Match Race Heaven

Randy Bradford (Ivan Sansom photo)

The headline act was the return visit of Ron Hope and the “Rat Trap” Bantam, this time accompanied over the pond by Randy Bradford and his Chevy propelled Topolino. Putting aside a slight hiccup during the opening session, the Stateside visitors were mixed up over the weekend with Ramon van der Weurf’s 1971 Charger BB/FC and the home crowd’s favourite King, Loaring & Davies’ Havoc Bantam in its second outing with a nitro guzzling Donovan between the frame rails, and what a show it was.

Six-second passes galore saw Bradford taking low ET honours with a 6.4063/234.08 that came alongside a 6.4893/208.02 from the Dutch Funny Car (margin of victory being 3.5 inches thanks to a quicker leave from van der Weurf).

Ramon van der Weurf (Rose Hughes photo)

Nick Davies (Ivan Sansom photo)

Van der Weurf also picked up the Nostalgia Cannonball trophy in a final head to head with Davies 6.4263/212.09 besting a 6.6121/223.40 from the altered. “Havoc” was frustratingly refusing to fire on all eight of the weekend, but managed a best of a 6.5992/220.16 to defeat “Rat Trap’s” 6.5378/231.66 on a holeshot; Hope’s speed was a new career mark that resulted in an attention grabbing ride down the traditional lumps and bumps of the Santa Pod shutdown area.

Not a bad way to kick off the three-event European tour for Hope and Bradford (coincidently celebrating 50 years of competition for “Rat Trap” and the Bradford’s Topolino) with next stop in front of the huge audience at the NitrOlympX in Germany in August and a return visit to Santa Pod for the European Finals in September. It’s going to be fun!