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End-day report

Good evening and welcome to our report of today's Peak Performance Day brought to you in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car.

Conditions were not conducive to quick runs today. Although it was sunny and dry for most of the day there was a strong and at times vicious headwind which barely abated all day, with occasional gusts strong enough to make Race Control creak. Those who were tuned in to the Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam will have heard our poor dangling microphone being blown about and smacked against the front of Race Control on a regular basis.

The début of one of the most eagerly-awaited race cars of recent years culminated in an on-track outing today, as Eurodragster.com Blogger Andy Frost made his first runs in his street-legal Pro Mod after arriving just in time for display on Friday evening and then its first fire-up and an amble around the facility yesterday evening. Frosty's first run was a launch and then idled through to an 11.609/79.67. The second run was scheduled for an eighth and a 'chute deployment. Andy was on the gas to the eighth but his chutes did not appear, nor did a time appear on the scoreboards or in the run log. At the end of the day Andy made another eighth-and-chutes run, 7.542/173.72 and chutes deployed. Bystanders including your reporter all remarked how quiet the car is, and how effortless Andy's runs looked today.

Interest in Andy's Vauxhall was sufficiently strong for pictures to be stolen from today's gallery and posted on Facebook; we recommend that these are removed and an explanation and apology sent to us or the culprits will be hearing from us very shortly.

Robert Joosten and Marc Mehuizen made a couple of runs apiece in their Pro Mods. Robert's team brought the Camaro to the start line for a long and careful check of ride and wheelie bar height before his first run. Both Robert and Marc hit shake before the Tree on both of their runs and both shut off early as their cars headed for the centre line. Robert's runs were 12.508/78.70 and 10.644/84.11, and Marc's 12.457/70.84 and 12.490/64.50. Marc's car was reportedly taken off-site at the end of the day for chassis work.

Former Pro ET Champion, and now returning as a Super Pro ET racer, Al Didwell made his first passes in his dragster which he acquired from a US Super Pro racer. Al gave a good account of himself and Chief Starter Ian Marshall was seen to give thumbs up after his licencing passes. Al's quickest run of the day was a 9.609/88.34 shut off very early so there is a lot more to come from the rail. Fellow Super Pro ET racer Robin Orthodoxou, who is not entered for next weekend's race, didn't let us down with the usual storming burnouts and wheels-up launches with a great double wheelie on his second run. Robin's best run was 7.644/179.80. Super Pro ET racer Nick Good put in a burnout but then shut off and went back to the pits never to return.

New cars in the Pro ET ranks too, from Roy Walker and Simon Gough. Roy's Vauxhall Ventora is an immaculate piece, again in green like his Cortina, but this time with a flame job. Roy was supported by a large team, in fact enough team members to crew for a Maltese Top Methanol Dragster, and their joy in his performances was unconfined. Roy opened his account with a 10.654/111.63 which was meant to be a checkout pass, a Maltese sixty foot pass to continue the comparison. Roy's quickest run of the day was a 9.484/142.05.

Last week Simon Gough was racing a Shoebox Chevy at the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway and had suspension problems which in the end resulted in worn-through front tyres getting the car stopped - you may remember our pitside photographer Grace Roaf's picture of one of the fronts. Maybe replacement front tyres were so expensive that it was cheaper to buy a new car but either way Simon was in a very pretty red Camaro today and he clocked a best of 10.908/119.47.

Fellow Pro ET racer Deborah Laugher's Plymouth Arrow is no stranger to test days. Deborah opened her account with a 9.3-second run which had husband and all-round good guy Dusty wondering aloud why the Arrow always seems to run quicker at Shakespeare County, however Deborah's first run was into the strongest headwind of the day. Deborah's subsequent run was 9.080/148.59, that too into a strong headwind so probably would have been an eight. Mark Bailey made a number of passes in his Pro ET Cuda, his last run of the day was shut off at about half track as the rear end stepped out and the car made a violent move. Mark's quickest run of the day was an 10.335/94.84.

It was good to see Super Gas racer Jon Giles back on track after he and Donna became parents again but it didn't sound like the return Jon would have wanted as it sounded as if the car jumped out of gear in the second half on his first and only run of 10.263/124.53. Jon then put the Willys back in its trailer. Now, given that your reporter openly admits that he is a mechanical ignoramus it is perfectly possible that there was nothing amiss and that Jon just shut off as he was happy with how the run had gone, so here's hoping that that is what happened.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Richard Billings' Mustang was today driven by crewman Al Cook. Al put in a couple of storming burnouts and clocked a best of 9.027/149.14. The motor sounded to be misfiring in the second half on the second pass.

Eurodragster.com sponsor involvement in two of the three Junior Dragsters which ran today. Alamo-sponsored Paige Wheeler put in a number of passes in her Junior Modified Dragster and dad Andy told us that today's plan was to concentrate on Reaction Times. Paige, who is apparently on a bonus from dad for a 0.000 RT or a win next weekend, clocked a best RT of 0.042. On one of Paige's runs a gust of wind blew the dragster towards the guardrail but Paige handled the situation very coolly and was quickly back for more.

The Santa Pod Racers Club Junior Stock Dragster was today driven by Olivia Woodhead, daughter of Paul Woodhead of Eurodragster.com sponsor Direct Plastics Ltd. Olivia spent the whole day with a beaming smile clearly visible behind her crash helmet and pretty much wiped out her best RT with each run, the best being 0.028. Before the event father Paul, whose smile was as ineradicable as Olivia's all day, was quoted as saying that if Olivia had a good enough time then a JD would be on order. Given how much fun Olivia was having I would imagine that the order has either been placed or is about to be.

Onto two wheels and Super Street Bike racer Steve Mead spent a second day testing. Steve's first run was made when the breeze was at its strongest but was the second-quickest of his four runs, the quickest being 8.291/156.88 and one being untimed. Steve popped up to Race Control and expressed frustration that the bike was not going quicker but anyone who rides a race bike into such a stiff headwind that does OK in our book.

Also doing great credit to himself and Super Street Bike was Mick Templeman who a week after parting company with his bike at 170 mph at Shakespeare County was back at Santa Pod on his old bike but sporting new leathers. Supported by fellow SSB racer Garry Bowe, who not only crewed but was also I/C pep talks in irreverent Super Street Bike style, Mick clocked a best of 8.654/152.14.

Also on two wheels was Lorcan Parnell on the unique and very long Eastman and Hand Comp Bike The Storm. The motor didn't seem to want to stay lit upon starting and then on its first run crossed lanes, but Lorcan completed a couple of timed runs the quickest of which was 13.397/69.43.

Another regular Test Day attendee is Simon Parker who put in a number of runs in his Nitemare Camaro with a best run of 10.726/124.76. Fellow regular Test Day participant Ashley Troop clocked a best of 9.402/139.93 in his '66 Nova.

Racers have two more chances to test before the FIA Main Event. The first is a Private Test on Wednesday organised by Eurodragster.com Blogger Will Hanna and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis. We have been requested neither to report nor to broadcast the webcam from this event as it is, after all, private. The final chance to test will be Thursday's Pro Peak Performance Day from which we will be reporting live, broadcasting the webcam live with trackside audio, and posting and end-day gallery.

We have posted a gallery of pictures of today's action, which you can check out via the Event Index. There are sixty five pictures in all; if you do not see all sixty five updated thumbnails when you load the gallery page then click on your Browser's Refresh button.