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18:00

We have now posted today's pictures, which you can view via the Event Index. There are sixty pictures in all; if you don't see all sixty thumbnails when you load the page then click on your Browser's Refresh button.

17:10

Nice RT for Paul Brown on his latest pass in the Super Pro dragster, 0.019 and 9.2328/143.88 at the stripe. The tyres turned a little off the line. Another side-by-side time trial for Joe Kellett and Josh Saunders, 8.61 dial-in for Joe and he clocked 8.621/72.76, unfortunately Josh's dial-in was not entered so he sat there for 8.61 seconds watching Joe speed away into the distance. 8.1617/79.66 when he did get the green. Brian Payne closed the day on four wheels with a 9.691/167.91, still blackstriping off the line but getting a handle on it.

Last bike racer to run was Garry Bowe, 7.888/173.71.

We're now going to work on today's pictures so stay tuned for those.

16:45

Nice pass for Ven on his Super Street Bike 8.078/183.56, Rick Stubbins was next up going quicker still with a 7.559/186.59. A couple of big wheelies for Mick Templeman on his way to a 9.439/166.08. Same story for Dave Holland, 10.348/85.71 and reaching for the ice pack I'd imagine. Garry Bowe closed out this bike session with a 7.941/156.32.

Paul Brown's dragster has its rear wing back on, 9.195/143.04 the latest pass. 11.5855/123.74 for Steve Hudson's Pro ET altered in the other lane, again creeping off the line. Great burnout for Brian Payne's Street Eliminator Mustang, certainly got the hang of that, but then shut off - no visible reason from up here. Dave Bailey's Valiant clocked 9.929/139.96 followed by Nick George's blown Camaro, another nice run, 9.036/148.63.

Zak Johnson's last couple of runs in his Junior Dragster were 8.351/79.11 and 8.2139/79.65, 0.066 RT on the first of those. We then had a race side-by-side time trial between Joe Kellett and Josh Saunders, 8.60 dial-in for Joe and 8.25 for Josh. -0.0178 red for Joe and a break-out for Josh, 8.210/79.23. 8.644/72.37 for Joe.

16:10

More blackstriping from Brian Payne's Street Eliminator Mustang, 9.989/168.54, when they get that car to launch it's going to be a contender I'd say. Steve Hudson's latest pass in his Pro ET altered was 11.525/123.77 with a very gentle launch. Matt Wright's pick-up got a bit lively off the line, heading left every time Matt hit the throttle, stopped on the track and towed. Word from the top end was a problem with the rear axle mount. Nick George drove through shake on his latest pass ion his blown Camaro, 9.072/148.62. Great pass from Belinda Bull in her Super Mod pick-up, 7.682/177.79 blackstriping the first half. Next up was Jon Giles in the Roar Willys Super Gasser, 9.686/132.58, not quite such a long way round this time. Dave Bailey followed in his Valiant, another very nice pass, 9.725/139.93.

8.239/79.23 for Josh Saunders on his latest pass. Joe Kellett followed up with 8.610/72.84, 0.024 RT whilst Alex Brett clocked 9.055/70.85 in the other lane.

Nice run for Mick Templeman, 8.587/172.40 from his SSB with some screeching from the rear tyre. Rick Stubbins followed and clocked 7.619/185.83, very nice pass and the long way round so more left in there. Garry Bowe was next for the SSBs, 7.897/173.71. Dave Holland put in a 9.755/89.44 with a couple of wheelies and the bike heading left, off the throttle at about 900 feet. Next round the corner was Bernard Dorgan with another very nice pass for a rookie, 8.232/168.56. Ven followed, rear tyre briefly up in smoke, feathering the throttle in the second half, 8.275/177.10. Andy Haley was nexct, hesitation off the line but still 8.842/160.23.

15:20

Another nice run by Roger Goring in the Firestorm Jet FC, 6.104/256.25. Rick Stubbins followed with a 7.652/185.83 from his Super Street Bike followed by Garry Bowe at 7.981/166.67. Belinda Bull was next in her Super Modified pick-up, instant tyre spin, a pedal and then feathering the throttle all the way to an 11.743/133.37. Mike Lacey pulled another nice wheelstand on his latest pass of 9.314/142.07. Paul Brown and Chris Impey went head-to-head Super Pro ET v HKS Pro and Paul got there first 9.356/143.53 to Paul's 10.334/127.98. Back to Pro ET and Roy Walker's first run of the afternoon in his Cortina was a nice 10.214/130.67. Another fourteen for Nigel Holland, 14.274/94.68 from the Sportsman ET Mustang. Adz Price followed in his Wild Bunch altered, same as hsi last passwith the clutch seeming to slip, 15.137/9.49.

0.091 RT for Zak Johnson, 8.355/79.23 whilst in the other lane Alex Brett's JD again stopped off the line. 0.068 RT for Joe Kellett and 8.629/72.86 whilst in the other lane Josh Saunders clocked 8.508/79.37.

On two wheels Steve Venables again left before the Tree ran, good-looking run wasted as the tyre didn't spin up this time, a little hesitation about 300 feet out but looked to be really moving. Bernard Dorgan followed with a great 8.289/173.68 - Bernard is looking more and more confident on that bike. Andy Haley was next up, straight pass although sounded as if the clutch was slipping in the first 100 feet or so, 8.766/159.63. Dave Holland followed with a 7.752/187.29, looked as if the bike tried to throw him off a few feet out with a wicked twitch.

14:45

We started the afternoon session with a slew of Super Street Bikes, which ran as follow: Rick Stubbins 7.654/184.26, Dave Holland 8.008/179.22, Steve Venables 8.197/179.22, Andy Haley 8.736/161.92, Graham Balchin 7.669, Bernard Dorgan 8.783/172.37, and Paul Hambidge 9.117/119.30 who nosed into the field at the end of the track.

Topspeed Eliminator racer Brian Payne again pulled two burnouts, overpowering the track to about 150 feet then shutting off in the second half, 12.023/109.23. Nice run for Nick George in the blown Camaro, 9.076/146.24 but still sounding a little lumpy so more to come there. Mike Lacey was next to the line in his Pro ET Camaro, nice 0.034 RT and 9.503/141.13 at the stripe.

Another nice RT for Josh Saunders in his Junior Dragster, 0.002 and 8.276/78.97 at the stripe. Paige Wheeler clocked 9.121/69.05 in her JM Dragster and Joe Kellett 8.597/73.13 with a 0.029 RT. Zak Johnson clocked 0.095 RT and 8.277/79.38 whilst in the other lane Alex Brett got a time on the board, 8.708/76.55. Nigel Holland and Sara Unsworth then went head-to-head for a Sportsman ET match-up. -0.059 red for Sara, 13.645/97.38 whilst Nigel clocked 14.284/95.48. Dave Bailey was next in his Valiant, big wheelie and a nice 9.702/139.09. Leaky fixture fixed, Jon Giles came back in his Super Gas Willys, motor lost fire before staging but re-fired, took the long way round but a nice pass, 9.539/133.35.

Matthew Wright ran 9.752/136.09 in his Outlaw Street pick-up and that was with a pedal so plenty more to come.

13:15

We're into lunch break now. The last few racers to run before we stopped were Sara Unsworth with a 13.752/96.47, followed by Steve Venables on his Super Street Bike, left before the lights ran and again with spin off the line and blackstriping all the way. Graham Balchin followed Ven, going great guns until the eighth when the bike pulled a big wheelie and Graham got off it (the throttle, not the bike), 11.016/66.48. Bernard Dorgan made his second run of the day on his SSB, much smoother gear changes this time to clock 9.017/132.18. Another nice run from Mike Lacey's refettled camaro, 9.327/142.05. Sportsman ET v Pro ET next, Nigel Holland v Rick Denny, 0.042 RT from Rick but then his propshaft broke and could be seen dangling under the car from here. 14.315/95.87 for Nigel. Matthew Wright closed the morning session with an early shut off 9.985/123.77 from his big pick-up.

12:55

Tremendous pass for Roger Goring in the Firestorm Jet Funny Car, 6.134/225.61 and that was with an early shut-off. Next along was Steve Hudson in his altered, a nice pass with a gentle launch, 10.294/125.49. Adz Price followed with the Go Hard or Go Home altered, similar to the last pass the motor was turning a lot quicker than the car's speed would suggest, clutch slip I guess, 15.202/77.74.

Paul Brown's dragster is now running without its rear wing. Nice burnout but then the motor cut out, just like the first run. This time Paul re-started the motor and came back under his own power. Nice straight pass, 9.314/144.41. HKS Pro racer Chris Impey was next, two gear changes in the burnout then shut off and pushed back. Chris came back about ten minutes later and clocked 10.322/129.89. Dave Bailey followed in the Valiant, big wheelie off the line, 9.752/139.08. Roy Walker next up in the Pro ET Cortina, 10.288/131.45 and the fan belt again left on the track at 330 feet.

First run of the day for Eurodragster.com sponsor Jeff Bull in the Super Modified pick-up...well, we are assuming it's Jeff since wife and usual driver Belinda was outside the car. Three goes at a burnout but the third burnout was worth waiting for. Looked like a planned launch, off the throttle at about 100 feet, 10.909/126.31. Jon Giles next up in the repainted Roar Willys Super Gasser but shut off for a fluid leak. Rick Denny took a bye in the other lane, 0.022 RT and 11.424/117.12 at the stripe. Sara Unsworth next up, 13.639/97.06. Nice burnout from Mike Lacey, meanwhile Kirstie was haring round from the other lane to get the shot after Mike's earlier wheelie. Good launch, not as good a wheelie as earlier, but then shut off at half track, 12.197/66.40 whilst in the other lane Sara Unsworth clocked 13.781/95.41.

Next round the corner was Rick Stubbins on his Super Street Bike. Great launch and Low ET of the weekend for SSBs, 7.799/183.54. Garry Bowe followed, also a great-looking pass, 7.889/162.50. Nice pass by Andy Haley, 8.683/161.34. 9.270/131.05 for Paul Hambidge with a feather of the throttle for tyre spin, but at the expense of both reflectors at the finish line.

-0.001 RT for Josh Saunders on his latest pass, 8.298/79.10. Paige Wheeler was next around the corner, 0.235 RT and 9.144/68.37 at the eighth, nice run. Joe Kellett was right behind Paige, -0.008 RT, 8.623/72.40 at the stripe.

Finally for this update Andrew Murton clocked 10.238/131.29 in the Nevermind Camaro.

12:15

A tremendous RT from Rick Denny on his latest run, 0.005 and 11.398/117.90 at the stripe alongside Dave Bailey in the new Valiant which ran 9.761/137.81. Good to see Eurodragster.com sponsor Matt Wright back on track with his pick-up, 0.600 RT and shut off early, 11.249/106.27. Big wheelie from Mike Lacey on his latest pass, 9.455/139.82 which has got to be something near a Personal Best. Sara Unsworth's latest pass was a nice 13.702/96.88.

Red light for Josh Saunders on his latest run with his JMA Dragster, 8.240/78.95. Nice pass for Zak Johnson, 0.070 RT and 8.302/79.09 at the stripe. Next JD out was Paige Wheeler with her dragster in the colours of Eurodragster.com sponsor Alamo Rent A Car. 0.276 RT, a bit of a pedal off the line almost as if her foot was pushed off the throttle by the launch, 11.748/47.59.

Garry Bowe's second run of the day on his Super Street Bike was a good-looking 8.242/141.64, it looked quicker than that although Garry took the long way round. Rick Stubbins followed in that lane, tyre spinning at the hit and backed off early as he got close to the centre line, 8.444/142.58. Next up was Mick Templeman, blackstriping and a couple of wheelies, 9.064/161.91. First appearance of the day for Dave Holland on his Prostreet Busa UK SSB, a feather of the throttle and getting very close to the centre line, 8.389/161.35. Next up was Prostreet Busa UK team-mate Bernard Dorgan with his first run of the day, tyre spin at the hit, sounded like trouble selecting gears as the motor was on the limiter for a long time, 11.510/105.67. Paul Hambidge followed, his tyre up in smoke at the hit, feathered the throttle and stayed with it as long as he dared as the breeze pushed him towards the centre line, 9.793/105.43. Steve Venables was next, a screech of the tyre at the hit then off the throttle and cruising to the top end, 15.377/76.83.

Nice pass for the Nevermind Racing Camaro which is running in Outlaw Street, 9.973/135.32 and the crew very happy with that.

11:45

Pro ET racer Mike Lacey is returning this year, plenty of changes to the car and a nice first run clocking 9.543/140.27. Rick Denny was alongside and ran 11.347/117.72.

Back to Super Street Bike and a good first run of the day for Graham Balchin. A little screech from the rear tyre and a feather of the throttle, sounded like problems changing gear but that cleared, off the throttle just a touch early. 7.895/153.18 at the stripe. Next up another SSB racer, Paul Hambidge with his first run of the day. The motor cut out off the line. Reigning SSB Champion Rick Stubbins was next to the line, tyre up in smoke and off the throttle at 330 feet, 15.559/47.15 at the stripe. Garry Bowe was next in that lane, long burnout and loked like a good launch but Gary was off the throttle by about 100 feet and stopped on the track at about 1100 feet. Andy Haley's second run of the day was preceded by a long burnout. Much better launch, a wheelie 100 feet out, 8.804/159.08.

The Nevermind Racing Camaro was next, 10.157/135.30. Next up was a very pretty Valiant with the name Dave Bailey - when I saw that name on today's entry list I assumed the Funny Bike racer so I got that exactly wrong. Tyre spin at the hit, a pedal and more spin, off the throttle before half track, 15.183/81.97.

Nice RT for Josh Saunders on his latest run in his Junior Modified Dragster, 0.005 and 8.390/78.54 at the stripe. Zak Johnson followed, 0.110 RT and some hesitation, 8.781/76.80. Joe Kellett's first run of the day, 0.002 RT and 8.582/73.70 at the eighth.

A nice run for Deborah Laugher, 11.706/113.80. Next racer on track was Eurodragster.com decal sponsor Paul Foote in his Super Gas pick-up. Huge burnout, the car appeared to be crabbing a little on the way down the track. Paul shut off early, 11.571/106.92. Sarah Unsworth round again, 0.305 RT and 13.846/95.66 at the stripe. Topspeed Automotive Street Elininator racer Brian Payne followed. Nice burnout and then another burnout at the hit, pedalled and then stayed with it all the way, 10.181/162.01 and the chute out at the top end.

Finally for this update we got our first look at a new blown Camaro carrying the name Nick George, a new name to us. The tyres didn't light on the burnout but a nice run, albeit with the motor sounding a little lumpy, 10.348/126.29 and chute out.

I've just realised what the new glue mix smells of - toffee apples, of which your reporter is a huge fan.

11:00

The motor of Paul Brown's dragster cut out after the burnout on his second run of the day. The start line crew sprinted to help bearing fire extinguishers but they weren't needed and the dragster was pushed back. Nigel Holland next into that lane, 0.370 RT and 14.385/95.09 from the Sportsman ET Mustang. Billy Gane followed, a quick check under his Cobra before staging but all OK, 0.395 RT and a jump to the left, a pedal and sounded like problem changing gear but it cleared. 10.802/127.96 at the stripe.

Super Street Bike racer Steve Venables the next bike racer to appear, the bike has new colours which look just great. 0.393 RT, rear tyre up in smoke and a feather of the throttle 8.801/167.91 getting close to the wall at the top end. Next up was an SSB with no identifying numbers but Scott Baldwin if I correctly understoof the start line crew's hand signals. Similar story to Ven, up in smoke and a feather, 8.447/151.57 and close to the guardrail in the second eighth.

Paul Brown came back, problem solved, short burnout and then 0.076 RT, 9.352/140.72.

10:45

We have a very nice Ford Coupe here running Outlaw Street numbers. A tidy pass, 10.840/120.47. Almost straight back for another run, 10.769/120.93. Pro ET racer Rick Denny followed on with an 11.344/118.08. Whatever Deborah Laugher's car leaked was obviously not a problem as she came straight back. Left on the second amber this time, 11.479/118.90. Sara Unsworth next to appear in the Gecko Racing Sportsman ET Mustang, word on the radio that Sara had passed her licencing yesterday. 0.425 RT and 13.683/96.47 at the stripe. Shortly after Sara was back for another go, 0.323 RT, a missed gear at the eighth, 14.322/93.30. Nigel Holland followed on, also for Sportsman ET, 0.678 RT and off the throttle at about half track, 16.988/57.83.

Adz Price's first run of the day in the Go Hard or Go Home Wild Bunch altered didn't quite go to plan, lots of revs but the car hardly moving. Adz shut off after a few feet and he was pushed back. Simon Innes alongside a very good-looking Plymouth Barracuda carrying the name Jim Smith. Simon took a 12.835/105.55 bye, pedalling at half track, as the driver of the Cuda elected to wait and run on his own. Sounded like an easy pass, 14.275/88.38. Next up was the Nitemare Camaro whose driver's name escapes me but will come back (sorry), 11.544/119.17.

Onto two wheels and Super Street Bike racer Andy Haley was first of several SSB racers due to venture on to the track. Up on the revs then the motor cut out at the hit. Straight back into stage, blackstriping off the line but staying with it, 9.061/158.57.

Josh Saunders' first pass of the day in his Junior Dragster was 8.290/78.56 with a 0.080 RT. Alex Brett followed, 0.490 RT and on and off the throttle, 10.372/69.69

Steve Hudson was next round the corner for his first run of the day in his Pro ET altered. 0.534 RT and a straight run, 10.460/125.46. Roy Walker followed, 0.330 RT on a Pro tree, 10.790/129.41.

10:20

First to take to the track was Pro ET racer Roy Walker with his immaculate Cortina. A little hesitation off the line but then on the power all the way, 10.626/131.39 and his fan belt left on the track at 330 feet. Next up was Pro ET new girl Deborah Laugher in the Miss-Guided Camaro. A nice burnout, red light but a good pass, 12.003/119.15. Another new racer was next, Super Pro ET racer Paul Brown in his dragster. Very competent burnout and a solid pass, looked from here like he had a little wheelspin, 9.309/142.61.

Back to Pro ET and Simon Innes clocked 13.343/86.20 for his first run of the day in his Plum Crazy Plymouth. The cars were coming thick and fast at this point; next round the corner was Billy Gane in his Pro ET Cobra. 0.142 RT, 10.437/126.98. Alex Brett's first run of the day in his Junior Dragster lasted about ten feet, 0.224 RT and then his motor stopped dead. Motor quickly re-fired, almost the same thing happened again only this time Alex got about five feet before his motor cut out.

Finally for this update Deborah Laugher turned round her Camaro very quickly. Left on the first amber, some hesitation past the Tree then back on it, 13.269/119.46. There was a small clean-up in Deborah's lane after she ran.

10:00

Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway for the Peak Performance Day, the last day of testing before next weekend's Auto Trader Easter Thunderball. We're here to bring you all the news in association with American Car Imports.

The Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam is on-line and posting a picture every sixty seconds.

The track is about to open and from my seat in Race Control it looks very good indeed. The weather is bright, sun and cloud, although there is quite a stiff crosswind from left to right.

A big Hello to Eurodragster.com US Correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman who are tuned in from Rye, NH. Hope that you are down to less than one pump now guys.

We have about thirty racers here to test today. What tends to happen at PPDs is that the cars and bikes come in bunches if that is the case then we will bring you a report after each group of racers. Stay tuned and we'll be back soon with news of the first set of runs.