Records Shattered at Santa Pod
By Andy Marrs
I think Tog summed it up perfectly when he said
"After every FIA event we all tell ourselves "It can't get any
better than this," and every time we're rapidly proven wrong."
First up, Top Fuel. Imagine the scene, the second round
of qualifying and two British drivers are sat on the line in the middle of
the Queen's Golden Jubilee weekend, one is the former FIA European Top
Fuel Champion of 1998 Barry Sheavills, the other is the reigning Champion
Andy Carter. Half a second after both cars entered stage Ian Marshall
started the tree on a run that can only be described as historic.
Barry left first with a .398 red light with Andy waiting
just 2 tenths longer, just under 5 seconds later the roar of nitro engines
was replaced with the roar of thousands of thrilled spectators as the
numbers appeared on the scoreboards. Barry had become the first driver in
Europe to pass 300 mph with a stunning 4.970 304.71 mph blast. Amazingly
Andy became the second driver past this landmark just .211 of a second
later with a 4.897 303.07. So how many firsts was that then? By my count
at least 5!
 | The first 300 in Europe |
| The first 4.8 in Europe |
| The first side by side 4's outside of the USA |
| The first side by side 300's outside of the USA |
| The first official 300+ mph record outside of the USA |
The next day Barry was unfortunate not to backup the
first run by just 0.01 mph with a 301.65, though the faster run backed up
the slower to set a new European record. Andy did manage to backup the
4.897 with a 4.922.
As well as Andy becoming a member of the 4 second club
Kim Reymond gained full membership with a 4.994 whilst beating Andy in the
final.
So could anyone in Top Methanol put on a show like his
or her big cousins? Yet another Brit, Dave Wilson, had a shot at it! A
5.656 was backed up by a too quick 5.565 and a 252.84 was backed up by a
252.58 to smash his own European records.
Any more highlights? You bet. How about the highest
terminal speed for a fuel Funny Car outside of the USA? John Spuffard (who
else) put a 286.05 on what must have been the best-prepared track Europe
has seen.
Henri Joosten in his Pro Mod dipped into the 6's for the
first time and liked it so much he stayed there pretty much for the whole
weekend! He enjoyed himself so much he decided to join the 200 mph club
too! A 6.850 at 202.00 made him a very happy man indeed.
The list goes on and on.
A full report can be viewed on Eurodragster:
http://www.eurodragster.com/santapod/live/2002fiamainevent/default.htm
I'm off to find a darkened room to lie down in for a
while...
Andy Marrs
TSI Timers (Europe)
andrew.marrs@bedhos.anglox.nhs.uk
