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The Marangoni Fast Show was all set for a seriously damp weekend, with weather reports in the week running up to the show predicting terrible storms, but on the day, the light showers affected track action on Saturday only, with an almost completely dry (albeit bloomin' freezing) day on Sunday.
The action kicked off on Saturday for those here for the weekend, and although the track took a long time to get going (due to the showers) we were treated to an exciting night Run What Ya Brung session, followed immediately by the Pod Palais opening up.
The Pod Palais was a new feature for The Fast Show 2008, and was popular from the minute it opened its doors at 7pm. With the promise of Richie Don on the decks, the Fuel Girls on the stage and... most importantly of all... central heating, the inaugural evening for Santa Pod's nightclub was a huge success.
Sunday started bright and breezy, with streams of cars pouring through the gate and into club stands and car parks. The drift track opened almost straight away, with high-speed tyre smoking drawing a crowd right from the start, and carried on throughout the day.
The show car paddock filled up quickly too, with the cars pre-entered from the Show Paddock page turning up in the metal and creating a real stir. Later in the day, the judges had the tough job of picking a winner and two runners up from the assembled show cars, and awarding just three bits of glassware simply didn't seem enough to do justice to the quality of cars present. However, the following were worthy winners:
BEST OF SHOW – Nick Carter – Peugeot 206 in Lamborghini yellow and black, with smooth custom bodywork and performance upgrades. Everything about the car was done to the highest standards, and the choice of wheels was a brave and rewarding one. Enormous rims crammed under the arches with hydraulics used to get the car super low.
TOP 3 - Tony Scullion – Peugeot 206cc with unique airbrushed exterior and bold body mods, but the real head-turner was the interior, with amazing dashboard and dials, and of course, plenty of ICE.
TOP 3 - Mark Keeble – Ford Escort cabriolet in a unique blue, with sparkling white interior and loads of well-executed custom touches... not to mention a huge quantity of ICE.
| Right next to the show car paddock was the Live Stage- hosted by Richie Don, who somehow still possessed the energy to keep things moving, despite working the late shift in the Pod Palais the night before. Joining him on stage were dance shows, MCs and Page 3 favourite, Louise Glover. The Live Stage was also the venue for the Miss Fast Show competition, where six bouncing babes battled their way to the crown of Miss Fast Show 2008. The lovely Miss Alexandra Pugh from Hertfordshire was thrilled to take the win. |
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On the dragstrip, the main focus of the event took place. The few runs that were made on Saturday were carried over and added to the huge number of runs that took place on Sunday, and as usual, there was a fantastic variety of cars on track. The Run What Ya Brung winners were:
B - Front Wheel Drive with Turbo, Nitrous and/or Supercharger
Andrew Golding
Vauxhall Corsa
12.8165 @ 118.26mph |
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C - Rear Wheel Drive
Andy Nicholls
Fisher Fury
13.77 @ 106.84 |
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D - Rear Wheel Drive with Turbo, Nitrous and/or Supercharger
Jason Grove
Ford Escort Mk1
12.6340 @ 107.91 |
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As usual at The Fast Show, there was a huge number of club cars present, and both sides of the track were packed with impressive displays. A special mention goes out to Corsa C for the sheer size of their display, but the overall winner of the Best Club Display went to VX Online who did everything right, from the charity raffle they held through to the cars on display, they put on an exemplary show, but congratulations go out to all clubs for making The Fast Show what it was. |
Over in the Live Action Arena, Terry Grant performed his unique stunt show, combining tyre-cooking precision donuts with two-wheeling action and other madness. Joining him in the Live Action Arena was the thundering might of the Podzilla monster truck, which smashed its way through cars and a caravan, and performed some of the biggest jumps witnessed from the five-tonne brute.
The Marangoni Pit Stop challenge ran throughout the weekend, with competitors having to change the wheels and tyres of the Marangoni drift car against the clock to win a passenger ride in the Santa Pod two-seat dragster. The winner will be announced shortly, for both this and the Marangoni “text to win” competition.
Steve Best took to the microphone in Fuelers Bar at lunchtime, and performed a hilarious comedy routine, which was well appreciated by those that made it along.
A massive thanks to everyone who decided to give The Fast Show the benefit of the doubt over the weatherman- we were thrilled to see how many people turned up, and it gave the show a real buzz. Thanks also to all the clubs who once again made this a superb season-opener, and all the individuals who brought along cool cars.
View more photos from The Marangoni Fast Show on the 2008 Gallery page.
If you are into performance and modified cars, it's worth checking out the Performance, Tuning & Modified Show at the Pod on Sunday 11th May. You won't see any pole dancers, but there will be some serious performance street cars on the strip, and everyone is welcome. Details at www.ptmshow.co.uk.
| ©2007 Santa Pod Raceway. All Rights Reserved. |
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