santa pod track

[Turbobird1]

Well after my last faux pas on here ie "why isn't the track being re laid" as the machines were rolling through the gates, And after running on the new track I thought I would be wrong not to congratulate the powers that be and the guys who have been doing their utmost to prep it on what will be a fantastic smooth and fast track,
The quality of the tarmac is plain to see... The way it was laid is also evident, A nice smooth close tarmac with very little void to fill which is already taking rubber, there will be record runs here for sure..
We knew it would be difficult last weekend and we knew we would struggle but we went to test new systems and we did that,
we got signed off on the first two parts of the licencing procedure on the funny car but as ourselves found
the representative numbers wasn't going to happen for Gareth any more than they were for Andy Robinsons beautifull new car or ourselves so we went home with the car intact...

The memorial for Paula was moving, The spreading of the ashes of my dear friend near the start line mean I never have to be far from Paula on race weekends and our extended drag race family is still intact
love and respect Ian...

all together a productive weekend

Edited by Turbobird1 on Tuesday 2nd April 10:08

[slinky]

It certainly looked a capable track, even with the temperatures that you guys had to endure!

Turbobird1 said:

The memorial for Paula was moving, The spreading of the ashes of my dear friend near the start line mean I never have to be far from Paula on race weekends and our extended drag race family is still intact
love and respect Ian...

I must admit to getting some dust in my eyes whilst stood watching the memorial at home.

The drag racing community is truly a family.

[scoobysuze]

The track certainly was amazing, with so many people (including us) setting new PBs... and it's only going to get better. I was a shame that so many racers pulled out of the meeting in advance, but even without their contribution of extra rubber, by the end of yesterday you could see that the track is starting to shape up very nicely, and we can't wait to get back out there!!!

I'll admit to having a few tears when Paula came back to her favourite place yesterday.. especially as it was Paula who persuaded Phil, who was just doing RWYBs, to enter his first ever competitive race all those years ago.
We're all going to miss her, but it's good to know she'll be watching over us all as she always did. The bravery of Hollie was amazing. Big love to Ian and all Paulas family and friends.

[topfuelgb]

Cant say much more than that guys, How Ian managed what he did, I will never know.
The track really was superb from every vantage point. From all the positive comments over the weekend i think everyone now wishes the main event wasnt so many weeks away.
Big congratulations to anyone who got down the track quickly, and to both tm drivers, doing incredibly well in the most difficult weather imaginable.
Roll on the end of May, I can feel myself getting horse at the thought already....
Darryl

Edited by topfuelgb on Tuesday 2nd April 16:37

[MajorLucky]

Here here

Top job by the track crew, in crazy conditions but so glad we battled on as its plain to see records are a coming

I did laugh at anyone that pulled due to conditions, THEIR loss

[NuthinFancy]

We have only just come down from the weekend, now back at work so i'm truly down with a thud.

We had a great time , the track was cold and a bit dicey at times but as the weekend went on it really came around a long long way. We wore out a few clutch discs getting down the track over the weekend but it all worked out well in the end to pick up the win. And typically as soon as all the racing was finished, the trophy presentation was met with some warmth and the sunshine came through. It was unfortunate that some teams did decide to pull out, but we all have to look after our gear as we see fit so hopefully we will see those teams back out soon at the next meeting.

Can't wait for the next meeting!

[Tet]

You also coated my windscreen in unburnt fuel when starting up next to me in the pairing lanes, Joe :-) Well done on the win.

[37chevy]

NuthinFancy said:

We have only just come down from the weekend, now back at work so i'm truly down with a thud.

We had a great time , the track was cold and a bit dicey at times but as the weekend went on it really came around a long long way. We wore out a few clutch discs getting down the track over the weekend but it all worked out well in the end to pick up the win. And typically as soon as all the racing was finished, the trophy presentation was met with some warmth and the sunshine came through. It was unfortunate that some teams did decide to pull out, but we all have to look after our gear as we see fit so hopefully we will see those teams back out soon at the next meeting.

Can't wait for the next meeting!

Well done joe and all of the nfaa drivers, some very impressive numbers run at the weekend considering the conditions! And well done to a few of the pro mod guys who got PBs too...plenty more to come me thinks!

Oh and graham, seriously you're making your life difficult with that car!!! How on earth you cope staging it I have no idea, full respect but I wince everytime it bounces into stage cos I think it's going to jump too far!

[Turbobird1]

37chevy said:

Oh and graham, seriously you're making your life difficult with that car!!! How on earth you cope staging it I have no idea, full respect but I wince everytime it bounces into stage cos I think it's going to jump too far!

there is no option when you have the car in pre stage with the rpm up to spool the turbos on the trans brake if there was a soft smooth way of doing it I would

Edited by Turbobird1 on Wednesday 3rd April 18:12

[NuthinFancy]

Tet said:

You also coated my windscreen in unburnt fuel when starting up next to me in the pairing lanes, Joe :-) Well done on the win.

Whoops! Yea she runs a bit rich when first starting up and my dad's on the petrol bottle, it soon clears though once the methanol comes through. Sorry about that

37chevy said:

Well done joe and all of the nfaa drivers, some very impressive numbers run at the weekend considering the conditions!

Thanks a lot We were just trying to get the car from A to B with the new changes. We are very happy with how the changes went. Even with all the slipping we did on the clutch the incremental speeds were looking really promising. Hopefully warmer climes will allow things to be a bit better.

[Burndown]

Good to see some progress with the Hockenheim track. I expect what was learnt during prep of the Pod track will also be useful in bringing the Hockenheim track up to speed.

[WJM]

Is Hockenhiem used much apart from the Nitrolympics ? The Pod is used most weekends in the summer but I don't know if as much happens in Germany.

Bill

[ribaric]

AFAIK, Hockenheim is a once per year deal. There is a growing band of racers who are looking to create something of a central European season and they have a race track at Bechyne in the Czech Republic, a good one too. A few of the guys tell me they hope to include Hockenheim but it seems this is proving uber difficult to achieve. Jerry Lackey or Benni are the people in the know. I hope they can update us with more details.
There are a growing number of "proper" race car teams in western Hungary, Austria and Croatia and, recently, a few airport tracks in Hungary have been getting to grips with track preparation. Hungary has a liberal view on the hurdles to jump if you want to make a drag race. Sadly, Austrian and German cities appear very anti, hence the need for everyone travel long distances just to get a race.

[*KT]

They have a race event on the Hockenheim track the week before the Nitrolympx.

[Benni]

Hi Kirstie & DragHeads ,

there is an event called "Public Race Days" the week before the NitrOlympX,
but is not a race, more like a track day for street/tuning cars & bikes,
interesting though as there are some rarities and supercars appearing.
(Maybe some PHs want to join the fun? It does not cost much, look at website.)
Dragster cars & bikes at PRD can have "Test & Tune" runs to accommodate to the track,
which will be back to earlier good standards if my wish comes true.
I have been told that the Hockenheim Ring cut some Asphalt
out of the two spots that were missed by last year´s "cleanup",
and ordered the same quality for the new surface.

[MajorLucky]

I had planned to go to it, but we decided to do the Nitrolympix again instead,