MSA British Drag Racing Championship
Round One race report
The opening salvoes in the 2003 MSA British Drag Racing Championship have been fired. Four teams braved the elements to compete at Santa Pod Raceway over the Easter weekend, bringing state of the art drag racing technology into play.
A cold track made it tricky to transfer the 3000 bhp that a Top Methanol car produces to the ground, with all teams suffering from tyreshake at some point, some more than others – Steph Milam getting right out of shape in her semi-final showing against Turner.
Dave Wilson unveiled his new Brad Hadman
chassis, as used by the best teams in the
Doug Ripley very nearly missed out on round one because he had the wrong fire suppression system in his CC Racing Funny Car and failed initial scrutineering. Never one to give up, he was able to persuade someone to open their factory on a Bank Holiday, drive there, refurbish the system, drive back and fit it to the car and pass inspection in time for the last day of qualifying. The reduced number of qualifying passes available resulted in his last place on the ladder.
The first semi-final saw
The final gave lane choice to Wilson by just 2 thousandths of a second, but when the green came on it was Turner away first, his holeshot keeping him in front all the way to the finish line for a victory – 5.656 at 238 mph vs 5.708 at 245 mph, in the Round One final.
Qualifying
Pos Name
Time Speed
1 Dave Wilson 5.665, 253.638
2 Rob Turner 5.688, 247.327
3 Steph Milam 6.673, 213.456
4 Doug Ripley 11.113,
115.585
Eliminations
L Dave Wilson 5.636,
251 mph - Winner
R Doug Ripley 7.983,
142 mph
R Dave Wilson 5.708, 245 mph
L Rob Turner 5.656, 238 mph - Winner
R Rob Turner 5.638,
230 mph - Winner
L Steph Milam shut down
Points standings
after Round One
1 |
Rob
Turner |
117 |
2 |
Dave
Wilson |
98 |
3 |
Stephanie
Milam |
76 |
4 |
Doug
Ripley |
75 |