2005 FIA Main Event
Saturday (qualifying)
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20:30
Today's pictures are now posted, you can view them via the Event Index page.
We'll be back in the morning with all the news from day three of the FIA Main Event.
18:50
We have now run final qualifying sessions for those classes which are going into eliminations tomorrow.
The final top five qualifiers in 9.50 Bike are:
Steve Knapp took the #1 spot in the last run of the last session!
The final top five qualifiers in Pro ET are:
The final top five qualifiers in Junior Dragster are:
The final top five qualifiers in Super Pro ET are:
The final top five qualifiers in Super Gas are:
Stay tuned as Simon is working on another set of pit notes, and Sharkman is working on today's photographs.
17:55
Martin Hill followed Pro Mod with a superb 5.958/252.88 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC, Martin was off the throttle early so as we all know there is more there!
Next up was the seventh session of Super Pro ET qualifying, no changes to the top five:
Roger Moore had a nitrous burp leaving the line in this session, no damage done. Andy Frost disappeared into a cloud of smoke at the finish line, hopefully no damage done. Jeff Meads pulled another wheelie off the start line and the car headed for the guardrail, Jeff pedalled and got the car straight. Also disappearing into a cloud of smoke was Ian Tubb, no word from the top end of what the problem was.
Session seven of Super Gas followed, Jon Morton joined Frank Mason on 9.900 but is #2 qualifier as Frank did it first. Then Conrad Stanley joined the pair of them to go into #3, well done guys!
The top thirteen are in the 9.9s.
Session seven of Sportsman ET qualifying was next up. Jon Turner moved into the top five:
Tanya Partridge's car is carrying the legend "Pick a number, any number" in shoe white below the dial-in!
Sportsman cycle seven finished with Junior Dragster. Sarah Romahn took over the lead from Holly Mitchell, then in the next pairing Peter Walters took it away with a 0.000, well done Peter! The top five qualifiers are now:
17:05
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Rolf Amman 7.577/188.35, Peter Wacker 6.937/190.66, Robert Koper broke before burnout, Ian Bishop 7.183/191.51 bye, Patrick Wikström 6.526/220.43, Freddy Fagerström 6.551/208.67, Håkan Fallström 7.501/136.81, Danny Cockerill 6.745/209.30, Norbert Kuno 7.327/161.87, Andy Robinson 6.491/214.29, Henri Joosten 15.850/43.27, Roger Johansson 6.403/206.25, Micke Gullquist 15.413/65.58, Mats Eriksson 9.105/93.94
Switzerland v Sitzerland in the first pair, Rolf's Coupe stepped out to the left off the line, he pedalled and straightened the car up and got back on it; Peter went nice and straight and backed off it a touch early. A great pass from Ian improved his ET but he stayed where he was in the standings...plenty more time to take even more ET off! Freddy pulled a 300-foot burnout and then shot back to the start line leaving his crew gasping. Patrick and Freddy had a great side-by-side 6.5-second match-up, 0.065 in it at the finish line and both moving up the standings. Håkan's engine made ominous banging and grunting noises towards the finish line, although h estill moved up the list, Danny in the other lane improved his ET slightly but stayed where he was. Norbret whacked Andy on the lights 0.251 to 0.600 but Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy drove past him to record a new Personal Best and move up the standings, well done Andy! Henri Joosten had a bang and a puff of smoke from under his car and he got off the throttle whilst Roger was on a great pass, into second place, although there was a cloud of smoke from his engine just before the finish and the terminal speed was down even given the headwind. Tremendous burnouts from Micke and Mats before their match-up, both rolling most of the way to half track, on the green both hit shake - Micke's shake was so bad that you could not tell where the edges of the tyres were.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
16:40
FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Timo Habermann 7.090/130.92 bye, Rob Turner 5.638/239.77, Krister Johansson 5.833/189.66, Dave Wilson 5.495/251.64, Peter Schöfer 5.681/247.11
Timo's dragster got into a real pendulum effect, the car moving left and right, but Timo stayed on the thottle throughout, then shut off at half track but still improving on his previous pass. Krister's tyres didn't turn at all in his burnout, a bit too much stop there I guess. On the green Krister's legendary reactions proved still to be there, 0.131 to Rob's 0.200 and boy did that car shake race control. The cars were welded together to half track, Rob's car made a move for the guardrail, Rob calmly straightened the car out whilst Krister got off the throttle and had the chutes out at about 1100 feet. Dave and Peter had a great match-up, Dave just away first, 0.906 to sixty feet and never looking back whilst Peter drive through shake and improved in his earlier ET.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
16:20
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Dan Larsen shut off on line (bye), Jurgen Nagel 10.525/79.21, Jörgen Johnsson shut off after burnout, Steph Milam 10.747/85.37, Ulf Leanders no time recorded, Trev Capewell 6.167/229.84, Leif Andréasson 5.994/240.61, Niclas Andersson 7.416/127.14, Arvid Grødem 6.208/229.51
Chief Starter Ian Marshall signalled Dan to shut off after seeing fluid leaking from the Boxter FC. Jörgen shut off after his burnout with a broken blower belt and the crew rushed to sideline the car and get him out before Jurgen could run. Jurgen leapt into stage on Ian's sign and then on the green the FC hit shake and started drifting towards the left-hand guardrail and he backed off. No smoke from Steph's tyres on her burnout before the match-up with Ulf Leanders, Ulf's body was lifted up for a moment before he went into stage, from here we couldn't see what the problem was. Ulf rolled through stage before the lights ran, Steph's FC headed left and the front end jumped in the air more than once as she pedalled - I'd swear that all four wheels were off for a moment. Steph was off the throttle by about 400 feet. Confusion next pairing as Leif Andréasson pulled into the right hand land and did a huge burnout, rolling past half-track, and Trev Capewell came around the corner into the right hand lane. Trev quickly reversed up and went into the left lane, pulled a short burnout at the instruction of Ian Marshall, then his crew got him back behind the line and staged without keeping Leif waiting, well done guys. Leif drove through shake and put down a good pass whilst Trev recorded a new personal best, well done Trev! Great burnouts from both Niclas and Arvid before their match-up, Arvid rolled almost to half-track. On the green both drove through shake, Arvid wasn't getting off it for anything as the car moved around whilst Niclas got off the throttle early.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
16:00
FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Chris Andrews broke (bye), Jöran Persåker 10.515/64.63 bye, Micke Kågered no time, Andy Carter 6.209/148.09, Smax Smith 6.642/136.04, Lex Joon 10.690/72.44, Jon Webster 5.779/185.26, Thomas Nataas 9.972/81.10
The revs on Chris' car went through the roof on the burnout and there was a bang, a huge ball of flame, and even up in race control we could feel the heat from the fireball. The blower was sitting askew the engine as the car was pushed back. Jöran's crew had trouble starting the car but it fired for the second time of asking after a precautionary hand-crank. A crisp burnout and then on the green a nice launch but then a bang and a huge ball of green-tinged flame, and a trail of fuel along the track. Jöran had a job on his hands to keep the car off the wall as the fluid obviously got on the tyres, the car turned one way then the other, but he kept it in the road and got it stopped just past the finish line. The barest of haze from Andy's tyres on his burnout, on the green Micke hit shake and the chutes fell out at 250 feet as the car made a move to the left, then the blower belt came off and Micke stopped at about 1200 feet. Andy hit shake at about 120 feet but judging by his tyre tracks he pedalled at about 300 feet and the tyres hooked up, then the car made a move to the left and Andy got off the throttle. Smax's car moved forward as it started and his crew had to move very quickly to restart the engine, they kept their heads and Smax was into his burnout only moments behind Lex. Lex pulled a 0.133 red light but then the front end of the MPM car went up and up and up, easily half way towards the vertical. I have no idea how he did it without blowing the engine to bits but Lex calmly put the car down very gently indeed. Smax in the other lane was on a solid run, but backed off before half track. Jon and Thomas both hit shake and pedalled more or less simlultaneously, Thomas shook again and got off the throttle at about 250 feet whilst Jon got back on it and then backed off after half track.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
15:20
FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Ulf Jonsson 7.224/189.02, Magnus Hansson 7.387/163.07, Jackie Hansen 7.110/193.95, Rickard Sundblöm 7.727/177.89, Jimmy Ålund 8.409/109.20, Michael Malmgren 7.059/195.35
Ulf and Magnus had a nice match-up, Ulf was off the throttle and had the chutes out early and Magnus was also off the throttle early, his pass looked quicker than the ET which came up on the timing display. Jackie and Richard were side-by-side most of the way down the track, interestingly their gear shift points were obviously set in very different places whereas normally with a pair of Pro Stocks they sound more or less simultaneous. Rickard shut off at about 1000 feet. Jimmy Ålund got way out of shape in his match-up against Michael Malmgren and shut off at half track, Michael improved his ET with a solid, straight and consistent pass but stayed in second place.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
15:10
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Chris Tombleson no time recorded (bye), Sandra Chaplain 11.248/143.39 bye, Tim Blakemore broke, Steve Carey 12.224/56.11, Nils Ole Lund shut off for fluid leak, Shaun Branch 19.608/75.63, Eric Teboul shut off on line, Neil Midgley 6.966/179.99, Dave Holland 8.482/98.93, Roel Koedam 6.490/198.08, Gary Jones broke on line, Steve Woollatt left before lights, Ian King 9.763/82.87
Chris Tombleson's engine cut out on the start line again, Chris' body language was quite something. Tim Blakemore had problems keeping his engine running, Sandra got the bye and seemed to have problems getting off the line but the bike picked up towards the finish line. Steve Carey took a bye after Nils Ole Lund was shut off for a leak, Steve's bike left well but the tyre was shaking a little and Steve was headed for the centre line so he got off the throttle. Eric wasn't happy as he pulled forward for his burnout, shaking his head as the bike rolled forward, he shut off in stage. Meanwhile in the other lane Shaun's bike left very gently and he got off the throttle at about 200 feet. Neil and Dave were side-by-side to half track in their match-up but then Midgo pulled ahead, Dave shut off early, Midgo moved up to #2 at that point. Roel put in a flyer, the bike drifting very slightly sideways towards the centre line but Roel stayed with it, although the bike disappeared in a cloud of smoke in the shutdown area. Gary's bike didn't move on the green. Steve left before the lights ran and got no time, it looked a great run. Ian had shake and got off the throttle.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
14:50
FIM/UEM Supertwin qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Hans Christian Nilsen 8.250/164.97, Gunther Sohn 16.604/41.24, Thomas Sulek 9.508/139.34 bye, Joachim Riemer no time recorded, Ronny Aasen 9.162/99.11, Hans Olav Olstad 7.624/185.27, Svein Gottenberg 7.534/144.20, Ton Pels 7.015/195.65 bye
Hans Christian's first run of the weekend put him into the qualifying field so far, Gunther Sohn headed for the right-hand guardrail and shut off. Thomas' bike appeared to miss a gear change at the first attempt which will have lost him some time. Joachim's engine cut out just as he left the line, the start line crew sprinted to Joachim's aid with a fire extinguisher but it wasn't needed, whilst Ronny hit tyre shake and the bike drifted towards the right-hand guardrail leaving a caterpillar track. Hans Olav and Svein had a good match-up, Hans Olav moving up a place with his pass. Tin put in a superb straight pass into the headwind to take #1 spot.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
14:40
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Roger Pettersson 7.558/175.73, Ray Debben 8.007/163.66, Martin Newbury 8.469/157.88, Luigi Chinarello 19.393/32.20, Len Paget 8.176/155.16, Richard Gipp 8.232/157.86, Martin Bishop 7.933/162.55, Chris Hope 8.065/149.39, Anders Abrahamsson 7.549/172.41 bye
Roger Pettersson took #1 spot at that point with his first run of the weekend whilst Ray Debben set a new PB to move up the field. A big improvement from Martin Newbury whilst Luigi Chinarello sat up and got off the throttle at about 100 feet. Len Paget improved but stayed where he was, whilst Martin Bishop moved up the standings with his run. Anders Abrahamsson improved to take #1 spot from Roger Pettersson.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
14:30
The seventh qualifying session in Pro ET followed the Pro qualifying cycle. Carla Pittau and Spencer Tramm moved into the top five in this session:
Congratulations to Ron Bartlett who is £75 better off courtesy of Eurodragster.com and Speedflow after pulling a 0.000 Reaction Time, winning the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award.
Next up was session seven of Super Street and Elisabeth Bredal improved to consolidate her #1 spot and John Grant moved up a place in the top five:
Session seven of Super Comp followed, no changes to the top five in this session:
Round three of Comp Eliminator was next up, Per Mikkelsen made his first appearance of the weekend in his beautiful shoebox, taking the lead:
The seventh session of 9.50 Bike followed on, Steve Wood moved up the top five in this session:
We're about to start the second Pro cycle, stay tuned.
13:45
Fuel Funny Car match race 1: John Spuffard 10.859/72.57 def. Gordon Smith 19.870/42.94
Nice burnouts by both cars then on the green a very strong launch from Spuff, 0.904 to sixty feet and then blackstriping at about eighty feet and off the throttle. Gordon's rear tyres went up in smoke at the hit.
Martin Hill followed the Fuel FC match race with a 6.011/243.34 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC.
Trackside conditions are 17.2 C, 62% humidity and 29.88 inches of air.
13:35
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Ian Bishop 7.343/187.62 bye, Danny Cockerill 6.748/208.28 bye, Rolf Ammann shut off after burnout, Gordon Appleton 7.716/128.19 bye, Jörgen Karlsson shut off after burnout, Bert Englefield no time recorded, Robert Koper no time recorded, Peter Wacker 9.928/85.36, Henri Joosten 6.709/195.35, Andy Robinson 6.572/212.28, Norbert Kuno 8.516/121.62, Freddy Fagerström 6.851/202.80, Håkan Fallström 9.045/95.15, Roger Johansson 6.483/181.66, Micke Gullquist 6.423/213.26, Mats Eriksson 6.339/225.21, Patrick Wikström 10.427/75.26
Ian Bishop's first-ever Pro Mod pass opened the session, a nice burnout and then a good straight run although I didn't hear any gear shifts. Rolf didn't come back after his burnout, the car pushed to the side whilst Danny put in his pass, the car swayed left and right a little in the first half of the track but Danny had it well covered and put down a good marker. Jörgen was pushed back after he returned from his burnout. Gordon got the bye and put in what was looking like a great run, 1.048 to sixty feet, the car was headed to the left off the startline but Gordon stayed with it, 4.424/147.43 at half track but then the blower belt came off just after half-track. Bert then pulled off one of the best driving jobs I have ever seen to save his Coupe, the tyres shaking and going up in smoke off the line, Bert pedalled only for the left tyre to hook up and turn the car hard right, up on two wheels and head-on for the right guardrail, as soon as the car came down again Bert steered the car left and the rear right quarter of the car just barely tagged the rail. Well done Bert! Meanwhile in the other lane Robert Koper had left early and was luckily ahead of Bert when he crossed lanes. Peter's Chevy left the line horizontally this time but drifted left and Peter got off the throttle, in the other lane Henri pulled a 0.187 red light but went straight and true, almost a personal best even with the chutes out early. Andy Robinson drove through shake to record a new personal best ET - well done Andy! - but smoke appeared from the Stude towards the top end and the car disappeared into a cloud of smoke just past the finish. Word on the top end radio was that it was likely just smoke from a rubbing tyre. Norbert's Avenger weaved left and right and he eventually got off the throttle. Great burnouts from Freddy and Håkan and on the green both headed for the centreline and came very close together, Håkan got off the throttle and hit the brakes very hard towards the top end whilst Freddy needless to stay stayed with it! Roger and Micke had a tremendous match-up, Roger went down the left side of his lane and put his chutes out before the finish line whilst Micke went down the middle of his lane, hardly moving around, and took the #1 spot at that point. Patrick pulled a 300-foot burnout before his match-up with Mats, Mats pulled a 0.102 red light and drove down the left hand side of his lane to take #1 spot, Patrick hit shake and got off the throttle.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:50
FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Timo Habermann 8.896/89.79 bye, Rob Turner 5.657/234.45 bye, Peter Schöfer 5.772/243.39, Dave Wilson 5.448/252.88
Timo Habermann pulled a great burnout, on the green the dragster hit shake and then sounded as if the engine was misfiring, at about 400 feet the dragster suddenly made a violent move to the left and Timo got off the throttle. An absolutely tremendous pass from Rob Turner to take the #1 spot at that point, 0.983 to sixty feet and just kept on going, 202.68 mph at half track, a little move towards the top end but Rob stayed with it. We then had a Christmas Tree swap, track announcer Graham Beckwith suggesting that the original was shedding needles. Drama before the Peter v Dave match-up, the ACI Racing team appearing from here to have trouble starting the car but then Grumpy appeared round the corner as Peter pulled his burnout. On the green Peter was away first but Grumpy had caught him by sixty feet and drove through shake, pulling away all the way down the track.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:35
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Trev Capewell 6.464/215.37 bye, Steph Milam 6.537/231.97 bye, Jurgen Nagel 7.105/200.73 bye, Jörgen Johnsson no time, Dan Larsen 6.200/231.99, Arvid Grødem 6.624/220.97, Niclas Andersson 6.344/164.90, Leif Andréasson 9.283/89.35, Urs Erbacher 5.789/248.55
A great run from Trev Capewell to start the session. A superb burnout and then the car went straight as you like, leaving the line with a cylinder out which cleared very quickly, then Trev got a bit of a shock in the headwind at the top end as the car stopped between the first exit and the end of the track. A nice run too for Steph Milam; the car left the line gently, 1.307 to sixty feet with the throttle feathering, then was visibly accelerating hard towards the finish line, blasting Steph's personal best speed out of sight, well done Steph! Next up was Jurgen Nagel on a bye, the car left in a languid manner and then Jurgen put the throttle all the way down as the car went up the track, a new PB speed, well done Jurgen! Dan's tyres didn't light up on his burnout and then exactly the same thing happened to Jörgen. On the green Jörgen got away frst 0.138 to 0.200 but Dan quickly pulled ahead, Dan looked to be fighting his car all the way down the track but then he took out the 990 feet and both top end reflectors. Dan was way ahead of Jörgen anyway, but Jörgen obviously saw Dan coming and got off the throttle. Arvid didn't light the tyres in his burnout before his match-up with Niclas, whilst Niclas pulled a great 150-foot burnout. On the green Niclas was away first and very strongly, 1.007 to sixty feet, Arvid pedalled the car a number of times as the front end kept lifting. Niclas' Sandflex-backed FC made a move towards the centre line at about 1000 feet and he put the chutes out before the finish line. Leif's TMFC has lost the sharkfin but grown spill plates, the Kamasa-backed FC left the line wheels-up and headed for the guardrail so he got off the throttle. Meanwhile Urs went straight as you like and took number one spot by half a second - last week's testing bearing fruit I'd say.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:50
FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Lex Joon 6.784/118.03, Jon Webster 5.319/264.47, Smax Smith 8.718/80.76 bye, Thomas Nataas 5.297/198.27 bye, Tommy Möller 5.933/150.43, Micke Kågered 10.708/70.31
Andy Carter asked us to say a big Hello to James Rudland when we covered the first round of Top Fuel qualifying.
Great burnouts from Lex and Jon in the first match-up, Lex pedalling the car and two cylinders looking to be out on the right side although that is not uncommon in Top Fuel burnouts. One the green Lex was away first with the front end in the air and pulled a 0.867 sixty foot to Jon's 0.965. Towards half track the MPM dragster made a move towards the left guardrail and Lex shut off, meanwhile Jon in the Canto car started to get out of shape towards the top end and the car made a major move to the left just before the finish line. Smax took a bye in the McDonald brothers' dragster, a great burnout and then a gentle launch, 1.042 to sixty feet and then Smax got off the throttle at about four hundred feet for a good first pass for the car. Thomas Nataas was next up, a fine launch, 0.896 to sixty feet, 3.327/243.57 at half-track, then Thomas got off the throttle at about 900 feet. Tommy and Micke matched up, a very short burnout for Micke and Tommy didn't get the tyres to light. It didn't matter though as on the green the Swedanes' car was off like a rifle shot, 0.866 to sixty feet, 3.415/222.73 at half track but it then appeared as if the car lost the blower belt or a burst panel. Micke hit shake at about sixty feet and got off the throttle. There was a clean-up in Tommy's lane after his run.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:30
FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Rickard Sundblöm 7.595/182.35, Ulf Jonsson 8.583/102.01, Magnus Hansson 7.928/121.24, Jackie Hansen 7.078/194.04, Michael Malmgren 7.061/195.66, Jimmy Ålund 6.976/197.16
Ulf clocked a 0.056 RT in his match-up with Rickard, Rickard quickly caught Ulf up as Ulf shut off after half track and put the chutes out before the finish line. A great side-by-side for Magnus and Jackie, Magnus got very close to the left-hand guardrail and got off the throttle at half-track whilst Jackie went straight and true and took #1 spot at that point. The Champion and the former Champion then matched up, Jimmy getting away first 0.069 to Michael's 0.101 and staying ahead all the way down.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:25
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Chris Tombleson broke on line (bye), Tim Blakemore broke on burnout, Sandra Chaplain no time recorded (bye), Gary Jones 8.187/139.24, Steve Carey 12.124/60.07, Dave Holland 8.989/91.09, Neil Midgley 7.766/127.81, Ian King 7.832/115.05, Steve Woollatt 6.864/197.34, Nils Ole Lund shut off for fluid leak, Shaun Branch 7.939/117.86, Eric Teboul shut off after burnout, Roel Koedam 7.052/131.55
Chris Tombleson's engine died as the lights ran - his new bike is very good-looking indeed. Sandra Chaplain left the line but when the bike changed gear the revs went down and the bike rolled to a stop. Gary Jones and Steve Carey were both on good passes but Steve's bike headed for the guardrail and he got off the throttle and rolled through. Dave Holland and Neil Midgley were both affected by the wind in the second half of the track, Neil's bike was really putting on the power in the first half and at one point went a little sideways, I guess that was at a gear change. Ian King and Steve Woollatt has a superb match-up, Steve got away first, Ian had better incrementals but the bike started to drift towards the top end and he got off it whilst Steve went straight and true and into number one spot at that point. Shaun Branch put in the straightest run of the session on his Funny Bike and that looked like one of the best runs Shaun had ever made until he got off the throttle at about 1000 feet. Roel Koedam also put in a tremendous straight pass, 1.096 to sixty feet, but then there was a puff of vapour from the bike at about 600 feet and Roel shut off.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:05
FIM/UEM Supertwin qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Lorenz Stable 9.110/151.97, Thomas Sulek 9.013/143.80, Gunther Sohn no time recorded (bye), Svein Olav Rolfstad 7.091/189.00, Joachim Riemer 7.980/174.45, Svein Gottenberg 7.287/183.54, Hans Olav Olstad 7.706/193.20, Ronny Aasen 7.639/180.74, Ton Pels 7.114/189.85
Thomas Sulek got the jump off the start line in his match-up with Lorenz Stauble and the bike went straight and true whilst Lorenz Stauble flirted with the centre line all the way down and feathered the throttle to keep the bike in his lane. Gunther Sohn's bike headed right as soon as he left the line and although he did his best to avoid it, he hit the 330 foot reflector. Svein Olav Rolfstad and Joachim Riemer had a great match-up, Joachim leaving first by a huge margin, but Svein Olav rode past him whilst simultaneously trying to keep the bike off the centre line. A similarly nice match between Svein Gottenberg and Hans Olav Olstad, Svein was really motoring in the first half of the track but Hans Olav was visibly catching up in the second half. Ronny Aasen and Ton Pels had a staging duel before their match-up and on the green Ton ran away with it as Ronny's bike headed for the centre line.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
10:45
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Ray Debben 8.279/161.36, Martin Newbury 20.737/26.08, Luigi Chinarello broke off line, Len Paget 8.249/152.52, Richard Gipp 8.044/160.79, Martin Bishop 8.129/158.30, Anders Abrahamsson 7.688/164.81, Anders Larsson 7.637/160.66, Chris Hope 7.794/163.60 bye
Ray Debben's run was straight and true, Martin Newbury headed for the right-hand guardrail and got off the throttle, the bike rolled to a halt in the shutdown area and had to be rescued by the top end crew so maybe Martin had a problem. Len Paget's run was similar to Ray Debben's, straight and clean. Richard Gipp and Martin Bishop were side-by-side on their match-up, Richard very close to the centre line and only 0.190 in it at the finish. Another tremendous side-by-side from the two Anders, Anders Abrahamsson getting close to the left guardrail but staying with it, 0.172 at the finish line. Chris Hope's run was very straight and solid, a marker down for the weekend.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
10:30
Session six of Super Gas was next up, no changes to the top five but again a lot of breakouts.
Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Matthew Wright pulled a huge wheelstand in his Chevy pick-up, that new engine is certainly producing the power!
The sixth session of Sportsman ET qualifying followed, no changes to the top five in this session:
Jon Cohen went into the twelves in the American Car Imports Racing Mustang, a 12.987 breakout but that will have sold another Mustang or two. I know I want one!
The last class in this Sportsman qualifying cycle was Junior Dragster, no changes in the top five:
Holly Mitchell is certainly on her qualifying game, a 0.005 in this session.
We're now going into our Pro qualifying cycle starting with the three FIM/UEM classes, stay tuned.
10:00
The sixth session of 9.50 Bike saw no changes to the top five:
Super Stret Bike racer Mark Fisher clocked 8.203/179.26 in this session. Yet more naughtiness!
Next up was the sixth session of Super Pro ET qualifying. No changes to the top five this time:
Congratulations to Derek Flynn who clocked his first-ever six-second pass, a 6.946/190.63, in his Gold RV Racing dragster. Derek dialled-in a 6.96 but I'm sure he won't be bothered about breaking out! A pat on the back also to Steve Pateman who clocked 8.183/172.32 in his street-legal Calibra, getting close to a PB, fellow Street Eliminator racer Andy Frost clocked 8.375/168.39 on an 8.45 dial-in. There was a flash of flame and a loud bang from Ian Hook's '34 Ford just before the finish line, no word on what the problem was.
Round two of Comp Eliminator qualifying followed and again only Stefan Giese appeared but he improved big time:
9:35
Today's qualifying action started with the sixth qualifying session in Pro ET, trackside conditions at the start of the session were 16.5C, 66% humidity and 29.83 inches of air. No changes to the top five which is not surprising given the headwind although we had a lot of breakouts in this session!
Next up this morning was session six of Super Street qualifying. Brian Huxley moved into the top five. Dave Cherrett has yet to run the right side of the 10.90 index in six rounds of qualifying!
Session six of Super Comp followed on, Zane Llewellyn moving up a place in the top five:
8:30
Good morning and welcome from a very breezy Santa Pod Raceway. The 2005 FIA and FIM/UEM Championships start here and 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.
It's a nice morning here but there is a very stiff headwind, it's got half an hour to drop before we start with Pro ET. The weather station sensor is going outside very shortly so stay tuned and we'll bring you the trackside conditions in the next update.
A few Hellos this morning, firstly to our good buddies Hannele Höydén, Magnus Cato and Andy Bissett who are tuned in from Finland, Sweden and the USA respectively. Hello also to Mack and Iain Burns, to our friends on 200mph who are tuned in for news of the latest exploits of the Super Street Bike racers in 9.50 Bike, and hello also to our friends on Volkszone who are also tuned in. Hope you enjoy the coverage guys.
Finally a big Hello to Andy Marrs...see you tomorrow Andy!
We're due to start at 9:00 with a complete cycle of Sportsman qualifying, Pro qualifying starts at 10:30 with the three FIM/UEM classes then the FIA classes and Fuel Funny Car. Stay tuned and as soon as qualifying gets underway we'll bring you all the latest.
Simon will be off on his first trip round the pits soon so be sure to check out the pit notes page for all the lowdown from the pits.