Back On Track Practice Days
Santa Pod Raceway, 4th-5th July and 11th July 2020

Back On Track Race Day Sunday



The latest updates are at the top of the page. Click on your Browser's Refresh key to be sure of seeing the latest news. Click here to return to the Event Index.


20:20

We have now posted today's gallery which consists of 75 pictures by Julian. You can see them from the Event Index.

16:45

Stu Crane brought his turbo FB to the line and went down in 7.248/190.45 for the quickest vehicle on track, well done Stu!

That's the end of today's RWYB, we will post our gallery back at base later this evening. Our next live coverage is on 11th July at the Back on Track Street Day.

16:00

Michael Piggott v Mark Smith in an all Warpspeed Racing matchup. Michael's CB went 10.177/110.71 to a troubled 13 for Mark, the engine misfiring down the track.

Darren Dewhurst went 10.673/134.52 on his next run in the FWD Corsa, his 10th run today, the best being 10.503/135.33. He then came back round for his 11th run, 10.872/131.40. You can't deny he has had value for money this weekend!

Mike Tabb came round again and ran a 10.769/134.19, Craig Wright a 9.4971/140.85 and David Shelly in his Malibu 10.7403/124.11.

Thomas Watkins v Dave Cherrett, Dave red lit and times 9.542/140.68 for Thomas and 10.484/124.87 for Dave.

Sean McLaren with the Ecotune Audi TT, 10.039/141.20.

15:30

Dave Cherrett ran a solo 10.225/127.37. Paul Morris 9.213/144.34 on his 14th run of the weekend.

David Shelly went 10.759/124.21, then Mike Tabb went 9.780/145.22 on his Comp Bike. Thomas Watkins 9.494/141.21 on his sixth run of the day.

Martin Hallett v Craig Wright, 9.453/143 first for Craig to 9.631/138.12 for Martin. Alan Morrison 8.518/154.16 next on his 10th run of the weekend.

Williams Bros Chevy had a 0.004 RT and 11.206/117.12, close to the Perfect Light Award but the money still intact.

Steve Venables with a wheelie on his new methanol burning bike, then controlled it nicely to a 7.592/186.59, his best of the day so far.

Harrison Brown kept the front wheel down to go 9.629/138.13

Ahmed Jamshaid then got back on it to 10.746/135.64 to the Ecotune Golf's 10.790/125.25

Scott Hauser's fifth run was a 7.553/174.38 with 1.048 60ft time. He was followed by Paul Hudson 9.402/145.31 with 1.345 60ft time and the revs going up and down as if the converter was suffering.

15:15

Darren Dewhurst v Simon Crowley 10.807/133.27 to 11.842/124.18 new PB for Simon Crowley, well done Simon!

Ahmed Jamshaid in his 'spare parts' Honda 10.881/135.22 on a solo pass, followed by an Audi RS3 going 10.261/140.

David Shelly v Vic Parsons, 10.838/124.40 to 10.290/128.02.

Paul Hudson followed with a 9.488/137.71. Then Dominic Sharpe with a bouncy launch, a puff of smoke to 11.237/128.35, later going 10.220/134.86 for his best.

A new PB for Daniel Jacobs in his Audi RS3 10.100/140.38, improved a few minutes later to 10.045/140.79, well done Daniel!

Guy King ran a solo 10.108/129.55.

15:00

Martin Hallett 9.563/137.69 v Alan Morrison 8.565/149.18, Alan first.

Dominic Sharpe against Peter Wiseman, 10.771/132.83 to 11.257/129.52 Dominic first.

Guy King ran a solo 10.385/129.03. Then, chute repacked, JT brought the Crew Killer Pop to the line, 9.223/132.82.

Peter Wiseman against Ahmed Jamshaid, 10.514/132.04 to 15.721/61.33 as the Honda slowed.

After that flurry of activity, the lanes are empty, so there will be a short pause.

14:45

Newcomer Mike Tabb went 9.986/148.57, his best being 9.760.

Stu Crane came out for another test run on his turbo bike, 7.351/196.21 and again well handled to keep it from drifting left. Best time of the weekend so far, well done Stu!

Mark Smith followed on his Pro Mod bike. The engine cut out and he was restarted but it happened again and he was pushed back.

Harrison Brown v Dave Smith. Harrison went skywards but kept control to 10.131/134.82 to Dave's 9.121/104.71. Masterful riding by Harrison!

Paul Morris 9.428/144.30 v Craig Wright 9.445/140.82, nice looking and close pairing by 0.02s.

The Storm Funny Bike next, Lorcan drifting right and correcting it at half track 7.278/171.75 for best time of the weekend, well done Lorcan!

Kaitlan Deevey and Luke Fulton in their JDs next, 8.065/80.22 to 8.439/74.54.

Ahmed Jamshaid v Simon Crowley, 10.825/133.65 to 12.644/115.66. Then Sean McLaren went 9.714/142.60, a new best for Sean.

Lawbreaker v Graham Barton, 11.031/11978 to 11.344/112.76 first for Nick Curtis.

David Shelly v Guy King, Guy away to 10.255/130 to 11.840/113.17 for David. This was followed by James Forster, 11.222/133.33 footbrake launch.

John Tebenham suffered a parachute malfunction during staging as Joel Kerr ran 7.414/189.

14:15

Dave Cherrett against Mason Griffiths in the dragster. 9.211/140 for Mason to 10.619/116 for Dave.

Chris Newsam then came up against a Fiesta, Chris going 9.614/137.30.

Martin Ayton (his first run of the weekend) against Dominic Sharoe, Dominic long gone with 10.415/135 to Martin's 15s pass in the VWSP Scirocco Mk1. Then Thomas Watkins went 9.512/140.36 in the NSS Charger. Next pair his sister Amy Watkins went up against the RS3 Audi, Amy going 9.623/137 to the Audi's 10.276/139.88

John Davison against Vic Parsons in an all NSS matchup, 10.644/125.78 to 10.330/127.66 for Vic.

Ahmed Jamshaid then went 11.421/131.67 and Darren Shepherd 11.661/113.34.

Scott Hauser in his third pass went 7.521/174.37, fantastic consistency!

A rematch between Keith Williams and Graham Barton, 11.541/115 to 11.585/111.73, Keith first. This was followed by track prep.

14:00

John Tebenham with Paul Marston on his crew went 9.450/135.61 in the Crew Killer Pop. Darren Dewhurst followed by equalling his best 10.503/135.33.

Rob Brown in the slingshot went 8.711/139.47.

Keith Wright against Steve Venables, Ven crossing the lane in front of Keith and tripping his clocks to a 7.90/130. The 1320ft timing blocks also went

flying so we are on hold while replacement blocks are installed.

Kevin Osman on his FB did another test pass, nice looking bike.

Wayne Gill (S3) Ahmed Jamshaid (Honda) 10.658/131.68 to 10.724/133.77, both road legal and a PB for Ahmed.

Vic Parsons then soloed to a 10.419/127.72, followed by James Forster who did a footbrake launch and test pass in the Duster to 11.973/83, getting close to the centre line.

Then an all gasser matchup between Keith Williams and Graham Barton, 11.503/111 in the Austin winning as Keith's '55 Chevy left before the tree activated.

13:45

After the lunch break, Darren Dewhurst went 10.8175/133.37 followed by a battle of the Audis. Sean McLaren ran his first nine of the weekend, 9.6559/ 141.25. Darren Shepherd also ran a 11.7498/111.79.

Joel Kerr broke his PB in style, 7.3836/192.07, well done Joel! Then Sean McLaren hot lapped to a 9.8778/141.70. Terence Newton on his 18th pass this weekend, improved further running a 10.8882/130.92, well done Terence!

Paul Morris v Mike Tabb 10.753/130.15 and no time for Mike. Then Harrison Brown on his bright yellow GSXR going 9.781/136.04.

Kaitlin Deevey and Paul Bishop in their JDs 8.468/74.40 to 8.075/80.21, Kaitlin going 0.0027 RT - close to the Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award.

Nick Curtis in Lawbreaker v Guy King, 11.569/110.69 to Guy 10.199/129.85 first.

12:45

Rob Brown then webnt 8.607/155.21 in his WB slingshot. Then John Tebenham had a squirrely burnout against the Sean McLaren Audi RS, JT long gone to 9.152/136 to 10.027/141.

The Williams Bros '55 Chevy was then out for Keith Williams' second pass and went 11.397/116.26, the car already very consistent.

The Lawbreaker with Nick Curtis at the wheel came out for another gentle checkout pass to a 12.951/101.20.

Mike Tabb went 9.802/152.08 on his GSXR1000. Now we're on a lunch break until 1:30pm.

12:30

Amy Watkins v Terence Newton 9.602/137 to 10.931/130, Terence's first ten, well done Terence!

Guy King went 10.054/130.51 on his first run of the day.

David Shelly v Peter Wiseman in a classic match up. David pushed back, Peter 10.930/128.41 on his single.

Mason Griffiths soloed to a 9.403/136.13. Then James Forster went in the left lane for his second pass, L letter on the rear window, launch from near-idle then on the throttle to 12.245/81.81.

Ecotune Golf v Ahmed Jamshaid 10.811/125 to 10.815/132.83.

Harrison Brown then ran a 9.837/136.50 on his GSXR.

Lorcan Parnell then ran a pass on Storm, drifting to the left but a nice 1.187 60ft launch.

Simon Crowley's immaculate 1.8 turbo Golf then again suffered spin which shut off the motor and he pulled over to the side.

Chris Newsam then came out again with Steve Hudson as crew. The MG ZX ran a 9.552/139.46.

Paul Morris v Alan Morrison on their Suzuki bikes, 9.989/141.56 to 8.432/154.16.

12:20

We then saw Kim Bishop with the Grey Vegas painted Willys, a very nice looking hot rod. 11.209/110.04 on his first run.

Stacey Fenton with the Audi S3 and ProRace engineering setup 13.302/114 but huge potential. Prop shaft broken yesterday was welded in the pits last night.

Peter Wiseman in his classic NSS Challenger went 12.672/106.64 against a Audi S3 10.139/138.

Scott Hauser v Julian Davison's 100E (see our 100E feature), 7.558/173 against a gentle 13 for the 100E with a new gearbox.

Dave Cherrett against Paul Hudson, 10.190/122.76 to 10.484/119.64 the unexpected outcome.

Steve Venables on his new bike 8.335/131.43 drifting to the left. Then Graham Dance on his SSB went 8.037/176.42.

Martin Hallett v David Smith, 9.650/137 to 8.875/160.23.

Ecotune Audi Sean McLaren v Thomas Watkins, 0.003 RT for Thomas, 10.031/140 to 9.461/142 for Thomas. Closest yet to the Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light award.

12:00

Len Paget brought his PSB out to go 7.694/166.68 to improve on his first run, the bike drifting left to the centre at the top end.

Terence Newton ran a new PB in the Escort van, 11.0698/131.06, well done Terence!

John Tebenham out for his third run, on a solo. Nice pass to 9.173/134.45.

Bevis Allen v Vic Parsons, 10.516/126.95 as Beavis slowed to a 18 with a twisted looking rear axle.

James Forster in his 540ci Pink Panther Duster, but the engine lost fire. After a restart he made a test launch at low revs and all seemed well on his inaugural pass.

Darren Dewhurst v Terence Newton 11.749/125 to 11.450/130.99 for the Escort van.

11:50

Paul Morris against Harrison Brown on their 9.50 bikes, Paul first 9.527/148.58 to 9.627/136.57, followed by Paul Hambidge who lifted on his ZX12R.

Darren Shepherd against Terence Newton, 11.660/113 to 12.054/131, Terence getting close to the tens earlier.

Arnie Pannent vs Simon Crowley 9.991/118 to a shut down 18/69 for Simon.

Ahmaid Jamshaid ran a 10.921/133 in his FWD Honda against Vic Parsons 10.345/127.26.

The Williams Bros racing '55 then ran with Dad Keith at the wheel. A nice straight run to 11.292/116.99.

Joel Kerr then came out for another run to challenge his PB. 7.545/185.07 with a 1.208 60ft.

11:35

Kevin Osman on a Hayabusa FB, bike pulled left close to the centre line, 7.980/171, well controlled Kevin!

Ahmed Jamshaid in an FWD Integra 12.469/131.04.

Dominic Sharpe Firebird v Graham Barton in his gasser 10.700/134 with a puff of smoke to 11.534/112 for the Austin.

Darren Dewhurst then went 10.841/128 with a 1.78 60ft.

Ecotune Audi of Sean McLaren then went against Steve Matthews in the gasser. Huge wheelie for Steve, 10.065/128.46 to 9.989/139.83 for the Audi.

Chris Newsam with the MG ZX powered by Chevy, straight launch and run, 9.509/138.96, supported by Neil Hunter wearing a nice face mask.

James Forster came to the line in his smart Plymouth Duster but was pushed back. David Shelly amd John Davidson followed, 12.112/112 to 11.338/119.58, both redlighting and a -0.009 RT for John.

Craig Wright launched and then breakage occured with parts on the track, Craig shutting the bike down. A quick clean-up and then to Alan Morrison and David Smith 8.400/161.89 to 9.328/125.93 for the SSB.

11:15

Lorcan Parnell on the Storm turbo FB with a launch to 1.256 60ft, a move leftwards to the centre line and shut off. It sounded great spooling the turbos on the burnout.

Graham Dance came out on his SSB but the engine cut out on the launch. Being a RWYB he was allowed to restart, but the same outcome. Third time it kept lit and he ran 8.002/170 looking smooth down the track, 1.35 to 60ft.

Stu Crane in the right hand lane on his turbo FB/TFB, 7.533/189.62 as Stu leant to keep the bike straight, great pass and 2nd fastest today, well done Stu!

A pause while the tractor sweeps and sleds the top end of the track.

11:00

Darren Shepherd was first going 11.592/113.64. Then the Ecotune Mk7 Golf took on the Dark Revenger with Dave Cherrett, 10.816/115.96 for Dave to 10.912/122.76 for the Golf.

Dominic Sharpe went 10.274/135.76 against the Ecotune Audi of Sean 10.054/139.45.

Scott Hauser 7.538/173.71 for the first run of the season, great start after a long break and hi to Eurodragster.com sponsor Geof Hauser.

Arnie Pamment in the AMC a couple of pairs later against Wayne Gill's RS, 10.055/132.98 for Arnie.

Beavis Allen's Impala went 10.376/128.04, 104mph at the eighth for the big car. Great start.

Then we saw the junior of newcomer Paul Bishop in his JM going 8.554/66.95.

Thomas Watkins went up against Graham Barton's GC Austin Devon, Thomas going 9.510/140.28 to 11.578/111.67.

Amy Watkins up against the repainted dragster of Mason Griffiths, Amy lifting the wheels to 9.688/137.27 to 9.472/136.50.

John Tebenham with a spirited burnout against Rob Brown's WB slingshot, shot of nitrous from JT, then 9.229/136.04 to 8.629/152.70 for the dragster.

Ross Laird against Richie Webb, 9.875/123.52 for Richie with flames on the launch against 12.967/113.79

Michael Piggott with a 8.888/149.09 on his comp bike followed, with Martin Hallett going 9.685/138.17 on the next run.

10:45

Martin Golf R on his first run of the day 9.632/137.87 against 9.492/139.06 in the other lane (bike unidentified).

8.440/159.61 for a 8.50 Bike, followed by Craig Wright 9.474/141.66, best so far this weekend.

Steve Venables came out with his new carbon fibre bodied bike but problems prevented a run.

Drama as Paul Adams came off his Suzuki GSXR after the bike wheelied, the bike going down to 400ft mark before it came to a halt, Paul is perfectly fine and walked back to the start area unaided after medical staff gave him the ok. The bike seems undamaged too.

10:30

Len Paget on his PSB went towards the left hand side of the right lane and ran 8.018/161.31, nice first pass of the year.

Chris Newsham in his MG ZS was then against Dominic Sharpe in a very nice Firebird, 9.592/137 to 10.309/135.21. 1.33 60ft for Chris.

A short track grooming session followed, with something quick in the fire up area.

Al Smith in his first 2020 run on his three cylinder PBR TFB, short pre-startline burnout, then engine cut out as he left the line.

10:15

Paul Hudson's first run was 9.284/147.14, 0.06 off his best from yesterday but a bit short of the class index.

Simon Crowley's second run hit the limiter to 12.448/112.

Michael Piggott went 9.055/146.71 on his Hayabusa Comp Bike, nice pass.

Ecotune Audi TT ran a solo 10.806/138.67

John Tebenham in his Crew Killer Pop v Joel Kerr in his Plymouth, great burnout by Joel to 200ft, 11.756/67.72 to a great 7.458/183.56 for Joel, quickest of the weekend so far and 0.02 off his personal best, well done Joel!

Vic Parsons against Steve Matthews, 10.330/127.21 to 10.084/129.88, Steve getting there first the long way round.

10:00

Terence Newton then ran a 11.108/126.30. David Swift made his second pass against Ross Laird in the ST 10.781/125 to 15.383/74, Ross having to lift.

Darren Shepherd and Richie Webb came down, first runs of the year for them in their VW Beetles. Both lifted well before the end, Darren having a 1.54 60ft time. Richie's cabriolet now has a carbon fibre engine lid.

Martin Hulbert v Terence Newton, 12.065/133 to 11.076/128.44.

Arnie Pamment (OS74) in his AMC against Darren Dewhurst 10.450/129.78 with chutes out to 11.410/122.22.

Kaitlan Deevey came out for a run in her JD followed by John Davison in the Soper & Heck NSS Road Runner to 11.350/117.

09:45

First racer down the tack is Darren Dewhurst who ran a PB of 10.603 yesterday, he goes 11.324/121.57 in his Corsa. However the 20mph is apparently deterring some racers from coming into the pairing lanes. Stay tuned.

Next was Terence Newton in his Escort Van at 11.113/131.03 which is better than any of his runs yesterday.

Paul Morris on his bike then ran 10.192/140.70, followed by Paul Morris and Mike Tabb on their bikes 10.192/140 to 11.291/139.

David Shelly in a neat Malibu against David Swift in his VW, 12.581/107 to 12.080/76.45.

09:00

Good morning and welcome to day two of our coverage of the Back On Track Racer Days. There was a good day yesterday with around 80 racers making test passes to practice or try new setups. Today we are expecting some racers who didn't run yesterday including three Super Street Bikes and FIM Top Fuel Bikes. We'll let you know who they are as they appear. It rained overnight but the weather is now dry and sunny with a few clouds. There is quite a breeze, enough to rock the startline tower, so we shall see if that affects the running.

Greetings to our Eurodragsterholics everywhere including Kai Plathan who is tuned in from Finland as usual with his faithful hound Otto. A big hello to Kirstie and Diana who would have been here had the Covid-19 restrictions not been in place. We also send greetings to our former News Editor and Race Reporter Tog who is tuned in from Purfleet.

As well as our live coverage, Santa Pod Raceway is presenting a live stream on Facebook and Youtube with commentary from Luke Stevenson. To recoup the cost of this, the track has asked if fans can consider supporting them by visiting the Santa Pod shop at this link or if you'd like a way to donate directly you can purchase a donation ticket at this link.

The counter rotator is doing its thing to get some rubber down on the track and we'll bring you the news as soon as racing is due to start which is 9:30am.


Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com