Last minute update before I switch off the machine...

Julie Willcox tells me SCR have got a track drier on site for SpringSpeed - run over and give her a hug when you see her, she's earned it!

as if there wasn't enough to do, you've got to start thinking about competeing for a new trophy this season...
the Mint Award will be given to "the best looking bike, the one you would like to take home, and keep in your bedroom"
I think Les will be collecting votes (on the back of a tenner?) but apparently the bad news is that he will definately be making the trophy... probably best to get some more info over the weekend!

have a good one - see you at the track
Lx

April 28th

lots of bits&pieces here, hope you're all gearing up for SpringSpeed!
I'm looking forward to seeing everybody there
be nice to the Weather Fairy this week - we need her to be our best friend!

there are loads of photos from Round 1 at our facebook group now, thanks to Martin & Ingrid Chesworth - they are making these shots freely available to us - hows that, an invaluable FREE photo album, for YOU to keep, print, send to your friends, show off at work, whatever! Marvellous! They're planning to be at every meeting this season so 2008 could be the best recorded SuperTwins year ever :-)

MS Trust update - since the weather was so miserable at Round 1 we're planning to do the 'Awareness' thing at SpringSpeed... be prepared to have your photo taken/wear a t-shirt/decide 'where to stick yours' over the weekend!

The Winner of the Caption Competition will also be announced - and collect their prize - a brand new pair of SuperTwins Knickers!

New SuperTwins sweatshirts and stickers will also be on sale :-)

contact info: as of Wednesday am 30th I will be offline for a week... feel free to send e-mails but don't expect a reply - I've worked out how to get the cyber-manacles off so I'll be un-chained from the internet for 8 days :-)

and last-but-not-least the truly gorgeous Tog, of Eurodragster fame, has given us these hairy-scary action-pictures from the startline. They are stunning! clicketyclick... I'll add them to the relevant Who'sWho pages when I'm back in CyberLand... all together now "thank you Uncle Tog!"

a few more interesting piccies to give you a smile while you're preparing for Round 2


Lee Bradbury says he'll be out in June... once he's got the front mudguard on the bike

if you weren't at Round 1 prepare yourself for this... Turbo Transformation

Steve Partridge sent in this traffic jam warning... look out for them!!!

Given recent news I thought I'd put up a view about the Pit Power at Santa Pod. It seems to me this is widely held/expressed amongst the individual clubman racers and small teams... think 'a couple of blokes with bikes in a van' or a car on a trailer and this is where I'm coming from...

whether you agree or disagree please make a comment - I could be 'spot on' or 'way off target' but this is how it seems to me...

firstly, I've heard no-one express aggression or animosity to the Power Co. staff - but it's obviously unacceptable where it has happened.
there has been considerable confusion, failure to communicate and/or provide access to power though and this is tremendously frustrating.

this is what I've seen...
the racers arrive at the track,
often after a long drive,
its dark or getting dark,
they're cold/hungry/tired - and they've still got their pit set-up to do!

they've already paid - with their entry fees - more than their electricity bill for the week at home
they are not allowed to bring a generator (even though they need one for when they race at SCR)

once in the pits they find:
no way to catch/find/keep the attention of a power co, staff member
or find one and are told to wait for leads or whatever (many times I've seen racers left 'dangling' for hours- sometimes to eventually be told they've all gone home!)
or even are told there are no more connections possible so they'll just have to do without!

"oh right - no problem - we'll just get the bikes out of the van, set up the awning in the dark and
go to bed without even a cup of tea - thats fine"

... see what I mean?

this is clearly crazy

• the lower budget racers are paying through the nose for a service they can't even rely on getting - and are not allowed to make their own arrangements either!
• Santa Pod is making no money
• the Power company are making no money (and their staff are taking the flak it seems)
  
  maybe it makes sense for the Big Boys - where there's a whole bunch of people using power but only 1 race entry fee being paid - I don't know
  but down here in 'the cheap seats' its hard to think what on earth is good about the idea - sure its nice to go to sleep in relative quiet, but thats not good enough is it?... and the 'safety' thing hardly stands up given the amount of vehicles/tanks/containers and different types of fuel all around!
  
  no axe to grind - just thought I'd voice what I believe to be a widely held view in certain circles
  
  lets hope a happy resolution can be found for everyone
  
  Please 'come in' here and say how you feel and/or make your suggestions.
  there's a 'discussion' on our facebook page where you can contribute directly
  regards
  Lorna

April 25th

Round 1 has happened, cold, damp, but great to meet up with the gang again... and start to recognise the new faces! Welcome all of you!! Hope I'll be out of my little caravan a bit more at the next meeting and start getting to know my 'new boys' better :-)

There are lots of photos on our facebook page - thanks Martin

The few points that were gained have started off the 2008 Championship contest - logged on the Points page here - thanks Barrie & Ade

We struggled with both the racing and the charity stuff, so the plan seems to be "take 2" at Round 2...
fingers crossed for the Bank Holiday weekend...
See you there!

Any members who have concerns about round 1 please contact Les directly

Where will you Stick Yours?

quick follow-up to the MS Trust thing...
an opportunity to use your inagination!

http://www.mstrust.org.uk/logocompetition/

Taking Advantage....

OK, any minute now we'll all be off to Shakespeare County Raceway for Round 1 of the 2008 SuperTwins Championship... (eeeee, it's sooooo exciting!!)

Coincidentally there's another organisation I know of which has got a big project on right now - the MS Research Trust are launching their new MS Awareness project - so I'm unashamedly taking advantage of my Drag Racing friends to add some power to the MS Trust!

The MS Trust is a tiny charity focussing on research and information, no huge marketing/fundraising machine, they do various fundraising events - marathons, skydiving and stuff - they've even got an abseiling thing going on but they were completely blown away when I said "can't come to that, I'll be Drag Racing!"

Everyone I've spoken to in the Drag Racing world has said "yeah, count me in!" (or words to that effect)what the Trust needs is some more pennies towards their work and more profile... and one thing I know Drag Racers can do is GET ATTENTION!!

I'd love to get photos of as many bikes/cars/racers/crew as we can... and 'shake the tin' a bit over the weekend. The Trust will be sending some T-shirts and a banner with their new logo on (to be in the pix)... we'll have leaflets for handing out and I'll have more info if anyone needs detail.

Of course, if you can get a bit of coverage in your favourite magazine or local paper that would be good for you, your sponsors, SuperTwins, Drag Racing... and the MS Research Trust! (Let me know if I can help with that)

I don't feel so much like I'm taking advantage now :-)

see you at Shakey!

Lorna

ps if you can't be with us next weekend or would just like to make a donation right now please click here

photo Sue Whyte

the MS Awareness site never expected to be announcing a Drag Racing event!

Mailing List

so far the mailing list project is running fairly smoothly... I have heared about a couple of glitches though.
If you're having any problem with the sign-up get in touch with me so I can sort out your subscription

LAST CHANCE!

anyone who wants to enter Round 1. at Shakespeare County but thinks they've missed the deadline... call NOW! and see if your natural charm will get you in... ;-)01789 720180

SMOOTH SHIFT

many of you will have heard that SuperTwins.co.uk was about to move home (and I was running around wrapping bits in newspaper and stuffing them in teachests!) We're delighted to tell you all that the 'move' went seamlessly none of the vans got lost on the way and nothing was smashed in transit!
I'm sitting here now in my own spacious server, with room for lots more web sites and space for some funky little extra things...
the first one we'll use at SuperTwins is a proper e-mail newsletter (not just some-people-out-of-my-addressbook!) It's FREE, anyone can join - we guarantee your email address will not be given to anyone else ever - and you can unsubscribe whenever you want to...
sign up now - the old list won't be used for very long

subscribe to our newsletter SuperTwins News Update we'll let you know what's going on
Firstname:
Lastname:
E-Mail:
we will never give your e-mail address to anyone and you can un-subscribe whenever you like

April 6th

look! we've got words and pictures from our reporters 'out in the field'... bloody chilly field it looks too!

first few 'Shakey' pix from Ingrid... click to see

and a Caravan Update from Mr Gorgeous...

ooops, that should have been Les' Report from Santa Pod

short report about this weekend at pod !

drove up sat morning, pitted at 11 ish,got out of van,and it started to rain, (wonderfull i said to myself )
the track re opened at t-time,but it wasnt good,despite the hard work of the track crew,no heat in the track,it rained again,so at six o clock,it was time for a nice glass of red.track re opened,again cars ran until 8,30,then rain stopped play! barrie and john had got some runs in sat morning,so they where happy,barrie looking very good wearing his newly painted crash helmet,more quality paint work,by dave may. nice
meet up with Guy and his crew,had a look at his sportster top gas bike,very nice,couldnt see all of it,as it was still in the back of the (x rush) caravan. i look forward to seeing it run.
during the afternoon,it was caravan change time,barrie and viv,now have our old one,and we now have steve woollets old,and wow its huge inside,and very strange,like its got taps,and get this you turn them on ,out comes water,hot and cold, (better than our house) and a shower! lyns a very happy bunny. thanx steve and jack for taking it to pod .

sunday!!!
lyn and i woke up to snow,
now thats twice we have been to pod ,and its snowed both times,i dont care what you all say,its not my fault! *
we came home,to more snow! and you know i said the caravan is huge,it is it will not fit on the drive!!!
next outing rnd 1 at avon, ive got every thing crossed.

wrap up warm everybody... we'll be racing soon!

(*if it starts to snow at round 1 we can make arrangements for the asassination then)

 

hey, look what dropped onto the CyberMat!

wadyareckon SuperTwins... are we up for the gig???
I'm pretty sure this is to do with the involvement of a Bearded Person in last year's Challenge...
get in touch with him or me if you fancy a go at this one...

you know it makes sense ;-)

 

March 31st

Cool!

We've been 'invited' to an 'exhibition' of Ingrid's photos

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Ichesworth81

lovely Les' frosty tales...

21st-24th March 2008 Easter Thunderdall ,now know as the Snowball !
Santa Pod Raceway.
Lyn and I, drove to pod on Thursday, morning, in our new transit van(new to us)and new caravan! in a very strong and gusty head wind, hard work or what at times we could not get above 40 mph. Mpg went out of the widow!

We got in OK, and pitted, and for the first time ever, we had power in our caravan!
and boy did we need it over the weekend.

I started scrutineering, at 5ish,and got about 15 done, it was nice to be back at pod,
and meet up with everyone again, thanx to all the racers who made me a cuppa, which
helped to keep me warm ,as it was wet, windy and very cold ! madness!!!!

Netty (now a Pod official) and Tim pitted next to us.
During the night the wind got stronger, gale force, it woke me up 4ish, it was
Very scarey, not good and it did not drop!

Steve Johnson and Steve Hill (Avon scrutineer) and I started work at 8.
The track opened, but for cars only, the gusty and strong side winds made it unsafe for the bikes at first the bikes where going to run over the 1/8 only, Tim Blakemore came to see me he was very unhappy with the side winds, I checked the wind meter in the tower oh dear, 1 mph, 28 mph, 10 mph and so on. I must admit there’s no way I would have done a run on my bike!

So, Steve, Darren and I walked the track and we made our decision, no bikes to run until, the wind drops! The cars had a field day, and ran all day.

The bike racers where very good about not running, we gave them up dates every hour
At 4 o’clock, it was beer o’clock for the bike pits.

Its now Sunay afternoon as I write this report, and still no bikes have run up the track.
In fact nothing has run since Friday well apart from the tractor.
This morning we woke up to snow, and lots of it (see pics)

A lot of racers have already gone home, and who can blame them.
It’s the worst weather Santa Pod has ever had, the Medi Centre has been kept busy with loads of campers suffering from hypothermia.

Nitro FM saved the day yet again, this time in there new home, in the old barn, very nice.
And thanx to our very own Lorna, who sent in a text wishing all NAST members at Pod a good time, good girl.

Monday, the track crew worked hard and got the track race ready, the wind had dropped and I am pleased to say the bikes ran, as well as the cars. Well done those who weathered the storm of Saturday and Sunday. We did get the odd snow storm but the meeting did run its course. Well done everyone.

Rick Naylor was running in Comp Bike on his new Gas bike, he was doing some shack down runs, the last pass was nice A to B, and it was in the tens.
Racer of the weekend, I watched all the bikes do their, runs there were loads of very fast passes, but the one who impressed me the most was Phil Pratt, well done that man.

Phil runs in 950 bike, it was a joy to watch him in the semi and the final - which he won.

The last bike final was run at 7 o’clock, by which time it was freezing, time to go home.

Before I go I would like to thank Steve Moxley for his write up in the Pod programme and thanx to Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes, for words and pics of Wendy and myself in Dragster Australia.

Lyn and I drove home in the trusty Transit, after a very exceptional but enjoyable weekend.
Leso

Tony Legg said this too, it's all a bit different to recent pix 'at home!!!:

Hi Lorna and co,
Here are some more photos of our new project.
A before picture ! It is on about 2 hectares planted with 300 olive trees and almonds.
There are 2 sets of caves for reform one set we will live in and the other will be a summer rental eventually.
We are currently living in a cave house that we have had for 4 years.That is now for sale! But we wanted something with a bit of land for growing veggies and we came across this! Nothing like taking on a challenge!
The locals have been very helpful trying to help with lots of advice on farming the trees! But they all contradict each other! They also insist we drink their homemade wine every lunchtime!! So its not all bad! Hic !
I did bring an enduro bike out with me so I can ride the endless amounts of lanes and have a set of supermotard wheels for the road and track. I was also given a real Gem of a machine I will have to send a photo next time!!
Jobwise at the moment I am working at a Race circuit called 'Circuito de Guadix' as a marshall and general dogs body! It is pretty good and varied work. We have just had the BSB guys out tesing the new pirrelli control tyres and also the new Porshche proto type le mans car! More importantly though a Great New Supertwin Superbike has been testing prior to its release..The new KTM RC8 wow it is amazing,looks wicked sounds wicked and could have me a divorce in seconds!!
I must go and finish a rather fine bottle of Rioja,
Seee youu soooon,
Tonny Leggg Haaaa Haaaaaa!!!

March 30th

Photo Frenzy

a couple of cool photo sites you might be interested in checking out...

nitroexposure - millions of gorgeous photos by Roger Gorringe

superchargedimages - even more shots by lots of photographers in a searchable site

I've added these links to the Members Info page so you can find them from there any time :-)

there are SO MANY pictures of the Thunderball meeting going around but here's one from Ingrid Chesworth. Ingrid's agreed to be a bit of a Lens Lady for SuperTwins this season... I'll introduce you when she's at the track.

 

extract from a recent mysterious e-mail...

...in a Pete Docherty/Winey Alehouse fashion, my head is being fixed!!! by probably the most respected tuner of old skool Brit Iron in the world. Dave Nourish. This should strike fear into the hearts of anyone who's encountered an 8 valve Nourish Triumph. Not because they're faster than Buells (but they are...) but because if you stand next to one thats burning out, your ears start to bleed....Be out at future rounds, apologies to Les.

Not called "Deaf or Glory drag racing" for no reason

this may be related to recent communications relating to Weslake Triumphs and/or Drippers... oh dear, what have we unleashed?

 

and finally...

Nitro Nige from NitroFM has expressed an interest in the SuperTwins Who's Who info project... so the fact that YOU haven't sent anything in yet is now OFFICIALLY embarassing - rest assured, I will have no hesitation in humiliating you in any way possible if this situation continues!

March 25th

I have many 'snippets' reported from the amazing meeting last weekend... but I'm not nicking Eurodragsters word so here are...

Flakes from the Easter Snowball

we had a nice write up in the santa pod thunder ball official programme - thanx to steve moxley

another write-up nast down under in oz mag dragster australia no 744, jan 08 nice pic of Les and one of wendy
they claim that wendy is the first lady to hold a series top fuel title!
(confirmation please all you 'records anoraks' out there!)

a problem
Les Says: I am pleased nast is getting bigger with lots of new and old faces, so how come only 8, yes 8!!!
nast racers have entered for the first meeting?not good!
(get over to the dates page straight away and sort out your entry... now!)

racing in july
you have all asked about it,now you can have it!
nast has been invited to race at drachten (netherlands) the 2nd weekend in july
more info is on its way to Les - it'll be here soon as
there will be ferry discounts and lots of free beer so it could be the nast summer party!
we need info on this one Les will def be going who else???

and last but not least...

rules
can all nast racers please make sure their bikes have race number on each side and the back
that can be easily read with no problems!!!

March 18th

Sixes and Sevens

I understand Les has been *thinking* again... (don't be frightened - we're keeping him away from 'naked flames')...

no, seriously, much thinking/talking/listening has been going on and the decision has been made NOT to add the 7th date to the 2008 season.

Various pros & cons have been weighed and for the Club as a whole it's felt best not to go ahead with it. For future seasons we'll keep extra dates under consideration, particularly in High Summer if they become available.

Beatings

so far 3 clever chaps have made sure they'll avoid being thrashed-within-an-inch-of-their-life at the first round by sending in some blurb/pictures for the SuperTwins Who's Who click and check it out.

an extract from an e-mail conversation I had recently is copied below in case it's useful... it's all about letting people know who we are and what we're doing... so the commentator might say...

"and in the righthand lane we have Billy Whizz on his Hesketh.......ya-de-ya-de.... Billy was one of the original SuperTwins in nineteenfishanchips and has been campaigning this gorgeous side-valve since nineteenhundred&frozentodeath.... away from the track for XX years he's been unable to resist the temptation and is back here with a dial-in time of ZZ.ZZ - some way short of his all time personal best of of YY.YY gained at Thruxton on a BSABantam in nineteen seventysilly... ya-ya-ya-de-ya"

see what you can come up with and SEND IT you know it makes sense ;-)

The Raptor Returning!

Hi Lorna and the rest of the supertwinners,

Firstly I must say how fantastic the updated website looks.
Secondly congrats on how well the e.t class went last year.
Congratulations to all winners of last years championship especially Chris.Well done mate.

I am still living it up in inland Spain and still havent found a Dragstrip!
Strange how a nation of petrol heads havent discovered the deep dark secret of our chosen pastime!
If anyone has any info on Dragracing in Spain then please let me know!
The Raptor had to undergo some surgery after its last outing in Sept 06 when it's motor let go through the line. The Arrow ti rods and special crank were scrap but luckily everything else survived.

While the bike was apart I decided it was time to replace the Marrelli ECU that I was never that happy with as it was really hard to launch as you couldnt dial in a few revs, it was all or nothing so I normally launched from tickover and just rode it off the line. So I bought a new DTA ecu with data loging facillity. Well Ray and Steve Debben have been working real hard wiring this in and came across alot of other faults in the original wiring loom and components. So have had to make a new loom and then some different throttle bodies and injectors came up at the right money! I had to move the top frame tube to get the new carbon Trumpets in place!
Anyway to cut along story short I am hoping to compete in at least one round this year the boys at Debbens are still working on the mapping but are close to finishing.

What I really am hoping to achieve with the Raptor is the first Eight second pass on a STM bike!!
There is unfinished business in STM trim and then who knows maybe I will start thinking about a Raptor Gas bike!!

I am still a Drag bike addict and always keep an eye on results,
So keep up the good work and I hope to see you soon,
Tony Legg

ps. Here's a picture of our home in Castillejar,Granada

SuperTwins Who's Who goes live!

a whole new section of the web site has been constructed and is now live! The SuperTwins Who's Who is the place where people will go to find out all about who we are and what we're up to.
Apart from just being really enthusiastic about what we do and keen to let people know and bring new people into the sport the SuperTwins Who's Who is the backbone of the latest SuperTwins project...

You Racers probably don't know about this next bit (crash helmet on - thinking about other stuff!) but I'm really fed up with the situation where SuperTwins are up to the line and the Commentators are struggling to find something to say... anything!... so they read out your race number and maybe the make of your bike and that's it... that's all they've got.
If the Commentators don't know then the crowd don't know, the press don't know, nobody does... so it's time to sort that out!

Starting this season there will be a Directory of all the SuperTwins - it'll be here on the web site and available to all our Press, Media and RaceTrack colleagues... who's riding what, pb's and records, how long you've been out there, what you're aiming for... anything they might want to know SuperTwins Who's Who will be the first place to look.

The Directory is extremely basic right now... a few photos, each with a name and race class... now its over to you - see if you're in there, if not send me your favourite 'me & my bike' picture, then make a few notes about you and your racing, how long you've been doing this, achievements, PBs, the bike & what you've done to it... that sort of thing. Send the info to me

(we've been here before haven't we? but you can either send me this info or I will drug you and have it beaten out of you at the next meeting... sound fair?)

Before each meeting I'll be aiming to update the entries with any snippets of gossip and news about racers and their bikes, you know the thing 'blew it into 723 pieces at the last round and swam to America to get the bits to mend it'...

OK so 2008 will see an end of embarassed Commentators with nothing to say when the 'Twins get to the line and another step towards the Whole World knowing what a scream it is to race with the SuperTwins!
That's the plan anyway...

"Working in Formula 1 has some advantages, but 1 big disadvantage is no time"

Barry Holland
ET Class
Honda Firestorm

buckle up...
or down?

Les has been 'thinking' (don't be frightened) on the subject of his SuperTwins buckle and similar things...

the one i have is a,mark 1,mark 2,is much nicer to wear(wings are smaller)
so,if we have a batch made,mark 2,would be better,has anyone got one i could use?
i am also,planning,on making some nast paper weights,buckle mounted on some oak,etc. or billet ali.or both!!

so if you've got a mkII SuperTwins belt buckle (the one that didn't dig in your belly I'm told, not that SuperTwins racers HAVE bellies that stick, or roll? over their waist bands do they?)

anyway, if you've got one that Les could borrow to have a mould made give him a shout

email from Scott

Hi Lorna,
Les asked me to let you know that we have put up a section on his website for SuperTwins.
This has a little about page with not much on it at the moment, and a redirection link to the SuperTwin's website. It also includes a section with photo's for some of the members, and a few words about them or their bike. We hope it might bring amusement to some people, or encourage others to send us a photo they might prefer to use instead.
The link to the NASTy Mugs page is as follows:
http://www.lesharrisracing.co.uk/nast_mugs.aspx

I'll be using those photos for the racer profile pages here - so as Scott suggests, pop over there and check your pic, if you're not there or they haven't got your 'best side' you can send us a better one!!

 

worth fighting for...

I've got the shots of this year's Trophies...
aren't they gorgeous!!!!
(can't you just see one of these babies on your sideboard? time to get your proper race-head on!)

big thankyou to Annette and CompuPay - 2008 is already shaping up to be a good 'un!

 

March 5th

Les emails to say...

"our very own model, holli, is in this months flirt mag,
good girl!
nast readers can see page 7 on this web site,
www.flirtmagazine.co.uk

once again, this is an onerous task gentlemen... but I'm sure several of you will rise to the challenge.

last call for the 'dog tags' offer... I must have your details by the end of the week if you're 'in'
e-mail me

Trouble with Tog

I would like to take this opportunity to say once again what lovely people they are over at Eurodragster

Clever, beautiful and extremely kind*... as well as running the best drag racing site anywhere in the world EVER!

*to prove how kind they are Tog only shouted at me for a little while when I used one of their pictures (see below)without asking first!!!
(Will I still need a bodyguard when we're at the Pod do you think?)

Lorna x

March 4th

Shortarse?

Eurodragster are saying a certain Mr I Carruthers will be riding Dave Newbery's Top Fuel Bike this season. Mr Carruthers is also quoted as saying "Well it seems long to a shortarse like myself."

Pop over there and have a look http://www.eurodragster.com/news/news.asp

Look forward to seeing you GO! Good luck this weekend Rush :-)

 

Trophies on their way...

the word on the wire is that the 2008 SuperTwins Championship trophies have been ordered and are going to be gorgeous!

I'm expecting some photos shortly and they'll go up here so you can all see what you're fighting for (as well as the fame and glory of course!)

A big "thank you" to Compupay who are sponsoring the club this year in various ways - great to have your support :-)

Feb 28th

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEARDY!

I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing our own Les Harris "many happy returns" on his 127th birthday today!!

the Birthday Boy has been lucky enough to receive this cracking SuperTwins buckle from our (even more cracking) Sue Beneke.

it seems there's a possibility of a short run of these being produced (no idea of cost at this stage)but if there would be enough interest Les might follow it up...
send him an e-mail if you'd be interested in having your own NAST buckle. He'll read it when the effects of the Jack wear off in the next day or 2 ;-)

Feb 27th

Lucky Seven!

SuperTwins have been offered a 7th Race Date

The proposed Round 7 will be at Shakespeare County on the 11/12 Oct,

it seems that we are likely to accept this extra date - please let Les know by email if you're happy(or not)with this

Emergency Site Re-build required at SuperTwins to make room for the torrent of entries to the Caption Competition!
check the new Caption Comp page to see what the fuss is about!

flooding in... :-D

"That guy's got his head on upside down!"

"Les, I think it has shrunk in the wash"

"The head streamlining is not the same colour!!!"

"I left a bit of mine down there, too!"

"I don’t care what he says sniffing the fuel does not make you go faster!
On second thoughts!"

"Yes your bum does look big on that"

{lunchtime}
serious stuff just come in from APIRA

Hi Lorna
Sorry not to get back to you sooner, had MSA seminars etc!

Right the closing date for entrys for 19/20 April is Friday 28th March.

Also been talking to Glenn Stockton this morning, and he has had a phone call from ACU today with refernce to one day licences etc they have brought in new rules this year which can be found on Page 311: 2.1 in the handbook, but to put it in plain english this what is now going to happen:

First Time/One Day Licences and Lapsed Licences holders:
Step 1: go to Pit office sign form that acu have issued us, pay £10.00
Step 2: Complete the 3 observed runs
Step 3:Take form to ACU Clerk of Course for him to sign off.
Step 4: After the event send signed form along with completed ACU licence application form to the ACU, they will send you a licence (clubman)
NB: Make sure ACU form is signed by club official before sent off.

The ACU want to stop people just applying for one day licences all the time and not applying for yearly licences.
It does say in the book that the observed runs can be done at RWYB meetings, but there must be an ACU C Of C on site to adminster this, and this really would not be cost effective for us at least to do this, so it will have to be done at permit rounds.
Hope this all makes sense, any queries just let me know.

Take Care
Julie APIRA

fyi the entry closing dates are now on the race dates page and all links to entryform downloads have been updated - nip over there and sort it out, the entry fee for round 1 is just £50

silly stuff came in just past midnight

a Mr A Marrs of TSI Timers (who may be connected with a well known drag strip in the UK) says...

"Neil considers shaving his beard off after Les traps his for the third time that morning"

this seems to be the first entry in the Caption Competition (see below)hoorah!!

Feb 24th

"Ladies and Gentlemen...
I am delighted to announce...
SuperTwins first Caption Competition of 2008!"

(I am enormously indebted to a Mr R Naylor for sending in this special offering - and would like to assure all readers that neither Mr Steadman nor Mr Harris have given their permission for us to use this picture)

Answers to lorna@screaming.net please - the Winner to receive a pair of SuperTwins knickers (in a size of their choice)

more from the 'Noisy Boys'

Finished! Well apart from brake fluid and a host of other things.....
Ric

isn't it gorgeous? shame its a 2-stroke

another lovely thing...

Kev e-mails:

Feb 21st

got a message from Ingrid Chesworth (photographer)she's looking forward to seeing us all again - she'll be at the Thunderball -lots of her pix are at this link, we're welcome to use them contact her if you have any questions (I've trecked through 'a cold weekend' & 'bikes at santa pod'- more than 700 shots - and tagged SuperTwins as I've spotted us) Have a look and see what treasures you can spot.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Ichesworth81

Hi Lorna
This is my NEW "Honda Manx Turbo SET 21" nearly there!
2 Months to GO !! S-IT No problem loads of time
See you in April
TurboTim

Here is my offering not much to do except ummm.........well.maybe the small matter of an engine, ah well, tis but a minor detail!
The old faithfull is all ready to rock though.. see you all soon
luv Wendy

From: johnhackney1965@tiscali.co.uk
Subject: Re: RIGHT NOW!
Date: 21 February 2008 08:01:56 GMT
To: lorna@barter-watson.co.uk
Mine looks exactly the same as last year, minus all the stickers.....if they dont pay anything they dont get advertising!!
If it aint broke, dont go out in the cold dark garage!
send you a piccy soon
John

Feb 20/21st

Sublime to Ridiculous... make up your own mind

Pete leGros e-mails

 

Hi Lorna
My new top fuel bike is coming along. It's been a slow journey but I'm getting there. Pics attached:

Rear side view not long after buying 'as is' rolling chassis from Canada

Drive side under construction

Pulley being machined

Drive assy completed
Bike since all stripped and frame newly sprayed (black). Final build up now starts! It's a Bill Furr frame, and will start off with a 114ci injected Big Twin. High gear only, bentec clutch. 2 other motors waiting in the wings when I've learned how to ride it...
All the best
Pete le Gros

and then Steve Partridge says...

massive weight saving design for 2008
current state of build 20th feb...

what can I say?

Feb 20th

Don Irvine writes

Hi, Lorna,

I wouldn't mind helping Neil out, but I don't think I'll have time to put it all back together!

eat your hearts out, messers Tamiya & Airfix!!

See you in April

Don

send me a photo of your bike exactly as it is right now! We'll see who's got most work to do :-D

Feb 18th

lines from our leader ;-)

URGENTATTENTIONURGENTATTENTIONURGENTATTENTIONURGENTATTENTIONURGENTATTENTIONURGENTATTENTION
This Sunday which is 24th in Tamworth, Neil Steadman is hosting another photo shoot with lots of pretty young models, and photographers, in a proper studio. We are however, one bike and owner short, any brave member of NAST who would like to come along please call Neil on 01789 773912 or alternatively call me on 01603 412798 or 07796 360177. Whoever is the brave volunteer I look forward to seeing you there.

TOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUELTOPFUEL
On a more serious note, this is a shout out for any NAST Top Fuel bike rider who has a clubman license, or who is going to apply for for a first race license. You need to speak to me as soon as possible, so that I can inform you on how you can obtain a National License to race.

EVERYBODYEVERYBODYEVERYBODYEVERYBODYEVERYBODYEVERYBODYEVERYBODYEVERYBODY
It has also been pointed out to me tonight that ALL riders need a 'dog tag' - this item will be an item that is checked when you are being scrutineered. Look in the rule book for exact size and type - you only need your name and address on it, however, if you do know your blood group - as most people do - it wouldn't be a bad idea to put that on there also.
CORRECTION! I now understand that address is not required, but date of birth is!!

On Sunday morning at precisely 08:30 Lyn and myself sat down to a lovely cooked breakfast - cooked by the one and only Sue Beneke, the purpose of our visit (not only to visit Sue) was to collect an excellent collection of past 'Reaction Times' dating back to the early 1990's. I have scanned through some of them and there are some 'corking' photos of racers and what they looked like then. Keep an eye on Rolling News in the next few weeks to see if you can work out who some of them are of. (some are really 'brilliant').

Pictures of Neil Steadman's Gas bike called Taz - since Neil has bought it he has cleaned and freshened it up with some new paintwork - it does look stunning. We wish Neil all the best in his first season in Top Gas.

Hi Lorna

Ran the bike last night at Stunt night in the cold and dark, 9.88@140, ran it today 9.88@141..... ran three non nitrous passes 10.36 , 10.36 and 10.38 all at 130 plus, bring on the ET racing!

Love John

put that little snippet on the site, get em all worried!

 

also this week...

Back Street Heros love us again/still... full details of our race season plus pix of a very fast woman and a little orange bloke :-) nice to be popular eh?

Feb 2/3

sunday night/monday morning brings us this report from 'our man on the scene'...

dinner dance

lyn and i,with steve&sadie johnson,went to the avon park and santa pod 3rd annual,dinner dance,in northhampton,saturday last, 2nd feb. for us, its a lovely,weekend away, with friends having a good time, in a nice hotel, a nice start to the 2008 season.

An excellent time was had by all, there were many touching moments during the trophy presentations and a lot of funny ones as well. On the side of the stage there was a slide show - there were pictures going back lots of years as well as recent ones - interesting to watch while other things were going on. There were lots of Supertwins photos in amongst them.

NAST were represented by myself, John Hackney and Brian Udell, Jerry Collier (and family) was there as well ( I can't help but still think of him as a Supertwinner).

Trophies awared from Avon Park to NAST were as follows:

• ET class:
• Runner up Steve Partridge
• Winner John Hackney
• Top Gas
• Runner up Les Harris
• Winner Chris Stebbings
• Top fuel
• Runner up Wendy Clutterbuck
• Winner Andy (the duck) Smith

 

Did not collect tropies for any of these not present, I did offer but nobody took me up on it, so for those lucky winners and runner ups they can collect their trophies from Avon Park April Round one

There was a 3 course meal followed by music and frivolity.

I wouldn't have attended the dinner and dance if it hadn't been for Steve Johnson last year and the Three Scrutineers deciding to have a 'get together' outside of the track. It's brilliant to see everybody 'done up' in their finery, ladies in frocks and everything, I even wore a Tux - what do you think of that then!!!!

I think that it's a real NAST type of do and would love to see more of you there next year, you really are missing out. It also breaks up that horrible time between the Christmas festivities and the start of race season.

Hope to see more of you there next year
Cheers from a very tired & chuffed (but not hung over)
Leso

Feb 2nd

not such bad neighbours?

We hear on the wireless {BBC's own correspondent posted in Warwickshire}that local residents marched this morning, in protest against a proposed new Eco-Town including 6,000 new houses.

http://www.stratford.gov.uk/planning/planning-1386.cfm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/7224651.stm

The protestors seem particularly upset about the potential traffic increase, 365 days a year, and the disruption to 'community cohesion'.

What has this got to do with us?
The proposed site is the former MOD Central Engineers Depot at Long Marston, immediately to the South of Shakespeare County Raceway...
I wonder if the current residents think we're quite such bad neighbours now!
{and if the proposed development would be the end of Shakey if it goes ahead?}

We need to work with the promoters and the owners to make a sensible and powerful response to these plans I believe
{we can use our facebook group to discuss this}

Lorna

Jan 30th

where are we?

over on the Members Info page we've just put up a new map... snapshot from Google Earth showing roughly where the SuperTwins are scattered about. Have a look its quite cool :-)

DON'T MISS THESE!

our esteemed and bearded leader informs me as follows... I'll put them on the Race Dates page too but why not make a note of them now

closing dates for race entries,
rnd 2,avon,friday 11th april,
rnd3 pod,friday 23rd may.
rnd4,avon,friday 1st august,
rnd5,pod,friday 22nd august,
the finals,pod,friday 5th september.

it seems that the entry fee for rnd 1is going to be £50.(not confirmed) that would be a nice start to our season! I'll let you know as soon as I can.

change of venue