Easter Thunderball - Wild Bunch

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Easter Thunderball April 10 - 13

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Wild Bunch ResultsEaster Thunderball10th - 13th April Real Steel Series Round 1.

The Easter Thunderball was the first event of the WB season. It was Real Steel Series Round 1 and there was a field of 5 Wild Bunch cars competing, 3 Altereds and 2 Slingshots.

Wild Bunch Points
Pos	WB	Driver/Team	Car	Points
1	3	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft	520
2	44	Dave Rowlands	Destinys Angel	330
3	9	Dogs Bollocks Racing	RamRaider	290
4	95	Mark Richardson	Pony Express	140
5	35	Dick Sharp	Dorest Horn	110

MSA Points
Pos	WB	Driver/Team	Car	Points
1	3	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft	9
2	44	Dave Rowlands	Destinys Angel	6
3	9	Dogs Bollocks Racing	RamRaider	5
4	95	Mark Richardson	Pony Express	3
5	35	Dick Sharp	Dorest Horn	2

Spot Prizes
	WB	Team/Driver	Car	Detail
Closest To Dial-In	3	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft	0.033 off
Best Reaction	95	Mark Richardson	Pony Express	0.189
#1 Qualifier	9	Dogs Bollocks Racing	RamRaider	0.001 off
Best Appearing Car	35	Dick Sharp	Dorest Horn

This was the fourth time the Wild Bunch had competed at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod as a class. Though the Wild Bunch only had 5 teams entered at the 4-day event, they were all raring to go, and most eager were Dick Sharp and the team who were making a return with their newly rebuilt “Dorset Horn”, which received a very warm welcome! Last year's event had experienced heavy snow during two of the four days, so the teams were hoping for good weather this year! Qualifying, Friday This was a qualifying day and there were scheduled to be 3 qualifiers. Though things were cloudy first thing, the first classes were called to the pairings lanes and racing began. As we were 5th on the running order, we were fairly confident of getting a run, and were given the call at around 10am. We all went down to the pairings lanes and waited. A small drizzly shower delayed proceedings, and the track was nearly dry when another came along. We still waited in hope for around 3 hours, but this was the pattern of the day, and we finally went back to the pits around 1pm, with racing being called off for the day mid afternoon. Saturday There were scheduled to be 3 more qualifiers on Saturday but the day started off with rain, which never cleared with no one getting called to the pairings lanes, so unfortunately nothing turned a wheel! Sunday There were scheduled to be yet 3 more qualifiers on Sunday, so we still hoped for some runs, as the weather promised to be better. However, the day started off wet first thing and though the track crew again worked exceptionally hard, the track was not open til 1:00pm. The Wild Bunch finally got our first qualifier at around 10 to 2, and all 5 cars safely qualified. We waited around, til around 8:20pm for a possible second qualifier, as other classes had started on their second cycle, but the track got too cold and damp and time ran out for the day. (However one team had a huge highlight that day, as ‘Crazy’ Chris and Claire celebrated the birth of their second grandson, born that Easter Sunday morning! Many congratulations to proud parents fellow Wild Bunchers Lee and Sarah on the safe arrival of TJ! Monday After time ran out Sunday, the Race Director announced we were due to have the second qualifier in the morning. Monday dawned much brighter, and the track opened around 9am, so we waited for the call. We went down to the pairings lanes around 10:30am, but some incidents meant there were delays, and the Pro Classes were called down for their slot. So we eventually got to run at around 10 to 1! Again all 5 cars ran, with a couple making improvements.
WB 3	‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell had done an off-season freshen up of the motor with new rings, bearings, a timing chain and new gaskets, and a few minor tweaks. This year is a double celebration for the team, as it will be their 15th year of racing Backdraft and the 40th Anniversary of the debut of the car as Malibu Express. And to commemorate this, Chris and his friend Spud built a cockpit canopy, painted in purple metalflake by Skippy, to be reminiscent of the original car, and this made its debut in the pits. Needless to say the team were real excited at the start of the season, and hoped for some good performance from the car. They dialled in at 8.95, being optimistic and not wanting to break out (well maybe!). Chris’ first run of the season netted a 9.171 @ 146.13 mph, so the team were pretty pleased with that for starters, as well as equalling their best speed for over 2 years. They decided to only marginally change the Dial, to an 8.97, for the second qualifier, and this run resulted in a 9.214 @ 143.83 mph. Chris finished in 4th place overall for qualifying.
WB 9	saw Ed Yates taking the first turn of the year for Team Dog's B's, in the RamRaider slingshot. Ed dialled in at 9.33 for the first qualifier, and amazed himself and everyone by running a nearly spot on 9.331 @ 142.00 mph! Just one thousandth off, and good enough to earn and keep the #1 Qualifier Spot! Well done Ed, on a great start! The team lowered the Dial-in for the second qualifier, to 9.28 but Ed recorded a 9.493 @ 140.21 mph, but really chuffed with the good form for the first run of the year.
WB 35	Dick Sharp was back for the first time in 5 ½ years, with his newly finished Dorset Horn altered (Mark 007!). It was great to see them all, and the car looks fantastic and better than ever, as does Dick's new bright yellow racesuit! The team were real glad to be back out, and hoped to get some tuning done in the qualifying sessions, as we had all hoped there would be 9 of these! Dick and the team arrived during Friday, and got tagged and scrutineered, and spent some time over the first couple of days firing the car up and checking everything was fine, and then went down for their first run, dialling in at 10.00 even. Dick launched tentatively off the line for a checkout pass, recording a 13.066 @ 105.05 mph! The team were over the moon to have made the first run! Next day, they kept the Dial, but some bogging led to a 15.659 @ 86.70 mph. Dick qualified in 5th place overall, but had successfully made the show, so the team were all happy with that!
WB 44	Dave Rowlands was now in his second year of MSA racing, and had been very successful and consistent last year, winning the Real Steel Series in 2008 with the Destiny's Angel altered. He only had to do some cylinder head work over the winter, and hoped to pick up where he left off. He started off with a Dial-in of 9.50, and ran an excellent Personal Best E.T. of 9.523 @ 142.43 mph for his first qualifier! He kept the Dial for the next run, and recorded a 9.614 @ 144.71 mph, not far off his best speed. Dave qualified in 3rd place, and was glad to be back out running.
WB 95	Mark Richardson was also in his second year of MSA racing, and with his Pony Express altered, and had been consistently improving its performance towards the end of last season. He did some work and tuning on the car over the off season, and has some goals he would like to reach with the car in 2009. He began with a Dial-in of 9.45 and ran a 9.593 @ 141.57 mph to open his account. He kept the same Dial for the second round, and ran a strong 9.468 @ 138.16 mph, not far off a PB, so pretty chuffed with the run. Mark improved his qualifying place to 2nd overall with this run, and looked forward to the eliminations after the great start.
Monday (Eliminations) Five Wild Bunch cars had qualified for eliminations and we waited to be called for the quarter-finals. This did not take place until 7pm, so we all had a long wait! Quarter-Finals The first run saw Ed taking his Bye run, due to being #1 Qualifier. He dialled in at 9.28 and ran a 9.421 @ 140.66 mph to progress to the Semis. In the first pairing, Chris was matched with Mark. Chris dialled in at 9.20 and ran a “Closest to Dial-in” of 9.233 @ 129.80 mph against Mark's 9.737 @ 139.02 mph on his 9.45 Dial. Though Mark pulled out the “Best Reaction” of the Bunch with a .189 on this run, Chris was closer overall and took the win to advance to the Semis. The next pairing saw Dick in his first competitive run of the event and he again dialled in at 10.00 facing Dave's Dial-in of 9.50. The car was still in shakedown mode and Dick posted a 14.922 @ 89.00 mph, leaving Dave to take the win with a 9.739 @ 117.88 mph. Mark was awarded 4th place, due to being the closest to Dial-in of the Runners-up in this round. And Dick and the team were awarded the “Best Appearing Car” Prize by the commentary team of newcomers Colin Theobold and former Top Fuel pilot Darryl Bradford, who did an excellent job on their first major event together. Everyone was thrilled to see the “Dorset Horn” back in action, so many congratulations to the whole team on their return, and a beautifully turned out car! Semi-finals After the quarter-finals, there was not that long of a wait, and the round took place at around 8pm! This time, Chris had the Bye, and he ran a 9.031 @ 146.12 mph on his 9.20 Dial-in. The team were pleased with this run, as they were inching back towards those 8's! That left a race between Dave and Ed, and it was sure to be a close one. Ed opted for a Dial of 9.43 and Dave kept his 9.50, so real close on the tree. There were some lovely blue methanol flames from the “RamRaider” on the line in the dusky twilight. Ed cut a better light with a .280 to Dave's .560, but broke out, recording a 9.386 @ 125.86 mph to Dave's charging 9.753 @ 143.39 mph, handing the win to Dave to progress to his second ‘Easter Thunderball’ Final in a row. Final The final took place in the pitch dark, at about 8:45pm. Dave kept his Dial at 9.50 and Chris also kept his previous Dial of 9.20. Dave was ahead of Chris in the pairings lanes and when the call to fire up came, the altered just would not start! Chris was then running, and Dave and the team tried a few times, but to no avail, so sadly could not make it to the line! Big commiserations to them on missing the Final. This left Chris to solo for the win, and he really went for it! He launched a high wheelie into the night sky, landed well and charged on down the quarter mile. Chris later reported one-foot methanol header flames at three-quarter track and thoroughly enjoyed the experience! “Backdraft” crossed the line with a fantastic 8.996 @ 145.64 mph! Chris’ first 8 since July 2006! The team were absolutely over the moon to be back in the 8's again, and earn their first MSA win since Easter 2007! Well done to all the teams and all the Wild Bunchers who had come to watch and support them during the weekend, for staying with it during a rainy weekend. It was worth the wait in the end! Congratulations to Chris on the win, and being back in the 8's! And to all the teams for their very well turned out racecars, and another great performance from the Bunch! All in all, eventually another good event, despite the weather. It was once again a huge tribute to the dedication and determination of the track crew, that all eliminations were completed by around 9pm that Monday night. Huge applause and thanks to them all for their hard work! And thanks to everyone at Santa Pod for another warm welcome! We are now looking forward to the second Real Steel Series round of 2009, at the “Springspeed Nationals” at Shakey on May 2nd – 4th! It should be another great event.