Mini Showdown Weekend

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Mini Showdown Weekend July 10 - 11

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Wild Bunch ResultsBritish Mini Showdown10th - 11th July Wild Bunch Series Round 4. Real Steel Series Round 7.

The “Mini Showdown” was the fourth round of the Wild Bunch Series, in our 15th year, and Real Steel Series Round 7. There was a field of 13 Wild Bunch cars participating: 5 Altereds, 7 Slingshots and 1 Rear-engined dragster

Wild Bunch Points
Pos	WB	Driver/Team	Car	Points
1	40	Darren Law	The Wicked Lady	10
2	1	Dogs Bollocks Racing	RamRaider	8
3	25	Terry Clifford	Ratcatcher Resurrection	7
4	11	Dave Williams	Green With Envy	6
5	4	Warren Rowlands	Destinys Angel	5
-	54	Phil Sweeney	Bone Idle	5
-	78	Keith Crampton	Soultown Shaker	5
-	94	Tom Maunders	Oddball	5
-	99	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	5
-	109	Andy Murphy	B-Sting	5
11	2	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft	4
12	76	Steve Field	The Black Pig Too	3
13	142	Mike Cresswell	Living the Dream	1

Spot Prizes
	WB	Team/Driver	Car	Detail
Closest To Dial-In	1125	Dave WilliamsTerry Cliford	Green With EnvyRatcatcher Resurrection	both0.000 off
Best Reaction	40	Darren Law	The Wicked Lady	0.083
Most Improved MPH	76	Steve Field	The Black Pig Too
Best Altered	4	Dave Rowlands	Destinys Angel
Best Slingshot	2	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft
Best Engineered	99	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home
Drivers Choice	425	Warren RowlandsTerry Clifford	Destinys AngelRatcatcher Resurrection

The weather forecast was good for the weekend, and both days were dry and warm! Most drivers got in at least 3 runs on the Saturday, and once again we completed all four rounds of Wild Bunch racing on the Sunday. (This must be the first season where we have completed all four rounds at each of the first four Wild Bunch Series events!) Saturday night saw our annual fancy dress party, and there were loads of knights, ladies, monks and jesters roaming round in the pits. There was even a giant executioner complete with his condemned witch prisoner, as well as a ‘fire-breathing’ dragon on ‘Crazy’ Chris’ bar stool! There was much merriment, a bit of jousting, and dancing, and all the teams enjoyed the evening. Over the weekend, four drivers ran Personal Best E.T.'s and seven ran Personal Best Speeds. Once again there was a great show from the whole of the Bunch on Sunday!
WB 1	saw Andy Gosling having his second turn of the season in the Team Dog's B's “RamRaider” slingshot. Gos started the weekend with a 9.464 at 140.84mph. On his second pass Saturday, he recorded a new Personal Best E.T. of 9.086 at 146.73mph. His next two runs were really consistent, with a 9.161 at 146.48mph and a 9.151 at a new Personal Best Speed of 148.44mph. The team dialled in at 9.13 for Sunday's rounds. Gos’ first round pass was a 9.201 at 145.25mph, and he just got quicker throughout the day, with a 9.181 at 145.56mph in the second round, a 9.163 at 145.32mph in the third, and a similar 9.162 at 144.64mph in the fourth. This steady progression towards the Dial-in resulted in a 2nd place finish for Gos, his second of the year! The team are now in The team are now in 3rd place in both the Wild Bunch Series and the Real Steel Series.
WB 2	‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell was in his seventh event of the season with his “Backdraft” slingshot. His first pass Saturday netted a 9.131 at 146.01mph. He followed this with a 9.148 at 144.96mph and a 9.202 at 142.78mph. Chris and the team also dialled in at 9.13 for Sunday. Chris was one of the first in the queue for the first round, and fired up, drove round to the burnout box, and then was forced to shut off, due to low oil pressure. The team went back to the pits and changed to a different oil (thanks to the Dog's Bollocks team for this!) and fired up again, with resultant full oil pressure. Chris then joined in with the second round and pulled a spectacular double bouncing wheelie, backing off to a 9.327 at 142.63mph. He pulled different kinds of wheelies in the third and fourth rounds, recording 9.450 at 144.03mph and 9.549 at 142.90mph. He was dubbed ‘Mr Entertainment’ and awarded the “Best Slingshot” Spot Prize by the commentators. He is now in equal 6th place in the Wild Bunch Series and 3rd place in the Real Steel Series.
WB 4	Warren Rowlands had driven his Dad's “Destiny's Angel” altered for the first time at a RWYB a few weeks prior to the event, and he made his debut in Wild Bunch competition at the Minis. He began the day Saturday with a 10.572 at a new best speed of 135.31mph. On his next pass, he ran a new Personal Best E.T. of 10.488 at 134.85mph. Warren dialled in at 10.50 for Sunday's rounds. He started well, with a 10.595 at 135.17mph in the first round. But in the second round, pulled a deep red light alongside Steve Field, who also left early, and he did not record a time or speed. He bounced back in the third round, posting a new PB of 10.352 at 134.02mph. His fourth round run was a 10.435 at 133.47mph. Warren was awarded the “Best Altered” Spot Prize by the commentators, for his good performance and burnouts. He also shared in the “Driver's Choice” Spot Prize, voted for by all the Wild Bunch drivers attending. Well done, Warren! The team are still leading the Wild Bunch Series, and are 2nd in the Real Steel Series.
WB 11	Dave Williams started the weekend well with the “Green with Envy” altered, running a new Personal Best Speed on his first pass Saturday, an 11.379 at 120.59mph. He then posted an 11.421 at 119.73mph and an 11.402 at 119.97mph. Dave and Linda deliberated the Dial-in for Sunday, and opted for an 11.39. His first two runs were a little off the pace, with an 11.507 at 118.33mph in the first round and an 11.508 at 118.71mph in the second round. But on the third round, he went out and ran exactly on his Dial-in, with an 11.390 at 119.04mph! (The third Buncher to do that this season!). He earned an equal share in the “Closest to Dial-in” Spot Prize (yes, really, there was another!). He then ran slightly quicker than Dial, with an 11.340 at 119.40mph in the fourth round. These last two rounds really helped the average, and Dave finished in 4th place overall for the weekend. He is now in 4th place in the Wild Bunch Series and 6th place in the Real Steel Series.
WB 25	Terry Clifford was raring to go in the “Ratcatcher Resurrection” slingshot. Terry had been really consistent on the last few events, and was hoping to match the consistency to the Dial on Sunday. He made three good passes on the Saturday: a 10.211 at 130.25mph, a 10.210 at 130.50mph, and a 10.313 at 128.88mph. The team chose a 10.21 for Sunday's Dial. Terry went straight into 2nd place after the first round, with a 10.232 at 129.43mph. And then, on the second round, he went and ran exactly on his Dial-in, with a 10.210 at 130.99mph! (He did this one round earlier than Dave, so was the second Buncher of the year to pull a perfect run to Dial!). And earned a share in the “Closest to Dial-in” Spot Prize. His third pass was also good, with a 10.250 at 128.80mph, and he was running in 1st place at that point. In the fourth round, he recorded a 10.359 at 127.71mph, and this put him in 3rd place overall for the weekend, his highest finish of the season so far! Terry also had an equal share in the “Driver's Choice” Spot Prize. He is now in equal 6th place in the Wild Bunch Series and 7th place in the Real Steel Series.
WB 40	Darren Law took the first run of the day for the team in the “Wicked Lady” rear-engined dragster, recording a 9.053 at 146.98mph. He then handed the drive over to son Sean, for his first ever runs in the car! Sean put in a nice checkout pass of 13.436 at 88mph for starters. He made good progress after this, with an 11.812 at 100.67mph on his second pass and an 11.141 at 107.43mph on his third run. Sean thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had a big grin on his face to match! The team dialled in at 9.00 even for Sunday's rounds, and Darren got straight back in the hotseat to go #1 after the first round, with a 9.018 at 145.96mph. He then ran another 8-second pass, and closer to Dial, with an 8.990 at 146.42mph in the second round, also recording the “Best Reaction” on this run, with a .083. His third and fourth round runs were similar, with a 9.065 at 145.70mph, and a 9.064 at 145.51mph! This overall consistency won the event! The second win for the team this season. This means they are now in 5th place in the Wild Bunch Series and are leading the Real Steel Series.
WB 54	Phil Sweeney was in his third Wild Bunch event of the year with his “Bone Idle” altered, which is up for sale. His crew was again Wild Bunch committee member and Team Twisted crew chief Dean Smythe. Phil made a couple of runs on the Saturday, posting a 9.363 at 139.26mph, and a 9.545 at 137.83mph. He dialled in at 9.45 for the rounds on Sunday, and promptly went quicker in the first round, with a 9.323 at 142.14mph. He posted a 9.332 at 142.27mph in the second round and a much closer 9.491 at 130.76mph in the third. His fourth round run netted a 9.552 at 121.56mph. Phil finished in 6th place overall for the weekend. He is in 10th place in both the Wild Bunch and the Real Steel Series. Phil and Abby are expecting their first baby in a few months time, so all of the Wild Bunch would like to wish them the very best of luck, health and happiness!
WB 76	was Steve Field's third event this season with his and Lesley's “Black Pig Too” slingshot. Steve had found good form at the Nostalgia Nationals after some problems at the previous event. He began Saturday with a checkout pass of 10.332 at 132.42mph, testing some tuning on the car. He made some adjustments, and promptly went out and ran a new Personal Best E.T. of 9.595 at a new Best Speed of 145.20mph! The speed was an improvement of 4.85mph over his previous PB of 140.35mph, and earned him the “Most Improved MPH” Spot Prize for the Bunch this weekend. His third run of the day was a 9.757 at 138.04mph. He and Lesley dialled in at 9.65 for Sunday, and his first round pass was a 9.946 at 138.32mph. In the second round there was some confusion on the start line, and Steve left before the tree ran, resulting in no time for the pass. Back in the pits, the team also found a problem involving the torque converter, so were forced to sit out the rest of the event. Hope they can fix that soon, and be back out racing as soon as possible.
WB 78	Keith Crampton was in his fourth Wild Bunch round of the year with the “Soultown Shaker” slingshot. He began Saturday with a pass of 11.450 at 113.32mph. He followed this with two similar runs of 11.553 at 110.40mph, and 11.577 at 113.54mph. He had more new crew with him at the weekend, and again they learned the ropes really quickly, and settled right in to their crewing duties. Keith dialled in at 11.47 on Sunday, but his first round run was a little wide of the mark, with an 11.897 at 114.17mph. He improved on the next round, to an 11.697 at 113.60mph, and then posted similar runs of 11.798 at 111.62mph, and 11.792 at 110.90mph in the third and fourth rounds. He finished in 7th place overall for the weekend. He is now n 8th place in the Wild Bunch Series and 9th place in the Real Steel Series.
WB 94	was newcomer Tom Maunders in his first ever event with the “Oddball” slingshot. Tom and his Dad had only just bought the car from John Byng two weeks before, at the Nostalgia Nationals event. And Tom had only just passed his driving test about 3 weeks before this event! Tom's first ever run in the car was a creditable 16.361 at 68.53mph. He then improved to his best run of the weekend, a 15.189 at 91.10mph. On his next run, he was still learning the gears, and more about the car, and posted a 16.941 at 71.75mph. He improved again on his fourth pass, with a 15.803 at 82.95mph. The team dialled in at 15.80, to join in for their very first time in Wild Bunch competition. Tom carded a 16.541 at 85.42 in the first round. He then went quicker than Dial, with a 15.509 at 79.77mph in the second round. He then ran his closest to Dial in the third round, with a 15.581 at 82.48mph, and finished the day with a 17.705 at 72.44mph, still getting a handle on the car. Tom really enjoyed his first weekend of racing, and finished in 8th place overall. Not a bad result at all, being brand new to driving a dragster!! Welcome to the Wild Bunch Tom and team!
WB 99	Adam Price was in his seventh event of the season with the Team Gridlock “Go Hard or Go Home!!!” Topolino altered, and once again the team were raring to go and got set up early Friday! On Saturday, Adz started with a 10.917 at 124.17mph. He then ran a 10.972 at 123.75mph on his second pass. There was a problem on the third run, and Adz recorded an 11.173 at 122.01mph. The team dialled in at 10.91 for the rounds on Sunday, and Adz started well, with a 10.861 at 123.82mph. Unfortunately, there was a problem in the second round, and he slowed to a 19.371 at 44.42mph! Such a shame, as the car had been running well recently. Adz bounced back in the third round, and posted a 10.850 at 122.58mph, and then the team finished the day on a high, with Adam recording a 10.991 at a new Personal Best Speed and first time over the 125 mark, with a 125.27mph! They were also awarded the “Best Engineered” Spot Prize by scrutineer Glenn Stockton, for their well turned out altered. Adz finished in 9th place overall. And this means he is in 9th place in the Wild Bunch Series and 7th place in the Real Steel Series. Best wishes to Mum Val, who hurt her knee at the weekend – hope it heals soon, Val!! All the best!
WB 109	Andrew Murphy was in the hotseat of the “B-Sting” Topolino altered, for the team's fifth event of the season. His first run Saturday was a 10.742 at a new Personal Best Speed of 131.66mph, also a best speed for any driver of the car. He then ran an identical E.T. of 10.742, at 126.94mph, on his second pass. His third run was not far off either, with a 10.728 at 126.97mph, which looked really promising for Sunday's rounds! The team dialled in at 10.73, and Andrew ran a 10.918 at 124.71mph, a fair way off his pace. He improved by nearly 3 tenths in the next round, recording a 10.647 at 126.15mph. His third run was real close to Dial, a 10.721 at 126.69mph, followed by his quickest run of the weekend, a 10.628 at 126.79mph. Andrew finished in 5th place overall. The team are now in 2nd place in the Wild Bunch Series and 5th in the Real Steel Series.
WB 142	Mikey Cresswell was back in the “Living the Dream” slingshot for the team's second event this season. He had fixed the brake problem experienced at the Nostalgia Nationals. His first run Saturday was a troubled 16.462 at 83.49mph. His next run was a 17.732 at 78.57mph, and his third run was even slower, with a 25-second pass at 81mph. Overnight, the team diagnosed a problem with the torque converter, so had to sit out the rounds on Sunday. Hope they can get the car fixed soon, and can make it for their next target, the ‘Ladies who Launch’ event at Shakey, with Ashleigh due to drive for the first time this season. Hope to see them back out soon with the Bunch!
Big Congratulations to Darren and the whole “Wicked Lady” team on the win, their second this season! And well done to all the Wild Bunch teams, who put on another great show throughout the weekend. Congrats to all those who ran PB's! And welcome to our newest member Tom and team. It was another brilliant, sunny event! Thanks to all the marshals and officials at Shakey – we really appreciate all their hard work! We are now really looking forward to the 5th Wild Bunch Series round and the 8th Real Steel Series round, at the “York Summer Showdown” at York Dragway, on August 7th & 8th! This will be the 10th year the Wild Bunch have raced up at York, so another celebration! The Wild Bunch Series is the closest it's ever been, with only 2 points separating the top 5 teams! There are only 7 points separating the top 9 as well, so it's all wide open this season! Very exciting! PS. Congrats to ‘Wild Bunch Kid’ Jayne Kay, who with former Wild Bunch driver, Dad Gary, debuted, with a burnout, in her blown “Pink Lady” funny car! Best of luck to them!