2005 Easter Thunderball
Sunday (qualifying)
The latest updates are 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
22:00
Today's pictures are now posted, you can view them via the Event Index page.
That's the end of today's coverage, tune back in the morning and we will bring you all the action from elimination day.
19:45
Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Dave Billadeau (10.29) 10.340/131.56, Carl Burton (11.25) 11.260/112.85, John Morris (10.66) 10.817/122.70, Antony Wilkins (11.30) 11.348/111.69, Phil Toppin (11.45) 11.948/114.17, John Atkinson (9.18) 9.487/123.20, Joe Stevens (10.16) 10.204/121.00, Gary Springford (10.45) 10.444/129.31 bye, Keith Herbert (11.44) 11.391/115.73 bye, Mike Lacey (10.50) 10.515/130.08 bye, Jerry Denning (9.83) 9.905/135.51, Lance Richards (11.99) 12.776/108.72
Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners: Holly Mitchell (9.80) 9.959/68.56, Collin Morrice (9.38) 9.517/67.96, Ross Norris (8.80) 8.857/74.02, Nick Mugridge (8.30) 8.388/74.39, Kane Jones (7.90) 8.391/74.27, Jay Hauser (8.52) 8.519/71.40, Jenny Gustafsson (12.85) 12.802/43.81, Anna Stanley (14.30) 14.623/42.13, Tom Watts (10.94) 11.025/57.61, Scott Hauser (7.90) 8.016/81.82 bye
That's the end of today's on-track action. We are now working on today's pictures, stay tuned and we will let you know when those are done.
18:50
Apart from the Pro Fuel Shootout, all qualifying is now finished. We will be having the first rounds of Pro ET and Junior Dragster shortly.
Martin Hill's second run of the day in Fireforce 2 was 5.948/227.44, the afterburner had been calmed down some and Martin backed off it by 1000 feet...after a "little word" from race officials about his previous pass!
18:45
The third session of Sportsman ET was next, and we had some changes in the top five. The final top five in Sportsman ET is as follows:
Next up was the final session of Pro Stock Bike qualifying. Dave Beck took the lead with a storming pass. The final standings in Pro Stock Bike are:
The final session of Comp Bike followed, Gary Jones consolidated his lead and Vaughan Foster and Phil Leamon improved although Vaughan's engine was spitting flame at the top end. The final top five in Comp Bike is as follows:
Next up was the final session of Funny Bike. Dave Holland went even quicker to consolidate his lead. Steve Venables went deeper into the sevens in Super Street Bike trim! Neil Midgley had a nitrous burp and then a fire at about sixty feet, Midgo got it stopped and jumped off as the fire crew came sprinting to his aid. Steve French also had a flash of flame from his bike at about half track but he is A-OK. The final top five in Funny Bike is as follows:
Clayton Round followed up with an out-of-session NFAA pass. It was by no means straight but Clayton clocked a fine 7.233/188.36, well done Clayton!
18:15
Next up was the NFAA, first up Bob Glassup (left lane) and Mickey Moore, both racers pulled 150-foot burnouts. Mickey's engine was really crackling as he backed up, header flames clear in the daylight, then a couple of dry hops up to pre-stage whilst Bob edged forward. Mickey was long gone on the green, a pretty straight run almost to the finish then the car moved to the left and the engine started smoking but still a 7.207/201.01 for another PB speed. Bob's tyres started spinning off the line and he stayed on it to about 200 feet when the car turned hard left and Bob got off it and wrenched it straight, 10.695/129.64. Bob's Topo left a trail of oil from 400 feet to past the finish line and into the shutdown area.
The track crew did an astounding job, cleaning the track very quickly and Clayton Round was next out in the Rebel T altered. A great burnout but then one of Clayton's chute packs opened and he had to shut off, a great shame.
Mickey Moore got Burnout of the Round again this time.
The third qualifying session of Junior Dragster was next. Ross Norris improved his RT in his beaautiful Junior Dragster, a product of Eurodragster.com sponsor Power Race Graphics, but ended up in fifth place. The top five ended up as follows:
Jayne Kay's rear wing collapsed as she left the line, Jayne realised something was wrong and pulled over to the side of the track like a true professional, well done Jayne!
Next up was the third session of Super Gas. Jon Morton had a bit of a time of it as the car got out of shape towards the top end but he kept hold of it with a nice driving job. Tim Adam got back into the top five in this session, after which the final top five in Super Gas is as follows:
17:45
The latest qualifying session of Pro Modified started with a bye run by Roger Johansson. Roger pulled the usual excellent burnout, on the green he had only gone about ten feet when the tyres shook hard enough for us to feel in race control and he got off the throttle, 10.214/97.87. Jörgen Karlsson (left lane) and Danny Cockerill were next, paired up, nice burnouts by both racers. On the green Jörgen got away first 0.242 to 0.321, Danny quickly overhauled him, the car was moving left and right but Danny stayed with it to blast his personal best time and speed out of sight and take the #1 qualifier. Jörgen put in a nice straight run and was 0.612 behind Danny at the stripe, 7.335/196.58.
17:30
Following on from 9.50 Bike was the fourth session of Top Methanol. Dave Wilson (left lane) and Steph Milam were first up, Grumpy pulled a very long burnout which is not surprising in these conditions, it is pretty cold out there. On the green Grumpy went first 0.258 to 1.003, the American Car Imports car went straight and true with vapour streaming from the breathers, a little move at the top end but staying with it to take the lead. Steph in the other lane put down a great first full pass since 2003 and moved up the standings, we believe a PB for Steph at least for speed if not ET, well done Steph!. Next up were Doug Ripley (left lane) and Trev Capewell. Doug pulled a one hundred foot burnout whilst Trevor took it a bit more conservatively. On the green Doug got out the hole first 0.273 to 1.391, he stayed ahead all the way down, backing off just before the finish line and blasting his personal bests out of sight, well done Doug! Trev in the other lane also laid down a fine, straight pass to improve his personal best. Nice one Trev!
The final standings in Top Methanol are as follow:
The third qualifying session of Top Fuel Bike was next, Steves Woollatt (left lane) and Carey paired up again. Steve Woollatt's bike hesitated some during his pass and Steve Carey pulled ahead, then he got off the throttle whilst Steve Wollatt got back on the throttle. Steve C improved his time but stayed #3. Ian King pulled a great burnout but lost a belt when he got off the gas. After this session of Top Fuel Bike, the qualifying standings are as follow:
17:15
Next up was the third session of 9.50 Bike, a big improvement from Paul Coombs sees him into the final top five:
Next up is Top Methanol.
17:10
The third session of Super Street Bike followed on. Jamie Sneddon made it into the sevens and took the lead, then Steve Venables took it back off him with a 7.925 which is backed up by yesterday's pass, and a 193.20 which backs up yesterday's 190.67. Well done Steve and Jamie. Dave Smith moved into the top five which after this final qualifying session is as follows:
It only took us three sessions to notice but Chris Reed is borrowing Mark Pointer's SSB this weekend after blowing up his own SSB's engine last weekend.
16:45
Trackside conditions are 9.3 C, 90% humidity, and 29.71 inches of air, -284 feet altitude.
Nick Curtis temporarily moved into the top five in the third session of Super Street qualifying, Nick was in the other lane when Mark Watkins went slipping and sliding but was luckily ahead when it all kicked off. Nick was then pushed down the standings. Paul Spiers and Leigh Morris also entered the top five which after this final session is as follows:
Elisabeth Bredal made a shot at the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award with a 0.004 RT in this session.
Next up was the third session of Super Pro ET. Vince Gibbs took over the lead a squeak over his dial-in, in his first competitive outing in Ray Eldred's Toyota, well done Vince! Mark Flavell made his first full pass in the MFR dragster and got even closer to his dial-in, moving up the standings, nice one Mark! Barry Giles moved into the final top five which after this final session stands as follows:
15:30
The third round of Street Eliminator qualifying saw Steve Nash, John Sleath and Colin Lazenby improve on yesterday's performances, Colin moving up the standings in this final session:
Next up was the third session of Super Comp, Paul Knight and Shaun Lathan improved their standings whilst Andy Williams smoked the tyres all the way to three hundred feet which is something I've not seen before from a Super Comp car. The final top five is:
Super Street racer Mark Watkins has just done a superb driving job in his Datsun after fluid, we're guessing oil, got under the wheels sending the car all over the place. Mark realised that something was wrong as you could see him gingerly touching the brakes as vapour appeared behind the car, but then the car uncorked and swung left and right, spinning to the right. Nice job Mark.
We're on hold for clean-up, stay tuned.
15:05
Martin Hill just put in a stunning pass in the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car, on the throttle all the way down the track and clocking 5.793 at 336.10 which is the fastest quarter mile terminal speed by a Jet-powered drag racer ON THE PLANET! The previous fastest was 330.90 by US Jet Dragster pilot Bill Mattio. As you will recall Martin recorded 288 mph on a three-quarter pass yesterday, this time he was on the throttle all the way and the timing crew are happy that Martin's speed was correct. Well done Martin!
14:45
Eric Teboul followed the Pro Fuel Shootout with a tremendous 5.993/190.64 on his Rocket Bike. The engine burned very cleanly indeed to just past half track where Eric was clocked at 3.800/211.19. Nice one Eric!
14:40
Pro Fuel Shootout qualifying session two (left lane first):
Andy Carter 7.648/107.41, Jon Webster 4.979/290.81
Andy was away first, 0.091 to 0.148 and first to sixty foot at 0.894 to 0.905 but from then on it was all Jon Webster,
Jon was at half-track at 3.358/239.57 and took a bit of a long way round, the car moving around a little, Jon was
off the throttle just before the finish. Andy pedalled after hitting shake and moving to the left, he got back on
it but his incrementals show that he was off it at half-track. Jon has also set some sort of record for the earliest
four-second pass in a season, as Easter is so early this year. Well done Jon!
Thomas Nataas 5.316/198.22, Gordon Smith 13.753/55.98
Thomas had the dubious honour of being the first person ever to pull a red light in the Pro Fuel Shootout.
Thomas' run was straight and true until the car threw a blower belt at half-track. Gordon left the line with
what looked like the left-hand bank of cylinders out, the unequal header blast pushed the car to the left,
Gordon pedalled and there was a bang and flash of flame.
Lex Joon 8.779/103.96 bye
Lex couldn't get reverse yesterday after adjusting the clutch pedal for his comfort and findint it was
a little too much. No problems this time though, a superb burnout just past sixty feet and then straight back
to the start line where his crew used brushes to clean his slicks. I must say that the car sounds very different
to other Top Fuel cars. On the green Lex went to sixty feet as planned, the car left the line relatively
gently and Lex was off it right on the button at 0.949.
After two rounds, Thomas Nataas has taken over the lead in the Pro Fuel Shootout standings:
13:55
Bernard Newbury took over the lead in VW Pro with an unassailable +0.000 on his dial-in, well done Bernard! We had some other top five changes too, the final top five is:
Session three of VW Sportsman was next up, Paul Herbert moved into second and Chris Bray into fifth. The final top five in VW Sportsman is:
Mark Skeen and Matt Attwood moved up and into the top five of VW Alternate Engine respectively after session three. The final top five is:
Next up is session two of the Pro Fuel Shootout.
13:55
The third Super Modified qualifier followed, the first pairing was dramatic as Craig Gibbs had a nitrous burp off the start then in the right hand lane Andy Hone had fluid under a tyre although he wasn't to know it, one tyre started to smoke, the car turned hard left and then dug in and turned hard right. The car went sideways and up on two wheels heading straight for the guardrail. A great driving job by Fred kept the car off the concrete. Steve Rawlings and Rob Smallworth had a nice match-up, Steve into the top five and Ron clocking 8.519/152.90 which was good for seventh. Andy Kirk put in an 8.635/158.91. After this session the final top five is as follows:
Whilst the clean-up was underway from Andy Hone's wild ride, the victorious World Street Race racers were presented with their team trophy by Matt Wright of Gleeson Wright Security, who were one of the WSR sponsors and are of course a sponsor of Eurodragster.com's Home and News pages. Steve Pateman, Jeff Meads and WSR organiser Andy Frost accepted the trophy, Ian Hook not able to attend but hopefully he heard the cheers and applause from Cheltenham. Well done guys!
13:35
Pro Stock Bike followed with its third session, with a brief stop halfway through for spots of rain. Richard Gipp improved still further to consolidate his #1 spot. After this session of Pro Stock Bike the qualifying standings are:
Next up was the fourth qualifying session for Pro ET, which will commence eliminations later today to get us down to sixteen for tomorrow. Wayne Hiscock took over the lead by one thousandth, and only one thousandth over dial-in, nice one Wayne! Jerry Denning got out of shape and ran along the centreline on his pass, but stays in the final top five:
Paul Venners has kindly brought us some snippets from the VW pits. The big news on the rumour-mill is a three-way deal seeing Lee Darby's Eightrage Funny Car being sold to Jason Aldred. No word yet on what Lee Darby will be doing. 2005 is set to be the year of the turbo with more and more being fitted. Andrew Kelly's Speedster is cracking into the low twelves with no problems apart from slight oil misting for which Andy apologises to the track crew. Johnny Grigg jumped into VW Pro after fitting Nitrous mid-week and having a session on the Race Shack dyno. Johnny Grigg is using a Twisted Sanity nitrous kit and controller and is very happy with them. Richie Webb ran 139 mph in yesterday's last Pro ET session, on the verge of making history with the first nine-second pass by a street-legal VW in Europe. As is traditional rookies are doing well in their first meeting, for example Matt Dolby in the El Mart car, Volkszone fans have been closely watching the build of this car and have been donating parts and advice.
12:55
Trackside conditions are 8.6 C, 94% humidity, 29.71 inches of air pressure, and the great news is that the weather station is showing sunshine and cloud for the next twelve to twenty four hours.
The third qualifying session of Funny Bike followed the NFAA. Neil Midgley pulled a big burnout but then there was a big flash of flame from his bike and Gary of the fire crew sprinted to assist. Steve Venables had another bucking bronco ride including one particularly large wheelie at about 900 feet, I would imagine he is now a male soprano, but he improved his ET. Dave Holland was next up and recorded his first six-second pass on the Titanium International-sponsored machine, taking #1 spot, well done Dave! It was a great-looking run all the way down, his front wheel can't have touched the deck. Stu Chamberlain went into the top five with a much-improved pass whilst Paul Knapp also improved and moved up to third. After this third session of Funny Bike, the top five is as follows:
12:25
The track crew have put in a tremendous effort to get us going. When we were sitting here an hour ago not able to see the finish line gantry for fog we wondered whether anything would happen today, but the track looks just great, and whatever they did to chase away the fog worked! Trackside conditions are 8.1 C, 96% humidty and 29.71 inches of air pressure. Thanks to Dave Bailey's air density calculator we have calculated a density altitude of -432 feet which is spectacular.
The first class to run this morning was Top Methanol with the third session of the weekend. First up were Steph Milam and Doug Ripley, a nice burnout from Doug rolling all the way to 330 feet, Steph took it more conservatively. Doug lined up straddling his burnout tracks and on the green he hit shake and drifted towards the centre line. A brief pedal from Doug and then back on the throttle, 7.352/164.66 and into second place at that point. Steph hit tyre spin at the hit, pedalled and then got back on it, the car started to drift towards the guardrail and she got off the throttle, 9.288/147.10. Next up were Lindsay Deuchar and Rob Turner, the Turner Racing dragster really shook race control during the burnout. On the green Lindsay was away first 0.242 to 0.559, his sixty foot 0.967, then he hit really violent tyre shake - the car went into a blur, the blower belt flew into the air, and that was the end of his run, 16.417/41.39. Rob catapulted off the line, the car moved about the lane but Rob stuck to the track and stayed with it, 5.893/238.34 and straight into #1 spot. After session three the Top Methanol qualifying standings are:
Next was Top Fuel Bike, Steves Carey and Woollatt facing off. A very long burnout from Steve C and the briefest of burnouts from Steve W. On the green Steve Carey was off and running, a nice straight pass with a feather of the throttle at half track and then off it a touch early, 7.687/157.37. Steve Woollatt was off the throttle almost as soon as he hit it, maybe a belt, 28.046/28.69. After this third session of Top Fuel Bike qualifying the standings are:
The third qualifying session of Pro Modified followed. Danny Cockerill and Roger Johansson were first on-track, both pulling burnouts to about 150 feet, Danny's Chevy turning hard left as he got off the throttle. Roger staged first, Danny built up the revs then pulled into stage and as soon as Roger went up on the revs Danny left. It looked like a great run but with the Tree not activated there was no time or speed. Roger went straight and true, slight hesitation off the start line but a nice 6.802/209.23 to take first qualifier. Jörgen Karlsson was next, his licence now signed. A nice burnout, then a straight run although right down the left hand side of his lane, didn't hear many gear changes but 7.090/197.40 looking good for the new boy. After this session of Pro Modified the qualifying standings are:
The NFAA were next out, Clayton Round first up in the Round brothers' beautiful blown-alcohol altered. Clayton had to go home yesterday to get another mag so he and his team must be thoroughly worn out. On the green the altered pulled its wheels up, Clayton pedalled and then got back on it, the car was all over the lane with a particularly scary-looking move at the finish line but Clayton stayed on it and clocked a very nice 7.733/177.86. Bob Glassup and Mickey Moore were next up, alcohol v Fuel, Bob Glassup pulled burnout of the round going to 200 feet or so although Mickey's burnout was no slouch. Mickey's altered was again putting out plenty of bunny ears as he pulled to the line. On the green Bob hit wheelspin and the car turned hard right, meanwhile Mickey was all over his lane but stayed with it and recorded his first 200 mph pass at 7.300/200.05 to Bob's 9.455 at a big 178.53. Word came back from the top end that Bob slid sideways into the field as he turned off the track but he and the car are A-OK. Bob said that he had no chute at the top end, he asked us to say a big Thank You to the top end crew for signalling Mickey to stay out of the way when they realised that he was not going to stop.
8:40
Good morning, a Happy Easter, and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's Easter Sunday, the second day of the Easter Thunderball, and we're 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.
Right now the track crew are outside working hard to dry the track. It rained overnight and is damp this morning. Weather conditions trackside are 7.1 C, 97% humidity, and 29.68 inches of air pressure.
The first of today's Good Mornings is to our good friend and pitside reporter Simon Groves. For those of you who like your daytime pit notes, and we know there are a lot of you out there, Simon will be here tomorrow. Have a good day Simon. Good morning also to Cath and Tig Napier who are hard at work inserting a large piece of metal into their beautiful Dodge but are taking time out to check in. Hope the insertion is going well folks.
Stay tuned and we will be back with you as soon as the on-track action starts. In the meantime we plan to step down to the pits and we will let you know what we find out.