2007 UK Pre-Season Test Weekend
Peak Performance Day, Santa Pod Raceway
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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 20:00 Today's pictures are now posted, you can view them via the Event Index page. Tune back tomorrow morning and we'll bring you all the news from the Run What You Brung here at Santa Pod Raceway. 17:55 We're done for the day here at Santa Pod, let's take you through the last set of runs. Rob Smallworth tried two different clutch settings on his Super Mod, on the first run he had arranged with the start line crew that if the tyres shook then he would stop and reverse back to the collection area and work on the clutch there and that was exactly what happened. Rob reversed the Chevy to the Barn and worked on the clutch, on next run the tyres spun up and he got off the throttle and idled down the track. Luigi Ferretti went over 200 mph on his last run of the day, 7.233/204.78, the engine sounding a lot cleaner but still a little lazy off the start. But the bike went arrow-straight and Luigi didn't have to move about much to make it stay that way. Also on two wheels Graham Balchin's last pass on the Super Street Bike was an 8.453/163.65, losing a lot of time to wheelspin off the line. Shedding doors is starting to become a tradition for Ray White's Pro Mod. A nice burnout and then 1.49 to sixty feet, the car starting to pick up and then the right hand door came off and Ray got off the throttle, 11.089/84.32 at the stripe. Tim Garlick's second run in his Super Mod was a real stormer, wheelstand off the line, straight as you like, 4.931/142.39 at the eighth and off the throttle very early indeed, still clocking 7.992/138.02. Nick Good was into the eights again in his (nominally) Pro ET rail, 8.565/154.50. Super Pro ET racer John Atkinson went quicker still, 8.254/167.14 with another nice wheelstand from the Jumpin Black Flash Mustang. Wayne Nicholson did a great job of saving his 'Vette, which started to drift left off the line and then turned hard right, Wayne got off the throttle and did a great job of pulling the car straight, at most it was on three wheels at the height of the crisis. Also back in the eights was Colin Lazenby, the big Street Eliminator Chevy picking up its wheels and then its skirts in the usual manner, maybe a little hesitation in the first eighth but still a sold pass of 8.555/175.74. Fellow SE racer Wilf Stacey went into the eights at 8.982/155.71. Jon Webster was off the throttle early on his last pass, somewhere around 1000 feet, but still clocked 9.815/139.78. Steve Wells continued the gradual improvement with a 9.881/121.27 which was shut off quite early, If you're coming here to Santa Pod next week then keep an ear out for Steve's pick-up. With the new fuel system on board the engine sounds like it is burning nitro! Quite how Steve has achieved this effect I don't know but it sounds impressive. Paul Marston told us that he is hitting vibration at about half track with the four-link dragster and on his last run he feathered the throttle and still clocked 9.590/100.66. Stuart Morrice's last pass of the day was an 8.942/151.07 which is not at all bad for Super Comp. Finally Nick Mugridge rounded off the day with a 7.785/88.04 in his Junior Dragster. Roger is currently working on today's pictures so stay tuned for those. 16:50 We've had our first appearance from The Mob Fuel Altered, the team have Dave 'Nasty' Benjamin helping out this weekend and he was in the thick of it on the start line gesturing to Jim to stop when he got back from the burnout. A nice burnout but the tyres went up in smoke at the hit and the altered turned hard right, Jim got off the throttle and idled down the track, 20.637/57.63. Making his first pass of the day was Super Modified racer Tim Garlick, this looked like a planned half pass but the car was really on one, 4.960/136.30 at half track and even with the early shut off 8.500/118.12 at the stripe. Nick Good was next up in his Pro ET rail and we believe a Personal Best of 8.556/155.26, nice one Nick! Super Pro for you then. Super Pro ET racer Wayne Nicholson clocked 9.195/151.64 in his blown-alcohol 'Vette, the car sounded a little lazy all the way but maybe this was just a checkout pass. Fellow Super Pro ET racer Rod Harrison blasted into the sevens at 7.876/169.84, knocking his PB into next year, well done Rod! There again seemed to be a lot of unburnt fuel exiting the headers, Spencer Tramm who is helping he team told us that they are deliberately running the engine fat. Another great blue-bottle pass from Pat Talbot, 7.007/191.44. Some high jinks from the timing crew as I persuaded Sam to post a dial-in of 6.29 which is of course one hundredth below the Super Pro ET lower limit. I don't know if Stephen noticed! John Atkinson rounded off the Super Pro ET action with a superb 8.298/167.14 which included a nice wheelie. Nigel Holland is still getting his entry fee's worth with a couple more runs, 15.246/91.43 and 15.135/91.85. The Mustang is starting to zero in on a dial-in somewhere in the low 15s. Street Eliminator was represented by Jason Weir with a 10.150/134.28 and Jon Webster with a 10.295/140.26, and then Colin Lazenby paired up with some poor guy in a street car. Colin pulled a wheelie off the line, the tyres spun, the big Chevy started to make a move for the centre line and he got off the throttle at about 300 fet and still got to the stripe three seconds before the street car. Next up was Wilf Stacey with a 9.909/154.24, again the motor was off and on so there is a lot more there yet. Finally Al Simms clocked a superb 8.668/161.36, driving through shake whose pattern is clearly visible on the track. Nick Mugridge would have got himself thrown out of any race with his latest Junior Dragster pass, 7.636/88.25, but I guess that's the beauty of test sessions! Mike Lacey us running pretty consistently in his Pro ET Camaro, his latest pass 9.800/136.39. Partner Anna Metcalfe has run 14.225/98.93 and 14.498/94.35. Steve Wells put in a nice pass of 10.555/95.51 in his pick-up, further and further under power and looking very good. Stuart Morrice and Belinda Bull matched up again for a Super Comp pairing, Belinda pulled a 0.003 reaction and got there first 8.784/161.83 to Stuart's 8.835/150.95. Of course had that been a real Super Comp match-up then Stuart would have taken it on a lesser break-out! Steve Venables' latest pass on his Super Street Bike was a 7.755/193.95, sounded to me as if the tyre was spinning a little in the first half. We're on hold for clean-up right now. Scotty Evison clocked 10.875/113.14 on his latest pass in the VW Pro Beetle but there was a huge cloud of smoke right on the finish line. The fire crew then called in that they were fighting a fire at the back of the car and then the top end crew started to find pieces of engine on the track. Word then came back that half of the engine is missing. Scotty is quite OK. 15:40 A great side-by-side in Super Street Bike as Steve Venables and Graham Balchin paired up. Ven left first 0.171 to 0.226 and kept his lead all the way down, 0.457 in it at the stripe, Ven ran an astounding 7.489/193.96 to Graham's excellent 7.892/187.39. Well done guys! Also in Super Street Bike Graham Dance clocked 9.265/149.05. Ray White pulled a great burnout in the Lethal Zephyr Pro Mod but was shut off for a leak on his return. Plenty of time for Ray to get back down here this afternoon. Pat Talbot now has the blue bottle on the Talbot Racing dragster and put in a great pass, no hint of shake or spin and straight as you like, 7.079/189.20. Stephen Talbot and the team were jubilant and you can't blame them. Luigi Ferretti has put in his second run of the day, another storming burnout and a much better pass this time even though the engine still sounded to be misfiring, 7.358/194.89. In Street Eliminator we've had passes from Al Simms and Wilf Stacey, Al went first and got oh so close to the eights at 9.033/155.61, Wild followed up and clocked 9.148/150.57. John Atkinson's second pass of the day in his Super Pro ET Mustang was an 8.865/162.99 which included tyre spin and a pedal. The preceding burnout was a bit wild, we saw the right hand side of the car as John got off the throttle. Also in Super Pro ET Paula Atkin hit shake off the line and she quickly backed off and rolled to a halt in the shutdown area. A stormer for Mick Howling in Grumpy's Dodge, 9.470/141.11 and I think that must be approaching the best times that car has ever run. Time I had another drive of it then! Scotty Evison and Gino Bernadine paired up in their VW Pro and Pro ET cars respectively, Scotty clocked 11.099/122.70 and got there a long while before Gino who took it very gently off the line and then turned on the power, 11.980/135.49. 14:50 A big Thank You to Rob Smallworth for a tremendous experience, a passenger ride of 8.188/173.05. I could get more than used to that. Tyre shake was a new experience, everything went blurry for a short moment but when Rob pedalled the car hooked up and went. I knew all about it when the parachute opened, too. There will be video so stay tuned. Roger kept a note of the runs whilst I was away, I'm getting a bit behind so here's a list of the latest passes:
Rod Harrison 8.530/175.69 (tyres spinning to 100 feet) Now that I've caught up we'll be back to proper reportage for the next update. Stay tuned. 13:30 I've now been summoned for my passenger ride. Roger is going to keep a note of what happens whilst I'm away and I'll catch up as soon as I get back. 13:15 Wayne Nicholson has made his first run in the Lucky Devil Corvette, a sixty foot burnout and then rolled to about 300 feet. He saw himself back for about 150 feet of that and was slowly but surely aiming for the guardrail but luckily his crew arrived in time. The Vette crepot off the line but still clocked a very nice 8.476/163.65. RWYB regular Jeff Thurston's latest pass in his Mustang was a 10.601/126.72. Next up was Colin Lazenby with his first pass of the year in the Kelvin-backed '56 Chevy, a great 100-foot burnout and then some tyre spin off the line...however at about 200 feet the Chevy suddenly stuck and shot down the track, had I been watching it on video I would have said that someone had hit the fast forward button at that point it was that noticeable. 8.545/169.84, there was a little water in ths shutdown area in Colin's lane after his run but nothing untoward. Ann-Marie Lazenby asked us to thank Steve Pateman for the alarm call this morning. Mick Howling took a pass in Paul Marston Racing's Grumpy's Dodge, the car seemed a little lazy off the line but picked up well enough until Mick shut off at about 1000 feet, 10.645/108.42. The car was turned round quite quickly and Mick's next run was a 9.910/138.44. Next up was Anna Metcalfe in her Sportsman ET Mustang, 13.395/100.66. A few pairings later Mike Lacey clocked 9.867/135.55. Jon Webster had a go for himself rather than overseeing others and his first pass in his Street Eliminator MG was a 10.629/138.47, looked from here as if Jon was taking it a little easy. Stuart Morrice was next up in the Morrice Boys Camaro, hooked up off the line this time and a 9.483/149.54 at the stripe. Super Pro ET racer John Atkinson was next in that lane with an absolute stormer of a burnout, we're talking Fagerström and Wikström speeds here. 0.043 red light but a very sold pass, the car running down the left side of the lane but John stayed with it, 8.467/164.20. Super Pro followed by Super Pro as Mark Flavell and Pat Talbot paired up. Identical burnouts where the tyres stop spinning but the engine revs stay up. No problems on the launch though, 1.077 to sixty feet for Mark, 4.448/159.62 at the eighth, and then the dream come true at the stripe, 6.924/197.15, well done Mark! Pat in the other lane is running without the blue bottle so far today and clocked 7.773/176.40. Brendan Clancy was next up, his first run of the day in his Super Gasser. Either Brendan went to the top of first gear or it wouldn't change as the engine note stayed the same and he was off the throttle at about 300 feet. Al Simms' second pass of the day in his Street Eliminator Cresta was a solid 9.108/154.08 although Al sat on the line for some five seconds after the green. Not a problem when you're not racing! First run of the day for Junior Modified Dragster racer Joe Kellett was an 8.375/77.85. Second run of the day for Martin Curbishley's roadster was 9.738/158.02, and a couple of pairings later Steve Wells put in another pass in his pick-up, a strong but level launch, off the throttle at half-track, 11.042/86.36. Paul Marston made the first pass in PMR's new four-link dragster, taking it nice and easy and recording 11.493/91.47. Graham Balchin just goes quicker and quicker on Steve Venables' other Super Street Bike, 8.353/186.02 this time around. Finally for this update, Nigel Holland clocked 15.283/91.86, Anna Metcalfe looked to have problems in the other lane as she backed way off and clocked a twenty. Nigel ran again just as I went to post this update and clocked 16.996/61.88. 12:30 Martin Curbishley's first run of the day in his Super Comp/Super Gas roadster was an early shut off 9.319/109.45. The roadster, now in white, was drifting for the centre line and Martin shut off at about 1000 feet. Next around the corner was Rod Harrison in the Super Pro ET rail which Martin campaigned last year, the car now sports a blown-alcohol engine. On this pass it looked as if there were a couple of cylinders out but Rod still clocked 8.078/164.90 and that was with a pedal off the line. More Street Eliminator action was next, Al Simms put in a half pass of 11.655/92.35 with tyre spin off the line. Next up were Wilf Stacey and Ray Comer, Wilf held back at the line and Ray took a bye. Ray was going great guns until 100 feet when the bonnet came up and completely covered the windscreen. There was an appreciable moment's delay, probably long enough for Ray to say "What the..." and then the brake lights came on. When the track cleared Wilf took a bye and he was really on one but then pedalled for about a second in the second half of the track yet still clocked 9.583/142.47. Nick Mugridge was next in his Junior Dragster, no pedal necessary this time, a nice 8.100/83.78. Anna Metcalfe and Mike Lacey followed one another, Anna first at 13.623/105.15 and then Mike again having no problems hooking up and a very solid 9.847/135.51. Rob Smallworth has softened up the clutch of his Super Mod this week and his first pass of the day was an 8.432/179.82. There is a lot more in the Chevy since the tyres spun at the hit and Rob pedalled a couple of times before the tyres hooked up. Nigel Holland is clocking a Personal Best on every run in his Mustang, his latest two passes 15.155/92.43 and 15.059/91.63. Also going quicker and quicker is Street Eliminator racer Alex McIntosh, his second pass of the day a 9.159/150.43 and that was with the brake lights lit in the second half of the track. Wilf Stacey backing off in the second eighth and now Alex seemingly on the brakes, are these guys sandbagging? A great pass from Paula Atkin to open her account today, a very strong launch and straight as an arrow 8.314/165.27 from the Super Pro ET Ford 100E. Steve Wells followed on with what we assumed was a test launch in his pick-up, with the new fuel system the car sounds like a Fuel Altered at idle! A nice launch and 1.388 to sixty feet but then off the power and rolling to the finish line to an ET in the low 20s. Following on from Paula was Steve Venables on his Super Street Bike, again a very good-looking pass, 7.634/195.66 and do you know what, I get the idea that there is plenty more in the bike yet. We're on hold again as Dave Day has just hit the guardrail at the end of a storming burnout in the Double Trouble SC/SG roadster, out of shape about ten feet past the line and then looked like a pretty hard front right impact at about sixty feet but Dave is A-OK and from up here in Race Control the car doesn't look too badly damaged and in fact has just been driven back to the pits. 11:40 Top Fuel Bike racer Luigi Ferretti has made his first pass of the day. A very aggressive burnout and then the rear tyre smoked at the hit, Luigi got off and then back on the throttle and put in a nice straight pass, the engine sounded to be misfiring and then a belt came off at 1000 feet, 8.970/124.69. Mark Flavell came soooo close to a six on his first pass of the day, his Super Pro ET rail crept very slightly off the line but then hooked up and went, a nice straight pass, 7.003/193.81. Had it not been for the slight creep that would have been a six I think - next time. Fellow Super Pro ET racer Pat Talbot was next up, another car hooking up nicely off the line and a good solid baseline pass, 7.838/175.05. A very nice first run for Vic Amato in his Pro ET Mustang, 9.874/138.47. Vic was keeping an eye on Nigel Holland but couldn't resist having his own go any longer. Mike Lacey took a turn in Anna Metcalfe's Mustang, 0.003 RT and 12.897/107.09 at the stripe. Street Eliminator racer Jason Weir and Super Comp racer Belinda Bull then paired up, great burnouts from both cars. Jason shut off at half track and clocked 11.345/94.55. Belinda's tyres spun up at the hit and I suspect that something may have broken since the Chevy pick-up idled down the track to a 24.074/33.05. Following up were Graham Dance and Graham Balchin on their Super Street Bikes, both hit spin off the line but Graham B had it covered and clocked 8.562/183.04 even though he took the long way round, Graham D feathered the throttle and clocked 9.793/146.13. 11:05 Low ET and high speed of the day now rest with Steve Venables on his new (to him) Super Street Bike. This was his fourth run on the ex-Velocity Racing machine, 7.867/193.12, the bike was drifting left towards the top end. The bike looks great with paint by Organic Image, and it sounds different to any SSB I've ever heard. Not sure I could explain, it just sounds different and if you're here next week you will hear it for yourself. Anna Metcalfe pulled a 0.000 Reaction Time on her third pass today, 13.506/106.05 from the Sportsman ET Mustang. Anna told us that she launched in second on her second pass this morning. Anna then pulled a 0.116 red on her next pass, 13.478/104.65. Partner Mike Lacey followed soon after with a very nice 10.069/133.98, no sign of tyre spin on that one. Street Eliminator racers Ray Comer and Alex McIntosh have made their first passes of the day, first up was Ray with a checkout 11.031/114.84 - his first run since last year. Next was Alex with a very nice pass, hooking up very nicely and powering down the track to a tremendous 9.269/155.71. Judging by the grin on webcam sponsor Jon Webster's face I am guessing a PB or near to it. Nigel Holland is certainly getting his money's worth today with another couple of passes already, 15.593/90.36 and 16.407/91.81 from the Sportsman ET Mustang. The first car to run on big racing slicks was Dave and Sarah Day's Super Comp/Super Gas roadster and Dave had no problems at all off the line, a very nice 9.143/146.09 for a baseline. Stuart Morrice was next up, the Morrice Boys Camaro made a hard move to the right off the line but then the throttle stop kicked in whilst Stuart straightened it out, a couple of moves left and right but Stuart had it covered and clocked 9.959/147.71. Pedalling job of the day so far was from none other than Junior Dragster racer Nick Mugridge. The tyres of his Junior Modified Advanced Dragster started to spin, Nick's pedal was worthy of Top Fuel and he clocked 8.265/83.44. We're now on hold as VW Pro racer 93, which the VWDRC web site tells is is Paul Lay, has just hit the wall. The Bug made a hard left turn at the start of eighth-mile traps, went up on its side and headed nose-first into the guardrail, rolling over once before landing back on its wheels. Paul had the car back under steering as soon as all four wheels were back on the track and he got himself out of the car. Word is that Paul is A-OK. 10:25 The first racer down the track this morning was Sportsman ET racer Anna Metcalfe in her Mustang. The 'Stang spun the tyres off the line but still clocked 13.183/107.36. Anna came back a short while later and spun the tyres a lot more, 16.258/88.41 her second run of the day. Anna's partner Mike Lacey followed on a few moments later with his Pro ET Camaro. Mike pulled a rolling burnout up to the start line, getting a little out of shape just as he got off the throttle. At the hit the tyres spun and the Camaro almost jumped bodily off the track, Mike pedalled and when he got back on the throttle the car shot down the track, Mike then shut off at about 1000 feet and clocked 11.236/97.40. Nigel Holland has made his first runs in his 'Ave A Go Sportsman ET Mustang, lots of spin on the first pass but still a good-looking 17.661/89.59. On the next pass Nigel took it a bit more gently off the line which took a second off the ET, 16.611/90.60 and that was with the brake lights lit from about 800 feet. Just as I went to post this update Nigel switched lanes and hit spin again, 18.370/89.14. Low ET of the day so far is held by RWYB regular Jeff Thurston with a 10.583/125.33, a very clean launch with no hint of spin and the Mustang was visibly accelerating hard all the way. On Jeff's second run the tyres spun, Jeff pedalled very slightly and the 'stang hooked up to a 11.208/124.32. 8:50 Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway for our coverage of the pre-Easter Thunderball Peak Performance Day, brought to you in association with American Car Imports. The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is already on-line and, taking advantage of the newly-installed Broadband here in Race Control, is broadcasting a picture every sixty seconds. You can reach the webcam via the Event Index page. We start with an "In your face" to all of those who delighted in telling your reporter how bad the weather was going to be. Either I am hallucinating or that's the sun out there in a blue sky with a little haze. Right now it's a little chilly since we have a north-easterly breeze - which almost amounts to a tailwind - but once the sun gets a little further up in the sky it'll be a very nice day and the track will warm up quickly. The entry list for today's test has some forty racers ranging from a couple of Pro Mods to Sportsman ET racers through most of the intervening classes. On two wheels we have a couple of Top Fuel Bikes including Luigi Ferretti all the way from Italy and Turbo who hasn't come quite so far. A number of those racers have already arrived and are setting up, and the rest are arriving in a steady stream. The plan for today is to bring you frequent reports on the on-track action, and Roger will be producing his first Photo Gallery as a member of the Eurodragster.com staff - his pictures will be posted at the end of the day of course. At some point later today there will be a pause in the live updates as your reporter is to be taken for a passenger ride in Rob Smallworth's Super Mod '55 Chevy. However Roger will be keeping a note of what goes on whilst I am away and I will catch up as quickly as I can. As I type the timing crew are finishing setting up the start line and as you can see on the webcam the track crew are prepping the track. Stay tuned and as soon as the track opens we will start to bring you all the news. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |