2008 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 23:10 We have now posted today's pictures in a caption-free gallery although, as usual when we do this, we have posted more than the usual thirty pictures, and we have mouse-over captions for some shots - just place your mouse pointer over the thumbnails. To see today's pictures, go to the Event Index page and then click on your Browser's Refresh button to be sure of picking up the updated link. Tune back in the morning and we'll bring you all the news from eliminations. 20:40 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 2:
Good to see Frank Meason back on track after his Vette dropped pieces of metal on the track last session. Mike Bentley into the top five at #4 in the last but one pairing. Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 2:
Dan Devlin into the top five at #5 in the first pairing of the session only to be bumped down in the next pair as Lawrie took over #5. Geoff Cowley improved but stayed in #2 spot. The changes kept coming as Steve Gilmour came back into the top five at #4, then one pairing later Ralph Young came in at #3. Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 2:
Matthew Seamarks into #1 spot in the first pairing of the session. That's qualifying all done, we start eliminations at 9:00 tomorrow. We'll be publishing a caption-free gallery or we may as well not bother going to bed. Dinner first, so tune back in an hour and a half or so and we'll have the pictures for you. In the meantime Simon has posted some more pit notes which you can check out from the Event Index page. 20:20 Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
Nick Daniels, Paul Wing and Stu Crane turned out for this session but none recorded a time. Wild Bunch qualifying top five after session 1:
Terry Clifford into #4 in the last pairing of the session. Super Street qualifying top five after session 2:
Mark Watkins took over the lead in the second pairing of the session. In the next pairing Leigh Morris came in at #2 only to be bumped down to #3 by Martyn Sanger two pairings later. 20:10 Funny Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
An improvement for Midgo but he stayed in #5 spot at that point. Pro Stock Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
Only Jerry Collier turned out for this session, no changes to the top five. Trackside conditions are 13.3 C, 72% humidity and 30.03 inches of air, track temperature is 9.9 C and it looks from here as if the track is holding up pretty well. 20:00 Supertwin Gas qualifying top five after session 2:
An improvement for Piet consolidated his #1 spot at that point. Good to see Chris Mott back on track after the bike fell over earlier, into #3 spot with his first run of the weekend. Supertwin Fuel qualifying after session 2:
Only Wendy turned out for this session and into #3 spot with her first run of the weekend. 19:35 Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association session 2 (left lane first): Joe Bond 7.0624/196.28 bye, Paul Wratten 7.2195/185.83, Nick Davies 7.4000/201.40, Tony Betts 7.2658/153.58, Frank Bennett 9.4064/90.78 A PB for Joe Bond, by a long way, well done Joe! 1.0359 to sixty feet and 4.5274/152.56 at half track, a brief pedal and the car was all over its lane so there is more to come from the Topolino yet. A great match-up between Paul Wratten and Nick Davies, 1.0348 to sixty feet for Paul to Nick's 1.1473 then both cars started to move about their lanes, with the Championship at stake both stayed with in true Fuel Altered fashion, 4,5934/150.51 at half track for Paul to Nick's 4.8704/148.52, Dennis getting there first by 0.1002. Word came back from the top end that Nick Davies had gone off the end of the track and into the field. Nick is just fine as is the car. On the restart 1.0220 to sixty feet for Frank to Tony's 1.1121, 4.4713/144.68 at half track for Tony to Frank's 4.9667/115.00, Frank was off the throttle by that point and Tony stayed with it a little longer, his quickest run so far in the new chassis. No nitro flames from Tony's altered which was interesting. Martin Hill followed the NFAA with a 6.1112/263.38 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC. 19:15 Top Methanol qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Danny Bellio 6.7591/242.70, Steph Milam 7.5273/163.02 Danny lit the tyres off the line, pedalled and got back on it. Steph also hit shake and was on and off the throttle. We'll get back to you with incrementals as the console cleared almost immediately after the run. Qualifying standings after this session:
19:10 Nitro Fuel Shootout qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Risto Poutiainen 5.9561/175.70, John Spuffard 6.1495/223.16, Thomas Nataas 13.1316/62.53 bye, Gary Page 7.6676/120.72, Barry Sheavills 5.8976/168.99 0.0630 RT for Spuff with his 0.40 head start. 0.8776 sixty foot for Risto, 0.9514 for Spuff, a long pedal for Spuff as he hit shake then he got back on the pedal and off he went, 4.2110/197.61 at half track. Risto hit shake about sixty feet out and pedalled, 3.6577/195.31 at half track and then off the throttle at about 900 feet. No Linda this session as the zing in the burnout last time caused a lot of damage, alas another 32-second penalty. 0.9253 sixty foot time for Thomas but then he hit appalling shake which we felt up here in Race Control and he got off the throttle. 0.8554 to sixty feet for Barry, 3.5577/220.78 at half track and then off the pedal, Gary's launch looked relatively gentle and so it was at 1.0481, a pedal for shake, 4.2988/149.94 at half track and already off the gas at that point. Qualifying after this session:
18:55 MSA Pro Modified qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Graham Ellis 8.3720/124.76, Wayne Nicholson 7.2245/191.43, Bert Englefield 7.5097/202.49, Kev Slyfield 7.3061/169.69 A scary run, to watch at least for Graham Ellis, the tyres shaking and the car skating and making moves towards the guardrail, Graham pulled it back and the car started drifting again and from here it looked like the Bird just tagged the rail but maybe it was just a fag-paper job. A new PB for Wayne Nicholson, 1.0801 to sixty feet and 4.6590/153.06 to half track, staying in #3 spot. Another hairy pairing with Bert Englefield and Kev Slyfield, Bert having to pedal for shake and then getting back on it in the second half, Kev was on a great-looking run with his Willys, 1.0880 to sixty feet but the car was making hard moves left and right, 4.4138/149.38 at half track, and got very close to the guardrail by the finish line - a half mile pass, good for a move up to fourth spot. Qualifying standings after this session:
18:50 Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Steve Carey no time (bye), Rene van den Berg 6.5971/206.26 bye, Steve Woollatt 6.5374/195.49, Ian Turburville 7.6267/196.93 1.1729 to sixty feet for Steve C and then the bike crossed lanes, right to left this time. A superb run for Rene, 1.0826 to sixty feet and 4.2798/171.04 at half track, another Personal Best and consolidating #2 spot at that point, well done Rene! Nice passes for Steve W and Turbo. 1.1324 to sixty feet for Steve to Turbo's 1.3219, 4.2572/177.02 at half track for Steve and 5.0771/149.563 for Turbo, Steve off the throttle a touch early and then all the attention to Turbo's lane as Mister Spokehead disappeared into a cloud of smoke. The track was checked and found to be OK, the bike pronounced clean, so hopefully no damage. Qualifying standings after this session:
Trackside conditions are 15.1 C, 65% humidity and 30.00 inches of air, track temperature is 12.8 C. 18:40 VW Alternate Engine qualifying top five after session 2:
Ian Huggan into the top five at #5 in the first pairing, Mark Skeen improved but stayed in place. Next pairing and Scotty Evison improved but he too stayed in place. In the last pairing Spencer Tramm took over the lead so that's a Super Pro and VW Alternate Engine double for the Corrado, well done to the Quantum Leap team! Supertwin ET qualifying top five after session 2:
Joe Elliott into the top five in the third pairing of the session, #4 at that point. In the next pairing Mike Nelthorpe came into the top five at #5. Next up is the next Pro session including round 2 of the Nitro Fuel Shootout. 18:30 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 2:
Dave Catton improved to consolidate his #1 spot, in the other lane Dave Day improved by a second and a half and his 9.7007 was still good for #5 at that point with a number still broken out. Improvements for Brian Pateman and Paul Letchford moved Brian into the top five and moved Paul up to #3. B&H Automotive Street Eliminator qualifying top five after session 2:
Jeff Meads into #1 spot in the first pairing of the session. In the next pairing Mark Perkins came into the top five at #5 at that point. That lasted one pairing as Ian Hook came back into the top five at #4. An improvement for Colin Lazenby but he stayed in #2 spot - I'll tell you something, though: that run sounded effortless in the extreme so one suspects that there is a lot more left in the Chevy Hemi. Next pairing and Steve Pateman took over the lead, half a second on the rest of the field. Next up was Steve Nash and the Cougar sounded a lot healthier this time around. A good-looking run and good for #4 and shut off early - checking out or sandbagging? 18:15 9.50 Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
Richard Beck going after today's breakout record with a 9.1673 in the first pairing. Two pairings later Richard Sawatzki consolidated his #1 spot at that point with an improvement. No changes to the top five though. 18:05 Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
In the first pairing Steve Venables improved but stayed in #2 spot. Next pairing and Richard Stubbins took over the lead. Three pairings later Mark Watkins came into the top five at #4 at that point, but probably not at the 264.88 terminal speed displayed! A big improvement for Scott Baldwin and got to be approaching a PB to come back into the top five at #4, well done Scott! Track temperature is 14.1 C. 18:00 VW Pro qualifying after session 2:
Improvements for all in this session, Russ Fellows and Richard Merriman swapping #3 and #4 spots. VW Sportsman qualifying top five after session 1:
Craig Allen into the lead in the first pairing and Polly Naylor, Martin Ayton and Adrian Wigley also into the top five. 17:50 Super Modified qualifying top five after session 2:
A great run from Tim Mugridge to take over #1 spot and the first half of a Super Modified speed record, well done Tim! In the other lane Martin Curbishley improved but stayed in place. 17:40 Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 2:
What a great session this was! Steve Johnson made a move up into #2 spot in the first pairing in the session. In the other lane a great run for Andy Frost, a PB of 7.4517/197.65 for the Vauxhall Victor, a breakout but no-one's going to care about that, well done Frosty! In this session we got our first look at Rick Garrett's Dodge Dart, a very nice piece of kit. Two pairings later Chris Isaacs went into #1 in Spencer Tramm's Corrado and John Bradshaw took back #2 spot with another PB, well done John! Next pairing and Martyn Jones came into the top five at #3. Dave Hughes put in a nice 8.9153 full pass in his ex-Super Mod Oldsmobile, Adrian Spencer overseeing Dave's operation this weekend and Danny Cockerill on the start line watching this run. Three pairings later Barry Giles came into the top five at #4. In the final run of the session Nick Good came back into the top five at #4. Trackside conditions are 17.1 C, 57% humidity and 30.03 inches of air, track temperature is 18.0 C. 17:10 Pro ET qualifying top five after session 2 (revised):
Carla Pittau improved her ET big time in the first pairing but the time didn't come up in the standings as the timing system was incorrectly set. In the third pairing Lee Huxley moved up to #3 spot but then was knocked down a spot as John Atkinson took over the lead in the next pairing. In the last but three pairing of the session Ian Brown came into the top five at #4. The timing crew then put in Carla's run and that moved her up to #5. The top thirteen qualifiers are separated by 0.0982 seconds. 16:55 MSA Pro Modified qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Kev Slyfield 9.3791/110.93, Graham Ellis 6.7680/213.67, Wayne Nicholson 7.3056/188.94, Roger Moore 7.6128/119.22, -0.0006 RT for Graham, almost won himself a lot of money there but for a minus sign. 1.1650 to sixty feet for Graham and 1.1273 for Kev, Kev hit shake and the big Willys went out of shape and up on two wheels (the left wheels) and he shut off. 4.4777/167.20 to half track for Graham with wisps of vapour coming from under the car all the waty down but into #1 spot at that point. An improvement for Wayne with a 1.0843 sixty foot but he stayed in place. Qualifying standings after this session:
16:50 Top Methanol qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Steph Milam no time, Danny Bellio 8.1846/103.03, Derek Flynn 5.4722/246.50 bye Steph left before the lights ran so no time. Looked like a pretty good pass too. 1.0051 to sixty feet for Danny, shake from about fifty feet to 330 feet and Danny kept his foot in, then his FC made a hard left turn at about 500 feet and he got off the throttle and wrenched it straight. Derek's first run without Larry and Jim here, the car sounded just great in the burnout and even better on the run, 0.9515 to sixty feet and 3.6018/164.72 at half track - not sure about that half track speed, you'd have expected at least 40 mph more. Looked like cylinders out in the second half but the first half of a class ET record and a PB to boot, well done Derek! Qualifying standings after this session:
16:40 Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Ian Turburville 7.8901/163.59, Steve Woollatt 6.5595/198.73, Steve Carey no time, Rene van den Berg no time Steve W into #1 spot with a great pass, 1.1440 to sixty feet and 4.2909/175.39 at the eighth, shut off a little early. In the other lane Turbo got to sixty feet in 1.3349 and the eighth in 5.0219/151.52 but was headed for the centre line in the second half and feathered the throttle at the top end. High drama in the second pairing as Steve C's bike crossed lanes right in front of Rene, Rene was doing 154.10 at half track. It looked very close indeed from here, trackside spotter Bob said about six feet, but Rene had it covered and even had time to let go of one handlebar and shake his fist. Qualifying standings after this session:
16:25 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 1:
Trackside conditions are 18.8 C, 50% humidity and 30.06 inches of air, track temperature is 22.1 C. Next up are Top Fuel Bike, Top Methanol and Pro Mod. 16:15 Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 1:
Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 1:
16:00 Wild Bunch qualifying top five after session 1:
Super Street qualifying top five after session 1:
15:45 Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
We think a PB for Phil Crossley, well done Phil! 15:40 Funny Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
Neil Midgley is retiring at the end of this season and he will be Crew Chief for Chris Hannam's Supertwin in 2009, for more check out Simon's pit notes. Pro Stock Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
15:30 Supertwin Gas qualifying top five after session 1:
Dave Jones one thousandth off the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award with a -0.001 RT. A whoopsie for Chris Mott after his V-Rod slid out from under him during the burnout, from where I was sat the bike appeared from under Race Control sliding on its side and then Chris came walking into view. Chris is quite OK and the bike looks good from here. Supertwin Fuel qualifying after session 1:
15:15 Supertwin ET qualifying top five after session 1:
15:15 VW Alternate Engine qualifying top five after session 1:
15:05 B&H Automotive Street Eliminator qualifying top five after session 1:
A great first outing for Colin Lazenby with his new motor, a Chevy Hemi about which you will be able to read more in Simon's pit notes. 14:55 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 1:
14:35 9.50 Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
Trackside conditions are 19.8 C, 56% humidity and 30,12 inches of air, track temperature is 22.9 C. 14:25 Martin Hill followed the NFAA with a 6.1882/257.39 in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC. Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
14:05 Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association session 1 (left lane first): Paul Wratten shut off, Joe Bond 9.6311/75.19 bye, Frank Bennett shut off, Nick Davies shut off, Frank Bettett 7.6149/133.58, Paul Wratten 9.3617/91.70, Tony Betts 8.3478/106.17 Paul and Dennis Wratten's crew done up in dinner jackets, white shirts and bow ties for reasons we will have to get Simon to ascertain. A great burnout by Paul or Dennis or both but then shut off and pushed back. Joe took the bye, 1.0481 to sixty feet and then the Topolino drifted right, Joe stayed on the throttle and pulled it straight but then the car drifted to the right again and started to get a bit close to the wall so Joe shut off. Burnout of the year for Nick Davies, boiling them to 300 feet, but then pulled over to the side of the track at about 1200 feet and shut off. Oil was found in Nick's lane so Frank was shut off. On the restart Frank and Paul paired up, whatever ailed the Wrattens' car sorted. Frank away fist 0.1554 to 0.2795, the better sixty foot time 1.0048 to 1.0090, Frank pedalling for shake and then a puff of smoke at half track, maybe a blower belt? Paul shut off before half track, a good-looking pass to about 400 feet, nothing visibly wrong. Tony's first run at Santa Pod in this car, a gentle launch and then the altered started to move to the right, looked pretty determined to visit the guardrail so Tony shut off and then there was a cloud of smoke from the motor. The track was checked and nothing untoward found. 13:25 Nitro Fuel Shootout qualifying session 1 (left lane first): John Spuffard 13.7039/65.35 DQ, Gary Page 8.2929/105.37, Thomas Nataas 5.2271/280.57, Risto Poutiainen 7.5496/122.44, Barry Sheavills 7.8083/100.58 bye, Linda Thun Tønseth no time bye A few problems getting the body down on Gary's FC but sorted after an anxious few seconds. Spuff's team again pushing Showtime to the bleach box, Spuff told us this is deliberate and to save the clutch. 0.9587 to sixty feet for Spuff to Gary's 1.0004, Spuff's rear tyres up in smoke, Spuff pedalled and the blower burst plate blew and the relief panel came up which can't have been too helpful given how small Spuff's windscreen is anyway. The FC turned hard right blackstriping and then Spuff got off the throttle, yanked the car left as it hit the 330 foot reflector and up on one wheel, then clipped the left guardrail just as Spuff got it straight. Gary's FC had a cylinder out off the line and the car drifted to the right, Gary off the throttle by half track. Three attempts to fire Thomas' FC whilst Risto and Rune waited looking as if they had all the time in the world. The how's this for irony, Risto's motor fired for a moment and stopped. Thomas was back from his burnout and body up by the time Risto pulled forward, Chief Starter Ian Marshall signalled Risto to pull a short burnout and even showed him where to get off the throttle. 0.9486 to sixty feet for Thomas, 0.8595 for Risto, 3.5581/232.67 at half track for Thomas and straight as you like - you would not believe that was about his forth run in the car, well done Thomas! Shake for Risto and then the tyres up in smoke at 330 feet, the dragster drifted left and then turned hard right, 3.8145/186.18 at half track and off the throttle at about 800 feet. A familiarisation pass for Barry, a gentle 0.9775 sixty foot time and cylinders went out, at least two cylinders were out when Barry got off the throttle at about 400 feet. Linda's engine zinged and the blower burst panel blew in the burnout, sounded as if the throttle stop wasn't attached although I did see it on the side of the injector with my own eyes so I guess a problem with it. Qualifying after this session:
12:55 MSA Pro Modified qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Roger Moore 6.8512/205.38, Wayne Nicholson 7.3221/190.38, Graham Ellis 7.2806/203.46, Kev Slyfield shut off, Bert Englefield 7.7785/204.40 bye Excellent passes to open the session. 1.1146 to sixty feet for Roger, 4.4233/163.60 at half track. Straight as you like and a new PB by a country mile, into #1 spot at that point, well done Roger! 1.1449 to sixty feet for Wayne and 4.7358/124.14 at half track, a PB or close to it, well done Wayne! Kev lost his blower belt after his burnout and was pushed back so Graham took the bye. 1.0476 to sixty feet and then hitting shake at about 150 feet. A pedal and then back on the throttle and into #2 spot at that point. Bert hit shake about forty feet out, 1.1991 to sixty feet, a long pedal after the Coupe turned left, 5.2709/150.06 at half track with the car making moves about its lane and close to the centre line at the stripe. Qualifying standings after this session:
Trackside conditions are 17.1 C, 71% humidity and 30.12 inches of air, track temperature is 20.3 C. 12:40 Top Methanol qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Danny Bellio 6.4086/238.95, Steph Milam 8.0192/134.01, Rob Turner 5.4745/245.05 bye 1.0155 to sixty feet for Danny and then shake at soxty feet and a pedal, the escape hatch popping open and shut as the car bounced around, back on the throttle to 4.3129/177.00 at half track. Steph clocked 1.0996 to sixty feet and pretty quickly hit shake, pedalled and hit shake again, and got off it. A tremendous pass for Rob, 0.9074 to sixty feet and driving through shake, 3.5596/206.81 at half track. Rob's ET will be a class record if he backs it up, well done Rob! Qualifying standings after this session:
12:35 Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Steve Woollatt 7.6362/120.42, Steve Carey 7.6084/150.07, Rene van den Berg 6.7476/203.40, Ian Turburville 7.9747/168.43 A nice looking run for Steve W to begin with, 1.0979 to sixty feet and 4.2807/152.99 at half track but off the throttle just after the eighth. 1.1627 to sixty feet for Steve C but his bike was starting to drift to the right and he was off the throttle just before the eighth, pulled it straight and gave the throttle another hit. If you're going to beat your Personal Best then you might as well do it in style, Rene with his first six and first 200 and into number one spot. 1.1135 to sixty feet and 4.3800/167.80 at half track, well done Rene! A nice run for Turbo but some smoke from Mister Spokehead, 1.3842 to sixty feet and 5.2456/153.11 at half track. Qualifying standings after this session:
12:30 VW Pro qualifying after session 1:
VW Sportsman qualifying top five after session 1:
12:20 Super Modified qualifying top five after session 1:
A great first full pass in competition for Martin Curbishley. A big Thank You to Nigel Payne for a very nice message about Eurodragster.com which was read out on the PA during his pairing. 12:10 Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 1:
A great run by John Bradshaw in his Import Nissan Skyline, the first seven-second Skyline in Europe. Something came off the car at about three-quarter track but it looked like a small panel or spill plate, nothing serious. Congratulations to Vince Gibbs on a tremendous 7.0737/192.82 in his and Ray Eldred's Firebird, a big breakout but I don't think they're bothered. 11:40 Pro ET qualifying top five after session 1:
Looks like a PB for Phil Toppin in his altered, 8.991 on a 9.11 dial-in, a bit of a breakout but well done Phil! A great run for new boy Mark Bailey, into #5 on his first competitive outing. Trackside conditions at the start of Pro ET were 15.7 C, 77% humidity and 30.12 inches of air, track temperature was 17.7 C. 11:05 Pro ET have been called to the lanes and the track crew are spraying the racing surface. We'll be off soon, stay tuned. 9:15 Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's day one of the UK National 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 scheduled to post a picture every sixty seconds. If you've checked out the webcam your first reaction was probably that the windows need cleaning, but actually we are fogbound here at Santa Pod right now. The fog is due to lift very soon and then it is forecast to turn into a lovely day. Trackside conditions right now are 11.5 C, 98% humidity and 30.12 inches of air; track temperature on the start line is 12.8 C. A change of plan for today's coverage; as your reporter is not required for commentary duties Simon is now free to do pit notes today, so stay tuned for those. You may need to hit Refresh on the Event Index to activate the link to today's pit notes. A big Good Morning to Ivar Kolberg who is tuned in from Norway, and hello also to Andy Irvine who is tuned in from Kingston University...if he's out of bed yet. Hope you are having a good day guys and hope you enjoy the coverage. Stay tuned and as soon as the fog clears and the wheels start to turn we'll be back with the news. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |