2005 FIA Main Event
Sunday (qualifying/Sportsman eliminations)
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21:15
Today's pictures are now available, you can view them via the Event Index page. Simon has got plenty of pit notes from his latest walk around this evening but we will post those as tomorrow's first pit update.
Join us at 8:30 tomorrow and we'll bring you all the news from eliminations day of the FIA Main Event.
17:55
John Spuffard followed Pro Mod with a checkout run in the Showtime Fuel FC, a nice burnout and then same result as earlier, up in smoke off the line, cruising through to a 16.800/50.90.
Next up was a Junior Dragster re-run between Collin Morrice and Sarah Romahn, Collin taking the win for the second time of asking too, 9.508/65.32 on a 9.48 dial-in.
Martin Hill closed out the day for us with a spectacular 5.923/274.67 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC, backing off at about 1100 feet.
Stay tuned as Sharkman is working on today's pictures.
17:45
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified qualifying session 4 (left lane first): Jörgen Karlsson 7.095/201.89 bye, Rolf Amman 7.154/207.43, Peter Wacker 7.025/193.87, John Ellis 7.250/187.62, Danny Cockerill 6.808/208.45, Norbert Kuno 8.317/115.13, Freddy Fagerström 7.547/148.49, Henri Joosten 15.811/52.21, Gordon Appleton 9.697/93.14, Håkan Fallström 6.490/214.31, Andy Robinson 6.394/217.29, Micke Gullquist 6.349/219.61, Roger Johansson 6.381/217.24, Patrick Wikström no time, Mats Eriksson 15.210/65.41
Jörgen moved up a few places with what looked like a relatively gentle pass, maybe a checkout after engine problems earlier. "Rolf is staged pointing at me", Sharkman said on the radio before Rolf and Peter matched up, Shark being at 300 feet. Sure enough Rolf headed for the left-hand guardrail shaking all the while, he calmly pedalled and straightened the car out then got back on it. John improved on his earlier ET whilst Danny drove through shake to about 200 feet and then was off and running. Great burnouts by Norbert and Freddy, Freddy must be European speed record holder for backing up from burnouts, then there was a looong burndown with the revs going higher and higher, Norbert gave in first and then hit bad shake, the car making violent moves left and right and Norbrt got off the throttle, Freddy also hit shake and backed off. Gordon's Camaro turned hard left and missed the centre line by about an inch, Gordon straightened it out but then didn't get back on it, Henri cruised up the track. Håkan got away first, 0.208 to 0.540, but Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy just drove past him and into the 6.3s, driving through shake which turned the Stude body into a blur, another PB and into second place at that point, well done Andy! How do you follow that? Side-by-side 6.3s from Micke and Roger, that's how, and into second and third respectively. Finally Patrick was bulbed after Mats had been in stage for a considerable time with the revs up, Mats hit instant shake and backed off. Patrick launched anyway but then hit shake and headed for the left guardrail.
Final qualifying is as follows:
Tomorrow it's Mats v John, Micke v Ian, Roger v Rolf, Andy v Jörgen, Patrick v Peter, Håkan v Norbert, Gordon v Danny, and Freddy v Henri.
17:20
FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 4 (left lane first): Timo Habermann 6.233/210.27 bye, Rob Turner 5.574/247.45 bye, Dave Wilson 6.819/126.68, Peter Schöfer 5.574/253.93
A great run for Timo, blowing away his personal bests, well done Timo! Similarly to his previous runs the car was swaying left and right some but Timo stayed with it. A nice run from Rob Turner, another 5.5, the car ran left of centre but Rob stayed with it and then the blower belt came off right on the finish line. Dave and Peter went head-to-head again but this one was all Peter as Dave was on a half-pass checkout, Peter ran his best ET so far this weekend but stayed in fourth.
Final qualifying is as follows:
Tomorrow it's a bye for Grumpy, Rob v Timo, and Krister v Peter.
17:10
FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 4 (left lane first): Gary Page 5.693/163.60, Chris Andrews 7.389/101.82, Micke Kågered 7.227/141.81, Andy Carter 5.004/295.74, Jöran Persåker did not start, Lex Joon 4.920/281.39, Tommy Möller 4.917/308.28 bye
Chris pulled an eighty foot burnout before his match-up with Gary, Gary taking it easier, the black CBD car's one-piece body looing very tidy. One of the headers on Chris' right bank was putting out a lot of smoke but no-one was concerned so I guess that was routine. On the green Chris was away first, Gary had the better sixty foot time at 0.854, Chris' tyres shook at about seventy feet then went up in smoke, the car disappeared for a moment into the smoke and when the smoke cleared Chris was off the throttle. Meanwhile Gary was on a good-looking pass but also hit shake, Gary pedalled as the car started making violent moves left and right, Gary did a great job of keeping it in his lane and he put the chutes out before the finish line. There was a long trail of oil down Gary's lane from half-track, I'm guessing that his dragster was moving around in that oil. As mentioned earlier Andy's 5.4 run of this morning was disqualified, so going into this session his 6.209 from yesterday stood as his qualifying time. But no such worries after his pass, a very strong run placing Andy in second for B&Q, whilst Micke left the line strongly but then his tyres shook. Realising the gravity of his qualifying situation Micke tried to pedal, there was a flash of flame from one header and then Micke got off the throttle, squeaking into the field at that point. There was a problem with Jöran's starter motor so Lex took a bye whilst Jöran towed back to the pits and to a spectator's seat tomorrow together with Chris. Lex did a great pedalling job, slapping the throttle at about 200 feet, the car shook again and Lex pedalled again, the car headed for the centre line but Lex held on to it, 3.312/249.66 at half track, the car started to head for the centre line but Lex stayed with it, then there were sparks from the engine and finally a ball of green-tinged flame just before the finish line but Lex still ran a four and went into second spot. Their qualifying situation safe, Jon and the Canto Consultancy crew then headed back to the pits so Tommy took a bye to close the session. And what a pass it was, another great pedalling job this time by Tommy as the car hit shake at about 100 feet, 3.361/254.36 at half track and the car just kept on accelerating. Tommy is on the first half of a European speed record, well done Tommy!
Final qualifying is as follows:
Tomorrow it's Thomas v Micke, Tommy v Smax, Lex v Gary, and Andy v Jon.
16:15
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 4 (left lane first): Steph Milam 7.509/171.82 bye, Jurgen Nagel 6.556/221.80, Martin Lundqvist 8.820/104.63, Niclas Andersson 5.965/239.44, Ulf Leanders left before lights ran, Trev Capewell 6.005/236.88, Arvid Grødem 6.063/226.27, Dan Larsen 5.997/224.60 bye, Urs Erbacher 7.482/130.78, Leif Andréasson 5.928/243.31
Steph staged straddling her tyre tracks then hit shake off the line, pedalled, then a chute came out, Steph stayed on the throttle but then backed out towards the top end. Martin made his first appearance of the weekend having been held up by missing pushrods, a nice looking run to about 500 feet then Martin got off the throttle - he doesn't make tomorrow's eliminations about he will doubtless be pleased to get in a run. A huge shock as Ulf Leanders DNQed, the car again rolling through stage, the IronCad team will all be spectating tomorrow. Niclas Andersson improved big time to take third place at that point with a very nice-looking run. A superb match-up then between Trev and Arvid, you could tell that Trev was on a good one, hardly a hint of shake and blowing away his PB again, again setting a new best for a British TMFC racer, and moving up the qualifying list, well done Trev! Arvid was also on a great run, straight and no shake at all but then right on the finish line the Mustang disappeared in a cloud of smoke and word came back from the top end that there was oil in his lane, all the way down the shutdown area. Dan drove through very slight shake and was on a good one. 0.982 to sixty feet, but he got off the throttle and put the chutes out well before the traps. Jörgen Johnsson started up to run alongside Dan but then shut off and towed back to the pits. Leif had pulled his burnout and was reversing before Urs appeared round the corner but Urs pulled a brief burnout and was back and ready at the same time as Leif. Urs hit shake and got off the throttle whilst Leif put in a sold, straight pass to move up a spot.
Final qualifying is as follows:
Tomorrow it's Urs v Jurgen, Dan v Jörgen, Leif v Arvid and Niclas v Trev.
Trackside conditions at the end of this session were 16.6 C, 47% humidity, and 30.12 inches of air.
15:30
FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 4 (left lane first): Ulf Jonsson 7.043/195.89, Rickard Sunblöm 7.268/190.69, Jackie Hansen 7.156/194.61, Michael Malmgren 6.984/197.54, Jimmy Ålund 9.081/94.52, Magnus Hansson 6.987/196.21
Improvements from both Ulf and Rickard, and a new PB for Rickard, but both stay where they were on the list. Michael Malmgren back into the sixes whilst what looked like a wheelie bar wheel came off Jackie's Cavalier. Another six for Magnus Hansson, took the long way round off the start line, whilst Jimmy backed off at about 300 feet, sounded from here as if a gear didn't select.
Final qualifying is as follows:
Tomorrow it's Jimmy v Rickard, Magnus v Ulf, and Michael v Jackie.
15:20
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 4 (left lane first): Sandra Chaplain 9.147/153.86 bye, Eric Teboul shut off, Steve Carey 7.178/186.02, Tim Blakemore 13.534/54.67, Shaun Branch shut off, Gary Jones 7.604/174.27, Neil Midgley 6.764/194.80, Dave Holland 7.484/168.57, Steve Woollatt 13.147/62.85, Ian King 6.353/205.47
One of this weekend's shock DNQs as Eric Teboul shut off his TFB on the way back from the burnout. Sandra recorded a big speed on her run but DNQs. Steve Carey vaulted his way into the field with a very squirrelly pass whilst at the same time bumping Tim Blakemore who was off the throttle not long after launching and rolled to a halt in the shutdown area. Shaun Branch shut off before he moved into pre-stage but was safely in the top eight anyway, Gary took the bye and recorded a PB, well done Gary! Midgo improved still further but stayed in fourth, whilst Dave also improved and moved up a place. Ian's tyre didn't light on the burnout, but it didn't hurt as he consolidated his #1 spot with another PB, well done Ian. Steve was off the throttle at about 130 feet.
Final qualifying is as follows:
Tomorrow it's Ian v Shaun, Roel v Gary, Steve W v Dave, and Neil v Steve C.
14:50
FIM/UEM Supertwin qualifying session 4 (left lane first): Thomas Sulek 9.033/144.33, Gunther Sohn 13.323/67.98, Joachim Riemer 8.317/125.64, Svein Gottenberg shut off, Hans Olav Olstad 7.253/197.57, Svein Olav Rolfstad 6.682/210.42, Ton Pels 6.800/200.97, Ronny Aasen 7.362/198.24
Gunther got off the throttle then back on it, but then shut off early and doesn't make tomorrow's eliminations. Svein shut off after his burnout, Joachim headed for the centre line and had to feather the throttle, eventually getting off the power altogether. A huge improvement for Svein Olav put him in the number one spot, a personal best too, well done Svein Olav! An improvement for Ton leapfrogged him over Ronny whose rear tyre shook and then there was a puff of smoke from his engine at the top end. There was a cleanup in Ronny's lane after he ran.
Final qualifying is as follows:
Tomorrow it's Svein Olav v Thomas, Ton v Joachim, Ronny v Hans Christian, and Svein v Hans Olav
14:45
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 4 (left lane first): Roger Pettersson 7.351/182.05, Anders Abrahamsson 7.412/176.59, Martin Bishop 7.660/169.21, Richard Gipp 7.880/167.29, Len Paget 8.127/155.78, Ray Debben 7.979/168.39, Martin Newbury shut off on line
Roger went into the 7.3s and took number one spot alongside Anders A, who improved but took #2 spot at that point. An improvement from Martin B but he stayed in place. Consistent passes from Len and Ray, Ray improving his PB further, well done Ray! Martin Newbury shut off before staging.
Final qualifying is as follows:
Tomorrow it's Roger v Len, Anders A v Ray, Anders L v Richard, and Martin B v Chris although we understand that Anders L has broken which could let Martin N back in.
14:25
9.50 Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Andy Burfitt 10.016/116.27, Andy Bird 9.568/142.39 bye, Geoff Connor 9.520/140.70, Steve Knapp 9.686/129.71, Richard Hann 9.651/142.35, Martin Walker 9.738/142.05, Paul Hambidge 10.338/111.32, Fred Furlong 9.658/118.68
Super Comp eliminations round 1 winners: Paul Knight 8.892/149.48, Malcolm Francis 8.906/123.98, Brian Pateman 8.900/147.09, Chris Johnson 8.965/144.67, Andy Williams 8.509/158.47, Zane Llewellyn 9.512/105.60, Robert Joosten 8.827/162.52 bye, Phil Bennett 9.386/135.11 bye
Well done to Brian Pateman on his 8.900. Paul Wright clocked a huge but not unexpected 7.838/173.67 breakout in his Alcopop Outlaw Anglia!
Super Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: Gary Malin (7.59) 7.629/174.67, Steve Johnson (7.30) 7.353/168.56, Rich Gilbertson (8.35) 8.444/136.30, Vince Gibs (8.78) 8.809/148.94, Craig Owen (7.57) 7.504/173.87
After round five of Competition Eliminator qualifying the standings are as follow:
Super Gas eliminations round 2 winners: Frank Mason 9.858/139.22, Bob Doyle 10.645/105.16, Tony Morris 10.012/132.67, Spencer Tramm 9.890/117.17, Mark Ramplee 9.880/143.21 bye, Jon Morton 9.895/141.62 bye
Sportsman ET eliminations round 1 winners: Dave Nelson (14.45) 14.566/91.68, Jon Turner (12.59) 12.743/97.14, Nick Gay (13.30) 13.327/99.57 bye, Rick Denny (13.16) 13.258/100.04, Martin Lews (15.45) 15.474/84.93, Nathan Hulkes (18.500 19.975/47.98, John Parker (14.10) 14.009/98.29 bye
Junior Dragster eliminations round 2 winners: Peter Walters (8.00) 8.876/73.16 bye, Dan Giles (14.60) 14.566/40.90, Holly Mitchell (9.45) 9.473/69.66, Collin Morrice (9.48) 9.508/65.32 after re-run, Milly Bond (13.98) 14.104/43.76, Jay Hauser (7.90) 7.937/75.00
13:35
The final top five qualifiers in Sportsman ET are:
Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners: Sarah Romahn (10.40) 10.254/61.81, Milly Bond (14.15) 14.023/44.68, Dan Giles (14.80) 14.654/40.43, Ross Norris (8.65) 8.768/74.14, Jay Hauser (7.90) 8.012/69.67, Collin Morrice (9.54) 9.823/51.49, Holly Mitchell (9.44) 9.471/69.44, Peter Walters (8.75) 8.784/73.27, Lottie Watts (13.10) 13.434/43.59, Nick Mugridge (7.90) 8.235/79.67, Scott Hauser (7.99) 8.204/78.68
Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: Aidan Kenny (11.36) 11.356/112.77, Nicky Frost (10.20) 10.185/121.23, Lee Huxley (10.65) 10.528/125.77, Kev Slyfield (11.52) 11.582/115.37, Chris Isaacs (9.63) 9.711/126.79, Clive Cox (10.31) 10.310/130.48, Chris Hodgkins (10.90) 11.010/116.84 bye, John Morris (10.90) 10.954/120.61
Super Street eliminations round 1 winners: Elisabeth Bredal 10.830/113.62 bye, Dave Cherrett 10.987/96.34, Mike Bentley 10.847/141.91 bye, John Grant 10.925/131.55 bye, Paul Spiers 10.988/120.97, Leigh Morris 11.036/102.28, Brian Huxley 10.874/96.99 bye, Kev Slyfield 10.886/122.57 bye
12:50
Fuel Funny Car match race 2: John Spuffard 12.492/75.36 def. Gordon Smith 23.708/30.42
Both cars' tyres went up in smoke at the hit, both disappeared in the smoke, we heard Spuff try to hit it again but I guess the tyres lit a second time and Spuff got off it, both cars rolled down the track.
Martin Hill followed up the Fuel Funny Cars with a tremendous 5.932/254.24 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC, backing off at about 1000 feet.
12:45
FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 3 part two (left lane first): Thomas Nataas 4.874/296.12, Smax Smith 16.519/44.07
Thomas and Smax returned for their round three match-up which was curtailed by a Tree button failure. Thomas stormed down the track, a light haze appeared from the engine towards the top end and Thomas was off the throttle a little early. Smax looked to hit shake off the line and shut off immediately.
Andy Carter has had this morning's pass disqualified and has been fined on a disciplinary issue, so his 6.2 of yesterday is reinstated.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:40
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Gordon Appleton 6.549/213.54, John Ellis 7.325/192.18, Mats Eriksson 7.003/213.02, Jörgen Karlsson 11.638/71.52, Ian Bishop shut off after burnout, Henri Joosten 6.834/204.54 bye, Peter Wacker no time, Micke Gullquist 14.783/88.92, Danny Cockerill 6.711/209.25, Rolf Ammann 6.778/215.35, Freddy Fagerström 6.899/198.99, Håkan Fallström 6.447/214.37, Andy Robinson 6.531/220.70, Norbert Kuno 6.845/211.25, Roger Johansson 12.404/69.12, Patrick Wikström 6.417/222.87
John's first appearance of the weekend signalled by the usual long burnout. Gordon drove through shake and was left and right all down his lane, but he blasted his personal best out of sight and moved right up the ladder, well done Gordon! A solid pass from John gave him a baseline for today's second session. Mats and Jörgen hit tyre shake simultaneously and both headed for the centre line - each car must have loomed large in the side window of the other as they both got off the throttle at more or less the same time. Jörgen gave it up but Mats got back on it. Ian shut off before staging, Henri pedalled briefly off the line but stayed with it all the way. Peter left before the lights ran, Micke waited for the green but hit bad shake, the car turning hard right, Micke hung onto it and tried pedalling but the Chevy wasn't having any of it. Nice passes for Danny and Rolf although Rolf appeared to roll through stage and then the lights came on again so he either staged on his nose to begin with or he staged on his headers - word came through on the officials' radio that Rolf's ET will not count although the speed was of course genuine. Freddy hit shake off the line, pedalled and then his right-side door came open although it stayed attached, in the other lane Håkan blasted his personal best and moved into fourth, well done Håkan! Andy and Norbert had a great match-up, a huge speed for Andy, Norbert's car weaved left and right a little which will have affected the ET
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
Trackside conditions are 16.9 C, 48% humidity, 30.12 inches of air.
12:20
FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Timo Habermann 7.859/139.32 bye, Krister Johansson 5.537/244.73, Rob Turner 5.518/253.93, Peter Schöfer 5.598/252.73, Dave Wilson 5.491/252.85
Timo had cylinders out all the way down and the engine sounded as if it was misfiring, Timo got off the throttle at about 1100 feet. Another very gentle burnout from Krister, it didn't harm yesterday and it didn't today at 0.942 to sixty feet, 3.624/213.43 at half track, and new personal bests by a long way, well done Krister! Rob stepped up too with a clean and straight pass to take number two spot at that point. Peter and Dave had another of their classic matches, Peter away first 0.105 to 0.237 and taking the stripe by 0.024, improving his ET but not changing his place in the ladder, yet another 5.4 for Grumpy - where does he get them all from?
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:10
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Dan Larsen 5.874/240.28 bye, Urs Erbacher 5.696/249.95 bye, Jörgen Johnsson 6.130/215.61, Steph Milam 6.424/238.09, Ulf Leanders 6.705/235.62, Jurgen Nagel 6.301/214.59, Arvid Grødem 6.511/170.50, Niclas Andersson 6.224/226.30, Leif Andréasson 5.981/243.71, Trev Capewell 9.716/109.95
A return to form for Dan, looked slightly gentle off the line, but then quickly picked up, getting close to the centre line at the top end but leaving the reflectors in place this time. An excellent pass from Urs - clean as you like, no shake, and two thousandths off the European record to consolidate his first place at that point. Jörgen appeared around the corner after Steph had pulled her burnout, he backed up quickly, Jörgen pulled a 0.224 red light but got himself into the eight-car field whilst Steph left relatively gently with a 1.273 sixty foot (compared with Urs 0.999 and Dan 1.000) but then whacked her personal best speed out of sight for the second time this weekend, and improved the fastest terminal speed by a female UK racer, well done Steph! Ulf clocked a time after a frustrating day yesterday getting the IronCad car ready and then suffering the attention of a much tighter clutch than previously, he left early again with a 0.344 red and hit shake, you could see the car jumping around as Ulf pedalled. A big improvement for Jurgen in the other lane, having found something in the clutch. Arvid got the jump on Niclas 0.098 to 0.137, a much straighter run for Arvid this time with good incrementals, but then the blower belt appeared from the car at about 900 feet. There was a puff of smoke from Niclas' car at about 300 feet, I'm guessing Niclas pedalled at that point since the speed looks very good for the ET. Leif made a very consistent pass, remaining in third, whilst Trev's tyres went up in smoke not far off the line and it was a long while before he gave it up.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:45
FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Tommy Möller 5.071/218.52, Micke Kågered shut off on line, Lex Joon 5.550/172.98, Jöran Persåker 11.945/68.37, Thomas Nataas shut off, Smax Smith shut off, Andy Carter 5.489/290.31, Jon Webster 5.090/254.35
Lots of consternation around Micke's car after the burnout, the crew clustering around the front of the engine and then as Micke pulled forward Ian Marshall noticed a leak and signalled Micke to shut off as he was in pre-stage. Tommy was on a good one, 0.874 to sixty feet, but then there was a huge cloud of smoke from the car at 900 or so feet, and then another cloud of smoke as the chutes deployed, but Tommy moved into #1 spot at that point. Andy Marrs tells us that Tommy's run projected to a 4.90. Micke had a word with Ian after he got out of the car, obviously we couldn't tell what it was, but Micke was not happy. Lex, with new front end courtesy of Santa Pod's show dragster and Webster Race Engineering in the small hours of this morning (see pit notes for details), was on a flyer, a tremendous 0.849 to sixty feet and 3.263/235.34 at half-track, but then the car drifted to the left guardrail and Lex had to get off the throttle, moving up the field in the process. Jöran's tyres went up in smoke off the line. Smax rolled almost to half track after his burnout, the Bulldog Bash team performing the backup tasks very quickly so as not to keep Thomas waiting, both pulled into stage and then the lights didn't run - Ian Marshall signalled to the Tower that he had pressed the button and nothing had happened. Thomas and Smax both shut off and will be back later on, if they wish, after the cars have been refuelled and the clutches cooled down. Jon's crew has grown by one with the addition of Street Eliminator racer Andy Frost who gave us a wave from the bleach box. On the green Andy was away first but his tyres started to chatter at about 120 feet, Andy pedalled and shot down the track after Jon - as the huge terminal speed for the ET shows. Jon meanwhile was on a flyer, 3.399/237.63 at half-track, but then the car started to move around at the top end and Jon got off the throttle just before the stripe.
After this session, qualifying provisionally stands as follows (pending Thomas' and Smax's return):
11:25
FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Rickard Sundblöm shut off on line, Jimmy Ålund 6.913/199.86, Magnus Hansson 6.941/197.17, Ulf Jonsson 7.605/186.97, Michael Malmgren 7.039/196.77, Jackie Hansen 7.022/196.44
Jimmy took a bye and improved his #1 spot at that point with a nice straight pass, Rickard was shut off for a fluid leak. Magnus into the sixes but it looked to me as if there is a lot more in that car, whilst Ulf hit bad shake, the car moving left and right and leaving caterpillar tracks although the tyres then picked up and he shot down the track after Magnus. Michael improved but was bumped down to fourth by Jackie with a personal best, well done Jackie!
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:15
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Tim Blakemore 7.989/150.95, Chris Tombleson 10.266/90.51, Nils Ole Lund 8.462/164.04, Steve Woollatt 6.574/211.18, Eric Teboul broke off line, Shaun Branch broke off line, Steve Carey 8.117/173.67, Gary Jones 7.877/175.69, Ian King 6.451/198.50, Sandra Chaplain 11.625/133.61, Dave Holland 7.673/154.09, Neil Midgley 6.900/195.82
Tim and Chris made it down the track for the first time this weekend, Chris' bike did its best to throw him off at about 330 feet and he had a misfire, but Chris hung on and recorded a time. Steve W waited for the lights to run today after merciless ribbing from his team last night, improving with a tremendous straight pass and staying in second, whilst Nils Ole got a time on the board and will doubtless improve this afternoon. Whether we see Roel Koedam again today is a moot point as he has broken a piston and his unique replacements are not immediately available. Eric's bike spat unburnt fuel from its exhaust whilst Shaun appeared to blow a burst plate, Eric has one session left to get into the field. Steve C had to back off for a moment as his bike headed for the centre line and the bike was fishtailing towards the top end, but Steve got into the eight-bike field with his run, Gary Jones in the other lane improved still further to move well into the field. Ian King took over #1 spot with a superb, straight run, a PB, well done Ian! Sandra crept off the line again and didn't improve any. Improvements from both Dave and Neil, Dave moved into the field whilst Midgo stayed where he was.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:00
FIM/UEM Supertwin qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Svein Olav Rolfstad 7.075/182.23, Thomas Sulek shut down on line, Gunther Sohn broke, Hans Christian Nilsen 7.825/171.87, Ronny Aasen 6.809/193.12, Hans Olav Olstad 7.210/202.88, Svein Gottenberg 7.195/192.27, Ton Pels 6.906/200.79
Svein Olav improved his ET but stayed in #2 spot at that point, Thomas in the other lane was shut down by Ian Marshall as he was in pre-stage. Gunther lost a belt at about fifty feet whilst Hans Christian improved and moved up the standings. It's getting tight for Gunther - he only has one session left to get into the field. Ronny and Hans Olav both improved, Ronny taking over #1 spot at that point with a tremendous straight pass and Hans Olav moving up a place. Ton was next into the sixes and Svein improved his ET to move up a spot.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
10:45
Trackside conditions at the start of the Pro cycle were 14.9 C, 60% humidity, and 30.12 inches of air.
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Richard Gipp 7.869/164.80, Martin Newbury 8.278/159.48, Luigi Chinarello 22.784/39.16, Len Paget 8.124/156.73, Ray Debben 7.999/164.36, Martin Bishop 7.743/170.21, Anders Abrahamsson 7.498/175.90 bye, Roger Pettersson shut off before burnout.
Richard and Martin N both improved, Richard moved up the standings. A nice run from Len Paget, improvement in ET but stays where he was, Luigi got to the top of second gear this time before shutting off. Martin B moved up the standings whilst Ray set a new PB, well done Ray! Anders A consolidated his lead with another PB, well done Anders!
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
10:30
9.50 Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Martin Walker 9.846/143.23, Pete Bellenie 8.915/165.99, Paul Coombs 10.564/92.58, Dave Bailey 10.180/140.14 bye, Paul Hambidge 9.590/137.09, Steve Wood 9.503/120.97, Ed Smiley 10017/133.98, Steve Coombs 9.913/124.70, Geoff Connor 9.637/135.54, Andy Bird 10.008/122.25, Richard Hann 10.141/131.21, Andy Burfitt 9.639/140.68, Fred Furlong 9.591/127.17, Steve Knapp 9.809/136.38 bye, Carl Atkinson 10.302/138.91, Richard Sawatzki 9.806/136.34
Dave Smith took biggest breakout of eliminations with an 8.109/177.12 on his Super Street Bike.
Super Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Ian Tubb (7.58) 7,552/176.49, Jon Everitt (7.99) 8.253/168.56, Pat Talbot (7.00) 7.089/186.69, Mick Kemp (8.30) 8.268/149.06 bye, Vince Gibbs (8.74) 8.775/150.56, Rich Gilbertson (8.35) 9.187/108.16, Craig Owen (7.50) 7.571/177.78 bye, Steve Johnson (7.35) 7.304/178.49, Gary Malin (7.63) 7.592/172.46 bye, Martyn Jones (7.85) 7.758/172.63 bye
The good news is that Ashley Bell was released from Lister Hospital yesterday after being treated for second-degree burns to his face and neck, he is expected at the track today as he is "bored" at home according to his close friend and Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Matthew Wright. Ian Hook ran what we are sure is a PB of 8.575/164.29 in his street-legal '34 Ford, well done Fatty!
Super Gas eliminations round 1 winners: Pete Creswell 11.084/104.38, Spencer Tramm 9.841/120.02, Mark Ramplee 9.855/142.35, Jon Morton 9.870/140.22, Tim Adam 9.784/138.47, Al O'Connor 9.913/128.55, Conrad Stanley 9.863/133.88, Frank Mason 9.817/139.37 bye, Ron Haffenden 12.415/84.91 bye, Bob Doyle 10.439/131.99, Tony Morris 9.827/141.90
After round four of Competition Eliminator qualifying the standings are as follow:
9:55
Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Kev Slyfield (11.59) 11.550/115.46, Lee Huxley (10.65) 10.768/108.70, John Morris (10.75) 10.981/120.94, Keith Herbert (11.40) 11.370/115.44, Nicky Frost (10.26) 10.764/95.73, John Atkinson (9.20) 9.243/127.46, Carl Burton (11.27) 11.271/114.25, Carla Pittau (10.35) 10.362/127.25, Chris Hodgkins (11.06) 11.035/104.15, Chris Isaacs (9.65) 9.752/128.86, Dave Ward (9.60) 9.522/134.70, Aidan Kenny (11.33) 11.364/116.55 bye, Ron Bartlett (9.60) 9.607/138.50 bye, Terri Lee (10.49) 10.584/126.13 bye, Clive Cox (10.25) 10.378/113.37
The final top five qualifiers in Super Street are:
The final top five qualifiers in Super Comp are:
8:45
Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway for Eurodragster.com's coverage of day three of the FIA Main Event in association with American Car Imports.
The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and is broadcasting a picture every two minutes.
The weather is very similar to yesterday, bright and sunny, BUT! The headwind has dropped right off. We now have a gentle breeze blowing up the track instead of yesterday's gale which was clocked at more than forty miles per hour at one point.
A few more Hellos this morning, firstly to our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson of the European Pro Mod Association who is tuned in from Sweden, hope you are enjoying the coverage and that "password" you need is View Source, buddy (grin). A big hello also to Gerd Caspari who has been in touch from Germany; Monique Pels who was relying on her mother Marianne for results until she realised that Eurodragster.com is quicker than a mobile phone; Kenneth Hellén who is tuned in from Sweden; and Jon Crawford whom we are apparently keeping sane.
Right now it's 13.0 C, 73% and the air pressure has increased to 30.12 inches.
Simon is on his way to the pits for today's first batch of pit notes, and we are all set for the first round of Pro ET eliminations which commences at 9:00. Today's Pro qualifying sessions start at 10:30 and 14:30. So stay tuned and as soon as the track opens we will bring you all the news.