Easter Thunderball 22nd – 25th April 2011

Well at last we can report some good news after our recent run of bad luck. The Auto Trader Easter Thunderball event was 4 days of sunshine and warm weather and we managed to complete all of our runs without incident or problem.
Our only run on Friday was cautious as the car only arrived back from Abu Dhabi on Wednesday afternoon, after being delayed on the water for a week. Therefore it did not give us much time to go through the car prior to the first run. We also had to be careful due to the new VIP building and balcony that is now on bankside that was only being used for the first time at this event. The time and speeds were promising with an early shut off being 6.01 at 259mph which gave us renewed confidence for the next run.

Saturday we all had a spring in our step as we knew the car was back on its old performance and ready to run back in the 5’s. Our first run was lunchtime and with a little more power on the startine before the launch we managed to sneak into the 5’s with 5.99 @ 266.58, not really a good 5 sec pass but it was on the board. Next was a late afternnon pass and managed 5.97 @ 268.32, not a bad end to the day and looking forward to tomorrow.

First run was disappointing on Sunday as we got no time or speed due to the timing system having a glitch, but the car felt good and strong. Our next run was at 6.00 pm and we were confident that we could run quicker. Our first 5.8 at Pod for a while, 5.83 @274.70 with a good terminal. We were all delighted and our hard work had paid off.

Monday we all had renewed enthusiasm and ready for the day ahead. The weather conditions were not ideal as it was warm and not too much air about, but we were sure that we could better the day before.The first run was good with a 5.82 @ 278.05, nearly at our imposed limit of 280 but the car was on a charge. Our mid track times and speed were good too as we achieved our highest speed at the 1/8th @ 210.80 and back sub 4 sec times. Our last run was scheduled for 2.00pm which meant a very quick turn around and we decided to leave the set up as it was and be happy with what we had and just to try and back up our last runs. We were rewarded with a 5.83 @ 276.51 and that was enough to seal the weekend as put us firmly back on top.

We all know that we can get more out of the car and when we can get some more runs in I am sure that the performance will not disappoint anyone.

On a more positive note, we have found the problem with No 4 and repairs and modifications are well under way. The body is in the paint shop next week and will be back out hopefully for the end of May. The incident with No 4 dented the confidence a little but with everybodies support and goodwill everything will be back running very shortly.