Super Series Mid-Summer Nationals
Saturday (qualifying)
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21:00
Today's pictures have now been posted. You can get to them from the event update index. There are no start line pictures today as Tog has been in Race Control typing up the qualifying sessions, there may be start line pictures tomorrow.
That's all for today, we're now off for a sit down and then a stroll around the pits, tune back in the morning and we'll bring you the pitside developments.
20:10
The final qualifying standings in Super Modified are as follows:
1. Danny Cockerill 7.693/180.00
2. Rob Smallworth 7.877/176.47
3. Graham Ellis 8.023/173.08
4. Jon Hogarth 8.190/169.17
5. Andy Hone 8.296/165.44
6. Ian Marshall 8.413/163.64
7. Steve Rawlings 8.417/159.57
8. Tim Garlick 8.864/151.01
The final qualifying standings in European Top Gas are as follows:
1. Gunther Sohn 8.312/145.63
2. Riccardo Giliberto 8.521/151.52
3. Gerd Caspari 8.656/150.00
4. Axel Seifert 8.752/149.01
5. Cord Albers 8.899/146.58
6. Peter Weimar 9.181/141.51
7. Harry Sckie 9.562/138.04
8. Jorg Sussdorf 11.557/98.04
9. Andy Ludwig 12.562/99.34
The top two qualifiers in all other classes are as follows:
Super Pro ET: 1. Mick Cheley +0.009 8.609/159.57, 2. Paul Marston +0.226 9.126/165.44
Pro ET: 1. Ian Brown +0.002 10.802/122.95, 2. Conrad Stanley +0.005 10.035/133.53
Sportsman ET: 1. Mark Anderson +0.002 13.602/103.69, 2. Al Platt +0.008 13.408/105.88
Super Comp (8.90): 1. Martin Curbishley 8.902/150.50, 2. Zane Llewellyn 8.924/154.64
Super Gas (9.90): 1. Martin Curbishley 9.902/146.10, 2. Paul Hudson 9.920/138.46
Super Street (10.90): 1. Ian Brown 10.900/122.62, 2. Lee Huxley 10.910/125.00
Junior Dragster (Reaction Time): 1. Holley Glassup 0.535, 2. Nick Mugridge 0.542
Custom Car Street Eliminator (after Cruise): 1. Steve Pateman 8.746/171.10, 2. Jeff Meads 8.979/157.34
Wild Bunch: 1. Team B'Sting +0.002 12.702/103.69, 2. Pete Yates +0.002 10.142/131.20
Outlaw Anglia: 1. Rob Stone 9.926/135.95, 2. Cliff Griffin 10.287/111.94
Funny Bike: 1. Dave Holland 7.256/179.28, 2. Tim Blakemore 7.310/177.17
Pro Stock Bike: 1. Nick Pepper 7.516/177.17, 2. Dave Beck 7.545/177.87
Comp Bike: 1. Jerry Collier 8.203/158.45, 2. Klaus Brinkmann 8.569/153.06
Super Street Bike: 1. Tony Clark 8.146/178.57, 2. Karl Larcombe 8.468/172.41
9.90 Bike: 1. Paul Morris 9.905/131.58, 2. Andy Stephens 9.925/130.81
10.90 Bike: 1. TJ O'Brien 10.967/107.14, 2. Sandra Chaplain 11.001/122.95
Supertwin Fuel: 1. Ian Carruthers 9.119/144.23, 2. Jamie Millership 9.246/154.64
Supertwin Gas: 1. Ric Davis 9.569/134.73, 2. Sefton Whitlock 9.832/133.93
Supertwin Modified: 1. Dave Bartz 10.065/140.19, 2. TJ O'Brien 10.414/132.74
Supertwin Street: 1. Les Harris 10.581/132.74, 2. Dave Jones 10.941/124.31
We're now going to upload today's pictures - stay tuned.
18:15
We've just finished qualifying here at Shakespeare County Raceway. It's been one of the best days we can remember, track records and personal bests falling on run after run, congratulations to the track crew, race officials and racers.
The third session of Super Comp qualifying went as follows: Martin Curbishley 9.010/149.01, Dave Day 10.415/138.03, Zane Llewellyn 8.942/152.54, Mark Flavell 8.843/153.06, Paul Knight 9.052/155.17, Ian Tubb 8.551/157.34.
9.90 Bike started to come in in this final session with Paul Morris clocking 9.905/131.58 and Ady Reade 9.962/125.70. Brian Bowen's bike disappeared in a cloud of smoke after a 9.993/146.58, when the smoke cleared Brian was A-OK, one theory is that the turbo has gone. TJ O'Brien ran another 10.967 on his 10.90 Bike which we think keeps his lead.
The last session of Super Street also saw the class come in as Ian Brown in the very last pass of the session clocked 10.900 to take the lead, Lee Huxley in the other lane pulled a 0.503 RT and 10.910, Martin Green clocked 10.918, Dave Cherrett pulled a 10.922 alongside him, Matthew Wright ran another 10.9 at 10.942, and Leigh Morris clocked 10.988.
In Super Street Bike, Karl Larcombe pulled an 8.491/166.67 in the last session repeating his earlier form. Matt Nixon improved still further with an 8.629/161.87 whilst Graham Dance put up a consistent 8.532/172.41. Mark Fisher wasn't far off his last pass with an 8.608/168.54 whilst Dave Smith on his street-legal Busa pulled off a stout 8.836/164.23. Tony Clark clocked 8.330 at an even higher 179.28 - Tony is in the top five fastest racers here today regardless of the number of wheels!
In Comp Bike Phil Leamon improved still further to an 8.768/158.44, Klaus Brinkmann on Paul Rose's bike "Daisy" also improved to an 8.569/153.06. Paul has a couple of Comp Bikes and to avoid confusion we have dubbed it Paul's "udder" bike because of the paintjob which resembles a cow. Jerry Collier rounded off the session with a far-from-straight 8.203/158.45 on the Kawasaki H2 bike.
The last session of Super Gas qualifying went as follows: Frank Mason 9.885/141.07, Paul Hudson 9.920/138.46, Sarah Day 12.078/94.34, Rob Long 9.675/133.53, Martin Curbishley 9.902/146.10. Martin Curbishley is we think #1 in both Super Comp and Super Gas and both by +0.002!
The last session of Super Pro ET went as follows: Mick Cheley (8.60) 8.590/159.57, Paul Marston (8.90) 9.126/165.44.
The final session of Funny Bike qualifying went as follows: Neil Midgley 7.472/166.67, Dave Holland 7.256/179.28, Neil Diggens 10.235/104.41, Mike Chislett 7.684/174.42, Paul Knapp 7.335/184.43. Dave Holland after a day of problems takes #1 spot and Paul Knapp steps right up and clocks the fastest terminal speed by anyone here today, equalling the track record speed.
The final session of Pro Stock Bike qualifying went as follows: Helen Curran 8.580/145.16, Martin Bishop 7.899/168.54, Chris Hope 7.623/179.28, Nick Pepper 7.516/177.17, Dave Beck 7.545/177.87, Al Cook 17.464/40.39. Nick Pepper took the #1 spot with a stunning pass on a superb side-by-side with Dave Beck who wasn't that far behind him.
Only one qualifying place changed in Junior Dragster, Stuart Morrice taking #3 place with a 0.543 reaction. Holley Glassup leads at 0.535 and Nick Mugridge second at 0.542.
The final qualifying session of European Top Gas went as follows: Axel Seifert 9.058/145.63, Jorg Sussdorf broke off line. Harry van Schle 9.809/133.53, Gunther Sohn 8.919/110.84, Gerd Caspari 9.115/140.19.
Jamie Millership put in his first pass of the day on his Supertwin Fuel Bike and clocked 9.246/154.64. Ruch Carruthers on his second full pass on Stev Clutterbuck's bike clocked 9.119/144.23.
The last session of Custom Car Street Eliminator qualifying went as follows: Moose Hollingworth 11.391/125.70, Andy Frost 10.134/143.77, Mark Bracking 11.906/117.49, Steve Pateman 8.746/171.10, Tony Hill 12.746/105.63, Jeff Meads 9.272/157.34, Steve Neimantas 9.414/159.01.
Rob Stone recorded 9.926/135.95 and Cliff Griffin 10.287/111.94 in the last Outlaw Anglia qualifier.
TJ O'Brien consolidated his #1 in Supertwin Modified with a 10.414/132.74. In Supertwin Gas, Andy Smith improved to a 10.021/130.00, Ric Naylor to a 10.219/129.68 and Dave Hirst to 10.220/124.99. With the very last run of the session, Sefton Whitlock improved to consolidate his #2 spot with a 9.832/133.93.
The final session of Super Modified qualifying went as follows: Graham Ellis 8.060/173.08, Tim Garlick 19.095/39.86, Steve Rawlings 8.417/159.58, Jon Hogarth 8.190/169.17, Danny Cockerill 7.694/180.00, Andy Hone 8.387/160.71. Consistency to the thousandth of a second and to the flat mile per hour from Danny, and another PB for Steve Rawlings.
Stay tuned as we are now working on the official qualifying standings and today's pictures.
16:00
Some more close runs in the second round of Pro ET qualifying, Conrad Stanley running 10.041 on a 10.03 dial-in, and Jack Brewster putting in a 10.726 on a 10.71. Jon Evans had another go at our Perfect Light money with a 0.502 reaction. A similar situation in Sportsman ET where Rich Davis ran 12.313 on a 12.30, and Mark Anderson a 13.628 on a 13.60. Al Platt leads with a 13.408 on a 13.40 dial-in in the first session.
Pete Yates has joined Team B'Sting at the top of Wild Bunch qualifying with a 10.142 on a 10.14 dial-in, Team B'Sting also +0.002 over but in the #1 spot because they did it first. Dennis Hawkins also impressed with a 9.460 on a 9.45, as did Paul Harvey for the wrong reasons with an early-shut-off 9.049 on a 10.00 dial-in!
The second round of Super Comp qualifying went as follows: Mark Flavell 8.829/153.06, Dave Day 8.967/154.10, Martin Curbishley 8.902/150.50, Zane Llewellyn 8.924/154.64, Paul Knight 9.110/153.59, Paul Marston 8.847/166.67, Ian Tubb 8.567/158.48. Martin Curbishley cemented his #1 spot and it's all closed right up as racers get a handle on the excellent conditions.
Paul Morris took the lead in 9.90 Bike with a 9.925, Andy Stephens also on 9.925 but Paul did it first. Dave Hall is just behind them with a 9.948. A lot of racers are still breaking out, there is a noticeable tailwind which may not be helping. TJ O'Brien leads 10.90 Bike with a 10.967, Sandra Chaplain #2 at 11.001.
A lot of breakouts also in Super Street, Lee Huxley getting the right side with a 10.937/122.61 only for Matthew Wright to take the lead from him with a 10.934/127.48. Bob Lees is just behind with a 10.942.
Ric Davies went even quicker in round two os Supertwin Gas with a 9.569/134.73. That is a new world record for an RD Supertwin with slicks and a wheelie bar. Congratulations! It's turning into a bit of a Jade Racing benefit with Sefton Whitlock putting in a 9.897. David Hirst at 10.344 and Andy Smith at 10.354 impressed with their passes. Les Harris improved to 10.581 on his Supertwin Street, Davey Jones also stepping up with a 10.959. Mark Earry isn't far behind at 11.017.
Dave Bartz set a new track record of 10.065/140.19 on his Supertwin Modified bike, TJ O'Brien slightly improving to 10.629. Dave Witts still leads Supertwin Fuel, with a quicker 9.645/147.54. Rush Carruthers clocked 10.161/125.00 on Steve Clutterbuck's Harley, his first ever pass on the bike.
The second round of Super Gas qualifying went as follows: Martin Curbishley 10.166/142.86, Sarah Day 9.375/150.49, Paul Hudson 9.897/138.89, Rob Long 9.600/140.19, Frank Mason 9.944/143.31. Frank Mason takes the lead but still a few breakouts!
Mark Fisher improved with an 8.553/166.67 in the second round of Super Street Bike qualifying, Graham Dance also stepping up at 8.535/173.07. Pete Bellenie got into the eights with a great 8.795/171.76 on his new bike. Tony Clark needed three starters to get his bike going in this session, an orderly queue formed to help him out which reflects the spirit of the class, then he smacked his earlier time out of sight with an 8.146 at a track record 178.57.
Klaus Brinkmann had a massive improvement in Comp Bike with an 8.656/152.03 in the second qualifying session. Phil Leamon got into the eights with an 8.975/156.25 and Sarah Jane Head also running an 8.9 after her earlier 8.79.
The second round of Custom Car Street Eliminator qualifying went as follows: Sue Jackson 8.987/161.87, Steve Pateman 8.925/170.45, Al Simms 10.503/129.31, Andy Frost 10.011/141.51, Moose Hollingworth 11.473/126.76, Mark Bracking 11.941/118.73, Tony Hill 11.028/118.42, Jeff Meads 8.979/157.34, Steve Neimantas 9.126/160.14.
The second session of Super Pro ET qualifying went as follows: Wayne Nicholson (8.98) 9.627/147.06, Mick Cheley (8.60) 8.609/159.57, Paul Marston (8.90) 9.467/164.23. Mick Cheley right on the numbers and takes the lead.
Stu Chamberlain is getting a real handle on the new Predator Funny Bike with a 7.833/180.00, the second highest terminal speed by anyone today. Tim Blakemore put in a stormer at 7.310/177.17 to take the qualifying lead, whlilst Neil Midgley was back into the sevens at 7.701/167.91 as was Paul Knapp at 7.805/168.54.
The second round of Pro Stock Bike qualifying went as follows: Al Cook 8.250/144.69, Nick Pepper 11.547/71.60, Dave Beck 7.880/174.42, Martin Bishop broke off line, Chris Hope 7.745/164.84, Helen Curran broke off line.
Junior Dragster qualifying stays as-is, with Holley Glassup leading with a 0.535 RT.
The second round of Super Modified qualifying went as follows: Andy Hone 8.296/165.45, Ian Marshall 8.413/163.64, Rob Smallworth 7.877/176.47, Graham Ellis 8.787/162.45, Steve Rawlings 8.435/161.29, Tim Garlick 8.864/151.01, Jon Hogarth 14.027/59.52, Danny Cockerill 7.693/180.00. Danny smashes the track record and Steve Rawlings blasts his PB out of sight. Rob Smallworth and Tim Garlick step right up and some consistency from Ian Marshall.
The second qualifying session of European Top Gas went as follows: Jorg Sussdorf 11.557/98.04, Gerd Caspari 8.656/150.00, Cord Albers broke, Harry van Schle 14.597/47.71, Gunther Sohn 8.316/148.03, Axel Seifert 8.892/148.51 Andy Ludwig 12.563/97.40, Peter Weimar 9.181/141.51. Gerd Caspari goes into the eights on his new bike and Gunther Sohn puts in a very consistent showing.
We're going to have a third round of qualifying, stay tuned and we'll bring you the news from that one.
More news from Martyn Jones, on closer inspection he has broken a leg on the converter. A bolt holding the converter to the plate broke and caused a small amount of havoc. Martyn has another converter - in London, so he is out for the weekend.
13:30
When we left you, Super Pro ET racer Martyn Jones had just put transmission fluid on the track after his burnout. The good news is that it was not a transmission failure, "just" a line which blew. Martyn told us that the line didn't blow at either end, but right in the middle. It damaged a body panel too. But at least it is repairable, and Syd hopes to be back out later on. After the first session Mick Cheley leads Super Pro at 8.966 on an 8.60 dial-in, that shut off early as the car was all over the lane. Wayne Nicholson is second with a 9.53 (8.98) and Paul Marston third with an 8.855 (8.90).
The first session of European Top Gas went as follows: Axel Seifert 8.752/149.01, Harry van Schle 9.562/138.03, Gerd Caspari broke, Cord Albers 8.899/146.58, Jorg Sussdorf broke, Gunther Sohn 8.312/145.63, Peter Weimar 9.827/137.20, Riccardo Giliberto 8.521/151.52, Andy Ludwig 12.562/99.34. A whole bunch of Personal Bests from the European Top Gas racers and this the first session!
The first session of Pro Stock Bike qualifying went as follows: Martin Bishop 7.813/175.10, Nick Pepper 7.649/177.17, Chris Hope 7.547/176.47, Dave Beck 7.822/169.81, Al Cook left before lights ran, Helen Curran broke. So Chris Hope carries on where he left off at the Main Event with an excellent pass, Nick Pepper and Martin Bishop's crews were very happy with their performances judging by their reactions on the start line. Dave Beck left one of his exhausts behind on the start line.
The first session of Funny Bike qualifying went as follows: Neil Midgley 11.372/82.27, Dave Holland broke, Paul Knapp 14.509/54.88, Tim Blakemore 14.306/43.39, Neil Diggens 8.855/153.06, Stu Chamberlaiin 8.749/162.45, Shaun Branch 7.581/175.78, Mike Chislett 10.899/76.39, Chris Hall 7.433/181.45. An excellent pass by Chris Hall, coming back after engine damage, more there too since the bike stuttered off the line just a little.
The first session of Super Modified qualifying went as follows: Tim Garlick left before lights ran, Ian Marshall 8.461/162.45, Graham Ellis 8.023/173.08, Steve Rawlings 9.511/142.86, Andy Hone 8.448/159.01, Rob Smallworth 9.143/167.29, Danny Cockerill 7.852/153.38, Jon Hogarth 8.205/171.10. Danny Cockerill again taking the lead although putting the chute out before the finish line. Rob Smallworth was way out of shape in the first sixty feet or so.
Junior Dragster qualifying is very close with Holley Glassup #1 at 0.535 RT, Nick Mugridge 0.542, Adam Gleadow 0.554 and Joe Bond 0.556.
Stay tuned and we will be back with news from the second qualifying cycle.
11:30
Good morning and welcome from Shakespeare County Raceway on a pleasant summer day. We're here to bring you all the action in association with American Car Imports.
A huge, huge Thank You to Wayne and Simon of SCR's tech crew who have set up a half-mile phone extension for our use this weekend! We couldn't do it without you guys.
A couple of personals before we start, firstly a big Hello to Dave and Ali Southcombe whom we know are tuned in. Also a big Thank You from Tog and Kay (aka Mrs Tog) to everyone who sent messages on our wedding anniversary yesterday.
What we're going to do today is to try to bring you highlights from each class for each qualifying session. We apologise in advance if we miss some of the action whilst we're posting reports, but we'll catch as much as we can.
In the first session of Pro ET, Jon Evans in the Team Tokyo Toy Toytota put in a 10.06 against a 10.00 dial-in. Also dialling in 10.00 is Steve Wells in his wheelstanding Pop pick-up, pulling a 10.08. Jimmy Hibberd has returned to the track in Pro ET with a 10.187 against a 10.20 dial-in. Also coming very close but just a little too good was Bob Molden with a 10.689 on a 10.70 dial-in.
Team B'Sting lead Wild Bunch qualifying with a 12.702 on a 12.70 dial-in, excellent stuff. Not far behind is Chris Hartnell with a 9.278 on a dial-in of 9.25. We spotted legendary international dairy product smuggler Paul Stubbins crewing with Chris. Dick Sharp broke out with a 9.702/142.41 but judging by his crew's reaction it was a new PB. A great match-up in qualifying was between Tom and Alec Coe, both dialled in 11.20, Alec got there first with an 11.304.
In 9.90 and 10.90 Bike there have been a lot of breakouts! Steve Ingham put in a 10.139 in 9.90 and Sandra Chaplain an 11.001 in 10.90.
Martin Curbishley leads Super Comp with an 8.915, of the six other contestatnts five broke out! Dave Day is second at present with a 9.602. Paul Marston came close to winning our Perfect Light Award with a 0.404 RT. Similarly close was Leigh Morris with a 0.506 in Super Street.
Les Harris leads Supertwin Street with a 10.872 from Davey Jones at 11.250. Supertwin Modified is led by Dave Bartz at 10.242 from TJ O'Brien at 10.679. In Supertwin Gas the Jade Racing team are at it again with Ric Davies' 9.643 ahead of Sefton Whitlock at 9.950 and Andy Smith at 10.181. Nick Daniels appears to have overcome his problems from the last event with a 10.39 which pleased his crew very much. Dave Witts was the only Supertwin Fuel racer to turn out and put in a 9.696.
Outlaw Anglia is led by Rob Stone 10.071 at from Cliff Griffin at 10.574. Rob pulled a great twister of a wheelie even by his standards! All four Super Gas racers broke out in the first session, Sarah Day most notable at 8.87! One suspects Super Comp testing going on there.
Super Street Bike is led by Tony Clark with an 8.396 at a track record-equalling 178.57 from Karl Larcombe with a 8.468, Matt Nixon at 8.724, Mark Fisher at 8.822 and Graham Dance at 8.842. Jerry Collier is just going quicker and quicker on the Kawasaki Comp Bike, leading at 8.291 from Sarah Jane Head at 8.792. Rookie Lucy Thorn impressed with a 9.36.
Steve Pateman leads Custom Car Street Eliminator with an 8.817 at a huge 171.10. Championship co-ordinator Lee Child tells us that this will be a new speed record if Steve can back it up. There is more to come there as the Calibra hesitated very slightly off the start line. Sue Jackson is second at 8.866/161.87. Andy Frost went into the nines with his new Vauxhall with a 9.935/140.19.
As we went into Super Pro ET qualifying, Martyn Jones has unfortunately broken the transmission in his dragster. If you are a regular Eurodragster reader you will know how much trouble Martyn had to get here, here's hoping it's nothing terminal.
Stay tuned and we'll bring you more action soon.