2004 SPRC Summernationals
Sunday (eliminations)

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21:15

Today's pictures have now been posted, you can view them via the Event Index page.

Custom Car Street Eliminator winner Andy Frost has asked us to say a big Thank You to all of the Santa Pod crews. "They've worked tirelessly all weekend, they've been just awesome", he said. "I didn't think we'd get finished today but the crew came through for us."

That's the end of our coverage of the SPRC Summernationals, thanks very much for tuning in.

For their help this weekend we would like to thank Race Director Darren Prentice; Chief Marshal Steve Horn; Martin Wallis, and John Hackney of Santa Pod's timing crew; Chief Starter Ian Marshall and the start line and track crews; Chief Fire Marshal John Cross and the safety crew; track announcer Graham Beckwith; Paula Marshall; Kjell Pettersson; Spencer Tramm; David Anniwell; Roger Gorringe; Dave Alexander; Lee Child; Wayne Nicholson; Claire Meaddows; and Neil Midgley. Thanks for hospitality this week to Pat and Stephen Talbot; Mark Pointer and Sharon; Stuart Peck and Helen; and Graham and Margaret in VIP.

Eurodragster's next scheduled Event Coverage will be from the Veidec Nitro Festival at Mantorp Park in Sweden, which we will be covering in association with our friends at Svensk Dragracing.

Your reporter this weekend has been Tog of Eurodragster.com and your photographer this weekend has been Sharkman of Eurodragster.com.

This weekend's Event Coverage has been brought to you in association with American Car Imports.

20:40

Final results in all car classes:

Doug Ripley 8.414/104.14 bye, Trev Capewell no show
Super Modified: Rob Smallworth 7.890/172.39 def. Tim Garlick broke
Super Pro ET: Ian Tubb (7.92) 8.061/134.70 def. Al Golding (8.90) 9.648/147.98
Pro ET: Rick McCann (10.40) 10.434/124.68 def. Wayne Hiscock (10.60) 10.678/122.94
Sportsman ET: Rick Denny (13.44) 13.548/98.00 def. Richard Hillier (13.15) 12.943/101.75
Super Comp: Brian Pateman 10.191/116.52 def. Tim Adam left before lights ran
Super Gas: Peter Lane 9.947/141.15 def. Jon Evans 9.940/138.79
Super Street: Mike Bentley 10.805/131.54 def. Paul Marston 12.169/75.65 red light
Junior Dragster: Collin Morrice (9.24) 9.241/69.45 def. Kane Jones (10.90) 10.856/56.09
Custom Car Street Eliminator: Andy Frost 8.608/167.28 def. Ian Jackson 8.864/163.14
VW Pro: Ken Blomer (9.30) 9.546/141.01 def. Steve Roberts (12.91) 12.789/106.43
VW Sportsman: Mick Geraghty (15.55) 15.897/67.58 def. Graham Fairhead (15.75) 15.755/82.88
VW Alternate Engine: Mark Skeen (17.05) 17.126/75.37 def. Spencer Tramm (9.90) 9.919/117.47
Wild Bunch: Chris Hartnell (9.60) 9.751/129.74, Andy Murphy no show

As mentioned below, the bikes did not run to completion because of a very strong wind.

A special mention to Nigel Anniwell, whose last event for some time this has been after marshalling at Santa Pod Raceway for eighteen years. Enjoy your break Nigel, and we hope to see you back soon. Everyone at Santa Pod Raceway and Santa Pod Racers Club is very grateful to you for all you have done.

Today's pictures are currently being uploaded, stay tuned.

20:10

Super Gas eliminations round 4 winners: Peter Lane 9.982/140.59 bye, Jon Evans 9.889/139.82

Pro ET eliminations round 4 winners: Wayne Hiscock (10.73) 10.592/125.96 bye, Rick McCann (10.46) 10.393/127.81

Sportsman ET eliminations round 3 winners: Rick Denny (13.46) 13.653/87.36, Richard Hillier (13.15) 16.748/64.55 bye

We're now up to finals in all car classes, stay tuned.

20:00

Junior Dragster eliminations round 3 winners: Kane Jones (10.90) 11.398/46.71, Collin Morrice (9.21) 9.292/69.22

Custom Car Street Eliminator eliminations round 2 winners: Andy Frost 8.839/164.75, Ian Jackson 9.0765/160.89

Wild Bunch eliminations round 3 winners: Chris Hartnell (9.60) 9.659/133.18, Andy Murphy (12.45) broke off line (bye)

AMR Motors VW Alternate Engine eliminations round 2 winners: Mark Skeen (17.20) 17.093/75.76, Spencer Tramm (9.90) 9.839.125.60

Beetlemania VW Sportsman eliminations round 5 winners: Mick Geraghty (15.50) 15.619/81.09 bye, Graham Fairhead (15.75) 16.027/70.89

Jon Rathbone Race Cars VW Pro eliminations round 4 winners: Steven Roberts (12.99) 12.858/110.05 bye, Ken Blomer (9.30) 9.349/142.73

Super Street eliminations round 3 winners: Mike Bentley 10.877/128.83, Paul Marston 10.852/118.42

Super Comp eliminations round 3 winners: Brian Pateman 8.984/145.98, Tim Adam staged

19:10

Whilst clean-up was underway after Kev Perkins' engine dropped oil on the track, a very strong sidewind sprung up which has made it dangerous for the bikes to compete, so all bike classes have now been stopped for this event.

Stay tuned, as all car classes are continuing as soon as clean-up is complete.

18:10

Top Methanol final:

Doug Ripley 8.414/104.14 bye, Trev Capewell no show

Trev had no battery power on his starter, so Doug took the bye, a very solid pass until Doug got off the throttle at half track.

Comp Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Dave Peters 9.032/151.46, Phil Leamon 8.971/114.24

Klaus Brinkman suffered a couple of scary-sounding explosions from the engine of his Comp Bike and left a trail of oil down the track; the top end crew reported that Klaus turned off the track with "a lot of his engine hanging out". Klaus is quite OK but that'll be one dead engine.

Funny Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Neil Midgley staged (bye), Dave Holland 7.641/143.16

Super Gas eliminations round 3 winners: Tim Adam 9.950/141.96, Peter Lane 9.950/140.23, Jon Evans 9.914/131.96

Jon Rathbone Race Cars VW Pro eliminations round 3 winners: Steve Roberts (12.99) 13.138/105.16, Martin Charles (12.40) 13.954/77.33, Ken Blomer (9.30) 9.649/139.81

Beetlemania VW Sportsman eliminations round 4 winners: Graham Fairhead (15.75) 15.866/79.33, Dan Buzzo (15.00) 22.621/51.24 bye, Mick Geraghty (15.50) 15.736/74.12

Super Comp eliminations round 2 winners: Brian Pateman 9.037/145.15, Tim Adam 8.989/135.47, Dave Day 8.990/148.64 bye

Super Street eliminations round 2 winners: John Grant 10.847/131.14 bye, Lee Huxley 10.925/119.70, Mike Bentley 10.967/129.20, Paul Marston 10.954/116.82 bye

Supertwin Modified eliminations round 1 winners: Simon Hodgson, Tim Boutle 11.295/120.29

Sportsman ET eliminations round 2 winners: Chris Emms (20.60) 20.937/58.00, Rick Denny (13.54) 13.494/97.41, Richard Hillier (13.15) 13.272/101.30, Paul Brown (14.90) 150.28/88.06 bye

10.90 Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Jamie Sneddon 10.997/130.06, Dave Burfitt 11.050/110.84

Super Pro ET eliminations round 4 winners: Ian Tubb (7.85) 7.934/167.37 bye, Al Golding (8.90) 8.933/145.64

Super Modified eliminations round 3 winners: Tim Garlick 8.647/118.75 bye, Rob Smallworth 7.844/171.63 bye (Kev Perkins broke after burnout)

17:00

Martin Hill's second pass of the day in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC was a 6.170/239.33.

AMR Motors VW Alternate Engine eliminations round 1 winners: Joe Williams (15.25) 16.090/81.07, Mark Skeen (17.10) 17.284/73.69, Matt Attwood (13.90) 14.632/77.33, Spencer Tramm (9.65) 9.828/136.81 bye

Wild Bunch eliminations round 1 winners: Chris Hartnell (9.30) 9.706/133.48, Joe Stevens (10.05) 10.323/125.78, Andy Murphy (12.45) 12.634/99.75

Super Modified eliminations round 2 winners: Tim Garlick 8.093/163.03, Rob Smallworth 7.892/171.64 bye, Kev Perkins 7.809/171.72

Kev Perkins' pass is the quickest Super Mod ET since the off-season rule changes.

Super Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners: Ian Tubb (7.78) 7.877/169.14, Steve Johnson (7.50) 7.581/169.21, Al Golding (8.82) 9.107/148.56 bye

Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners: Gary Springford (10.25) 10.308/125.40 bye, Rick McCann (10.50) 10.567/111.67, Wayne Hiscock (10.74) 10.822/120.65

Junior Dragster eliminations round 2 winners: Kane Jones (10.65) 10.937/55.34, Collin Morrice (9.23) 9.437/66.09, Tom Watts (11.30) 11.385/50.96, Milly Bond (14.70) 15.453/38.30 bye

Super Street Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Mark Fisher 8.365/175.74, Richard Stubbings 8.292/177.98, Graham Dance 8.206/174.63, Karl Larcombe 8.565/169.71

9.90 Bike eliminations round 3 winners: Richard Sawatzki 9.913/111.89, Martin Walker 10.069/138.05, Fred Furlong 10.009/135.93 bye

16:15

Super Gas eliminations round 2 winners: Tim Adam 9.944/139.67, Spencer Tramm 9.918/117.18, Peter Lane 9.925/131.99, Jon Evans 9.896/138.99, Stuart Doignie 9.984/123.69 bye

10.90 Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Dave Burfitt 11.124/106.84, John Hackney 11.441/94.55, Jamie Sneddon 10.982/131.59, Shaun Spiers 10.421/131.93 bye

Custom Car Street Eliminator eliminations round 1: Allen Curtis 10.111/145.69, Colin Lazenby 8.421/174.31, Andy Frost 8.733/157.36, Ian Jackson 8.585/160.78

In his match-up with Colin Lazenby, Ian Hook's '34 Ford Coupe twiched violently a couple of hundred feet out and the driver side door opened, luckily not a repeat of Freddy Fagerström's antics at the Main Event!

16:00

Super Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: Derek Flynn (8.41) 8.522/131.63, Ian Tubb (7.76) 7.851/159.62, Steve Johnson (7.55) 7.607/175.19, Al Golding (8.82) 8.969/148.44, John Ellis (7.15) 7.253/182.18

Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners: Kane Jones (10.75) 10.878/52.45, Scott Hauser (10.30) 10.395/60.17, Milly Bond (14.65) 14.727/41.23, Ross Norris (8.90) 9.185/64.86, Lottie Watts (14.75) 14.924/39.85, Collin Morrice (9.14) 9.350/65.68, Tom Watts (11.35) 11.264/55.28

Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: John Morris (11.18) 11.222/118.13, Rick McCann (10.50) 10.599/111.11, Carl Burton (11.22) 11.377/107.43, Darren Hulkes (11.98) 12.346/109.72, Wayne Hiscock (10.74) 10.828/112.23, Gary Springford (10.25) 10.256/126.00

9.90 Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Richard Beck 10.201/130.76, Martin Walker 10.010/134.80, Fred Furlong 9.928/130.88, Richard Sawatzki 10.091/118.37, Andy Bird 10.117/125.04

Pro Stock Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Paul Watson 7.539/173.33, Martin Bishop 7.791/175.60 bye, Richard Gipp 8.825/144.24 bye (Tony Clark broke on burnout)

Beetlemania VW Sportsman eliminations round 2 winners: Christos Kouzaris (22.00) 21.953/55.06, Mick Geraghty (15.50) 15.718/82.25, Graham Fairhead (15.75) 15.736/82.57 bye, Nick Hartwell (14.55) 15.196/77.31, Dann Buzzo (18.20) 18.513/70.41

Supertwin Street eliminations round 1 winners: Mark Earrey 10.382/127.50, Ian Radanke 11.055/125.69, Chris Mott 11.077/120.61

Supertwin Gas eliminations round 1 winners: Les Harris 10.620/123.98, Andy Smith 9.743/129.97, George Laycock 9.797/133.48

Supertwin Fuel eliminations round 1 winners: Bernie Hepworth 8.126/154.61 bye, Chris Stebbings 9.754/125.43 bye

15:20

Super Gas eliminations round 1 winners: Conrad Stanley 9.997/123.63, Jon Evans 9.980/125.97, Peter Lane 9.999/123.65, Stuart Doignie 9.954/123.63, Spencer Tramm 9.892/117.42, Steve Wells 9.890/129.31, Luke Ramage 9.962/141.03 bye, Brendan Clancy 10.059/122.98, Tim Adam 9.888/143.42 bye

Super Street eliminations round 1 winners: Paul Marston 11.102/108.72, Lee Huxley 10.939/118.76 bye, Bob Lees 10.972/117.19, Leigh Morris 10.940/118.36, Mark Watkins 11.282/113.31, Mike Bentley 10.945/123.72, John Grant 11.196/110.83

Jon Rathbone Race Cars VW Pro eliminations round 1 winners: Simon Cooper (12.99) 13.426/100.21, Rob Bowler (11.40) 13.561/115.06, Scot Evison (12.50) 12.707/99.52, Martin Charles (12.40) 12.514/106.39, Steve Roberts (12.93( 14.184/86.02, Ken Blomer (9.20) 9.321/142.39 bye

Super Comp eliminations round 1 winners: Brian Pateman 8.975/152.06 bye (Mick Payne broke on burnout), Dave Day 8.964/143.71, Tim Adam 9.006/135.98, Malcolm Francis 8.922/155.17, Martin Curbishley 9.026/142.35

14:55

Top Methanol qualifying session 2:

Trev Capewell 6.582/161.80 observed run

Trev's scheduled observed full pass. Another great burnout, then a very competent pass with a pedal towards the top end, Race Director Darren Prentice had no hesitation in giving Trev the thumbs-up to compete against Doug Ripley later on. Well done Trev! Final qualifying in Top Methanol:

  1. Trev Capewell 6.582/161.80
  2. Doug Ripley 7.621/173.55

14:45

9.90 Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Lee Baxter 10.283/134.83 bye, Steve Coombs 10.880/105.93, Richard Beck, Martin Walker 10.235/135.63, Dave Baker 10.136/125.78, Fred Furlong 10.124/120.65, Dave Warren 10.068/111.40, Richard Sawatzki 10.044/113.05, Steve Ashby 10.199/122.61, Andy Bird 10.237/132.04

Sportsman ET eliminations round 1 winners: Chris Emms (20.50) 20.786/62.67 bye, Rick Denny (13.50) 13.504/97.79 bye, Linda Platt (12.82) 12.994/94.55, Tanya Partridge (14.15) 14.366/96.16, Richard Hillier (13.15) 13.150/102.26, Mark Anderson (12.95) 13.047/92.34, Paul Brown (14.90) 15.417/74.34 bye

Richard Hillier takes the Eurodragster.com/Curbishley Automotive Perfect ET Award with his 13.150 on a 13.15 dial-in.

Super Street Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Karl Larcombe 8.682/167.28, Rudi Thurmayr 9.278/158.92, Steve Venables 8.447/180.56, Mark Fisher 8.312/176.42, Richard Stubbings 8.514/169.19, Graham Dance 8.280/173.77, Dave Smith 9.157/163.60 bye, Chris Reed 9.007/159.62

Comp Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Klaus Brinkmann 7.906/163.03, Phil Leamon 8.614/152.64, Dave Peters 9.856/129.69, Gary Jones 7.848/163.67

Super Modified eliminations round 1 winners: Tim Garlick 7.970/166.14, Rob Smallworth 7.879/169.20, Kev Perkins 7.806/169.19 bye (Steve Rawlings broke after burnout), Paul Brooks 8.048/169.04, Andy Hone 7.867/171.13 bye

14:10

Martin Hill followed the last qualifying session with a 6.733/207.18 in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC.

Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Carl Burton (11.28) 11.227/117.48 bye, Wayne Hiscock (10.68) 10.742/123.94 bye, Rick McCann (10.47) 10.495/126.77, Darren Hulkes (11.98) 12.298/109.99, Nicky Frost (10.45) 10.460/127.81, Bob Doyle (10.58) 10.455/131.64 bye, Clive Cox (10.24) 10.280/123.99, John Morris (11.15) 11.254/118.13, Malcolm Motler (10.45) 10.645/110.49, Nick Griffin (11.99) 12.224/107.09, Ian Brown (10.91) 10.894/119.07, Gary Springford (10.25) 10.337/121.36

Super Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Dave Moore (7.93) 7.986/163.76, Ashley Bell (8.98) 9.037/151.54, Steve Johnson (7.55) 7.649/157.36, Steve Saunders (8.88) 8.911/149.99, John Everitt (8.93) 8.928/149.05, Derek Flynn (8.41) 8.670/119.64, John Ellis (7.15) 7.159/189.81, Ian Tubb (7.80) 7.788/179.84, Paul Davies (8.50) 8.671/146.68, Al Golding (8.80) 8.850/148.57

Beetlemania VW Sportsman eliminations round 1 winners: Christos Kouzaris (21.90) 22.127/48.54, Sarah Rollin (14.50) 15.377/80.76, Ollie Dyer (18.20) 18.304/63.00, Graham Fairhead (15.75) 15.821/80.51, James Lake (15.10) 15.126/84.57, Mick Geraghty (15.45) 15.571/81.38, Martin Ayton (15.00) 15.503/88.96, Nick Hartwell (14.50) 14.623/87.72, Dan Buzzo (16.60) 15.951/84.43

13:30

Comp Bike top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Gary Jones 7.887/164.42
  2. Klaus Brinkmann 7.911/163.03
  3. TJ O'Brien 8.207/154.80
  4. Phil Leamon 8.390/156.67
  5. Roland Chaplain 8.972/145.63

Phil Leamon takes the Eurodragster.com/Scorpion Racing Award for fourth place.

Super Street top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Lee Huxley 10.902/119.69
  2. Ian Brown 10.925/118.05
  3. Mike Bentley 10.930/130.19
  4. Ron Haffenden 10.946/118.36
  5. Bob Lees 10.962/122.59

Super Modified top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Andy Hone 7.843/170.89
  2. Rob Smallworth 7.878/172.31
  3. Tim Garlick 7.971/167.34
  4. Paul Brooks 7.982/169.06
  5. Steve Rawlings 7.985/169.21

Steve Rawlings - who told us last night that he needs a new harness - takes the Eurodragster.com/Scorpion Racing Award of a TRS harness for number five qualifier. Thanks very much to Colin Aldred of Scorpion Racing and Harley at TRS for their support.

Super Comp top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Dave Day 8.925/149.97
  2. Tim Adam 8.936/145.62
  3. Martin Curbishley 8.936/152.63
  4. Mark Fairhurst 8.941/151.42
  5. Brian Pateman 8.952/151.46

Funny Bike top qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Neil Midgley 6.979/188.99
  2. Paul Knapp 9.008/146.72
  3. Dave Holland 11.255/71.52
  4. Tim Blakemore 19.361/26.50

Pro Stock Bike top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Paul Watson 7.624/165.35
  2. Martin Bishop 7.824/164.95
  3. Richard Gipp 7.890/161.80
  4. Tony Clark 8.096/162.55
  5. Len Paget 8.497/137.73

Supertwin Fuel qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Bernie Hepworth 8.212/153.43
  2. Ian Turburville 9.568/142.01
  3. Chris Stebbings 9.705/113.65

Qualifying is now complete, so stay tuned for news of eliminations.

12:05

Super Gas top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Luke Ramage 9.904/141.96
  2. Dave Day 9.911/143.71
  3. Steve Wells 9.918/128.64
  4. Malcolm Francis 9.924/151.82
  5. Martin Curbishley 9.932/143.74

Peter Lane took the Eurodragster.com/Scorpion Racing Award for #6 qualifier in Super Gas.

Super Street Bike top five qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Graham Dance 8.268/173.00
  2. Mark Fisher 8.380/176.26
  3. Dave Smith 8.457/165.84
  4. Richard Stubbins 8.579/171.05
  5. Chris Reed 8.665/166.04

For our German friends who are tuned in, Alexandr Rose is sixth at Alexandr Rose 8.778/160.63, and Rudi Thurmayr finished up ninth at 8.884/164.10, so both are well into the field for this afternoon's eliminations.

Grant Perrin unfortunately rodded the engine of his SSB so we are on hold for oil cleanup. Stay tuned.

11:55

Supertwin Street top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Mark Earrey 10.383/131.21
  2. Ian Radanke 10.950/126.78
  3. Dave Jones 11.016/123.62
  4. Chris Mott 11.090/124.59
  5. Neil Dickson 11.442/115.07

Supertwin Modified top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Simon Hodgson 10.001/137.62
  2. Pete Richarddon 11.504/118.15
  3. Tim Boutle 11.596/117.23
  4. Barrie Gregory 11.800/115.95

Supertwin Gas top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. George Laycock 9.628/136.29
  2. Andy Smith 9.837/131/57
  3. Les Harris 10.616/123.95
  4. Ric Naylor 10.847/121.65
  5. Don Irvine 11.431/118.81
Super Pro ET top five qualifiers after session 2:
  1. Barry Giles +0.002 7.652/170.53
  2. Derek Flynn +0.014 8.414/153.64
  3. Steve Johnson +0.016 7.566/174.97
  4. Paul Davies +0.030 8.730/135.48
  5. John Ellis +0.063 7.413/171.01

11:35

10.90 Bike top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Jamie Sneddon 10.908/130.00
  2. Phil Pratt 10.915/123.55
  3. John Hackney 10.941/119.40
  4. Shaun Spiers 10.969/111.32
  5. Dave Burfitt 11.185/122.36

9.90 Bike top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Fred Furlong 9.902/134.71
  2. Geoff Connor 9.910/115.66
  3. Dave Warren 9.944/133.18
  4. Richard Beck 9.946/135.51
  5. Dave Baker 9.994/129.78

Custom Car Street Eliminator top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Colin Lazenby 8.324/176.41
  2. Steve Nash 8.575/169.85
  3. Ian Jackson 8.587/162.90
  4. Andy Frost 8.787/162.39
  5. Ian Hook 9.118/164.20

Wild Bunch top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Joe Stevens +0.145 10.145/128.56
  2. Andrew Murphy +0.159 12.529/100.88
  3. Chris Hartnell +0.491 9.591/134.70
  4. Tony Wynne-Jones +2.200 13.900/90.76
  5. Andrew Gibb +12.853 25.153/56.09

11:15

Beetlemania VW Sportsman top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Graham Fairhead +0.014 15.764/81.95
  2. Richard Merriman +0.090 15.590/86.19
  3. Mick Geraghty +0.162 15.512/82.39
  4. James Lake +0.175 15.165/85.37
  5. Christos Kouzaris +0.198 21.798/57.38

Jon Rathbone Race Cars VW Pro top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Ken Blomer +0.148 9.348/122.78
  2. Steve Roberts +0.155 13.085/97.40
  3. Justin Aldred +0.189 11.589/107.46
  4. Russ Fellows +0.210 10.710/124.59
  5. Richard Webb +0.342 11.222/124.33

AMR Motors VW Alternate Engine top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Spencer Tramm +0.017 9.667/138.79
  2. Mark Skeen +0.037 17.137/75.38
  3. Ian Sewell +0.225 15.425/83.37
  4. Joe Williams +0.354 15.604/84.1
  5. Andy Raw +0.368 12.768/112.76

10:50

Sportsman ET top qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Rick Denny +0.018 13.458/98.86
  2. Jon Turner +0.025 12.755/105.62
  3. Chris Emms +0.029 20.529/64.20
  4. Nick Gay +0.061 15.961/83.83
  5. Ian Petrie +0.073 18.573/71.67

Pro ET top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Carl Burton +0.009 11.279/117.81
  2. Brian Huxley +0.021 10.821/121.52
  3. Ian Brown +0.024 10.844/120.30
  4. Aidan Kenny +0.028 11.678/112.70
  5. Clive Cox +0.046 10.266/130.15

10:35

Top Methanol qualifying session 1:

Doug Ripley 7.621/173.55

A gentle-sounding pass from Doug, the car drifted towards the centreline a little but Doug stayed with it and has a baseline for the next session.

Trev Capewell 7,134/139.79 observed run

Trev's second observed run, a very competent burnout then on the green the car left the line very hard and started to drift right towards the guardrail, Trev got off the throttle at half track and kept the car off the concrete - it looked very close!

Funny Bike top qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Neil Midgley 7.086/184.47
  2. Paul Knapp 9.008/146.72
  3. Dave Holland 11.255/71.52

Pro Stock Bike qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Paul Watson 7.680/166.20
  2. Martin Bishop 7.824/164.95
  3. Richard Gipp 8.216/160.65
  4. Len Paget 8.497/137.73
  5. Ray Debben 8.516/154.62

Supertwin Fuel qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Bernie Hepworth 8.212/153.43
  2. Ian Turburville 9.568/142.01
  3. Chris Stebbings 9.793/98.72

Junior Dragster top five qualifiers after session 2:

  1. Milly Bond 0.000
  2. Collin Morrice 0.033
  3. Kane Jones 0.049
  4. Nick Mugridge 0.083
  5. Jay Hauser 0.085

10:10

Super Street top five qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Matthew Wright 10.964/112.12
  2. John Grant 10.985/132.35
  3. Mike Bentley 11.003/129.59
  4. Ian Brown 11.028/108.36
  5. Cliff Puddle 11.080/90.91

Super Modified top five qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Andy Hone 7.844/171.19
  2. Rob Smallworth 7.942/173.09
  3. Paul Brooks 7.982/169.06
  4. Tim Garlick 8.027/165.42
  5. Kev Perkins 8.049/164.11

Paul Brooks keeps up his record of setting a new Personal Best at every event.

Super Comp top five qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Tim Adam 8.936/145.62
  2. Mark Fairhurst 8.941/151.42
  3. Brian Pateman 8.952/151.46
  4. Paul Letchford 8.984/140.67
  5. Chris Johnson 9.062/153.67

9:40

Super Gas top five qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Steve Wells 9.918/128.64
  2. Luke Ramage 9.953/141.11
  3. Tim Adam 9.953/143.71
  4. Stuart Doignie 9.997/133.58
  5. Brendan Clancy 10.022/131.64

Super Street Bike top five qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Graham Dance 8.371/173.06
  2. Richard Stubbins 8.579/171.05
  3. Mark Fisher 8.781/171.70
  4. Steve Venables 8.947/182.32
  5. Dave Smith 9.099/153.96

Comp Bike top five qualifiers after session 1:

  1. Klaus Brinkmann 8.014/161.95
  2. TJ O'Brien 8.207/154.80
  3. Phil Leamon 8.390/156.67
  4. Gary Jones 8.518/161.96
  5. Roland Chaplain 8.972/145.63

8:00

Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway for the second day of the SPRC Summernationals. It's a beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky - what a contrast to yesterday! We've got qualifying to complete and then eliminations to run and we'll be bringing you all the latest in association with American Car Imports.

The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is already on-line and is broadcasting a picture every two minutes.

A couple of Good Mornings before we get going; firstly the usual raceday Hello to our US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman who are tuned in from New Hampshire, and hi also to Steve and Jacky Young who we know are tuned in as usual.

The plan for today is to complete yesterday's interrupted first cycle qualifying, then to have another complete cycle of qualifying, and then to go into eliminations by 13:00. This is of course subject to weather and track conditions but everyone is determined to get the job done. The track crew's and race officials' tireless efforts yesterday got a well-deserved big round of applause the racers at last evening's riders and drivers meeting. The racers also deserve praise for their patience and understanding yesterday, with the weather causing frequent stoppages it must have been a very frustrating day for them: Chief Marshal Steve Horn told us yesterday evening that we had had eight and a half hours' downtime due to the weather and about an hour and a half of qualifying. Here's hoping it all comes right today.

Last night's pit walk was not as extensive as we were planning as we stopped for a social visit and then a heavy downpour just about finished the process of pits being buttoned up. But here's what we found out.

Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell was still a little shocked by a 7.3-second pass yesterday which blew away his personal best but which was a little too quick for the 7.5-spec chassis. "We've been going very quick so far this season, so we've been short shifting to try to slow it down but that was frying the transmission", said Mark. "I put a pair of Merlin heads on, they are cast iron and weigh enough to put on half a tenth! We didn't anticipate it making so much power - I thought maybe it might run a 7.49 but never in my wildest creams did I think I would run a thirty! We've changed the blower settings and we think will dial a 7.70, I hope that we get another chance of a qualifier."

Pro Mod racer John Ellis is running in Super Pro ET this weekend and qualified fourth with a 7.413 on a 7.35 dial-in, with the chute out before the finish line. "John put the chute out early just to make sure he could stop", said team member Chris, referring to John's excursion off the end of the the track at the FIA Main Event. "The car has a new undertray, we have gaffa-taped everything else but you can see the big ouch!". Chris saiid that John had no clutch trace on yesterday's pass.

Super Modified racer Steve Rawlings appeared relieved to be taken away from a portable TV showing the football to explain the recent changes to his Toyota. "I've now got a Lenco, and a handbrake to add to the confusion!", he said. "I made a complete run at Shakespeare County with the handbrake on. And I couldn't see the shift light so I've now got a fog lamp!" - and your reporter can confirm that Steve meant the latter literally as a rear fog lamp is now mounted on the dash. Steve broke a driveshaft at the Easter Thunderball and said that he had had a lot of help since. "Jon Webster made a great job of mending it, and Rob and Nick at ICE Automotive sorted out the gearbox", he said. "Keith Pollen and Andy Hone sorted the clutch out, in fact Fred spent a lot of the last race in my pit and then calmly put his firesuit on and went and drove his own car! Andy Robinson also dropped by and gave us some advice."

Custom Car Street Eliminator #1 qualifier Colin Lazenby explained where yesterday's step up in performance originated. "We found a significant fault at the last even at Shakespeare County and we only had the chance to remedy that fault on our only run. This was the first run at Santa Pod with the new combination. I went to the line with the planned set-up and it hooked and went". And hook the Pinnacle-sponsored Chevy did, pulling a sizeable wheelie off the line. "It didn't feel like the front end had come up", said Colin. "The steering never went light, and there wasn't a bump when it came down. The track was decent and could have taken more". Iain Burns, who is spending the weekend with the Pinnacle team after successfully bidding for the privilege in the auction for Sarah Jane Head, was clearly enjoying himself. "It's a real eye opener", he said.

Super Pro ET racer Pat Talbot got a bit of a shock on her qualifier yesterday. "I got wheelspin and tyre shake off the start line", she said, "but then it hooked up and it was going very fast at the finish. I've got a new, bigger parachute and when it opened I decided I ought to have my seatbelts even tighter from now on!".

Stay tuned and as soon as the action gets going we'll bring you all the news.


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