The 2005 Easter Thunderball
Santa Pod Raceway
26th to 28th March 2005
Pictures and words by Richard Stirling
First of all, I must apologise for the delay in posting this report and the associated picture gallery. Work has had me away from base ever since Easter Monday, so let's hope that what you see now, is all worth the wait!
Easter always seems a long time coming and even though it was 'early' this year, I felt well overdue for a sniff of burning rubber! I wasn't able to get to the Friday setup/practice day, so it was a lovely Saturday morning that greeted me, as I hastened my way down from sunny Derby to a bright and inviting Santa Pod. I got parked up and headed straight for the pits - but not before I stopped for a freshly baked baguette, full to the brim with crispy and delicious bacon....Mmmmmm! All washed down with a tasty cup of tea.
I must say that I am most impressed with the recent
improvements to Santa Pod. I took note of the first of these improvements as I
chomped on my bacon baguette - the catering area on the spectator side had been
completely resurfaced. It was superb, but perhaps even more impressive was what
been improved on the pit-side. I was pleased to see the back of th
at
horrible concrete pathway which used to skirt the fire-up road to the barn. The
whole area has now been replaced with pristine and freshly rolled tarmac which
provides the space for a new and much larger traders area. In amongst this area
was located the fansfueler project for
which I was lending a hand and taking pictures, this weekend. All the continued
efforts and pledge-raising of the project must surely prove to be fruitful soon,
so that '98 FIA Top Fuel champion Barry
Sheavills and the team make an early return to the track.
The
format for the meeting had an enhanced appearance over previous years with a lot
more 'entertainment' or 'exhibition' type features built into the
running order (thanks to eurodragster
and to Paula Marshall and the SPRC
for the info). I'm all for this layout, particularly when the weather can be a
bit dodgy and it means that there's always something to keep the spectators
entertained. There are hardened race-going spectators amongst us that would
favour nothing but the professional race categories, but such a plan always falls to
the ground as soon as the weather causes problems - something that has been
known to happen a time or two in the past.
Much good news has been circulating in the world of FIA Top
Fuel racing. Some have new cars, some have new sponsors; but all have spent
their money wisely to ensure that 2005 is truly a banner year for Top Fuel.
Never before has there been so much state-of-the-art equipment and consequently
so much interest in the
sport. Not only is it the drivers and teams that have prepared so carefully for
a season's racing, but much thanks and back-slapping should go to
Santa Pod and in particular to it's
stalwarts Kjell Pettersson and David Lloyd-Jones for their supreme
efforts
with all the track improvements, including NHRA
specification walls and special pre-season track
preparation. Surely the biggest story on the Top Fuel front has to be the
sensational news that Andy Carter has
secured a two year deal with the power tools division of DIY mega-stores
B&Q.
This is superb news, especially so as B&Q have not been generally known as commercial
sponsors, until recently. This puts the pressure on two-time and reigning FIA
Top Fuel Champion Andy Carter, but I bet that's just the way Andy likes it!
Somebody else 'out to play' in big style with his new car is
Lex Joon. His much-publicised purchase
of David
Baca's dragster (which ran a sensational 4.49 second pass at the 2003 US
Nationals
race)
and appointment of Crew Chief Eddie Corr (after being Andy Carter's Crew Chief
for many years) and heavy financial involvement from
MPM Oils, all adds up to a
strong combination which, on the right day, with the right tune-up, should prove
a hard combination to beat. Another driver with a new car for the season, though
not present at the Easter Thunderball, is Tommy
Möller, who has purchased a similar Murf McKinney constructed dragster from
tall-man Doug Herbert. More on this when Tommy appears later on the season.
Thanks to Tommy for the picture.
Someone else with a big smile on his face at the Easter
Thunderball was Jon Webster driving the Canto
Recruitment
Top Fuel dragster. On hand to help out this weekend was Nitro legend and Jöran
Persåker's Car Chief, Gary Page. Something must have worked out all right,
because Jon entered his name in the '4 Second Club' with a superb 4.97 second
pass at over 290mph. He nearly cracked the 'other' club (300mph) before the
weekend was out, with a thundering 296.62mph pass as the 3rd and 4th positions
in the pro-shootout were settled. It has to be mentioned that on that last pass,
Lex Joon spoilt what looked liked a pretty stout run with an unfortunate red
light.
The
pro-shootout featured mainly Top Fuel dragsters, but in the thick of it was the
lone Shockwave Fuel Funny Car of Gordon Smith fielded by co-owner and Crew Chief
Dave Bryant. They had a torrid time with a couple of passes - both incurring
major damage to their blower (supercharger) and both engine blocks.
Commiserations to reigning Funny Car champion Gordon and Dave and hope they get
the damage fixed soon.
Making
his first appearance at Santa Pod since the Flame and thunder show back in
November, was Thomas Nataas with his Rune Fjeld-owned delicious-looking
Batmobile Top Fuel Dragster. Thomas was looking for a little bit of revenge for
the final round at
the FIA European finals last September where he bowed out to a Championship
winning Andy Carter. Thomas's patience would be paid off with dividends at the
Easter Thunderball, as the pair met again in the final this weekend. This time
Thomas took the honours and notched up his first final round victory - a sweet
one indeed. It was that close that as I photographed the pair heading into the
sun, I missed who it was who actually took the win light! You can imagine my
surprise as I rushed to congratulate Andy Carter! Thank goodness Andy has a sense
of humour! Many congratulations to Thomas and his Batmobile crew.
In
the other categories racing over the weekend, mention must be made of the most
gorgeous new Pro-mod car owned and driven by Danny Cockerill. His McAmis-style
57 Bel-Air is just the most beautiful creation that you ever did see. Danny made
good progress with the car over the weekend ending up with a most credible 6.6
second run at over 210mph. Much more is guaranteed to come from this beautiful
machine and Danny Cockerill.
Fellow 'Picky Virgo' and '01 Top Fuel bike champion Ian King was out with his
Top Fuel bike this weekend. I couldn't help noticing that a TV crew was all
over him on Saturday, but at the commencement of his first
run,
Ian had a fuel leak which scuppered everyone's first attempt at filming. As the day
progressed and the weather threatened, this made life a little more stressful
for Ian, as the TV crew were only able to be there for Saturday. Come later in the
day, when Ian was to make a single shot at qualifying, the track conditions were
not ideal and neither were his nerves when his visor instantly fogged-up when
closed it to move into stage! With a helmet cam running and TV cameras track
side, Ian decided "seeing as I'm on a single" to go for it anyway! What an
effort! 6.511 seconds at 200.73mph in such yukky conditions is fantastic! It was
nice to see him ending up
winning the whole event with a magnificent 6.482 second pass at 209.29mph (see
picture).
Brilliant!
In Top Alcohol, excellent performances were aplenty all weekend and the ever-present Dave Wilson ended up on top over the now privately funded Rob Turner with a creditable flat 5.5 second run compared with a close-behind Rob running a 5.54 second run.
All in all, it was a super weekend enjoyed by one and all. If the standard of racing is anything to go by, it bodes well for a supreme 2005 season.
Thank you for reading this report. If you would like to have a look at the picture gallery, please click here otherwise, thanks for visiting http://topnitro.co.uk and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
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