SPRC Summernationals, Santa Pod Raceway

Words and photos by Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes
Thanks to TSI Timers (Europe) for access to the timing data

The month of June has been a hectic one with three championship meetings, two at FIA/UEM level and the SPRC Summernationals showcasing the British domestic championships at Santa Pod. This year the Summernats were a comparatively low key affair, thanks to a triple calendar clash with a nostalgia event in the UK and a EDRS series meeting just over the English Channel in the Netherlands. Still, although the dreaded wet stuff delayed the start of eliminations, for many of the sportsman racers this was their first completed race of the year.

MSA Pro Modified

It was quite a weekend for Roger Moore and the Shakespeare Engineering/Challenger Solutions Dodge Viper as Moore not only recorded a new PB of 6.665 at the quarterfinal stage, but added the event win after defeats of Wayne Nicholson, Graham Ellis and Andy Frost (the latter were both unable to start thanks to dribbles and burnt transmission seals respectively), and moved into the points lead in the domestic MSA British Drag Racing championship with two events (both in September, thanks to the curious nature of the British championship calendar) remaining.

Nostalgia Fuel Altereds

We’ve covered the NFAA through thick and thin since its inception and, when Adam Gleadow punted the body of the Motor Psycho Ford during qualification, the class was left with two representatives to contest the rest of the meeting. Although this was pretty thin, there’s nothing like the sound of a pair of blown Donovans on nitro and Nick Davies took the event win on mid six form from the newly painted Chaos altered (“we’re keeping it the right way up this season” quipped Laurie Gatehouse), whilst Teri Anne Smith wheeled The Mob T of Ollie Burn to a new PB of 7.093. Fingers crossed those nitro altereds that are in the final build stages will make appearances before too long to give some much needed impetus into the class.