Festival of Power - Wild Bunch

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Festival of Power March 30 - April 1

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Wild Bunch ResultsFestival of PowerMarch 30th - April 1st Real Steel Series Round 1. MSA Points Challenge 1.

The Festival of Power was the first event of the WB season. It was Real Steel Series Round 1 and the first round of the ‘Springbridge MSA Challenge’, and there was a field of 9 Wild Bunch cars competing: 2 Altereds, 7 Slingshots and a Rear-engine dragster.

Wild Bunch Points
Pos	WB	Driver/Team	Car	Points
1	40	Sean Law	The Wicked Lady	10
2	78	Keith Crampton	Soultown Shaker	8
3	6	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft	6
4	67	Darryl Howells	Chemical Reaction	4
5	1	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	2
-	25	Terry Clifford	Ratcatcher Resurrection	2
-	91	Bob Hawkins	Timetraveller	2
8	8	Mark Coulsell	Ballbreaker	1
-	35	Dick Sharp	Dorset Horn	1

MSA Points
Pos	WB	Driver/Team	Car	Points
1	40	Darren Law	The Wicked Lady	650
2	78	Keith Crampton	Soultown Shaker	420
3	6	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft	340
4	91	Bob Hawkins	Timetraveller	330
5	67	Darryl Howells	Chemical Reaction	270
6	1	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	180
7	25	Terry Clifford	Ratcatcher Resurrection	160
8	35	Dick Sharp	Dorset Horn	30
9	8	Mark Coulsell	Ballbreaker	10

Spot Prizes
	WB	Team/Driver	Car	Detail
Closest To Dial-In	40	Darren Law	The Wicked Lady
Best Reaction	1	Adz Price	Go Hard or Go Home	0.102
#1 Qualifier	91	Bob Hawkins	Timetraveller	0.001 off
Quickest ET	91	Bob Hawkins	Timetraveller	8.151
Best Appearing Car	35	Dick Sharp	Dorset Horn
Wildest Ride	6	Chris Hartnell	Backdraft

The Wild Bunch welcomed back a great group of racers, with a notable milestone amongst them as Dick Sharp and team were celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the debut of their first Dorset Horn! Many congratulations to the whole team on that! All of the teams were hoping for good weather for the start of the season, after the recent spell of arctic conditions! The event had been renamed from the ‘Easter Thunderball’ to the ‘Festival of Power’ and was run over 3 days. 3 racers ran Personal Best E.T.s and 2 ran Best Speeds this weekend, though the conditions remained arctic throughout! Qualifying Saturday This was a qualifying day and there were scheduled to be 3 qualifiers, and we were 24th on the running order! It was very cold and cloudy to start with and the track temperatures remained low throughout the weekend. Racing started Saturday at around 9:25am, though due to snow flurry delays, we did not have our first qualifier until about 3pm and 6 of the teams took part. There was fair bit of downtime during the day due to the weather, and we did not get another qualifier that day. Sunday There were 3 qualifiers on the Sunday schedule, and the officials decided we would start as per the originally advertised Sunday schedule, partly due to the cold weather. The sun came out for a while first thing and the track opened spot on at 9am. The weather clouded over again, but stayed dry all day, and we had our second qualifier at about 11:45am. Our third was at 3pm and our fourth at 6:15 pm, all in very cold conditions. By now, all 9 teams had safely qualified.
WB 1	Adam Price was again proudly sporting WB 1 on the Team Gridlock Go Hard or Go Home!!! altered and eager to start the challenge for the title again. The team had made some off-season modifications including a new body, and they were looking forward to seeing how the car would run. Adz dialled in at 9.15 for the first qualifier and posted a good 9.321 at 142.15mph for starters. The team raised the Dial for the next round, to 9.20, and were thrilled when Adam ran a much closer 9.208 at 142.58mph to put him into the Top Spot for a short time. For the next qualifier, the team lowered the Dial slightly to 9.16, and Adam posted a 9.372 at 142.04mph. On the last qualifier, the team lowered the Dial again to 9.12 and Adam ran a strong 9.202 at 145.70mph, a new Personal Best Speed! Adam qualified in 2nd place overall.
WB 6	‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell had only needed a minor winter freshen up in the Backdraft slingshot, as the engine had been rebuilt late on in 2012. The team were starting their 19th season with the car and were keen to start off by running some 8's. They dialled in at 8.95 for the first qualifier and Chris posted a promising 9.082 at 147.73mph. The team raised the Dial slightly for the second qualifier, to 8.96, and Chris had a slightly wayward launch and had to back off to a 9.383 at 147.66mph on the cold track. The Dial-in was raised a bit more, to 8.98, and with the help of a bit more heat in the track Chris ran his first 8 of the year, a breakout of 8.915 at 148.64mph. Chris stuck with the Dial-in on the last round, but the track had cooled off a lot again, and he lit the tyres off the line. He kept his foot in it and made an ‘S’ off the start line, eventually posting a 9.869 at 146.26mph. He was awarded the Wildest Ride Spot Prize for that one! Chris finished in 6th place overall in qualifying. He and the team were dedicating all their runs this weekend to Malcolm Olley, owner of the slingshot when it was Pink Panther in the early 70's, who had sadly passed away the week before.
WB 8	Mark Coulsell and the Limited Funz Team were raring to go as usual in the Ballbreaker slingshot, and had taken part in the Friday test day. They were having some problems with getting the engine to rev, and ended up missing the first qualifier. They worked on the car in the pits and got it ready for the following day. They dialled in at 9.18 for the second qualifier, and had some problems on the run, posting an 11.090 at 106.88mph. They raised the dial to 9.20 for the third qualifier and still had some problems, running an 11.334 at 93.70mph. Mark qualified in 9th place overall, but the team later discovered some damage to the lifters and cam, so sadly that was it for their weekend. We wish them all the best and hope that the damage is not too extensive and they can be back out soon!
WB 25	saw Terry Clifford making a welcome return in the team's Ratcatcher Resurrection slingshot, after a whole year off racing. Terry had rebuilt the engine during 2012, and was keen to see how the car would run! He and the team had problems getting the car to fire up and run in the very cold conditions, and were not able to take part in the first qualifier. They came out for the second qualifier Sunday, dialling in at 10.50 and running a solid 10.616 at 114.33mph for a checkout pass. Once again, they were not able to fire up to take part in the third qualifier, though got the engine running again back in the pits. On the fourth qualifier, Terry was uncharacteristically shut down on the line, for a minor leak, which was soon rectified back in the pits. He qualified in 4th place overall.
WB 35	Dick Sharp was ready early this season in the Dorset Horn altered, to celebrate the fact that it was 40 years earlier that the first incarnation of ‘The Horn’ had appeared at the Easter event! The original car did not run at its first event of the year, but the team had better luck this time! They dialled in at 9.50 for starters, and Dick posted a 10.207 at 137.40mph in the first qualifier. They kept the same Dial-in for the next qualifier, and Dick ran a similar 10.271 at 136.94mph. They then raised the Dial accordingly to 10.20 for the next qualifier and Dick promptly broke out with a 9.774 at 138.25mph! Lowering the Dial-in again to 9.60 netted a much closer qualifier of 9.802 at 138.55mph. Dick qualified in 7th place overall. Dick and team were awarded the Best Appearing Car Spot Prize by the commentators, for their well turned out altered and in recognition of their special anniversary.
WB 40	Sean Law is to be the main driver for the Wicked Lady team this year, and he was raring to go! He started the year well when he ran a solid 9.471 at 145.23mph on a 9.35 Dial-in. The team raised the Dial for the second round to 9.45 and Sean ran a 9.652 at an identical speed of 145.23mph. They stuck with this Dial and Sean hooked up well and broke out by nearly 3 tenths, running a Personal Best ET of 9.152 at 145.69mph. The team lowered the Dial-in to suit, to a 9.15, and Sean broke out and recorded another PB of 9.142 at 145.71mph in the fourth qualifier. He finished in 5th spot for qualifying.
WB 67	Darryl Howells was back out in the DASH Racing Chemical Reaction slingshot, after a late-season return to form last year, so was hoping to pick up where he left off. Darryl dialled in at 9.95 for his first qualifier, and posted a 10.955 at 128.05mph on the cold track. The team then raised the Dial very slightly to 9.99, and Darryl ran a better 10.218 at 133.27mph. He kept this Dial-in for the next two qualifiers and ran a stronger 10.058 at 134.50mph in the third round and a 10.215 at 132.83mph in the fourth. He qualified in a good 3rd place overall.
WB 78	Keith Crampton was making an early-season appearance in his Soultown Shaker slingshot. He had done some gearbox upgrades in the off-season and was testing his new setup. He arrived Saturday morning and got set up and scrutineered, and fired up in the pits. The car was a bit tricky to fire in the cold conditions, and he did not make a pass in the first round of qualifying. He then dialled in a 10.92 for the second qualifier and ran a checkout 12.643 at 103.74mph. He had trouble on the line in the third round, and did not make a run. He kept the 10.92 Dial-in for the fourth round and posted an improved 11.751 at 112.77mph. Keith qualified in 8th place overall.
WB 91	Bob Hawkins was back in his Time Traveller slingshot and had made some improvements to the nitrous system over the off-season, so was hoping to start the year with some quick runs. Bob began with a Dial-in of 8.40, and quickly bettered this with a breakout 8.252 at 163.65mph in the first round of qualifying. He then lowered the Dial to 8.15 and went out and ran a new Personal Best E.T. of 8.151 at 157.96mph, just one thousandth off his Dial, to go straight into the #1 spot. And eventually the Quickest ET of the weekend for the Bunch. He lowered the Dial to 8.09 for the next round and ran another strong pass of 8.179 at 163.08mph. Keeping the Dial for the last qualifier, Bob recorded an 8.260 at 156.39mph, with a fair bit of smoke at the top end. And had to check this out back in the pits. He remained in #1 Qualifier Spot.
Race Day Monday Monday dawned cold and cloudy again, but was due to remain dry. All 9 Wild Bunch cars had qualified for eliminations, so we should have seen 4 good races and a Bye in the first round. But unfortunately, Mark Coulsell and the team had done some cam damage in the Ballbreaker engine, and Dick Sharp had broken some teeth off the flexplate trying to fire the car up Monday morning in the cold conditions, so neither were able to take part in the eliminations. We hope they can soon be fixed and back out racing with the Bunch again! Round 1 Our first round took place at about 10:45am. The first run saw Bob taking his #1 Qualifier Bye. He dialled in at 8.25 and ran his second quickest run ever, with an 8.153 at 160.56mph, but again with a lot of smoke through the top end. The first race of the round was an exciting one with young Adam facing Crazy Chris. Adam had the quicker Dial-in with a 9.18, whilst Chris had posted 9.20. Adam pulled out the Best Reaction of the day, with a .102, and posted a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 9.161 at 146.25mph, but had broken out, leaving Chris to take the win with a 9.268 at 147.61mph. The next race saw Terry matched with Keith, and it was a bit of a strange one. Terry had dialled in at 10.25 and Keith at 11.25. Keith did not appear to leave the line after the tree ran, and Terry ran a breakout 10.188 at 119.63mph pass. They had to go and speak to the Race Director for the verdict, who adjudged that Keith had staged properly, and therefore took the win as Terry had broken out! A lucky break for Keith, but nevertheless, a great run for Terry, showing promise on the newly-built engine. On the next run, Darryl was gifted a solo as the Dorset Horn had suffered a breakage. Darryl ran a 10.496 at 129.41mph on a 10.10 Dial-in. Similarly on the following run, Sean also had a solo as the Ballbreaker had also suffered damage. Sean took advantage of the free run, and ran a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 9.113 at 146.60mph on a 9.15 Dial-in. Quarter-finals There was a little while to wait until the Quarter-finals, which took place at about 1pm. The first pair should have seen Keith taking on Bob, but after the first round, Bob and the team had found some engine damage, which later turned out to be a holed piston! Such a shame for the team, but just shows what a good last run it was, on just 7 pistons! We hope they can rebuild the engine and be back out as soon as possible. Keith then had an opportunity for another tuning run, and ran an 11.605 at 114.37mph on an 11.25 Dial-in to advance to the Semis. The only race of the round saw Sean facing Darryl. Sean and team had lowered their Dial-in to 9.10, whilst Darryl kept his 10.10. Darryl ran a 10.435 at 130.68mph whilst Sean took the victory with a 9.279 at 125.11mph. Darryl finished in 4th place overall by being closest to Dial of the Quarter-finals Runners-up. The next run saw Crazy Chris with a Bye and the team dialled him in at 9.25. Chris ran a better 9.097 at 146.55mph to move on to the Semis. Semi-finals We had a bit of a wait until this round, which was held at 3:15pm. The only race of the Semis was between Chris and Keith. The team had lowered Chris’ Dial-in to 9.20, and Keith had raised his to 11.50. Both of them broke out! But Keith by just one thousandth, posting an 11.499 at 104.08mph to take the win over Chris’ bigger breakout of 9.094 at 134.42mph. Chris finished in 3rd place for the weekend whilst Keith advanced to his first ever Final round. After this run, Sean took his Bye, running a 9.311 at 142.84mph on his 9.10 Dial, to make his first ever Final round! Final There was only an hour between rounds, and the two finalists got ready and towed down. Sean and The Wicked Lady team dialled in at 9.15, and Keith opted for an 11.45. Sean had a much better reaction, and ran the Closest to Dial-in of the day, with a 9.190 at 132.06mph to take his first event win over Keith's 11.568 at 114.48mph. Congratulations to Sean and the whole team!! And well done to Keith on making the Final. Well done to all the teams for putting on a good show for our season opener, despite the cold track conditions! A great bunch of cars and teams! It's great to be back out racing, and to start the first racing weekend with a completed event. A really good event despite the freezing weather. Huge thanks to all the marshals and officials and track crew for their extreme hard work in the cold conditions! And many thanks to Keith Bartlett and all the team at Santa Pod for the new track surface, which will be great once the weather warms up! We are now looking forward to the second Real Steel Series and Springbridge MSA Challenge rounds of 2013, and the first APIRA Series round, at the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County on May 4th - 6th Bank Holiday weekend. It should be a great event! We’re hoping for warmer weather and a good field of Wild Bunch!