UK National Finals
Sunday (eliminations)
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18:35
Today's pictures have now been posted; you can access them via the event index.
That's the end of our coverage of the UK National Finals, thanks for tuning in. Thanks for their help this weekend to:
Race Director Darren Prentice; Chief Marshal Steve Horn; Andy Marrs, Lisa Smart and John Hackney of Santa Pod's timing crew; Chief Starter Ian Marshall and his crew; Chief Fire Marshal Bob Day and his crew; Paula Marshall; track announcers John Price and Jerry Cookson; Lee Child; Spencer Tramm; SPR track manager Kjell Petterson; Sue Morris in the SPR Media Centre; Roger Gorringe; Ian Turburville; Dave and Linda Wilson; and of course to all of the racers for giving us quotes and action to write about and photograph.
Your reporters this weekend were Tog and Sharkman of Eurodragster.com, all of this weekend's photographs were by Sharkman of Eurodragster.com.
This was our last detailed event coverage of 2002; we will be posting brief reports and pictures from next weekend's Doorslammer Shootout at Shakespeare County Raceway.
This event coverage has been brought to you in association with American Car Imports.
17:30
Here are the final results in all classes:
Super Modified: Rob Smallworth 7.637/178.72 def. Danny Cockerill 7.632/174.88
Super Pro ET: Steve Johnson (7.55) 7.798/166.55 def. Barry Giles (7.57) 7.672/169.14 red light
Pro ET: Carla Pitau (10.68) 10.693/119.01 def. Steve Wells (10.07) 10.243/123.34
Sportsman ET: Mark Anderson (13.30) 13.339/102.41 def. Al Platt (13.41) 13.458/103.99
Super Gas: Martin Curbishley 9.941/141.96 def. Tim Adam 9.895/142.47 breakout
Super Comp: Tim Adam 9.015/134.60 def. Zane Llewellyn 8.981/138.91
Super Street: Anne Peck 11.003/129.55 def, Mike Bentley 10.982/132.93
Junior Dragster: Nick Mugridge (12.90) 12.931/48.10 def. Joe Bond (9.45) 9.402/66.01 breakout
Custom Car Street Eliminator: Steve Neimantas 8.769/158.52 def. Steve Pateman 10.044/110.11
VW Pro: Paul Jackson (9.90) 10.051/107.94 def. Scotty Evison (12.10) 12.381/97.52
VW Sportsman: Stuart Hinds (16.20) 16.223/80.33 def. Ian Dale (13.60) 13.512/98.35 breakout
Wild Bunch: Chris Hartnell (10.50) 10.861/121.04 def. Paul Croston (12.40) 12.343/102.60 breakout
Funny Bike: Tim Blakemore 7.198/177.62 def. Neil Midgley DQ crossed centre line
Pro Stock Bike: Dave Beck 7.371/178.44 def. Chris Hope 7.451/177.22 red light
Super Street Bike: Graham Dance 8.274/172.64 def. Steve Venables 8.858/161.89
Competition Bike: Phil Brachtvogel 7.250/182.63 def. Sarah Jane Head 8.922/153.60
9.90 Bike: Grant Perrin 9.912/133.03 def. Hensley Eugenia 10.029/126.53
10.90 Bike: Steve Coombs 12.251/86.78 def. Darren Winnard 11.937/79.64 red light
Supertwin Gas: Rich Davies 9.736/130.91 def. George Laycock 9.714/134.29
Supertwin Modified: TJ O'Brien 10.417/128.34 def. Brian Udall 11.575/120.02
Supertwin Street: Les Harris 10.859/126.11 def. Mark Earrey 130.24
CCSE racer John Hales closed out the day with an 8.655/166.08 test pass in his Chevy.
The provisional 2002 Championship winners are as follows:
Super Pro ET: Martyn Jones
Pro ET: Carla Pitau and Rick McCann
Sportsman ET: Al Platt
Super Comp: Martin Curbishley
Super Gas: Frank Mason
Super Street: Leigh Morris
Junior Dragster: Ricky Emms
Super Modified: Danny Cockerill
Custom Car Street Eliminator: Steve Pateman
ACU Top Fuel Bike: Steve Woollatt (confirmed)
ACU Funny Bike: Neil Midgley
ACU Pro Stock Bike: Nick Pepper (confirmed)
ACU Super Street Bike: Graham Dance
Comp Bike: Klaus Brinkmann (confirmed)
9.90 Bike: Paul Morris
10.90 Bike: Darren Winnard
NAST Supertwin Fuel: Jamie Millership (confirmed)
NAST Supertwin Gas: Rich Davies (confirmed)
NAST Supertwin Modified: Dave Bartz (confirmed)
NAST Supertwin Street: Les Harris (confirmed)
16:30
Super Gas semi-finals
Tim Adam 9.958/132.05 def. Peter Lane 9.937/141.92
Martin Curbishley staged
Sportsman ET semi-finals
Al Platt (13.42) 13.437/98.06 def. Nick Griffin (12.72) 12.737/107.24
Mark Anderson (13.20) 13.334/102.32 bye
Pro ET semi-finals
Steve Wells (10.06) 10.148/125.75 bye
Carla Pitau (10.65) 10.694/128.56 def. Keith Herbert (11.56) 11.527/106.60
VW Sportsman semi-finals
Stuart Hinds (16.20) 17.042/70.35 def. Steve Lee broke
Ian Dale (13.60) 18.492/77.97 bye
Super Comp semi-finals
Tim Adam 8.972/146.90 def. Mark Fairhurst 8.879/151.18
Zane Llewellyn 8.977/151.36 bye
Junior Dragster semi-finals
Joe Bond (9.50) 9.481/67.91 def. Ricky Emms (9.10) 8.917/71.11
Nick Mugridge (12.90) 12.969/47.98 bye
Custom Car Street Eliminator semi-finals
Steve Neimantas 8.643/159.70 def. Mark Bracking 11.883/116.80
Steve Pateman 8.572/168.26 def. Jeff Meads 8.719/160.45
There was a big cloud of smoke from Jeff Meads' car on the finish line and through the cloud we could see the car swerving left and right as Jeff fought to control it. Jeff kept it upright and in his lane, when the smoke cleared we could see a trail of fluid down the shutdown area which is now being attended to.
16:15
Super Street Bike semi-finals
Graham Dance 8.390/171.14 def. Karl Larcombe 8.441/166.02
Steve Venables 8.694/167.69 def. Tony Clark 9.051/165.43
Tony Clark pulled a huge wheelie about 50 feet out. Has that wheelie given the Championship to Graham Dance?
9.90 Bike semi-finals
Hensley Eugenia 9.970/122.73 bye
Grant Perrin 9.923/132.33 def. Mike Swankie 9.921/135.26
10.90 Bike semi finals
Steve Coombs 11.223/115.12 def. David Warren 11.130/130.88
Darren Winnard 11.430/120.32 def. Reina Machalon 11.458/126.44
Supertwin Gas semi-finals
George Laycock 9.786/131.22 def. Sefton Whitlock broke
Rich Davies staged
Supertwin Street semi-finals
Les Harris 10.681 def. Dave Jones
Mark Earrey 10.894/129.86 bye
16:05
Super Pro ET semi-finals
Steve Johnson (7.55) 7.622/156.39 def. Ian Bishop (7.92) 8.304/159.58
Barry Giles (7.58) 10.043/87.34 bye
Wild Bunch semi-finals
Paul Croston (12.40) 12.358/102.64 def. Nick Connor (10.40) 12.126/121.29 red light
Chris Hartnell (9.50) 10.321/129.26 bye
VW Pro semi-finals
Scotty Evison (11.30) 11.950/108.14 def. Russ Fellows (12.10) 12.364/98.48
Paul Jackson (9.90) 10.521/117.64 bye
Super Street semi-finals
Anne Peck 10.934/133.82 def. Conrad Stanley 10.881/125.21
Mike Bentley 10.941/132.97 bye
15:55
Funny Bike eliminations round 2
Neil Midgley 6.948/185.77 def. Dave Holland 8.659/133.85
Tim Blakemore 7.164/171.44 def. Ken Cooper 8.828/98.74
We've been promised it and now we've got it - Neil Midgley into the sixes. Congratulations to Neil, Cannon and the crew.
Competition Bike eliminations round 2
Phil Brachtvogel 7.107/175.23 def. Klaus Sarembe 8.199/162.11
Sarah Jane Head 9.016/153.32 def. Tim Whetton broke
Pro Stock Bike eliminations round 2
Chris Hope 7.598/176.96 def. Martin Bishop 7.720/171.20
Dave Beck 7.459/176.81 def. Nick Pepper 7.529/175.43
Dave Beck won his race by 0.002 seconds.
15:45
Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners
Steve Wells (10.04) 10.077/126.50, Keith Herbert (11.54) 11.608/114.05, Carla Pitau (10.65) 10.658
Junior Dragster eliminations round 2 winners
Joe Bond (9.50) 9.616/62.80, Ricky Emms 9.130/69.09, Nick Mugridge (13.00) 13.108/47.58
Super Comp eliminations round 2 winners
Tim Adam 8.869/146.95, Mark Fairhurst 8.812/151.13, Zane Llewellyn 8.953/139.58
15:35
Super Street eliminations round 2
Anne Peck 10.94 def. Mark O'Halloran 11.11 red light
Conrad Stanley 11.007/117.96 def. Martin Green 11.189/106.65
Mike Bentley 10.921/133.46 def. Dave Cherrett 10.866/99.07
Dave Cherrett has gone one round further than Leigh Morris but was behind in the points. How close is this one to call?
Sportsman ET eliminations round 2
Nick Griffin (12.75) 12.722/107.50 def. Rick Denny (13.64) 13.592/90.36
Al Platt (13.45) 13.478/91.16 def. Darren Hulkes (12.47) 12.550/107.50
Mark Anderson (13.30) 13.859/87.76 def. Andy Raw broke
VW Sportsman eliminations round 2 winners
Stephen Lee (14.99) 15.122/73.61
Ian Dale (13.60) 13.620/86.76
Stuart Hinds (16.20) 16.283/75.04
Super Street Bike eliminations round 2
Graham Dance 8.281/173.73 def. Matt Nixon 8.753/158.26
Steve Venables 8.415/171.04 def. Mark Fisher 8.571/168.27
Karl Larcombe 8.449/165.40 def. Richard Stubbings 9.235/135.26
Tony Clark 8.475/171.20 def. Dave Smith 8.844/161.74
9.90 Bike round 3 winners
Mike Swankie 9.941/135.74, Hensley Eugenia 9.994/121.07, Grant Perrin 9.895/131.74
10.90 Bike round 3 winners
Darren Winnard 10.990/122.29, Reina Machalon 11.178/127.44, David Warren 11.561/111.78, Steve Coombs 10.814/116.60
Supertwin Street round 2 winners
Les Harris 10.830/127.29, Dave Jones 10.783/121.69, Mark Earrey 11.017/130.13
Supertwin gas round 2 winners
George Laycock 9.931/127.37, Sefton Whitlock 9.997/125.74, Rich Davies 9.870/128.57
Custom Car Street Eliminator round 2 re-run
Jeff Meads 8.797/158.06 def. Ian Hook 8.983/148.89
Super Gas round 2
Tim Adam 10.028/128.47 def. Dave Day 10.532/117.12
Martin Curbishley 9.944/136.17 def. Dave Townsend 9.872/139.92
Peter Lane 9.941/142.07 bye
14:50
Super Pro ET eliminations round 2
Steve Johnson (7.50) 7.548/175.40 def. Roger Moore (8.20) 8.308/163.12 red light
Ian Bishop (7.92) 7.943/165.57 def. Martyn Jones (7.65) 7.646/173.68
Barry Giles (7.58) 7.571/171.61 def. John Ellis (7.15) 7.241/190.33
Custom Car Street Eliminator eliminations round 2
Steve Neimantas 8.717/159.49 def. Andy Frost 9.133/158.60
Ian Hook 8.986/149.37, Jeff Meads no time recorded
Mark Bracking 11.855/115.01 def. Tony Hill 28.34/77.42
Steve Pateman 8.554/168.27 bye
We are looking at a re-run of the second race as no quarter mile time or speed were recorded in Jeff Meads' lane. Ian Hook got back into the eights for the first time since rebuilding the FB Racing Ford and will get the chance to do it all over again! John Hales and Sue Jackson put in a side-by-side test and tune pass of 8.91 and 8.92. Sue Jackson's 'Vette blew out a lot of white smoke in the shutdown area, the car disappeared for a while but luckily we were able to spot Sue turning off the track.
14:35
VW Pro eliminations round 1
Russ Fellows (11.00) 11.859/92.08 def. Bill Griffifths no time recorded
Paul Jackson (9.90) 10.183/89.30 def. Paul Bate (12.60) 13.107/83.17
Scotty Evison (12.10) 12.126 bye
Wild Bunch eliminations round 1
Nick Connor (10.40) 10.757/112.70 def. Mark Turton (11.00) 11.534/113.74
Chris Hartnell (10.20) 10.432/114.97 def. Pete Yates (10.10) 10.112/129.19
Paul Croston (12.40) 12.611/103.28 def. Derek Annable (8.80) 7.732/152.19
Supertwin Modified eliminations round 1
Brian Udall 11.783/118.50 bye
TJ O'Brien 10.491/127.67 bye
Dave Wilson's second pass of the day in the American Car Imports TMD was a 5.771/244.25. The car was accelerating very hard towards the top end.
14:20
Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners
Steve Wells, Marius Blackburn, Keith Herbert, Jon Everitt, Carla Pitau
Super Comp eliminations round 1
Tim Adam 8.909/148.78 def. Paul Marston broke (drogue chute deployed on start line)
Mark Fairhurst 9.033/131.60 def. Paul Knight 12.029/73.66 deep stage foul
Brian Pateman 8.948/153.62 def. Sarah Day 8.851/152.28
Zane Llewellyn 9.393/121.69 def. Malcolm Francis 9.497/138.89
George Chiarella 8.938/131.14 def. Martin Curbishley 8.887/144.24
9.90 Bike eliminations round 2 winners
Grant Perrin, Hensley Eugenia, Chris Reed, Julian Harris, Mike Swankie. Steve Ingham's exit in this round assures Paul Morris' Championship title.
Super Modified eliminations round 1
Rob Smallworth 7.626/178.85 def. Andy Hone 8.384/152.50
Danny Cockerill 7.611/178.31 bye
13:35
Funny Bike eliminations round 1
Neil Midgley 7.567/150.75, Stu Chamberlain no show
Tim Blakemore 7.720/148.37, Gary Jones no show
Dave Holland 7.201/178.79 def. Shaun Branch 7.236/176.49
Ken Cooper 7.633/183.38 def. Neil Diggens 7.541/181.02
The race between Dave Holland and Shaun Branch was a real classic, 0.039 between them and both racers recording new PBs, Shaun by quite some margin. Both Neil Midgley and Tim Blakemore were going for it on their bye runs, Neil's front wheel came down quite heavily so he feathered the throttle, whilst Tim was also on one but started to drift towards the centre line so got off it.
Comp Bike eliminations round 1
Phil Brachtvogel 7.164/181.40 def. Phil Leamon 8.792/156.20
Klaus Sarembe no time recorded, Andy Newcombe no time recorded
Sarah Jane Head 8.456/156.84 def. Ian King 11.988/57.38
Tim Whetton 9.333/150.40 def, Klaus Brinkmann no time recorded
A bizarre pairing between Klaus Sarembe and Andy Newcombe, both bikes broke about sixty feet out. Both bikes rolled a little way but then stopped. Klaus Sarembe was further down the track so he got off and pushed the bike to the finish line to a huge round of applause. Sarah Jane Head took out Ian King after the Top Fuel Bike threw a belt just before half-track. Phil Brachtvogel's pass is a new ET record backed up by yesterday's 7.0.
Pro Stock Bike eliminations round 1
Chris Hope 7.419/177.67 def. Al Cook 8.193/163.88
Martin Bishop 7.715/169.79 def. Chris Tombleson 8.747/102.67
Dave Beck 7.501/171.78 def. Helen Curran 7.773/167.16
Nick Pepper 7.568/173.99 def. Richard Gipp 7.799/167.13
13:35
Supertwin Gas eliminations round 1
Andy Smith 10.268/123.23 def. Dave Hirst 10.268/124.55
Rich Davies 9.769/129.35 def Barrie Gregory 28.10/19.89
George Laycock 9.989/132.69 def. Don Irvine 11.094/120.39
Nick Daniels 10.648/121.74 def. Dave Bartz 10.384/133.08
Sefton Whitlock 9.966/125.21 def. 10.602/121.76
Supertwin Modified eliminations round 1
Mark Earrey 10.887/129.86 def. Pete Richardson 13.337/98.23
Wayne Guerrero 11.751/114.61 def. Chris Stebbings 11.986/110.32
Les Harris 10.657/126.07 bye
Paul Coombs 11.795/112.76 def. Neil Dickson 12.550/106.89
Dave Jones 10.985/120.78 def. Alex Widden 12.575/104.57
Pete Harrison 12.077/107.72 def. Chris Mott 12.192/111.52
13:15
Super Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners
Roger Moore 8.294/163.20 def. Ashley Bell 8.873/142.62
John Ellis 7.211/190.49 def. def. Ian Tubb 8.618/155.14
Martyn Jones 8.173/124.94 def. Jim Draper 10.403/99.86
Ian Bishop 8.034/144.38 def. Trev Capewell 8.412/152.24
Steve Johnson 7.516/177.05 bye, Laurie Craig broke
Barry Giles 7.575/172.80 bye, Al Golding no show
Apologies for the omission of the dial-ins in the above results.
Super Gas eliminations round 1
Dave Day 11.335/93.53 def. Paul Hudson 15.362/67.32
Peter Lane 10.005/125.47 def. Malcolm Francis 10.163/130.65
Tim Adam 10.208/112.01 def. Frank Mason
Dave Townsend 9.773/140.02 def. Martin Boiling staging foul
Martin Curbishley 9.968/133.56 def. Stuart Peck 10.061/133.69
In the first pairing, Paul Hudson's engine sounded very laboured and then at 800 feet the car disappeared in a huge cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared there was a trail of fluid on the track. During the downtime Paul came up to see us to let us know that the torque converter and gearbox have broken. Expensive enough, but not as bad as it could have been.
In the third pairing, Frank Mason's four-link failed at about three-quarter track and the car started fishtailing. It looked very hairy indeed from where we were. Frank's long experience showed as he kept the car in his lane and away from Tim Adam. Nice driving job, Frank.
Super Pro ET racer Chris Johnson asked us to tell Colin Aldred that "Your money is safe!"
12:15
Super Street Bike eliminations round 1
Tony Clark 8.781/170.83 def. Fiona Moor 10.506/152.74
Steve Venables 8.559/168.56 def. Abi Jacobus 9.634/149.59
Graham Dance 8.446/171.40 def. Hensley Eugenia 9.455/145.43
Richard Stubbins 8.715/159.59 def. Paul Watson 8.852/153.63
Matt Nixon 8.602/156.99 def. Pete Bellenie broke
Mark Fisher 8.773/165.93 def. Kev Charman 9.722/147.18
Dave Smith 8.778/160.65 def. Dave Bailey 8.910/155.73
Karl Larcombe 8.598/165.18 def. Rachel Pattison 9.377/156.73
In 10.90 Bike, Glenn Randles went out in the first round which gives Darren Winnard the advantage in the Championship, Lewis Honey and TJ O'Brien also went through so they are ready if Darren trips up.
12:00
Super Street eliminations round 1
Anne Peck 10.846/132.53 def. Bob Doignie 10.841/132.53
Dave Cherrett 10.850/99.93 def. Bob Lees 11.173/119.81 red light
Mark O'Halloran 10.994/105.56 def. Leigh Morris 11.059/105.63
Martin Green 10.872/120.76 def. Matthew Wright 10.613/123.44
Mike Bentley 11.002/121.93 def. Mark Watkins 12.309/110.49
Conrad Stanley 15.880/63.07 bye
Leigh Morris' shock exit puts Dave Cherrett in the driving seat of the Championship.
Dave Wilson put in a pass of 5.743/247.11 in the American Car Imports TMD after the first round of Super Street, a small amount of tyre shake and the car drifted towards the right hand side of the track at the top end. Dave had it covered though.
11:50
VW Sportsman eliminations round 1
Conor la Grue (19.25) 19.50/65.60 def. Natasha Garcia (19.20) 19.53/65.46
Stuart Hinds (16.20) 20.53/54.20 def. Simon Longman (20.20) 21.24/53.22 red light
Steve Lee (14.99) 15.184/74.74 def. Cath Bishop (16.25) 16.341/76.20
Ian Dale (13.60) 13.706/97.01 def. Adam Sheard (17.40) 17.834/68.38
Rob Bowler (14.00) 14.518/76.64 def. Christos Kouzaris 18.218/67.24
Neil Davies (16.50) 16.709/67.21 def. Martin Ayton (16.80) 16.948/76.05
11:35
Custom Car Street Eliminator eliminations round 1
Thanks to CCSE Championship co-ordinator Lee Child for letting us know that Steve Pateman won the 2002 CCSE Championship by coming back from the Cruise last night. Congratulations to Steve! Steve Neimantas is second and third is yet to be decided. Everyone made it through the Cruise last night although John Sleath had already holed a piston and so had to withdraw from competition.
Tony Hill 13.293/80.94 def. John Hales broke
Steve Neimantas 8.708/159.75 def. John Ricketts 9.732/136.26
Mark Bracking 12.026/114.46 def. Sue Jackson broke
Jeff Meads 8.765/157.13 def. Al Simms 13.420/99.58
Steve Pateman 8.485/170.39 def. John Reynolds 9.757/142.18
Ian Hook 9.266/148.25 def. Allen Curtis 9.707/140.20
Andy Frost 9.171/157.23 def. Moose Hollingworth 11.066/124.21
Jeff Meads secured third place in the CCSE Championship in this round. John Hales broke on the start line but came back at the end of the session to record a superb 8.79/165.74 out of competition.
In Pro ET, Jon Evans went out in round one which we think hands Carla Pitau and Rick McCann another Championship.
10:40
Here are the top two qualifiers in every class which has finished qualifying this morning:
Super Modified: 1. Danny Cockerill 7.583/178.04, 2. Rob Smallworth 7.604/179.05, 3. Andy Hone 7.895/170.62
Super Pro ET (own dial-in): 1. Ian Tubb +0.001 8.551/155.04, 2. Ashley Bell +0.002 8.902/154.32
Super Comp (8.90): 1. Mark Fairhurst 8.912/152.49, 2. Martin Curbishley 8.920/148.51
Super Gas (9.90): 1. Peter Lane 9.902/143.46, 2. Martin Curbishley 8.920/148.51
Super Street (10.90): 1. Conrad Stanley 10.905/130.01, 2. Dave Cherrett 10.906/100.10
Funny Bike: 1. Neil Midgley 7.016/183.28, 2. Tim Blakemore 7.038/179.11
Pro Stock Bike: 1. Chris Hope 7.404/181.73, 2. Dave Beck 7.449/178.02
Competition Bike: 1. Phil Brachtvogel 7.049/159.02, 2. Ian King 7.437/180.07
Supertwin Gas: 1. George Laycock 9.744/133.33, 2. Rich Davies 9.746/130.59
Supertwin Modified: 1. TJ O'Brien 10.362/130.03, 2. Nigel Mason 11.384/129.10, 3. Brian Udall 11.749/118.80
10:40
Super Comp qualifying session 4
Paul Marston 8.813/163.32, Mark Fairhurst 9.113/151.34, Zane Llewellyn 8.924/151.99, Paul Knight 9.099/149.97, Brian Pateman 8.754/153.61, Martin Curbishley 8.920/148.51, Sarah Day 9.121/150.31, Tim Adam 9.119/145.93, George Chiarella 9.067/121.24, Malcolm Francis 9.964/138.69. Mark Fairhurst stays at #1.
Super Modified qualifying session 4
Andy Hone 8.771/142.83, Rob Smallworth 7.627/178.38, Danny Cockerill 7.587/178.23. Danny stays at #1.
Funny Bike qualifying session 4
Tim Blakemore broke, Neil Midgley 7.016/183.28, Ken Cooper 7.071/183.87, Dave Holland 8.453/99.93
Neil Midgley and Tim Blakemore are now both on the first half of a new ET record, although Neil has of course got the edge at present after setting a new record yesterday. The first person to congratulate Neil Midgley's crew was Tim Blakemore who stepped off his broken bike and walked straight over, nice one Tim. Neil Midgley ends up #1 qualifier.
Competition Bike qualifying session 4
Sarah Jane Head 8.512/154.22, Jerry Collier 8.476/152.20, Vaughan Foster 9.190/143.94, Klaus Sarembe 8.495/145.65, Tim Whetton 9.618/137.16, Andy Newcombe broke, Phil Leamon 8.654/158.42. Phil Brachtvogel stays at #1.
Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 4
Dave Beck 7.449/178.02, Martin Bisop 8.009/169.64, Helen Curran 7.747/168.59, Martin Newbury 8.758/139.80, Nick Pepper 7.846/170.20, Ray Debben 8.337/156.02, Richard Gipp 7.763/167.60, Chris Tombleson 7.849/175.85, Chris Hope 7.510/175.10. Chris Hope stays at #1.
Super Pro ET racer Lee Darby put in a test pass 17.161/101.84 of in the Tarmac Teaser VW "Funny Car", the pass was out of session so whether it counted as a qualifier is an interesting question.
10:00
Good morning and welcome back to Santa Pod Raceway for day two of the UK National Finals. The day has dawned misty but even as I type the sun is breaking through and it is very mild, who'd have thought it is almost October! We're all set and ready to bring you the action in association with our good friends at American Car Imports. We have a few classes to finish qualifying, they're all lined up right now and we're just about ready to start.
We have a few good mornings today. Firstly the traditional raceday good morning to our US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman in New Hampshire, USA, we're looking forward to seeing you next week. Good morning also to Steve and Jacky Young, and Sharkman says a big Hello to Sarah Langley. Also a thank you to Paul Cooper for his nice E-Mail, raceday photographer Sharkman says that he'll see what he can do.
Our readers may be interested to hear that there almost wasn't any coverage today. Overnight, our good friend Peter Axeldal in Sweden sent us an E-Mail called "How to be mean to kids" which reduced your reporter to utter helplessness when he opened it this morning. Those who remember Tog's reaction when he heard the national anthem sung in three different keys in one verse can probably take a pretty shrewd guess at the sort of state he has been in for the last half hour or so. Let's just say it involved concerned people asking "Do you need the paramedics?".
We had our traditional stroll around the pits this morning and found a few early risers. Custom Car Street Eliminator racer John Hales was the first racer we met, he told us that he is very pleased indeed with yesterday's performance, especially the speed of 164 mph. "It got a bit exciting at the top end, the car was shaking", he said The car visibly picks up at about 300 feet, and John confirmed that this is where the nitrous starts to come in. "You don't want it all to hit at once", he said.
Super Gas racer Malcolm Francis had a bit of a ride yesterday when his Camaro got a bit lively. "It usually kicks out when the throttle stop comes off, this time it didn't stop kicking", he said. "We're working on the blades of the throttle stop so that they open gently but without losing the car's momentum. We're almost there!".
Super Comp racer Paul Marston said that the ChryslerCard PT Bruiser team are still working on the aero package. "We have one more change to test which should give us more downforce", he said. "Then we can reset the throttle stop but only after we've done the next pass".
10.90 Bike racer Sandra Chaplain is back in competition this morning after exiting through the back door when her bike stood up on its rear wheel. "I have a crushed sternum but I am OK and Roland has fixed the bike", she said. "The bike needed a new paintjob anyway!". Sandra said that she did everything she could to hold on to the bike. "It did a bum-wiggle so I changed gear, and it just hooked up", she said. "The bit which hurt the most was when I sat up because my hair had stuck to the track!"
If you were tuned in yesterday you will have read about Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave Wilson's hairy ride in the American Car Imports car. Dave gave us the inside track on his superb driving job. "It's been a very long time since it's shaken so badly that I haven't known where I was on the track, which lane I was in, which way I was pointing, or even if I was upright", he said. "But at least we've learnt that that's one setting which didn't work! We've put it back to the settings of the first run and gone in another direction."
Funny Bike racer Tim Blakemore was understandably delighted with yesterday's 7.03-second pass. "I torched the head on the first qualifier", he said. "I fixed that, put in the same settings, and the bike just upped and went. It broke loose at half-track, but I had it covered and I wasn't letting off it for anybody! I also ran a personal best sixty-foot of 1.08". Tim spoke for us all when he summed up this weekend's Funny Bike action. "How quick, how fast, how close is that field?", he said.
Pro Stock Bike racer Dave Beck wasn't quite so pleased. "I had an engine problem on the first two passes, I sorted that out, and then the transmission went from first to fourth on the third run". Somewhat happier was #1 qualifier and new UK record holder Chris Hope who said that his 7.4-second, 180+ mph passes yesterday were, we quote, "On my baby 1500 engine". Chris has a new motor on the way for 2003 so one can only imagine the sort of times we will be seeing next year. Another happy PSB racer was Helen Curran who said that she was hoping to go into the 170s yesterday and then ran 174 mph. Richard Gipp wasn't so pleased having run a new PB and then made some changes only for the bike to slow down.
We got the story on Super Pro ET racer Trev Capewell whom we thought was on observed runs, it turns out that Trev had already done his preliminary passes at Shakespeare County Raceway and so only had his representative pass left. Which he passed with flying colours!
Qualifying is now underway, stay tuned and we'll bring you the final standings and then all the news from eliminations.