Santa Pod this weekend
Discussion
Top Fuel is like nothing else. If you're heading up to the Pod for your first time, take earplugs! There's not a lot that can prepare you for a five second quarter mile with terminal speeds over 300mph. Cars so loud you can't focus on them properly and so fast that they're doing 100mph by the time the back wheels pass the lollypop.
The Fireforce 3 jet car is awesome too. Takes marinally longer to spool up to speed than the Top Fuels, but has set a fastest-in-the-world quarter mile terminal speed of 336mph (5.7sec qtr mile). And a lot of flame!
It's an exciting weekend all round over the bank hols. The UK Monster Truck Racing series kicks off at the Thame Showground nr Oxford. Not quite as quick as the drag racing, but 0-60 in 4 secs from a five tonne 2000bhp truck is pretty impressive, and there's real competition for the title this year. A cheaper option than Santa Pod too.
The Fireforce 3 jet car is awesome too. Takes marinally longer to spool up to speed than the Top Fuels, but has set a fastest-in-the-world quarter mile terminal speed of 336mph (5.7sec qtr mile). And a lot of flame!
It's an exciting weekend all round over the bank hols. The UK Monster Truck Racing series kicks off at the Thame Showground nr Oxford. Not quite as quick as the drag racing, but 0-60 in 4 secs from a five tonne 2000bhp truck is pretty impressive, and there's real competition for the title this year. A cheaper option than Santa Pod too.
If you're only going for one day and you're not overly concerned about seeing who actually wins, I'd go Sunday, as that's final qualifying and you'll get more bang for your buck.
I know it gets said every time drag racing gets mentioned on here, but if you've never seen two top fuel dragsters running in anger, be prepared to be utterly floored. You simply cannot believe what you've just seen, heard and felt. Best way to describe it is "visceral". I know it's the first big event of the season, so there will undoubtedly be early season gremlins, but quite a few of the top fuel field have the parts and potential to run VERY fast this year. I'm expecting 4.70s and 310+ at some point this weekend from someone.
Usual big event rules apply - take your own food and drink (and a bag for the rubbish pleeeease), don't forget the sun tan lotion and aim to get there early. Sitting around with a bacon sarnie and a coffee waiting for things to get started is infinitely more preferable than overheating in a jam three miles away. I speak from bitter experience.
Have yet to see the scameras out in force for big events at Santa Pod (can't comment on the lifestyle events), but I'm sure they'll be lurking somewhere, so keep 'em peeled!
I know it gets said every time drag racing gets mentioned on here, but if you've never seen two top fuel dragsters running in anger, be prepared to be utterly floored. You simply cannot believe what you've just seen, heard and felt. Best way to describe it is "visceral". I know it's the first big event of the season, so there will undoubtedly be early season gremlins, but quite a few of the top fuel field have the parts and potential to run VERY fast this year. I'm expecting 4.70s and 310+ at some point this weekend from someone.
Usual big event rules apply - take your own food and drink (and a bag for the rubbish pleeeease), don't forget the sun tan lotion and aim to get there early. Sitting around with a bacon sarnie and a coffee waiting for things to get started is infinitely more preferable than overheating in a jam three miles away. I speak from bitter experience.
Have yet to see the scameras out in force for big events at Santa Pod (can't comment on the lifestyle events), but I'm sure they'll be lurking somewhere, so keep 'em peeled!
I can honestly say that i have never 'felt' noise like it, and found it difficult to believe just how fast the cars are in the flesh. Cant even imagine what it would be like to be behind the wheel. As for the nutters in the barn behind the burnouts well . . . I couldnt even breath, and that was just for the bikes !
MSportUK said:Excellent! This weekend, I was planning Superbikes at Silverstone on Sunday and Drag Racing at Santa Pod on Monday. I'm going to have to try to fit in some time for this now as I live in Thame so it would be rude not to.
It's an exciting weekend all round over the bank hols. The UK Monster Truck Racing series kicks off at the Thame Showground nr Oxford.
What's the Main Event going to be like tomorrow (Saturday)? Worth going?
The DJ 27 said:
We're aiming to leave at 06:30, should get there around 9:00. Please tell me I'm going to be early enough?
That's normally the time I aim to be there for. From experience over the last five or six years, the traffic really starts building up after 10am. Nothing more frustrating than being sat on Airfield Road listening to the first round of top fuel....
Think Saturday has a full shedule of pro class qualifying (two sessions). The running orders are Here
standing in the Barn is fun! I actually find the nitro Harleys worse than the fuel cars. They have a sort of low end thump that goes right through you. Even stood there for the jet once...not doing that again!
Spoilt for choice this weekend! Looks like I cant make pod, I would have got grandstand seats had I known in advance! Would you be able to tell me when the next event like this is? Heading to see the tuscans on monday. Gonna look into this monster truck thing. Its something Ive always wanted to see! Thanks for the tips!
Just have to wait until next timeWell I’ve just got back and I have to say anybody who didn’t go to this has missed a real treat, I’ve never seen a pair of top fuelers run in anger before and it was quiet the most staggering spectacle I’ve ever seen, and heard and felt!! You cannot put into words the shear violence that is unleashed when these things leave the line, the first run I watched I quite literally jumped out of my skin!!
I spent quite a while wandering around the pits watching the mechanics rebuild the engines and I couldn’t believe how friendly and open it all was, you could get right up to the cars and chat with the mechanics, not like other race meetings I’ve been to where everything is cordoned off and you need a friggin’ telescope to see the engine! I also nearly killed myself by standing way too close to a top fueler when they started it in the pits, lets just say I think they’d struggle to pass the MOT emissions test. I should have been suspicious when all the mechanics donned gas masks!
I think me hero of the day award goes to the guys who ride the top fuel bikes, it says in the programme that they have to wear bomb proof vests just in case the 1000bhp engine that they are lying on top of ,goes pop!
Would you fancy lying on top of this at 200mph, they must be mad.
Andy
>> Edited by andys2 on Sunday 29th May 23:40
>> Edited by andys2 on Sunday 29th May 23:41
I spent quite a while wandering around the pits watching the mechanics rebuild the engines and I couldn’t believe how friendly and open it all was, you could get right up to the cars and chat with the mechanics, not like other race meetings I’ve been to where everything is cordoned off and you need a friggin’ telescope to see the engine! I also nearly killed myself by standing way too close to a top fueler when they started it in the pits, lets just say I think they’d struggle to pass the MOT emissions test. I should have been suspicious when all the mechanics donned gas masks!
I think me hero of the day award goes to the guys who ride the top fuel bikes, it says in the programme that they have to wear bomb proof vests just in case the 1000bhp engine that they are lying on top of ,goes pop!
Would you fancy lying on top of this at 200mph, they must be mad.
Andy
>> Edited by andys2 on Sunday 29th May 23:40
>> Edited by andys2 on Sunday 29th May 23:41
You can't fall off a car either!
Good day yesterday - loads of personal bests and lots of promise for the coming season. Nice to see a decent field in top methanol dragster and especially good to see Krister Johansson get the injected nitro car running the numbers. Should be a few more cars joining the tour over the course of the season as well. All we need now is the return of the Maltese teams. Should be more top fuel cars coming this season as well, so who knows how many there'll be come the Eurofinals? Ditto pro mod - 20 cars at the first event is brilliant. Shame the nitro funny cars struggled again, but that's something of an ongoing saga unfortunately.
Highlights for me were Tommy Moller's 308mph blast, plus Trevor Capewell lowering his PB on every pass and getting oh so close to a 5 with 6.005. Nice to see the UK teams stepping up in TMFC. I think PH's resident Pro ET team are doing quite well too.
Glad I know my sneaky shortcut to avoid the traffic though, as it was busy even when I got there just after 9:00am! Santa Pod looks in better shape than it's ever been, there seem to be more advertisers than there's ever been and the place was packed. Added bonus, I found an even sneakier sneaky short cut on the way home
Good day yesterday - loads of personal bests and lots of promise for the coming season. Nice to see a decent field in top methanol dragster and especially good to see Krister Johansson get the injected nitro car running the numbers. Should be a few more cars joining the tour over the course of the season as well. All we need now is the return of the Maltese teams. Should be more top fuel cars coming this season as well, so who knows how many there'll be come the Eurofinals? Ditto pro mod - 20 cars at the first event is brilliant. Shame the nitro funny cars struggled again, but that's something of an ongoing saga unfortunately.
Highlights for me were Tommy Moller's 308mph blast, plus Trevor Capewell lowering his PB on every pass and getting oh so close to a 5 with 6.005. Nice to see the UK teams stepping up in TMFC. I think PH's resident Pro ET team are doing quite well too.
Glad I know my sneaky shortcut to avoid the traffic though, as it was busy even when I got there just after 9:00am! Santa Pod looks in better shape than it's ever been, there seem to be more advertisers than there's ever been and the place was packed. Added bonus, I found an even sneakier sneaky short cut on the way home
Ended up going in the end, and very, very glad I did. I have never seen such power, fury and sheer violence unleashed on 2 and 4 wheels. Was slightly disappointed that nobody cracked 300mph yesterday, but 4.8 seconds at 289mph is still bloody impressive. Unfortunatley missed the nitro funny cars at the end, but listened on the radio on the way out.
Highlights for me:
Just seeing a top fuel car run flat out. Never seen anything like it
The noise of the top fuel bikes
The smell of the top methanol funny cars and dragsters was amazing.
Standing in the Barn watching the American Car Imports Top Methanol dragster run at 251mph in the morning.
Highlights for me:
Just seeing a top fuel car run flat out. Never seen anything like it
The noise of the top fuel bikes
The smell of the top methanol funny cars and dragsters was amazing.
Standing in the Barn watching the American Car Imports Top Methanol dragster run at 251mph in the morning.
andys2 said:
I think they'd struggle to pass the MOT emissions test. I should have been suspicious when all the mechanics donned gas masks!
Yeah, the thick orange fumes are more than a few Marlboros-worth of lung damage! Glad to head it turned out well with some good action. We made the mistake of believing the weather predictions of showers so went elsewhere.
Had a cool time at Monster Trucks on Monday, even though Thunderfoot and Blown Thunder didn't make it, and Nigel broke Bigfoot 17's second gearbox of the weekend on his second run. A few of the trucks touching 2000bhp now so it's getting lively. Will be all-action when the other two trucks return and there are two more currently being built. Next event is Herts Showground on 25-26 June.
Sorry to the PH guy I spoke to for not being more chatty - had been to Combe and Thruxton already and hadn't got much sleep over the weekend!
More pics online here.
>> Edited by MSportUK on Tuesday 31st May 21:50
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