The Fast Show Report 2010

Pro Class

The Pro class qualifying was a highly dramatic affair. Both Leon and John lay down some very respectable runs early on, but despite performing well initially, Leon ended qualifying with mechanical problems, and John Bradshaw’s problems ran even deeper when he made contact with the wall after a wild ride all over the track. Chris Impey also struggled to make the best of the qualifying with a best time of 11.8 seconds: well below his capabilities.

Pro Class Semis

Straight into the semis, and Leon’s top qualifying time rewarded him with a bye run in round one. Due to continuing mechanical woes, Leon did the bare minimum of breaking the start beams to move on to the finals.

John Bradshaw failed to show for round one due to damage sustained to his car in qualifying, and Chris Impey was effectively handed the same privileges as Leon, with the track all to himself. Again, Chris did the bare minimum required to progress.

Pro Class Final

The finals were an interesting proposition: two potentially unwell cars lined up on the startline. Had either of the drivers overcome the problems they were experiencing?

The answer was soon apparent: Leon broke the beams and then shut down while Chris made a half-power pass right the way across the finish line taking the win. A dramatic day’s racing undoubtedly, but not quite what we were hoping to see.

Winner: Chris Impey

Fac Mod Class

Gary Gooding rose to the top in qualifying in his RX7, with a very strong run, but his celebrations were short-lived when his car unexpectedly went into the wall after finish line, undoubtedly putting him out of the competition for eliminations. Gary was fine, but the car needed some serious work.

Mick Begley and Mark Moseley both put in some decent times, Mark performing slightly below par and finding himself in 3rd place.

Keith Carr was well below his best in qualifying.

Fac Mod Class Semi Finals

Straight into the semis, and an unusual situation was at hand. Neither Gary Gooding or Keith Carr showed up for their elimination round. Gary undoubtedly because of his earlier crash, and Keith likely out due to unannounced mechanical problems.

This meant that the winner of the other semi was almost certainly going to be the overall round winner, and the pressure was on. Similar cars and similar performances were lined up on the startline as Mick and Mark took their places. The tension was tangible as the cars roared into stage and the lights dropped to green – Mark out of the blocks first and Mick just 0.1 of a second behind. The cars ran side-by side for the entire length of the track but Mick just managed to pull a little more speed out of his Skyline as they crossed the line, Mick fractionally ahead. A superb race.

Fac Mod Class Final

The final was gifted to Mick Begley by the no-shows in the semis, and he was able to coast to victory. Even “coasting” for Mick means a 100mph terminal speed though!

Winner: Mick Begley

Street Class

James Willday found himself at the top of the qualifying tables against a decent field. Improvements to the car over the winter allowing some really strong performances.

HKS Drag series newbie Mark Salem was second, also in a howling RX7, with the Skyline's of Robert Shadwell and Malcolm Thomas very close behind him.

Another newbie in the Nissan 200, John Stocker put in a respectable performance while Roy Ashby struggled to get his MR2 up to speed.

First Round

In the first round, James Willday was placed up against Roy Ashby, who failed to show up for his elimination, presumably due to ongoing mechanical difficulties. James grabbed the opportunity to relax and prepare for a perfect launch, fully testing his RX7 to it’s absolute max. A new personal best was set and James was onto a flying run- his first ever 9!

Mark Salem and John Stocker were head-to-head in their elimination, and the pair of newcomers both had lots to prove. Mark was marginally quicker off the line and over the ¼ mile too, putting him into the next round. A good performance from Jon though on his first outing.

The two Skylines paired up for the first elimination round, both running similar times, so a good race was all set to go. Malcolm got almost half a second lead from his excellent reaction times, and also pulled out a marginally quicker ET too to whisk him into the semis. Newcomer Robert Shadwell will be working on his reactions from now on for sure!

Street Class Semi Finals

Into the semis and James Willday had earned himself a bye run from his excellent qualifying earlier in the day. He ran through with a no-stress 12, saving himself for the final.

In the other semi, Malcolm Thomas threw it all away with a red-light foul that allowed an easy ride to the final for Mark Salem.

Street Class Finals

The two rotary-powered RX7s of James Willday and Mark Salem met in the final, and Mark was well aware that he was now up against a proven 9-second car. With that in mind, he pulled out an excellent reaction time, temporarily giving him the lead against James. But at half-track, James’ extra power had put them level, and by the finish line James had just nosed ahead. A thrilling race and a whitewash for the RX7s.

Winner: James Willday

FWD Class Qualifying

Guy Chamberlain topped the qualifying tables as usual with the only 10-second run of the class. However, Richard Batty managed to match his HUGE terminal speed using the extra grunt of the FTO V6.

Newcomer Robert Carnson was in third in the older gen Civic with a  highly respectable 11.8. Adam Buckly and Karl Hart followed up close behind with mid-12s and Neil Night struggled to keep up in his spare car. 

Round 1 FWD

Round one of eliminations saw Neil Knight inadequately equipped to take on the might of Guy Chamberlain’s Civic – Guy running on to yet another enormous terminal speed.

Richard Batty took on Karl Hart, and Richard’s reactions, ETs and terminal speeds made it impossible for Karl to keep up.

Robert Carnson was a bit slow on the lights, but managed to get ahead of Adam Buckley at the last second to take his first-ever round win.

FWD Class Semi Finals

In the semis, Guy was rewarded with a Bye run, but only staged then aborted to do the bare minimum to progress.

Richard Batty should have been up against Robert Carnson, but for some reason Robert failed to show for his elimination round and Richard got a free ticket to the final.

FWD Class Finals

The two stand-out performers of the day met in the finals for the big showdown. Richard Batty had the top end rush to compete, but Guy had been beating him all day on reactions and ETs.

As the lights dropped green, it was a familiar story, with Guy off like a rocket, but Richard’s chance to play catch-up never materialised as his car faltered and coasted across the line, Guy pulling out another stunning mid-10 for the victory.

Winner: Guy Chamberlain

The round points and season standings table are on the main 2010 Points page.