Round 1: Festival Of Power, Santa Pod Raceway, 18-20 April

Robert Joosten took the early championship lead as the top qualifier at Santa Pod Raceway, where the eliminations were rained off.

While others struggled for form, Joosten declared his early-season intent with a storming pass; the Dutch star clocked 6.068 seconds at 236.52mph for pole position. Steve Hall achieved career-best figures to qualify second, while Andy Robinson, blighted by tyre-shake, was third.

New cars were debuted by Kevin Slyfield (’57 Ford Thunderbird, supercharged) and the new team of Chris Isaacs & Spencer Tramm (’70 Plymouth Duster, turbocharged).

Results (qualifying)1 Robert Joosten: 6.068sec. / 236.52mph2 Steve Hall: 6.561 / 218.973 Andy Robinson: 6.983 / 228.97

Low Elapsed Time of the Event: 6.068sec. – Robert JoostenTop Speed of the Event: 236.52mph – Robert Joosten

Provisional championship standings1 Robert Joosten – 23 points2 Steve Hall – 173 Andy Robinson – 164 Kevin Slyfield – 15