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19:00

We have now posted today's pictures. As with last Saturday's Peak Performance Day we have posted a caption-free gallery although if you place your mouse pointer over certain pictures on the gallery page then a brief description will pop up. To view the pictures, go back to the event index and then click on your Browser's Refresh button before selecting today's pictures.

Tune back in the morning and we'll bring you all the news from day one of qualifying. The track is due to open at 9:30 am.

17:30

We're done for the day here at Santa Pod. Closing the day were Andy Frost with another jump off the line, a pedal and 10.0780/153.07, Christian Jager whose motor cut out off the line, and Steve Saunders who clocked 8.9127/152.56.

We're now working on today's pictures so stay tuned and we'll have those for you soon.

17:10

Next up for the Pros was Martin Bishop on his Pro Stock Bike, the bike didn't sound as if was happy shifting and Martin was off the throttle in the second half, 9.0309/97.70. Kev Slyfield was next out in his Pro Mod, shut off after the burnout for the first time of asking and then tyre spin at the hit on his second go. Dan Larsen pulled a 0.9708 sixty foot time on his last pass but hit shake about sixty feet out and shut off, 9.3852/91.21. Dennis Habermann a late addition to today's participants, 0.9682 to sixty feet then hit shake about 100 feet out and the car turned hard right at about 300 feet and Dennis was off the throttle and was very close to the guardrail, but keptit all together and clocked 7.9623/105.18.

For the Sportsmen Steve Johnson's latest run in his Super Pro ET dragster was 7.3571/183.45. Jon Giles followed with his second pass of the day in his Super Gasser, 9.8729/132.97. Also in Super Gas, Matt Eley pulled a 0.061 sixty foot time but the Risky Trip Pop was moving about his lane some and he got off the throttle, 11.9555/76.33. Finally for this update Steve Saunders clocked 8.8919/152.56 in his Super Pro ET Zephyr and Carl Burton 12.731/107.62 in his Pro ET Sierra.

16:40

There goes Derek Flynn's ponytail after an excellent pass from the Gold RV Top Methanol Dragster. 0.0941 reaction, 0.9972 to sixty feet, 3.7029/21.67 at half track and 5.5814/250.43 at the stripe. And a very happy Go Gold crew!

Talk about consistency from Steve Saunders, 8.903/153.06 from the High Speed Gas Zephyr. Vic Amato clocked 9.818/138.13 on his latest pass and Stuart Morrice 9.7707 which certainly was not at the 180 mph which came up on the console.

16:15

Danny Cockerill again hit shake on his second attempt at a pass in his Pro Mod. This time he carried on to the pits rather than come back. Danny has Carl Speiring with him for the duration, doubtless the team will get on top of the shake in time for Friday's qualifying.

Next up was Paul Ingar Udtian in the Islanders Top Methanol Dragster, 0.9343 to sixty feet, chutes out early which in this headwind would have given Paul Ingar a bit of a jolt, 5.789/236.22. Also for the Islanders Fred Hanssen clocked 8.9363 in the Islanders Super Comp dragster.

Another run and same result for Pro Stock Bike racer Chris Hope, 0.0774 reaction but crossed lanes just after half track.

Jack Brewster ran 8.7079/156.25 in his Super Pro ET Firebird and Steve Johnson 7.3691/182.77 in his Super Pro dragster. Scott Barnes laid down a nice pass for his first full run in Martyn Jones' Super Pro ET dragster, 8.4216/156.24. Also in Super Pro ET, 0.023 reaction and 9.1729/147.08. A nice pass for Heide Page, 12.3164/112.44, and Paul Spiers' latest pass close to Super Street numbers at 10.9797/131.00. Andy Frost had his Vauxhall jump off up all four wheels again, another pedal and then tyres squealing most of the way down the track to a 9.137/176.33.

15:30

The first run of the day for Danny Cockerill in his Pro Mod ended pretty abruptly as the Chevy hit shake about thirty feet out, 0.0705 reaction and 1.0187 to sixty feet. Danny stopped at about half track and reversed all the way back, and is now sat in front of the garage behind Race Control.

Funny Bike racer Christian Jager's second pass of the day was a 7.6346/177.09 with the tyre squealing at each gear change. Andy Frost followed on with a fins 7.8655/186.48 from his Vauxhall and that was with a brief pedal.

Steve Saunders' latest pass was an 8.9153, with another 153.07 mph terminal speed.

As well as Danny Cockerill behind us we have Paul Ingar Udtian's Top Methanol Dragster in the pairing lanes. Stay tuned.

15:00

The latest batch of runs were a race against time as a rather-too-visible rain shower was fast approaching. Top Methanol FC racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Dan Larsen was first up, a nice pass which looked quicker than the time which came up. 1.0225 to sixty feet, a small amount of shake, 4.0639/183.45 at half track and 6.1456/238.58 at the stripe.

Stuart Morrice followed on with a 0.0465 reaction and 9.8277/141.59 in the Morrice Boys Camaro. Tearing around the corner then came Sarah Howells in the Ramraider slingshot, less movement around the lane again and 9.351/138.56. Carl Burton and Charlie Chivers went to match up just as a trackside timing cell went out of alignment so Carl took a 12.8465/106.62 bye then Charlie followed with an 11.1640/122.43.

The news on Martyn Jones' Super Pro ET rail is that is is being driven by crew member Scott Barnes. When Syd told us it was being driven by his crew we assumed Crunch, wrongly. Scott has done a launch and half pass so far, both very competent, the half pass a 10.1329/100.47. Steve Johnson clocked 7.3552/183.44 in his Super Pro ET rail followed by Paul Spiers with a 10.8186/131.77 from his Super Street Camaro. Heide Page was shut off as it started to rain.

The sun is now out and the track has dried so we'll be off again soon, stay tuned.

13:55

A tremendous first pass of the day for Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek Flynn in the Gold RV injected-nitro TMD, 5.6523/245.02, looked from here as if Derek shut off a few feet short of the line. 1.0118 to sixty feet and 3.7493 at a big 210.66 at half track.

Also for the Pros Martin Bishop made his first outing of the day on his Pro Stock Bike, 7.8031/173.69 and a good baseline. Chris Hope's second pass of the day started well but just after half track the Pro Stock Bike headed for the centre line and then crossed it to cries of "Get away from the reflectors!" from Sharon of Santa Pod's timing crew. Germany's Christian Jager made his first pass at Santa Pod on his Funny Bike which is running in UEM Top Fuel Bike this weekend, a good baseline of 7.6297/179.85 which included some shake in the first couple of gears so more to come there.

Andy Frost hit shake and shut off on his latest pass, as did Kev Slyfield.

Fred Hansen is getting even closer to the Super Comp numbers with an 8.9420/130.91 on a 0.0793 reaction time, the car again moving to the right at the top end but not quite so abruptly this time. Steve Saunders again into the eights with his Super Pro ET Zephyr, 8.9147/152.03 on the last pass. Super Street racer Nick Griffin pulled the rare feat of his ET decimal places equalling his race number, 11.404/118.34. Heide Page turned up the wick a bit with a 12.9643/110.21 whilst Carl Burton ran 12.4826. Finally for this update Vic Amato clocked 9.7790/138.12 with his Pro ET Mustang.

We're now on lunch break, stay tuned...and also stay tuned to Eurodragster.com News for a breaking story.

13:00

As seen on today's Eurodragster.com News, Super Pro ET racer Steve Saunders' Zephyr has put in a couple of very good-looking passes, 8.9245/153.06 and 8.911/153.07 - check out the consistency in those terminal speeds. Getting his money's worth again is Fred Hanssen with another couple of passes from the Islanders Super Comp Dragster, 8.8901/129.88 with a hard move to the right at the top end, and 9.0062/128.44 with a brief shut-off for sprinkles of rain just as Fred went to stage.

Vic Amato's second run of the day was good for a 9.8045/138.94 in the Pro ET Mustang, next up was Andy Frost in his Vauxhall which has sprouted wheelie bars. I swear that all four wheels came off at the hit, there was a small bang from the engine at the same time, Andy pedalled and drove through shake, 8.6510/185.72. Heide Page's two latest runs in the Panic Pro ET Firebird were 13.6084/107.89 and 13.4525/101.81. Carl Burton is chasing a misfire in his Sierra and clocked 12.5162/107.15 and then 0.0558 reaction and 12.4842/109.70 on his latest pass.

Next up was Stuart Morrice, again in Super Gas trim, 0.0527 reaction and 9.7311/142.07 at the stripe/ Sarah Howells' second run of the day was a 9.3197/139.41, again taking a slightly long way round but a little more straight than the last run. Steve Johnson lowered today's Low ET still further to 7.3002/185.63 followed by Charlie Chivers with a 0.0952 reaction and 11.2873/119.25. Super Gas racer Jon Giles followed up with his first run of the day, 9.8890/167.35 followed by Super Pro ET racer Jack Brewster with his first outing of the day, 8.9031/153.59. Finally for this update Paul Spiers clocked 0.0748 Rt and 11.1320/130.29 with a big wheelie although the Camaro looked to be crabbing some on the run - maybe the headwind had something to do with that.

11:45

First Pro racer to brave the headwind today was Kev Slyfield in his Willys Pro Mod. Shake at the hit, a pedal and then back on the throttle to about 1000 feet and then shut off, 8.3969/144.82. Chris Hope was next on his Pro Stock Bike, a very nice-looking pass and shut off early but still 7.8667/142.14.

First run of the day for Wild Bunch racer Sarah Howells was a far-from-straight 9.472/136.92 with a nice 0.094 reaction. Paul Spiers' second run of the day in Super Street trim was an 11.1455/131.01. Next up was Stuart Morrice with the Camaro in Super Gas trim, 0.050 reaction and 9.800/142.48 at the stripe. Second run of the day for Heide Page in the Pro ET Firebird was a gentle 14.755/102.51, next up was Fred Hanssen with a 9.0339/128.67 from the Islanders Super Comp dragster.

Another racer in Super Street trim was Ian Brown in the Thatadoo Camaro, 10.9377/117.76 his first pass of the day followed a moment ago by a 10.9719/118.29 in Pro ET trim for all the difference that made on this run! Charlie Chivers was next on his second pass for today, 0.041 reaction and 11.0725/122.44 at the stripe for the Taxi Express. Nick Griffin's second run of the day in his big Super Street Chevelle was 11.0252/106.91 with a 0.0962 reaction. Finally for this update Steve Johnson made his first run of the day in his Super Pro ET dragster, crewed by Martyn Jones whose dragster Crunch is driving today. Steve clocked 7.3162/183.45 for Low ET of the day so far.

Top Methanol Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek Flynn has been down to check out the start line and as I type Pro Mod racer Danny Cockerill and team are giving the track the once-over.

11:15

So far this morning it's been exclusively Sportsman racers which we were expecting. Next to take to the track after Carl Burton was Pro ET racer Charlie Chivers. 0.1643 reaction and 11.4077/119.76 at the stripe. A nice pass for Super Street racer Nick Griffin, 10.9724/106.93 followed a short while ago by a 10.856/120.59. Paul Spiers followed on, just a launch from the Camaro, 0.5384 reaction and hanging on for the green even though he got a Sportsman tree.

Fred Hanssen of the Islanders was next in his Super Comp dragster, 0.0971 reaction and 9.0907/125.94 feathering the throttle. Back to Pro ET next and Vic Amato put in a checkout pass after making changes to the motor, 9.8929/137.66. The Panic Firebird was next around the corner, Dan Page out front so that will have been Heide in the car, a gentle checkout pass of 16.6689/86.31.

Last for this update was Andy Frost in his Vauxhall which is running in Comp Eliminator. Lots of tyre shake and throttle-feathering but still a very fine 8.3630/178.35.

10:15

Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's the Pro Peak Performance Day, the last chance to test before the FIA European Finals, 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 is set to post a picture every sixty seconds. In fact the webcam will now stay on-line twenty four hours a day until the track closes on Sunday evening.

Twenty four racers pre-entered today's event. We are expecting three Pro Mods, two Top Methanol Dragsters, one Top Methanol Funny Car and a bunch of Sportsman racers a lot of whom seem to be Pro ET. In fact the only run we have had so far has been from Carl Burton in his Pro ET Sierra, 0.004 reaction and an easy 12.236/111.88.

Right now it is dry but very windy, a constant 12 mph gusting to 19 mph, although the breeze has the good grace to blow straight up the track rather than a crosswind. Trackside conditions are 14.4 C, 77% humidity and 29.21 inches of air. Track temperature on the start line is 16.0 C.

If this is anything like the May Pro Peak Performance Day it will be a while before we see much track action but stay tuned and we'll bring you the news as the wheels turn.