Open Sport Nationals
Shakespeare County Raceway, 23rd-25th August 2014

Saturday


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20:30

Today's gallery has now been posted. There are eighty pictures in all; if you do not see all eighty updated thumbnails when you load the gallery page then click on your Browser's Refresh button.

We have also posted tomorrow's running order, completing session two and then into session three and four.

Saturday qualifying lists are as follows:

Saturday qualifying lists - Car classes (pdf format)

Super Pro ET
Super Comp
Super Gas
Super Street
Pro ET
Sportsman ET
Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator
VW Pro
VW Sportsman
Wild Bunch
Outlaw Anglia
Lucas Oil Junior Dragster

Saturday qualifying lists - Bike classes (pdf format)

Funny Bike
Comp Bike
Super Street Bike
8.50 Bike
9.50 Bike
NAST Supertwin Gas
NAST Supertwin ET
Junior Dragbike

17:15

The track crew and racers worked hard to sweep the standing water away, however the shutdown area was too wet and so the race director has taken the decision to call today's racing to an end. Stay tuned for photos which we will post in a couple of hours' time.

15:25

VW Sportsman qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Adrian London (17.65) 17.723/77.85
  2. Paul Herbert (14.15) 14.227/95.54
  3. Zak Benoit (14.25) 14.328/93.81
  4. Martin Ayton (16.11) 16.198/85.03
  5. Jason Anslow (13.85) 13.949/96.06

Paul Herbert up into second and Zak Benoit into third in this session. We are now on hold for rain which came down more heavily for around 5 minutes and is now tailing off.

VW Pro qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Paul Bargate (12.38) 12.490/106.77
  2. Jacob Bailey (12.90) 13.015/104.34
  3. James Hodgson (10.85) 10.986/135.42
  4. Dave Crowhurst (12.50) 12.639/105.06
  5. Glynn Morgan (10.97) 11.210/123.00

Paul Bargate up from third to first place. Dave Crowhurst up to fourth and Glynn Morgan into fifth.

Super Street qualifying after session 2

  1. Karen Stevens 10.904/130.37
  2. Leigh Morris 10.910/120.73.87
  3. Dave Cherrett 11.378/98.01

Improvement for Leigh Morris but he stayed in position.

15:00

NAST Supertwin ET qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Kieran Govender (13.40) 13.454/96.63
  2. Fiona Moor (12.50) 12.633/107.65
  3. Brett Cordelle (10.70) 10.923/123.68
  4. Peter Harrison (10.85) 11.095/120.98
  5. Giselle Moor (11.40) 11.649/128.27

Kieran Govender up from fifth to first and Brett Cordelle up one position in this session.

NAST Supertwin Gas qualifying after session 2

  1. Terry Green 9.434/138.80
  2. Chris Mott 10.576/126.05
  3. Robbie Dobbie 11.447/126.31
  4. Dave Smart 12.458/71.45

Improvement for Terry Green and first pass of the weekend for Chris Mott.

Junior Dragbike qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Natalie Jones (11.70) 11.700/60.98
  2. Alfie Udall (9.00) 9.039/73.89
  3. Louis Davies (9.35) 9.439/69.66
  4. Stacey Reed (9.50) 9.595/69.23
  5. Siobhan Moor (10.50) 10.806/60.73

Alfie Udall up from fourth to second and Siobhan Moor up into fifth place in this session. Improvements for Louis Davies and Stacey Reed but both stayed in position.

14:45

Class qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Billy Everitt 0.003
  2. Charlotte Bradford 0.010
  3. Paige Wheeler 0.021
  4. Thomas Cook-Abbott 0.024
  5. Aaron Fensome 0.025

Billy Everitt from 11th to first position, Charlotte Bradfor from 12th to second, Paige Wheeler improved but stayed in place, Thomas Cook-Abbott from 15th to fourth and Aaron Fensome from sixth to fifth in this session.

14:10

Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Stephen Cherrett (19.35) 19.374/69.68
  2. Ricky Hale (14.80) 14.862/95.24
  3. Geoff Cowley (14.99) 15.107/92.33
  4. Craig Wright (16.40) 16.519/82.80
  5. Ozzie Brown (15.20) 15.340/88.07

Stephen Cherrett up from second to first position and Ozzie Brown up to fifth in this session.

13:50

Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Phil Crossley 7.532/172.29
  2. Allan Davies 7.868/171.79
  3. Kevin Osman 8.096/187.38
  4. Paul Hambidge 8.836/162.56
  5. Steve Moor 9.894/135.36

Improvement for Kevin Osman and Paul Hambidge who remained in position. Initial pass for Steve Moor to qualify him. We are on hold for spots of rain, stay tuned.

13:45

Funny Bike qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Gary Jones 7.424/179.71
  2. Dave Peters 7.427/169.22
  3. Dale Leeks 7.740/169.46
  4. Jiri Lukes 8.498/166.97
  5. Harold Wolfenden 9.583/121.84

Dale Leeks improved his time but remained in third. Jiri Lukes moved up one position. Lorcan Parnell also idled down track under supervision of Ian Turburville. Pete Le Gros also appeared on his very tidy Harley engined machine but did not start.

13:30

Super Comp qualifying after session 1

  1. Paul Hudson 8.944/150.58
  2. Martin Curbishley 9.037/128.46

Phil Jones followed with a second observed run.

13:30

Pro ET qualifying top five after session 2

  1. Leigh Morris (10.90) 10.918/120.23
  2. Tim Stanbury (9.17) 9.280/145.64
  3. Keith Herbert (9.75) 9.787/136.90
  4. Dave Napier (9.72) 9.757/139.98
  5. Carla Pittau (9.70) 9.749/137.86

Leigh Morris up from third to first place and Tim Stanbury from fifth to second. Keith Herbert had a bonnet come up and hit his windscreen, not what you want at 136mph. Keith and his car are perfectly ok. Steve Hudson also of note, running 9.180/140.37 on a 9.00 dial.

13:20

Wild Bunch qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Sean Law (9.10) 9.159/146.54
  2. Bob Hawkins (7.20) 7.479/177.91
  3. Keith Crampton (10.98) 11.294/114.57
  4. Scottie Durrant (12.80) 14.787/87.27
  5. Dan Sharp (10.30) 9.923/127.83

Lovely paint job on Sean Law's Wicked Lady rear engined dragster. We're now getting into session two.

13:10

Outlaw Anglia qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Cliff Griffin 7.678/183.96
  2. Colin Millar 7.736/173.83
  3. Phil Middleton 8.933/151.55
  4. Steve Wells 10.484/76.96
  5. Matt Cooper 14.140/73.04

New PB for Cliff Griffin, well done Cliff! In the next pair Colin Millar had a huge plume of smoke out of the engine area and the car stopped in the shut down area. Paul Hensher couldn't start and Phil Rollinson in the ex-Wayne Nicholson Born to Run, now in black with a 496ci in place of the Rover engine, had a final observed run following which his license was signed, well done Phil!

12:50

Super Street Bike qualifying after session 1

  1. Steve Venables 8.220/187.57
  2. Chris Reed 8.593/173.96

Dave Thomas went before the lights ran and received no time.

8.50 Bike qualifying after session 1

  1. Dave Smart 8.517/166.46
  2. Mick Winyard 8.569/165.78
  3. Eddie Smiley 8.644/160.63
  4. Jay Roe 8.670/162.79
  5. Paul Furlong 9.675/144.02

We think Paul Furlong's first outing in 8.50 bike after a few seasons in 9.50.

12:40

9.50 Bike qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Alex Hope 9.500/128.76
  2. Aaron Sparks 9.517/145.37
  3. Mark Hope 9.528/142.77
  4. Richard Sawatzki 9.551/133.21
  5. Josh Stubbins 9.587/112.81

Well done to Alex Hope who returned from Pro Stock Bike to 9.50 at this event and promptly ran a perfect 9.500, but hard luck as well as the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV money had already gone.

12:35

Topsepeed Automotive Street Eliminator qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Stuart Williams 7.938/180.12
  2. Jon Webster 8.279/173.50
  3. Martin Smith 8.332/151.80
  4. Andy Bond 9.020/160.73
  5. Andy Williamson 9.350/161.23

Stu Williams wasting no time getting into the sevens. Team Extreme Racing Matt Smith back in the Escort Cosworth today.

12:25

Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Jack Brewster (8.28) 8.300/166.33
  2. Patrick Dubois (7.40) 7.434/188.39
  3. Ian Powell (7.94) 7.986/168.81
  4. Scott Hauser (7.60) 7.687/173.86
  5. John Atkinson (8.80) 8.888/153.34

VW Sportsman qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Adrian London (17.65) 17.723/77.85
  2. Jason Anslow (13.85) 14.188/96.35
  3. Dave Lea (13.90) 14.261/85.57
  4. Martin Ayton (16.00) 16.396/84.92
  5. John Devlin (16.00) 16.695/78.80

VW Pro qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Jacob Bailey (12.90) 13.015/104.34
  2. James Hodgson (10.85) 10.986/135.42
  3. Paul Bargate (12.28) 12.442/107.90
  4. Dave Bridge (12.42) 13.086/97.43
  5. Shaun Hyde (12.71) 14.642/100.52

Paul Marston, going for the Perfect Light award, ran a 0.001 red light on his pass. Then Dave Russell got a touch of the wobbles and wisely lifted. Congratulations to Patrick Dubois from France who ran a 0.000 reaction time to win the Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award of £75 and into second place to boot. Short hold to retrieve a part which decided to depart Christophe Dubois' Pontiac, which we understand was bought from Stanley Albritton Jnr in the US and has a 701ci Steve Schmidt normally aspirated engine.

12:10

Super Street qualifying after session 1

  1. Karen Stevens 10.904/130.37
  2. Leigh Morris 10.928/119.87
  3. Dave Cherrett 11.513/87.88

11:55

NAST Supertwin ET qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Fiona Moor (12.50) 12.633/107.65
  2. Peter Harrison (10.85) 11.095/120.98
  3. Giselle Moor (11.40) 11.649/128.27
  4. Brett Cordelle (10.55) 10.810/124.31
  5. Kieran Govender (13.40) 13.704/96.62

NAST Supertwin Gas qualifying after session 1

  1. Terry Green 9.542/138.13
  2. Robbie Dobbie 11.447/126.31
  3. Dave Smart 12.458/71.45

Junior Dragbike qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Natalie Jones (11.70) 11.700/60.98
  2. Stacey Reed (9.46) 9.565/70.85
  3. Louis Davies (9.30) 9.419/69.88
  4. Alfie Udall (8.98) 9.149/72.93
  5. Liam Holgate (13.50) 13.812/48.54

Natalie Jones ran a 11.700 on 11.70 dial in and wins the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV perfect ET award, many congratulations Natalie. I can't remember this class having won the award before so well done indeed!

11:40

Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Billy Ringer 0.027
  2. Holly Moor 0.030
  3. Paige Wheeler 0.035
  4. Joe Kellett 0.036
  5. Elonie Dubois 0.042

Huge field of 29 cars. A special welcome to six visitors from France, all apart from Lis Billaut (JM) running JMA, and debutants Kimmie Willcox in the SCR hire car and Holly Moor of Team Elysion.

11:10

Sportsman ET qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Ricky Hale (14.80) 14.862/95.24
  2. Stephen Cherrett (19.26) 19.368/70.25
  3. Geoff Cowley (14.99) 15.107/92.33
  4. Craig Wright (16.40) 16.519/82.80
  5. Deborah Laugher (17.27) 18.239/72.69

Nice to see Deborah Laugher back after her incident with her Corvette. Also good to see former double Sportsman ET champ Geoff Cowley out again. New racer Jon McGarrigle broke out in his Fiesta ST on his first observed run.

10:35

Comp Bike qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Phil Crossley 7.532/172.29
  2. Allan Davies 7.868/171.79
  3. Kevin Osman 8.114/184.77
  4. Paul Hambidge 8.836/162.56

Phil Crossley near to his PB on his first pass. Then oil found in the left lane after Allan Davies's pass. On brief hold for clear-up, then Steve Moor stopped on track and needed to be recovered. A small oil spill was then discovered in the shut-down area and the track crew are at work on it. Stay tuned.

10:15

Funny Bike qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Gary Jones 7.424/179.71
  2. Dave Peters 7.427/169.22
  3. Dale Leeks 8.656/159.74
  4. Harold Wolfenden 9.583/121.84
  5. Jiri Lukes 11.358/131.80

Great pass for Dave Peters, straight into the mid sevens on his first pass in the left lane, followed by an almost identical but slightly quicker run by Gary Jones in the right lane. Dale Leeks shook hard at the 60ft point.

10:20

Super Comp qualifying after session 1

  1. Paul Hudson 9.029/149.93
  2. Martin Curbishley 8.783/153.23

New racer Phil Jones followed with a familiarisation pass in the ex-Paul Brown car which looks destined for Super Comp.

10:15

Pro ET qualifying top five after session 1

  1. Dave Napier (9.72) 9.757/139.98
  2. Bob Molden (9.80) 9.859/136.57
  3. Leigh Morris (10.90) 11.002/119.62
  4. Lee Huxley (9.70) 9.826/131.95
  5. Tim Stanbury (9.17) 9.320/145.85

Nigel Green's VW is reportedly for sale and promptly broke out. Wheelspin launch for Carla Pittau, to be featured on Draglist's Racin' and Rockin' radio show on Monday. 0.002 reaction for Glenn Pallant taking an early tilt at the Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award. Dave Cherrett followed with a 2ft wheelie off the line and move to the left, quickly corrected.

09:30

Good morning and welcome from Shakespeare County Raceway for our coverage of the APIRA Open Sport Nationals held by APIRA and brought to you in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car.

It's a lovely Bank Holiday Saturday with hardly a cloud in the sky and 12 degrees celsius with an expected high of 18 degrees. Perfect racing conditions.

We have three cycles of qualifying scheduled today and we are due to start at 10am with Pro ET. A running order has been posted on the event page. Stay tuned and as soon as the wheels start to turn we will bring you the news. In the meantime follow our coverage of the Turtle Wax Internationals and a big Good Morning to our colleagues Tog, Kirstie and Patrik at Tierp.

Sadly there is no webcam at the Open Sports Nationals because we are lacking the necessary resources here. On the positive side, we will be holding the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award which has been increased to £75 after being unclaimed at the previous event. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer this weekend to run an ET to the thousandth of a second on dial-in or index. Eurodragster.com/Gold RV decals must be on the vehicle for claiming this award and we will verify this is the case. Decals are available in signing on if you don't have them. The Perfect ET Award is also available this weekend during qualifying or eliminations in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations only), 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, the Wild Bunch, Supertwin ET and Junior Drag Bike but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Run of the event.

This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at the Mopar EuroNats. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer this weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event.


Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com