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WB July Shootout July 18 - 19

Wild Bunch ResultsJuly Shootout18th - 19th July Wild Bunch Series Round 4. Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge Series Round 7.
The July Shootout was the 7th event of the WB season. It was Round 4 of the Wild Bunch Series and Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge Series Round 7 and there was a field of 15 Wild Bunch cars participating: 3 Altereds, 10 Slingshots, a Funny Car and a Rear-engined dragster.
Wild Bunch Points
PosWBDriver/TeamCarPoints
13Team 'B-Sting'B-Sting10
241Tom LarmanThe Ferret8
34Keith CramptonSoultown Shaker7
445Phil JamesRampage6
52Bob HawkinsTimetraveller II5
-8Mark CoulsellBallbreaker5
-17Team GAS RacingTiki Munki5
-69Alan LotenParanoia5
-72Dave SouthworthDaddy Cool5
-76Team Black PigThe Black Pig Too5
-77Andy StonesYellow Slingshot5
-83Graham RawlingsRawspeed5
-86Jim TannerShindigger5
1464Russ HeavenTight Fit4
1520Rob & Pete BrownWrathchild3
Spot Prizes
WBTeam/DriverCarDetail
Closest To Dial-In3Team 'B-Sting'B-Sting0.006 off
Most Improved MPH86Jim TannerShindigger0.006 off
Best Altered69Alan LotenParanoia
Best Slingshot77Andy StonesYellow Slingshot
Best Engineered77Andy StonesYellow Slingshot
Drivers Choice69Alan LotenParanoia
Best Appearing Team8Mark CoulsellBallbreaker
The weather was pretty good all day Saturday with a bit of cloud around, but dry. Many teams got in 2 or 3 runs that day in practice. As the forecast was very changeable for the Sunday, we decided to run our first round late Saturday and this took place not long after 4pm. On Saturday night, the Wild Bunch had our annual fancy dress party with the theme being 'historical figures'. We had knights crusaders, Robin Hood and his Merry men and women and a monk, Bonnie & Clyde, Peaky blinders, a flapper, the Mongoose accompanied by Shirley Muldowney the Snake with Jungle Pam, a lady Elvis, a Chimney sweep, Smokey and the Snowman, the cutest little fairy, Charlie Chaplin, plus Miss Dorothy Levitt driving her '1906ish De Dion Bouton' all the way from Bristol!!  It was great fun and a good time was had by all! Sunday dawned wet but did dry up, and after a slight delay in the morning, racing began and we were able to run the other 3 rounds of competition. Six drivers ran PB's.
WB 2 saw the seventh Wild Bunch event of the season for Bob Hawkins in the 'Time Traveller II' slingshot. Bob had repaired the lifter and collet damage sustained at Dragstalgia and had a strong tuneup in the car! He made 2 passes in Saturday practice, a 7.519 at 167.44mph checkout pass, and a brilliant 6.929 at 195.22mph, his second quickest run ever and one of his fastest! He then dialled in at 6.91 for the first round. He recorded a fantastic 6.965 at 191.56mph in this round to make a great start. He then changed the Dial to 6.95 for Sunday, and posted runs of 7.487 at 180.25mph and 7.173 at 193.45mph in the second and third rounds, before returning to the 6's with another strong 6.969 at 191.86mph. What a great set of runs!! Fair play! He finished in 9th place.
WB 3 Bob Morgan was back in the hotseat of the 'B-Sting' altered for his third event of the year and the team's fourth. He made 3 runs in Saturday practice, beginning with a 10.360 at 130.47mph, followed by solid runs of 10.253 at 130.78mph and 10.224 at 131.48mph, very near his best. He dialled in at 10.25 for all of the rounds and started really well, with a 10.281 at 130.59mph pass. He then ran a 10.324 at 129.40mph in the second round before returning to the 10.2's with a 'Closest to Dial-in' 10.256 at 131.06mph in Round 3 and a 10.298 at 130.63mph in the fourth. With this great consistency, Bob won the event!! Well done to him and the whole team!!
WB 4 was Keith Crampton's fourth event of the year with the Bunch, with his 'Soul Town Shaker' slingshot. Keith made 2 runs Saturday, beginning with an 11.111 at 118.21mph. He followed this with a 10.9-second pass. For the rounds, he began with a Dial-in of 11.00 even and recorded a 10.967 at 118.04mph in the first round. He changed the Dial for Sunday, to 10.98 and ran an 11.098 at 116.96mph in the second round. He was closer in the third, posting an 11.031 at 117.07mph. His fourth round pass was 11.113 at 116.97mph. Keith finished in 3rd place, another great Top 4 result! He is still leading the Wild Bunch Series
WB 8 Mark Coulsell was in his third event of the season with the Limited Funz 'Ballbreaker' slingshot. One highlight of the team's weekend was that it was the first time all three Limited Funz cars were racing together: 'Ballbreaker', Rob & Pete Brown's 'Wrathchild' and son Harley's 'Bandit 1' Junior Dragster! Mark began Saturday with a fantastic new Personal Best ET and Speed of 8.633 at 154.62mph!! He followed this with an even quicker and faster PB of 8.547 at 156mph!! The team dialled in at 8.60 for the first round and were all amazed when Mark recorded another brilliant PB of 8.499 at 156.02mph!!!!!!!!(8) Congratulations to Mark and the whole team on this!! He then changed the Dial-in to 8.55 for Sunday, and ran three more strong 8-second passes, an 8.638 at 154.36mph, an 8.989 at 150.87mph and an 8.887 at 147.89mph. He finished in 10th place overall. Another highlight was that young Harley also ran PB's, including his first ever 50mph pass!! Well done, Harley!! The team were also thrilled to be awarded the 'Best Appearing Team' Spot Prize by the commentators! A fantastic weekend for them all!
WB 17 saw Gina Durrant's fourth Wild Bunch event of the season in her and Scottie's 'Tiki Munki' slingshot coupe. Gina began Saturday with a run of 13.678 at 97.55mph. She then went a lot quicker, recording a 13.213 at 102.16mph, her best run of the year so far. She also posted a 13.343 at 100.64mph. She dialled in at 13.27 for the rounds. Her first round pass netted a 13.471 at 101.14mph. Her next two runs were 13.500 at 97.54mph and 13.599 at 96.96mph. She then ran much closer to Dial with a 13.292 at 100.61mph. Gina finished in 7th place overall for the event.
WB 20 Rob and Pete Brown were in their fourth ever Wild Bunch event with their 'Wrathchild' slingshot. Rob was the first to take the butterfly, and posted a strong 11.412 at a new Personal and Team Best Speed of 119.41mph. He followed this with another good 11-second pass. Unfortunately, Pete had hurt his leg and took a brief trip to a local A&E to get it checked over, and with his leg strapped up and passed fit to drive he took the hotseat for the first round. The boys dialled in at 11.85, but there was a problem after the burnout and the car cut out and Pete could not make the run. The team did some tuning in the pits overnight and Pete recorded a 13.683 at 111.52mph in the second round. They did not make the third round, as were trying to fix the problem. Rob took the next turn and the car sure was back on song, as he recorded a new Personal and Team Best ET of 11.107 at 118.84mph! Way to go guys!! That made it 3 for 3 for PB's in Team Limited Funz!! Yeeha!!
WB 41 Tom Larman was back in 'The Ferret' altered for his fourth event of the season. He made a total of 3 runs in practice on Saturday, starting with a 10.518 at 123.37mph, another mid 10-second pass and a 10.455 at 123.44mph. His Saturday Dial-in was 10.45 and he began well, posting a 10.485 at 122.90mph. On Sunday, he changed his Dial-in slightly to 10.48 and his first round run netted a 10.572 at 121.44mph. He followed this with a 10.539 at 121.75mph and a 10.582 at 122.93mph. He finished in 2nd place for the event, another great result! Well done, Tom!
WB 45 Phil James was in his sixth event of the season with his 'Rampage' funny car. He had a great start to the weekend when he recorded a 9.390 at a new Personal Best Speed of 142.30mph on his first pass. He then ran a 9.38 on the following run and a great 9.283 at another PB Speed of 143.27mph. He dialled in at 9.29 for the rounds. His first round run was an identical ET to the last, 9.283 at 142.42mph! On Sunday, he ran a little slower throughout, first posting a 9.368 at 142.26mph, then a 9.512 at 140.67mph and then a 9.404 at 140.16mph. He finished in 4th place.
WB 64 Russ Heaven was hoping to have a better weekend in his 'Tight Fit' slingshot. His first run on Saturday was a 10.39 at 128.2mph. He then had some problems on the next run, posting an 11.982. He was then headed in the right direction on his next run where he ran a 10.1-second pass. He dialled in at his optimistic 9.20 for the rounds. His first round run saw him back in the 9's again, with a 9.967 at 131.58mph. His next run on Sunday was another improvement, with a 9.874 at 131.43mph. He improved again in the third round, recording a 9.759 at 131.59mph, but unfortunately there was a problem and he could not make the fourth round. The team has since found some engine damage, so hope that does not turn out to be too bad and they can repair and be back out soon. Good luck!!!
WB 69 Alan Loten was in his sixth Wild Bunch event of the year, in his 'Paranoia' altered. He made just one run in practice on Saturday, but it was a fantastic one, as he ran a new Personal Best ET of 9.123 at 138.86mph!! His first time in the 9.1's. Congratulations Alan and Steve! They then dialled in at 9.12 for the rounds. Alan's first round run was close, as he recorded another great run of 9.142 at a Personal Best Speed of 141.26mph. He followed this with a 9.161 at another PB speed of 141.32mph. The next two runs were slightly off this new pace, a 9.369 at 134.57mph and 9.379 at 137.14mph. Alan finished in 6th place. The car was also awarded the 'Best Altered' prize by the commentary team, and Alan won the 'Driver's Choice' award voted for by those drivers participating this weekend. A great weekend all round! Fair play!
WB 72 Dave 'Sag' Southworth was in his third event of the year with his 'Daddy Cool' rear-engined dragster. His first run Saturday was 9.24, so a good start. The team then had some problem with the oil pressure, but hoped to cure this for the rounds, and that they did! They dialled in at 9.15, and in Round 1 Sag recorded a 9.359 at 142.28mph. The second round pass was quicker again, a 9.279 at 141.22mph. He then ran a 9.328 at 140.34mph in the third round and a 9.445 at 143.10mph in the fourth, very near to his best speed. He finished in 8th place overall for the event.
WB 76 Steve Field was in his fifth event of the season with his and Lesley's 'Black Pig Too' slingshot, and his fourth as driver. He began the weekend with a 9.469 at 149.63mph. He then posted runs of 9.721 at 139.45mph and 9.584 at 142.98mph, so somewhat off the car's recent pace. The team dialled in at 9.48. Steve ran a 9.590 at 144.28mph in the first round. He then improved to a 9.315 at 149.94mph. In Round 3 he recorded a 9.573 at 142.10mph and followed this with another better run of 9.327 at 146.59mph. Steve finished in 5th place overall for the event.
WB 77 Andy Stones was raring to go after his recent 10-second run at Dragstalgia. He began Saturday well with a new Personal Best ET of 10.678 at 124.20mph. He got better and better, recording another PB ET of 10.438 at 123.60mph and a PB ET and Speed of 10.359 at 132.32mph, his first time in the 130's. He then had a problem on the next run, posting an 11.598 at 93mph. He dialled in at 10.39 and soon had the car back on song as he recorded a 10.648 at 127.99mph in the first round. He changed the Dial-in slightly, to 10.41, then ran varying runs of 10.921 at 125.40mph, 10.622 at 127.40mph and 10.930 at 126.66mph. He finished in 13th place overall. The car was awarded not only the 'Best Slingshot' by the commentators, but also the 'Best Engineered' by the scrutineer! Another brilliant weekend for the team, which they thoroughly enjoyed! Congratulations!
WB 83 Graham Rawlings was in his second ever Wild Bunch event. He was only able to attend the event on the Sunday with his 'Rawspeed' slingshot. So he dialled in blind, with an 11.80. He was able to catch up with the Bunch as he ran his first round very early Sunday and posted a solid 11.948 at 112.28mph. He then ran a similar 11.984 at 111.36mph in the second round. His third round ticket had shown an 11.0, but there proved to be a problem with the timing, so he had a re-run, and unfortunately recorded a slower 12.570 at 100.46mph. He then ran a quicker 12.176 at 110.56mph on his fourth round run. He finished in 12th place overall.
WB 86 Jim Tanner was in his fourth Wild Bunch event with his 'Shindigger' slingshot. He began Saturday with a promising run, a new Personal Best ET and Speed of 10.2 at 133mph. He followed this with his first trip into the 9's! A new PB ET and Speed of 9.992 at 136.01mph!! Congratulations, Jim!! This run proved to be 'Most Improved Speed' for the weekend, with an improvement of 9.28mph over his previous best speed. He then dialled in at 10.00 even for the rounds. His first round pass was a 10.407 at 133.95mph. He then went quicker again, recording a 10.293 at 133.84mph. He improved again to a 10.147 at 134.56mph. His fourth round run was a 10.239 at 134.24mph. He finished in 11th place overall.
Big Congratulations to Bob and the whole team on the win! And to Tom, Keith and Phil and teams for their Top 4 placings. More good results for all. Well done to all the Wild Bunch teams on some more good close racing, some great performances and PB's and a great show again. Keith is still leading the Wild Bunch Series and Phil is still leading the Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge Series.

It was another really good event, where the weather turned out better than expected. Many thanks to all the marshals and officials and track and fire crews at Shakey for their hard work as always. We are now really looking forward to the next race which will be the 'Open Sports Nationals' at Shakey on August 29th – 31st. This will be the 8th round of the Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge, the 4th round of the Springbridge MSA Challenge, the 2nd and final round of the APIRA Series and the 3rd and final round of the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Car Series round. Hoping for some good Bank holiday weather and a big field of Wild Bunch for that one!!