2013 Main Event Race Report

Let's be honest, Easter was bloody freezing and we couldn't wait to see a warmer Santa Pod for this years Main Event. In some ways we got what we wished for and in some ways we didn't!

It all started with taking the dragster over on Thursday afternoon, where the weather (as usual) was all over the place, one minute the Sun was shining and the next there were hail stones. Unfortunately due to lack of availability in Team Rampage that day, it was just the case of leaving the truck and trailer where it was and having to set up and take the car to scrutineering the following day.

Friday morning was upon us and we got to the track as early as we could knowing that we would (potentially) be starting just after Pro ET at 9am. The forecast looked dreadful for the day but at around 8am the Sun was just peeping through the clouds, which was a bit of a tease and gave us false hope really! It wasn't long after we had got the car back from scrutineering that it started to drizzle, which then turned to rain, which then turned to heavy rain before eventually becoming stormy weather. Cold. Wet. Windy. It was on and off all day before it got to around 3pm when the Race Director decided to call it and so we looked to Saturday with more promise.

Saturday was a vast improvement. It was almost like being in a different country with how the weather had changed. For the first run, we had all mutually decided to wack a number on the board and go from there, so an 8.00 dial in was the target. Running an 8.06 left us in 3rd place after the first session, knowing full well that that number wasn't going to keep us there long! After the two scheduled Pro sessions, it was already quite late in the day but either way we thought leaving the dial in where it was, was a good move. We ran an 8.02, narrowing down the gap however we weren't the only ones nailing our dial ins, pair after pair and numbers were flying left right and centre eventually leaving us in the number 4 position. Not too shabby.

It was already Sunday and it had  been rumoured the night before that we would have just one more qualifier in the morning before going into eliminations. This proved to be the case and so with that in mind we went for the same 8.00 dial in hoping to narrow it down just a little more. Unfortunately, we ended up waiting on the line for longer than usual and the car had got hot enough that the temperature had gone off of the gauge. In the past the car had shown to run quicker when hot and this wasn't about to change, running through with a 7.97 breakout. Not improving on our time meant that we were going into eliminations in 9th place, which out of 40 odd cars could still be seen as fairly decent!

We were paired to race Noah Stutz from Switzerland in his gorgeous looking dragster. He had dialed in a 7.84 and we an 8.00 so we would marginally be leaving first. As all racers will know, they say if you never red light, you're not trying hard enough and on this occasion Dave tried a bit too hard, cutting a -0.007 red to Noah's -0.003 red which was a little aggravating considering we ran through with another 8.02, proving the car was running consistently. Never mind! This meant that our weekend had come to a premature end but it did mean that we could return Monday to watch all the brilliant racing from the Pro classes which ended up being worth it.

Despite going out early, Team Rampage can look forward to the Summer Nationals, especially with the dragster running its numbers. Congratulations to eventual winner Barry Giles and Vince Gibbs for running the perfect number, top stuff guys!

As always massive thanks to our sponsors for this year: Mini Gears UK who  provide a wide range of CNC machining and CNC gear grinding services, Payday Loans UK who can offer quick and hassle-free loans and All Aces Couriers who can provide super-quick and efficient delivering services at a fair price.