2003 FIA European Finals
Run What You Brung, Sunday 31st August
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18:15
Today's pictures are now posted, you can access them from the Event Index page.
That's all for today, the next coverage in our continuing build-up to the FIA European Finals is Wednesday's Press Day here at Santa Pod. See you then!
17:45
Paul Watson rounded off the day here at Santa Pod with a 7.799/170.06 on his Pro Stock Bike. Paul clocked a 1.01 sixty-foot time on his earlier 7.78. Phil Pratt finished up the day with a 10.246/129.00 and a 10.471/128.75 whilst Steve Coombs clocked 10.147/135.59 and a 10.004 right at the end of the day.
Rick Cooke's last pass of the day in the ex-Talbot dragster was a 10.953/114.84.
We are just about to upload today's pictures so stay tuned for those.
16:00
Jon Webster has put in his first pass in the Top Fuel Dragster and you would never have thought that this was his first time in the car. A nice burnout and then no holds barred on the launch, 0.714 reaction, 0.915 to sixty feet and 2.356 to 330 feet, by which time Jon was off the throttle, cruising through to 7.170/104.60 which is a personal best ET! Well done Jon.
Paul Watson found whatever was ailing his Pro Stock Bike with a 7.788/152.99 which was shut off early. Also on two wheels Sandra Chaplain put in another checkout pass on the Think Pink bike, 11.203/128.75.
Ian Brown and Jimmy Hibberd matched up again, Jimmy went way out of shape and had his hands full so Ian was well ahead at the stripe, 10.875/123.87 to Jimmy's 11.840/97.42.
Rick Cooke put in another checkout pass in the ex-Talbot dragster, getting the feel for the power with an 11.298/113.06. Rick popped up to see us and told us that the ride was "Awesome! It's so different to standing watching".
We've got another hour and a half or so to go, so stay tuned and we will bring you the last news from today's testing.
14:15
During the lunch break Jon Webster, Peter Knight and the team fired up the Top Fuel Dragster on nitro for the first time. "We fired it up on methanol at about midnight last night", said John McIntyre, "and it sounded pretty good". "It's a rough area anyway so no-one complained!", added Martin Canto. The engine sounded very strong indeed on fire-up but was shut down pretty quickly as a fuel line was leaking. The team have just warmed the engine up again so hopefully we will see Jon out on track quite soon.
Dave Wilson led off after the lunch break with a 5.615/239.50 in the American Car Imports Top Methanol Dragster. Your reporter was at the top end with the fire crew for Dave's pass and it looked quicker than it was, the chutes were out a touch early which may have contributed. Crew Chief Andy Bissett got the chance to run the Tree for Dave. "Once we walk away and leave Dave on his own there's nothing better to do!", he said.
Pro Stock Bike racer Paul Watson clocked an 8.690/161.31 on his first pass of the day, the engine sounded as if it was misfiring. Also on two wheels Phil Pratt tried for a 10.90 pass and his 10.945/123.85 did the trick. Phil followed it up with a 10.854/123.37 which he said included his best-ever sixty-foot time.
Scott and Jay Hauser paired up again for a 10.81 and 10.55 respectively in their Junior Dragsters.
Trackside conditions are 18.7 C, 35% humidity, and air pressure steady at 30.12 inches.
Ian Brown and Jimmy Hibberd are waiting in the pairing lanes so tune back soon and we will let you know how they get on.
12:30
A welcome sight here at Santa Pod is Charles Berg who put in a pass in his revolutionary rocket dragster. Charles was off the throttle at half track, 9.394/60.36 at the eighth and 17.917/47.89 at the finish line.
Phil Pratt and Steve Coombs have put in a couple of passes on their 10.90 and 9.90 Bikes, Phil recording 10.489/128.64 and 10.447/130.00 and Steve 10.169/135.27 and 10.174/135.46. Also on two wheels, Sandra Chaplain clocked 11.414/124.11 on the new Think Pink Comp Bike. Paul Watson is in the collection area right now with his Pro Stock Bike.
Back onto four wheels and Ian Brown is testing here again today, the Thatadoo Camaro just pulled a nice wheelie with wheelspin, recording 10.948/120.77 at the stripe. Previously to that Ian matched up with Super Gas racer Jimmy Hibberd in a very close race, Ian getting there first 10.917/119.52, Jimmy was catching him but didn't quite make it, 10.441/127.97.
We have also seen the ex-Bob Doignie Flying Doctor Super Street Pop in the hands of its new owner, a gentle fifteen-second pass getting to grips with the car. Also getting used to his new ride is ex-Talbot Racing crew member Rick Cooke who has the Talbots' old blue dragster. Rick has put in a couple of passes so far, a 12.371/86.68 the most recent. Crew Chief Crunch is now taking off more throttle stop and Rick will be out again later.
Scott and Jay Hauser matched up again in their JDs, Scott clocked 10.655/60.67 to Jay's 10.659/61.13.
The lunch break is scheduled for 13:00, we haven't heard the Top Fueller warm up yet so I would imagine that we won't be seeing Jon Webster until after the break. Stay tuned and we'll be back with more news soon.
10:45
Dave Wilson's first pass of today was a 5.550/243.48. The track crew carefully groomed the start line and then Dave pulled a 120-foot burnout, then the car launched very strongly, there was a little shake which Dave would probably describe as normal - either way he drove straight through it. The car went very straight, too. Crew Chief Andy Bissett cleared a good few feet off the track as the time and speed came up, the whole team looked very happy with that pass.
Scott and Jay Hauser have each put in two passes in their Junior Dragsters, Scott a 10.422/60.19 and 10.617/59.52 and Jay a 10.777/59.70 and 10.821/59.31.
Stay tuned.
10:30
Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway on day two of pre-European Finals testing. It's a lovely day, the place is heaving, and we'll be bringing you the testing news in association with American Car Imports.
The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is already on-line and broadcasting a picture of the start line area every two minutes.
A big Hej to our friends from Sweden who are tuned in to see how Anders Envall is getting on, the news is that he will not be running today. He stripped his last blower belt on yesterday's first pass, which did however make his Chevy Impala SS the fourth quickest of its kind on the planet. A 10.8 on what was effectively a half-pass would, I would think, put the world best of 10.1 in some danger. Anders has found a supplier of blower belts and his team are bringing some spares with them on Tuesday, so he will be running at the Press Day on Wednesday.
Good morning also to Eurodragster's US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman whom we know are tuned in from New Hampshire. Hope you're enjoying the coverage guys.
Mention of WRE leads us very nicely to the Top Fuel Dragster in which Jon Webster will be licencing today. The rig arrived at about 9:30, if you look carefully on the webcam you can see the rig just past half track. So far we have spotted Crew Chief Peter Knight, Jon, John McIntyre, Lindsay Deuchar, and Lee from the Showtime Fuel FC team working around the pit. Alan Jackson has been providing tuning advice so I would imagine that he is here although we haven't spotted him yet, similarly Mark of the CBD team who has been working on the clutch.
Dave Wilson is shortly due to put in his first pass of the day in the American Car Imports Top Methanol Dragster. Dave tells us that there is more clutch in it for this pass. We will of course let you know how Dave gets on as soon as he has run.
Also around and about in the pits we met Funny Bike racer Tim Blakemore. Tim tells us that he is up here to work with Mike Vickers, who will be riding Dave Peters' Funny Bike today to help to set it up. Sandra Chaplain is also here with the Think Pink Racing Comp Bike, which will be running in FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike next weekend, and we have also spotted 10.90 Bike racers Phil Pratt and Steve Coombs. We'll keep an eye out and let you know how they fare.
Right now the trackside conditions are 16.1 C and rising, 51% humidity and falling, and 30.12 inches of air pressure.
Stay tuned as Dave Wilson will be running shortly, we will bring you news of his pass as soon as we can.