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Dragstalgia July 12 - 13
Wild Bunch ResultsDragstalgia12th - 13th July 2014
Real Steel Series Round 7.
Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 2.
Dragstalgia was the seventh event of the WB season. It was the 4th round of the Wild Bunch Series, and Real Steel Series Round 7 and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series Round 2. The event was sponsored by Ian Blackett of Blackett Photography who put up prize money for 1st and 2nd places and had a special offer for Wild Bunch teams; and also Scot Durrant of 'Scottie's Moving Vehicles' who put up prize money for 1st place. Many thanks to them! There was an awesome field of 33 Wild Bunch cars participating, including 2 who were guests from Germany. There were: 12 Altereds, 15 Slingshots, 5 Rear-engine dragsters and a Funny Car
| Wild Bunch Points | ||||
| Pos | WB | Driver/Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Adz Price | Go Hard or Go Home | 9 |
| 2 | 263 | Barry Giles | Tequila Sunrise III | 7 |
| 3 | 72 | Dave Southworth | Daddy Cool | 6 |
| 4 | 621 | Mo Blackburn | Escape from Reality | 5 |
| 5 | 109 | Team 'B-Sting' | B-Sting | 4 |
| - | 91 | Bob Hawkins | Timetraveller II | 4 |
| - | 3 | Keith Crampton | Soultown Shaker | 4 |
| 4 | Team GAS Racing | Tiki Munki | 4 | |
| - | 70 | Alan Smith | Avanti | 4 |
| - | 173 | Adam Charnley | Howitzer | 4 |
| - | 39 | John Dalrymple | Slingshot | 4 |
| - | 101 | Steve East | Ellies in Trouble Now | 4 |
| - | 2 | Tom Larman | The Ferret | 4 |
| - | 64 | Russ Heaven | Tight Fit | 4 |
| - | 626 | Liz Malcolm | Jus’ 4 Fun | 4 |
| - | 700 | Phil Toppin | T for One | 4 |
| 17 | 8 | Mark Coulsell | Ballbreaker | 3 |
| - | 111 | Dan Sharp | Little Big Horn | 3 |
| - | 35 | Dick Sharp | Dorset Horn | 3 |
| - | 68 | Mick Gleadow | Jurassic Parts | 3 |
| - | 94 | Dave Gibbons | Rough Diamond | 3 |
| - | F2 | Bradley Cooper | Back from the Past | 3 |
| 23 | 40 | Sean Law | The Wicked Lady | 2 |
| - | 62 | Kev Preston | Valkyrie | 2 |
| - | 30 | Mick Hillier | Texas Ranger | 2 |
| - | 75 | Andy Jackson | Unfinished Business | 2 |
| - | 961 | Dave Nelson | Dorris Dormouse | 2 |
| 28 | 76 | Team Black Pig | The Black Pig Too | 1 |
| - | 25 | Terry Clifford | Ratcatcher Resurrection | 1 |
| - | 74 | Simon Williams | Pure Nostalgia | 1 |
| - | 271 | Steph Milam | She Devil | 1 |
| Spot Prizes | ||||
| WB | Team/Driver | Car | Detail | |
| Closest To Dial-In | 64 | Russ Heaven | Tight Fit | 0.0033 off |
| Best Reaction | 970 | Ove Kroeger | Dancing Queen | 0.002 |
| Best Appearing Team | 17 | Team GAS Racing | Tiki Munki | |
| Quickest ET | 91 | Bob Hawkins | Timetraveller II | 7.235 |
| Best Appearing Car | 970 | Ove Kroeger | Dancing Queen | |
| Best Burnout | 961 | Dave Nelson | Dorris Dormouse | |
| Best Backup Girl | 8 | Lynne Coulsell | Ballbreaker | |
| Spirit of Nostalgia | 70 | Alan Smith | Avanti | |
| The weather turned out far better than expected and we got two practice rounds in on Saturday, and all 3 scheduled rounds in on Sunday. We had our biggest ever field at this event, 33 participants, of whom 29 took part in the rounds on Sunday, with 18 drivers making all 3 rounds. The event also included the Cacklefest where 5 Wild Bunch cars took part, and fire burnouts where 4 took part. There were backup girls a-plenty as well as a push car and great team uniforms and pit displays and it was an absolutely fantastic show from the whole Bunch! Over the weekend 10 drivers ran Personal Best ET's (including the new WB class record) and 8 ran PB Speeds. It was an amazing event!! | |
| WB 1 | Adam Price was in his fifth event of the season with the Team Gridlock Go Hard or Go Home!!! Topolino altered. And the whole family were celebrating the fantastic news that Adam and Lorraines baby Jack had recently been born, and arrived at the track with Mum and Dad and big sister Hollie on Saturday, at the tender age of 12 days old! Welcome Jack! And Congratulations to the whole family! Adam made 2 runs Saturday, including a 9.144 at 145.29mph and a 9.073 at 146.72mph. He also took part in the Cacklefest on the evening. The team dialled in at 9.09 for Sunday, and Adam began well with a 9.127 at 146.25mph pass. His second round run was even closer, a 9.100 at 145.82mph. He posted a quicker 9.048 at 147.19mph in the third. And he Won the event!! What an achievement in such a tough field! Many congratulations to the whole team, the icing on the cake of a wonderful fortnight!! Adam is now leading both the Real Steel and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series and is 2nd in Wild Bunch! |
| WB 2 | saw Tom Larman in his first Wild Bunch event this year with The Ferret altered, and the team were thrilled to be back racing with the Bunch! Tom made one pass Saturday, a 10.446 at 120.76mph. The team dialled in at 10.43 for the rounds on Sunday. Tom began with a run of 10.513 at 120.15mph for starters. He followed this with a 10.445 at 120.26mph. And then recorded a new Personal Best ET of 10.299 at 121.23mph in the third round which the whole team were chuffed with! Tom finished in 8th place overall and the whole team had a fantastic time at the event. |
| WB 3 | was Keith Cramptons seventh event of the year with the Bunch, with his Soul Town Shaker slingshot. Keith started Saturday with a pass of 11.051 at 116.10mph. He was ably crewed by The Marras, who were again wearing the white Castrol overalls on the start line. Keith dialled in at 11.03 for Sundays rounds. He started the day with an 11.164 at 115.21mph. He then posted an 11.140 at 115.25mph in the second round, followed by his quickest of the day, an 11.074 at 115.56mph in the third. Keith finished in 9th place overall. Keith is now in 3rd place in both the Real Steel and Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series and is in 4th place in the Wild Bunch Series. |
| WB 4 | Scot Durrant was in the hotseat of the Tiki Munki slingshot coupe for his fifth event this season. Scottie was one of our event sponsors this weekend and his company Scotties Moving Vehicles had put up prize money for first place. The team had brought up their 53 Chevy to use as push and tow car all weekend, and it was be-decked with leis. And wife Gina and niece Nicole had some very cool tiki-tastic flowery playsuits in their role as back up and staging girls. Scottie began the weekend with a 13.397 at 97.52mph, followed by a better 12.883 at 97.51mph. The team later took part in a push start for the Cacklefest on the Saturday evening, and thoroughly enjoyed it again! Scottie dialled in at 12.82 on Sunday, and unfortunately had shifting problems on the first run, posting a 14.292 at 96.05mph. He followed this with a much better 13.016 at 97.28mph and another 12, a 12.963 at 98.79mph in the third. He finished in 16th place overall. The team were awarded the Best Appearing Team Spot Prize by the commentators. Very well deserved as they put on a great show all round in every way! Scottie is now in 4th place in the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series. |
| WB 8 | Mark Coulsell and team had just finished making repairs to the Ballbreaker slingshot, in time to get to the event, their third of the season. And on this event, wife Lynne made her backup girl debut, and she looked fantastic in a black T-shirt with orange racing stripes, orange hot pants, black tights, orange boots and cute pigtails to top it all off! Just gorgeous! And her backup duties were perfectly executed. She was ably assisted by the beautiful Anna, wife of crew chief Steve, who was also wearing orange hot pants and black top and gave directions behind the car. Mark began Saturday very well, with one of his quickest passes ever, a 9.033. Though unfortunately there was a problem on the run with smoke coming out of the rocker boxes and he slowed to 110.05mph. Wow, what would that have been as a full pass! The team checked things out in the pits and came out for another 9-second pass, with a similar story. They took part in the Cacklefest on the Saturday evening. They dialled in at 8.88 for the rounds on Sunday, having borrowed some other rocker boxes. Mark had similar issues and slowed to a 10.359 at 87.19mph. Undaunted, the team tried something else, and Mark recorded a very snaky 14.063 at 43.68mph, and had to park the car for the day. Hope the team can cure this and be back out for another event. One bonus was that Lynne was awarded the Best Backup Girl by the commentators. Very well deserved! And Woot woo!! |
| WB 25 | Terry Clifford was back in the Ratcatcher Resurrection slingshot for his fourth event of the season, after hopefully having cured the rocker shaft problems. This weekend, wife Ruth and daughter Jenny and daughter-in-law Rachael were on backup girl duty and had some special outfits, with black and white chequered tops and black capri pants. On both rounds Saturday, they arranged to match up with Steph Milam in the She Devil altered. This is significant as it would be the newest She Devil against one of the oldest, as the slingshot had belonged to the Milams before as one of their line of She Devils! Terry began the weekend with a good burnout but then had to shut off with a small leak. The team cured this and came out for the second round.Terry ran a 9.304 at 145.29mph. This seemed a good run but there had been a lot of smoke and some oil. Back in the pits the team suspected a broken rear main oil seal so unfortunately that was them out for the weekend. |
| WB 30 | Mick Hillier was in his first event with the Wild Bunch, after testing the Texas Ranger altered last year. Mick had been a very early member of the Wild Bunch when he signed up with his Pony Express altered! And he was pleased to be back with his smartly turned out latest car, a Topolino. He arrived Saturday, and spent some time in the pits sorting various things with the car. He did not make a timed run on the Saturday. He therefore dialled in blind on Sunday, at 10.50. He performed a burnout but had a couple of issues on the line and had to be shut down. He bounced back in the second round where he recorded a 10.347 at 111.82mph, a new Personal Best ET. He did not make a pass in the third round. So hopefully he can build on his progress in his next event! Welcome back to the Wild Bunch Mick! |
| WB 35 | Dick Sharp was back in the Dorset Horn altered for his second event of the season. He made two runs on Saturday, including a 9.403 at 143.38mph. One highlight for Dick was meeting up with a Swedish guy who had brought his altered to race for the first time since 1974! He had raced Dick on that occasion and Dick had won with a holeshot! Dick and crew man Terry dialled in at 9.10 for Sunday. And Dick had some problem on the first run, recording a 10.543 at 121.44mph. He then posted a slower 13.102 at 104.56mph in the second round, and did not make the third round. The team will diagnose the problems and hopefully sort them soon and be back on low 9-second form or better! Best of luck! |
| WB 39 | saw Jason Cull and Martin White in their second ever Wild Bunch event with the Perfect Pete slingshot. They had parked way over in the family camping field with their slingshot and had to bring it round to the pits each time, and did a great job of being there in time for the rounds, and waiting around, so fair play to them. They made a couple of runs Saturday, including a 12.053 at 107.93mph. They dialled in at 12.00 even for Sundays rounds and started the day with a 12.242 at 104.56mph in the first round. They followed this with a 12.493 at 106.78mph in the second and a 12.597 at 103.74mph in the third, to finish in 13th place overall. |
| WB 40 | Sean Law was in his fourth event of the season with the teams The Wicked Lady rear-engined dragster. He put in a good pass on Saturday for starters, with a 9.258 at 144.77mph, and another 9-second pass in the afternoon. He also took part in the Cacklefest on Saturday evening. The team dialled in at 9.25 for the rounds on Sunday. Seans first round run was a slowing 9.828 at 110.69mph, with problems shifting. The team later took the gearbox out, and found that there was a problem with that, so unfortunately that was it for their weekend. Hope they can fix this soon and be back out running with the Bunch! |
| WB 62 | Harriet Preston was in her second event with the Wild Bunch this season. Harry began Saturday well with a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 9.552 at 134.55mph! Well done Haz! She made another 9-second pass later that day. The team dialled in at 9.57 for Sunday and Harry posted a 9.781 at 133.74mph. She did not make another run on Sunday. Hope to see her again soon! |
| WB 64 | saw Russ Heaven in his first event with the Wild Bunch in the Tight Fit slingshot. This car was originally Ram Raider and then Youngblood and Russ had bought it from the Turburvilles last season and done some testing with it, and just managed to get it ready for the event. He made one pass on Saturday, a Personal Best ET and Speed of 9.272 at 136.96mph. He dialled in at 9.20 for the rounds on Sunday. His first round pass netted a 10.105 at 138.97mph. He then ran slightly better in the second round, with a 10.018 at 138.60mph. In between rounds, he found that he had blown a rocker cover gasket and the team thought they might not make the third round, but repairs were effected and he did just that. He was thrilled when he recorded a WB Closest to Dial-in pass of 9.2033 at 144.88mph, another new PB ET and Speed! Well done Russ, and welcome to the Bunch! |
| WB 68 | saw Mick Gleadow out with the Wild Bunch for his second event of the season in his Jurassic Parts slingshot. Mick had cured all the problems experienced at the Festival of Power event and was raring to go. His first round run on Saturday produced a great new Personal Best ET and Speed of 10.176 at 129.51mph! Well done, Mick! He later posted another low 10-second pass. He dialled in at 10.17 for the rounds on Sunday and began well with a 10.206 at 128.81mph. He then followed this with another PB ET of 10.161 at 128.80mph! And at that point was running in 2nd place overall. Unfortunately the team had to leave early due to various work commitments the following morning. But it was great to see Mick back running well and the car performing consistently. Hoping to see some 9s in the not too distant future! All the best to the team! |
| WB 70 | Alan Smith was running the Avanti Allard Dragon slingshot in his fourth event this season, but would you believe, for the first ever time at Santa Pod! And what a great asset to this event especially, as our oldest running car in Wild Bunch, hailing originally from 1964, and celebrating its 50th Anniversary!!! Alan began Saturday with a strong 11.448 at 102.82mph. He made another pass later that day. The car is picking the wheels up nicely and running well. He dialled in at 11.45 for Sunday, and had a problem with the shifter on the first run, recording a 13.436 at 89.44mph. His second round run was far better, as he ran 11.411 at 116.57mph. He followed this with an 11.799 at 118.23mph. He finished in 17th place overall. Alan and Margaret were awarded the Spirit of Nostalgia award by the commentators for their historic vehicle, which is going quicker than ever with Alan at the wheel. Quite rightly so on this award! Congratulations! |
| WB 72 | Dave Sag Southworth was in his second event of the year with the Bunch with the teams Daddy Cool rear-engined dragster, and it was his second trip to Santa Pod after his inaugural outing at last Dragstalgia where he ran his first 8-second pass. The team started Saturday with problems with no oil pressure and spent the day ironing these problems out. They dialled in blind at 9.30 for the rounds on Sunday. Sag then began well with a 9.354 at 139.54mph in the first round. He then recorded a 9.376 at 135.34 in the second round. He then recorded his closest ever run to Dial in the third with a 9.3035 at 139.10mph. With this great performance he earned 3rd place for the event! Many congratulations to Sag and the whole team on this achievement! Very well deserved!! |
| WB 74 | was the second Wild Bunch event of the season for Simon Williams. He and Dad Paul arrived Friday and set up their pits and fired the dragster up. But something was not right, and further checks revealed low compression on several cylinders. This meant they were forced to sit the event out. Such a shame, and hope they can get a handle on the problems soon and be back out running well. |
| WB 75 | saw the first Wild Bunch event of the season for Andy Jackson in his Unfinished Business rear-engined side-winder dragster. The car was built in 1972 as the Econorail by Ian Fraser, and Ian had joined the team for the weekend. The team spent time in the pits Saturday tuning the car and made one test run in the afternoon. This was a troubled 25.269 at 71.18mph. Unfortunately before this run, there was an accident in the pairings lanes and Ian was taken to the medical centre with a suspected fracture. We all wish him a speedy recovery and send the whole team our best wishes. Ian was keen for the team to carry on and try to fix the problems, and they dialled in at 12.20 for Sunday. The team found a spare part they needed and Andy made the first round, but ran another pass with problems, and posted a 23.104 at 74.94mph. Unfortunately, it seems that the engine expired on this run! Such a shame. So hope Andy and the team can get this repaired and be back out to make more progress with this unique piece of engineering. |
| WB 76 | Steve and Lesley Field were hopeful of a good event with their Black Pig Too slingshot in their 6th event of the year. But sadly this was not to be, as the team experienced problems with the car and could not make a pass at the weekend. We are all hoping this can be cured, as Steve has plans, and we are sure they will work it all out and we will see this beautiful car running well soon. Best of luck to them all! And this weekend, Sarah Howells was due to be backing up the car in a range of backup girl outfits, which she ultimately put to good use doing backup duty for several other teams. Lesley also had a nice outfit, and the two girls looked fantastic in the pairings lanes with their purple dresses and white boots! Gorgeous ladies! |
| WB 91 | Bob Hawkins was in his seventh event of the season with his Time Traveller II slingshot. He was ably crewed again by son Tom, plus his brother Ted, and Dave and Linda Williams. Bob started the weekend very well with another Personal Best ET and new Wild Bunch Class ET record of 7.321 at 178.55mph! Congrats again Bob! He made another strong 7-second pass on Saturday afternoon. He later took part in the fire burnouts on the evening and gave another great performance with that! He dialled in at 7.32 for the rounds on Sunday. His first round run netted a 7.378 at 177.84mph. And he just ran better and better. His second round run was another PB ET and WB record 7.303 at 179.17mph. And his third round pass was a stunning 7.235 at 180.69mph! Fantastic! Lowering both his PB and the record yet again! Many congrats! Bob finished in 5th place overall. Bob is now 3rd place in the Wild Bunch Series and 2nd place in the Real Steel Series. He is off to Hockenheim for the Nitro Olympics in August, so we wish him good luck there for the racing and another fire burnout! |
| WB 94 | Dave Gibbons was in his second ever event with the Wild Bunch in his Rough Diamond altered. He made two passes on Saturday, including a strong 8.652 at 150.10mph. He also took part in the fire burnouts on Saturday evening, just as he had done in the 80s, and gave another great demonstration of the art! He dialled in at 8.69 for the rounds on Sunday, and began very well with an 8.702 at 149.11mph. On his second round run, he launched well, but very soon pulled over to the side and idled down the track. Back in the pits, the team suspected a broken half shaft! Such a shame as he was on a roll. Dave is also off to Hockenheim in August so best of luck with getting the repairs done in time! Good luck to him for the flame burnouts too! |
| WB 101 | Steven East was in his third ever Wild Bunch event with his Ellies in Trouble Now slingshot. And finally the elusive daughter Ellie was there to watch and help! Hope she enjoyed it! Steven began Saturday with a good 10.230 at 131.80mph and made another pass that afternoon. He dialled in at 10.12 for Sundays rounds. His first round run was a 10.910 at 129.19mph, so slightly off the normal pace. He then improved to a 10.767 at 129.78mph in the second round. His third round run was much quicker, with a 10.219 at 132.45mph. Steven finished in 14th place overall and thoroughly enjoyed the event. |
| WB 109 | saw Andrew Murphy in his fourth event of the season with the B-Sting altered. He made two good passes on Saturday, including a 10.166 at 132.53mph. The team dialled in at 10.11 for the rounds on Sunday. Andrew began well, posting a 10.195 at 129.45mph in the first round. He then followed this with a slightly off pace 10.227 at 129.42mph in the second. He ran much closer to Dial in the third round, recording a solid 10.123 at 131.81mph. He finished in 7th place overall. Andrew is now leading the Wild Bunch Series, in 4th place in Real Steel and 2nd in the Roy Wilding Series. |
| WB 111 | saw Dan Sharp in his third ever Wild Bunch event with the teams Little Big Horn altered. He made one run on Saturday of 10.929 at a new Personal Best Speed of 121.92mph. The team dialled in at 10.90 for Sunday, and were all chuffed when Dan ran a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 10.888 at 124.87mph. He was then lying in 2nd place. In the second round, Dan ran even better and recorded a massive PB ET of 10.368 at 129.56mph, another best speed. The team had to leave early before the next round, with their young family, but really enjoyed the event! |
| WB 173 | saw Adam Charnley in his third event of the year with his Howitzer altered. He ran a couple of passes on Saturday, including a 12.746 at 102.88mph. He took part in the Cacklefest on the Saturday night. He dialled in at 12.75 for the rounds on Sunday. In the first round, he posted a 13.391 at 99.50mph. Adam then improved to a 12.683 at 102.66mph in the second and later a 12.657 at 102.20 in the third. He finished in 12th place overall and thoroughly enjoyed the event! |
| WB 263 | We welcomed back Barry Giles to the Wild Bunch, as he had been a member in the very early days. He was running his rear-engined dragster Tequila Sunrise III which is around 29 years old. He put in a couple of runs Saturday, with a best of 7.517 at 177.81mph. He then dialled in at 7.52 for the rounds on Sunday. On his first round pass, he recorded a 7.557 at 176.39mph. He followed this with a 7.573 at 177.12mph run in the second. And then posted his closest to dial of the day, a quicker 7.484 at 178.54mph. Barry finished in 2nd place overall and really enjoyed the event. Great to have him and the team back racing with the Bunch! |
| WB 271 | We welcomed back Steph and Dave Milam who had also been Wild Bunch members in the beginning. Steph had recently run her first ever 5-second pass in their She Devil Top Methanol car! The team had spent months fabricating an altered body for the car to be able to run with Wild Bunch at Dragstalgia! And the plan in the first rounds was to run against Terry Cliffords Ratcatcher Resurrection as that had been one of their previous She Devil cars! Steph started well Saturday with a storming burnout, followed by a checkout pass of 7.802 at 167.31mph. On the afternoon run though, the cars were shutdown for something on the track and re-fired to burnout again. However there was a problem on the launch and Steph had to shut off quickly. Back in the pits this was diagnosed as lowered valves, and the team could not run the car for the rest of the weekend, which was such a shame. It was great to have them joining in with the Bunch! Welcome back! |
| WB 621 | Mo Blackburn had re-joined the Wild Bunch with his Escape from Reality altered, which he had just finished rebuilding in time for the event. He made two passes on Saturday of 8.817 at 148.17mph and 8.810 at 148.59mph. Mo also took part in his first ever fire burnout, on the Saturday evening. He dialled in at 8.80 for the rounds on Sunday. His first round pass was an 8.770 at 148.57mph, and he followed this with an 8.731 also at 148.57mph. His third round run was a little wayward as he got a bit out of shape towards the wall, but handled this well and posted an 8.847 at 149.17mph. He finished in 4th place overall and really enjoyed the event. Fair play! |
| WB 626 | Liz Malcolm was a new member to the Wild Bunch with hers and Iains Jus 4 Fun Pinto-powered rear-engined dragster. They had just installed a new gearbox and were hoping it would run well. Liz began Saturday with a pass of 11.597 at 115.83mph. She followed this with an 11.517 at 115.67mph. After some deliberation, the team decided on a Dial-in of 11.50 for Sunday. Liz began well with an 11.583 at 115.37mph in the first round. She then recorded a quicker 11.279 at 116.42mph in the second. Her third round pass was an 11.350 at 115.81mph. Liz finished in 10th place overall for the event, and the team thoroughly enjoyed the weekend! Welcome Liz and Iain! |
| WB 700 | Phil Toppin was another new member to the Wild Bunch, with his T for One T-bodied altered. Phil made a couple of passes Saturday, with a best of 8.873 at 149.62mph. He dialled in at 8.88 for the rounds on Sunday. He began well with an 8.908 at 147.72mph in the first round. He then followed this quicker passes of 8.820 at 148.69mph in the second round and 8.768 at 149.61mph in the third. He finished in 6th place overall and really enjoyed the event! Welcome Phil! |
| WB 961 | Dave Nelson was on his second Wild Bunch round of the year with his Dorris Dormouse slingshot. Dave put in a couple of passes on Saturday with his quickest being an 8.717 at 148.17mph, his quickest in the car with that engine. He was another driver who took part in the flame burnouts on the Saturday evening and has some wicked video footage! He then dialled in at 7.99 for the rounds on Sunday. He had a problem in the first round, posting a 9.952 at 104.94mph. And then had to sit out the rest of the day. Hope the team can fix the problem soon and be back out racing. |
| WB F2 | Bradley Cooper was another new member to the Wild Bunch with his and father Ken Mr Flathead Coopers Back from the Past flathead slingshot. Bradley made a couple of runs Saturday, with a quickest of 12.174 at 113.47mph. The team dialled in at 11.75 for Sundays rounds. Bradley started well, posting an 11.771 at 112.09mph in the first round and lying in 4th place at that time. He then ran, I believe, a new Personal Best ET and Speed in the second round of 11.327 at 117.95mph. He did not take part in the third round, but the whole team thoroughly enjoyed the event. |
| Guest WB 918 | saw us welcome a racer from Germany, Jutta Winter, as a guest participant, with her wicked funny car Black Ball with a 34 Ford body. Jutta and husband Tom had e-mailed Dragstalgia organiser James Forster to ask if she could join in with the Wild Bunch. The car itself hails from 1982, and was actually originally built by Herb Andrews, who turned up at the weekend and met the team! On Saturday, Jutta ran a best of 8.661 at 142.08mph. The team dialled in at 8.66 for the rounds on Sunday, and she started brilliantly with an 8.649 at 144.77mph and was then in Number 1 spot! But unfortunately, there was an incident at the top end when a parachute which had caught a gust went by the car and ripped the wheelie bars off! Initially the team decided not to run again, but Jutta then decided on a soft launch, and recorded another great pass of 8.675 at 152.59mph, to remain in Top Spot! Well done! The team had a midnight ferry to catch but still stayed for the third round. But unfortunately, Jutta pulled a wheelie on this pass and damaged the front end, slowing to a 13.368 at 54.15mph. Such a terrible shame and very sorry to see this damage. Hope the team can repair this for their next event back home. It was great to have them running with us, and we awarded them a Spot Prize for the Furthest Travelled! Best of luck and hope to see them again! |
| Guest WB 970 | saw us welcome another racer from Germany, Ove Kroeger, as a guest participant, with his great slingshot Dancing Queen. Ove and wife Arnie and nephew Joel soon made friends with everyone in the Bunch! Ove had e-mailed James Forster to ask if he could run with the Wild Bunch and of course that was fine! He started very well Saturday with a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 7.601 at 178.53mph, and made another good pass in the afternoon. The team dialled in at 7.60 for Sunday and Ove began with a 7.789 at 177.12mph pass. He followed this with a 7.763 at 177.15mph, with a Wild Bunch Best Reaction of .002. His third round run netted a 7.799 at another PB speed of 178.56mph. He finished in 11th place overall. Ove and team were awarded the Best Slingshot Spot Prize by the commentars. Great to have the team run with us! We also awarded them a Spot Prize for Furthest Travelled! Welcome and hope they all come back next year! |
| Congratulations to Adam and the whole of Team Gridlock, especially baby Jack on his first trophy! And congratulations to Barry, Sag and Mo for their Top 4 placings. And congratulations to all the Wild Bunch teams on an amazing show! We heard a lot of good comments from people throughout the weekend about the Wild Bunch again, especially the huge and varied field!
It was a brilliant event! Huge thanks to all the marshals and officials and especially the fire and track crews at Santa Pod for all their hard work! Much appreciated as always! And big thanks to the organisers for a fantastic event! We are now looking forward to the seventh Real Steel Series round of 2014 at the Open Sports Nationals at Shakey on August Bank Holiday on 23rd – 25th August! This will be the season finale of the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series and Round 4 of the Springbridge MSA Challenge. | |