FIA Main Event
Saturday (qualifying)
Click here to go back to the event index.
21:00
We're done for the day here at Santa Pod. In the last session we had another scare as Tony Roberts exited his 9.90 Bike via the back door at about sixty feet. Tony was just fine.
Pro Modified qualifying session 4
Andy Robinson 6.99/197.82
After four qualifying sessions, Pro Mod stands as follows:
1. Andy Robinson 6.777/202.45
2. Henri Joosten 6.902/199.08
3. Marcus Hilt 10.687/83.03
One of the classes of the day has without a doubt been Custom Car Street Eliminator where we have had a number of side-by-side eight-second passes. Sue Jackson, John Sleath and Steve Pateman have all been involved in the side-by-side eights with Sue gaining her ICE jacket by running no less than three eights today. Andy Frost's new Vauxhall Victor is a very nice piece indeed, just as advertised, and Andy is already into the tens with it.
In Super Pro ET, Doug Ripley turned heads with his CC Racing blown-alcohol altered. Doug hasn't had a lot of luck today but the car is loud and pulls great burnouts!
Zane Llewellyn clocked a perfect 8.900 in Super Comp, whilst in Super Street Luke Ramage on double duty from his usual Super Gas leads the field with a 10.903. One of the driving jobs of the day was by Sarah Day whose Double Trouble roadster turned hard right and crossed lanes whilst in Super Comp trim. Sarah got hold of the car and kept it off the guardrail.
Fred Furlong has led 10.90 Bike since the first session this morning, whilst in 9.90 Bike Paul Watson led after the first session with a 9.939 but then put the bike back into Super Street trim and ran into the 8.7s, which must be some sort of breakout record for 9.90.
The top two qualifiers in each class at the end of today are as follow:
FIA Top Fuel Dragster: 1. Andy Carter 5.071/297.09, 2. Kim Reymond 5.084/257.29
FIA Top Methanol Dragster: 1. Dave Wilson 5.997/196.41, 2. Lindsay Deuchar 6.766/147.25
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: 1. Leif Andreasson 5.800/246.71, 2. Micke Kagered 5.862/242.23
FIA Pro Stock: 1. Michael Malmgren 6.993/191.79, 2. Jacob Ferrer 7.071/195.41
Pro Modified: 1. Andy Robinson 6.777/202.45, 2. Henri Joosten 6.902/199.08
Super Pro ET (own dial-in): 1. Barry Giles +0.018 7.668/168.85, 2. Martyn Jones +0.020 7.600/174.98
Pro ET (own dial-in): 1. Jack Brewster +0.005 11.345/121.77, 2. Conrad Stanley +0.009 10.159/129.74
Sportsman ET (own dial-in): 1. Simon Chalkly +0.002 13.852/99.77, 2. Paul Voyce +0.004 14.004/98.29
Super Comp (8.90): 1. Zane Llewellyn 8.900/152.12, 2. Brian Pateman 8.909/153.76
Super Gas (9.90): 1. Paul Hudson 9.904/137.07, 2. Ritchi Smith 9.905/133.16
Super Street (10.90): 1. Luke Ramage 10.903/142.11, 2. Bob Lees 10.910/122.75
Junior Dragster (Reaction Time): 1. Charolotte Watts 0.503, 2. Stuart Morrice 0.506
Custom Car Street Eliminator: 1. John Sleath 8.632/169.73, 2. Steve Pateman 8.809/166.39
UEM Comp Bike: 1. Nils Ole Lund 7.059/198.14, 2. Steve Woollatt 7.142/185.87
UEM Supertwin Top Fuel Bike: 1. Ton Pels 7.414/156.90, 2. Anders Karling 7.576/136.52
UEM Pro Stock Bike: 1. Roger Pettersson 7.456/179.85, 2. Anders Larsson 7.638/173.56
9.90 Bike: 1. Paul Hambidge 9.922/119.92, 2. Paul Watson 9.939/138.11
10.90 Bike: 1. Fred Furlong 10.913/125.95, 2. Steve Coombs 10.915/120.11
Today's pictures are now available from the Event Update index.
That's all for today then, tune back tomorrow for the second day of qualifying. We're off for a walk around the pits, we'lllet you know what we found out in the morning.
19:20
Pro Modified qualifying session 3
Henri Joosten 6.966/197.61, Marcus Hilt 13.57/58.83, Andy Robinson 7.31/152.27
Andy Robinson was pushed back after his burnout, then came back at the end of the session. He hit tyre shake off the line, drove through it, but eventually got off the throttle. Marcus Hilt had another burst panel go on his pass.
After three sessions, Pro Mod stands as follows (with one more session left today):
1. Andy Robinson 6.777/202.45
2. Henri Joosten 6.902/199.08
3. Marcus Hilt 10.687/83.03
18:20
UEM Comp Bike qualifying session 2
Sarah jane Head 8.80/150.75, Luigi Ferretti 15.54/49.87 (off throttle at 300'), Paul Knapp broke off line, Gary Jones 8.31/153.12, Nils Ole Lund 8.49/161.21, Shaun Branch 7.69/169.74, Neil Midgley 8.20/124.07, Pasi Alakunnas 7.20/186.79, Ian King 7.68/164.20, Neil Diggens broke, Roel Koedam 7.58/204.72, Dave Holland 17.27/51.67, Steve Woollatt 13.1/67.09, Tim Blakemore 10.86/72.83, Anttonio Ferretti broke, Mike Chislett left before lights ran, Eric Teboul 7.15/205.25
Antonio Ferretti found himself in a race with one of his drive belts as it came off in the burnout and rolled down the track in front of him.
After two qualifying sessions, Comp Bike stands as follows:
1. Nils Ole Lund 7.059/198.14
2. Steve Woollatt 7.142/185.87
3. Eric Teboul 7.156/205.25
4. Pasi Alakunnas 7.202/186.79
5. Tim Blakemore 7.509/159.79
6. Roel Koedam 7.582/204.72
7. Neil Midgley 7.608/166.28
8. Ian King 7.688/164.20
9. Shaun Branch 7.690/169.74
10. Neil Diggens 8.241/158.76
11. Gary Jones 8.315/153.12
12. Sarah Jane Head 8.800/150.75
13. Luigi Ferretti 9.754/97.68
14. Dave Holland 14.637/60.93
UEM Supertwin Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 2
Bernie Hepworth 9.55/133.80, Svein Gottenberg 8.60/139.09, Per Bengtsson 15.52/49.10, Kai Selkamaa 11.7/71.63, Anders Karling NTR, Ronny Aasen NTR
Anders Karling crossed lanes on his qualifying pass against Ronny Aasen. A time of 6.68 came up in Ronny's lane when Anders went through his traps, indicating a very good pass indeed had Anders been in his own lane.
After two qualifying sessions, STTF stands as follows:
1. Ton Pels 7.414/156.90
2. Anders Karling 7.576/136.52
3. Per Bengtsson 7.852/126.68
4. Svein Gottenberg 8.600/139.09
5. Bernie Hepworth 9.556/133.80
6. Ronny Aasen 10.119/137.20
7. Kai Selkamaa 11.726/71.63
UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 2
Anders Larsson broke off line, Richard Gipp 11.66/67.41, Michael Ponca 10.66/122.34, Len Paget 8.06/160.90, Luigi Chinarello 8.63/143.01, Martin Bishop 7.81/171.27, Chris Hope 7.70/171.36, Oivind von Essen crossed lanes, Samuele Spiga 9.97/85.21, Chris Tombleson 7.94/169.19, Roger Pettersson 7.45/179.85
A stunning pass from Roger Pettersson, not far off the European record with three more qualifying sessions and eliminations to go.
After two sessions, Pro Stock Bike stands as follows:
1. Roger Pettersson 7.456/179.85
2. Anders Larsson 7.638/173.56
3. Chris Hope 7.648/168.31
4. Martin Bishop 7.811/171.27
5. Chris Tombleson 7.941/169.91
6. Richard Gipp 7.991/152.28
7. LenPaget 8.064/160.90
8. Samuele Spia 8.213/158.17
9. Luigi Chinarello 8.637/143.01
10. Ray Debben 9.292/121.09
11. Michael Ponca 10.661/123.34
We are now in the final cycle of Sportsman qualifying, stay tuned for news of today's leaders.
17:20
Super Pro ET racer Paul Davis is A-OK after a frightening-looking top end crash in his dragster. The car started to move right as the parachute opened and went into the field, rolling over a number of times. The safety crew were there in moments and Paulw as extricated from the car very quickly and is now being checked out in the medical centre.
FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 1
Susanne Callin gained her licence with a pass of 5.557/179.28. Susanne really was on one, recording 231 mph at half-track before backing out at about 900 feet. Kim Reymond and Andy Carter paired up in qualifying, a great close race with Andy getting there first by inches, 5.071 and a huge speed of 297.09. Kim recorded 5.084 at a surprising 257.29. Micke Kagered was shut off on the line for a fuel leak.
So after one session of qualifying, Top Fuel stands as follows:
1. Andy Carter 5.071/297.09
2. Kim Reymond 5.084/257.29
3. Susanne Callin 5.557/179.28
Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 2
Peter Schofer broke on line, Doug Bond 8.73/100.48 (planned 300' pass)
After two sessions of qualifying, Top Methanol Dragster stands as follows:
1. Dave Wilson 5.997/196.41
2. Lindsay Deuchar 6.766/147.25
3. Rob Turner 6.771/145.63
4. Doug Bond 8.737/100.48
5. Peter Schofer 11.341/68.29
Top Methanol FC qualifying session 2
leif Helander 6.12/231.51, Leif Andreasson 6.09/223.51, Steph Milam 7.14/202.68, Ulf Leanders shut off, Lex Joon 6.78/196.13, Dezsoe Krivan 5.91/240.14, Urs Erbacher 6.33/232.46, Arvid Grodem broke off line
Ulf Leanders was on his way back from the burnout when he shut off at about 80 feet, fluid on the track. Arvid Grodem appeared to lose a burst plate or lift the blower, the car crept out of stage then there was a bang as Arvid hit it. Small pieces of FC body littered the track after he was pushed back.
Dezsoe Krivan smashed his personal best out of sight with a great pass.
After two sessions of qualifying, TMFC stands as follows:
1. Leif Andreasson 5.800/246.71
2. Micke Kagered 5.862/242.23
3. Dezsoe Krivan 5.919/240.14
4. Leif Helander 6.109/228.78
5. Arvid Gordem 6.169/228.96
6. Urs Erbacher 6.336/232.46
7. Lex Joon 6.784/196.13
8. Steph Milam 7.149/202.68
Pro Stock qualifying session 2
Jari Konola 7.17/193.52, Jacob Ferrer 7.07/194.35, Michael Malmgren 9.63/93.42, Magnus Hansson 7.08/194.86, Kenneth Soderstrom 9.51/85.80, Jan Muren 8.43/115.23, Christer Andersson 7.44/188.36
Kenneth Soderstrom had a bit of a wild ride in the ex-Totalmek Firebird, skating towards the left guardrail, eventually getting off the throttle and dumping the chutes at half track. Magnus Hansson stepped up big time with his pass, a new PB we think.
After two sessions, Pro Stock stands as follows:
1. Michael Malmgren 6.993/191.79
2. Jacob Ferrer 7.071/195.41
3. Magnus Hansson 7.089/194.86
4. Jari Konola 7.121/194.18
5. Christer Andersson 7.360/188.35
6. Jan Muren 8.435/115.23
7. Kenneth Soderstrom 9.513/85.80
Pro Modified qualifying session 2
Henri Joosten 6.90/199.08, Andy Robinson 6.77/202.45
Both racers stepping up big time, Henri into the sixes for the first time and Andy getting a big handle on the new Pro Mod. Congratulations to both of you!
After two sessions of qualifying, Pro Mod stands as follows:
1. Andy Robinson 6.777/202.45
2. Henri Joosten 6.902/199.08
3. Marcus Hilt 10.687/83.03
Tune back soon for all of the UEM results.
14:20
The top qualifiers in Sportsman classes are as follow:
Super Pro ET: Ian Bishop +0.143 8.143/163.84
Pro ET: Jack Brewster +0.005 11.345/121.77
Sportsman ET: Simon Chalkly +0.002 13.852/99.77
Super Comp: Brian Pateman 8.909/153.76
Super Gas: Pete Creswell 9.925/143.84
Super Street: Bob Lees 10.967/121/55
Junior Dragster: Stuart Morrice 0.506 RT
19.90 Bike: Paul Watson 9.939/138.11
10.90 Bike: Fred Furlong 10.913/125.95
Custom Car Street Eliminator: John Sleath 8.632/169.73
Stay tuned and we'll be back after the next FIA and UEM cycle.
14:15 FIA/UEM updated
We've now had the first complete cycle of FIA and FIM/UEM qualifying. Let's take you through each session in the order in which they ran.
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike
Roger Pettersson 7.62/177.95, Anders Larsson 7.63/173.56, Chris Tombleson hit 330' reflector, Oivind von Essen 7.16/181.82, Martin Bishop 8.77/144.52, Ray Debben 9.29/121.09, Michael Ponca broke, Len Paget 8.08/160.33, Luigi Chinarello 8.95/156.27, Richard Gipp 7.99/152.28, Samuele Spiga 8.21/158.17
Since we originally posted this update we have heard that Oivind van Essen's 7.16 has been disallowed. The official qualifying standings after the first session are as follow:
1. Roger Pettersson 7.626/177.54
2. Anders Larsson 7.638/173.56
3. Chris Hope 7.648/168.31
4. Richard Gipp 7.991/152.28
5. Len Paget 8.084/160.33
6. Samuele Spiga 8.213/158.17
7. Martin Bishop 8.774/144.52
8. Luigi Chinarello 8.954/156.27
9. Ray Debben 9.292/121.09
10. Chris Tombleson DQ
FIA Pro Stock
Magnus Hansson 9.12/109.93 (shake), Jan Muren 8.71/92.20 (chutes out at 900'), Christer Andersson 7.36/188.35, Jari Konola 7.12/194.18, Jacob Ferrer 7.07/195.41, Michael Malmgren 6.99/191.79
The official qualifying standings after the first session are as follow:
1. Michael Malmgren 6.993/191.79
2. Jacob Ferrer 7.071/195.41
3. Jari Konola 7.121/194.18
4. Christer Andersson 7.360/188.35
5. Jan Muren 8.718/92.20
6. Magnus Hansson 9.125/109.93
FIA Top Methanol FC
Steph Milam 8.78/101.94 (shake, off at half-track), Urs Erbacher broke, Lex Joon shut off on line, Dezsoe Krivan 6.50/165.28, Arvid Groedam 6.16/228.96, Leif Helander 6.10/228.78, Micke Kagered 5.86/242.33, Leif Andreasson 5.80/246.71
The official qualifying standings after the first session are as follow:
1. Leif Andreasson 5.800/246.71
2. Micke Kagered 5.862/242.23
3. Leif Helander 6.109/228.78
4. Arvid Groedem 6.169/228.96
5. Dezsoe Krivan 6.501/165.28
6. Steph Milam 8.780/101.94
UEM Supertwin Top Fuel Bike
Anders Karling 7.57/136.52 (off at 1000'), Kai Selkamaa 12.65/70.92 (off at 60'), Ton Pels 7.41/156.90, Bernie Hepworth 11.42/120.67, Per Bengtsson 7.85/126.68 (off at 1000'), Ronny Aasen 10.11/137.20, Svein Gottenberg broke off line
The official qualifying standings after the first session are as follow:
1. Ton Pels 7.414/156.90
2. Anders Karling 7.576/136.52
3. Per Bengtsson 7.852/126.68
4. Ronny Aasen 10.119/137.20
5. Bernie Hepworth 11.485/120.67
6. Kai Selkamaa 12.693/70.92
FIA Top Methanol Dragster
Peter Schofer 11.34/68.29 (shake), Lindsay Deuchar 6.76/147.25 (shake, off at 1000'), Rob Turner 6.77/145.63 (off at 1000', shake), Dave Wilson 5.99/196.41 (planned 1000')
The official qualifying standings after the first session are as follow:
1. Dave Wilson 5.997/196.41
2. Lyndsay Deuchar 6.766/147.25
3. Rob Turner 6.771/145.63
4. Peter Schofer 11.341/68.29
FIM/UEM Competition Bike
Roel Koedam broke after burnout, Tim Blakemore 7.50/159.79, Gary Jones 8.53/159.66, Dave Holland 14.63/60.93, Antonio Ferretti broke on burnout, Neil Diggens 8.24/158.76, Eric Teboul broke on burnout, Pasi Alakunnas 7.67/174.07, Luigi Ferretti 9.75/97.68, Neil Midgley 7.60/166.28, Steve Woollatt 7.14/185.87, Nils Ole Lund 7.05/198.14, Shaun Branch broke off line, Paul Knapp broke on burnout, Sarah Jane Head 9.43/148.78
Eric Teboul emptied the liquid contents of his engine on to the start line necessitating a huge cleanup.
The official qualifying standings after the first session are as follow:
1. Nils Ole Lund 7.059/198.14
2. Steve Woollatt 7.142/185.87
3. Tim Blakemore 7.509/159.79
4. Neil Midgley 7.608/166.28
5. Paski Alakunnas 7.675/174.07
6. Neil Diggens 8.241/158.76
7. Gary Jones 8.539/159.66
8. Sarah Jane Head 9.431/148.78
9. Luigi Ferretti 9.754/97.68
10. Dave Holland 14.637/60.93
Pro Modified
Andy Robinson 7.11/196.31, Henri Joosten 7.08/194.40, Marcus Hilt 10.68/83.07
Marcus Hilt lifted the blower at half track, the concussion shattering his windscreen.
The official qualifying standings after the first session are as follow:
1. Henri Joosten 7.08/194.40
2. Andy Robinson 7.11/196.31
3. Marcus Hilt 10.68/83.07
In other news, no Fuel FCs appeared for their first qualifying session. In Top Fuel, Susanne Callin hit bad tyre shake on her latest licencing pass, recording 11.68/75.81, off it at 60 feet.
The eight-second club in Custom Car Street Eliminator has a new member in Sue Jackson who put in an 8.94/160.74 in the first session. John Sleath is way out ahead with an 8.63/169.73 though.
Tune back in about half an hour and we will update the above with the official standings after the first qualifiers, together with Sportsman leaders.
9:30
Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway on a beautiful summer's morning. We're in our accustomed place in Race Control and we're all set to bring you the FIA Main Event action in association with American Car Imports.
We started our pit walk when we got here yesterday at 4:30 in the afternoon. By 11:15 in the evening we had not got half way down the pits, so many racers did we find to talk to and so much did they have to tell us, but we had to call a halt because we were collapsing. We are indebted to Top Methanol Dragster racer Lyndsay Deuchar and Pro Stock Bike racer Chris Tombleson for catering, and to just about every other racer we met for offers of food and drink. To those we turned down, we'll be back tonight...
Let's go through yesterday's encounters, these are in the order in which we spoke to the racers concerned.
If you were tuned in to Wednesday's Press Day coverage, you will recall that Swedish Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren was hit by tyre shake on his passes. Crew member Tomas joked that all the wax had been shaken off the car and so it had to be polished again. The AC Delco team have a very snazzy new golf cart-cum-tow vehicle on which I hitched a lift to the next pit. On the way, Tomas said that fellow Pro Stock racer Magnus Hansson has one of last season's Totalmek Racing engines in his car, and that Kenneth Soderstrom's car is the ex-Totalmek Racing Firebird. Lars of Totalmek Racing was in evidence in Magnus Hansson's pit.
The American Car Imports Racing Top Methanol Dragster team currently have their spare engine in the dragster for today's first pass. "We have a shiny new engine in the trailer", said car owner Anthony Cohen. "We can't think of a name for the new engine", said Crew Chief Andy Bissett, "we were using the name of characters from Rainbow but we have run out. Then we thought of calling them Rod, Jane and Freddy but Rod put a rod out at Shakespeare County Raceway". The ACI dragster also has new and very trick Cragar wheels front and back. "We now have a complete set of spare wheels and tyres", said Anthony. "We now have the option to use beadlocks or liners". Anthony also told us that ACI are sponsoring Sportsman ET racer George Greves, who races a Ford Lightning pick-up. George is president of the American Car Imports Ford Lightning Drag Racing Club.
TMD racer Lyndsay Deuchar has finally made it to the track after a lot of bad luck so far this year. "We have had to borrow a rear wing from the Turners", he said. The car has new slicks, and a new fuel pump although this has not yet been fitted to the car. "We're still on last year's combination", said Lyndsay. "We'll see how we get on before we start fiddling with it."
Fellow TMD racer Peter Schöfer's car is carrying sponsorship from Werner, a popular cartoon character in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. "The car has been lenghtened, we have a new engine, new heads, in fact everything except the blower is new", said team member Gittli Koller. "Wolfgang and Peter rebuilt the chassis, the only thing left from the original car is the driver's cage". The team have had one test run so far, a half pass which Peter took very easy. Gittli told us that this is Peter's thirtieth year in motorsport. He started on bikes and was European Champion on 250 and 350 bikes, before moving up to drag racing in 1984. Werner is not the car's only sponsor although he has his own beer, called Bolkstoff, whose name is also on the car together with Top Speed vodka drink, Brisk spark plugs, Castrol oil, Weindel parts, Dirsch engine shop, Normstahl garage doors, Dick industrial engineering, Roth metal polish, and Mipa car colours.
The Leanders Brothers Top Methanol Funny Car team pulled off quite a coup by acquiring an ex-John Force Mustang body for this season, although Crew Chief Jörgen Leanders isn't quite sure how they managed it in the end. "It wasn't easy getting the body", he said. "We spoke to John Force Racing and Ford Motorsport - they said no. I don't know how but they changed their minds! It will be interesting to see how this body works. The roof is fourteen inches narrower than the old body. We now have Ford Sweden as a sponsor, it's great to get a big car copmany on the scene". Jörgen said that the off-season changes have been minimal apart from the combination itself, and new gear ratios. "We want to run quicker on the back end", he said. "We will be going straight into full passes, I don't want to waste any time on sixty-foot passes. I told Ulf that as long as it feels good he should stay on it."
Fellow TMFC racer Leif Helander has a new clutch and a dry sump system but those are the only changes to the Kaxig-sponsored car. "Everything was parked over the winter, I just didn't have the time to work on it because my truck painting business has been keeping me so busy", said Leif. Leif recently went to the USA to spend some time with the Simpson family who race Top Alcohol FC there. "It was more of a holiday than anything, it's good to get away from everything", said Leif. Leif also told us that he is seriously considering a career change. "I have been thinking about a Fuel Funny Car", he said. "With these cars you have to run 120 per cent all the time, and with more cars coming into TMFC some of us can move across. Spuff is always on at me to get a Fuel car! It would be a good way to end my career."
Lex Joon put his TMFC in the trailer after the Springnationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, and got it out yesterday. "We've got a lot of work to do!", said team member Gerda Dijkstra.
Switzerland's Urs Erbacher was not completely happy with his testing last weekend. "I only ran a half pass because it was so windy", he said. "We have made small changes to the ignition and freshened everything ready to run a 5.6!". Urs plans to run at Mantorp Park, Gardermoen and Hockenheim this year.
FIA European Top Fuel Champion Andy Carter said that he and his team were just about ready. "I'm looking forward to trying to win the event", he said. "I want to be number one qualifier to get the bye in the semi-finals. We've gone up a little bit on the tune-up, but not a massive amount."
In between meeting Andy Carter and reaching the next pit we met Antony Billinton of G-Max Fuels, who told us that Sammy Miller will be back much sooner rather than later with the Vanishing Point Rocket Funny Car. "I have the rocket apart at the moment, and I have found a couple of problems which I am working on". Antony said that if it came to it, Sammy would come to a Run What You Brung to check out the rocket motor and prove that the car can run low fours.
Top Fuel rookie Darryl Bradford was on Wednesday waiting on a replacement pinion support. Cambridge Motorsport came up with the goods. "It's the company I work for, their machinists can do anything", said Crew Chief and car owner John Wright. "They offered their time, sourced the metal and everything". Apart from the pinion support, the Wildside Inc Top Fueller suffered no damage during Darryl's licencing passes. "The last time I had a rear end go like that, it stripped the ring and pinion", said John.
FIM/UEM Supertwin Top Fuel Bike Champion Anders Karling is trying to get rid of the tyre shake which has hit his test runs so far. "We're changing the gearing and the tune-up, as it is too aggressive", he said.
Ton Pels and the Zodiac Supertwin TF team are very happy after running into the sixes and almost to two hundred miles per hour at the recent Speedfreaks Ball. "We're happy it stayed together because we changed so much", said Monique Pels. "We made new cylinders and moved the magnetos around to balance the bike. We also changed the paint because we like to change the look every couple of years to make it interesting for the press!"
Fellow Supertwin TF racer Svein Gottenberg said that he was in a good mood. "We like Santa Pod Raceway", he said. Svein has a bigger bore on his engine and is looking forward to trying it out, although he added "It is never easy at the first race". Svein and fellow Norwegian racer Ronny Aasen left home at eight o'clock on Tuesday morning to get here in time for the race. "We have to take two weeks off work for three days' racing", he said. Ronny Aasen said that he has made one pass so far on his very good-looking new bike, and that he took that very easy.
Finnish Super Street Bike turned STTF racer Kai Selkämaa is here learning the ropes under the guidance of Jaska Salakari, from whom he bought the bike. "The engine has new heads and manifold", said Jaska. Kai rode at Finland's Motopark last week and clocked a 1.13 sixty-foot time. "When I ran a 6.80 on this bike, it ran 1.20 to sixty feet so the power is there", said Jaska. This weekend's target is for Kai to get to the eighth-mile under power. "I'm taking it very slowly", he said. "Next year we'll be competitors and I'll tell him nothing!" said Jaska.
Showtime Fuel Funny Car Crew Chief Bob Jarrett tells us that he is planning for 5.2s this weekend. "We have a new fuel pump", he said. "The plan this weekend is to run consistently. If we get it right the ETs will happen". The Firebird body is still on the car even though the Avenger has been repaired after being damaged at the Springnationals. "It's more aerodynamic and it suits this track", said Bob. We tried to draw Bob on the terminal speeds he was expecting this weekend but he wasn't letting on.
Next door, the Shockwave Fuel FC has had major changes made since the last race. "We have an SSI supercharger, which is hopefully a step in the right direction", said Crew Chief and co-owner Dave Bryant. We have changed the fuel system to go with the blower. We have a brand new short motor, a new oil system - it was a Pro Billet but is now Keith Black. We also have a cam which Crane Cams have given us to test. It's not the usual grind - I gave my combination to Crane and they crunched the numbers and came up with this big motor cam for a little motor". Driver and co-owner Gordon Smith will be running to five hundred feet in today's first qualifying session to nake sure that it all hangs together. "I would like to thank the team for the extraordinarily long hours they have put in in the last couple of weekends", said Dave. "I would also like to thank the Showtime team for their help and especially Bob Jarrett for his assistance in getting a windscreen to us."
FIM/UEM European Pro Stock Bike Champion Roger Pettersson is getting a new bike which Crew Chief Roger Lyrén hopes will be ready in time for the next round at Alastaro. Roger is also putting together a new engine with specifically European settings. "Our back halves compare to the Pro Stock racers in the USA", he said, "so we need to work on the first half. Our goal is 300 kilometres per hour, and then to go below 7.3 seconds!".
UK Pro Stock Bike Chris Tombleson says that everything is going according to plan. "The assault on the Swedes is on course!", he said. "They call me the Gentle English Giant, always giving them their own way, but no more!".
Alex Hope, son of Pro Stock Bike racer Chris, said that his team have had a lot of work to do since the Springnationals. "We put the conrod through the front of the case, and did two rockers and four valves", he said. "Thanks to Roger Upperton for fixing the engine. We are now hoping to have two engines by the end of the year to play properly with the Swedes!". Alex also asked us to thank Gary Coule of Pinnacle Auto Centre in Stirling for his help so far this year and for the stunning paintwork on the body.
Richard Gipp asked us to mention that his Pro Stock Bike is for sale. "I have a new fairing on the bike, to help me sell it", he said. "I have changed the compression ratio to eighteen and a half to one, so that it goes quicker, so that I can sell it", he added. Richard is joining Chris Tombleson on the European Tour this season. "I'm looking forward to the tour", he said. "They've got more money up there so maybe I'll be able to sell it".
Qualifying is now underway, so stay tuned and we'll be back soon with all the news. The plan is to bring you details of every FIA, FIM/UEM, Fuel FC and Pro Mod session plus highlights from all other classes.