2005 FIA Main Event
Run What You Brung, 22nd May

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22:45

Today's pictures have now been posted; you can view them via the Event Index page.

18:50

We're on hold after a sprinkling of rain but not before a large number of racers ran. Let's take you through the latest runs:

Rolf Amman hit bad shake off the line in his Pro Mod but tried to drive through it. The car was weaving left and right, then made a violent move and Rolf got off the throttle and cruised through, 11.178/77.41.

Next up was Danny Cockerill in his Pro Mod. The car looked a little lazy (this is relative of course) in the first half of the track but really picked up in the second eighth whilst the stiff headwind was trying its best to move the car around. Danny held on to it no problem and clocked 6.751/207.18.

Micke Gullquist followed in his Pro Mod, his first run of the year. A nice burnout and then the car rolled out of stage just as the lights ran and Micke hit it. The car was moving around towards the top end but Micke stayed with it, 6.921/201.70.

Gordon Appleton hit shake in his Pro Mod and aborted the run pretty quickly, 11.776/69.87 after a 1.156 sixty foot by which time the tyres were already shaking.

Andy Robinson followed and was also hit by shake, 1.138 at sixty feet and Andy pedalled, then the car started to move around and he got off the throttle, 7.475/138.46.

Onto two wheels and Lorenz Stauble put in his first full pass on Urs Erbacher's Supertwin. Lorenz had the bike well under control into the headwind and clocked 8.760/152.09.

Urs Erbacher was next up, and a tremendous run it was too. A great burnout and then the Midland-backed TMFC shot off the line as if fired from a gun. No hint of shake but the car was moving around at the top end, some of the moves looked quite violent from here but Urs hung onto it, 5.716/249.93. The headwind was that fierce that Urs made the first turnout in the shutdown area!

Finally Mats Eriksson hit instant shake again in the Green Goblin Pro Mod. Mats clocked a nice 0.090 reaction but the tyres were shaking within twenty feet and then there was a puff of smoke from under the car and Mats got off the throttle, cruising through to a 17.810/62.30.

Pete Creswell clocked 9.740/145.61 in this session and Kim Bishop 11.002/122.68.

The last few racers to run in RWYB were as follow:

Jon Cohen (Sportsman ET) 13.916/102.30 and 13.526/102.05, Chris Mott (Supertwin Modified) 10.552/126.09, Joe Kellett (Junior Stock) 0.225 RT 14.321/41.98 and 0.376 RT 14.938/40.25, and Matt Seamarks (Junior Modified) 0.176 RT 16.328/41.49.

We have now been officially called so that's it for today. Sharkman is going to post today's pictures from home so tune back for those in a couple of hours - Shark says that he is going to publish his entire photo sequence of Peter Wacker's all-wheels-off wheelie, even including a couple of out-of-focus shots, so that you can see how it evolved.

Our next FIA Main Event update, at present, will be Friday morning's pit notes and first day of qualifying although stay tuned as there may be something to report before then. Thanks for tuning in today and we'll see you again in the next update.

16:50

Adrian Lockley's latest pass on his 9.50 Bike was a 9.580/156.18, whilst Ollie on Ken Cooper's Hirebusa - Ollie is on his Stag weekend - clocked a 9.983/139.89 on his last run down the track. Supertwin Modified racer Chris Mott and Comp Bike racer Stuart Crane then went head-to-head, Stuart clocking 8.555/153.01 to Chris' 11.165/108.99.

Michael Herron has been licencing in the SPRC Junior Dragster today, his latest pass a 0.531 RT and 19.421/27.64 at the stripe. Matt Seamarks and Joe Kellett then faced off, Joe in the Junior Stock Dragster pulled a 0.151 RT and 14.355/41.90 to get to the finish line first to Matt's 0.386 and 15.939/41.55 from the JM.

Luigi Chinarello went in with the RWYBers and again hit problems shifting gears on his Pro Stock Bike, off the throttle at about 100 feet and rolling through.

14:40

Tommy Möller has made his second pass of the day and it was much more successful! A fine burnout and then straight as you like on the green, driving through shake, off it at half track and the chutes out before the line, 5.696/151.97. Tommy's incrementals were:

Reaction: 0.288
60 feet: 0.986
330 feet: 2.312
Eighth ET: 3.357
Eighth speed: 235.72
990 feet: 4.409
ET: 5.696
Terminal speed: 151.97

We checked Tommy's incrementals against other Top Fuel passes here at Santa Pod and we project it to a 4.97.

Michael Malmgren clocked a 0.056 reaction on his latest pass but then it sounded as if the clutch broke, lots of revs and dust but very little forward motion from the Pro Stock.

Mats Eriksson and Danny Cockerill have also been out again in their Pro Mods. Mats went first, another fine burnout then 1.042 to sixty feet, then Mats hit shake and the car started to move about, he pedalled once then got off the throttle altogether and cruised to a 10.073/80.17.

No such problems for Danny Cockerill, a thundering burnout then a tremendous clean pass for the Chevy, 6.690/210.42. Danny told us before he ran that "This is getting boring", may you ever remain that boring if not even more so, Danny!

Tony Cohen improved his ET in the 2005 Mustang to a 13.592/103.47, whilst Graham Allen clocked a very good-looking 10.089/126.79 in his Super Gasser. In the other lane Lance Richards had another wild ride in his Capri, 11.495/125.97. Finally Kim Bishop clocked a very nice 11.100/121.65 in his Willys.

We're now on hold for rain, stay tuned.

13:50

A spectacular start to the afternoon session as Peter Wacker pulled a 0.34 reaction and then literally stood the Roofer's Toy Pro Mod up on its back bumper, all four wheels off and then some! The car went more or less vertical then it looked like a heavy landing, too, with sparks flying and the front end briefly bouncing back up again but Peter is A-OK and there is no obvious damage to the car. Sharkman has got some great shots for the Gallery so stay tuned.

13:00

Tommy Möller's first run of the day in the team's new car came to an ignominious end after the burnout throttle stop was left on the engine. The car sounded very strong indeed to that point. When Tommy hit the throttle and the engine grunted the Swedane crew all stood on the line hitting themselves on the head - which I guess is better than hitting each other!

A much better début for Gordon Appleton in the Wheelgame Racing Pro Mod with its new blown-alcohol engine. I'm guessing that Gordon stayed on the throttle as long as it felt good, 6.898/199.24 with a lot more left in the car by the look and sound of things.

Andy Robinson also made his first blown-alcohol pass, like Gordon a superb burnout but then Andy hit shake which lasted until about 300 feet when the car turned right, Andy pedalled and hung on to it, off the throttle a early, 7.175/140.56.

On two wheels Nick Moore's second run on his Super Street Bike was a 9.185/161.83, the engine again hesitating as the bike wheelied. John Floyd is really getting the numbers out of his Supertwin Gas bike, 9.287/138.02. Stuart Crane clocked 8.618/149.56 on his Comp Bike, the engine hesitating slightly so plenty more left there, whilst Chris Mott recorded 10.941/115.29 on his Supertwin Modified.

Joe Kellett's second run of the day in his Junior Dragster was a 0.217 RT, 14.138/42.49. Gino Bernadine's very nice-looking Pro ET Escort clocked 14.654/110.28 on what was obviously a checkout pass.

Finally before the lunch break, Steve French looked to be on a very strong pass on his Funny Bike but seemed to have problems selecting gears at about 330 feet then there was a flash of flame, 10.484/91.04. Steve is A-OK.

We're now on a lunch break, back soon.

12:30

Michael Malmgren's second run of the day was a much-improved 7.116/192.36. The car launched very hard and very straight, 1.041 to sixty feet, no sign of shake this time.

Luigi Chinarello was next up on his Pro Stock Bike, the bike sounding as if it had a misfire off the line and no gear changes.

Paul Hambidge clocked 9.738/140.22 on his next pass whilst the Hirebusa clocked 10.257/136.34 on its latest pass. Pro ET racer Sam Freeman is here making observed runs in his very nice altered, his latest pass an 11.653/91.62 getting off the throttle at three quarter track.

Pete Creswell was next up, 9.847/144.41 from is Super Gasser. Fellow SG racer Graham Allen followed, 10.439/131.18 whilst Lance Richards was far from straight with an 11.750/107.87 from his Pro ET Capri.

Next up was the first UK drag racing snowmobile, Max whose surname we don't have, 8.906/80.91 to half track where he backed off, 15.236/63.83 at the stripe.

Gordon Appleton, Andy Robinson and Tommy Möller are in the collection area, stay tuned.

12:15

Here are the notes from this morning's brief visit to the pits before the track opened:

The Lorentzon and Möller Top Fuel Dragster team were hard at work on their ex-Doug Herbert Top Fuel Dragster replacing the MSD ignition box which broke yesterday. Crew Chief Kenneth Lorentzon said that the plan is for Tommy Mölller to stay on the throttle as long as it feels OK. "We have a 4.64 tune-up in it so we don't know what it will do!", he said. Tommy said that he fits a lot better in this new car. "I sit lower, the roll cage is lower, so there is plenty of room for even a normal injector although we have the three-inch higher injector on the car", he said. If you are coming to Santa Pod next weekend then be sure to take a look at the team's trailer which features several very large pictures of the car. "It's a rolling scrapbook!", said Kenneth.

Eurodragster.com Home/news sponsor Andy Robinson said that he and his team only had to pull the pan of his new blown-alcohol engine to check that everything was OK before running this morning. "We need to get to the start line and make some noise", he said.

Fellow Pro Mod racer Robert Koper has a new engine in the form of Roger Johansson's 2004 motor, which weighs in at 735 ci. "We have everything we need to go fast", said Robert. "We have this new engine, and we are now running a clutch. Roger Johansson's Crew Chief is here helping us this weekend". Robert hopes to do a full pass on his second run of today.

Gordon Appleton and his team spent yesterday doing last minute jobs on the Wheelgame Racing Pro Mod. "I am not sure we would have been ready to run yesterday", said Gordon. "You leave all the little jobs until you get to the track, you think "It'll only take ten minutes" but when you add them all together it takes hours!". Gordon said that his team had done a great job of converting the car from its previous Nitrous guise. "They have done such a good job, you can't tell this used to be a Nitrous car", he said. "You can go to the States and look at cars which have been converted and the bottle holders are still there and so on". Gordon is impatient to get out on the track. "We've got a new gearbox and new clutch so it's a new way of driving so I've got to get out there", he said. "It's unbelievable how much work we've done", said Crew Chief Adrian Spencer. "To get to the line and pull away will be something. It's not just the physical work, but it's the calls to the USA - I've made 120 calls - and the trips over there to see people". Adrian said that Gordon and the team wanted to go blown-alcohol last year. "But it was a brand new car and we would have to have taken a hacksaw to it", he said.

Danny Cockerill was all ready to go, needing only to warm up the engine. of his Pro Mod. I asked Danny whether vision had turned out to be an issue with the huge supercharger a few feet from his face. "You learn to adapt", he said. "I can only just see the top amber!"

Michael Malmgren is planning to make four runs today in his Pro Stock. "We need to see how our new combination works out, it was OK at Meca over the eighth mile but we need to see how it looks on a full pass", he said. "This test engine has turned out to be very promising!"

12:05

Mats Eriksson pulled a spectacular two hundred-foot burnout before hitting instant shake in the Green Goblin Pro Mod. Robert Koper was next up in his Pro Mod, a slight hesitation off the line and off the throttle very quickly, 12.017/66.69. Danny Cockerill was next up, a tremendous two hundred-foot burnout and then a very solid 6.799/207.65.

Lorenz Stauble was next up wth his first-ever pass on Urs Erbacher's very tidy-looking Supertwin. A very competent burnout and then on the throttle to about four hundred feet, the bike was heading for the right guardrail and so Lorenz got off the throttle, 11.803/69.86.

Urs Erbacher was next in his Top Methanol FC, driving through shake then pedalling, off the throttle and 'chutes out just after half track and recording 7.932/79.94.

Rolf Ammann was next up in his beautiful Blown Nugget Pro Mod, one of the most unsubtle burnouts I've ever seen and heard and then straight at the Tree off the line, on and off the throttle with the car turning left and right, 12.184/72.44. Compatriot Peter Wacker followed, a great burnout in the Roofer's Toy although to the right of the groove. Peter staged in the middle of the lane and then hit vicour shake at the hit and rolled through 17.980/40.25 and probably a bit of a headache.

On the Sportsman side, Joe Kellett's first run of the day in his Junior Dragster was a 0.435 RT and 14.536/41.05 at the stripe. Super Street Bike racer Nick Moore clocked 8.933/174.44 even getting off the throttle for a wheelie, also with a brief feather of the throttle was Supertwin Modified racer Chris Mott who ran 11.188/113.59.

Pete Creswell ran 10.161/141.01 in his Super Gasser, the throttle stop seemed to be on for a very long time.

Stay tuned.

11:00

Michael Malmgren has made his first run of the day in his Grand Am Pro Stock. Michael kicked off with a great two hundred-foot burnout worthy of a Pro Mod before clocking 1.044 to sixty feet, which included hitting shake at about forty feet and shaking to 250 feet, 7.283/185.96 at the stripe.

9.50 Bike racer Paul Hambidge clocked 9.737/141.03 on his first pass of the day, whilst Ken Cooper's Hirebusa has re-appeared, the rider's first pass of the day a 10.662/135.13. SS28, no name I'm afraid, recorded 9.918/143.71 on his first run of the day.

The call has just come over the radio "Four or five Pro Mods on their way in ten minutes or so", stay tuned for that and for today's pit notes.

10:45

Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway on the second day of testing for next weekend's FIA Main Event. We're here to bring you all the news in association with American Car Imports.

The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and is broadcasting a picture every two minutes.

Don't forget that we are giving Eurodragster.com readers the chance to choose next weekend's webcam location. We had the webcam over the centre line looking up the track yesterday, and today it is showing the whole track from over the staging area, and we will then run a vote on Eurodragster.com starting tomorionrow to choose the location for the race.

The weather is much better today, we got going at about 10:20. A number of racers are plannning to run, as I type Luigi Chinarello has just broken in the burnout on his Pro Stock Bike and there is a lot of oil underneath the bike. Here's hoping that it's not as serious as it sounded.

Sam Freeman and Graham Allen have put in test launches in their Pro ET and Super Gas cars respectively, whilst American Car Imports joint MD and Eurodragster.com sponsor Tony Cohen has made two passes in one of the new 2005 Mustangs, a 13.928/100.88 and a 13.918 also at 100.88.

We have a number of pit notes to type up so tune back soon and we'll have those for you, as well as all the news of today's runs by racers.