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Open Sports Nationals August 28 - 30
Wild Bunch ResultsOpen Sports Nationals28th - 30th August
Real Steel Series Round 9.
Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 3.
APIRA Series Round 2.
The “Open Sports Nationals” was the 9th event of the WB season. It was Real Steel Series Round 9 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 3 (the Finals) as well as the 4th round of the MSA Challenge and the second and final round of the APIRA Series. There was a field of 11 Wild Bunch cars competing: 5 Altereds, 5 Slingshots and a Rear-engine dragster.
| Wild Bunch Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 25 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 10 |
| 2 | 109 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | 8 |
| 3 | 11 | Dave Williams | Green With Envy | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | Dave Rowlands | Destinys Angel | 4 |
| 5 | 1 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 3 |
| - | 2 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 3 |
| 7 | 99 | Adz Price | Go Hard or Go Home | 2 |
| - | 40 | Darren Law | The Wicked Lady | 2 |
| - | 35 | Dick Sharp | Dorset Horn | 2 |
| - | 91 | Bob Hawkins | Timetraveller | 2 |
| 11 | 8 | Ballbreaker | Mark Coulsell | 1 |
| MSA Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 25 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 670 |
| 2 | 11 | Dave Williams | Green With Envy | 450 |
| 3 | 109 | Andy Murphy | B-Sting | 440 |
| 4 | 1 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 280 |
| 5 | 4 | Dave Rowlands | Destinys Angel | 260 |
| 6 | 2 | Chris Hartnell | Backdraft | 250 |
| 7 | 40 | Darren Law | The Wicked Lady | 200 |
| 8 | 99 | Adz Price | Go Hard or Go Home | 190 |
| 9 | 35 | Dick Sharp | Dorset Horn | 130 |
| 10 | 91 | Bob Hawkins | Timetraveller | 120 |
| 11 | 8 | Ballbreaker | Mark Coulsell | 10 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Closest To Dial-In | 1 | Dogs Bollocks Racing | RamRaider | 0.010 off |
| Best Reaction | 4 | Dave Rowlands | Destinys Angel | 0.043 |
| #1 Qualifier | 11 | Dave Williams | Green With Envy | 0.000 off |
| Best Appearing Car | 8 | Ballbreaker | Linited Funz Racing | |
| Fastest m.p.h. | 40 | Darren Law | The Wicked Lady | 146.12 |
| Qualifying SaturdayThis was a qualifying day and there were scheduled to be 3 qualifiers. The weather turned out pretty good on the first day, though cool. We were last on the running order, and due to some down time, the third cycle did not get completed on the Saturday. 9 of the 11 teams qualified, with Mark and Bob still going through their observed runs. Sunday This was another qualifying day, with 3 rounds scheduled for the Bunch. There was a short delay for rain about midday, but then a huge downpour arrived at about 1:30pm, and this took a couple of hours to dry up. Coupled with that and an on-track incident, only 2 of the qualifiers took place, and all 11 teams were now qualified for Race day, with both Mark and Bob running PB's. | |
| WB 1 | Ed Yates and the Dog's Bollocks team were in their 8th event of the season with the “RamRaider” slingshot, and currently in 3rd place in the Real Steel Series, 2nd in the MSA Challenge, and leading the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series coming into this event. Ed began the qualifying session with a Dial-in of 9.33. He posted a 9.879 at 117.34mph in the first qualifier. He kept the Dial for the second and improved to a 9.444 at 143.65mph. Again on Sunday, he kept this Dial, and ran a 9.714 at 143.23mph in the third round. Raising the Dial to a 9.43 for the fourth qualifier, Ed recorded his closest run of qualifying, with a 9.479 at 141.48mph, to finish in 4th place overall. |
| WB 2 | ‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell had just celebrated his 50th birthday the week before the event, and one of his presents was towards a new MSD 7AL for the “Backdraft” slingshot. Chris and the team hoped this would make the car run a little quicker! Chris had also repaired damage to the car, and installed a spare coupler, after the previous one broke in the shutdown area at York. Chris started the event in 5th place in the Real Steel Series, 3rd in the Roy Wilding, 3rd in the MSA Challenge and 2nd in the APIRA Series. Chris dialled in at 8.99 in the first qualifier and posted a 9.203 at 144.58mph for starters. The team kept that Dial for the next qualifier, but the car went slower, with a 9.339 at 138.81mph. The Dial-in was raised for Sunday, to a 9.15, and Chris ran passes of 9.261 at 141.97mph and a red-lighting 9.466 at 140.26mph. He qualified in 7th place overall. |
| WB 4 | Dave Rowlands was leading the Real Steel Series going into this event, and was in 2nd place in the Roy Wilding Series and 4th place in the MSA Challenge. Dave dialled in at 9.75 for the first round, and ran a breakout 9.740 at 139.50mph. In the second qualifier, he lowered the Dial to a 9.72, and ran another breakout 9.627 at 142.00mph. On Sunday, he lowered the Dial slightly again, to a 9.62 and ran a good 9.677 at 141.79mph. He refined the Dial once more, to a 9.65, and ran a 10.030 at 138.25mph in the last round, after the rain delays. Dave qualified midfield in 6th place overall. |
| WB 8 | Mark Coulsell was out on track for the first ever time with his and Steve Cassisi's “Ballbreaker” slingshot. The team had brought the car to the ‘Mini Showdown’ but despite great efforts, could not get the car fired. In between events, the team and several friends sorted out the problems, and got the car fired up a week before the event! Needless to say, they were chomping at the bit, and really keen to see what the new car would run. Mark tried to put in his first observed run in the first qualifying session on Saturday morning, but had to shut down due to a leak after the burnout. He performed another good burnout on the second attempt, but still had a problem. On Sunday he posted a Dial-in of 12.00 for his half-pass observed run, and ran to the half successfully, recording the first pass on the car, an 11.441 at 88.54mph. This did in fact qualify Mark in 11th place overall. In the final qualifier, Mark performed a stonking burnout, but as soon as he launched for the run, a half shaft broke and he lost drive! Such a shame. But Mark and the whole team were still ecstatic to have got that far, and to have finally made the first run with the slingshot. They were awarded the “Best Appearing Car and Team” Spot Prize by the commentators for their huge efforts at making the event, the well-turned out slingshot, well co-ordinated smart teamwear and all the fantastic extra touches on their orange and black theme. Well done to all! Congrats on the track debut! They hope to make a temporary repair to get to the Hot Rod Drags, and install an upgraded axle for next season. Best of luck to them all! |
| WB 11 | Dave Williams was in 3rd place in the APIRA Series and 5th place in the MSA Challenge with his “Green with Envy” altered prior to the event. Dave began qualifying with an amazing 11.400 at 119.49mph on an 11.40 Dial-in! The second time in as many events that he has run a perfect E.T.! Dave also had the required stickers, and earned the Eurodragster prize money for this achievement! Congratulations to him! Needless to say, this kept him as #1 Qualifier for the event, throughout all 4 rounds! His second qualifier was an 11.487 at 119.09mph on the 11.40 Dial. And on Sunday, he ran another excellent pass of 11.402 at 119.19mph on the 11.40 Dial in the third round! He was still ultra-consistent in the fourth qualifier, with an 11.408 at 117.57mph on the 11.40, and therefore had the closest three runs of anyone in the Bunch during the qualifying sessions. Fair play, Dave! Well done! |
| WB 25 | Terry and Ruth Clifford were back from a holiday, raring to go in the “Ratcatcher Resurrection” slingshot, after some very consistent form this season. Terry was running in 4th place in the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series before this event. Terry's first Dial-in Saturday was a 10.10 and he recorded a 10.266 at 129.11mph in the first round. The team raised the Dial for the second round to a 10.21 and ran a breakout 10.194 at 129.50mph.They lowered it back down to a 10.15 for the third round on Sunday and Terry posted a 10.203 at 130.14mph. The fourth round pass was on a new Dial of 10.18 and was slightly off pace, with a 10.328 at 127.00mph. Terry qualified in 5th place overall. |
| WB 35 | Dick Sharp was running his “Dorset Horn” altered in his third event of the season. The team started off with a Dial-in of 9.63, equal to the quickest time of this Mark 007 incarnation of the car. Dick ran a 10.493 at 127.36mph in this round. The team then raised the Dial-in slightly, to a 9.67, and Dick posted a 10.113 at 132.66mph, going in the right direction. On Sunday, the Dial-in was raised to a 9.99, and the whole team were pleased to be back in the 9's, particularly Carol, when Dick recorded a breakout 9.910 at 139.96mph. The Dial-in was lowered again, to a 9.81 for the fourth round, and Dick ran a 10.414 at 130.68mph. He qualified in 9th place overall. |
| WB 40 | Darren Law had been running 8's throughout the year with “The Wicked Lady” rear-engine dragster. He began the weekend in 3rd place in the Real Steel Series, 4th in the APIRA Series and leading the MSA Challenge. The team started with a Dial-in of 9.00 and Darren went into number 2 spot with a 9.017 at 146.05mph. They kept this Dial for the second round and Darren ran a strong breakout of 8.998 at 145.73mph, just 2 thousandths under! Sunday's next qualifier saw the team with the same Dial and Darren broke out again with an 8.970 at 146.12mph, which proved to be the “Fastest MPH of the weekend” for the Bunch. The team lowered the Dial to 8.97 for the final qualifier and Darren recorded a 9.159 at 125mph, after a red light. Darren remained as 2nd place qualifier. |
| WB 91 | was Wild Bunch newcomer Bob Hawkins with his “Timetraveller” slingshot. The car is the ex-Colin Aldred ‘Classy Chassis’ which Bob purchased earlier this season, and updated to the most current MSA spec. Bob and his son Tom had taken the car to Santa Pod for a recent test and tune, but had only got one checkout pass completed, due to rain, so this really was a big learning curve for them with the car. Bob put in his first observed run Saturday during the first round, shutting off early and making the first step. His second observed run was nearly a full pass, recording a strong 10.765 at 124.39mph on an 11.00 even Dial-in. On the third observed run and qualifier, Bob dialled in at 10.00 even and ran a 10.930 at a new best speed of 126.35mph, to successfully gain his licence. Congratulations, Bob! In the fourth qualifier, Bob experienced an electrical problem and could not make the run, but the team were sure they could fix this for the rounds. Bob qualified in 10th place overall. Welcome to the Wild Bunch Bob and Tom! |
| WB 99 | Adz Price was in his ninth event of the season, fresh from his first ever win, at York, with the “Go Hard or Go Home!!!” Topolino altered, and the team were still buzzing! Adz was currently in 6th place in the Real Steel Series, and hoped to carry some of the momentum of the win into this race. He started off with a Dial-in of 10.80, and broke out straight away, posting a 10.749 at 123.99mph in the first qualifier. The team lowered the Dial to a 10.67, just below Adam's PB, and he recorded a 10.763 at 124.59mph. On Sunday, the team raised the Dial-in slightly, to a 10.71, and Adam ran well, with a 10.732 at 124.92mph, not far off his best times. They raised the Dial by a mere hundredth, to 10.72, and Adam finished the day with a 10.784 at 121.35mph. He qualified in 3rd place overall, his highest qualifying position to date. |
| WB 109 | Andrew Murphy and the “B-Sting” team were lying in 4th place in the Real Steel Series and Andrew was leading the APIRA Series with the altered. He dialled in at 10.59 for the first round and posted a breakout 10.558 at 127.67mph for starters. The team lowered the Dial accordingly, to 10.55, but again, he broke out, with a strong 10.473 at 128.85mph, with another strong smoky burnout. The Dial was lowered once again to 10.50 for both of Sunday's rounds and Andrew recorded a 10.670 at 125.96mph and a 10.637 at 126.19mph, becoming more consistent. The fourth pass qualified him in 8th position overall. |
| Race Day Monday (Eliminations) Monday dawned bright and sunny, though still a bit cool, though it did warm up later on. All rounds of all eliminations were completed by about 4pm! So a big well done to all the marshals and officials! Round 1All 11 Wild Bunch cars had qualified for eliminations, so there would have been 5 races and one Bye in the first round, though due to Mark's breakage there was an extra solo. We were called out at about 11:45am. Dave Williams had earnt the Bye with his spot-on first qualifier, and this turned out to be quite lucky, as a throttle glitch slowed Dave to a 12.780 at 103.47mph on his 11.40 Dial-in. This would be fixed quickly back in the pits for Dave to contest the Quarter finals. The two Topolinos were once again matched, this time in a race. Adz dialled in at 10.72 and the “B-Sting” team chose a 10.60. Adz recorded another good pass of 10.779 at 121.99mph, but Andrew's reaction time won it with a 10.702 at 115.69mph. The next race was an all-slingshot pairing between Terry and Bob in Bob's first ever race. Terry dialled in at 10.18, whilst Bob was just a little above this with a 10.20. Unfortunately Bob had problems off the line and bogged, not leaving the start until some 20 seconds later, and recording a 12.509 at 104.37mph. Terry took the win with a 10.352 at 120.73mph. The next race should have seen Dave Rowlands taking on Mark Coulsell, and Dave took a solo, with a great run of 9.431 at 144.40mph on his 9.65 Dial, very near his personal best, and his best run for a while. In the next pairing Ed chose a Dial-in of 9.43 against Dick's 9.85. There was not much in it off the start, and Ed took the win with a “Closest to Dial-in” 9.440 at 123.23mph over Dick's 10.448 at 126.40mph. The last race of the round saw Chris versus Darren. Chris dialled in at 9.22, whilst Darren opted for a 9.00 even. Chris had a small reaction time advantage, and ran his closest to Dial of the weekend, with a 9.250 at 139.96mph taking the win over Darren who broke out, with an 8.954 at 145.82mph, near to his personal best. Quarter-finals There was only about an hour and a quarter between rounds, and this time there were scheduled to be 3 more good races, which took place at about 1:30pm. Dave Williams bounced straight back with another strong run of 11.424 at 116.99mph with the better reaction to take the win over Ed, who had a really strong run, breaking out with a 9.249 at 141.73mph on his 9.43 Dial. Dave Rowlands had the “Best Reaction” of the day, with an .043, but was further off his Dial with a 9.814 at 141.19mph, whilst Andrew Murphy advanced to the Semis with his closest run of the weekend, a 10.625 on his 10.60 Dial. Dave earned the 4th place for the event by being the closest to Dial-in of the quarter-finals runners-up, without breaking out or red lighting. Crazy Chris and Terry kept their previous Dial-ins, a 9.22 and a 10.18 for another all slingshot pairing. Chris pulled an uncharacteristic red light, posting a 9.341 at 140.21mph, handing the win to Terry, who put in another strong run, with a 10.239 at 128.31mph. Semi-finalsAfter the quarter-finals, there was not much time until the Semis, which took place just before 3pm. The only race of the round saw Dave Rowlands taking on Andrew, for an all-altered pairing. Andrew again had the reaction time advantage, and recorded a 10.760 on his 10.60 Dial to take the win over Dave, who broke out with an 11.289 at 118.06mph, on his 11.40 Dial, very near his PB. Dave finished in 3rd place for the weekend. Next it was Terry with the Bye, and he took it easy with an 11.462 at 83.07mph on his 10.18 Dial to advance to the Final. Final There was a short break whilst all the Finalists were assembled, and because the race was running ahead of schedule. The Wild Bunch final took place at 4pm. Terry raised his Dial very slightly to 10.20, and Andrew opted to keep his 10.60. Andrew once again had a reaction time advantage, but broke out by two thousandths, with a 10.598 at 123.00mph, whilst Terry took the win with his closest run of the weekend, a 10.250 at 126.94mph. Many Congratulations to Terry and the whole team on his first win this year, and his first since the National Finals in 2008. Fair play! The results mean that Terry Clifford has won the Roy Wilding Series, his first ever Series win, celebrating his 5th season. Many congratulations to him and the team on this achievement! Team Dog's Bollocks have finished in 2nd place, Dave Rowlands in 3rd and Chris Hartnell in 4th. Congratulations to all the Top 4! Andrew Murphy has won the APIRA Series, the team's first ever Series win! Dave Williams is Runner-up. Many congratulations to both of them!! Dave and Warren Rowlands are still leading the Real Steel Series on 50 points, though equal to Team “B-Sting”. Team Dog's Bollocks are now 3rd on 46 and Darren Law is 4th on 44 points. Darren Law is still leading the MSA Challenge, with 1120 points, followed closely by Ed Yates on 1080, Chris Hartnell on 1020 and Dave Rowlands on 970 points. So there will be a really exciting finish to the season again this year! It was a really good event where we were mostly fortunate with the weather. All the teams really enjoyed the weekend and there was some really close racing with the bigger field of Wild Bunch at this MSA event. Many thanks to all at Shakey for all their hard work again, much appreciated! We are now really looking forward to the 6th and final Wild Bunch Series round of our 15th season, the ‘UK National Finals’ at Santa Pod on 25th & 26th September. This will also be the 10th and final Real Steel Series round and the 5th and final round of our MSA Challenge. It promises to be an exciting finish to the season with the top 6 teams all still in with a shout of winning the Wild Bunch Series! And with the Real Steel and MSA Series also so close! Hope to see loads of the Bunch out for this one! | |