2007 Easter Thunderball
Saturday (qualifying)


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22:25

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 qualifying, and some Sportsman classes start eliminations tomorrow afternoon. The webcam will be on all night again if you really have nothing better to do. See you in the morning!

20:10

Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Ross Norris 0.0000
  2. Jayne Kay 0.0001
  3. Matthew Seamarks 0.0009
  4. Zak Johnson 0.0030
  5. Pontus Dantanus 0.0060

Jayne Kay moved up into second spot with another 0.000, well done Jayne!

That's all the qualifying for today. Simon is working on more pit notes and has just posted an update to Lex Joon's Blog, and Roger is working on today's pictures so stay tuned for those.

20:00

Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Lee Huxley +0.0110 15.2610/89.64
  2. Nigel Holland +0.0249 15.2549/90.20
  3. Ian Petrie +0.0319 17.0119/77.46
  4. Steve Partis +0.0341 18.8841/71.88
  5. Martin Lewis +0.0409 15.2509/87.20

No changes to the top five in this session.

19:55

Martin Hill followed Street Eliminator with a 6.2109/261.57 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC. Martin backed off a touch early so there's more in there.

Super Gas qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Mark White 9.9011/133.48
  2. Pete Cresswell 9.9011/135.94
  3. Conrad Stanley 9.9043/155.65
  4. Christer Uhlin 9.9049/129.40
  5. Paul Spiers 9.9071/137.61

Paul Spiers moved back into the top five in this session, #5 at that point, doing very well indeed for his first race in Super Gas!

The top fifteen qualifiers are in the 9.9s.

19:40

Real Steel Street Eliminator qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Colin Lazenby 8.1670/179.11
  2. Steve Pateman 8.5629/169.85
  3. Jerry Charles 8.5770/168.57
  4. Andy Frost 8.6710/182.83
  5. Ian Jackson 8.8481/164.19

A big improvement for Steve Pateman moved him up into #2 spot. In the penultimate pairing Jerry Charles moved up to #3 with a great pass, nice one Jerry. In this session we got the first look at Steve Nash's new car fresh out of the workshops of Chris Isaacs Race Cars; Nick Davies of Eurodragster.com Main Sponsor ICE Automotive told us that Splinter only arrived here a short while ago. The car is all in primer right now but even in primer is pretty imposing. Splinter pulled a tremendous long burnout and then his first run was more or less a rolling burnout for about a hundred feet, he pedalled and clocked 10.7680/167.91 for his first pass.

Next up was Jonas Dantanus in his fourth Pro Stock licencing pass. It sounded as if the last gear change didn't take but still a nice pass, 7.5999/148.54.

Trackside conditions are 57.4 F, 41% humidity, 30.00 inches of air; track temperature is 59.0 F.

19:25

9.50 Bike qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Jason Macan 9.5058/142.54
  2. Steve Coombs 9.5092/141.01
  3. Carl Atkinson 9.5100/147.59
  4. Ed Smiley 9.5169/142.40
  5. Richard Sawatzki 9.5210/139.35

No changes to the top five in this session. The top fourteen qualifiers are in the 9.5s.

19:15

Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Dave Smith 7.4459/197.42
  2. Steve Venables 7.5339/193.01
  3. Graham Balchin 7.5872/188.98
  4. Jamie Sneddon 7.8789/184.40
  5. Nigel Barker 7.8943/182.78

Jamie Sneddon was what the timing console said and you're not hallucinating, that's what it originally said here in this report, but it was Dave Smith who turned up the wick still further to take over #1 spot, well done Dave!

19:10

Next up after Super Pro ET was Bob Glassup with a test pass in the Xtreme NFAA altered, exactly the same result as his last run, instant shake off the line, Bob pedalled but to no avail and he pulled over to the side of the lane.

Trackside conditions at the start of Super Comp session 6 were 59.4 F, 40% humidity and 30.03 inches of air; track temperature was 61.3 F.

Super Comp qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Chris Isaacs 8.9018/150.51
  2. Paul Knight 8.9088/155.70
  3. Tethys 8.9161/105.09
  4. Belinda Bull 8.9181/159.64
  5. Pete Creswell 8.9289/153.70

Tethys moved into the top five in this session, in at #2 spot at that point, very finely judged too since that car is capable of very low eights. In the very next pairing Paul Knight took #2 spot away from him, great qualifying action! The top eleven qualifiers are in the 8.9s.

19:00

Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Steve Green +0.0020 8.6820/156.27
  2. Nick Good +0.0058 8.5458/153.57
  3. Nick Spence +0.0099 8.1399/166.65
  4. Martyn Jones +0.0136 7.6936/171.21
  5. Barry Giles +0.0141 7.6141 172.99

Martyn Jones moved up to #2 spot in the first pairing of this session. Towards the end of the session Nick Spence took over #2. A dramatic match-up in the next pairing as Mark Pointer had the Fordson van up on one rear wheel again and shut off - luckily as it happens since Ashley Bell in the other lane got way out of shape: the roadster turned right then spun round and just missed the guardrail at the finish line, a great driving job by Ashley kept him off both guardrails but there was only a fag paper in it. Steve Green took over #1 spot in the very last pairing of the session.

18:20

Pro ET qualifying top five after session 6:

  1. Keith Herbert +0.0001 11.3001/116.87
  2. Carl Burton +0.0010 11.2010/118.76
  3. Jon Turner +0.0100 11.9100/112.16
  4. Brian Huxley +0.0130 10.4830/127.05
  5. Dan Page +0.0139 11.4539/116.24

Keith Herbert took #1 spot and the Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award in the last pairing of the session, well done Keith! In this session we also had our second 0.0000 reaction time of the day, this time by John Morris.

Trackside conditions are 63.3 F, 37% humidity and 3003 inches of air; track temperature is 69.2 F.

18:10

Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 4:

  1. Dave Beck 7.3108/182.30
  2. Len Paget 7.4938/171.84
  3. Richard Gipp 7.7911/165.97
  4. Ray Debben 8.0151/163.44
  5. Paul King 8.0168/164.20

Dave Beck took over #1 spot with his first pass of the weekend whilst Ray Debben improved and moved up a place. Paul King shut off after his burnout, re-fired then stopped again, Len Paget took a bye of 7.5369, staying in #2 spot.

Funny Bike qualifying after session 5:

  1. Chris Hall 7.4410/164.19
  2. Steve French 7.5243/169.70
  3. Stu Chamberlain 7.9980/164.35
  4. Dave Bailey 8.2569/144.20
  5. Tim Blakemore 8.5540/130.73

An improvement for Steve French but he stayed in #2 spot at that point, Shaun Branch in the other lane was shut off. In the next pairing Neil Midgley shut off on the line, Dave Bailey took the bye and the motor didn't sound at all right, 8.7599. Same as earlier for Tim Blakemore, blazing the tyre at about 400 feet and eventually having to give up although his ET improved. Neil Midgley came back but shut off on the line again.

Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Kev Charman 7.5829/169.86
  2. Gary Jones 7.6070/173.06
  3. Phil Leamon 8.4329/156.26
  4. Nick Holland 8.3939/151.43
  5. Roland Chaplain 8.5592/153.42

Kev Charman took the lead back from Gary Jones with an excellent pass.

17:50

Next up after the NFAA was Patrik Pers with his Fuel FC licencing pass. A bit of trouble getting the body latched but then a very competent burnout - lots of nitro fumes up here in Race Control too, nice! 0.4721 reaction time and 0.979 sixty foot time, the car was accelerating hard before Patrik got off the throttle at about 200 feet, 9.3681/87.00 at the stripe. Patrik looked pretty comfortable in the car, nice job!

Roger Goring followed up with a new Personal Best 6.1573/255.72 in the Firestorm Jet Funny Car, well done Roger!

17:45

Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association qualifying session 3 (left lane first):

Frank Bennett 7.1240/192.29, Clayton Round 7.0362/193.01, Jim Usher 6.8152/209.28, John Wright 8.2579/110.60, Bob Glassup no time, Dave Grabham 9,3562/150.38

A big burnout for Clayton, rolling to a stop in the eighth-mile traps. On the green then a tremendous side-by-side run with Clayton getting to the stripe first by 0.0129 seconds. From Race Control we saw almost the entire left side of Chaos as it got way out of shape in the burnout, the way Fuel Altereds should! John took the long way round on his pass, then there was a pop and the blower belt broke and fell on to the track, in the other lane Jim was going straight and true but the motor started to smoke and the car disappeared into a cloud at the top end. Still a PB for Jim, nice one! With all the smoke from The Mob we maybe expected oil in Jim's lane but there was none, but there was oil in John's lane.

On the restart nice burnouts from Bob and Dave, on the green Bob hit frightening tyre shake and then the tyres smoked, Bob got off the throttle and pulled over to the side of his lane, Dave took a leisurely-looking pass.

Next up is Patrik Pers with his second attempt at an observed run in his Fuel FC.

Trackside conditions are 66.7 F, 37% humidity and 30.03 inches of air; track temperature is 81.6 F.

17:00

MSA Pro Modified qualifying session 2 (left lane first):

Kev Slyfield 10.0002/92.06 bye (observed run), Gordon Appleton 16.3201/50.44 bye, Andy Robinson 6.4463/223.79, Robert Joosten 6.2810/229.53

A nice burnout from Kev, staged pointing at the 330 foot reflector but a great launch, 1.2443 to sixty feet and off the throttle just past half track which he reached at 5.7751/119.40. The set-up still quite soft by the look of things but Kev looked very confident indeed with the car. terrible tyre shake again for Gordon and the car jumped up in the air every time he hit the throttle. A tremendous match-up between Andy and Robert, Andy got the jump off the line 0.1058 to 0.2139, Robert had the better sixty foot time 1.0661 to 1.0670, Andy drove through shake and Robert rode out a small swerve 4.1231/180.00 at half track to Andy's 4.2404/176.21, Robert first to the stripe by 0.0572 seconds and one of the top five quickest-ever Pro Mod passes in Europe, the fastest-ever Pro Mod pass in Europe, and a Personal Best by a country mile.

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Robert Joosten 6.2810/229.53
  2. Andy Robinson 6.4463/223.79
  3. Bert Englefield 8.8961/146.12
  4. Gordon Appleton 16.3201/50.44

16:50

Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first):

Steve Carey 6.939/193.94 bye, Harry Van Schie shut off, Lorenz Staüble 6.5868/211.25, Steve Woollatt 6.3182/216.45

Harry was paired up with Steve C but shut off before the burnout. Steve took the bye and rode out a serious fishtail at half track to go into the sixes on his first pass of the year, nice one Steve! Harry then started again and the engine spluttered to a halt, that sounded like one of those broken rod sort of noises but let's hope not. Lorenz and Steve W paired up next, what a tremendous match-up, Lorenz' front wheel didn't come down to half track and then went straight back up again, meanwhile Steve rode through shake and a fishtail to clock a personal best ET, well done guys! A great pair of runs.

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Steve Woollatt 6.3182/216.45
  2. Lorenz Staüble 6.5868/211.25
  3. Steve Carey 6.939/193.94
  4. Roel Koedam 8.8092/129.64
  5. Harry Van Schie 11.5492/71.72

16:35

Top Methanol qualifying session 2 (left lane first):

Derek Flynn 8.422/103.21 bye (observed run), Steve Turner 6.458/164.96 bye, Steph Milam 6.9073/145.18, Freddy Fagerström 5.7837/247.48

Derek's run scheduled for a half pass with chutes. A brief hesitation off the start line, 1.192 to sixty feet, off the throttle at half track, 5.1461/132.75 at the eighth. A great pass from Steve, really at home in the Turner Motorsport dragster, 1.0349 to sixty feet, 3.9149/179.25 at the eighth and off the throttle at 1000 feet. Nice burnouts by Steph and Freddy, Freddy rolling to half track. Freddy drove through shake and took the long way round, getting very close indeed to the guardrail on the finish line, blowing his personal best into next week, well done Freddy! A nice development pass for Steph, all the incrementals looking good and an early shut-off.

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Dave Wilson 5.5151/249.89
  2. Freddy Fagerström 5.7837/247.48
  3. Steve Turner 6.4586/164.96
  4. Steph Milam 6.9073/145.18

Trackside conditions are 63.1 F, 38% humidity and 30.03 inches of air; track temperature is 82.1 F.

16:15

Comp Eliminator qualifying after session 5:

  1. Paul Marston +0.0737 8.1937/163.65
  2. Ian Hanson +0.6949 8.2049/164.28
  3. Spencer Tramm +0.8939 8.6239/156.18
  4. Jon Webster +1.1558 9.2558/157.94

Spencer improved but stayed in place.

Jonas Dantanus' third licencing pass in his Pro Stock was a 1000 foot pass with chutes out before the traps. 1.0569 to sixty feet, 3.0199 at 330 feet, 4.6780/148.45 at half track and 7.424/161.37 at the stripe.

Next up is the Pro session with Top Methanol, Top Fuel Bike, Pro Mod, NFAA and the Firestorm Jet FC.

16:10

Wild Bunch qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Ed Yates +0.0111 9.3611/145.63
  2. Darren Law +0.0370 10.0370/134.70
  3. Roy Wilding +0.0540 11.3940/116.22
  4. Darryl Howells +0.3700 10.8700/128.46
  5. Chris Hartnell +3.3832 12.3232/108.08

An improvement for Roy but he stayed in place.

15:50

Super Street qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Charlie Chivers 10.9041/113.59
  2. Neil Grant 10.9282/133.80
  3. Nick Griffin 10.9323/99.74
  4. Leigh Morris 10.9389/123.04
  5. Bob Lees 10.9529/131.90

Leigh Morris moved up to #3 in the first pairing of the session, and in the very last pairing Neil Grant moved into #2 spot.

15:45

Real Steel Street Eliminator qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Colin Lazenby 8.1670/179.11
  2. Andy Frost 8.6710/182.83
  3. Jerry Charles 8.6742/172.33
  4. Steve Pateman 8.7600/169.86
  5. Ian Jackson 8.8481/164.19

A cracking pass by Colin Lazenby to consolidate his #1 spot. You could tell that it was going to be a good one as the car left the without much in the way of wheelspin, nice one Colin! Another PB for Jason Weir, 9.4060.

15:35

Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Ross Norris 0.0000
  2. Matthew Seamarks 0.0009
  3. Zak Johnson 0.0030
  4. Pontus Dantanus 0.0060
  5. Scott Hauser 0.0069

Ross Norris took over an unassailable lead with a full set of zeroes, well done Ross!

15:30

9.50 Bike qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Jason Macan 9.5058/142.54
  2. Steve Coombs 9.5092/141.01
  3. Carl Atkinson 9.5100/147.59
  4. Ed Smiley 9.5169/142.40
  5. Richard Sawatzki 9.5210/139.35

Jason Macan took over the lead in the first pairing, the new boy is doing pretty well I'd say! Towards the end of the session Richard Sawatzki moved back into the top five at #5. The top fourteen qualifiers are in the 9.5s.

15:20

Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Steve Venables 7.5339/193.01
  2. Graham Balchin 7.5872/188.98
  3. Dave Smith 7.5943/190.66
  4. Jamie Sneddon 7.8789/184.40
  5. Nigel Barker 7.9256/187.60

Pobably the best Super Street Bike qualifying session ever! Graham Balchin into #2 spot and into the 7.5s in the first pairing of this session, well done Graham! A couple of pairings later Ven consolidated his #1 spot and set a new record of 7.5539 backed up by his previous pass, nice one Ven!

Trackside conditions are 63.0 F, 38% humidity and 30.03 inches of air; track temperature is 87.0 F.

15:10

Super Gas qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Mark White 9.9011/133.48
  2. Pete Cresswell 9.9011/135.94
  3. Conrad Stanley 9.9043/155.65
  4. Christer Uhlin 9.9049/129.40
  5. Steve Dunn 9.9120/146.62

Dave Catton moved into the top five, #4 at that point. A couple of pairings later Mark White took over the lead then in the very next pairing Pete Cresswell moved in to #2 spot with an identical ET. We have fourteen qualifiers in the 9.9s.

15:05

Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Lee Huxley +0.0110 15.2610/89.64
  2. Nigel Holland +0.0249 15.2549/90.20
  3. Ian Petrie +0.0319 17.0119/77.46
  4. Steve Partis +0.0341 18.8841/71.88
  5. Martin Lewis +0.0409 15.2509/87.20

No changes to the top five in this session.

15:00

VW Pro qualifying after session 5:

  1. Neil Ellis +0.4632 11.8532/114.18
  2. Glynn Morgan +0.5771 12.7771/103.65
  3. Martin Charles +0.5931 11.5391/117.19

Neil Ellis took over the lead in this session.

VW Alternate Engine qualifying after session 5:

  1. Matt Attwood +0.0517 13.3817/104.22
  2. Mark Skeen +0.0781 14.0781/98.14
  3. Ian Huggan +0.1840 12.0840/110.83

Matt Attwood up to #1 in this ssession.

VW Sportsman qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Rhodri Price +0.0191 16.1391/84.12
  2. Graham Fairhead +0.0283 14.7283/90.14
  3. Jacob Bailey +0.0290 16.2290/83.63
  4. Chris Bray +0.0381 15.3381/89.82
  5. Paul Herbert +0.0481 13.5481/97.40

Graham Fairhead improves at #2 and Paul Herbert into the top five at #5

14:40

Martin Hill followed the Pro Fuel Shootout with a 6.2367/260.38 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC.

Eric Teboul followed Martin Hill on his Rocket Bike, 6.1522/196.44, 3.9864/200.78 at half track. Eric is testing a new fuel system this weekend and will be turning up the wick as we go through the weekend, culminating in an attempt at a full pass by Monday.

14:30

Pro Fuel Shootout round 1 (left lane first):

Leif Helander 10.1229/73.15, Lex Joon 7.5579/109.49, Urs Erbacher 7.4229/97.35, John Spuffard 7.7151/110.28, Patrik Pers no time bye (observed run)

Trackside conditions at the start of the Pro Fuel Shootout were 63.0 F, 38% humidity, 30.03 inches of air; track temperature 90.0 F. 0.2690 reaction for Leif to -0.0159 for Lex, only the second red light in the history of the Pro Fuel Shootout (although red lights only count in the Shootout final). 0.9910 to sixty feet for Leif to Lex's 0.9539, both racers off the throttle at about 300 feet. 0.3441 RT for Urs to Spuff's 0.2187, Urs had the better sixty foot 0.9079 to 0.9212. Urs and Spuff hit shake at about 100 feet, then both racers' tyres started to haze, Urs' Top Fueller disappearing in a cloud of smoke and he put the cutes out at about 900 feet, Spuff had his hands full as he tried to stay with it and the FC turned hard right, Spuff got off the throttle by half track. Patrik was next up on his first observed run, a nice burnout but then Patrik shut off, I am guessing no reverse.

The Pro Fuel Shootout standings after this around are as follows. Top Fuellers are running to a 5.000 index and Fuel FCs 5.350.

  1. John Spuffard +2.3651
  2. Urs Erbacher +2.4229
  3. Lex Joon +2.5579
  4. Leif Helander +4.7729
  5. (Patrik Pers +9.7729) subject to licence
  6. (Håkan Fällström +9.7729 no show) subject to licence
  7. Thomas Nataas +10.1229 (no show)
  8. Siw Nystad +10.1229 (no show)

14:10

Super Modified qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Rob Smallworth 7.6159/177.13
  2. Andy Kirk 7.6730/174.36
  3. Tim Garlick 7.8280/167.89
  4. Nigel Payne 7.9439/171.18
  5. Craig Gibbs 8.0301/169.19

An improvement for Tim Garlick but he stayed in place at that point. Same for Andy Kirk.

Next up is round one of the Pro Fuel Shootout.

14:05

Super Comp qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Chris Isaacs 8.9018/150.51
  2. Belinda Bull 8.9181/159.64
  3. Pete Creswell 8.9289/153.70
  4. Shaun Lathan 8.9411/153.17
  5. Jon Morton 8.9411/149.92

No changes to the top five in this session.

Trackside conditions are 64.4 F, 40% humidity and 30.03 inches of air; track temperature is 79.6 F.

13:55

Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Nick Good +0.0058 8.5458/153.57
  2. Barry Giles +0.0141 7.6141 172.99
  3. Martyn Jones +0.0142 7.7342/171.55
  4. Paul Marston +0.0178 8.2178/162.99
  5. Paula Atkin +0.0181 8.3181/164.21

Nick Good took over the lead in this session. Craig Owen went quicker still in the Mark Flavell Racing dragster, another PB of 6.914 and a bit of a break-out but he won't care! Mark Pointer amused us all by running the first eighty feet or so on one rear wheel, the van going all over the place and even the Hooligan had to back off eventually!

13:35

Pro ET qualifying top five after session 5:

  1. Carl Burton +0.0010 11.2010/118.76
  2. Keith Herbert +0.0079 11.3279/116.27
  3. Jon Turner +0.0100 11.9100/112.16
  4. Brian Huxley +0.0130 10.4830/127.05
  5. Dan Page +0.0139 11.4539/116.24

Charlie Chivers moved back into the top five at #5, a few pairings later Brian Huxley bumped him down a place coming in at #4. A new PB for Antony Wilkins in this session, 11.015, well done Antony, not bad for an 11.44 dial-in! We thnk maybe a PB for Martin Green too, 10.0517 on a 10.29 dial-in.

13:20

Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Gary Jones 7.6070/173.06
  2. Kev Charman 7.7050/167.28
  3. Phil Leamon 8.4329/156.26
  4. Nick Holland 8.3939/151.43
  5. Roland Chaplain 8.5592/153.42

A great pass from Nick Holland put him into #3 spot at that point. Phil then leapfrogged Neil into #3. A nice 9.3340/139.71 from Sascha Brodbeck in this session.

13:10

Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 3:

  1. Len Paget 7.4938/171.84
  2. Richard Gipp 7.7911/165.97
  3. Paul King 8.0168/164.20
  4. Ray Debben 8.0691/165.35

We think a new PB for Len, well done Len! Improvements for Paul and Ray too but they stay in place.

Funny Bike qualifying after session 4:

  1. Chris Hall 7.4410/164.19
  2. Steve French 7.9341/168.54
  3. Stu Chamberlain 7.9980/164.35
  4. Dave Bailey 8.2569/144.20
  5. Tim Blakemore 9.5769/130.78

Shaun Branch in to #5 spot on his first run of the weekend whilst in the other lane Chris Hall took over the #1 spot. Steve French moved up to #2, in the other lane Neil Midgley looked to be on a great pass but was really leaning off the bike and got off the throttle at about half track. Tim Blakemore was next into #5 with a real bucking bronco ride, the rear tyre hazing then blazing and Tim eventually had to get off the throttle. Dave improved but stayed in place.

13:05

Wild Bunch qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Ed Yates +0.0111 9.3611/145.63
  2. Darren Law +0.0370 10.0370/134.70
  3. Roy Wilding +0.0820 11.4820/115.96
  4. Darryl Howells +0.3700 10.8700/128.46
  5. Chris Hartnell +3.3832 12.3232/108.08

Eurodragster.com News sponsor Ed Yates took over the lead in the first pairing and then in the next pairing Darren Law moved up into #2.

Comp Eliminator qualifying after session 4:

  1. Paul Marston +0.0737 8.1937/163.65
  2. Ian Hanson +0.6949 8.2049/164.28
  3. Spencer Tramm +0.9111 8.6411/155.16
  4. Jon Webster +1.1558 9.2558/157.94

Improvements for Paul, Spencer and Jon but everyone stays in place.

12:50

Next up after Pro Modified was Jonas Dantanus on his second Pro Stock licencing pass. A nice burnout and then 1.1221 to sixty feet, 4.9602/138.04 at half track, chute out at that point, 8.5424/110.27 at the strip. Jonas looks as if he has been driving that car all his life, a star in the making there.

Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association qualifying session 2 (left lane first):

Bob Glassup 13.1789/51.07, Clayton Round 7.0461/191.48, Dave Grabham 8.3002/164.79, Joe Bond 7.4942/171.67, Jim Usher 10.9940/74.77 bye

Bob went for Burnout of the Round with a great 300-foot effort although Clayton's burnout was no slouch. Bob was off the throttle by about 300 feet whilst Clayton drove through shake and took the long way round but still clocked a PB, well done Clayton! A great pass from Joe Bond and we think a PB, well done Joe! Not at all a bad pass for Dave either, 0.0958 reaction and only 0.6909 behind Joe at the stripe. A test launch for Jim Usher, 1.1278 to sixty feet and off the throttle by 300 feet.

Roger Goring followed the NFAA with a 6.2349/254.25 in the Firestorm Jet FC.

12:35

MSA Pro Modified qualifying session 1 (left lane first):

Ray White no time (bye), Bert Englefield 8.8961/146.12, Gordon Appleton 21.062/33.62, Robert Joosten 7.2392/140.15, Andy Robinson 8.0801/122.59

Another of Ray's speciality burnouts, the car making a hard move to the left after he got off the throttle. Something came off the car during the burnout and whether coincidence or not Ray idled down the track after the burnout. Gordon's first pass after last year's whoopsie with the departing rear wheel, the car only just finished in time by the sound of it and currently in grey primer. Great burnouts by both Bert and Gordon. Simultaneous tyre shake and engine revs through the roof and both drivers off the throttle at the same time, Gordon idled down the track whilst Bert squeezed the throttle back open and stayed on it most of the way down the track. Andy took the long way round on his pass, driving through shake and weaving all over the lane whilst Robert sat on the line for some five and a half seconds then put in a very straight and easy-looking half pass.

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Robert Joosten 7.2392/140.15
  2. Andy Robinson 8.0801/122.59
  3. Bert Englefield 8.8961/146.12
  4. Gordon Appleton 21.062/33.62

Trackside conditions ae 61.7 F, 44% humidity, 30.03 inches of air; track temperature is 77.1 F.

12:20

Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first):

Lorenz Staüble 7.7319/138.01 bye, Harry Van Schie 11.5492/71.72, Steve Woollatt 6.5442/201.89, Roel Koedam 8.8092/129.66, Steve Carey shut off (bye)

Lorenz had a real wobble on and his right hand came off the handlebars right on half track, Lorenz then got back on the throttle and feathered it towards the top end. A nice pass from European Top Gas racer Harry, feathering the throttle at about 150 feet then off it at half-track. Pure Top Fuel Bike v Supertwin next, Steve W had a little trouble getting the Dealer's engine lit to begin with but a tremendous straight pass, the bike was visibly accelerating hard and a great ET for Steve's first pass in the best part of a year. Roel put in a very easy-looking pass, you could not tell that this was his first time on Ton Pels' bike. There was a cloud of smoke from the Zodiac Supertwin at about 1000 feet and oil was found in the lane.

First up after the clean-up was Steve Carey who had been shut off when oil was found in Roel's lane. Steve's engine stopped as he got to the bleach box.

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Steve Woollatt 6.5442/201.89
  2. Lorenz Staüble 7.7319/138.01
  3. Roel Koedam 8.8092/129.64
  4. Harry Van Schie 11.5492/71.72

Trackside conditions are 63.7 F, 44% humidity, 30.00 inches of air; track temperature 81.5 F.

11:45

Top Methanol qualifying session 1 (left lane first):

Derek Flynn 12.8020/72.33 bye (observed run), Freddy Fagerström 6.9151/155.17 bye, Steve Turner 8.7368/83.67 bye (observed run), Dave Wilson 5.5151/249.89, Steph Milam 7.193/207.25

A bit of pedalling on the burnout from Derek and then a quick job with the Dzus key as one body panel was flapping. 1.0951 to sixty feet then off the throttle at about 150 feet, the engine sounded as if it had a misfire. If you are a regular reader of Eurodragster.com you will remember that Freddy said in a feature that he might have to tone down the burnouts, and I guess 330 feet instead of half track is toning it down a bit. On the green 0.9840 to sixty feet, just as Freddy passed the Tree the tyres started to shake and the car made a move for the centre line, Freddy pedalled and then got back on it, 4.2002/164.69 at half track but took out the 660 foot reflector, and he got off the throttle at that point. A screaming burnout from Steve, then 1.0518 to sixty feet, driving through shake and off the throttle just before half track 4.5448/124.97 and then the chutes out at a thousand feet. Very short burnouts from both Dave and Steph, the body of Steph's FC was really shaking as the car drew to a halt. A storming pass from Grumpy, Steph pedalled off the line then gave it increasing throttle on the way down. Grumpy has Super Comp racer Paul Ingar Udtian and team with him this weekend learning the ropes as Paul has acquired the Nemesis TMD from Grumpy and should be racing at the FIA Main Event.

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Dave Wilson 5.5151/249.89
  2. Freddy Fagerström 6.9151/155.17
  3. Steph Milam 7.193/207.25
  4. Steve Turner 8.7368/83.67

11:10

Real Steel Street Eliminator qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Colin Lazenby 8.3477/179.45
  2. Andy Frost 8.6710/182.83
  3. Jerry Charles 8.6742/172.33
  4. Steve Pateman 8.7600/169.86
  5. Ian Jackson 8.8481/164.19

No word yet on why this session took place in two parts but at least it means we don't have as many absentees as it appeared.

Jerry Charles into the top five, #3 at that point with what looked like a very easy pass so there's more left in the Capri I think. PBs for Alex McIntosh and Ray Tucker with side-by-side 9.0320 and 9.0039 respectively, well done guys! In the next pairing Jason Weir clocked 9.4469, nice one Jason!

11:00

Super Street qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Charlie Chivers 10.9041/113.59
  2. Nick Griffin 10.9323/99.74
  3. Bob Lees 10.9529/131.90
  4. Simon Cooper 10.9729/116.50
  5. Leigh Morris 10.9990/121.27

Simon Cooper moved up into #3 spot, then in the very next pairing Bob Lees bumped him down to #4. Fifth into the 10.9s and into #5 spot was Leigh Morris in the penultimate pairing.

10:50

Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Matthew Seamarks 0.0009
  2. Zak Johnson 0.0030
  3. Pontus Dantanus 0.0060
  4. Scott Hauser 0.0069
  5. Anna Stanley 0.0129

Pontus Dantanus moved into the top five in the first session, in at #3 at that point.

Trackside conditions are 62.6 F, 48% humidity, 30.00 inches of air and the track temperature is 64.1 F.

10:40

9.50 Bike qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Steve Coombs 9.5092/141.01
  2. Carl Atkinson 9.5100/147.59
  3. Ed Smiley 9.5169/142.40
  4. Andy Haley 9.5290/144.33
  5. Shaun Spiers 9.5341/147.44

Shaun Spiers leapfrogged Jason Macan into #3 spot in the first pairing. Two pairings later Steve Coombs took over the lead. Ed Smiley moved into #3 in the middle of the session. The top thirteen qualifiers are in the 9.5s.

10:30

Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Steve Venables 7.5391/190.63
  2. Dave Smith 7.5943/190.66
  3. Graham Balchin 7.8161/191.46
  4. Jamie Sneddon 7.8789/184.40
  5. Nigel Barker 7.9256/187.60

Another cracking pass from Ven, back into #1 spot and backing up yesterday's 7.6432 for a record, this 7.5391 is not currently backed up on the "too quick" rule. Graham Balchin improved but stayed in position. Next into the sevens was Jamie Sneddon and he moved up to #4 at that point. Nigel Barker ran next and he was next into the sevens. Dave Smith had a go at backingt up his record but clocked 7.7262.

10:20

Super Gas qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Conrad Stanley 9.9043/155.65
  2. Christer Uhlin 9.9049/129.40
  3. Steve Dunn 9.9120/146.62
  4. Paul Spiers 9.9243/133.93
  5. Olav Skjervoe 9.9259/126.05

Steve Dunn moved into the top five in the third pairing, #2 at that point. Christer Uhlin came in at #2 a few pairings later. The top ten qualifiers are in the 9.9s.

10:10

Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Lee Huxley +0.0110 15.2610/89.64
  2. Nigel Holland +0.0249 15.2549/90.20
  3. Ian Petrie +0.0319 17.0119/77.46
  4. Steve Partis +0.0341 18.8841/71.88
  5. Martin Lewis +0.0409 15.2509/87.20

Ian Petrie moved into the top five at #3.

10:05

VW Pro qualifying after session 4:

  1. Glynn Morgan +0.5771 12.7771/103.65
  2. Martin Charles +0.5931 11.5391/117.19
  3. Neil Ellis +0.9701 12.3601/112.521

No changes in this session.

VW Alternate Engine qualifying after session 4:

  1. Mark Skeen +0.0781 14.0781/98.14
  2. Ian Huggan +0.1840 12.0840/110.83
  3. Matt Attwood +0.8178 13.8078/102.22

Matt Attwood in at #3 on his first pass of the weekend.

VW Sportsman qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Rhodri Price +0.0191 16.1391/84.12
  2. Graham Fairhead +0.0283/90.14
  3. Jacob Bailey +0.0290 16.2290/83.63
  4. Chris Bray +0.0381 15.3381/89.82
  5. Martin Ayton +0.2569 15.8569/90.51

Polly Naylor moved into the top five at #5 but was bumped out again by Chris Bray as he tok #4 spot.

10:00

Super Modified qualifying after session 4:

  1. Rob Smallworth 7.6159/177.13
  2. Andy Kirk 7.6901/174.34
  3. Nigel Payne 7.9439/171.18
  4. Tim Garlick 7.9691/167.77
  5. Craig Gibbs 8.0301/169.19

Tim Garlick in at #4 on his first pass of the weekend. A big improvement for Andy Kirk and there's more in the Rat Fink Camaro since the car hesitated just a touch in the first sixty feet. In the last pairing of the session Rob Smallworth took over the lead with a PB, well done Rob!

9:55

Super Comp qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Chris Isaacs 8.9018/150.51
  2. Belinda Bull 8.9181/159.64
  3. Pete Creswell 8.9289/153.70
  4. Shaun Lathan 8.9411/153.17
  5. Jon Morton 8.9411/149.92

No changes to the top five in this session. The top nine qualifiers are in the 8.9s.

Trackside conditions are 58.3 F, 55% humidity and 29.97 inches of air. Track temperature is 56.3 F.

9:45

Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Barry Giles +0.0141 7.6141 172.99
  2. Martyn Jones +0.0142 7.7342/171.55
  3. Paul Marston +0.0178 8.2178/162.99
  4. Paula Atkin +0.0181 8.3181/164.21
  5. Spencer Tramm +0.0220 8.6420/154.63

Spencer Tramm moved into the top five at #4. In the next pairing Barry Giles took over the lead by one ten thousandth! Congratulations to Wayne Nicholson who clocked a personal best of 7.640 in this session.

9:25

Pro ET qualifying top five after session 4:

  1. Carl Burton +0.0010 11.2010/118.76
  2. Keith Herbert +0.0079 11.3279/116.27
  3. Jon Turner +0.0100 11.9100/112.16
  4. Dan Page +0.0139 11.4539/116.24
  5. Paul Baynton +0.0178 11.1178/123.35

Keith Herbert and Dan Page made side-by-side entries into the top five, #2 and #4 spot.

8:20

Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway for day two of the Autotrader Easter Thunderball in association with American Car Imports.

The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and broadcasting a picture every sixty seconds. You can access the webcam via the Event Index page.

It's another nice day here, some cloud which the sun is already breaking through. Trackside conditions are 45.3 F, 70% humidity and 29.97 inches of air. As you have just noticed we will be doing temperatures in F from now on as that's what the track temperature gun does. If you have any strong objections then please do let us know and we'll switch back.

On the subject of letting us know, we have had some very nice E-Mails overnight complimenting us on yesterday's coverage, quite a few of you have specifically mentioned Roger's pictures and he is very grateful for that. I think Roger is finding it an interesting experience working for Eurodragster.com as well as supplying seven other publications! A big Thank You from Simon, Roger and myself for taking the time to write.

Hands up all those who noticed that we left the webcam running all night? Assuming that the laptop and our web server can stand it the webcam will be running all weekend, day and night, without a break.

We've had a couple of enquiries about yesterday's cryptic comment about the audio broadcast. The plan is for race commentary and Nitro FM to be streamed on the internet starting at the FIA Main Event, so a trial is taking place this weekend. The stream is limited to a very small number of guinea pigs, all of whom were long ago signed up, so don't be asking us for the URL (sorry). Full details including how to subscribe will of course be released nearer to the Main Event.

We have a special birthday today, our good friend Steve Tramm is sixty. As we mentioned yesterday, Spencer Tramm was aiming to run an eight today as a birthday present but everything went so well yesterday that he couldn't help himself. Maybe today he'll run a seven! Anyway have a great day Steve and a very Happy Birthday.

Finally for this update, I've been asked to say a big Hello to Andy and Boo. "I hope Boo is behaving", says Kirstie Tramm. "I'm being kept out of trouble so all is well now."

Qualifying starts at 9:00 with Pro ET session 4, so stay tuned and as soon as the wheels start turning then we'll be back with all the news.


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