Day two of etGP07 promised to be a thriller. The prospect of so many powerful cars and the newly built drag strip at California Speedway meant we were assured fireworks on the day.
To our surprise, only six of the ten competitors were actually on-site when we arrived in the morning, and only three were ready to start when the strip opened at 9am. This was surprising because it doesn't take a genius to understand the colder morning air is more beneficial to power delivery, and afternoon temps typically exceed 90F in Fontana, CA, where the track is located.
First car up the strip was the Fireballed! Mini, but its 415hp inevitably presented catastrophic traction problems.
Again, 034 held top drag honors with 10.93sec run until EuroCode edged them out
The next car was 034, and as they were drag champs from last year's etGP, we expected its quattro system to cope better with the power delivery. After an incredibly hard launch, the car ran 12.24sec out of the box, letting everybody know they were here to win.
The third car was ABD, their GTI hitting 13.77 with an almost perfect launch.
The Euro Sport Rabbit was up next, running mid-14s and within a tenth of a second of the car's best ever time. "The Falken tires seem to be working for us," commented Vic Kazanjian, "Giving just enough slip to launch without bogging down off the line."
Mini Madness was in the mid-14s as well, but was experimenting with launch technique and gear change points, finally getting a 13.9 after a few goes.
Again, Torque Factory came third in AWD class against crazy competitors
Meanwhile, Torque Factory turned up with their S4 and got the first launch wrong, bogging down off the line to run a 13.1. However, they returned to put down a 12.2 on the second run and let 034 know they wouldn't have it all their own way.
WRD was next on the line and they got into the low 14s. It seems John Gardner from WRD wasn't expecting much since he didn't even wear a crash helmet - unnecessary unless you slower than 13.9. However, he hit a 13.8 on his third run and was sent for a costume change.
Back on stage was 034, who ran 11.1sec at 133mph. We knew there was a ten in the car, so egged them on. But on the next run they hit 11.09, tantalizingly close. "We haven't changed the boost since our first run," they said, "but we have been experimenting with shift patterns."
After that run, Torque Factory was back and hit 11.7sec at 121mph once the driver had perfected the take-off.
ABD set a promising 13.77sec run before the clutch gave up
The first casualty of the day was ABD. On its second run the GTI burnt out its clutch off the line and limped back to the trailer.
However, the team was determined to run again, so they set off for their workshops to replace the clutch and return later in the day. As it turns out, confusion of the torque values for the flywheel bolts meant the bolts were stripped out of the crank when they did eventually return, putting them out of action for the rest of the day.
By now, we were questioning the masculinity of the 034 team and asking why they hadn't broken into the tens, so the A4 duly responded with 10.9sec at 134mph - the first 10sec run in etGP and a real testimony to the engine, transmission and Falken tires.
At the other end of the spectrum, Euro Sport had let their little Rabbit cool down and Vic had taken over driver duties from brother Raffi. He hit 14.5 consistently over a number of runs, but was struggling to match Raffi's times in the cooler morning air.
The late arrivals included the Audis of EuroCode and Stasis, who worked quickly to get on the track. First up was the Stasis TT, which ran 14.1 on the first attempt, then 13.9 with a great deal of wheelspin. It turns out, this was the first ever quarter mile Adam Pecorari had attempted - preferring to win touring car races for the Stasis World Challenge team!
Fireballed! spent all morning spinning their tires until the engine let go | 
Stasis struggled with DSG but finished second FWD |  |
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