2008 UK National Finals
Sunday (eliminations)


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19:55

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17:40

Subject to ratification, congratulations to our 2008 UK National and other series Champions:

MSA British Drag Racing Championship: Bert Englefield
SPRC Top Methanol: Rob Turner
Super Modified: Nigel Payne
Super Pro ET: Rick Cooke
Pro ET: Paul Baynton
Sportsman ET: Geoff Cowley
Super Comp: Dave Catton
Super Gas: Conrad Stanley
Super Street: Leigh Morris
Junior Dragster: Scott Hauser
B&H Automotive Street Eliminator: Steve Pateman
VWDRC VW Pro: James Hodson
VWDRC VW Sportsman: Spencer Tramm
VWDRC VW Alternate Engine: Scotty Evison
Wild Bunch Series: Tony Smith and Dave Williams
Outlaw Anglia: Paul Wright

Top Fuel Bike: Steve Woollatt
Funny Bike: Chris Hall
Pro Stock Bike: Dave Beck
Comp Bike: Ivan Birch
Super Street Bike: Steve Venables
9.50 Bike: Richard Sawatzki
NAST Supertwin Fuel: Martin Blackwell
NAST Supertwin Gas: Chris Mott
NAST Supertwin ET: Joe Elliott

17:25

Top Methanol final:

Rob Turner 5.5260/246.69 def. Derek Flynn 5.6070/255.98

The winner of this race would take the 2008 SPRC Top Methanol Championship. Derek away first 0.0756 to 0.1260, Rob had the quicker sixty foot time 0.9317 to 0.9828, Derek had to pedal for shake giving Rob the advantage at half track 3.5812/205.07 to Derek's 3.7121/206.71, and Rob took the stripe by 0.0306.

17:20

Final Sportsman results:

Super Modified: Andy Hone 7.5382/177.66 def. Craig Gibbs 8.0215/169.75
Super Pro ET: Chris Isaacs (8.73) 8.7706/143.71 def. Dave Ward (8.85) 8.8662/151.92
Pro ET: Neil Hunter (9.68) 9.7147/134.71 def. Carla Pittau (9.80) 9.8128/135.94
Sportsman ET: Brian Huxley (15.35) 15.3939/89.36 def. Nick Gay (14.60) 14.5817/92.75 red light
Super Comp: Pete Creswell 8.8909/172.32 def. Paul Letchford 8.8586/159.56
Super Gas: Stuart Morrice 9.9177/129.14 def. Conrad Stanley 9.9260/152.57
Super Street: John Grant 10.9806/128.64 def. Bob Lees 10.9251/129.47
Junior Dragster: Matthew Seamarks (7.90) 8.0094/74.70 def. Rosie Hunt (8.10) 8.1270/78.36
B&H Automotive Street Eliminator: Steve Pateman staged def. Jeff Meads 9.3370/157.85 red light
VW Pro: James Hodson (10.70) 10.874/103.59 def. Phil Norman (12.60) 12.7274/103.76
VW Alternate Engine: Spencer Tramm (8.73) 10.2495/90.53 def. Matt Attwood (11.48) 15.4596/104.95
VW Sportsman: Spencer Tramm (15.93) 16.3633/63.04 def. Chris Baylis (13.60) 15.0829/80.45
Wild Bunch: Terry Clifford (10.18) 10.2070/125.49 def. Chris Hartnell (9.09) 9.5534/121.40

The final of Super Pro ET decided the UK National Championship in favour of Rick Cooke, congratulations Rick! The outcome of the VW Alternate Engine final decided the Championship for Scotty Evison, well done Scotty!

Pro Stock Bike: Dave Beck 7.2504/186.48 def. Len Paget 7.7761/144.71
Funny Bike: Chris Hall 7.0991/189.52 def. Dave Bailey 7.1849/161.84
Super Street Bike: Steve Venables 7.5501/188.83 def. Richard Stubbins 7.6411/188.94
Comp Bike: Ivan Birch 8.6389/124.45 def. Phil Leamon 9.6197/94.46
9.50 Bike: Fred Furlong 9.5938/123.44 def. Wayne Saunders 9.6506/139.83
Supertwin Fuel: Martin Blackwell 8.2985/158.43 def. Shawn Rodman 9.4635/151.01
Supertwin Gas: Andy Smith 9.4844/136.41 def. Piet Verhoef 16.1795/78.66
Supertwin ET: Joe Elliott (10.50) 10.7454/132.37 def. Steve Partridge (11.23) 11.2301/118.76 red light

Congratulations to Chris Mott on winning the 2008 NAST Supertwin Gas Championship as Andy Smith had to set new class records as well as win the event if he was to win the title. Congratulations also to Dave Beck for winning the 2008 ACU UK Pro Stock Bike Championship, and on setting a new ACU UK Pro Stock Bike speed record of 186.48 mph in the final.

Subject to his bike having the requisite decals, Steve Partridge took the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award in the Supertwin ET final.

That just leaves the final of Top Methanol, which is about to run. As we predicted, Grace Roaf's lovely cake has not made it through the day - we've scoffed the lot with help from the timing crew.

16:35

Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association final:

Paul Wratten 6.8708/195.42 def. Tony Betts 7.2976/153.58

I am guessing that the Wrattens have won the NFAA title for 2008 but doubtless Lawrie Gatehouse will confirm in due course.

Nick Davies' blower burst panel gave way during the burnout before his bye for the 3rd place run-off. A fine mist of oil had to be cleaned up before the final took place.

Martin Hill followed the NFAA with a 6.0899/263.42 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC.

16:25

Pro Modified final:

Graham Ellis 8.2915/149.06 bye, Roger Moore shut off

Roger didn't make the burnout. Graham away in 0.0876, 1.0452 to sixty feet, the Bird started to head left and got very close to the guardrail, 5.0507/122.39 to half track feathering the throttle in the second half.

16:20

Top Fuel Bike final:

Steve Woollatt 6.3423/211.76 def. Rene van den Berg 6.9698/193.81

Steve away first 0.1732 to 0.2350, 1.0588 to sixty feet to Rene's 1.1122, Steve rode through shake whilst Rene feathered the throttle, 4.1112/181.01 to half track to Rene's 4.4326/164.14, Rene off the gas a touch early and Steve there first by 0.6893.

16:15

Pro Fuel Shootout final:

Risto Poutiainen 4.9169/301.20 bye, Barry Sheavills no show

Actually Barry did show but in person back in Race Control. A blackened crank and block damage put paid to his appearance in the final so a bye for Risto. 0.0896 RT, 0.8865 to sixty feet, 3.3284/246.64 at half track and off the throttle a touch before the stripe. The normally undemonstrative Rune Fjeld punched the air when the scoreboard lit up.

Pro Fuel Shootout 3rd/4th place run-off:

John Spuffard 5.0913/301.99 def. Thomas Nataas 5.2801/171.04

One race we all wanted to see. Europe's two quickest Fuel FCs, the longtime racer v the new boy, who would come out on top? Thomas away first 0.1697 to 0.1845, 0.9139 to sixty feet for Spuff to Thomas' 0.9809, Spuff quicker at half track 3.4832/239.40 to 3.5994/231.36 then the Showtime FC started to drift left to the centre line but Spuff stayed on the gas, his header blast dislodging the 1254 foot speed trap start beam which affected Thomas' speed. Well done to Bob, Spuff and the team on another 300+ mph run.

16:05

Pro Fuel Shootout 5th/6th place run-off:

Linda Thun Tønseth 6.0379/237.65 bye (Gary Page no show)

No sign of Gary so Linda took the bye. 0.2171 reaction, 0.9585 to sixty feet and then a little hesitation from the motor, cylinders starting to mix towards half track 3.9924/185.04, the nitro flames turned yellow and we all waited for the bang but luckily it didn't happen.

15:50

Pro ET eliminations round 4 winners:

Carla Pittau (9.83) 9.8011/134.73, Neil Hunter (9.68) 9.6843/136.35

Sportsman ET eliminations round 3 winners:

Brian Huxley (15.42) 15.3564/88.68, Nick Gay (14.60) 14.6972/82.15

Junior Dragster eliminations round 3 winners:

Rosie Hunt (8.10) 8.1351/78.59, Matthew Seamarks (7.90) 8.2659/62.59

15:45

B&H Automotive Street Eliminator eliminations round 3 winners:

Steve Pateman 7.9848/178.48, Jeff Meads 8.5327/167.28 bye

Steve Pateman is 2008 B&H Automotive Street Eliminator Champion, congratulations Steve!

Wild Bunch eliminations round 2 winners:

Chris Hartnell (9.09) 9.1373/123.44, Terry Clifford (10.18) 10.3632/126.12

Super Street eliminations round 2 winners:

Bob Lees 10.8977/126.90, John Grant 10.8097/137.64 bye

15:40

Super Gas eliminations round 3 winners:

Conrad Stanley 9.9057/154.10, Stuart Morrice 9.9621/145.18 bye

Supertwin Fuel eliminations round 2 winners:

Martin Blackwell staged (bye), Shawn Rodman staged (bye)

Martin Blackwell is 2008 NAST Supertwin Fuel Champion, congratulations Martin!

Supertwin ET eliminations round 3 winners:

Steve Partridge (11.23) 11.5617/123.09 bye, Joe Elliott (10.50) 10.5315/135.95

9.50 Bike eliminations round 4 winners:

Fred Furlong 9.5088/135.18, Wayne Saunders 9.4334/150.15 bye

15:30

Super Comp eliminations round 3 winners:

Paul Letchford 8.8866/158.99, Pete Creswell 8.8520/153.56 bye

Super Pro ET eliminations round 4 winners:

Chris Isaacs staged (bye), Dave Ward (8.83) 8.8670/149.44

VW Pro eliminations round 1 winners:

James Hodson (10.70) 11.1485/130.23 bye (Richard Merriman no show), Phil Norman (12.60) 12.6321/104.22

James Hodson came into the event as 2008 VWDRC VW Pro Champion, well done James!

VW Alternate Engine eliminations round 2 winners:

Spencer Tramm staged (bye), Matt Attwood (11.58) 11.5270/117.22

VW Sportsman eliminations round 3 winners:

Chris Baylis (13.60) 14.7018/84.40 bye, Spencer Tramm (15.93) 16.43034/74.09

15:15

Junior Dragster eliminations round 2 winners:

Matthew Seamarks (7.90) 7.9472/74.45, Scott Hauser (7.95) 7.9715/81.62, Rosie Hunt (7.90) 8.1300/78.22, Charlotte Watts (10.37) 1.04056/60.59

Congratulations to 2008 UK National Junior Dragster Champion Scott Hauser.

Funny Bike eliminations round 2 winners:

Chris Hall staged, Dave Bailey 7.1296/178.49

5.85 inches at the stripe in the race between Dave Bailey and Neil Midgley.

Comp Bike eliminations round 2 winners:

Ivan Birch staged (bye), Phil Leamon 8.4620/152.54

Super Street Bike eliminations round 3 winners:

Richard Stubbins 7.5986/192.79, Steve Venables 7.4284/197.90

Congratulations to 2008 ACU UK Super Street Bike Champion Steve Venables.

Trackside conditions are 18.5 C, 60% humidity and 29.91 inches of air, track temperature 26.5 C.

15:00

VW Sportsman eliminations round 2 winners:

Chris Baylis (13.60) 13.4709/92.95, Spencer Tramm (15.85) 16.0206/83.35, Polly Naylor (17.60) 17.843/75.10

Super Modified eliminations round 2 winners:

Andy Hone 7.5426/175.03, Craig Gibbs 7.8678/172.23

Sportsman ET eliminations round 2 winners:

Chevy Llewellyn (13.30) 13.2738/100.74, Nick Gay (14.60) 14.5736/92.86, Graeme Sanne (14.15) 14.1963/96.04, Brian Huxley (15.42) 15.4535/86.30

Super Street eliminations round 2 winners:

John Grant 10.9997/115.18, Mark Watkins 10.9937/119.85, Bob Les 10.9290/122.46

14:40

Pro Stock Bike eliminations round 1 winners:

Dave Beck 7.2332/186.47, Len Paget 7.4950/175.62

Dave Beck does the first half of a new Pro Stock speed record, well done Becky!

9.50 Bike eliminations round 3 winners:

Wayne Saunders 9.5289/148.54, Richard Sawatzki 9.7109/127.25, Fred Furlong 9.4019/144.82 bye

14:35

Super Gas eliminations round 2 winners:

Conrad Stanley 9.8903/154.12, Jon Morton 9.9445/132.51, Stuart Morrice 18.8680/72.84 bye (Frank Mason no show)

Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners:

John Atkinson (9.00) 9.1503/115.18, Carla Pittau (9.84) 9.8356/135.53, Tig Napier (9.75) 10.0143/97.78, Neil Hunter (9.68) 9.92228/113.85 bye

14:25

MSA Pro Modified eliminations round 1:

Roger Moore 7.0063/198.69 def. Wayne Nicholson 7.2933/190.53

Wayne in as alternate for a broken Bert Englefield. Wayne away first 0.1899 to 0.2388 but then the numbers were all Roger's. 1.1010 to sixty feet to Wayne's 1.1356, heading right all the time and the Viper got within a fag paper of the guardrail but Roger stayed with it. 4.5193/156.16 to half track to Wayne's 4.7052/151.51 and Roger first to the stripe by 0.2381.

Graham Ellis 7.3763/204.30 bye

Kev Slyfield broken so Graham took the bye. Feathering the throttle off the line, 1.2219 to sixty feet, another feather towards half track 4.9035/154.67. Roger gets lane choice for the final.

Martin Hill followed Pro Mod with a 6.1541/264.92 in the Fireforce 3 Jet FC.

14:15

Top Methanol eliminations round 1:

Rob Turner 5.4661/249.50 def. Danny Bellio 6.1273/218.90

Danny away first 0.1693 to 0.1753, Rob had the better sixty foot time 0.9208 to 0.9768 but then he hit bad shake to about 200 feet. 4.0421/187.78 at half track, the Avenger making violent moves about its lane and Danny looked to shut off a touch early. Rob went straight as you like, 3.5562/206.11 at half track and first to the stripe by 0.6552. Rob's 5.466 is a new class record, well done Rob!

Derek Flynn 5.5669/241.07 def. Steph Milam 6.8965/194.65

Derek away first by an age, 0.1190 to 0.8280, 0.9595 to sixty feet and driving through shake to about 300 feet, 3.6212/210.49 at half track. 1.1747 to sixty feet for Steph and 4.5137/164.80 at half track.

14:05

Top Fuel Bike eliminations round 1:

Steve Woollatt 7.2705/191.95 def. Ian Turburville 7.5698/191.33

Steve away first 0.1655 to 0.5000, then Steve had to feather the throttle as the slick spun up, Turbo had the better sixty foot time 1.3706 to 1.5207 but Steve started to reel him back in by half track 4.9612 to 5.0575 and took the stripe by a comfortable 0.6338.

Steve Woollatt is 2008 ACU UK Top Fuel Bike Champion, congratulations Steve!

Rene van den Berg 6.9740/197.13 def. Steve Carey 10.3299/73.66

Steve visibly away first 0.1922 to 0.1742, the better sixty foot time 1.1670 to 1.1742, but the Purple Princess started to drift to the right. 4.5743/165.39 at half track for Rene to Steve's already shut off 5.1254/106.11.

13:55

Super Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners:

Dave Ward (8.81) 8.8708/140.17, Barry Giles (7.55) 7.7277/147.95, Chris Isaacs (8.72) 8.7459/147.94

Nick Good clocked a 0.0073 RT in his race against Chris Isaacs.

13:50

Supertwin Fuel eliminations round 1 winners:

Martin Blackwell staged (bye), Wendy Clutterbuck 11.1468/110.49, Shawn Rodman staged

Supertwin Gas eliminations round 2 winners:

Andy Smith 9.4854/136.41, Piet Verhoef 9.1322/143.36

Supertwin ET eliminations round 2 winners:

Steve Partridge (11.23) 11.4746/119.12, Joe Elliott (10.50) 10.8008/128.96, John hackney (9.90) 10.0358/117.56

Joe Elliott is 2008 NAST Supertwin ET Champion, well done Joe!

13:35

B&H Automotive Street Eliminator eliminations round 2 winners:

Jeff Meads 9.3331/146.62, Colin Lazenby 8.1804/177.78, Steve Pateman 7.9402/178.49

A great 0.0053 RT from Ian Hook in his race against Steve Pateman.

Trackside conditions are 19.6 C, 53% humidity and 29.94 inches of air, track temperature 30.2 C.

13:25

Super Comp eliminations round 2 winners:

Dave Catton 8.8949/160.06 bye, Pete Creswell 9.0540/135.25, Paul Letchford 8.9331/158.51 bye (Frank Mason no show)

VW Alternate Engine eliminations round 2 winners:

Andy Raw (9.20) 10.3623/95.70, Spencer Tramm (8.71) 8.8896/127.87, Matt Attwood (11.63) 11.9967/95.70

Wild Bunch eliminations round 1 winners:

Ed Yates (9.23) 9.2288/142.01, Terry Clifford (10.18) 10.1831/127.26, Chris Hartnell (9.09) 9.2975/120.52, Mark Richardson (9.50) 9.6493/122.14

13:15

Super Street Bike eliminations round 2 winners:

Scott Baldwin 7.6275/184.20, Steve Venables 7.4339/197.85, Richard Stubbins 7.5593/192.75, Graham Balchin 7.4956/196.09

13:10

Funny Bike eliminations round 1 winners:

Chris Hall 7.1677/181.35, Neil Midgley 7.2330/185.82, dave Bailey 7.2170/no speed.

Chris Hall is 2008 ACU UK Funny Bike Champion, congratulations Chris!

Comp Bike eliminations round 1 winners:

Ivan Birch 7.3840/183.57 bye, Phil Leamon 8.4914/152.54, Dave Peters 7.4965/178.48 bye (Phil Crossley shut off), Sandra Chaplain 8.5284/154.64

Ivan Birch is 2008 ACU UK Comp Bike Champion, congratulations Ivan!

12:55

Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners:

Matthew Seamarks (7.90) 8.1917/64.86, Rosie Hunt (7.98) 8.1705/77.82, Charlotte Watts (10.34) 10.5824/59.32, Anna Stanley (8.20) 8.2356/80.45, Becky Evans (8.25) 8.1180/78.99, Vicky Molden (7.98) 7.9788/81.40, Scott Hauser (7.95) 7.9606/81.91, Joe Kellett (8.99) 8.9414/70.95

12:50

9.50 Bike eliminations round 2 winners:

Richard Beck 9.5028/127.27, Wayne Saunders 9.6028/147.11, Augy Harrison 9.6709/139.43, Richard Sawatzki 9.5160/146.62, Fred Furlong 9.4636/146.15

Sportsman ET eliminations round 1 winners:

Don Brittain (13.75) 13.7489/100.46 bye, Ralph Young (12.97) 13.0140/96.24, Nick Gay (14.60) 15.2247/91.74, Geoff Cowley (14.68) 14.9761/76.98, Chevy Llewellyn (13.30) 13.2658/101.25, Graeme Sanne (14.10) 14.1959/95.47 bye (Steve Gilmour no show), Brian Huxley (15.42) 15.3648/89.19, Nigel Holland (15.12) 15.2163/90.17

Geoff Cowley is 2008 UK National Sportsman ET Champion, well done Geoff!

12:40

Super Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners:

Dave Ward (8.89) 8.9212/138.87, Martyn Jones (7.72) 7.8028/169.51, Barry Giles (7.55) 7.5594/167.05, Nick Good (6.83) 7.4202/162.27, Chris Isaacs (8.71) 8.7447/150.44, Rick Cooke (8.20) 8.1962/158.81

Nick Good took his win against Steve Green with one chute out all the way down the track. Mark Flavell pulled a 0.0002 RT in his race against Chris Isaacs, a little late for the Perfect Light Award but always a great achievement.

Trackside conditions are 19.3 C, 57% humidity and 29.97 inches of air, track temperature is 26.3 C.

12:30

Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners:

Keith Herbert (11.10) 11.1919/117.28, Mark Bailey (9.51) 9.5309/138.85, John Atkinson (9.00) 8.7247/155.10, Tig Napier (9.76) 9.9594/116.34, Carla Pittau (9.84) 9.8868/123.68, Neil Hunter (9.70) 9.7671/125.04, Liz Malcolm (10.98) 11.0139/118.49

12:10

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

Nick Davies 8.4053/136.86, Joe Bond 6.8571/198.66, Paul Wratten 8.0890/156.70, Tony Betts 7.0651/167.17

A huge burnout for Havoc. Nick away first 0.1385 to 0.1740, then Joe had the best of the incrementals, 1.0301 to sixty feet to 1.0906, 4.3927/160.53 to 5.2870/128.63, his first six and a new Personal Best, well done Joe! Havoc left with wheels high in the air, not coming down until about 200 feet, then Nick had to pedal to get it straight as the car slammed down, back on the throttle and the altered went wheels-up again and Nick had to pedal again. A classic all-over-the-place altered pass. Paul saw Nick's burnout and raised him a half-track effort, rolling to a halt at about 900 feet. Tony left as the lights ran, 1.1501 to sixty feet, 4.4221/164.75 at half track, a cylinder out all the way down and very close to the centre line in the second half of the track. Paul waited for the green and put in a languid-looking pass, 1.3777 to sixty feetm shutting off at about half track.

12:00

Nitro Fuel Shootout qualifying session 3 (left lane first):

Thomas Nataas 5.2024/280.60 bye, John Spuffard 5.1554/299.22 bye, Linda Thun Tønseth no time, Barry Sheavills 5.1184/271.93, Risto Poutiainen 5.0368/272.90

0.9308 to sixty feet for Thomas, 3.5211/233.97 at half track, cylinders out in the second half and the car made a move for the guardrail but Thomas stayed with it, a new PB ET in a Funny Car, well done Thomas! A much more sedate burnout for Linda this time but then no reverse so she had to shut off. With the dragster stranded at 250 feet what would Spuff do? How about 0.9287 to sixty feet, 3.5450/237.56 at half track, mixing up cylinders in the second half but Spuff stayed with it and took Low ET and high speed of the weekend so far. A great match between Risto and Barry, Risto away forst 0.1173 to 0.1588, 0.8784 to sixty feet to Barry's 0.8799, Risto looked to be one one for sure, 3.3432/240.73 at half track to Barry's 3.4695/240.01. Risto had cylinders go out in the second half and the car started to move about and he backed off just before the stripe, Barry's candles also went out a little way short of the finish line. No sign of Gary Page so he gets a 32-second penalty.

Qualifying after this session:

  1. Risto Poutiainen +3.5425
  2. Barry Sheavills +3.8243
  3. Thomas Nataas +7.3611
  4. John Spuffard +32.5049
  5. Gary Page +37.1605
  6. Linda Thun Tønseth +96.0000

11:45

MSA Pro Modified qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Bert Englefield 6.8515/211.91 bye, Kev Slyfield 7.1622/198.08, Roger Moore 6.9782/199.64, Wayne Nicholson 7.1960/190.53, Graham Ellis 7.9218/207.86

Bert took the long way round on this one. 1.0444 to sixty feet, a pedal for shake and the car started to move about its lane. 4.5062/165.41 at half track and then the car made a move for the centre line but Bert stayed with it. The long way round, too, for Kev Slyfield, pedalling for shake a couple of times. 1.1002 to sixty feet and 4.6369/150.51 at half track. 1.1150 to sixty feet for Roger, driving through shake, 4.5121/159.50 at half track. Kev picked up a place, Roger stayed in #2 at that point. 0.0098 RT for Graham Ellis but almost instant shake, several pedals. A new PB for Wayne, well done Wayne! 1.0662 to sixty feet and 4.6208/152.54 at half track. Vapour trails again from Graham's Bird but nothing found on the track.

Bert is 2008 MSA British Drag Racing Champion, congratulations Bert!

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Graham Ellis 6.7680/213.67
  2. Roger Moore 6.8512/205.38
  3. Bert Englefield 6.8515/211.91
  4. Kev Slyfield 7.1622/198.08
  5. Wayne Nicholson 7.1960/190.53

11:35

Top Methanol qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Steph Milam 7.6692/128.30, Danny Bellio 7.2736/237.15,

Danny Bellio will have the headache of all time after very violent shake which turned the car blurry from our vantage point in Race Control, goodness only knows what it will have been like from where he was sat. Danny drove through the shake and the car eventually hooked up as the terminal speed shows. Steph blackstriped the first 100 feet or so, 4.5190/164.19 at half track and then shut off at abotu 900 feet.

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Derek Flynn 5.4722/246.50
  2. Rob Turner 5.4745/245.05
  3. Danny Bellio 6.4086/238.95
  4. Steph Milam 7.6692/128.30

11:30

Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Steve Carey 7.1558/193.87 bye, Rene van den Berg 7.0027/207.90 bye

Steve Carey on a bye and we understand on probation after his lane-crossing exploits yesterday. This run overseen by Frank Brachtvogel, none better I'd say. A much straighter run today, 1.1653 to sixty feet and 4.5884/147.60 at half track, the bike started to drift left but Steve feathered the throttle and got back on it, an improvement in ET but he stayed in #3. 1.1759 to sixty feet for Rene, 4.6194/164.84 at half track, the bike looked to be banging up and down on the wheelie bars with the engine note rising and falling, a PB speed, well done again Rene!

Qualifying standings after this session:

  1. Steve Woollatt 6.5374/195.49
  2. Rene van den Berg 6.5971/206.26
  3. Steve Carey 7.1558/193.87
  4. Ian Turburville 7.6267/196.93

11:25

VW Sportsman eliminations round 1 winners:

Craig Allen (15.05) 15.3162/73.62, Chris Baylis (13.60) 14.1350/86.10, Dave Bridge (13.65) 13.9418/87.13, Polly Naylor (17.40) 19.7674/44.46, Chris Bray (16.10) 16.1416/84.36, Spencer Tramm (15.85) 15.9834/85.32

Spencer Tramm was 2008 VWDRC VW Sportsman Champion before the event, well done Spencer!

Super Street eliminations round 1 winners:

John Grant 10.9201/134.78, Chris Kenny 11.0908/121.70, Martyn Sanger 10.8993/120.08, Leigh Morris 10.9963/118.84, Bob Lees 10.8543/130.18, Mark Watkins 10.8133/126.15 bye

Leigh Morris secured the 2008 UK National Super Street Championship by qualifying yesterday, well done Leigh!

John Grant took the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award with a 0.0006 RT in the first run of the session, £150 better off for it, nice one John!

Trackside conditions are 18.5 C, 71% and 29.97 inches of air, track temperature is 16.1 C.

11:05

Super Gas eliminations round 1 winners:

Frank Mason 9.9146/145.18, Stuart Morrice 9.8927/143.43, Jon Morton 9.9238/134.46, Dave Day 9.7972/122.75, Paul Marston 9.8231/110.51, Conrad Stanley 9.9201/160.63 bye

Conrad Stanley took the 2008 UK National Super Gas Championship by staging in this round, well done Conrad!

11:05

Supertwin Gas eliminations round 1 winners:

Piet Verhoef 9.0437/136.00, Andy Smith 9.4646/136.91, Chris Mott 9.2007/144.75, Les Harris 9.6510/140.27

Supertwin ET eliminations round 1 winners:

John Hackney (9.90) 10.1232/122.33, Nick Holland (12.00) 12.4160/113.72, Steve Partridge (11.23) 11.3120/119.39, Barrie Gregory (11.52) 12.0686/87.99, Aaron Sparks (12.20) 12.6127/102.60 bye, Joe Elliott (10.50) 10.7088/116.66

10:55

Super Modified eliminations round 1 winners:

Nigel Payne 7.6283/179.82, Andy Hone 7.6601/169.70, Craig Gibbs 7.9105/172.27, Tim Mugridge 8.4902/151.60 bye

Nigel Payne secured the 2008 UK National Super Modified Championship by qualifying yesterday, congratulations Nigel!

10:35

B&H Automotive Street Eliminator eliminations round 1 winners:

Ian Hook 9.2027/145.65, Jeff Meads 8.6465/164.17, Colin Lazenby 8.4060/178.47, Ron Haslett 9.7513/138.54 bye (Jon Webster no show), Moose Hollingworth 8.7514/160.69, Steve Pateman 8.2743/175.02 bye

A PB by a country mile for Moose, well done Moose!

10:25

9.50 Bike eliminations round 1 winners:

Richard Sawatzki 9.6322/144.36 bye, Wayne Saunders 9.9242/127.29, Jon Webster 10.2365/112.30, Dave Hall 9.5059/136.47, Martin Walker 9.9559/121.37, Fred Furlong 9.6740/125.51, Richard Beck 9.6466/131.63, Augy Harrison 9.6024/147.58, Phil Pratt 9.7988/114.88, Steve Ashby staged bye (Mark Slade no show)

Richard Sawatzki is 2008 UK National 9.50 Bike Champion, congratulations Richard!

Trackside conditions are 15.6 C, 92% humidity and 29.97 inches of air, track temperature is 17.1 C.

10:15

Super Street Bike eliminations round 1 winners:

Scott Baldwin 7.5855/189.60, Richard Stubbins 7.5818/193.55, Pete Bellenie 7.9834/175.02, Graham Balchin 7.5156/195.33, Brad O'Connor 7.7291/188.94, Mark Watkins 8.1753/170.98, Steve Venables 7.6803/164.10, Ady Lockley 8.1576/182.07

A Personal Best for Pete Bellenie and his first seven, well done Pete!

10:10

Super Comp eliminations round 1 winners:

Frank Mason 9.0300/140.23, Jon Morton 9.3048/121.45, Paul Letchford 8.9229/154.64, Dave Catton 8.9479/138.54, Pete Creswell 8.9454/152.53

Dave Catton is 2008 UK National Super Comp Champion, well done Dave!

10:05

Super Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners:

Barry Giles (7.55) 7.7720/141.85, Nigel Turner (8.27) 8.2971/157.26, Mark Flavell (7.68) staged bye (Pete Walters no show), Chris Isaacs (8.71) 8.6560/no speed, Dave Ward (8.74) 8.8889/139.28, Vince Gibbs (7.06) 7.1808/190.18, Steve Green (7.89) 8.8072/145.59, Rick Cooke (8.24) 8.2573/156.10, Jack Brewster (8.54) 9.0302/127.15, Martyn Jones (7.76) 7.7222/170.32 bye (Steve Pateman no show), John Everitt (7.97) 7.9361/170.32, Nick Good (6.83) 7.0969/154.49

A big Happy Birthday to Roy Wilding who drives the S&K Racing dragster. A first round exit not the best birthday present but it does give Roy time to bring cake up to us here in Race Control. Another great run from John Bradshaw's Skyline, 7.7537/175.64 in his exit to Vince Gibbs. Another good one for Andy Frost, too, 7.4146/191.26 on his exit to Rick Cooke. Personal Best for Lee Darby in his exit to John Everitt, 8.2690/161.62.

Track temperature is 11.7 C.

9:35

Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners:

John Morris (9.00) 9.0207/140.58, Charlie Chivers (10.60) 10.6207/126.78, Keith Herbert (11.10) 11.4755/89.55, Vic Amato (9.69) 9.7125/136.35, Neil Hunter (9.71) 9.6934/137.58, Carla Pittau (9.81) 9.8408/119.74, Tig Napier (9.72) 9.7429/138.85, Simon Innes (10.87) 11.0510/115.44, John Atkinson (9.00) 8.6944/155.71 bye, Mick Howling (9.80) 9.7997/122.97, Paul Foote (10.00) 10.2686/130.44, Mark Bailey (9.00) 9.5123/143.83 bye (Nigel Green no show), Liz Malcolm (10.95) 11.0050/120.71, Gino Bernadine (9.95) 10.0034/130.08

Paul Baynton is 2008 UK National Pro ET Champion, congratulations Paul!

A nice 0.0016 RT from Charlie Chivers in this round. We think a PB for John Atkinson, well done John!

Trackside conditions at the start of the session were 11.8 C, 98% humidity (waterlogged sensor I think) and 29.94 inches of air, track temperature was 8.6 C.

8:30

Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's day two of the UK National Finals 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 scheduled to post a picture every sixty seconds.

When I looked out of the caravan window this morning I couldn't see more than a few yards, but the great news was that it was only mist and not fog, and that it is clearing very rapidly as the sun rises. Again the forecast is for glorious weather. Trackside conditions right now are 9.4 C, 98% humidity and 29.94 inches of air, we'll get you a track temperature soon as the jet dryer has just been over it.

A big raceway Good Morning to our US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman who are tuned in from the Institute of Advanced Leisure Studies in Rye, NH (degree courses now available). Hope you are having a great weekend guys. Hello also to Gittli Koller and to Ivar Kolberg who we know are tuned in from Germany and Norway.

We must say a big Thank You to our good friend Grace Roaf who kindly gave us a rather yummy chocolate cake which she had baked in Home Economics at school. Not all of the cake is left now, and it is highly unlikely to last the day.

Also on the friends front, if you can't get your fill of pictures from this event then our good buddy DJ is updating Santa Pod Raceway's web site with daily galleries which you can check out at www.santapod.co.uk/e_nat_finals08daily.php.

At some point today we will be on the start line to present Human Touch Training and Care with a cheque for £4,600 which was the total raised by Eurodragster.com readers to help towards the reconstruction and restocking of the Medical Centre. A big Thank You to everyone who contributed.

Racing is due to start at 9:00 but I think we will start very slightly late because of the mist but stay tuned and as soon as the engines fire up we'll be back with the latest. As mentioned on the news update, there will be no pit notes today as Simon will be working on the Championship points.


Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com