PAST EVENTS PAGE 134

1st ANNUAL CLUB DRAG STRIP DAY, SANTA POD DRAG RACEWAY, NORTHANTS - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 2005

On the 25th September a massive turnout of MR2s made the pilgrimage to the famous Santa Pod drag strip in Northamptonshire. The invitation to attend was extended to all MR2 clubs, and members from both IMOC and MR2DC popped along to our event.

The initial convoy met near Leicester with 8 MK1s, a MK2 Rev 3 turbo, and an invited retro mini van with a mean turbo. A swift run down the motorway took us to the main convoy point at the last motorway services before Pod. Here we met up with the main posse of MK2s, and hung on for a few more MK1s that were on the way. This main convoy was around 25 cars, which must have been an awesome sight to see so many MR2s traveling down the duel carriageways, and was a fun drive negotiating the smaller roads to the venue.

Upon arrival at the Pod we were shocked at how busy a regular RWYB (run-what-ya-brung) Sunday could be – it was packed before 10am! None of the ‘Pod regulars’ had seen it this busy in ages. Very quickly our club stand for 30 cars was full, and the club gazebo squeezed into position. Despite some great photos showing a clear blue sky, the weather didn’t hold, and we were subjected to more than one huge downpour, with people pitifully sheltering under the gazebo.

Everyone attending signed in our event register, so made putting faces to names easy. The signing on for the drag strip proved more of a problem: Due to the huge overall turnout, only a handful of our members got signed on before lunch. The rest of us who wanted to run either managed to sign in after lunch (after some negotiation with the management!) or gave up the idea as a non-starter! The queues to the strip for runs were massive, which meant we only got one or two runs. Therefore the competitions for the fastest MR2s in each group were not challenged to the full extent as hoped. However, those that did manage one or two runs started to feel quite competitive when their times were posted on the leader boards at the gazebo.

The trophies for each category were awarded as follows:
Fastest MK1 NA coupe - Adam Beasley
Fastest MK1 NA t-bar  - Simon Taylor
Fastest MK1 SC - Alex E
Fastest MK2 - Mark Edwards

To add insult to injury for some of us (ie. Me!), a ‘wooden spoon’ award was given to the slowest MK1 and slowest MK2!

It is hoped to run a similar event on an annual basis, again awarding the fastest (and slowest!) MR2s, in order to provide a challenge for those who are keen on engine modification and tuning, in contrast to the usual ‘show’ events.

If you wish to get a taste of the drag strip action before our next annual club event, then come and join us on a club stand at Rotorstock – A Jap event at Shakespeare County Raceway in spring (see the 2006 events calendar).

Santa Pod Attendees
25th September 2005

Colour Mark FI/NA/NOS Reg
1 1 Silver 1 NA A* ***
2 2 Red 1 NA A* ***
3 3 White 1 NA B*** ***
4 4 Red 1 NA C*** ***
5 5 Green 1 NA C*** ***
6 6 White 1 NA C*** ***
7 7 White 1 NA C** ***
8 8 White 1 NA D*** ***
9 9 Grey 1 NA E*** ***
10 10 White 1 NA E*** ***
11 11 Grey 1 NA F*** ***
12 12 Orange 1 NA F*** ***
13 13 Blue 1 NA F*** ***
14 14 White 1 NA F*** ***
15 15 Red 1 NA F*** ***
16 16 Blue 1 NA F** ***
17 17 Red 1 NA F*** ***
18 18 Blue 1 NA G*** ***
19 19 Blue 1 NA / NOS Injection G*** ***