow Super Street Bike racer Rachel Pattison told us that she has the gas "set low" in an attempt to get into the eights today. Her first pass was a 9.95/147.17 with a .93 RT and her second a 9.97/148.63 with a .88 RT.
Super Comp and Pro ET racer Colin Aldred now has twenty one pounds of lead on the front of his slingshot. "I started off with thirty five pounds", he said, "but now I have it set so that the car just skips off the start line. I've also got a couple of gas bottles, I need the gas for Super Comp!". Colin also confirmed that his company Scorpion Racing will be teaming up with Eurodragster.com again at this weekend's race to award a TRS harness (car) and twenty five litres of Rock Oil (bike) to two Sportsman-class winners this weekend.
Just as we walked down the pits, Micke Kågered's rig pulled in. Micke has been on the road since Monday and looked very pleased to have arrived. Both the TMFC and the Top Fueller were packed in the rig and it was a very tight fit indeed. Team manager Åsa Kinnemar told us that the Quaker State/Bahco Tools team are looking at the options for 2003. "We are looking at either buying the current Top Fueller from Knut or maybe having a new car built", she said. "We don't have a buyer for the Funny Car but then we haven't tried very hard. And of course our sponsors have a say in what we do."
Jet FC racer Martin Hill has at least one pass planned today. He told us that he is planning to run Jet ET again this weekend with steady 6.0s. "I will really lean on it in November", he said. "This weekend everyone will be trying for 300!"
Roger Pettersson has both of the Veidec Pro Stock Bikes here, although only Roger will be running today. "I think that the bump spot will be 7.65 this weekend", said Crew Chief Roger Lyrén. "The class has taken off this year because of the new rules". Roger's first pass today was a 7.75/169.09, 0.52 RT and 1.182 to sixty feet.
Pro Mod racer Andy Robinson told us that he won't be trying any silly things today, but that he hopes to put in three passes. "I've got it on the same set-up as at Hockenheim", he said. "I want to get it into the 6.5s and run consistently - consistency will help this weekend". Andy said that he plans to spend the winter rebuilding the spread-bore engine which he bought from Al Cook, and use that as the #1 engine next season. "Then I can use this engine as a 6.50 spare when I go to Scandinavia next year!", he said.
Funny Bike racer Shaun Branch is trying out an all-new clutch today. "I'll run 7.30 or burn it!", he said. Shaun said that he had tried this clutch before, but that the bike wasn't sorted out at that point. Shaun's first pass today was a 7.57/175.23, a 0.54 RT and 1.165 to sixty feet.
We also have Anders Larsson (Pro Stock Bike), Dennis Wratten (TMFC), Jim Draper (Pro ET), Peter Lane (Super Gas), Steve Wells (Pro ET), Sandra Chaplain (10.90 Bike) Stuart and Anne Peck (Super Gas/Street), and Paul Morris (9.90 Bike) with us today but we haven't managed to catch a word with them yet.
Stay tuned and we will bring you more news very soon as the action is well underway now.