2009 Index
Select another 2009 event
Mini Showdown Weekend July 11 - 12
Wild Bunch ResultsMini Showdown11th - 12th July
Wild Bunch Series Round 4.
Real Steel Series Round 7.
The “Mini Showdown” was the seventh event of the WB season. It was the fourth round of the Wild Bunch Series and Real Steel Series Round 7, and there was a field of 14 Wild Bunch cars participating: 6 Altereds, 7 Slingshots and 1 Rear-engined dragster.
| Wild Bunch Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 3 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 9 |
| 2 | 9 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 7 |
| 3 | 99 | Adz Price | Go Hard or Go Home | 6 |
| 4 | 44 | Dave Rowlands | Destinys Angel | 5 |
| 5 | 4 | Scot Durrant & Gina Rumble | Tiki Munki | 4 |
| - | 2 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 4 |
| - | 81 | Steve Taylor | Claustrophobic | 4 |
| 8 | 142 | Mike Cresswell | Living the Dream | 3 |
| - | 101 | Matt Lee | Worth the Wait | 3 |
| - | 1 | Team Cunning Plan | The Cunning Plan | 3 |
| - | 57 | Neil Ward | Andromeda | 3 |
| 12 | 52 | Ant Harris | Frantic | 2 |
| 13 | 16 | Mark Hartnell | Awesome 4-Some | 1 |
| - | 109 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Closest To Dial-In | 1 | Team Cunning Plan | The Cunning Plan | 0.009 off |
| Best Reaction | 4 | Scot Durrant & Gina Rumble | Tiki Munki | 0.064 |
| Most Improved MPH | 101 | Matt Lee | Worth the Wait | 2.84 mph |
| Best Altered | 4 | Scot Durrant & Gina Rumble | Tiki Munki | |
| Best Slingshot | 3 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | |
| Best Engineered | 109 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | |
| Drivers Choice | 52 | Ant Harris | Frantic | |
| Saturday The weather had not been predicted to be that good either day, so we were hoping for some runs in over the weekend. Saturday started off drizzly, and this turned to rain, but eventually the clouds lifted, and the track crew worked really hard to dry the track, and were able to start the racing at about quarter to 3! Many of the Wild Bunch drivers took advantage of this bonus track time, and made two passes, with one making three. The weather held off for the rest of the day, and for the start of the Wild Bunch annual fancy dress party – and superheroes and cartoon characters were out in force! There were the four Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (Team Gridlock), Batman and Wonder Woman (Dave and Linda Williams), Captain America and Supergirl (Chris and Claire), a Smurf, Zorro, Scooby Doo, Betty Boop, Alice in Wonderland, Superman, Caveman, Top Gun, Outlaw Cowboy (Mark Hartnell and friends), the subtle “Frantastic 4” (Team Frantic), Storm and The Hulk (Ruth and Terry), Superman and Spiderman (Ben and James), Mr T (Ed) and a host of fabulous Ghostbusters complete with Stay Puft men (Team Twisted and Team Tiki Munki). What a great Bunch! A good time was had by all! Sunday Sunday dawned sunny early on, but the clouds gathered and light rain started about 10:30am. The clouds stayed quite low, and things did not look at all promising, with a heavier shower around 11am. After this though, the sky started clearing, and with the wind and sun assisting, the track crew did a miraculous job of drying the track, dispersing the water and then using the jet track dryer. They worked so quickly that the track was amazingly opened about 12:30pm! And it was real testament to the track preparation and hard work of the crew, that the first vehicle down the track was the visiting brothers from Italy with their Top Fuel bike, which ran a 6-second pass! Many thanks to all the crew! The Wild Bunch started making for the queue as the track opened and our first round came at about 1:30pm. Our second round took place around 3:30pm, and unbelievably we managed to make it for three rounds on the day, finishing by about 10 to 5! Thanks again to all at Shakey for making this possible! A great effort! | |
| WB 1 | saw Tony Smith in his first Wild Bunch event of the year with “The Cunning Plan” minivan altered. Tony has been taking some time off to save for building another car, but just could not miss the Mini Showdown! He started off with a 12.036 at 98.66 mph pass on Saturday, when the altered got a little skittish, but then was back on form with an 11.832 at 111.44 mph. Tony dialled in at 11.70 for the rounds on Sunday, and began with a phenomenal 11.709 at 109.63 mph, winning the “Closest to Dial-in” Spot Prize in the bargain. (Wonder Woman made a fleeting appearance as crew for this round!) Tony then unfortunately had to miss the second round, due to his officiating duties, which was a great shame, as he may have made the Top 4 on his only Wild Bunch event this year! He was able to take part in the third round and recorded an 11.801 at 112.49 mph. Great to have him with us for the event! |
| WB 2 | saw Terry Clifford in his fifth event of the year with his “Ratcatcher Resurrection” slingshot. He had re-installed the old headers on the dragster, in order to see if this had changed the performance of the engine over the last few events. He only made the one run on Saturday, posting a 12.125 at 120.83 mph, which caused some head scratching. He then dialled in a nicely optimistic 11.15 for the rounds on Sunday, and began with an improved 11.765 at 124.46 mph. He then took over a second off this on the second round, recording a much stronger 10.688 at 125.74 mph! This was after a bit of a moment when smoke was seen from the car as it powered past the finish line. Everything was thankfully okay, and Terry was back for the third round with an 11.072 at 125.48 mph. Terry finished in 6th place overall, and was pretty pleased to have been back in the mid 10's during the event. |
| WB 3 | ‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell was in his seventh event of the season with the “Backdraft” slingshot. He was in third place in the Real Steel Series coming into this event, and fifth place in the Wild Bunch Series. He had fixed the throttle system breakages suffered at the last event, and was raring to go. His first run Saturday was a solid 9.156 at 145.33 mph, followed by a better 9.100 at 144.78 mph on his second pass. Chris dialled in at 9.15 for Sunday's rounds, and was crewed by Supergirl! He started well, with a 9.197 at 144.32 mph in the first round. He then improved in the second round, recording a 9.189 at 142.40 mph, and further still in the third round, posting a 9.165 at 140.90 mph. Over the weekend, he was consistent to within .097 over his 5 runs, and his consistency during the rounds earnt him the event win! To top it all, he was awarded the “Best Slingshot” Spot Prize by the commentary team, for his ‘sheer entertainment’ and great wheelies, and being crewed by Supergirl all day on the Sunday! Way to go, Chris! |
| WB 4 | Scot Durrant was in his second event of the year in the GAS Racing “Tiki Munki” altered and he and Gina were in second place in the Wild Bunch Series before the event. Scottie made the most of the track time on the Saturday, running 3 passes, beginning with a 14.040 at 91.61 mph. He then recorded a new Personal Best E.T. with the Ruby body, of 13.880 at a new best speed of 93.29 mph. His third pass was a 14.137 at 92.07 mph. Scot and Gina dialled in at 14.08 for the rounds on Sunday, and he began with another Personal Best E.T. of 13.835 at another best speed of 95.64 mph, quite a way under the Dial-in! Unfortunately, a missed shift in the second round meant he recorded an off pace 14.788, though at a good speed of 92.48 mph. He bounced back in the third round, with a 13.975 at 92.65 mph, with a Wild Bunch “Best Reaction” of .064, and finished in 5th place overall. He was also awarded the “Best Altered” Spot Prize by the commentators for his great looking car, and his quick reaction times. This means that the team are still in 2nd place in the Wild Bunch Series, and 4th in the Real Steel Series. |
| WB 9 | saw Ray Ford having his third turn of the season in the Team Dog's B's “RamRaider” slingshot, in its seventh event this year. He was keen to carry on the team's winning streak, after his win at the June Shootout, Ed's win at the Summer Nationals, and Gos’ win at the Nostalgia Nationals. The team were currently leading the Wild Bunch Series, and indeed every other Series! Ray started off Saturday with a 9.39 at 144 mph, and followed this with a very consistent 9.41 pass, which looked promising. The team opted for the logical Dial-in of 9.40 for the rounds on Sunday! Ray began well with a 9.375 at 144.80 mph. He was then only slightly off the weekend's pace with a 9.524 at 140.53 mph in the second round, and a 9.538 at 141.88 mph in the third round. Ray finished in 2nd place overall and the team were really pleased to finish high up the order once again. They are still leading the Wild Bunch Series, and in fact all the others! |
| WB 16 | Mark Hartnell was hoping to run in his fourth event of the season in his “Awesome 4-Some” slingshot. He had replaced the broken halfshaft and installed new planetary gears in the diff, after the breakage at the Nostalgia Nationals. He had also had the valves and seats machined by a Bristol company, but only picked up the head and valves on the Friday of the event, then had to install it on the evening. On the Saturday morning, he went through the cam timing again, with the help of Gos, who is obviously well-familiar with Pintos! He later fired the car up, and though it ran, he checked the compression and found it to be well down on one cylinder, and moderately on two others, so decided that he did not want to risk more damage by running. Such a shame that he could not run after all his hard work to get to the track! He may now have to rebuild the engine, so unfortunately may be out for the rest of the season. Best of luck to him for the rebuild and hope to see him running well again next year! All the best, Mark! |
| WB 44 | Dave Rowlands was also in his seventh event of the season with his “Destiny's Angel” altered, and he was in 2nd place in the Real Steel Series. He started the weekend off with a 10.023 at 137.95 mph, but quickly improved to a 9.855 at 141.32 mph on his second run Saturday. The team dialled in at 9.85, but Dave promptly went out and ran a strong 9.586 at 144.18 mph in the first round! He followed this with a 9.631 at 144.68 mph in the second round, and another strong 9.568 at 143.72 mph in the third round. Dave was real surprised to finish 4th overall for the weekend, and chuffed with the result and the car being back on form for the event. He is still in second place in the Real Steel Series, and now 4th place in the Wild Bunch Series, so pretty pleased with that! |
| WB 52 | Ant Harris was now in his fourth event of the year with his brightly painted “Frantic” altered. He put in a strong pass of 9.10 at 141 mph on his first pass on Saturday, and followed this with a consistent 9.18 at 141 mph later in the day. The team dialled in at 9.12 for the rounds on Sunday, but Ant experienced a problem in the first round and only recorded a 12.644 at 76 mph. Unfortunately he had to sit out the rest of the event, and will take the car home to diagnose the problem. Hope he can fix it soon to be back out for York. The good news was that Ant was voted the Wild Bunch “Driver's Choice” by all the drivers attending the event. Congrats on that, Ant! |
| WB 57 | saw the first Wild Bunch event this year for Neil Ward and team in the “Andromeda” slingshot. The team spent most of the day Saturday checking things on the car, especially the nitrous system. The team dialled in blind at 9.00 for the rounds on Sunday, and were raring to go after so long away from the track. Neil's first run Sunday was a stellar 8.952 at 149.75 mph! A fantastic start to his season, straight off the trailer! The team did some more checks and were back out for the second round where Neil recorded a strong 8.983 at a new personal best speed of 151.36 mph! Congratulations to them all! They decided to go for an earlier run before the third round, as they really wanted to get some track time and testing, so missed the third round with the Bunch. Great to see you back Neil, and running so well! |
| WB 81 | Steve ‘Jacko’ Taylor was back with his “Claustrophobic” rear-engined dragster for his first event of the season with the Wild Bunch. He did not run on the Saturday, and spent the afternoon preparing for Sunday's rounds, where he dialled in at 13.10. Jacko's first run Sunday, and indeed for about a year, was a 14.753 at 90.58 mph. His second round was a similar 14.739 at 89.99 mph. He then improved for the third round, with a 14.648 at 87.60 mph. He finished in 7th place overall. Great to see him out running with the Bunch and enjoying driving the car. |
| WB 99 | Adz Price was in his fourth event with the Wild Bunch with the Team Gridlock “Go Hard or Go Home!!!” Topolino altered, and the team were again raring to go, after a full complement of rounds at the Nostalgia Nationals. Adz made a couple of runs on the Saturday, and was fairly consistent with a 12.0 at 108 mph and a 12.1 also at 108 mph. The team dialled in at 12.05 for Sunday and looked forward to completing all the rounds again. Adz started off with a 12.148 at 109.97 mph, a new Personal Best Speed, in the first round. He then recorded a 12.278 in the second round, at another best speed of 110.86 mph. His third round run was similar to the first, as he posted a 12.149, and again there was a new best speed of 111.23 mph! Adz and the whole team were thrilled to bits when they found out they had finished in 3rd place overall! Their first Top 4 finish! Many congratulations to them, and great to see all the hard work paying off! |
| WB 101 | Matt Lee was back out with the Wild Bunch for the second time this year in his “Worth the Wait” slingshot, and hoped to improve on his performance at the Nostalgia Nationals. The team had cured the misfire, so were raring to go. Matt made two runs on the Saturday, including an 11.239 at 117.87 mph. He dialled in at 11.00 even for the rounds on Sunday. He promptly went out and blew this out the window, as he ran a new Personal Best E.T. and speed, and first time in the 10's, with a great 10.736 at 121.99 mph, which was the “Most Improved MPH” for the Bunch for the weekend, 2.84 mph better than his previous best. He then posted a 10.985 at 118.03 mph in the second round, but called it a day before the third. Well done, Matt, on your first 10! |
| WB 109 | Andrew Murphy was back in the hotseat of the new improved “B-Sting” Topolino altered for the team's second event of the year. He made a couple of very consistent passes on the Saturday, of 10.595 at 128.74 mph, and 10.559 at 128.32 mph. The team dialled in at 10.51 for the rounds, but due to the poor outlook on the weather that morning, and an important family engagement, Andrew had to leave before the rounds eventually started. Hope to see the car back in action really soon!! It was voted the “Best Engineered” Wild Bunch car of the weekend by the scrutineer, and very well-deserved too, as the altered is a real quality build and a credit to the team! |
| WB 142 | Ashleigh Williams was back in the hotseat of the fReQ Racing “Living the Dream” slingshot, for her second event of the season. She made a couple of passes on the Saturday, with an 11.770 at 112.61 mph, and an 11.517. The team dialled her in at 11.55 for the rounds, but Ashleigh started with an off pace 12.332 at 113.53 mph. She bounced back in the second round, with an 11.906 at 115.96 mph. But there was disappointment for the team when a small oil leak put them out of the running for the third round. Look forward to seeing them back out again real soon! |
| Many thanks to all the marshals and officials and track crew all for their hard work over the weekend and to the Mini club for their organisation and welcome! The crews at Shakey did an excellent job to get the well-prepped track ready both days, and it was thanks to them that we got so much racing in!
Congratulations to Chris on the win, his first since the Easter Thunderball! This means that he has now moved up to 3rd place in the Wild Bunch Series and remains third in the Real Steel Series. Fair play, Chris! Well done to all the teams for a fantastic show over the weekend! All in all, a great event, despite being shortened by the weather! We are now looking forward to the fifth Wild Bunch round and the eighth Real Steel Series round of 2009, at the “Summer Showdown” at York on August 1st & 2nd! It should be another great event, for the northern swing of our Series! | |