EuroFinals 2006

Santa Pod 7th – 10th September

After the success of the previous weekend’s testing we were all looking forward to “the finals”. We were not scheduled to run on Thursday, even so there was still plenty to do. One of the priorities was to pick up new stickers from one of our main sponsors, Balzers, who have undergone a name change to Oerlikon Balzers Coatings  That done, it was put up the awning, check over the car, assemble back up rods and pistons plus other little bits and pieces ready for  Friday.

We were scheduled to run after the 1st round of FIA qualifying which in the event was just after 1.30. When John did his burnout, the car had exactly the same strong, throaty roar as it had at the test day – it sounded awesome!

From trackside it looked a hard launch with a 0.94 sixty foot, the car hooked up and was away. John was off the throttle around 1000 ft as the tyres started spinning, running through in 5.972 at a slowing 167mph.

John commented  “The car was running ok, a little down on power possibly, then around 1000ft the rear tyres broke loose and the car got loose so I aborted the run and coasted through.

Routine service required no more than the usual service items and we were ready to go, subject to some fine tuning to the mag timing and fuel system to suit the weather and track conditions we would have on Saturday.

A bright, sunny day with good air is what we got, meaning minimal adjustments.
We were pleased to be joined for the day by some of our sponsors and their guests, who had between them  “ first timers”, “ not been for years”, and the “drag racing junkies”. Thank you to you all for your support.
 
Only 1 run was scheduled, again after the FIA classes, however if time permitted we could get a second run.

John had the left lane with Leif Helander in the right. Leif was out of it early with John long gone in an almost carbon copy of the previous day, the run was a little slower to half track, but had picked it up by 1000ft, before the tyres spun again near the 1200ft mark. A slightly quicker ET at 5.798 with a slowing 187.6

John had a slightly different perspective -  “With the burnout done and the crew checks under the body done, Bob pulled me forward, lent across and turned up the fuel volume and indicated to me to go into pre stage. Bob then stood back and walked away. What a surprise when I looked forward I could see a P51 Mustang coming down the track over my lane, What an awesome sight! The car launched and was going good till again the tyres started to lose traction around the 1100ft mark. So that was the end of that run, well almost!  I cleared the bottom of the track got out and watched a fine flying display of the P51 Mustang.”
 

John already ahead, with Leif in the background
The shot shows how the tyres distort under power

The call from race control came around 4 o’clock that we would get another run. The car had already been serviced, with a couple of minor adjustments, and was ready to go after warming up. Bob and Bill had taken a good look at the track, and we went with the left lane. The car sounded even stronger than the previous runs.A hard launch and John was gone, stopping the clock at 5.281 sec at 267.99. What a happy team we were!! The news got even better, as reported by the oracle of www.eurodragster.com

“ A superb run from Spuff, 0.932 to sixty feet, the briefest of pedals at about 150 feet, 3.600/230.66 at half track and a little haze from the tyres towards the top end. The quickest ever Fuel FC run in Europe, well done Spuff! “

And the view of the driver – “After the first 2 runs Bob made some changes in the clutch department. Well that worked ! the car left hard and ran straight, I shut off early, about 1200ft, as the car was getting a little loose, which is why the speed was down. It now looks like we are getting a hold of the tune up and going the right way.

THE ACTUAL TIMING TICKET

Servicing got under way and quickly revealed No 2 main bearing had started to break up and had put a slight mark on the crank. It was decided the best option would be to do a complete motor change and have this crank polished. It was going to be a late night. All was finished and the car put away around 11.

Sunday dawned warm and misty, there was a slight delay in the start of racing while some overnight moisture was dried from the track. Today we welcomed guests from our sponsors, Oerlikon Balzers Coatings and Winged Aviation

Racing would follow the established pattern in that we would run in the afternoon following the FIA classes. After the engine change there were minor tweaks to the tune up to try and eliminate the tyres spinning at the top end.

At the risk of becoming boring, need I say “ strong burnout”, “car sounded superb”, “hard launch”, unfortunately the story now changes! Dropped a cylinder around 400ft, blower belt broke, 7.52 secs. Meanwhile in the other lane, Shockwave were running their first “ 5” for 2 years. The competition is hotting up as Leif Helander had run a 5.35 over the weekend.
John was his usual philosophical self “Some times lady luck goes your way,
unbeknown at the time, and if you look at the picture below, you will see the body burst panel has broken loose and is stuck in the injector? This may also account for the motor losing a cylinder on the hit and the broken blower belt. If the car had made it down the track and the body panel was still stuck in the injector  there may well have been a very big bang?    

A great shot from Ivan Sansom as you can see
the cylinder going out and the loose burst panel

Thankfully servicing was back to routine, other than fitting a new belt, we were ready to go in our accustomed spot after the FIA classes. We didn’t get to go again as the racing was halted early.

The car and trailer were loaded up as the car was due to make its latest “show” appearance on the following Wednesday and Thursday at an open day being held at the factory of Norton Motorsports in Milton Keynes. Peter Norton had got the idea after seeing the car on show at Balzers open day at the beginning of the year and subsequently visiting Santa Pod as part of a Motorsports Industry Association group, and seeing the car race.

That’s it for now, although the racing may not yet be over for 2006 – watch this space. Thank you to all the team for their hard work and to all our sponsors for their continued support. The new European record wouldn’t have happened without you.

All photos courtesy of Ivan Sanso