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10.00

Good morning and welcome to the pit notes page for the Custom Car Allstar Nationals. This meeting has something for all drag racing or custom car fans - there is a marquee with historic race cars, a run what you brung for hot rods and a great field of championship drag racing. The pits are packed and we spoke to a few of the racers on Saturday night to find out how their weekend had gone so far.

Colin Lazenby is delighted at unofficially becoming Street Eliminator Champion for 2005, by siging on and doing a qualifying pass. "We want to maximise our points and to be seen to have dominated the Championship this year", Colin said. Not content with the Championship, Colin has already set a new speed record at a massive 181mph - with more to come. "We have had a misfire at the top end and also are going to increase the power for the National Finals and get the car to launch more aggressively." Colin said, "It's been a tough year racing at this level, but I am truly grateful to my team for their help - Luke Robinson, Garry Coull and my brother Brian Lazenby. I also thank our main sponsors Pinnacle Auto Centre of which Garry is a director."

Colin's 1956 Chevrolet 210 was built by Andy Robinson Race cars. "They are the best", said Colin. "My engine builder, Clive Bond of Ultimate Race Cars, has produced a powerful and reliable power plant - he took Al Packman to the UK Pro Modified Championship and also has provided Andy Kirk's motor." Colin's transmission is by Rosslers, a US firm based near the Canadian border. Colin is positive about Street Eliminator going forward. "There are about three times as many cars under construction as there are racing this year, many of them almost complete." 2006 should be a great year for the class.

Roger Goring (Jet Funny Car)ran a 6.28/252 on what most people thought would be a checkout pass. He said "I was testing some modifications at York Raceway the previous Friday and the car broke a bevel gear." The bevel gear is driven by the main turbine at 90 degrees and drives the pumps and governors. "There was a big clang on starting", Roger added, "but if it had happened in the middle of the run we would still have been picking up the pieces. Although we were attending as a run what you brung entry, we were sorry not to be there for the weekend. It was an unusual part to break and not only did we have to find a replacement, we also had to source the tools to fit it. Today was the first time we have run the car since the repairs and had intended to make just a gentle pass. However that plan was thwarted, and in warming up for our later run we were pleased with there being no leaks and all the pressures being just perfect. When the body came down I forgot all about the repair and was very happy to do a full pass." Roger hopes to step the car up in the near future but wants to test any changes or new parts in private before putting on the display for the fans, so as to avoid disappointment.

Gordon Appleton is here to run a Pro Mod match race with Danny Cockerill, who has a new motor. Gordon said "We had a great time in Sweden (at the Veidec Festival) and were happy with our decision to shut down after the burnout in round one. We had to do a second burnout following a delay at the top end of the track. When we backed up, we found the oil pressure had reduced to 40lbs below our normal 130lbs. I was concerned we might have had serious engine damage, as we did in 2004, if we had run. We found after the event that there had been oil contamination. So we have limited the preparation to changing the bearings, and general freshening of the motor."

Steve Carey (Top Fuel Bike) is unfortunately out for the rest of the meeting after damaging a sprag on his gearbox. "It's the first time our gearbox has let us down in a couple of years. Whilst it's disappointing, we do have the parts to repair it at home and will be back for the Euro Finals. Our performance has improved greatly in recent meetings and are now in the 6s. The main problem currently is that we are overpowering the track so we need to do some clutch adjustment work. We may get a new gearbox and other new parts for next year."

Pat Talbot has returned after missing a couple of meetings with the Manumit Computers Super Pro ET Dragster and are running very consistently in the high sevens. Pat said "We felt we needed to modify the car before it started breaking parts. So we moved or modified the engine and gearbox mountings and also worked on the fuel system and electrics with the intention of making it more robust." Pat and crew chief Stephen are very pleased with the result. Stephen said that at the European Finals, they plan to "go back on the gas", which should produce times in the low sevens.

Derek Flynn has had a troubled weekend in the Gold RV Super Pro Dragster. Derek said "We destroyed a gearbox on our first burnout when an input shaft broke, causing the clutch to melt. We had to totally rebuild it during the second and third session. We are very grateful to Mark Flavell, Barry Giles, Sid (Martyn Jones) for the loan of their spare parts. Then in the fourth session we just got on the end of the queue and ran a 7.01 on a 6.96 dial-in. When we pulled the chutes the diff seized solid and we were stuck at the end of the track. We plan to take this to Andy Robinson's shop tomorrow and return on Monday for the first round of eliminations."

Next to Derek, Mark Flavell is frustrated that his Super Pro ET dragster has yet to run a six or 200mph. Mark said, "We brought out the new chassis for 2005, which we're really pleased with and while the car launches very well, there's not quite enough pull at the top end. We may need to change the injection system and get a bigger blower to reach our targets."

Tim Blakemore has improved greatly in performance as he develops his new Kawasaki ZX12 Kawasaki Funny Bike. Tim said "We ran a 7.17 at the Bulldog Bash, but our data logger showed that the gearing was too low and we were hitting 11,000 rpm at the finish line. We changed the gearing on the sprocket and also changed the clutch setup to suit. On our third run we did a 1.12 60' time which was brilliant, but I had forgotten to switch the neutral finder off and nothing happened when I went for second gear. There are two more qualifying sessions fortunately." Tim is upbeat about the potential for the machine, which has a Jon Webster frame. "The old Suzuki FE motor parts are getting harder to find and I feel this Yamaha motor may be the future. Steve Rice in the US has run a 6.4 on the previous model Yamaha ZR1100, and we have put a lot of development work in to bring it up to this potential." The ZX12 runs a methanol and turbo combination.

Roland Chaplain ran a PB of 8.3 on the CSMA sponsored Competition Bike, whose riding is shared with wife Sam. Roland said "We would go faster still but there is an electrical problem and new parts are on their way from America. Sam (whose PB is 8.4 on the bike) will be running at the European Finals (in Top Fuel Bike)." The bike was built from scratch with a modified Pro Stock frame and slider clutch and nitrous system on the Suzuki motor. A recent development is a narrower rear wheel which the team are pleased with in terms of better and more consistent performance.

Steve Dunn and Jon Evans are back on the anniversary of Steve's top end crash with the Tokyo Toy Super Gas Celica. Their new car is a white '67 Chevy Camaro originally built by Vince Dubois and ran briefly by Mike Sergeant in Super Modified in 2004. Steve said "We bought the car without a motor and have bought a new Jeff Bull piece for it. We have just done observed runs, and only made a half pass so far, but it feels great to be back." Steve thanks Andy Robinson for the set-up of the chassis, Jeff Bull for help with the motor and Lance Richards for loan of his race jacket!