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Open Sports Nationals August 21 - 23
Wild Bunch ResultsOpen Sports Nationals21st - 23rd August
Real Steel Series Round 9.
Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 3.
APIRA Series Round 2.
The “Open Sports Nationals” was Real Steel Series Round 9, Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 3 (Final), MSA Challenge Round 4 and APIRA Series Round 2 (Final). There was a field of 9 Wild Bunch cars competing: 2 Altereds, 5 Slingshots and 2 Rear-engined dragsters.
| Wild Bunch Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 49 | Roy Wilding | S&K Racing | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 8 |
| 3 | 40 | Darren Law | The Wicked Lady | 6 |
| 4 | 57 | Neil Ward | Andromeda | 4 |
| 5 | 44 | Dave Rowlands | Destinys Angel | 2 |
| - | 142 | Mike Cresswell | Living the Dream | 2 |
| - | 2 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 2 |
| 8 | 3 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 1 |
| SCR Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 49 | Roy Wilding | S&K Racing | 660 |
| 2 | 9 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 430 |
| 3 | 40 | Darren Law | The Wicked Lady | 380 |
| 4 | 57 | Neil Ward | Andromeda | 210 |
| 5 | 44 | Dave Rowlands | Destinys Angel | 170 |
| 6 | 2 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 140 |
| 7 | 3 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 130 |
| 8 | 142 | Mike Cresswell | Living the Dream | 120 |
| 9 | 54 | Phil Sweeney | Bone Idle | 50 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Closest To Dial-In | 49 | Roy Wilding | S&K Racing | 0.048 off |
| Best Reaction | 40 | Darren Law | The Wicked Lady | 0.093 |
| Best Engineered | 57 | Neil Ward | Andromeda | |
| Best Appearing Team | 49 | Roger Sinclair's S&K Racing | ||
| #1 Qualifier | 3 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | |
| Fastest m.p.h. | 49 | Roy Wilding | S&K Racing | 167.19 |
| Friday and Saturday qualifying The 9 Wild Bunch teams entered at the 3-day event hoped for good weather so they could get a lot of qualifiers in. As it turned out, Friday was mixed weather, though we lucked out on the first qualifier, getting finished just before the drizzle, and 6 out of the 7 cars who ran in the second qualifier made it before a big downpour, with Ed left waiting at the start line in “RamRaider”! The weather improved and we got a third qualifier that day. But this meant a long wait til the fourth qualifier, at about 4pm Saturday, after about 3 hours downtime in separate incidents, and the decision to run single lane qualifying only, after some oil crept back up through. Thanks to the officials for making a tough call, which enabled the fourth qualifier to take place. This was lucky for young Andy Cresswell, who had been unable to get off work on the Friday, so only ended up with a one-shot qualifier! But at least he qualified, so it meant that all 9 of the Bunch had qualified. | |
| WB 2 | saw Terry Clifford in his 7th event of the year in his “Ratcatcher Resurrection” slingshot. Terry and Ruth could not get to the track til the Friday morning, due to work commitments, and had to miss the first qualifier, as they needed to get scrutineered and signed on, right about the same time as we were called out! They were raring to go for the second qualifier on Friday, and dialled in at 10.45 for starters. But there was still a problem with the box, and Terry had to slow to a 17-second pass at 51mph. But still, he was safely qualified, and hoped to fix the problem for the next run. He sure did improve, as he then posted a great 10.667 at 127.03mph on his 10.45 dial in the third qualifier. But problems occurred in the last qualifier Saturday, and they could not make the run. Still, he had qualified in 6th place overall, and hoped things would improve for the rounds on Sunday. |
| WB 3 | ‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell was fresh from back to back wins at the Mini Showdown and the York Summer Showdown, and he was hoping for another good performance with the “Backdraft” slingshot. He was now leading the Real Steel Series, so hoped to consolidate the lead. The team dialled in at 9.10 for the first qualifier Friday. This was a good choice, as Chris ran a 9.126 at 142.3 mph, to top the Bunch on the first round! The team were missing son Mark as crew, as he could not get the day off work, though friend Joey stepped in to help out. Mark was in touch from Bristol with Dial-in advice, and this sure paid off in the second qualifier, where the chosen 9.08 was just the ticket for the resulting 9.090 run, at 142.98mph! At just .010 off Dial, this remained good enough for #1 Qualifier over the two days. The team had another close run in the third round, with a 9.086 at 142.01mph on a 9.05 dial. And an optimistic 8.99 dial was not even that far off from the fourth run of 9.108 at 142.47mph! This meant Chris earned the Bye run in the first round Sunday. |
| WB 9 | saw Ed Yates back in the hotseat of the Team Dog's B's “RamRaider” slingshot. The team were lying second in the Real Steel Series, so they hoped to regain the lead. Ed dialled in at 9.40 for the first qualifier, and had to back off to a 9.945 at 103.85mph. He quickly bounced back in the second qualifier when he posted a breakout 9.363 at 138.30mph on the same Dial. The team lowered the Dial to 9.33 for the next run, and Ed broke out again with a 9.235 at 145.25mph, near his best speed. They team kept the Dial for the next qualifier, and once more Ed broke out, by even more, with a 9.223 at 144.59mph. He qualified in 7th place overall. |
| WB 40 | Darren Law was back on track for the first time since the Summer Nationals, with “The Wicked Lady” rear-engined dragster. The team had run some solid 9.6-second passes at the event, and hoped to improve on this. They dialled in at 9.60 for starters, and were amazed when Darren went straight out and ran a 9.243 at 136.77mph! They lowered the Dial for the next run, to a 9.24, but again Darren broke out, recording a new Personal Best E.T. of 9.169 at 140.88mph. They once again lowered the Dial-in, to the new mark of 9.16, and again Darren broke out and recorded a new PB of 9.133 at 136.29mph! The team opted for a 9.10 Dial on Saturday, and this resulted in the only non-breakout of their qualifying, with Darren running a 9.167 at 141.09mph. This moved him all the way up to 2nd place in qualifying, and the team were thrilled with the car's performance. |
| WB 44 | Dave Rowlands went in to the event in third place in the Real Steel Series in his “Destiny's Angel” altered, and hoped to make up some ground on the leaders. Unfortunately he was under the weather on the Friday, but later improved, so was able to take part in the third qualifier. He dialled in at 9.46, and recorded a 9.562 at 146.02mph, very near his best ever speed, and good enough for second spot at the time. He raised the Dial to a 9.55 for the qualifier on Saturday, and posted a 9.700 at 143.94mph, to qualify in 3rd place overall. |
| WB 49 | saw the first appearance with the Wild Bunch of Roy Wilding in the “S&K Racing” team rear-engined dragster of long-time Wild Bunch member Roger Sinclair. Roger had been planning to run with the Bunch for some time, and it was great to have the team racing with us. Roy had run down into the 7's with the car, and was looking to get a handle on the track in the qualifying rounds. He dialled in at 8.00 for starters, and ran an 8.707 at 145.79mph in the first qualifier. The team raised the dial to 8.20, and Roy recorded an 8.334 at 158.00mph, which was good for second spot at the time. They kept the dial for the third run, and Roy posted an off-pace 9.245 at 152.84mph. Once again, the team lowered the Dial to 8.00 even, after a tune-up, and Roy ran a great 8.142 at 167.19mph, the “Fastest MPH” of the Bunch for the weekend. He qualified in 4th place overall. |
| WB 54 | good to see the first appearance of the season for Phil Sweeney with his “Bone Idle” altered. He began with a Dial-in of 9.5, and ran a 9.678 at 103.28mph, to re-familiarise himself with the car. He kept the Dial for the next two runs, and recorded and off pace 10.615 at 107.17mph in the second round, and a better 9.654 at 112.43mph in the third. He then raised the dial slightly on Saturday to a 9.60, but broke out with a 9.427 at 123.39mph. Phil qualified right in the middle at 5th overall. |
| WB 57 | was Neil Ward's second event of the season with his “Andromeda” slingshot, and he had run a couple of 8's off the trailer at the last event. He needed to get his chassis re-tagged, so had to miss the first qualifier, but this all went well, and he came out for the second round, and began with a Dial-in of 8.96. Neil ran a breakout new Personal Best E.T. of 8.846 at 149.01mph! So the team lowered the Dial to 8.85 for the next qualifier. Again, Neil broke out with a new PB of 8.776 at 148.54mph! On Saturday, the team lowered the Dial slightly to an 8.80, and yet again, Neil broke out with a ne PB, this time, an excellent 8.690 at 149.48mph! Congratulations to Neil and the team on some great progress with the tuning setup! Because he had broken out every time, this left Neil in 9th place overall in the qualifying, but he and the team did not mind one bit!! |
| WB 142 | Andy Cresswell was back in the hotseat of the fReQ Racing “Living the Dream” slingshot. The team had sorted out a minor leak, and fixed the tow vehicle, so all looked well for the event. Unfortunately though, Andy was not able to get the day off work on the Friday, so missed the first three qualifiers! Very conscientious of Andy for going in to work, and fair play to him! Good lad! Luckily, all went well with his qualifier on the Saturday, and he recorded a 12.388 at 109.37mph on an 11.65 Dial. He qualified in 8th place overall, and the team diagnosed a minor problem with the gearbox which they hoped to fix for Sunday's rounds. |
| Sunday (Race Day) All nine Wild Bunch cars had qualified for eliminations, so we were set for one Bye run and 4 good races in the first round. The weather was good all day, with only one very brief flurry of a few spots, which did not cause any downtime at all. And in fact, the event finished half an hour before curfew, as everything went very smoothly! Round 1 The first run was due to be a Bye run by Chris, by virtue of being #1 Qualifier. He was first in the queue, and declared a Dial-in of 9.05 for the round. He performed the burnout and was coming up to stage when the slingshot spluttered and lost fire. Chris tried a couple of times to re-fire, but with no luck. The team pushed him back to the wall and kept trying, but the car would not re-start, not even to just stage, so unfortunately they had to return to the pits! They then diagnosed a failed coil! Big commiserations to Chris on the breakage; sure he’ll bounce right back! The first of the four races saw Neil matched with Phil, in what would have been a good race with Neil dialling in at 8.64 and Phil 9.35. Unfortunately, a similar problem occurred for Phil. He did the burnout, but then lost fire. Crewman Dean Smythe tried to find the problem, but to no avail, and they also had to tow back to the pits! It turned out that a battery lead had come off after the burnout! Such a shame, and commiserations to Phil on not making the run! Meanwhile, Neil soloed for a flat out run of 8.837 at 148.36mph, to advance to the quarter finals. Another pairing saw 2nd and 3rd place Real Steel contenders Ed and Dave facing each other! Ed dialled in at 9.24, and Dave at 9.60. They were both real fired up for the match, and both broke out, with Ed breaking out the least with a 9.200 at 144.88mph and taking the victory over Dave's 9.473 at 144.96mph. What a great race! Darren was paired with Terry, and opted for a 9.10 Dial, whilst Terry went for a 10.45. Sadly, Terry's gearbox problems recurred, and he could only idle down the track, leaving Darren to take the win with a 9.341 at 123.07mph. The other race saw quite a differential with Dial-ins, with Roy posting an 8.20 against Andy's 11.65. Andy made a big improvement on his qualifier and posted a 12.085 at 113.67mph, whilst Roy won with an 8.693 at 129.24mph. Quarter-Finals This round saw Darren with the earnt Bye run, and he recorded a 9.488 at 131.53mph on a 9.10 Dial. Even though he did not have an opponent, Darren still recorded the “Best Reaction” of the day with an .093! Roy also had a Bye run, as he should have been racing Chris. He staged and broke the beams on an 8.20 Dial. The only race of the round saw another good matchup with Ed dialling in at 9.20 against Neil's 8.64. Ed recorded a strong 9.257 at 136.61mph to take the win over Neil's 9.020 at 146.49mph. Neil finished in 4th place overall, and was really chuffed to be awarded the “Best Engineered” Spot Prize, chosen by the scrutineers. Semi-finals Before the teams had even returned to the pits from the quarter-finals, they were being called for the next round, as things had been running so smoothly! Chris intervened to ask the officials to allow a bit of extra time, which they did, and the teams all managed to turn their cars around really quickly, so fair play to them. In this round, Ed had the Bye, and he staged and broke the beam on a 9.20 Dial, thus allowing the engine more cooling time for the Final. The race this round was a battle of the rear-engined dragsters between Darren, who dialled in at 9.10, and Roy who stayed with the 8.20 Dial. The reactions were pretty even, with Darren taking a slight advantage, but Roy was closer to Dial and took the win with an 8.483 at 134.02mph to Darren's 9.462 at 139.21mph. There was just .044 in it at the top end! Darren earned 3rd place overall for the event. Final This set up a great final between Ed and Roy, with a second between them on the tree, 9.20 to 8.20 Dials. Ed was charging hard, as he recorded a breakout 9.177 at 143.52mph, very near his best ever run with the car, whilst Roy took the victory with a “Closest to Dial-in” of the day, of an 8.248 at 163.13mph. Big congratulations to Roy and Roger and the whole team on the win. And fair play to Ed for another great race. The whole S&K team were also awarded the “Best Appearing Team” by the commentators, for a well turned out car, great performance and professional team appearance. Great to have them with us! Congrats also to Darren and Bob and the whole Wicked Lady Team, and Neil and the whole Andromeda team on their PBs! Well done to all the Wild Bunch teams – great to see a bigger field! It had been a really good event, where the weather did not play too much of a part. Many thanks to all the marshals and officials and track crew at Shakey for working so hard to keep racing going, especially on the Saturday. The results mean that the Dog's Bollocks team have won the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series this season with “RamRaider”, with Dave Rowlands in second place in “Destiny's Angel”, Darren Law in third place in “The Wicked Lady”, and Roy Wilding himself in fourth place with Roger's S&K dragster! Congratulations to all these teams on the wins! Ed and the Dog's Bollocks team have also won the APIRA Series, with Roy earning the Runner-up spot, subject to confirmation by APIRA. Also, the Dog's B's are once again leading the Real Steel Series, with Chris second and Dave third. They are also still leading the MSA Challenge, with one event left to go! We are now looking forward to the Final rounds of the Wild Bunch and Real Steel Series, and the MSA Challenge, at the “UK National Finals” at Santa Pod on September 26th & 27th! | |