2005 UK National Finals
Saturday (qualifying)
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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 23:55 Today's pictures have now been posted, you can view them from the event index page. Tune back in the morning and we will bring you all the news from tomorrow's Championship-deciding eliminations. 20:55 Martin Hill closed the day with an 8.320/80.06 three-hundred foot squirt in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC. As we lost so much time to the rain earlier, the second qualifying cycle turned out to be the final session so all session two times below are the final standings. Sharkman is now working on today's pictures, stay tuned. 20:45 Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 2:
Ross Norris moved into the top five at third, Milly Bond improved but stayed in fifth until the next run when Peter Waters came in at fourth and bumped her down a place. 20:30 Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 2:
Martin Lewis moved into the top five, in at third at that point, then Dan Page came in at third to bump Martin down a place. 20:25 Super Modified qualifying top five after session 2:
Tim Garlick improved and moved up to second at that point, then Graham Ellis took over first place and bumped him to third. Andy Kirk improved to a Personal Best ET but stayed in place. Rob Millward clocked 8.004 in this session, the car the right side of the weight limit this time. Trackside conditions are 10.9 C, 81% humidity, and 29.65 inches of air. 20:15 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 2:
Belinda Bull moved into fifth, bumping down Chris Isaacs who took second place in the next pairing and bumped Belinda down to sixth. 20:10 Pro Stock Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
Paul Watson took over the lead on his return to PSB, well done Grumpy! Martin Newbury improved his ET but stayed in place. 19:50 Funny Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
No changes to the top five in this session. 19:40 Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
Rich Fielding put in his first run of the day and got into the top five at that point, Champion Gary Jones also put in his first pass of the day and took #1 spot, well done Gary! Then Sandra Chaplain bumped Rich back down to sixth place. 19:35 Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
Ivan Birch improved but stayed in fifth at that point but was then bumped down to sixth by Gary Drury - I said there was more in that bike! 19:30 Super Street qualifying top five after session 2:
Paul Spiers improved but stayed in place and Bob Lees moved up to third, and John Grant moved into fourth in the last pairing. 19:25 Street Eliminator qualifying top five after session 2:
Steve Nash improved slightly to hold on to #1 at that point, but then Andy Frost took #1 spot from him in the next pairing. Ray Comer improved his ET but stayed in place, it looked from here as if he had the brakes on before the finish line. Ian Hook moved up to fourth and Wilf Stacey will not be competing tomorrow after jumping the lights tonight on top of shutting off earlier. Champion Colin Lazenby is also out for the weekend after suffering engine damage in the pits. Colin told us that he had had the Chevy Sedan's engine out. 19:20 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 2:
Graham Allen improved, moving up to second spot at that point. In the next pairing Wayne Hiscock improved, moving up to third and bumping Championship contender Spencer Tramm down to fourth. Jon Evans then moved up to second in what we think is only his second competitive run in the new car, well done Jon! Jon Morton went into fifth in the penultimate pairing, but then Pete Creswell bumped him down to sixth in the last pairing. 19:15 Next after the Supertwins was Gordon Appleton in the Wheelgame Racing Pro Mod. 1.014 to sixty feet and then a pedal for shake, back on the throttle and the car was moving all over the lane and Gordon eventually got off it, 7.125/157.18. 19:10 Supertwin Gas qualifying top five after session 2:
George Laycock moved into the top five at number three. Andy Smith and Ric Naylor improved but stayed where they were. Supertwin Modified qualifying top five after session 2:
John Hackney improved and moved up to second, bumping Chris Mott down to third. Steve Hillary improved but stayed in fifth. Supertwin Street qualifying top five after session 2:
Ian Radanke, Pete Harrison and Neil Dickson all improved but stayed in place. 19:05 9.50 Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
Andy Bird moved into the top five at second, but was then bumped down to third by Richard Sawatzki, and Steve Knapp moved in at fourth. Trackside conditions are 11.9 C, 71% humidity and 29.62 inches of air. 19:00 Wild Bunch qualifying top five after session 2:
Darryl Howells improved but stayed in place whilst Phil Sweeney moved into the top five at third and bumped Darryl down a spot. Tony Smith then moved up to third. 18:50 Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 2:
Nick Spence took over #1 spot in this session. Paul Davis moved up to second in the first pairing, alongside Steve Neimantas who broke out again with a 7.753 on a 7.78 dial-in! Paul's altered arrived at the top end covered in oil so a brief track check ensued. Vince Gibbs improved to fourth and Martyn Jones moved in to the top five at fifth, bumping out Steve Johnson but was then bumped himself by dint of Nick Spence's run. However... Congratulations to Steve Johnson who won the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award with a 0.000 RT in this session. 18:30 Next up after the NFAA was Darryl Bradford in the Wright Racing Top Fuel Dragster, testing a new clutch set-up so this was planned for a half-pass. On the green the car left very lazily, flame started to appear from the back of the engine and then there was a ball of flame, a bang, and the blower belt came off. Darryl rolled through to an 18.196/36.64. 18:20 Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association qualifying after session 2:
Clayton Round took Burnout of the Round this time, three hundred feet with wicked twitch at the end. Clayton and Bob had a great match-up, side-by-side all the way, Bob into #1 spot at that point as both racers improved big time. Wendy appeared to have a slight problem getting into reverse but a stab of the throttle did the trick. Wendy launched in high gear and was on a good one, 1.127 to sixty feet but then judging by the engine note the tyres started to turn, the car suddenly made a violent twitch at half track and Wendy got off the throttle, the engine started to smoke as she got off it and even as I type there is still smoke at the top end. 18:10 Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Steve Carey 7.340/157.94, Roel Koedam 6.334/212.23 A superb run from Roel, 1.080 to sixty feet and 4.181/185.05 at half track with a little hesitation at half-track so there's more to come, Roel crossed lanes just after the finish but he was a fair way in front of Steve whose run this session looked a lot better and down the middle of the lane. Qualifying after this session is as follows:
18:05 MSA Top Methanol qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Rob Turner 5.646/239.46, Steph Milam 8.135/160.26; Trev Capewell 6.711/174.35 bye; Lindsay Deuchar 6.337/227.03, Dave Wilson 5.695/188.37 A nice straight run from Rob Turner took #2 spot, Steph's FC turned right at about sixty feet, she tried to stay with it but got off the throttle at about 300 feet. Trev hit shake and did a great pedalling job just before half track, the car headed for the centre line and Trev pedalled again just to get it straight. Grumpy clocked a great 0.901 sixty foot time and was on a strong run, 3.513/211.31 at half track but then got off the throttle at about 900 feet. Lindsay was left for dead off the start line, 1.118 to sixty feet and there was some vapour from his engine at half track. Qualifying after this session is as follows:
18:00 VW Sportsman qualifying top five after session 2:
Martin Ayton improved to consolidate his #1 spot whilst Mick Geraghty moved into #2 and Aby Tether improved to move up to third. 17:55 VW Alternate Engine qualifying top five after session 1:
Simon Williams moved up to second in this session whilst Matt Attwood broke on the line - I hope that's not a Championship decider. 17:50 VW Pro qualifying top five after session 2:
Martin Charles moved into the top five at second, bumping out Simon Longman who had gone into fifth just before. 17:45 Pro ET qualifying top five after session 2:
We're off again and I think we've seen the last of the rain now, it has cleared right up. Wholesale changes in the rest of the top five - #1 spot being locked in by Anthony Wilkins - as Nick Griffin, Joe Stevens, Keith Herbert and Lee Huxley moved in. Malcolm Motler took a wild ride in his pick-up with a wheelie combined with a hard left turn then the front end just kept bouncing up, and Rick McCann went all over his lane as the Camaro got out of shape. Jack Brewster trailed smoke most of the way down the track, the smoke getting thicker and thicker but nothing found on the track so hopefully no harm done. Trackside conditions are 13.8 C, 62% humidity and 29.62 inches of air. 16:30 Gordon Smith followed Junior Dragster with a 12.200/63.67 test run in the Shockwave Fuel Funny Car. 0.881 to sixty feet then the car made a move towards the centreline and cylinders went out on the left side as Gordon got off the throttle. We've got sprinkles of rain, but it looks clear behind this bank of cloud. Stay tuned. As soon as the rain stops and the track is dried we will be starting qualifying cycle 2 with Pro ET. 16:20 Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 1:
16:15 Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 1:
15:25 Amended Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
TJ O'Brien was given a re-run after clocking 3.608 earlier on, TJ's bike tried to throw him off off the start line but he hung on and got a time on the board. 15:20 Pro Stock Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
Nice runs for our two French visitors Philippe and Eric on their first visits to the UK. 15:20 Funny Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
Neil Midgley's engine popped and there was a flash of flame at about 400 feet. No word yet on what the problem was. 15:15 Super Modified qualifying after session 1:
We've shown the whole field because it's the quickest-ever Super Mod field with five of six in the sevens! Well done guys! A great match-up between Graham and Craig, Graham pulled a huge twisting wheelie but stayed with it whilst Craig got back into the sevens with a nice straight pass. A tremendous run from Rob Millward in Steve Rawlings' Supra, out of shape off the start line but calmly driving through it, and driving through a twitch at 900 feet, into the sevens at 7.953/171.03 - but then the Supra was found to be underweight so the time was disallowed. D'oh! Trackside conditions are 14.5 C and 29.59 inches of air. We will bring you the humidity later on as the sensor has spent a short while laying in a puddle after Martin Hill knocked it over...it's currently reading 98% which isn't right. 15:00 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 1:
This session was bisected by a heavy shower. Pete Creswell took over the lead after the track had been dried. 13:45 Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association qualifying after session 1:
Great burnouts from all three altereds, Burnout of the Session went to Bob but it was a close thing. Bob pulled a huge wheelstand off the line then the Xtreme Topolino went all over the lane. Clayton also went the long way round. Wendy's altered tried to make a hard turn off the line, she pedalled and when she hit the throttle again all four wheels jumped off the track. But it's a Fuel Altered, it's meant to do that! Martin Hill followed the NFAA with a storming 5.884/271.33 in the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car. Trackside conditions are 15.0 C, 65% humidity, and 29.59 inches of air. 13:35 Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
A nice run from Gary Drury for his first competitive SSB outing, 8.857 with more to come since he had to feather the throttle off the line. 13:25 Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Steve Carey 7.594/135.94, Roel Koedam 9.501/86.39 Roel's bike seemed to hesitate a little off the line, he and Steve were side-by-side to about half track where Roel shut off. Steve pulled away but then there was a puff of smoke from his engine and he shut off. From here it looked as if something had come off Steve's bike - had it been a car I'd have said the 'chute was sitting on the wheelie bars, that's what it looked like. Qualifying after this session is as follows:
13:20 Updated MSA Top Methanol qualifying session 1 (left lane first) John Parkinson 11.052/67.37, Lindsay Deuchar 6.111/234.25; Steph Milam 9.325/118.74, Trev Capewell 6.402/221.71; Dave Wilson 5.450/255.63, Rob Turner shut off John very bravely running here after learning of the death earlier this week of former crew member Rick, and dedicating this weekend to his memory. John's engine sounded quite lumpy in the burnout and he was off the throttle shortly after launching on his run. Lindsay put in a hard pass, 1.047 to sixty feet, the car went very close to the centre line at the stripe. Trev appeared round the corner when Steph was already most of the way back from her burnout, the crew carried out the pre-stage routines very quickly. Steph edged into stage and then her FC sounded as if it was labouring some, some shake marks between thirty and seventy feet and Steph was off the throttle by half track. No sign of the shake which has plagued Trev on recent outings, a nice straight pass and chutes out on the stripe. We then had a brief hold for sprinkles of rain at the top end. On the restart Grumpy pulled a two hundred-foot burnout and rolled to the eighth, as both he and Rob passed the start line on their return the sprinkles started again and they were shut off. On the restart another 200 foot burnout from Grumpy, about a hundred feet for Rob. Rob then shut off on the line. On the green Grumpy shot off the line as if fired from a gun, the car really hooked up. 0.922 to sixty feet, 3.558/209.29 to the eighth and the first half of new MSA British Championship ET and speed records, well done Grumpy!. The car was close to the guardrail at the top end. Interesting crew circulation here too, Grumpy had Andy Robinson manning the video whilst Rob had Cliff and Darren Gould, formerly of Doug Ripley's TMFC team, crewing with him. Qualifying after this session is as follows:
12:45 Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
TJ clocked a 3.608 ET on his pass, TJ's good but not that good! Sandra headed for the centre line and then shut off and rolled through, she didn't get an ET as the clocks had timed out. Trackside conditions are 14.5 C, 68% humidity and 29.59 inches of air. 12:35 Super Street qualifying top five after session 1:
12:30 Street Eliminator qualifying top five after session 1:
This was my first look at Jon Webster's MG, a very nice-looking car indeed. No sign of John Sleath or Colin Lazenby in this session. 12:25 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 1:
Stuart Morrice took his first competitive outing alongside Malcolm Francis, both drivers running 9.2s, now Stuart knows how it feels to break out big time! 12:20 Supertwin Gas qualifying top five after session 1:
Supertwin Modified qualifying top five after session 1:
Supertwin Street qualifying top five after session 1:
12:10 9.50 Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
12:05 Wild Bunch qualifying top five after session 1:
11:50 Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 1:
We had a great match-up between Mick Payne and Steve Neimantas, Mick's blown-alcohol Dodge Coronet took the long way round with an ever more out-of-shape pass and he eventually had to get off the throttle as he was facing the 1000 foot reflector, meanwhile in the other lane Steve blew away his personal best with a 7.804 on a 7.90 dial-in, nice one Steve! The two contenders for the Super Pro ET Championship are #1 and #2 after this session 11:40 VW Sportsman qualifying top five after session 1:
11:35 VW Alternate Engine qualifying top five after session 1:
11:30 VW Pro qualifying top five after session 1:
Rob Bowler's Beetle disappeared in a big cloud of smoke at the finish line and some oil was found on the shutdown area. 11:15 Pro ET qualifying top five after session 1:
The shutdown area was quite damp after a deluge late last night but the track crew did their usual bang-up job of drying the track and we're off! Congratulations to Anthony Wilkins who took the Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award with his 11.400 on an 11.40 dial-in. That will be good for #1 spot in Pro ET all day, well done Anthony! Trackside conditions are 14.5 C, 68 % humidity, and 29.56 inches of air. 8:15 Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway on a beautiful crisp autumn morning. There's not a cloud in the sky, it's the culmination of the UK National Championships, and we're here to bring you all the news 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 trackside conditions are 10.3 C, 85% humidity, and 29.56 inches of air and there is a minor right-to-left crosswind. I can see for miles around and it's looking just great, if you're within driving distance then get in your car and get here because this race has the potential to be one of the best Sportsman races ever here at Santa Pod. A couple of Hellos this morning, firstly to our good friend Gittli Koller of Peter Schöfer Racing who is tuned in to keep in touch with her beloved Top Methanol, hope you are having a good day Gittli. Hi to our good buddy and frequent pitside reporter Simon Groves who is tuned in to keep track of the qualifying; Simon will be here tomorrow keeping us up to speed on the UK Championship developments. Hello also to James Hands who is tuned in from Devon. We've got an additional photographer this weekend in the person of Stephen Talbot, Crew Chief of the Talbot Racing Super Pro ET team. This is Stephen's first time trackside and he is very much looking forward to it. Our plan today, as ever, is to keep track of the top fives throughout qualifying and also to bring you interesting facts from each session. Qualifying is scheduled to start at 9:00 with Pro ET, so tune back then and we'll start to bring you all the news. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |