Round One of qualifying opened with Steph Milam showing that the new combination had real promise. She ran her best ever 60' (0.9873) and ran a pedalled 7.04/161 off the trailer with the car lifting the front wheels with every gear change. Gareth Ellis had more qualifying woes, shutting off after the burnout with the engine running very poorly due to the new fuel system being far too rich. Rob Turner also launched hard but lost traction further out, drifted towards the wall and shut off early. It was then the turn of Danny Bellio and Johan Lindberg.


Danny Bellio

Danny cut a good light, launched hard and ran a creditable 5.877/225mph but Johan hit shake very quickly and pedalled it until the blower belt broke, with one end punching a fist-sized hole in the 'diaper tray' under the engine. The last pair was Jonnie Lindberg and Leif Andreasson. Both were on form, with Andreasson having a slightly better 60' (0.9386) but Jonnie the better RT (0.18).  Leif went through to a 5.6364 on 7 cylinders, having dropped a valve off the start line. Jonnie kept all 8 cylinders lit and ran 5.5646/256.69 mph to end the session on the top of the pile.


Andreasson strapped up and race ready


Johan Lindberg in the car.. and team mate and brother Jonnie outside

The next session opened with Johan Lindberg having a good launch but hitting shake about 100' past the tree and  and pedalling long and hard in an attempt to get down the track. He managed a 5.8334/249 mph. Rob and Gareth were up next, with the Turners recording a 5.8011/245 mph for a new Personal best. Gareth was still suffering from fuel set up issues, but managed a 7.52 to get on the qualifying list. Steph, now with more weight in the front of the chassis, had a slow start and then drove through shake but couldn't improve on her first round time but Danny was a tenth quicker, running 5.7869/247 mph but shutting off early and making the first track exit. Leif Andreasson spun the tyres from the moment he hit the throttle  and never recovered from it. Jonnie had a better start but pedalled at 200 feet and was working hard to record a good time. The effort was worthwhile, improving to a 5.572/259mph.

The third session opened with Leif having the same problems off the line. Another up-in-smoke 15 second run. Gareth and Steph were next, with Gareth’s team having re-worked the fuel system over night and re-seated the supercharger which they had found was lifting and losing them boost on the run. Once again not the best start from Steph and a bit of pedallling but it settled down past the eight mile and picked up speed, ending up with a 6.2548/225.41. Gareth had a faster 6.235/229mph to show that the hard work in the pits had paid off. Danny and Johan then paired up, but Johan was 'bulbed' on the tree for taking too long to stage, so no time for him. Danny improved again to 5.6647/248.22 mph, which was a new Personal Best. The last pairing was Jonnie and Rob. Both had good 60' times but Rob hit shake and drove through it, moving around the lane but staying with it to run a slowing 5.9149/203 mph as the tyres spun when he hit the second gear shift. Jonnie ran a best yet of 5.6006/262 mph, showing what was possible.


Rob Turner

LINK TO RESULTS SHEETS (pdf)
ELIMINATION LADDER
FINAL QUALIFICATION LIST

Courtesy of TSI Timers and Santa Pod Raceway

Jonnie Lindberg (right) interviewed as no. 1 qualifier before the eliminations by one of the track announcers Darryl Bradford.

Into the last qualifying session, and Steph had another poor start, pedalling for all she was worth off the line and past the tree. She then picked up the pace as the clutch started to work, improving to a 6.0927/233 mph, close to her Personal Best.

Johan came out next and was shut off by his team after the burnout. The rod connecting the brake lever to the master cylinder had broken. It was a lucky escape. If it had happened on the run he would have been heading off into the woods and on towards Olney with no brakes. Gareth ran a bye and  made a good pass, short-shifting to a 6.1313/224 mph.

Danny and Rob lined up next, with Danny recording another PB of 5.6429/256 mph. Unfortunately he bent the crank doing it and that was the last we saw of him for the weekend.


Andreasson

Leif Andreasson finally found a clutch setting that worked and set his best qualifying time with a 5.628/252 mph.

Jonnie Lindberg  couldn't improve on his previous time but still ran a 5.6059 to show it wasn't luck that put him on top of the pile.


Jonnie Lindberg

ELIMINATIONS-QUARTER FINALS
The eliminations opened with Jonnie Lindberg on a bye run but leaving nothing to chance. He went all-out, stopping the clocks with a 5.5153/260 mph, which included a slight pedal just before the eight mile.

Next up was Rob Turner against Johan Lindberg and the race quickly turned into a pedal-fest with both cars fighting for traction. Johan was getting closer and closer to the centreline and he eventually had to lift, giving the win to Rob.

The next pairing was Leif and Gareth and once more the giant fell, with Gareth getting a good holeshot (0.1221 v 0.2204) and then managing to stay just in front when Leif hit shake. That loss ended Andreassons shot at the title, handing the championship to Jonnie Lindberg.

The last pair would have been Danny and Steph, but with Danny out with a damaged crank it left Steph a bye (6.1536/218 mph but trailing smoke at the top end) into the semis, where there were now 3 British and 1 Swedish competitor.

SEMI-FINALS
The first pairing put Jonnie up against Rob and the Lindberg car showed no mercy. It left first and headed off into the distance, recording an incredible 5.4691/262 mph, very clsoe to his world record time.

The second semi-final was an all-British race with Gareth on a bye when Steph was a no-show. She had dropped a valve in the first round and it wasn't fixable in the time between rounds. Gareth ran 6.5713/224 mph, heading towards the wall.


Gareth Ellis

FINAL
The final saw David take on Goliath, but this time the big guy won. Gareth was shut off after the burnout, a sizeable puddle of liquid visible on the track after the car was pushed back. Jonnie wasn't taking it easy though. He staged, sent the RPM climbing and left the line hard and fast, making his straightest pass yet. It was an incredible run, with a new European Record time of 5.4266/261 mph.

Also - Don´t miss to read the interview with new champion Jonnie Lindberg in a separate article in this edition!


It was an emotional moment at the startline for team Lindberg after the final