I BELIEVE IT WILL FLY!!

Paul Marston Racing enjoyed the record breaking European Finals at Santa Pod very much. Marred only by the tragic incident that happened late on Sunday, on behalf of everyone in Paul Marston Racing we would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the family involved. The event ran smoothly and with so many new records set, it is a real credit to everyone who works at Santa Pod. The success of the European Finals only comes with a huge effort and massive preparation, credit in particular to the track staff whose stellar work on the oil downs kept the downtime to a minimum. Here at Paul Marston Racing we also noticed parity in track performance over the weekend that can only be attributed to again the hard work that the track prep crew were putting in, thank you from everyone at PMR. It was great to have so many fans visit us over the weekend, thanks for stopping by, it kept all of the drivers busy. The new Paul Marston Racing Drag Race Driving School flyers went down well too, with the planned expansion of Paul Marstons Drag Race Driving School in 07, its all about spreading the word. With five drivers in competition, Paul Marston, Gary Springford, Mick Howling, Dave Racing Snake Catton and Steve Bolton we had a great event with varying results. Paul Marston was rewarded for being our top qualifier by being allowed to drink his coffee from the ceremonial Grumpy Mug! Paul, once again back in the PT Bruiser qualified 6th in Super Pro and went three rounds before succumbing to Pat Talbot in her six second Dragster. Paul Marston had another developmental Event, enjoying 100% mechanical reliability which bodes well for the future. The RONS Alcohol Fuel Injection is still being refined, at this event we found plenty of stuff that we put right. Increasing our understanding of the RONS System and in turn being rewarded with some fast times. Culminating in a pair of 8.22’s at 160+ mph, a good spot to pick up from at the National Finals this coming weekend at Santa Pod Raceway. Gary Springford in Pro, 2nd in the National Championship qualified just 11 thousandths off of his dial and was 23rd!! Qualifying in Pro ET at the European Finals was the tightest qualified field we have ever seen in Sportsman Drag Racing History, the bump was 33/1000ths. Gary Springford driving the Whoopass Monza made it no further than 1st Round where Gary pulled a very uncharacteristic red, Gary was mortified!! Putting him on the trailer early for once. The Monza, now running on its newly installed BLP Alcohol Carburetor system ran very well with no problem and was a picture of reliability. Dave Racing Snake Catton shared driving duties competing in Super Gas, qualifying in 10th; Dave went out first round in a valiant effort against the master himself Tim Adam in his Brogie Roadster. We must also thank Tim and his team for refilling the air bottle on the Whoopass Monza, very sporting. Mick Howling competing in Super Street driving the mighty Grumpys Dodge had a great event running some really close to the index numbers but all just on the wrong side. Qualified 8th Mick which is where Mick’s day was done, loosing a close one in round one. Mick was also hosting two of his biggest sponsors, who unfortunately had to leave before Mick ran; they were truly two of the biggest men Santa Pod has ever seen. Both guys are American Football Front Linemen, you could see why! They both enjoyed their first visit to Santa Pod and were very impressed with what they saw and will be back for the Sportsman National Finals. Steve Bolton rounded out the Paul Marston Racing Squad, driving his mean looking Plymouth Scamp in Pro. Steve was hampered with inconsistency over the weekend which was eventually diagnosed as debris from the fuel hose. This was probably caused when the Plymouth was run on alcohol in the States and was now showing signs of rubber erosion. With this inconsistency it would have been pure luck if Steve had managed to qualify and luck was now with him so Steve along with many others went DNQ. But with a simple fix and no harm done, the mighty Plymouth will be ready for next time. The Whoopass Monza was returned to the Drag Race Engineering (020 8597 4575) workshops after the European Finals for some servicing. Whilst there Paul Marston and Gary Springford discovered something that will probably unlock alot more horsepower in the Monza next weekend. When asked Paul Marston said ‘I have always believed that the Monza was playing a game with us, it was far too weather sensitive, the larger camshaft and BLP Alcohol system fitted just prior to the European Finals had little or no effect performance wise. This convinced me that there was a Gremlin in there somewhere. Gary Springford and myself started on the Monza last Friday afternoon, I guess we were on the right path as we believe we have found the problem once and for all, this weekend will tell. Considering what Gary and I found it’s quite staggering that we had such stunning performances out of the Whoopass Monza so far! So watch out!!’ Big Big Big thank yous must go out to all the Crew at Paul Marston Racing, the Crew Chief, Lizz and Sefton, Mad Mick, Mark from DRE, Robin, Ferret and of course our stats man Anthony Middleton. Big ups to the drivers as well, helping out crewing their own cars and their team mates on Thursday Sportsman qualifying when crew was a little thin. With only minor servicing to be done to the Racecars and a high speed lean out system to be fitted to the Bruiser, everyone at Paul Marston Racing is looking forward to the Sportsman National Finals very much. See you all there.