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Super Series Spring Nationals May 4 - 6
Super Series - Spring Nationals 4 - 6MayPoints awarded for Super Series & Real Steel Championships
The first Super Series event of 2002, the “Spring Nationals”, was also Real Steel Series Round 2. There was a field of 12 Wild Bunch cars competing at this 3-day Bank Holiday weekend.
| Event Results | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver | Car | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 660 |
| 2 | 20 | Mark Coulsell | Limited Funz | 450 |
| - | 96 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | 450 |
| 4 | 3 | Paul Croston | B-Sting | 270 |
| 5 | 2 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 240 |
| 6 | 9 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | Nutcracker | 230 |
| 7 | 33 | Tom Coe | Psycho | 200 |
| 8 | 67 | Darryl Howells | Wheels of Fortune | 190 |
| 9 | 46 | Colin Aldred | Classy Chassy | 180 |
| 10 | 86 | Dick Sharp | Dorset Horn | 20 |
| 11 | 24 | Mark Turton | Growler | 10 |
| - | 73 | Johnny Hall | The Happening | 10 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Best Reaction (Race Day) | 2 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | .557 |
| Closest to Dial-in (Race Day) | 2 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | -.003 off |
| #1 Qualifier | 96 | Tony Smith | The Cunning Plan | .022 off |
| Closest Runner-up | 2 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | runner up by .014 |
| Best Dragster/Radical | 3 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | - |
| Best Slingshot | 1 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | Ramraider | - |
| Best Appearing Team | 20 | Limited Funz | Limited Funz | - |
| Saturday This was a qualifying day and there were 2 rounds to be had. In the 1st round of qualifying, 10 drivers took part. Ed Yates ran a great Personal Best E.T. of 10.103 @ 128.57 mph in the "Ram Raider, which was also a Team Best for the car. Chris Hartnell ran a good 9.473 pass in the "Backdraft" slingshot at 133.14 mph (Top MPH of "the Bunch" for the weekend). This was against Mark Turton in the "Growler" altered, who ran a 14.0 on a 12.00 Dial-in. Very unfortunately, something broke on the altered, and Mark took a sharp turn left and went off the track, rolling about 3 times. The safety crew were soon on the scene and thankfully Mark emerged safely from the cockpit with only a bruised knee and injured pride. The car was very much the worse for wear, and the body suffered almost total damage, along with the wing, wheels, headers, rocker covers, etc, and the engine had also seized. It was a very sad sight to see in the pits, but Mark was very upbeat and has various plans to rebuild and hopes to get back out sometime during the season! He would like to thank the safety crews and marshals and everybody who donated towards the rebuild fund! Best of luck, Mark! Taking a turn in the hotseat of the "B-Sting" was sponsor Andy Murphy, who was doing his observed licensing runs. He put in a launch in the first round of qualifying. Sarah Howells made a pass of 13.579 in the "Nutcracker" for starters. It was Mark Coulsell's first appearance of the year, in the "Limited Funz" slingshot, and he had a slight gearbox gremlin in this round, running 22 seconds. Tom Coe was running in his slingshot "Psycho" and ran an 11.597 on an 11.35 for his opening qualifier. Darryl Howells ran a solid 12.642 on a 12.40 Dial-in to finish top qualifier of the first round. Dick Sharp was back again in the "Dorset Horn" and put in a steady 10.801 pass on a 10.40 Dial-in. Tony Smith ran a 13.643 on a 12.40 Dial-in, for his opening bid. In the 2nd round of qualifying, 10 cars again took part. Ed set another good time with a 10.182 on a 10.05 Dial. Chris improved over his first pass with a 9.370 on a 9.20 Dial-in, again at 133.14 mph and Andy Murphy put in his 1/8th pass observed run. Sarah ran a 14.0 and Mark Coulsell put in a good 10.727 run, although it was on a 10.80 Dial-in. Tom ran an 11.851 time on his 11.35 and Colin Aldred made a start to his qualifying with a wheelying 10.981 on a 9.90 Dial-in, after joining the queue fresh from his Pro ET qualifying round. Darryl put in a very good 12.426 on his 12.40 Dial-in, which would put him in third place overall in the qualifying. Dick had trouble with his gearbox, and only managed a 13.8 second run. The box has now gone away for investigation so they hope to have it sorted for the next round. Tony Smith ran a great 12.422 on his 12.40 Dial-in, which was eventually to earn him "#1 Qualifier" for the weekend. He was quite happy with "The Cunning Plan's" performance, and pleased with the consistency and times it was running. Overall on Saturday, there had been two crashes and six oildowns, and the safety crew and marshals worked their socks off again to get the track in a 'go' condition each time - many thanks to them for all their hard work and for maintaining a good safe track! The qualifying rounds were all completed to boot! | |
| Sunday There was one more qualifying round on the Sunday for all classes, plus a fourth session for certain classes, including Wild Bunch. For the 3rd qualifying round, 10 cars ran, and Ed once again put in a solid 10.147 on a 10.05 Dial-in. Chris improved his mark again with a 9.495 on a 9.35 Dial-in. And Andy Murphy made his third observed run, a full pass of 12.712 on a 12.62 Dial-in, which eventually earned him fifth qualifying spot!! The team were impressed! Sarah put in her best qualifier of the weekend with a 13.570 on a 13.20 Dial. And Mark Coulsell was third time lucky with a 10.795 on a 10.65 Dial-in. Tom Coe ran a better 11.493 on an 11.40 Dial-in in this round. Colin came back out in the "Classy Chassy" slingshot and ran a good 9.800, but on a 10.10 Dial-in. And Darryl put in another consistent run with a 12.503 on a 12.40. Johnny "Mental" Hall, who had been in the pits all day Saturday, had finished working on his newly painted "The Happening" slingshot and came out in this round of qualifying. The car sported a new rollcage, orange paintwork with some new logos and signwriting, and other modifications. He had adjusted the ignition, and did a big wheelie off the start line, suddenly veering hard towards the guardrail on landing. He narrowly avoided hitting the Armco, crossing the boundary line, and did a great driving job to keep the car from crashing. Tony had a good run in "The Cunning Plan" altered with a 12.294, although it was on a 12.40 Dial-in. In the 4th qualifying round, 9 Wild Bunch cars made runs with Ed improving slightly with another consistent 10.145 on a 10.05 Dial-in. Mark Coulsell also improved with a 10.826 on a 10.70, and Tom Coe nipped in to take number 2 spot with a great 11.473 on an 11.45 Dial-in. Colin also improved with a 9.987 on a 9.90, fine tuning the car, and qualifying fourth. And Darryl kept up the consistency with a 12.449 on a 12.40. Johnny caused the second heart attacks of the day for commentators and crew alike with his run - another big wheely off the start, this time heading for the Christmas tree on landing!! He had to back out of it again, but ended up crossing the centreline this time, unfortunately meaning that he hadn't qualified for eliminations. Tony put in a 12.357 on a 12.25, still pleased with the car's performance over the weekend. | |
| Monday (Race Day) Round One The first round saw Sarah Howells matched up against Colin Aldred. Sarah ran a great 13.382 on a 13.37 Dial-in to take the win over Colin's 10.179 on a 9.90 Dial-in. Chris Hartnell and Darryl Howells both broke out in their race, but Chris broke out the least with a 9.397 ("Closest to Dial-in") on a 9.40, against Darryl's 12.209 on a 12.40 Dial. Chris took "Best Reaction" of the day on this run, with a .557. Mark Coulsell ran 11.952 on a 10.75 to take the win over Tom Coe's 15.652 on an 11.45. Ed Yates and Andy Murphy both had Bye-runs as their opponents had unfortunately broken! Ed ran a 10.349 on a 10.14 and Andy a 12.978 on a 12.70. Tony Smith also had a Bye-run by virtue of being #1 Qualifier. He put in a 12.536 on a 12.35 Dial-in. Quarter-Finals In the quarter-finals, there were 3 races. Tony ran a good 12.478 on his 12.45 Dial-in to take the win over Sarah's 13.547 on her 13.20. [The team have since discovered some engine damage and are installing "Nutcracker"'s first new engine of the year, ready for the next event!] Mark took the victory with a 10.933 on a 10.75 Dial-in over Andy's small breakout of 5 thousandths - a 12.695 on a 12.70. The "B-Sting" took "Best Altered" Spot Prize for the weekend. The next race was another tough one with Chris against Ed (who was really on form and running well). Ed ran a 10.134 on a 10.14, breaking out by only 6 thousandths to Chris' 9.319 on a 9.35 Dial-in, Chris taking "Closest runner-up", only losing by .014! (Chris ended up 4th for the event on the "tot-back" system, by virtue of being closest to Dial-in of the runners up in that round.) Semi-Finals The Semi-Finals saw Ed putting in another consistent run of 10.157 on his 10.14 Dial-in, advancing to the Final for his first time ever, over a breaking-out Tony Smith, who ran a 12.334 on a 12.40, still impressed with his car's performance this weekend. Mark Coulsell had a Bye-run, and due to the lateness in the day, Mark just staged to take the win light, and pulled back to the end of the queue to wait to pair up with Ed in the Final. Finals This was done in a hurry, as the finals had been called as Ed and Mark and Tony had pulled into the staging lanes for the Semis! Unfortunately, after Mark's burnout, he noticed low oil pressure and shut the car down on the line, leaving Ed to take his first ever Super Series win on a solo of 10.197 on a 10.14 Dial-in. [Ed's 7th run of the weekend within the 10.1's!!] Congratulations Ed!! He also took "Best Slingshot" Spot Prize for his PB and consistent efforts over the weekend. The "Limited Funz" team took the "Best Appearing Team" Spot Prize for their appearance and conduct on the track. All in all, some close and exciting racing once more, as we have come to expect at the Super Series. The track was brilliant again, thanks to all the efforts of the hard working marshals and officials, who excelled themselves at this event!! And once again it was thanks to the hard work of everyone concerned, including fellow racers, that enabled the event to be completed! Thanks also to the track owner and Promoters for making the event possible in the first place. And get well soon Terry! See you all next time for some more fun and close racing!! |