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Santa Pod Season Review 2009
What A Year! Looking back on 2009, it’s been an absolute belter – those of you that were here were lucky enough to enjoy a record-breaking year on all sorts of levels. Not only have gate numbers been up significantly on 2008 (possibly due to the great weather we’ve been blessed with at most of our events) but we have also seen literally dozens of genuine European and UK records smashed on the strip.
The action kicked off early in the year with DWYB’s and RWYB’s in January giving you all something to get involved with over the winter months but it wasn’t until February until we had our first spectator only event of the year in the form of Stunt Night which provided a heart warming show for all the family.
March saw the first 2 wheeled event of the year in the form of straightliners followed by The Fast Show which was unusually had glorious blue skies and sunshine and saw thousands of modders and car fans come from far and wide to enjoy the racing, drifting show n shine and everything else that made it such a great show!
The Easter Thunderball was unfortunately one of very few events to be affected by the weather in April this year with 2 and a half days of the event rained off. However as soon as the rain had gone the ever determined Santa Pod Track Crew got the track dried and there was some great racing even into the evening for the remainder of the bank holiday weekend and we just about managed to get through all of the classes.
VW’s took over Santa Pod at the end of April for Big Bang Camper and Bus Show and the British weather was back to it’s best for a weekend of action, fun and games for all the family including a world record set by a Splitscreen Bus on the quarter mile!
May was a busy month at the Pod with the debut of the Wheels USA American Car show followed by PTM for everybody into serious tuning followed by the FIA Main Event which many said provided the best motor racing they have ever seen. The event took place over 4 days of blazing British heat which left many not only gobsmacked but also sunburnt. Records and personal bests tumbled one after the other; Andy Carter took the lead in Top Fuel but the most closely fought classes of the weekend were Top Methanol Dragster and Pro Modified where Timo Habermann and Andy Robinson came out on top after an eventual dominant performance.
June and July saw some of our most unsettled months in terms of the weather at our events but despite this there were still some hugely successful shows. Performance Vauxhall show was followed by the Summer Nationals, JapShow and Truck Show in June and the July saw everything from Japanese cars to American cars and VW’s where Bug Jam was sold out in record breaking time on the first day of the 3 day event!
Ultimate Street Car proved to be the big weekend in the modified car fans diary with hardcore racing and partying all day and all night we can only hope that everyone booked the following week off work to recover! A great time was had by all. Later in the month the Pod was taking over by Minis and then for a new discipline; Off Roading at Off Road Power, another new event in 2009.
September saw VW Action return to the Pod which shared the weekend with the test weekend for the European Finals which took place the following weekend. How could the Main Event be topped you might ask? Well the European Finals managed it in style with perfect weather and the first 5 second pass by a doorslammer in Europe and the first 5 second pass on a 2 wheeled machine in the UK. Andy Carter returned to Santa Pod having already won the Top Fuel Championship seeking an undefeated season however he was knocked out in round 2 and it was fellow Brit Jon Webster who took the top honours. Again Personal Bests and Records tumbled with no less than 57 personal bests and 7 new records.
This was not it for the year as there were many National championships to be decided later in the month at the National Finals as well as other enthusiast events including JapShow Finale, which saw Andy Barnes and Mick Begley return to the strip along with all of the HKS drivers to put on a great show, and BMW Show.
October hosted Extreme Performance Bike Weekend and Nostalgia sprint for some 2 wheeled action and then the only thing left to do was celebrate a successful year with exhibitions and Fireworks at Flame and Thunder. Despite the Chilly weather the event attracted a huge crowd who saw Jet Vehicles galore along with Top Fuel Dragsters, celebrities, Robots and loads more followed by the final RWYB of the year on the Sunday.
Fireworks Frenzy was the final track related show of the year where there was a couple of exhibitions followed by a massive fireworks display.
There are still DWYB’s taking place throughout the winter months and all 2010 tickets are on sale now so we can’t wait to see you back here for even more action as we plan to do it all again, just bigger and better next year.
Fore full more detailed reports on each one of these shows please select the event available under event info.
