Bob Hawkins shares his thoughts after the 2024 season:

When the fans have all gone home.   Bob Hawkins, a workshop insight…..

Drag  racing is often defined by the few exhilarating seconds where raw power and precision come together in a heart-pounding spectacle of noise, smells and sheer sensory overload!
However, as many fans and racers well know there are many countless hours spent in workshops up and down the country, where teams work relentlessly in order to push to the very limits of their machines, sometimes beyond.  Here’s a brief look into my own workshop as we prepare Time Traveller II for the 2025 season:

So, it’s last things first!

We always strip and check every component on the chassis which always starts at the very rear of the car and then we work our way forward in an orderly fashion from there. Once the chutes and lines have been thoroughly inspected along with the safety cage and all its many components such as the wheelie bars etc,  it’s then time to move on to the rear axle, a Strange 9” ,bolt though unit with a ‘spool’ and 40 splined, gun drilled axles. That process is currently being carried out as I write.

This year I cheated a little and removed the transmission beforehand as I was extremely keen to see how the clutches had stood up to a tough season of tyre shake, .9sec 60’s, a new WB et record (6.43) and several other forms of abuse we though at it. Our transmission is a two speed Powerglide with top gear being a direct drive. The unit has been modified to withstand Promod levels of torque and horsepower. I think this is a fairly unique setup for a nitro burning FED but then we do love to be different in breaking the mould sometimes.Anyhow, I’m delighted to report that everything in the case looks like new which was very much to my surprise but excellent news! The unit has now been fully rebuilt with new 10pack clutches and bushings etc, it’s all ready to refit once the rear end inspection is complete.

The next extremely important job is of cause the engine,  while I’ve made a start on this, there is a massive amount of work still to be done here. Firstly our ‘cobbled together’ 496ci ( A Chevy Big Block with an OEM iron truck block) is to be removed and then the 427ci  block is to be rebuilt with a new spec, that spec is a secret for now!  This is the engine to be fitted in the chassis for the start of next year. This then leaves a lovely fresh 454ci iron block on the stand, I bought this last year as a replacement spare. I’ll build this up into a short block along with rebuilding our good old faithful 496 yet again, so everything’s ready for some fresh action. It  may seem a lot of engines for just the one car but remember these are nitro builds running anywhere up to 75%. Engine parts take time to arrive from the USA so in order not to miss any rounds next year, all the engines may well get used at some point during the course of the season!  I could go on but for now that’s a small insight into what we do along with one or two other projects during and between seasons.  I do post workshop updates on my FB page fairly regularly if anyone is interested in following our progress over the winter and into next year.

So remember:

 “If anyone ever thought the thrill of drag racing ends when the engine shuts off, think again, see you at the track!…..Bob

Thomas Cook-Abbott joins us too in the drivers diaries, with an insight to the coming season(and past one):

So the bike thing - pretty sudden wasn’t it. I’d like to say it’d been planned for months that I was going get a bike, it wasn’t. Start of the season I didn’t want a bike. In fact I’ve never wanted a bike. Then I started crewing for Brad Head in 8.50 bike and I saw a new side to racing, got introduced to new people. I learnt a lot about the bikes. Thats the first time I was open-minded to bikes, seeing how the logistics of it all works, and how it would all work out better for me. I then continued crewing for Brad and building my car, with the cost of everything going up and up and still not having a car to race; I thought I’ll start looking around for bikes, but if I’m going to get one it’ll be a V-Twin with a slick and bars.

Thats the only bike I’ll own. All this was at the further most rear part of my brain, I haven’t even told anyone yet! Then I started crewing for Scotty Crookston on his bike. And that’s when I got a bit more open-minded to the bikes, accidentally asking Jake Mechaell how much a 9.50 bike would cost to build, and hanging out with Hayden who had just started riding his 9.50. Fast forward to the season end and I continue buying bits for the car with Charlotte (gearbox etc), when I get something sent to me by Scotty and tagged in something by Jake - it’s a bike for sale, not too expensive nice looking, and it’s raced before. Issue’s being I can’t store it anywhere, and I can’t get it to the racetrack.

All pretty big issues when owning a race vehicle. Then Scotty messaged saying, ‘I can help you store it, and I’ll bring it to the track for you’. Well problem solved, just the small issue of getting the blessing from my family. So I ring my mum, she says go for it.  Not the answer I wanted so I call my dad, ‘he says I think you’re an idiot, but it’s your money’. Damn it. Third time lucky, I’ll call Charlotte and say I’m going to buy it, she’ll obviously say no as it’ll mean pausing the dragster build. She says ‘yeah good idea, do it’.

So next thing I’m on the phone and putting a deposit down on the bike. Issue now is it’s in Yeovil and I’m in Tamworth, and the bike needs to get to Scotland. So I message Brad Head and ask if he can lend a hand. He said no. So I asked him again but really nicely, and he said, ok but there is a straightliners event at Pod next weekend I’ll take it to that! Ok cool, so it goes to Pod. I’m still thinking if I don’t like it I’ll just sell it. Easy peasy. Well if you don’t know how I felt about it, watch the vlog! I loved it! Fingers crossed I’ll be out next year doing a full season in 9.50 or Et Bike. Haven’t decided yet! So from not wanting a bike, to wanting a slick and bars twin, to getting a street-tired GSXR.

All within a year!

Bring on 2025!

Thank you to everyone who forced me to do this, and thank you to all the kind words from everyone after the reveal!

Thank you to Martin Hallett for the lovely bike!  Byee