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

20:00

We spoke to Lex earlier and his latest blog entry is posted in the racer blog section.

The two Rune Fjeld Motorsports entries of Thomas Nataas and Siw Nystad will be running tomorrow but they were unable to make the call today. Thomas said "It's practically a new car, with a chassis that we only run once last year at Bahrain and a completely different engine setup that took longer than expected to prepare. We now have a set back blower for the first time and other things that we want to try out before the Main Event". The car has its usual Batmobil logo but is now red, white and blue in colour. Sponsors are www.otg.as.

Thomas added that Janne Ahonen who will be running the whole FIA Championship will be in a third Rune Fjeld car at the Main Event. Janne picked the car up last week newly painted for a big car show in Finland. Janne is a big name in Finland generally with his skiing achievements and so his debut year in Top Fuel competition will be good for drag racing.

Siw Nystad is looking forward greatly to her first run at Santa Pod in Rune's other car. She said of her race in Bahrain, "It was a new experience to learn in Bahrain when there was an explosion (from the burst panel). The car had pulled really well before that happened and after the flash of flame I lifted immediately.

"It's good to get back into the car and I need to get back the feeling of being behind the wheel. We've some new crew members who will be learning this weekend. So far my best has been a 4.96 which was a perfect run in Norway against Micke Kågered. Everything went smoothly and after I passed the finish line I was on my own when I stopped. I was asking the crew "Did I win", but when my father arrived he was shouting "It was a four!" I danced a Sun Dance.

"I need to get used to be prepared to cope with tyre shake, pedalling and this race will be good for that experience before the Championship starts in May."

17:00

Clayton Round was delighted with his new personal best 7.046. "We have done a fair amount of improvement to the engine and have new heads and titanium valve springs to enable it to rev higher, as well as new rods. On the run, we had shake on the launch but after I straightened it the motor pulled like a train. The shift light stayed on so I pedalled it at the top end. So there's definitely a six in the car. The best part is when we stripped the motor down, there was no damage. We had to make the changes because other cars are starting to run quicker. On the first run we broke an input shaft and apologise for oiling the track, as the oil pan didn't seal as it should have." Clayton's crew in the Rebel T team are Jill, brother Chris, Julian and Russ.

Ollie Burn said that the first pass yesterday was a planned half pass, but today's run which started promisingly, became an unplanned half pass when a fuel leak from the right hand side of the engine showered driver Jim Usher in nitro. "There was no tyre shake on the launch but the back of the barrel valve started leaking and he had to shut off. U.S. Fuel Altered and Funny Car driver Dave Banjamin has been over here for both the Peak Performance day last weekend and this meeting and has been working on both the Mob car and John Wright's Chaos. Ollie said "There has been a lot of work and this has been one of the busiest winters on the car I can remember. We've now got 16 nozzles in the manifold (but these go from two to one for each cylinder to be legal for the NFAA), a new fuel pump, oil pump and mag. After the new 190lb/in oil pump we looked at the bearings and they've never lasted this long".

ohn Wright's car should have had a brand new billet block, but it failed to arrive in time so U.S. Nostalgia Top Fuel racer Jim 'Holy Smokes' Murphy came to Lawrie Gatehouse's aid by stripping down his spare motor and shipping the block over to the Chaos team.

Dave 'Nasty' Benjamin (who completely belies his nickname), has been racing Fuel Altereds and Nitro Funny Cars in North America since 1972. Among his achievements are holding the all-time Fuel Altered ET record at 5.61 for seven years, from 1993 to 2000 until Ron Fassl broke it. He is also the second quickest Nostalgia Fuel Altered in the U.S. at 6.143/232 (Dave Hough in Nanook has run a 6.138). This is his first visit to Europe. "I'm amazed", he said, "Santa Pod is a fabulous track, better than most of the tracks we run at, with the paved pit areas and very smooth surface. The safety crew is as good as the NHRA's. The Nostalgia altereds here are a great group and there is a superb turnout.

"I've been working to get the Mob and Chaos more consistently quick and fast without breakage and for one of them to win this weekend", he said. Dave's business carries out CNC machining and supplies slider clutches, belt drive pullies, billet fuel pumps and barrel valves. These parts are all in evidence on the Chaos car and are state of the art, being SFI Approved.

The final parts for Chaos arrived on Thursday before the event, having been ordered only two days earlier when it was discovered they were needed. Lawrie thanks Gary Burgin for his help.

Dave's US Career has covered Funny Cars as well as Fuel Altereds. He drove John Lindsay and Phil Miller's 'Impulse' car for seven years until 2006, when his nephew Tom Padilla licensed and took over the controls. Tom is licensing for Fuel Altereds too and will be racing at Seattle on 28 April and at the Fuel Altered Nationals in Tucson in June.

Frank Mason is running Super Comp for the first time as well as Super Gas, thanks to a new 470ci motor running on methanol. "We've been struggling to get the car started and Maureen put petrol in the carburettor when, unseen, there was a methanol fire. The result was slight burns to her right hand. The new engine produced nice power on the dyno but the fuel system goes too lean off the startline. We will move the fuel tank to the front of the car to improve this."

Steve Venables said he is delighted with his new record of 7.533. "The bike has run a 7.26 in the U.S. and went 7.49 in testing here. We've made very few changes to the setup and the only difference is that I am 50lb heavier than Barry Henson and this has affected the handling. It's smoother and easier to ride than my old Kawasaki. Graham Balchin is helping as we run as a team and my wife Jo also helps."

16:00

Bert Englefield (Pro Mod) said that the car shook the tyres off the line and cracked an axle flange - this can be welded up at the track and the team will be running in the next round of qualifying later today. No changes were made over the winter, except for freshening the motor internals. The car also has the same crew as 2006, with Andy Wright as crew chief, Wayne Whitfield, Jonathan Wright and Andrew Wright. Thanks also go to crew member Peter Dunn whose wife has recently had a baby and cannot attend, but has worked on the car during the off-season. Bert is grateful to Lucas Oil for their financial support.

Robert Joosten (Pro Mod) said that his first run was a planned half pass and the next will be a full one. "During the winter we sent the engine back to Jim Oddy for a new injection system, blower and heads to bring the motor up to the very latest spec. The mods on the Kobelco blower themselves took 2-3 days", he said. "Jim Oddy recently sold his shop to Billy Leverentz his foreman and he is hoping to come to the UK later this season. I was really pleased with the outcome of last year - we ran a best of 6.46 at a new Dutch Pro Mod record of 219mph and won at Hockenheim with a 6.47. We are looking at running the whole of the UK championship".

Gordon Appleton said that a lot of work was needed and the car was only just ready. "The problem was the wheel centre coming out of a wheel that was 12 years old. The car went into the wall and needed one or two new chassis rails, a complete front end, both doors and a new rear quarter. There is also a new rear wing designed by Adrian Spencer with less downforce for more speed at the top end and it is our objective to run 230mph this year." The bodywork was done by Russell. One moment of jocularity occured when a dead mouse was found that had prevented the fan from operating. Gordon was happy with the practice launch and said "We know what we have to do". This is Gordon's farewell year and the intention is to prove the car in order to sell it. The year will include the trip to Sweden and Norway.

New to Pro Mod is former Pro ET racer Kev Slyfield. He has owned the steel Willys sedan for three years and spent the last two building it. "The car was built by Andy Robinson Racecars", said Kev, "and the motor was built by I.C.E. Automotive". The engine is a Keith Black with Kobelco blower and Brad Andersen heads. The distinctive red paint was applied by LS Designs in Wareham. On the first half pass there were some problems on the launch with the torque converter on the car's Bruno Lenco trans. "We had to go home to repoair some bearings and ended up machining the parts at 4am", he said. The crew are Brian Nick and Matt and financial support is from Kev's own business, MD Tooling, which does precision engineering and prototype CNC machining. Kev told us that his old Plymouth Belvedere was sold to a racer from Germany.

Jerry Clayton of Andy Robinson's team said that the team will need to adjust the car to suit the track conditions after a wild run on a 1.0 60ft time. "Dave Wilson proved that you can get down the track and the air is good. The groove is very narrow but it will come round over the weekend," he said. The air represented an adjusted altitude of 177ft at the time of the run. Crewman Luke Robinson is, as ever, having a busy weekend as he is crewing for Colin Lazenby as well as for Andy.

Derek Flynn of Eurodragster.com sponsor Gold RV Racing said his licensing launch went well on the Top Methanol Dragster. "The next pass will be a half pass and launch. I will get to change gears on the track for the first time then as my old cars had Powerflides and this has an air-shifted Bruno Lenco. Derek asked us to thank Autotel Radios on his behalf. "They have been very useful this weekend", he said.

Dave Milam said that Steph's 7.193/207.25 pass in the Methanol FC was a checkout run. "We have a new Crower clutch and reworked blower this year and needed to try this out, which worked fine. The only problem was that the car tore the centre out of a clutch plate which is unheard of - we will replace that and run in the next session. The PSI blower has now reverted to the 116% overdrive which was as two years ago, and has been re-certified. Whilst the rest of the car is the same as when we ran at the National Finals, we had a new blower hat and fuel system at that race and came home without being able to fully test it," he added.

Good Morning, and welcome to Saturday's Pit Notes. We started by walking through the bike pits.

First-time visitors to Santa Pod and having a great time is Dutch 9.50 Bike competitor Francil Zimmerman, with crewman Michael Payne. Francil has drag raced competitively for two years and runs a Honda Fireblade with a nitrous-assisted Blackbird motor with Fllodlight carb and Dyna 4000SP ignition. His best at Drachten was a 10.009, but wheelspin has held him back to 12/13 second times so far. He said "We changed the gearing by taking a sprocket off and shortening the chain, softening the front shock. We've a new setup with longer frame this year, as we used to wheelie a lot. We love Santa Pod!"

Julian "Fast Harry" Harris ran a personal best of 9.2 at the rwyb last Sunday and a 9.6 in the first qualifier, later breaking out. He said he had made changes to the gearing and clutch overnight to improve, but they may have been a change too far.

Pitting with Harry is Jason Macan, whose first racing meeting this is but is running competitive times in 9.50 bike already. He said "I have run a motorcycle tuning, service and spares business in Leamington Spa for the last three years, JM Motorcycles, and have spent many years building this bike as time allowed. I went to Paul 'Grumpy' Watson's Drag Race School and then got more involved with him and crewed on his European tour in 2006, learning about the setting up of clutch and suspension for drag racing. The 1340cc motor on the Bandit is competitive without nitrous and the only thing I need is more consistency in my riding.

Team Breakout are missing two of their riders but the pit is still busy. Last year's 9.50 Bike Champion Andy Bird is missing with a new job taking much of his weekend time and the team's flagship Geoff Conner is also unable to attend due to work commitments. If you are tuning in, guys, you are missed.

Shaun Spiers is keeping the Team Breakout flag flying with his stock Hayabusa, which is road legal and has a Power Commander 2 ECU as his only main modification. "The stock clutch is still in it and I even shift by looking at the rev counter", he said. Shaun's best is a 9.462/148.92 and the bike is fully taxed and road-legal.

Chris Jones will be bringing out a Hayabusa later in the year, but is here with his 'old' Yamaha R11, on which he broke out with a 9.34. "This bike has all the bells and whistles", said Chris. "It has a high compression engine with gas and is air shifted". Third team Breakout member Eddie Smiley has had a good weekend on his GSXR 1100 but has also had clutch problems with the bike going skywards. "He's up there with the aeroplanes", commented Chris.

Fred Furlong is 7th with his first 9.5 since last year's Main Event. "It's a really competitive field with nine in the 9.5s after three sessions. Carl Atkinson has an advantage with a swing arm front setup and is right on the numbers."

Dave Warren had a busy day assisting Terry Grant with his stunt show and riding his 'Shy-Tot' 9.50 bike. He said "We ran a best of 9.6 last Sunday and a 9.7 here, and need a better 60ft time to get competitive".

Dave Smith was no.1 qualifier in Super Street bike yesterday. He said "I rebuilt the bike over the winter and installed an new air shifter which has helped the times greatly. The bike is a Hayabusa with a standard frame and turbo. We're running a turbo with a fairly low boost of 24lbs. The front forks are GSXR with offset clamps. My previous best was a 7.70 at the Straightliners SPR meeting early last year, so a 7.59 is tremendous. I've run in Super Street since 1991 and run a business carrying out diagnostics on cars and bikes. The bike has had a lot of investment but it is all British-built. This year Super Street is going to be very competitive and no-one will have an easy run at the championship."

Graham Balchin is returning to competition on Steve Venable's Kawasaki, the first Super Street bike to run a seven. He said "I have been crewing for Steve for the last four years so I know the bike well. I raced for ten years in Super Street bike from the late eighties, but the changes to modern technology have been massive. We've software controllers, fuel injection, data logging, and more sophisticated suspension and clutches. The bike jas a turbo and I'm really pleased to be no.3 qualifier at our first outing. I'm just trying to learn how to ride it consistently. I know what to do to improve but need more seat time".

Dave Hall is running in 9.50 bike with a best this weekend of 9.85/146 (his pb is 9.52/152) on his GSXR He said "It's about the only bike in 9.50 with a stock wheelbase. The motor is a 1216cc with nitrous, and so far this weekend, it's been a joyride and I've been skywards like the stunt plane." Those who followed the sport in the 1980s may remember Dave's Modified ET entry, a Pontiac Firebird called Indian Uprising. "I've owned the car for 25 years and have been updating it to run in Pro ET. It's now got a 560ci engine with nitrous from Peter Knight. When I last raced it it ran a 10.6 and I still drove it to the track".

Jamie Sneddon, 2006 Super Street Bike champion said "It was a good day and I am pleased the bike ran straight. I hope to improve today and we have been adjusting the clutch to get more power down. We're running the same motor as last year with a new boost controller and map sensor. Mark Fisher helps on the engine rebuilding and Julie is crew chief. I think that the top five in the championship this year will probably be similar to last year but at this stage, everyone has the opportunity to win". Jamie runs an industrial roofing contracting company, JBS, that also does cladding and portakabins. Some of his cladding work can be seen on the startline tower and VIP suites.

Shaun Branch has fitted a new Procharger centrifugal blower on the Suzuki engine in his Funny Bike. "We had some manifold issues last Sunday and will be running a restrictor plate "to keep the motor together". The blower, which is also lighter than the previous one, will be running at 22lb boost but this can be increased to 40lb. The bike, built by Shaun's father Dave, is otherwise unchanged from last year.

Len Paget said "The first run yesterday was a shakedown and on the second I shifted at 11,000 revs and had some tyre shake but still ran a 7.57. I am looking forward to hiring a new major sponsor after my long-time supporter Rob Wilsheer has sold his business to Crescent Suzuki. The new body on the bike is a GSXR1000 K7 which was developed with the help of Rob from the new K7 bike and then finished by myself. It is unique and the bike handles well with it. We've also worked on the clutch over the winter. The ACU Pro Stock Bike Championship is the best in Europe and here, the track is prepped really well for the weather conditions".

On the car front, Pete Smith has unfortunately had to withdraw from Street Eliminator for this event as the harmonic balancer came off and broke the Woodruff key. With the removal of the crank and recutting parts needed, repairs at the track are not feasible. Pete said "My thanks go to Chris, my crew chief and Mark, my 'crew chef'.