PTM Show Report 2011

Pro Class

Three cars entered, with new-boy Andy Robinson set to debut his new Evo, but problems for Andy meant that the car never surfaced, and it was down to John Bradshaw and Leon Green to put on a show. And what a show it was! John looked awesome in his Nissan 350Z as he set a 7.0 at almost 200mph.  Leon was having some problems getting off the line, but still set a good 8.1 at almost 190mph.

Pro Class Final

Leon Green had to pull out all the stops to beat John, but he got it all wrong instead. Rolling out of stage he failed to record a time, but it was still a great chase to the finish as the two kings of the Jap Drag scene thundered down the track side by side. John recorded a stunning 6.9-second run and Leon would have set a great time too if it weren’t for his foul.

Winner: John Bradshaw

Fac Mod Class

Three cars entered turned to two when Stuart Taylor’s recently modified Impreza failed to qualify after suffering clutch problems. But Stuart Williams was bang on form with some great runs that pushed his performance to new highs, qualifying with a 8.9. Mark Moseley desperately chased points when his main race car died on him and he hopped into a spare car to run a 10.7.

Fac Mod Class Final

With only two cars qualified, it was straight to the finals, where Mark’s only hope was to make a great getaway from the lights and keep his fingers crossed. He didn't and instead pulled a red light, Stuart kept calm and ran a strong 9.1.

Winner: Stuart Williams

Street Class

A decent field of racers meant that qualifying was going to take on some real significance, and although some of the entrants gave up after testing, a great field of cars made it to the qualifiers.

James Willday headed the field with an on-form 10.0. David Greenhalgh debuted an impressive new R34 Skyline that had heaps of power which David eventually managed to get to grips with to get an excellent 10.20 second run. Mark Salem followed on half a second behind with a strong 10.7. New racer Stuart Nice was mid-pack with an 11.0 and Jeff Ludgate had a great “spare car” at his disposal to set a competitive 11.0 also. Sarah Moseley was looking strong and competitive with an 11.3, while John Stocker was a bit off-pace with a 12.9. Malcolm Thomas bravely campaigned a stock-ish 350Z in the absence of his proper race car, but failed to upset any apple-carts with his 13.6 qualifying run.

Street Class Quarter Finals

James WIllday was up against Malcolm Thomas in round 1, and it was fairly straightforward for James to show Malc his heels. Malcolm was having clutch problems that meant he was way of his earlier pace, and James managed another impressive low-10 to take the win.

Stuart Nice took on Jeff Ludgate, and despite his newbie status, he managed a great reaction to beat Jeff off the line. However, Jeff had the power to drive around Stuart and take the win, with a great 10-second run.

David Greenhalgh was able to destroy John Stocker with a better reaction and a powerful run, while John languished with a problem that left him crawling over the finish line.

Mark Salem had a job on his hands with Sarah Moseley, as she out-reacted him and charged towards an excellent 11.4 second run. Mark Responded with all he could to pass Sarah, and ran a superb 10.8 to take the win.

Street Class Semi Finals

James Willday was up against Jeff Ludgate in what should have been a good race, but Jeff was slow to leave the line and then aborted the run, giving James an untroubled run to the finish line.

Another great pairing failed to live up to its promises when David Greenhalgh went up against Mark Salem. The two should have been well matched, and both were fairly evenly matched as they left the lights, but David’s Skyline failed him and he aborted the run while Mark Salem screamed away into the distance.

Street Class Finals

Once again, an all-rotary final was to be had between Mark Salem and James Willday. James had the faster car, but if Mark played the drag racing game right, beating James was within his reach. So as the lights dropped green, Mark was off the line without delay. James took twice as long to get moving and was then playing a tough game of catch-up. Both cars flashed across the line side-by-side, but it was Mark who took the win, snatching the victory from James with his lightning reactions!

Winner: Mark Salem

FWD Class Qualifying

9-second-man Adam Buckley’s bad luck continued as he broke in practice before making a qualifying run, leaving Paul Cresswell to top the tables with a brilliant new personal best 10.7 second run. His car was launching well, and took the top qualifier despite relatively low terminal speeds. Neil Knight, Douggie Gemmell and Karl Hart were all serious contenders running convincing 11-second runs. The race was on!

FWD Class Semi Finals

Paul Cresswell was up against Karl Hart in the first round. Both drivers were fast off the lights, but Paul Cresswell appeared to have a gear selection problem that allowed Karl to fly across the finish line unchallenged.

Neil Knight took on Douggie Gemmell in the first round and was way faster off the line than Douggie, but he too suffered a fault and coasted across the line, allowing Douggie through to the final.

FWD Class Finals

Douggie and Karl met in the finals, and it should have been a good race, both drivers glad to have made it to a final. But whilst Douggie ran an excellent 11.2 second run to take the win, Karl failed to record a time, throwing the win away at the crucial moment.

Winner: Dougie Gemmell

The round points and season standings table are on the main 2011 Points page.