[LWG]

Just for the record, so that everyone knows the position:

Bjorn Martensson's car - 'The Dog' ('cos it can bite), was only received by them two weeks prior to Easter. They had little info on the car or the specifications.

Bjorn had only previously run a door car down to 7.3 seconds and is understandably nervous as to how soon he can get used to a totally different level of power.

Naturally, we in the NFAA want to give him all the encouragement we can. we need more Nitro cars, plus it is good for the Class to have more European involvement.

In its present form the car does not conform to NFAA regulations, however we told Bjorn that we had no problem, indeed encouraged him, to run the car on solo observed runs to the point where he can get his licence. He is not competing with us, gets no points from our schedule or any run monies.

We have made it very clear to Bjorn and he has agreed, that to run as part of the NFAA schedule, the car has to be modifed to our format. This is not a problem for Bjorn and the necessary parts are already on order from the States.

Yesterday they did a burout, stage and 60 ft launch as part of the licencing process. However, they had to be pushed back into stage after the burnout as the reverser broke, but will be replaced. They are all very enthusiastic and much appreciate the support and good wishes from the majority of the NFAA Teams, that they have experienced to date.

Bjorn and his Team came a long way at no small cost and we feel that it is up to all of us to support and encourage him. There is no Class for The Dog in Sweden, but Bjorn plans to lobby the Swedish Motorsport authorities to try to get them to create the Class and to adopt the NFAA Regulations, as they have done for Super Pro, I believe......If this happens, we are sure that more Swedish Nitro Altereds will appear in due course.......

We look forward to their return to continue their progress.

[muddytalker]

Haven't seen any other photos of 'The Dog' yet but here's a stormer from SCR Press Officer Dave Derry featuring 'The Mob' and 'Chaos' captured Monday afternoon.

[ukdrn]

Defently one of the most exciting growing classes in the UK right now, a credit to all the runners and of course Mr Gatehouse.
A few more pics starting with Havoc's blower belt shreading burnout.


Dennis Wratten on his way to a 6.77 @ 205mph pass.


Joe Bond's car sounding and launching stronger than ever with it's new motor.

[fester]

just put the 6 stage lock up clutch back in matts altered ,what ineed to know is, taking into account the twin 45 gallon rage pumps now incorperated into the 6 stage fuel system how much leed should iput in single..cant afford 2 ,,44amp mag pistons are only 100 thou out , used 60 and it wont even light it? need to know for our final licensing run in june?

[JoeBond]

Hi guys.

Awesome photo of the topolino, was really happy with that launch, it bodes well for when the motor is re-assembled after the damage before the burnout against Dennis on Bank Holiday Monday.

We dropped a valve, and it's done some internal damage; we've sourced how it happened so we will be making the necessary adjustments to hopefully prevent future episodes like that happening.

As for the Bjorn thing; as a part of the class yes it involves me, but i'm just going to say i'm there to race, enjoy myself, run some good numbers and hopefully put on a bit of a show for the crowds at SCR and SPR. I am by no means one of the biggest acts in the class, but i'm proud to be a part of it and thats how it'll stay.

And if anyone else has photos of the car in the pits / fireup road or the track that they don't mind me using in a website write up, i'd love to hear from you.

Many thanks

Joe

[Bob Jarrett]

just put the 6 stage lock up clutch back in matts altered ,what ineed to know is, taking into account the twin 45 gallon rage pumps now incorperated into the 6 stage fuel system how much leed should iput in single..cant afford 2 ,,44amp mag pistons are only 100 thou out , used 60 and it wont even light it? need to know for our final licensing run in june?

Bill. What lock up crutch management are you using? Male or female. Makes a big difference to your wallet.

[fester]

Bob i think we both know that the female cruth managment system is the one that gets you financially but i digress,my argument is that if the dog ran a 599 on a licensing run the crowd,,,who probably dont realise it illeagle may just think ,,hang these british cars are crap there was a swede here the other week that ran a 599. and any case ask betsy want he wants to do,,yep youve guessed it a 5 in ,,,,,,shock horror legal car once the first 5 has gone its gone ,obviously matts car is stone cold legal ,just having abit of fun,im also building another fuel altered aswe speak ,that one is legal as well ,If the dog ran a5 which it probably wont because we all know how hard it is just to get down the track,but if it did i think it would steal alot of peoples dreams and alot of peoples thunder including me.Oh and bob you should post more often or set up ablog alot of people would find it really interesting.How quick would you like to go at the main event,i remember watching your car run a5.3 acouple of years ago on the bank in the lights and it frightened the crap out of me

[Bob Jarrett]

Humour aside Bill, I could not agree with you more. It is so important for cars to be 100% legal and meet safety & class rules, this is what drag racing is all about. I am very suprised to hear that the dog car, as you call it, was even allowed to make license runs in non class legal trim and of course with the 5 sec run being somewhat close, the outcome would be ireversable should it actually have happened. I am in a similar situation with the 4 sec. run. If someone beats me to it at Santa Pod then I will be the first to congratulate them but if it happens anywhere else .....? It's all about self achievement and thats what's important to me. All I need to do is bring Jimmy Prock with me next weekend and the car will run a 4 no problem. What satisfaction will that give me? A big fat zero. Just like the TF guys bringing over American tuner's.... well its all got out of hand over there.

I have no problem posting here or on other forums providing the subject is genuine. There is not much I can do to help with set-up as it's all different now, but there are a lot of little safety ideas I can help with. I can give you my top ten tips if anyone is interested. I enjoy reading other people's oppinions and views as long as I can understand them. Last week I had no clue what was being said by a couple of guys who obviously had their own deal going. SMS (text messaging) is designed for that.

BJ

[MotorPsycho]

Always interested to hear any tips or other advice Bob.

Regarding the Dog as far as I'm aware, safety wise it's all present and legal, just the timers and fuel system not legal for NFAA.

[JonC]

I am no expert on the technicalities of fuel car racing, and I will always bow to greater knowledge.

Whilst I agree that new competitors should be encouraged, I have to agree with Bob on this. Suppose someone turned up today to Santa Pod's RWYB with a full spec Top Fuel car, with an illegal set of rear end ratios, and ran 4.45 at 335 mph?

The next weekend someone in a legal car ran 4.59 in competition.

Which run would get the most publicity?

If the Swedish car (which looks a kick-ass hotrod) turns up next time and runs a five, who is listed in the books as the first to run a five in an altered? If it were that easy, I am sure Bob and John could build a five second fuel altered in an afternoon with their kit, a second hand T body and some glue. Turn up to Avon Park, run a five and really piss all the others off. Remember what Simon Paynes camaro did to the old format street eliminator over ten years ago...