2008 Auto Trader Easter Thunderball
Monday (eliminations)


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22:00

We have now posted today's pictures, you can view them via the Event Index. Because we are all cold and shagged out we will add the captions later on.

20:25

Final results:

Pro Fuel Shootout (eighth mile): Jari Halinen 4.0632/143.17 def. Lex Joon 4.2198/166.73
Pro Modified: Andy Robinson 7.2756/209.20 def. Bert Englefield 8.2252/153.53
Top Methanol: Timo Habermann 6.3685/144.41 def. Dennis Habermann 8.4980/150.80
Super Modified: Nigel Payne staged, was unopposed
Super Pro ET: Simon Rowland (8.10) 8.3823/144.37 def. Paula Atkin (8.46) 11.0973/76.73
Pro ET: Lee Huxley (10.50) 10.6217/117.98 def. Paul Baynton (11.35) 11.2262/111.88
Sportsman ET: Geoff Cowley (15.60) 15.5860/89.64 def. Tethys (14.60) 14.4556/82.64
Super Comp: Jon Morton 8.9754/139.53 def. Pete Cresswell 8.9494/152.54 red
Super Gas: Pete Cresswell 9.8443/139.58 def. Frank Mason 9.9480/144.89 DS Foul
Super Street: Leigh Morris 11.2508/120.90 def. Bob Lees 11.2809/120.87
Junior Dragster: Scott Hauser (7.98) 8.0151/81.77 bye, Anna Stanley no show
B&H Automotive Street Eliminator: Steve Nash 8.4633/180.72 def. Steve Pateman 12.2392/80.96
Wild Bunch: Darren Law (9.45) 9.8229/130.89 def. David Rowlands (11.00) 11.5674/121.98
VW Alternate Engine: Andy Raw (9.89) 10.1017/128.02 def. Mark Skeen (14.25) 15.4016/88.70
VW Pro: Mick Geraghty (12.99) staged, was unopposed
VW Sportsman: Spencer Tramm (16.28) 16.9172/68.52 def. Russell Weir (19.20) 19.9426/67.20

Top Fuel Bike: Steve Woollatt 7.7070/120.32 bye
Pro Stock Bike: Richard Gipp 11.2577/73.15 def. Dave Beck no time
Comp Bike: Conrad Skett 8.6971/135.17 def. Phil Leamon 12.0373/89.94
Super Street Bike: Graham Balchin 7.8438/183.90 def. Ian Cotton 8.6678/179.85
9.50 Bike: Phil Pratt 9.6139/137.70 def. Fred Furlong 9.6615/141.95

That's all of today's finals done, stay tuned for today's pictures.

19:05

Sportsman ET eliminations round 4 winners: Geoff Cowley (15.60) 16.0501/88.51 bye, Tethys (14.60) 16.6493/86.23

Super Gas eliminations round 3 winners: Frank Mason 9.9285/138.46, Pete Cresswell 9.9081/133.33

Super Street eliminations round 3 winners: Leigh Morris 10.9927/120.19, Bob Lees 12.5311/105.06 bye

18:55

Pro Fuel Shootout final:

Jari Halinen 4.0632/143.17 def. Lex Joon 4.2198/166.73

A real pedalfest this one. Lex away first 0.1169 to 0.1951, the better sixty foot time 0.8885 to 0.9178, then Lex hit shake and pedalled, then Jari hit shake and pedalled, Lex's dragster made a move to the right and he pedalled again getting close to the centre line, whilst Lex was pedalling and straightening things out Jari pulled ahead and took the win.

Pro Fuel Shootout third/fourth place run-off:

Andy Carter 4.2882/172.41 def. Gordon Smith 9.3745/71.03

Andy's dragster didn't sound right as it came off the burnout and it was a while before he got reverse gear. But when he did he came back very quickly so Gordon didn't have to wait. 0.22 on the Tree in Gordon's favour, about half of that lost to Andy's better RT of 0.1565 to 0.2457. Gordon dug a hole at the hit, pedalled once then gave up whilst Andy got to sixty feet in 0.8561, one pedal then another and a final stab to get him to the eighth.

Martin Hill followed up with a 6.5421/194.22 half pass in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC.

Trackside conditions are 2.7 C, 58% humidity and 989 mB of air, track temperature is 3.8 C.

18:44

Super Comp eliminations round 4 winners: Pete Cresswell 8.9384/152.70, Jon Morton 8.9874/149.20 bye

18:42

Top Fuel bike final:

Steve Woollatt 7.7070/120.32 bye

1.1190 to sixty feet, nitro flames high in the air and Steve stayed on the throttle to half track (4.3373/150.75), it sounded as if the rear slick was spinning.

18:40

Pro Modified final:

Andy Robinson 7.2756/209.20 def. Bert Englefield 8.2252/153.53

Now I know what it would look like if Pro Mods were to run on ice. Both race cars all over their lanes with wheelspin or shake, Andy's Stude was bouncing up and down and I swear it had all four wheels off at one point. The cars came quite close to each other at half track but both drivers had their respective mounts covered. Andy stayed with it longer and took the stripe by 0.9437.

18:05

Top Methanol final:

Timo Habermann 6.3685/144.41 def. Dennis Habermann 8.4980/150.80

Werner Habermann almost shagged himself out starting Dennis' car and then running around to start Timo's car whilst Dennis sat patiently, and then again seeing to both cars as they came back to the start line after the burnouts. Timo away frst 0.1124 to 0.2307, a big wheelie for Timo, 0.8639 to sixty feet to Dennis' 1.6952. Dennis shut off before half track whilst Timo went on for the win, 3.7426/190.27 at half track, the car made a move for the guardrail but Timo pulled it back and then shut off and put the chute out at about 1000 feet, taking the stripe by 2.2478 seconds.

There were flakes of snow in the air as the brothers staged and it is now coming down quite heavily. Stay tuned.

17:55

B&H Automotive Street Eliminator eliminations round 3 winners: Steve Nash 8.1869/182.04, Steve Pateman 8.5638/177.37 bye

Trackside conditions are 3.2 C, 61% humidity and 988 mB of air, track temperature is 5.6 C.

17:50

Super Pro ET eliminations round 4 winners: Simon Rowland (8.12) 8.1366/135.77 bye, Paula Atkin (8.46) 10.8840/77.96 bye

Pro ET eliminations round 4 winners: Paul Baynton (11.20) 11.2833/121.09, Lee Huxley (10.50) 10.6012/117.95

Super Street Bike eliminations round 3 winners: Ian Cotton 13.4371/85.24, Graham Balchin 7.6363/189.55

17:45

VW Sportsman eliminations round 3 winners: Russell Weir (19.30) 21.7512/51.54 bye, Spencer Tramm (16.28) 16.1140/87.60

Junior Dragster eliminations round 4 winners: Scott Hauser (7.95) 7/9903/81.86, Anna Stanley (8.57) 8.5772/77.43 bye

Wild Bunch eliminations round 2 winners: Darren Law (9.45) 9.6026/138.12, David Rowlands (10.00) bye

VW Alternate Engine eliminations round 2 winners: Andy Raw (9.50) 9.8967/126.44 bye, Mark Skeen (14.05) 15.4344/78.46

17:30

Super Gas eliminations round 2 winners: Frank Mason 9.9596/144.04 bye, Conrad Stanley 9.9183/139.18, Jon Evans 13.0228/86.40, Pete Cresswell 9.8757/139.27 bye

Super Street eliminations round 2 winners: Mark Watkins 11.0455/124.17, Leigh Morris 10.9530/119.80, Bob Lees 108488/128.24

Ian Carruthers followed Super Street with his first checkout pass on Dave Newbery's Top Fuel Bike. 1.0749 to sixty feet and off the throttle, 10.4003/74.82 at the stripe.

17:15

Super Comp eliminations round 2 winners: Pete Cresswell 8.9106/152.79 bye, Dave Catton 8.9709/157.01, Jon Morton 9.0956/149.00

9.50 Bike eliminations round 3 winners: Fred Furlong 9.6589/141.55, Phil Pratt 9.5177/125.38

VW Sportsman eliminations round 2 winners: Craig Allen (15.35) 15.9037/65.60, Russell Weir (19.30) 19.3519/67.85, Spencer Tramm (16.28) 16.7849/64.67

Sportsman ET eliminations round 3 winners: Geoff Cowley (15.60) 15.7245/77.48, Nick Gay (14.90) 15.9641/78.43, Tethys (14.85) 14.3972/95.033 bye

17:00

Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners: Lee Huxley (10.55) 10.6333/116.04, Paul Baynton (11.03) 11.2061/118.26, Neil Hunter 9.8477/137.53, Gino Bernadine (9.95) 9.9466/120.57

Junior Dragster eliminations round 3 winners: Scott Hauser (7.96) 7.9697/82.23, Anna Stanley (8.47) 8.5719/77.55, Rhiannon Bellenie (12.90) 16.5413/37.58 bye

16:50

B&H Automotive Street Eliminator eliminations round 2 winners: Ron Haslett 11.5941/115.74 bye, Steve Pateman 8.8946/175.58, Steve Nash 8.3656/180.00

Super Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners: Simon Rowland (8.12) 8.1408/169.56, Paula Atkin (8.46) 8.4712/163.27

Super Street Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Ian Cotton 8.3334/182.62, Graham Balchin 7.6692/194.63, Garry Bowe 8.0040/174.41, Richard Stubbins 7.8792/184.42 bye

16:40

Super Modified eliminations round 1 winners: Nigel Payne 7.7367/177.23

No sign of Tim Garlick or Andy Kirk so Nigel will be unopposed in the final.

Wild Bunch eliminations round 1 winners: Darren Law (no dial-in displayed) 9.5962/142.26 bye (Mark Richardson no show), Chris Hartnell (9.05) 9.4095/141.64, David Rowlands (10.00) bye (Ed Yates no show)

Trackside conditions are 4.9 C, 51% humidity and 987 mB of air, track temperature is 5.6 C

16:35

VW Alternate Engine eliminations round 1 winners: Mark Skeen (13.63) 14.3529/96.07, Andy Raw (8.99) 9.8307/129.68 bye (Ian Huggan no show), Scott Evison (16.70) bye

16:10

Pro Fuel Shootout qualifying session 2:

This second session of Pro Fuel was also run over the eighth mile because of the track conditions.

Jari Halinen 3.5201/197.71 def. Andy Carter 8.0449/64.40

0.089 reaction for Jari to Andy's big -0.2735 red light. Andy's tyres up in smoke at the hit, 0.9418 to sixty feet for Jari and 2.3940 at 330 feet.

Lex Joon 4.0906 def. Gordon Smith 4.8864/150.85

Gordon's first appearance today and a 0.22 handicap in favour of the Fuel FC over the eighth mile. Nice burnouts for both Lex and Gordon, Gordon getting pretty sideways. 0.8644 to sixty feet for Lex, some shake and pedalling more than once, Gordon hit shake past the Tree and pedalled and was off the throttle again before the eighth stripe.

Pro Fuel Shootout qualifying after this session:

  1. Jari Halinen 7.4578
  2. Lex Joon 7.7957
  3. Andy Carter 12.0432
  4. Torstein Risdal 12.4447
  5. Gordon Smith 13.8902

It's Jari v Lex in the Final.

16:00

9.50 Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Phil Pratt 9.7235/113.78, Richard Hann 9.5418/147.83, Fred Furlong 9.9089/139.58, Andy Haley 9.5807/141.68 bye

Trackside conditions are 6.0 C, 46% humidity and 987 mB of air, track temperature is 5.8 C.

15:55

Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association qualifying after session 2:

  1. Paul Wratten 7.1195/187.95

Same again for Matthew Wright, nice burnout but then couldn't get out of reverse.

15:50

Sportsman ET eliminations round 2 winners: Kev Long (15.80) 16.5845/85.92, Nick Gay (14.90) 15.1504/79.85, Hans ven der Spek (12/15) 12.1760/109.40, Geoff Cowley (15.60) 15.6577/85.92, Tethys (14.50) 14.8645/94.04

15:45

Exhibition session 2:

Martin Hill started this session with a 6.0515/272.90 in the Fireforce 3 Jet Funny Car.

15:35

Pro Modified eliminations round 1:

Bert Englefield 10.9066/121.22 bye (Danny Cockerill no show)

Bert took the bye after Danny failed to make the call. 0.3667 reaction, 1.1852 to sixty feet and off the throttle at the Tree, no visible shake so maybe Bert was just doing a test launch.

Andy Robinson 6.8852/228.07 def. Mats Eriksson 7.0564/183.37

1.055 to sixty feet for Mats, 1.2149 to sixty feet for Andy, then a pedalfest with both cars making violent moves. Mats was out in front but Andy reeled him in and passed him, Mats getting off the throttle as the Goblin again made a violent move at about 1200 feet.

Graham Ellis followed on with a storming burnout and an 8.6134/127.73 in his new Superbird. A nice sixty foot time of 1.0839 and off the throttle before half track as the car started to drift left.

Next up was a paired time trial between Kev Slyfield and Wayne Nicholson. Another pedalfest with noth cars going out of shape, 8.9873/128.90 for Kev to 11.0761/79.71 for Wayne.

15:25

Pro Stock Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Dave Beck 7.6859/172.61, Richard Gipp staged (bye)

15:20

Comp Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Conrad Skett 8.1716/172.01, Phil Leamon 8.8602/151.31,

15:15

Top Fuel Bike eliminations round 1:

Steve Woollatt 6.4775/221.99 def. Steve Carey DQ no time (crossed lanes)

Steve Carey was giving a good account of himself with the higher half track speed but Steve Woollatt was pulling away all the way down and it was decided when Steve C's bike crossed the centre line and punted the top end timing reflectors.

No sign of Job Heezen and Ian Carruthers so Steve Woollatt is on a bye in the final.

15:10

Junior Dragster eliminations round 2 winners: Rhiannon Bellenie (16.10) 16.3159/38.47, Matthew Seamarks (7.90) 8.0432/77.34 bye, Anna Stanley (8.57) 8.4766/78.85, Joe Kellett (9.18) 9.2896/69.47, Scott Hauser (7.95) 7.9915/82.23

15:05

Super Street Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Scott Baldwin 8.3568/183.30, Richard Stubbins 7.7002/185.95, Graham Dance 8.8073/176.61 bye (Jerry Weide no show), Ian Cotton 8.5275/182.63, Sean Mills 7.8749/180.00, Graham Balchin 7.6554/189.95 bye, Garry Bowe 7.9412/172.54 bye (Thomas Granica no show)

14:55

Super Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: Paula Atkin (8.36) 8.5184/162.80 bye, Nigel Turner (8.53) 8.6974/151.92 bye (Vince Gibbs no show), Steve Green (7.89) 20.9934/80.08, Rod Harrison (7.48) 7.5121/176.75, Simon Rowland (8.10) 8.1729/167.04 bye

Brendan Clancy put in a great 7.8483/172.87 test pass in his new 'Vette.

14:45

9.50 Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Phil Pratt 9.4136/147.25, Richard Hann 9.7030/124.48, Andy Hayley 9.7970/124.75, Fred Furlong 10.0096/138.03, Carl Atkinson 9.5057/130.21, Augy Harrison time TBC, Richard Sawatzki 9.6407/144.46 bye

Trackside conditions are 9.6 C, 41% humidity and 987 mB of air, track temperature is 13.3 C.

14:40

Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: Paul Baynton (11.03) 11.0842/122.31, Nicky Frost (9.85) 10.0087/134.97, John Atkinson (9.00) 8.9472/149.10, Gino Bernadine (10.00) 10.0572/116.88, Nail Hunter (9.70) 9.8024/129.01, Dave Cherrett (10.00) 10.3282/106.10, Dan Page (11.50) 11.4747/112.10, Lee Huxley (10.55) 10.5776/126.15 bye (Steve Anderson no show)

14:35

Super Comp eliminations round 1 winners: Dave Catton 9.2992/149.15, Jon Morton 9.0064/142.40, Paul Letchford 8.9249/150.40, Chris Isaacs 9.0285/131.27, Pete Cresswell 8.9478/152.33 bye

Tommy Agius followed Super Comp with a 12.1798/128.97 in the Maksar Racing truck.

14:25

VW Sportsman eliminations round 1 winners: Spencer Tramm (16.28) 16.6088/67.11, Russ Weir (19.30) 19.5147/67.66, Abi Tether (19.50) 24.0368/48.10, Shane Rae (18.20) no time, Adrian Wigley (16.85) 16.372/84.87, Craig Allen (15.80) 15.4750/85.35 bye

14:20

Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association qualifying after session 1:

  1. Paul Wratten 7.1195/187.95
Matthew Wright no time

A small panel came off Paul Wratten's altered at about half track. From here it initially looked like the blower belt but the altered stayed under power. Eurodragster.com sponsor Matt Wright's rear wing had the message "Hi Tog and John, wot no clutch" in shoe white, Matt couldn't get out of reverse after his burnout and had to shut off.

14:10

Super Street eliminations round 1 winners: Mark Watkins 11.0659/123.45, Bob Lees 10.8234/129.16, Martyn Sanger 10.7933/106.03, Dave Cherrett 10.9061/92.84 bye, Leigh Morris 10.9531/120.84, Chris Kenny 11.6188/108.32

14:10

B & H Automotive Street Eliminator eliminations round 1 winners: Jeff Meads 9.7682/152.43 bye (Jerry Charles no show), Ron Haslett 21.8054/56.28 bye (Jon Webster broke), Steve Pateman 8.7413/176.19, Mark Perkins 10.9937/117.06 bye (Jason Weir no show), Steve Nash 8.3853/181.52 bye

Dramam in the second pairing as Jon Webster got out of shape during the burnout in Ian Jackson's 'Vette, the car turned through 180 degrees and struck a glancing blow to the guardrail. Jon is quite OK and the car has the tiniest of scratches on it.

14:00

Super Gas eliminations round 1 winners: Conrad Stanley 9.9263/138.46, Jon Evans 9.9781/131.27, Dave Day 9.6847/142.18 bye (Malcolm Francis no show), Frank Mason 9.9334/129.64, Pete Cresswell 9.9351/121.19, Jon Morton 10.0083/134.73

13:50

Sportsman ET eliminations round 1 winners: Lawrie drysdale (16.66) 16.8860/80.10, Geoff Cowley (15.60) 15.7007/83.47, Tethys (14.35) 14.9258/95.01 bye (Daniel Devin no show), Anna Metcalfe (13.00) 14.3521/99.11 bye (Don Brittain no show), Steve Unsworth (14.30) 14.5492/94.99 bye (Ian Jackson no show), Nick Gay (14.90) 15.1042/83.33, Lee Hollis (19.32) 19.5989/67.48, Nigel Holland (14.90) 14.9676/93.46 bye, Kev Long (15.80) 16.1790/71.25, Hans ven der Spek (12.15) 12.2595/110.59

Trackside conditions are 6/0 C, 49% humidity and 987 mB of air, track temperature is 5.6 C.

13:40

Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners: Matthew Seamarks (8.10) 11.8841/43.57, Rhiannon Bellenie (15.80) 16.2774/37.66, Anna Stanley (8.57) 8.5952/77.25, Vicky Molden (8.00) 7.9939/81.47 bye (Jayne Kay no show), Pontus Dantanus (15.15) 15.2691/40.31, Ludvig Perés (9.00) 9.3675/68.95, Scott Hauser (7.95) 8.1195/72.20, Joe Kellett (8.98) 9.3059/69.27, Zak Johnson (9.35) 9.6318/68.26 bye (Charlotte Watts no show)

13:25

Exhibition session:

Eric Teboul was first up with his Rocket Bike. Eric told us that he would be running over the eighth mile as he had some modifications to test. Just as Eric started to pressurise the rocket system it started to snow, Chief Starter Ian Marshall signalled Eric to shut off but after a brief conversation he allowed Eric to continue, and the snow stopped. A lot of head-shaking from Eric on the start line and then the thumbs up, the bike disappearing into a cloud of steam and the fuel running out at about 400 feet, 4.4519/123.73 at the eighth.

Simon has posted his first tranche of pit notes, which you can view via the Event index.

In other news we have applied what we hope will be the over-exposure fix to the webcam...so what happens? There's no sun to test the fix.

13:10

Pro Fuel Shootout qualifying session 1:

This first session of Pro Fuel was run over the eighth mile because of the track conditions.

  1. Andy Carter 3.6033/217.39
  2. Lex Joon 3.7051/194.63
  3. Jari Halinen 3.9557/134.81
  4. Torstein Risdal 4.0038/151.00

Torstein first up, the tiniest bit of shake off the line, 0.9787 to sixty feet, cylinders starting to go out at about 200 feet and the right bank was completely out by about 200 feet and the left bank started to push the car to the right. Torstein was off the throttle at about 500 feet. Jari Halinen and Andy Carter matched up next. Andy's engine didn't start so Jari took the bye. A great pass, 0.9334 to sixty feet, then shake at about 200 feet and Jari was off the throttle at 300 feet (2.3968). Lex Joon took his bye whilst the Lucas Oil team worked on the car. 150-foot burnout and the MPM Oil car rolled almost to half track, getting some heat into the clutch I guess. 0.9128 to sixty feet, a couple of pedals for shake and it looked as if cylinders were going out, off the throttle at about 500 feet. Andy then came back, a 100 foot burnout and then 0.8612 to suxty feet, a pedal just past the Tree, more shake and another pedal towards 300 feet, cylinders looked to be going out but Andy stayed with it and took the lead.

12:45

Next up after Pro Mod was the Maksar Drag Truck driven by Tommy Agius. A great burnout and then 10.6499/133.72 and judging by the crew's reaction that could be a Personal Best.

12:40

Pro Mod qualifying:

  1. Mats Eriksson 8.0394/178.85
  2. Danny Cockerill 8.0941/139.23
  3. Bert Englefield 8.1540/154.58
  4. Wayne Nicholson 8.1702/167.03
  5. Andy Robinson 9.8291/96.54
  6. Graham Ellis
Kev Slyfield no time
Ian Bishop no time
Graham Ellis no time

An easy-sounding pass for Wayne, we're guessing a checkout. The car launched relatively lazily, 1.1713 to sixty feet and 5.2260/167.03 at half track. Kev out of shape in the burnout, the big Willys drifting left. Instant shake for both cars at the hit, Kev's Willy's making a move to the right and he got off the throttle. Mats pedalled and the Green Goblin picked up but then made a violent move left and right at three quarter track, Mats got off the throttle and put the chutes out.

With Andy Robinson and Ian Bishop in the water box and Danny Cockerill, Graham Ellis and Bert Englefield in the collection area it started to snow.

The wet stuff eventually went away and we were off and running again with Ian Bishop and Andy Robinson. Nice burnouts by both racers, on the green Ian Bishop had a huge nitrous burp and rolled to a halt, Andy Robinson got to sixty feet in 0.9762 and then hit violent shake as the Stude passed the Tree. The Stude made a move to the left and Andy got off the throttle and idled through. A very brief pause with some flakes of snow in the air and then Danny Cockerill and Bert Englefield were next up. 250-foot burnout for Danny. Shake for both Bert and Danny, Danny's Chevy weaving left and right as he squeezed the throttle open and closed all the way down the track, getting very close to the guardrail in the second half. Bert took a lot more direct route but was also on and off the throttle. Closing out the session was Graham Ellis with his new Superbird. The tyres didn't strike on the burnout and then the engine stopped as Graham rolled to a halt.

Trackside conditions are 5.2 C, 56% humidity and 987 mB of air, track temperature is 5.7 C.

11:25

Top Methanol qualifying:

  1. Timo Habermann 6.3859/208.82
  2. Dennis Habermann 6.9245/175.09

Dennis' second pass in Top Methanol Dragster. 0.0991 RT, 1.1560 to sixty feet and 4.4566/165.01 at half track. The car was weaving left and right but Dennis stayed with it even as the moves became quite violent, off the throttle at about 1100 feet. Next up was Timo's first run in the Habermanns' new TMD, a nice-looking car it is too. A good pass from Timo, 0.0933 RT, 0.9876 to sixty feet, a couple of pedals as the car moved about its lane but Timo stayed with it.

11:15

Top Fuel Bike qualifying:

  1. Steve Woollatt 6.3979/209.78
  2. Job Heezen 7.2895/163.87
  3. Ian Turburville 7.9259/181.96
  4. Steve Carey 24.3312/24.52

Steve Carey's rear slick spun at the hit. Steve feathered the throttle and tried again but then a cylinder appeared to go out and the bike started to make a move to the left and Steve got off the throttle and idled through. A nice pass from Turbo, the bike going straight as you like and into #1 spot at that point. Job Heezen's first outing on his new bike, a very nice burnout and what a competent first pass, straight and shut off at half track (4.4927/158.73) so there is plenty left there. Next up another first pass, Ian Carruthers on Dave Newbery's bike, the bike rolled through the water box and Rush shut it off. Steve Woollatt closed out the session with a stormer, a tiny bit of backstriping off the line, very straight and off the throttle a touch early. Pretty good for the first pass of the season!

11:00

Super Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Nigel Turner (8.53) 8.8466/141.86, Chris Isaacs (8.88) 9.3686/146.53, Vince Gibbs (7.60) 8.5643/107.52, Steve Green (7.89) 14.1987/57.67, Paula Atkin (8.36) 8.6129/no speed bye, Rick Cooke (8.28) 8.3880/155.70 bye (Mark Flavell no show), Rod Harrison (7.48) 10.3153/81.64 bye (Roy Wilding no show), Simon Rowland (8.10) 8.1730/164.19 bye (Steve Johnson no show)

Trackside conditions are 6.9C, 68% humidity and 987 mB of air, track temperature is 7.9 C.

10:40

9.50 Bike qualifying:

  1. Richard Sawatzki 9.6960/143.59
  2. Andy Haley 9.7149/140.80
  3. Martin Walker 9.7581/141.55
  4. Shaun Spiers 9.7939/139.23
  5. Richard Hann 9.8846/145.63
  6. Chris Jones 9.8951/161.00
  7. Julian Harris 9.9850/140.01
  8. Wayne Saunders 10.1370/145.21
  9. Fred Furlong 10.2342/138.46
  10. Carl Atkinson 10.4103/136.98
  11. Tony Beadman 10.6237/136.98
  12. Augy Harrison 11.1953/123.52
  13. Phil Pratt 9.3772/146.05
Robin van Baak no time

10:35

Pro Stock Bike qualifying:

  1. Richard Gipp 7.5989/172.74
  2. Len Paget 7.6250/170.26
  3. Dave Beck 7.8700/168.03
Paul King no time

10:30

Comp Bike qualifying:

  1. Conrad Skett 8.2450/171.42
  2. Phil Leamon 8.7126/152.33
  3. Roland Chaplain 9.0777/150.50
  4. Ric Naylor 12.7472/121.91
  5. Phil Crossley 13.7246/68.39
Stuart Crane DQ crossed centre line
Ivan Birch no time

10:25

Super Street Bike qualifying:

  1. Graham Balchin 7.6988/184.73
  2. Richard Stubbins 8.0841/178.08
  3. Graham Dance 8.2438/169.74
  4. Garry Bowe 8.3922/166.35
  5. Scott Baldwin 8.5231/163.63
  6. Ian Cotton 8.7096/162.92
  7. Sean Mills 8.7673/159.23
  8. Chris Reed 9.2572/160.54
  9. Steve Wood 9.7297/154.58
  10. Dave Warren 10.0731/158.84
  11. Thomas Granica 10.1643/161.98
  12. Jerry Weide 10.7521/130.17
  13. Steve Venables 11.052/114.21

10:15

Here we go then, in temperatures which would force Christer Abrahamson to wear tights: 7.2 C, 64% humidity and 987 mB of air. Track temperature is 7.0 C.

Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Steven Anderson (11.80) 12.2401/120.87, Paul Baynton (11.02) 11.8795/93.01, Dave Cherrett (10.00) 12.2744/125.41, Lee Huxley (10.55) 10.9836/98.35, Kim Bishop (10.80) 11.3678/115.53, John Atkinson (9.00) 9.0903/140.67, Keith Herbert (10.98) 11.4673/95.33, Simon Rowland (9.21) 9.3461/141.11, Neil Hunter (9.70) 9.8695/126.40, Antony Wilkins (11.20) 12.4547/78.17, Carl burton (11.99) 11.9547/113.35, Nicky Frost (9.77) 9.9083/137.78 bye (Mike Lacey no show), Dan Page (11.50) 11.4841/115.44 bye (Siw Nystad no show), Ian Brown (10.80) 10.8656/112.61, Mick Howling (10.00) 10.0456/131.35, Gino Bernadine (9.80) 10.0317/131.38 bye

A big Hello to Håkan Mattsson who is tuned in from Sweden.

7:45

Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's eliminations day of the Auto Trader Easter Thunderball 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 will be broadcasting a picture every sixty seconds until the track closes on Monday. You can reach the webcam via the Event Index.

Right now it's overcast and there is a little snow in the air. The stiff wind has dropped right off. The forecast is for it to brighten up and then to be bright but cold all day. Right now trackside conditions are 1.1 C, 86% humidity and 987 mB of air. Just as we went to do the track temperature one of the jet dryers passed so we will come back to you with that later.

A big Hello to SPRC Race Secretary Kathy Taylor who is now at home, the good news is that Kathy is quite OK. Love and hugs to you Kathy, have a lazy day today and we'll see you soon. The traditional Raceday Hello to our US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman who are tuned in from New Hampshire - hope you are having a good day guys.

Eliminations are due to start at 9:00 with Pro ET then Super Pro ET, and then the bike classes have a one-shot qualifier. Funny Bike won't be running as they had a meeting on Saturday and went home. Stay tuned and as soon as the wheels start to turn we will bring you all the news.


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