2004 Easter Thunderball
Saturday (qualifying)
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22:40
Today's pictures are now posted, you can view them from the Event Index. Tune back in the morning and we will be here again to bring you all the news from day two of qualifying.
19:30
Thomas Nataas made it back to the start line and clocked a sixty foot time of 0.973 in the Batmobile Top Fuel Dragster. Judging by the tyre tracks Thomas hit shake at about twenty feet but finally getting to hit the throttle after the travails of the last couple of weeks must have done him the world of good.
Neil Midgley leads Funny Bike qualifying after session two, with his earlier 7.367/149.48. Dave Bailey is second with his earlier 7.385/177.13, although on this pass he had his Funny Bike over at a forty five-degree angle as the bike got way out of shape. Sharkman summed it up very neatly when he said "Dave crashed, it's just that no-one told him". Paul Knapp is third at 7.387/179.49, Sarah Jane Head fourth at 7.468/162.45 and Dave Holland fifth at 8.404/126.00 although in this session his engine made one of those groaning noises and parts were found on the track so we suspect that there's an engine which has fallen off its perch.
Cheerful Chappie Steve Rawlings has taken over the lead in Super Modified with an 8.078/169.18 from Rob Smallworth at 8.151/171.17, Tim Garlick 8.180/166.81, Kev Perkins 8.325/145.62 and Paul Brooks 9.348/146.11. In this session Graham Ellis' Oldsmobile, in the hands of Kev Perkins, turned hard right at about 1000 feet. Kev did everything he could but was a passenger as the car tagged the right guardrail, then spun round and hit the left guardrail head-on. Kev got himself out of the car and is A-OK. Graham Ellis was providing colour commentary at the time of the crash and his reaction was restrained, to say the least - I think I know what I would have said, PA or not. Rob Smallworth in the other lane was just far enough ahead not be involved.
Graham Ellis came to see us in Race Control and confirmed that Kev is fine, the car is damaged but it can be repaired. Graham himself is OK too! He said that it appeared that the radiator cap came off and then fluid got under a tyre - nothing Kev could have done under those circumstances.
Martin Hill rounded off the day with a 6.072/212.23 in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC.
We're done with qualifying for the day now, Sharkman is working on today's pictures so stay tuned and we'll let you know when those are available.
18:05
We're not far off finishing here with only a couple of classes left to run. Thomas Nataas and his crew are working frantically to turn the car around so that he can put in another attempt at a launch at the end of today, we have an oildown at present so the timing will probably work out for him. With the trackside temperature at 8.9 C, 72% humidity and 30.09 air pressure it will be interesting to see if the car will stick to the track. Thomas has just left his pit so stay tuned.
John Everitt leads Super Pro ET after the second session, +0.023 on dial-in at 8.823/151.55 from Ian Tubb, 0.041 over at 7.741/175.16, Steve Johnson 0.076 over at 7.576/176.43, Pat Talbot 0.143 over at 7.843/173.61 and John Tebenham in Thunderbird 2 0.167 over at 8.397/159.06.
Stuart Doignie is at the top of the heap in Super Gas at 9.929/137.25 from Spencer Tramm at 9.996/130.16, Tim Adam 9.997/145.13, Steve Wells at 10.032/130.55 (with a humungous wheelie), and Malcolm Francis 10.129/142.36.
Dave Beck jumped up to pole position in Pro Stock Bike with a 7.358/176.53, Richard Gipp now second at 7.530/176.37, Martin Bishop third at 8.070/169.18, Ray Debben 8.482/157.92 and Len Paget fifth at 8.752/144.24.
17:20
Lex Joon went first in the Top Fuel Dragster practice session. A competent burnout and then the car launched very hard, 0.973 to sixty foot and glued to the track just fine. However one cylinder was putting out fire rather than header flames. Lex was off it by half-track as planned and was chased down the shutdown area by the top end fire crew after the engine started to smoke. No word came back of any problem. Thomas Nataas followed Lex with another good burnout but was not able to get reverse so Rune Fjeld sent him downtrack.
The lead has changed hands in Super Comp with Mark Fairhurst now on top at 8.903/153.70 from Malcolm Francis' 8.916/148.05, Paul Ingar Udtian 8.922/130.06, Tim Adam 8.925/148.50 and Shaun Lathan at 9.061/152.62.
Ian Brown and Elisabeth Bredal swapped the lead in Super Street, with Elisabeth coming out on top again at 10.923/123.29, Ian second at 10.931/112.27, Bob Lees into third at 10.932/126.14, Paul Marston fourth at 10.980/131.51 and Lee Huxley now fifth at 11.000/119.96.
A lot of racers stepped up in Custom Car Street Eliminator, Wayne Saunders still on top but now with a whopping 8.497/169.04 which in the cold conditions - right now 9.5 C, 71% humidity and 30.09 air pressure on a track which has seen no sun at all today - is quite something. Ian Jackson is now second at 8.744/164.65 from Andy Frost 8.800/161.81, Steve Pateman 8.973/148.58 and Colin Lazenby 9.709/148.58.
Graham Dance stepped up still further to consolidate his Super Street Bike lead, 8.437/176.42 now the pole from Richard Stubbins 8.658/164.66, Carl Grey 8.711/171.18, Jamie Sneddon 8.750/156.27 and Mark Fisher 8.840/165.52.
Phil Leamon is still at the top in Comp Bike at 8.381/156.81 from Stuart Crane's 9.228/138.04, Klaus Sarembe 9.257/99.80, Nick Daniels 9.482/150.39 and Ian Berry 11.200/131.55.
Stay tuned as we have a fair number of classes still to put in their second qualifiers.
15:15
We have some changes in the top fives of all three VW classes, first up was VW Sportsman which is still led by Amy Homewood with her earlier +0.050 pass, Phil Baker is second +0.191 at 15.191/87.08, Ollie Dyer third +0.195 at 23.195/54.61, Jonathan Grigg fourth 0.313 up at 14.803/89.27 and Christos Kouzaris fifth at 0.460 over, 21.060/60.17.
Ian Dale leads VW Pro 0.090 up at 12.490/108.67, Jason Aldred second 0.146 up at 11.946/109.53, Nigel Green third 0.189 over at 13.179/102.99, Paul Woodhead in fourth 0.754 up at 11.944/117.24, and Scotty Evison fifth 2.086 over at 14.976/103.96.
Changes at the top in VW Alternate Engine with the lead changing hands twice in two pairings. Mark Skeen now leads 0.024 over dial-in at 17.524/79.63 from Spencer Tramm +0.150 up at 9.350/145.13, Jow Williams +0.270 at 15.270/88.88, Ian Huggan +0.746 at 14.946/91.10 and Lee Darby now fifth +0.753 at 9.253/142.78.
Shaun Spiers leads 10.90 Bike after the second session at 10.926/130.06 from Phil Pratt's 11.073/124.70, John Hackney at 11.142/115.96, Andy Bird at 11.230/135.97, and Nick Holland fifth at 11.302/122.85.
Steve Ashby is still on top in 9.90 Bike at 9.914/123.99 from Richard Beck 9.944/138.15, Geoff Connor into the top five, third at 9.982/130.85, Fred Furlong 9.994/143.27 and Steve Coombs fifth at 10.048/134.90.
We'll be back soon with more qualifying news. Thomas Nataas, Andy Carter and Lex Joon have all warmed up their Top Fuellers so we're likely to be seeing them soon...and when they run you'll be the first to know.
15:45
We've had some changes in Junior Dragster after the second qualifying round, with National Champion Collin Morrice taking the lead with an RT of 0.036 from Scott Hauser's previous 0.074. Holly Mitchell is now third at 0.108 from Jay Hauser's earlier 0.133 and Anna Stanley is now fifth at 0.141.
Martin Lewis remains top of the tree in Sportsman ET, +0.027 at 15.827/86.06 from Mark Anderson +0.028 at 12.648/107.16, Jon Turner into the top five, number three +0.139 at 12.859/105.41, Linda Platt's +0.167 12.967/110.54 now good for fourth and Paul Bishop now fifth with his earlier +0.229 16.429/82.44.
Marius Blackburn and Carl Burton are still top of the Pro ET pile with their earlier runs of +0.001 each, Aidan Kenny has taken over the third spot 0.019 over his dial-in at 11.519/117.85, Steve Good now fourth with his earlier +0.030 10.010/139.75 and Ian Brown up to fifth +0.058 at 10.908/121.32.
The VWs are now back on track, stay tuned.
15:15
Richard Gipp took the Pro Stock Bike lead with a 7.530/176.37 from Martin Bishop 8.070/169.18, Len Paget 8.752/144.24 and Tony Clark 9.678/140.10. Dave Beck's engine revs shot up on the start line as he went up on the two-step and he shut it off.
Tim Garlick reset his PB and his quickest Rover mark to take the lead in Super Modified at 8.180/166.81. Returning Rob Smallworth is second at 8.325/155.20, Kev Perkins third at 9.053/135.52 on his first outing in Graham Ellis' Olds, Andy Kirk fourth at 9.529/142.85 and Kev Taylor fifth with a New Zealand sixty foot of 9.731/135.52. Steve Rawlings pulled a great burnout in his Toyota but was then shut off on the line for a trans fluid leak, whilst the engine of Craig Gibbs' Camaro stopped when he released the transbrake. Several sessions to go for everyone, though, so there is plenty of time to sort things out.
Antonio Ferretti leads Top Fuel Bike qualifying with a PB of 7.098/190.85 from Steve Carey at 8.360/162.96.
Only Doug Ripley turned out for the Top Methanol qualifying session, his first run in his new car a 9.320/109.54. The car hesitated fractionally on launch but then hooked up and went, moving around the lane a little and then cylinders went out, Doug was off it at half track.
Martin Hill marked the end of the first qualifying cycle with a 6.094/217.55 in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC.
We have one more complete cycle of qualifying scheduled so stay tuned and we'll be back soon with more of the same.
14:45
Phil Leamon took up where he left off last year in Comp Bike, taking number one spot at 8.381/156.81, from Klaus Sarembe 9.257/99.80, Stuart Crane 9.488/138.02 and Nick Daniels 10.635/129.21. Vaughan Foster had a hairy ride on his ex-Chris Hall bike, crossing from the left to the right lane and only just missing the guardrail...there was a fag paper in it.
Next up was Super Pro ET and John Everitt took the lead on his first Super Pro outing, 0.023 over dial-in with an 8.823/155.15 in the Sanity Assassin Toyota. Ian Tubb is currently second in the very powerful-sounding EDA rail, 0.068 up at 7.768/175.16, Steve Johnson +0.076 at 7.576/176.43, John Tebenham fourth 0.230 on dial-in at 8.460/159.73 and Ashley Bell fifth, 0.376 over dial-in at 8.376/126.04. JT's Probe has an excellent new paintscheme, the car now resembles Thunderbird 2. Mark Flavell makes a very welcome return this weekend, tyres spun off the line but then the car hooked up and went, recording 180 mph at the stripe.
Malcolm Francis leads Super Comp at 8.916/148.05 from Paul Ingar Udtian's 8.922/130.06, Tim Adam 8.925/148.50, Shaun Lathan 9.061/152.62 and Colin Aldred fifth at 9.281/141.37.
Funny Bike is very tight in the first three places with Neil Midgley top at 7.367/149.48 from Dave Bailey 7.385/177.13, Paul Knapp with what we think is a PB 7.387/179.49, Sarah Jane Head fourth at 7.468/162.45 and Ian Turburville fifth on his Fuel twin at 10.135/139.38.
Pro Stock Bike is next up with Super Modified, Top Methanol, Top Fuel Bike and Top Fuel practice next in the running order. Stay tuned!
13:50
It's getting fast and furious here as the cars and bikes keep on coming. Next up after our last update was 9.90 Bike which is led by Steve Ashby at 9.920/127.13 from Fred Furlong 9.994/143.27, Steve Coombs 10.048/134.90, Andy Burfitt 10.133/139.35 and Wayne Hobbs 10.281/137.61.
10.90 Bike was next and is headed up by Shaun Spiers at 10.926/130.06, Andy Bird 11.230/135.97, Nick Holland 11.302/122.85, Lizz McCarthy 11.463/131.90 and James Attwood 11.500/121.27.
Norway's Elisabeth Bredal went into the number one spot in Super Street on her first pass at Santa Pod, heading up the field at 10.932/123.04. Paul Marston is second at 10.980/131.51 from Dave Cherrett 11.092/102.93, Bob Lees 11.154/125.03 and rookei Scott McCarthy 12.135/116.92.
Stuart Doignie is number one in Super Gas after the first session at 9.929/137.25 from Tim Adam 9.997/145.13, Malcolm Francis 10.129/142.36, Peter Lane 10.335/134.75 and Frank Mason 10.573/106.96. Steve Wells and Spencer Tramm made their first Super Gas passes for this year, Steve in his pick-up going 0.120 under index having moved up from Pro ET and Spencer 0.130 under index in his new Corrado although he backed off way before the finish line.
Custom Car Street Eliminator is led by Wayne Saunders at 9.021/163.60 from Steve Pateman 9.050/167.20, Andy Frost 10.143/136.30, Colin Lazenby 10.177/149.41 and Ian Hook at 11.435/104.96.
Graham Dance has the best part of half a second over the Super Street Bike field at 8.550/159.02 - and that was an early shut-off - from Richard Stubbins at 9.041/157.86 on his very nice-looking new bike, Mark Fisher 9.191/161.22, Matt Nixon 9.228/166.05 and Karl Larcombe 9.583/169.70.
We're now in the middle of Comp Bike, stay tuned.
12:50
A big Hello to all our friends on Volkszone and other VW forums who we know are tuned in to find out how their buddies are faring. We've now had the first round of VW qualifying and this is how it went.
In VW Sportsman the top five is made up of a mixture of old and new names, Amy Homewood is on the pole 0.050 on her dial-in at 20.650/65.19 followed by Ollie Dyer +0.195 at 23.195/54.61, Martin Ayton 0.519 over at 15.519/89.82, Chris Baylis 14.535/91.11 and James Lake 0.580 over at 16.080/88.05.
VW Pro is led by Nigel Green 0.189 over dial-in at 13.179/102.99 from Jason Aldred 0.238 over at 12.228/110.27, Paul Woodhead 0.754 up at 11.944/117.24, Ian Dale +1.055 at 13.455/102.74 and Scotty Evison +2.086 at 14.976/103.96.
Ian Huggan is at the top of the tree in VW Alternate Engine, +0.746 on dial-in at 14.946/91.10, Mark Skeen +0.938 at 17.938/79.77, Andy Raw third 1.128 over dial-in at 12.928/100.67, Matt Attwood fourth +1.190 at 14.690/99.40 and Jow Williams rounding out the top five 1.651 up on dial-in at 16.651/68.06. Also of note in this session was a massive 0.791 under dial-in from Lee Darby in the Tarmac Teaser, 9.199/141.56 - a very strong run and we're sure Lee won't mind one little bit that he is at the bottom of qualifying right now! Spencer Tramm put in a 12.9-second pass in the Quantum Leap Corrado, his first time behind the wheel in this car and sensibly taking it easy.
We'll be back soon with news of 9.90 Bike, 10.90 Bike, Super Street and Custom Car Street Eliminator.
12:25
We're off and running! Qualifying started with a trackside temperature of 9.0 C, 79% humidity and 30.06 inches of air pressure. First up was Junior Dragster qualifying, Scott Hauser took the lead with a reaction time of 0.074, his brother Jay next up at 0.133, Collin Morrice third at 0.212, Nick Mugridge fourth at 0.0227 and Matthew Seamarks rounding out the top five at 0.416.
Sportsman ET followed on with Martin Lewis taking the lead +0.027 on his dial-in at 15.827/86.06, from Linda Platt +0.167 at 12.967/110.54, Mark Anderson +0.205 at 12.705/107.48, Paul Bishop +0.229 at 16.429/82.44 and Nick South +0.444 at 13.944/100.21.
Next up was Pro ET and we almost had the Eurodragster.com/Curbishley Automotive Perfect ET Award taken by two racers with the top two qualifier both +0.001 on their dial-ins, Marius Blackburn taking the lead at 9.451/141.01 from Carl Burton 11.001/120.61, Steve Good third +0.030 at 10.010/139.75, Nick Griffin +0.066 at 11.966/112.73 and John Morris fifth +0.082 at 11.782/116.61. Dave Ward had a moment in the Rampage FC, losing part of his steering at about half track and putting the anchors out with the front wheels wobbling all over the place. Dave got it stopped and kept the car in his lane.
The three VW classes are on track right now, stay tuned.
8:30
Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway on the first day of the 2004 UK National and Nordic Drag Racing Series. The pits are heaving and we're here to bring you all the action in association with American Car Imports.
The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and broadcasting a picture every two minutes. The on-track action is scheduled to commence at 9:20.
A few Hellos before we start. Firstly a big Hej to our good buddy Christer Abrahamson who is tuned in from Sweden to get the latest on Paul Ingar Udtian and Elisabeth Bredal who have made the trip from Norway this weekend. Hello too to Andy Bissett and his fiancée Jennifer who are tuned in the from the USA, and to Andrew McKenzie who is a little closer to home in Benfleet.
A big congratulations to Martin and Ruth Curbishley whose eleventh wedding anniversary falls today. "I promise Ruth that she can have a new bathroom suite this year!" said Super Comp and Super Gas racer Martin, whose company Curbishley Automotive is jointly posting with us the Eurodragster.com/Curbishley Automotive Perfect ET Award. A big Thank You is due to Team Botch who kindly gave the Eurodragster staff Easter eggs. Your reporter's egg is already in the past tense.
We had some rain overnight but right now it has stopped and the track crew are doing their stuff. The weather station is reading 48.4 F, 87% humidity and 29.68 inches of air pressure.
We got here late yesterday afternoon and spent a good few hours shooting the breeze with racers, catching up on our off-seasons and exchanging gossip. As usual we had only got a short way down the pits in several hours but we did manage to get some pit notes amongst all the yakking, here's what we found out.
The new paint scheme on the Shockwave Fuel Funny Car is very nice, in the colours of main sponsor Fuel the Firebird looks like a cross between a stealth bomber the aliens in the films of that name. Crew Chief and co-owner Dave Bryant took us through the off-season changes. "We have a new fuel pump", he said. "We've gone from a sixty five-gallon pump to a to sixty seven. We have a new clutch which isn't in the car yet but will probably be installed in time for the Main Event. We have changed the whole tune-up since we were dropping cylinders at the start of a run - and we are still without a data logger!". The body has larger spill plates because the car has been turning the tyres at three-quarter track. "We need all the downforce we can get!", said Dave. The Shockwave team also have new clutch technicians in the person of Dave's wife Laura and her friend Hayley, who have been training intensively through the off-season. Dave said that he, Gordon Smith and the whole Shockwave team are very grateful to Richie Warren and Fuel for their support. "We think that we can win the Championship for Fuel this year", he said.
Rookie Top Fuel Dragster racer Thomas Nataas is planning a launch today and will make his second licencing pass as part of tomorrow's Pro Fuel Shootout qualifying. "We have all the right parts for this new car now", said Thomas. "The right clutch and the right fuel system. We have been fitting parts to the car since yesterday". I asked Thomas how he felt about getting into a Top Fuel Dragster. "Oh, I'm calm!", he said. "With Rune and the team I know that the car is OK, all I have to worry about is the driving, so I am looking forward to it. I hope the weather is OK so that I can get my passes in". Thomas was pretty definite that he will be going for the FIA Championship this season when he could be forgiven for treating 2004 as a learning year. "Rune has all the latest parts and wants to go fast", he said. "We are starting this season with the old blower but will put the new one on after a couple of races - of course I have to learn how to drive it, and the team have to practice too". Thomas' Pro Mod crew has followed him to the Top Fueller, including Crew Chief Tommy, and he has and three new guys on the crew. "We have spent many hours in the workshop over the winter", said Thomas, "so it's good to get here and to have a weekend like this before the FIA season so that we can become familiar with the car and with each other."
In the next Top Fuel pit, Carbon By Design team owner Knut Söderquist said that his aim for this weekend was to get Holland's Lex Joon licenced and comfortable in the MPM Oil-sponsored Top Fueller - a good result in the Pro Fuel Shootout will be icing. "I always like to win of course", said Knut, "but I want to get Lex licenced. It's not as easy as you think. The track is virgin although it looks good and it will be very easy to shake or go up in smoke". Lex has three of Kim Reymond's crew on his team including Crew Chief Per Andersen, and Knut is very pleased to have them. "The Danish guys are superb - they are top people", he said. "Alan Jackson and Per are the two smartest guys out there. I've got a ninety per cent Danish crew, I could do with one hundred per cent and I'm waiting for your call - you know who you are!". Knut also paid a tribute to the ladies behind the racers in the Carbon By Design team. "People don't realise how important Gerda (Lex), Asa (Micke Kågered) and Carina (Jöran Persåker) are", he said. "They are very supportive and work well with sponsors, and they give the guys so much backing."
Knut said that the CBD team plan to run this year at the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod, the Veidec Nitro Festival at Mantorp Park, the Midnight Sun Internationals at Piteå with Jöran and Gary Page in the hot seats, the Drag Challenge at Gardermoen, the Nitrolympx at Hockenheim, and the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod. Lex and his team will be racing as a self-contained unit, and the MPM Oil team have appearances lined up at Drachten as well as the FIA tour.
Lex Joon's Team Manager Gerda Dijkstra explained how Per Andersen came to join the MPM Oil team. "Per was in Holland and E-Mailed us, and we invited him to come to visit", she said. "He wanted to do the FIA Tour and we said that he could come with us if he wanted to. We left it to Per to decide and he quickly said he and the guys would like to join us. So we've got the dream team!". Gerda added that Knut Söderquist has been very supportive. "He has been working around the clock", she said. "You only have to ask him to do something and it's done."
Per Andersen said that Lex's car would start out with a basic Alan Jackson tune-up and then he would take it from there. This is the team's first weekend all in the same place and Per said that he was very pleased with the way it was going. "The guys are working fabulously together and this is a happy pit", he said. "It's like it was always meant to be" said Lex, who discovered that when he got into the car it fit him perfectly. "Knut was keen to have Per and he is very excited now that he is with us".
Kiwi Kev Taylor is taking his first run out in Super Modified in his Crap Conversions Ford Capri. "I've had no track time so I am starting from square one", said Kev. "I'll be pleased if we come out of the weekend with a set-up and ever happier if we get a full pass! I hope to put in a full pass by the third qualifying session. I'm sure we'll make it work and we'll give people a run for their money! The car is capable of high sevens, it is down to the driver and tuner - and they're both me!". When we spoke to Kev the car had passed scrutineering and just needed to be weighed after its first run. "Hopefully I'll have had enough hot cross buns to make the weight!", he said.
Fellow Super Mod racer Steve Rawlings' Toyota looks very smart in its new black paint, the first stealth Super Mod. The engine was recently dyno'd and made 712 hp. "Andy Hone came with me and he was very quiet on the way home!", said Steve. "His engine made 51 horsepower less". As a result of the off-season rule changes everyone has come up with their own Nitrous set-up; Steve explained his then swore us to secrecy, little realising that your mechanical-ignoramus reporter probably could not repeat what he was told anyway. Other changes are new gear ratios and new slicks, and a datalogger. "I didn't have the chance to fit a rear view mirror so I could find Andy Hone", he said. "I told him that with my black car on a black track the only way he was going to see it would be when I dropped my parachute, which is pink. Did I tell you that his engine made 51 less horsepower than mine?"
Another of this weekend's Super Mod rookies is Mike Sergeant, who is racing the CPS Limited Camaro owned by Vincent Dubois. "This is the first time I have raced, I have done a lot of test and tunes", said Mike. Vincent explained that the Camaro is sporting a Speedomotive normally-aspirated 540 Chevrolet Merlin block with Pro One heads and has run a best so far of 9.4. "Mike and I built this car from the ground up at my company which specialises in French cars and Mustangs", said Vincent. "It has taken us two years since I bought the shell as a complete wreck."
Pro ET racer Malcolm Motler didn't think he'd make it this weekend, but things came together for him all of a sudden. "The headers didn't take as long to make as I thought, and the torque converter came early", said Malcolm. Malk's wife Marcie is pregnant and he added that he wanted to get the baby used to the noise as early as possible, even going as far as firing the car up at home. "I just needed to make sure", he said.
NDRS Super Comp Champion Paul Ingar Udtian left the island of Frøya on Wednesday and forty five hours later arrived in the pits here at Santa Pod. "It's the team's fault!", said Thor Larsen of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen. "We discussed this at the NDRS banquet and they phoned up about two weeks later and said they were going!". Paul has been racing for ten years and has won the NDRS Championship twice, has come third once, and has never been lower than ninth. All of this was achieved without throttle stops or any other driver aids. "Our throttle stop is Paul's foot, and our datalogger is his brain!", said his Crew Chief Rune-Rune. Drawing many admirers was Paul's pit vehicle, a 1.2 litre Opel-powered cart which looks like Postman Pat's van with the top cut off. "It goes like hell!" said Thor.
Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Carey looking forward to his second year in competition. "I'm going to keep the throttle open all the way now!", he said. "We have new brake and clutch master cylinders but other than that it's pretty much the same as last year. Until we have run it all the way there's not much point in changing anything. But last year was a learning year, this year is a doing year."
Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Woollatt tells us that he is now a sponsor of 10.90 Bike at SPRC events. Steve is posting �50 for the winner. "I want to put something back into the sport", he said. "I started off with a street bike and it has also been the starting point for a lot of my fellow racers so I am very pleased to support 10.90 Bike". Steve has a new clutch and clutch management system ready to go into his 6.4-second Top Fuel Bike next weekend, but will be contesting this weekend on his old clutch. "I have a number of things to try out this weekend", he said.
Stay tuned and as soon as today's qualifying starts we will bring you all the news.