2013 National Finals Race Report and Season Review

After what was a hectic European Finals in Super Pro (in a good way mind!) it was time for the last event of the year and it soon sunk in that another race season had passed already; the years seem to go by quicker and quicker as we get older (and I'm only 18!). For Team Rampage it has been a fairly decent season overall, winning both the closest to dial in and random qualifier award in the Super Pro sponsorship scheme, which has been a fantastic addition to the class this year, combined with having a consistent race car has meant that the year has been another good'n for us. Indeed we have had a few howlers along the way, normally due to the odd dodgy prediction and not the car, but at the end of the day, we still love racing and are already looking ahead to 2014!

Right then, the National Finals...

It was absolutely beautiful weather on the Friday which set up the weekend perfectly. Saturday morning was again a gorgeous day and the air was near perfect, so being that we only had 3 qualifying sessions scheduled, we knew we had to make every run count. An 8.00 was the dial in for the first run and having looked over the history of all our runs, we had never run quicker than an 8.04 off of the trailer so we felt that number would be a good starting point, not wanting to breakout either. After a fairly average 60ft time, the dragster soon 'gobbled' in the good air and went on to an 8.018 straight into number 1. Not bad at all! However this was Super Pro, one of the most competitive classes ever, so once the session had finished we were 2nd. Being a couple of tenths down in the 60ft and still running an 8.01 was a good indicator that the air was as good as expected so it was good to know that we were right in that department. It wasn't until late afternoon that the 2nd round was upon us, due to the rather horrific crash Graham suffered, and according to said data, conditions were as near as makes no difference the same as they were in the morning... or so we were led to believe! We decided to leave the number were it was and see what would happen. Running through with an 8.04 wasn't too bad in the grand scale of things, even though it meant no improvement in our position; it would still be a reasonably difficult time to beat in racing. We would end the day in 4th position.

Eliminations weren't as good as we were hoping for on the Sunday. The car was performing consistently up to Round 1, so it would be a no brainer to go for the same 8.00. Up against Thomas Haas who had travelled a real long way from Switzerland with Natalie, meant Dave would be playing catch up to Thomas's 8.18 dial in. For reasons unknown, the transbrake wouldn't hold the dragster dead still on the line and was rolling slightly. At this time, Dave had noticed this but the lights were already half way down and all of a sudden the light was green and the race had already started! This meant a .115 reaction time to Thomas's .05 which in turn decided the outcome of the race as we went through with an 8.08 to Thomas's 8.29, so we were closer to our dial in but lost a tenth at the start. Being that our 60ft time was 7 hundredths off of what we normally run was a clear indicator that the car wasn’t quite right! Nevermind! After our mandatory fried breakfast, we packed up, watched another round of Super Pro and called it a day, which was also the end of the meeting, which was also the end of the season!

A big well done to Scott and Geoff on winning the double championship this year and Barry Giles on the SPRC championship. Thanks to the Walters family for organising the sponsorship scheme and Giles&Hartley Racing for providing the trophies. 

And last but most certainly not least a massive thanks to our sponsors:

• Mini Gears/Components Worldwide - www.minigears.co.uk - the complete supply package for all your metal components, whether it be gears, racks or machined parts at very competitive prices. They have been with us for 3 years now so an extra thanks to them.
• All Aces Couriers - 01295 275049 - delivering your reputation at incredible prices!
• Payday UK - www.paydayuk.co.uk - offering quick and super easy loans at the most competitive prices.

Winter is going to be, as always, a long one!