Japanese rider Takeshi Shigamatsu looks down track before his first round of eliminations. (Ron Lewis photo)

Bike riders from the U.S., Canada and Japan were at Thunder Valley. Maryland biker Douglas Horne was the dominant performer at this race. He qualified in the number one spot, had Top Speed and Low ET of the meet and went to the finals where he lost on a serious holeshot to veteran Tommy Grimes who was driving his 2011 Ray Price-backed Harley.

Horne, riding a 2008 Weekend chassised bike, qualified with a 6.263/222.62 effort. He was followed closely in qualifying by Blackwood, New Jersey, racer Joey Sternotti who ran a 6.275/221.67. Grimes was in the third slot with a 6.332/219.12

Qualifying Report

There were actually ten bikes on the premises trying to qualify for the eight-bike show. Nine of the bikes made quarter-mile qualifying laps with only Ron Gledhill not making a full lap. During the first round of qualifying he had a major engine malfunction in the water box before he could stage his bike and was never seen again.
 
The nitro Harleys got four qualifying sessions and each session saw at least one bike deliver better speeds and or ET’s and improve their qualifying position.

Takeshi Shigmatsu from Iyo, Japan, riding a 2011 Harley-framed fueler, made the quickest and fastest lap of the first session and what ended up being his best of the race. He came off the trailer with a 6.336/214.69 effort that eventually ended up being the fourth best ET for all of qualifying.

In the second round Joey Sternotti put his New Jersey-based Harley solidly into the field with a stellar 6.275/221.67 lap, which stood up as Top Speed and Low ET after two rounds. (Ron Lewis photo)

The third round was uneventful with already qualified racers jockeying for position on the ladder. Horne did set the Top Speed mark in that session with his 6.29/222.62 effort but Sternotti held on to the top qualifying spot with his second round 6.275 effort.

In the final qualifying session many of the Harley riders ran their best speeds and ET’s of qualifying but Maryland rider Douglas Horne made the best lap recording a 6.263/221.02. That ET combined with a previous 222.62 effort got Horne both the Top Speed and Low ET marks for qualifying and the number one qualifying slot.