FIA Main Event rained out.
31st May: Yesterday's (Monday's) eliminations at the FIA Main Event were cancelled because of incessant rain. The rain came in during the presentation of number one qualifiers and was still falling when the event was called in the early afternoon. Contrary to the naysayers' dire predictions the first three days of the race were almost totally dry although a stiff headwind made things difficult on occasion.

Congratulations to Finland's Risto Poutiainen who set a new European Top Fuel Dragster speed record of 317.06 mph which ironically equalled the speed of Tommy Johnson Jr's 4.660 top qualifier. Congratulations also to John Grant (Super Street) and Billy Gane (Pro ET) who won the Eurodragster.com/Cotsweld Race Cars Perfect Light Award and the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award respectively. Both Awards have been reset to the equivalent of £50 for the Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena.

You can check out our Alamo Rent-A-Car-sponsored FIA Main Event coverage by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Racepak/MSD at Sweden Internationals.
29th May: Tim Anderson writes that Racepak and MSD, in the persons of himself and Joe Pando, will attend the Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. Trackside service and sales will be available and a seminar is to be held on the Thursday evening.

"We will have a tent in the vendor midway (with banners and Racepak / MSD flag flying) where racers can stop by if they need MSD and Racepak technical support", says Tim. "If we are out helping other customers, there will be sign-up sheet they can complete with name, car number class and location in the pit area. This is the same method we use at NHRA events and works well to help us quickly locate and service all of our customers. We will be on-site from Thursday through to Sunday night.

"Between 17:00 and 19:00 on Thursday evening Joe and I will be conducting a seminar at the Gold Barn. It has a stage area and everything we need to speak to everyone properly. It will be a training, new product update and question and answer session.

"I will be bringing Sportsman and V300SD data loggers along with sensors, cables, cartridge to SD adapters and related spare components. If anyone needs a datalogger, this will be the place to purchase, as I will provide free installation of any data logger, along with any other components, purchased at the track. I will also be flashing older dataloggers with updated software to enable customers to add sensors. There will be a small fee for this as I have to bring the related cables and software with me, but we will save customers hundreds of dollars in shipping the data logger back and forth to the US.

MSD will have products in stock at the Hansen Racing stand, and Joe Pando will be also be providing tech support based out of the Racepak / MSD tent in the vendor area, along with providing training at the seminar on Thursday evening."

Swift snippets.
29th May: FIA European Top Methanol Funny Car Champion, Denmark's Dan Larsen has confirmed that he will be contesting June's Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena. Dan will however not be driving his own FC but the Avenger belonging to Sweden's Micke Larsson.

A big Get Well Soon to UK Super Street Bike racer Dave Holland who is back at home after a brief stay in hospital. Dave is doing the clever thing, relaxing at home and tuning in to our FIA Main Event coverage. He asked us to pass on his best wishes to fellow Super Street Bike Wayne Saunders.

Web site updates.
29th May: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we have two exclusive Racer Blog updates for you today. In the first update, multiple ACU UK Pro Stock Bike Champion and record holder Dave Beck explains his withdrawal from the FIA Main Event. In the second update, to the FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog, Stephen Moon talks to SSB racer Mark Wells who made the event by the skin of his teeth. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

F&A Racing join Team West-Tec.
28th May: Chris Andrews will be making a return to European Top Fuel racing this season as part of a new deal which sees F&A Racing join with Team West-Tec. F&A Racing will be supplying their newly purchased ex Morgan Lucas NHRA race winning car to the Corby based team to be prepared and run alongside their other drag racing activities.

Team West-Tec, whom are already committed to running Andy Carter in the Lucas Oil Top Fuel car, are delighted to add a second car to their outfit, team principal Gavin Wills said "This is the perfect opportunity for us to expand to a two car team, F&A Racing are providing us with a proven car and a great young driver, they also have the support and ambition needed to be successful."

Chris Andrews who has been involved in drag racing from an early age and has competed successfully in both Europe and the US is rated as one of the fastest young drivers in Europe. "I really am excited about working with a top outfit like Team West-Tec, listening to their plans to develop the car and expand on our vision has made me truly determined to work hard to fulfil my potential as a Top Fuel driver!"

F&A Racing was the brainchild of Vince Andrews in 1998 to help support Chris in his dream of becoming a Top Fuel driver. F&A Racing and its experienced crew will also be bringing additional support to Team West-Tec, trackside and through its marketing and sponsorship team. Mac Forbes said "We have worked extremely hard in getting F&A Racing to where it is today, we now believe that going into partnership with a dedicated and professionally run company like Team West-Tec will help push the team forward to the next level and help realise our goals."

The Chris Andrews Top Fuel Dragster will be on show at the first round of the FIA European Championships at Santa Pod on the 28th-30th of May, within the Team West-Tec Hospitality Unit.

Carter's team effort.
28th May: Anyone who follows European drag racing will know what a frantic off-season it's been for the new Lucas Oil Team West-Tec Top Fuel Dragster Racing Team. Following the difficult decision taken to not participate at Easter, the team are delighted to be in place at the Main Event and four-time FIA Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter fully recognises the achievement.

"I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of my sponsors Lucas Oil, Alamo, GK, Pioneer Print, HolTaj, K&N, Yuasa, BMRS, Rainbow Conference Sets, 3t Creative, NorfolkLine, RCS, Teng Tools, CAAR, AutoTel, Ultimate Airbrush, AACI, Veidec, Zip Kart, Ogden Race Engines and GPR", says Andy. "Without the support of my fantastic partners, we simply wouldn't be here!

"I must also thank my team and everyone who has helped get us to the Main Event. The crew have worked tirelessly and I really appreciate their super-human efforts. Now it's time to do the business on track!"

Andy and the team look forward to seeing friends and fans over the weekend in the new Lucas Oil Team West-Top Fuel pit.

Event entry update.
28th May: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding us Version 4 of the official entry list for the SPRC Summernationals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 25th-26th June. You can check the SPRC Summernationals entry list by clicking here. Friday of next week, 3rd June, is the official closing date for entry to this event. Entry after next Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee.You can download the official entry forms via the Entry Forms link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

Thanks to Paula Marshall for also forwarding us Version 3 of the official entry list for JapShow, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday 19th June. You can check out the JapShow entry list by clicking here, and you can download the official entry forms via the Entry Forms link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

If you have any queries about entry to the SPRC Summernationals, JapShow, or any event at Santa Pod Raceway then please call Paula Marshall on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.

Web site updates.
28th May: In the latest instalment of the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Stephen Moon talks to UK ET record holder Steve Venables. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Swift snippets.
27th May: UK Super Pro ET racer Vince Gibbs writes with the great news that the Nosferatu Firebird will be at this weekend's race. "The new carbon front end finally showed up from Canada (after ordering in September 2010) and is at time of writing is being fitted by Hauser Race Cars", says Vince. "If all goes well it will be ready in time for us to be at Santa Pod this weekend. We still have a bit of work to do so we may not be on track during Sportsman qualifying on Friday but we should hit the strip on Saturday. The whole team are really looking forward to being back at Santa Pod after a year off: you will be able to tell who we are from the massive smiles on our faces. Come and visit us in the pits for a warm welcome and a look at our beast."

Web site updates.
27th May: In the latest instalment of the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Stephen Moon talks to electronics guru Brad O'Connor who really needs more fingers for all of the pies in which he is involved. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

The King Racing web site at www.kingracing.com has been updated with the latest standings in the 2011 ACU UK Drag Bike Championships and the ACU speed records taking account of Harold Wolfenden's new Comp Bike best at the Springspeed Nationals.

Event entry update.
26th May: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding us Version 3 of the official entry list for the SPRC Summernationals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 25th-26th June. You can check the SPRC Summernationals entry list by clicking here. Friday of next week, 3rd June, is the official closing date for entry to this event. Entry after next Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee.You can download the official entry forms via the Entry Forms link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

Thanks to Paula Marshall for also forwarding us Version 2 of the official entry list for JapShow, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday 19th June. You can check out the JapShow entry list by clicking here, and you can download the official entry forms via the Entry Forms link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

If you have any queries about entry to the SPRC Summernationals, JapShow, or any event at Santa Pod Raceway then please call Paula Marshall on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.

Bengtsson feels the force.
26th May: Swedish Supertwin racer Per Bengtsson is out for revenge at the Main Event, says Team PR L-O Jonsson:

After a disappointing DNQ in Kunmadaras the whole team gathered last weekend at the Cramo Nationals at Autoexperten Malmö Raceway for a test session which turned out to be very successful. After three runs on Saturday the team recorded a best sixty-foot time of 1.11 seconds and an accceleration G-Force which reached +2.6 G straight off the startline. The measured G-Force was constant as long as Per was on full throttle.

"That's a new Personal Best when it comes to the G-Force and the sixty foot time is promising", says Per. "We have worked hard to get the bike to leave the start line more aggressively without smoking the tyre. The Malmö track was in very good condition and the track crew used the same VP traction compound which Santa Pod now uses. So it feels good to have this result on a similar track surface to what we will run on at the Main Event.

"It's also good to see the Supertwin entry list with fifteen bikes on the startline. We will try to qualify in the top half of the ladder and of course bring home as many Championship points as possible."

The Beast Drag Bike Team is sponsored by Swedcut, Gates/Lönne, Red Line Oil, Fanhultstvätten Älmhult, Ulvsgården AB, Cemecon, Liqui Moly, Autoexperten Växjö, Bilservice i Åseda, Larssons Bilverkstad Lenhovda, Kalvsviks Bilverkstad, Rävemåla Bilservice, Bentec Engineering and Flexoart. For more information check out www.bentec.net.

Race Ventora emerges.
26th May: It was a long time coming but Michelle Walker says that the Race Ventora was well worth the money, the tears, the blood, the late nights and the arguments - between Roy Walker and the car, not between Roy and Michelle:

We took the car for a test day on Sunday. Geof and the boys from Hauser Race Cars were there to help us on our way. Roy had his talk from Geof before the first run and was told not to go mad, it was the cars first time out...well, Roy being Roy took no notice and ran a 10.65 on its first time up the strip. When questioned he replied "Well it just felt right". The day just got better and better. On the third run Roy managed to run a 9.93, but by the end of the day he managed a 9.48, his Personal Best, what a brilliant day. We're now ready for the real thing. The car is ready, the RV packed and ready to go, we're ready for a mega weekend of racing.

I would like to thank all those who helped us get to the track: the boys at Hauser Race Cars, Daryl at Complete Custom and Paint, Lohrspeed, and Rob Cox Photography. A special thanks from Michelle to all involved for putting up with Roy throughout this stressful time (never again). Thanks again and hope to see you all at the weekend.

Swift snippets.
26th May: 14:20 Monty Bugeja and the Mr Whippy Top Methanol Dragster team are in urgent need of a new pair of Goodyear 34½ x 17 x16 slicks, part number D1022. If anybody has a spare set which they would be willing to sell then please contact Charlie Draper on 07894 965327 or go to the Mr Whippy TMD pit at Santa Pod Raceway.

Many thanks to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for forwarding us an updated table of UK bests now including Harold Wolfenden's Comp Bike speed record. You can check out the UK bests table by clicking here or by clicking on the European Bests link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

The temptation was very great to present this as a picture explaining why yesterday's Private Test at Santa Pod was private, but it is in fact a shot from last Sunday's Peak Performance Day appearing to show a unique pairing between Paige Wheeler's Alamo Rent-A-Car-sponsored Junior Dragster and Robert Joosten's Pro Mod. Robert's team were on the start line checking the wheelie bar height whilst the other lane continued in use.


Your News Editor's first reaction to seeing Per Svedberg's gorgeous Dodge Demon Pro Mod at Tierp Arena was "I want to marry your car" and the nuptials came closer yesterday as he went down on one knee and proposed, to the great amusement of Per, now known as "Papa". We have yet to break the news to Per that, for some reason we can't fathom, his car is being sick every morning.

It arrived whilst we were working at yesterday's Private Test so is posted a day late but Ian Turburville got in touch to ask us to wish his daughter Laura Turburville a very Happy 16th Birthday for yesterday (Wednesday). Hope you had a great day Laura.

The Park and the Picnic.
26th May: The quaint Mallory Park track in Leicestershire, known in racing circles as the friendly circuit, once again echoed to the sounds of V8 engines. But this time, these were no ordinary V8 engines! These were big, bad, blown V8 engines of the supercharged kind, announcing to the paying public visiting third annual PPC In The Park, that the Outlaws were well and truly in town.

As a promotional gig towards their appearance at Shakespeare County Raceway's Yanks/Gary's Picnic Weekend, four Supercharged Outlaw cars - Alec Coe's slingshot dragster, the two 23 Model T altereds belonging to Brian Gandy and Lee Gallimore, and Ian Hanson's '53 Corvette doorslammer - packed in amongst an infield paddock of club stands, drift cars and an auto test arena, certainly raised a lot of attention to those who had never seen a drag racer before other than on TV and in magazines.

The burnout area comprised of the circuit's start and finish straight, from Devils Elbow to Gerrards Bend, and very nearly touched an eighth of a mile. As it was very narrow compared to a normal drag strip it was decided to run the cars one at a time and use the footbridge over the circuit as a marker to pull the chutes to slow the cars down before encountering the right hand bend. Well, that was the plan!


Having figured out the non familiar racing surface from the morning session Brian Gandy with the Skullduggery altered must have thought that he was still at the drag strip having left his braking and letting his chutes blossom well after passing under the bridge. With plenty of right hand lock Brian brought the 500 cubed KB-powered altered to a safe stop in the middle of the bend. Also on a late charge was Tom Coe taking a turn behind the wheel of dad Alec's 350ci Shy Talker slingshot and Mr Entertainment Lee Gallimore in his Red Mist altered all providing memorable entertainment.

Also on hand, entertaining the kids in the pits as well as on out on track, were the Brett family's two Junior Dragsters, Alex in his Modified Advanced rail and sister Joy in her more familiar Mr Magoo Stock dragster. Joining them was Kayleigh Goodrich taking her second turn behind the wheel of the SCR Junior Dragster Experience Hire car.


Shakespeare County Raceway would like to thank all of the Outlaw teams for giving up yet another weekend to help promote the sport, themselves and this coming weekend's Yanks/Gary's Picnic, SCR's four fire marshals Bruno, Pat Salt, Nigel Statham and Andrew Willcox, and Kate Miller, Kevin Leaper and Will Hollman for allowing us to be a part of the magazine's PPC In The Park. We're already looking forward to next year's show.

On the subject of theis weekend's event at Shakespeare County Raceway, if you're not heading out to the Main Event this weekend and you like your quarter mile action with a distinct American flavour then why not consider the 5th Annual Yanks Weekend between Saturday and Monday. Incorporating the NASC's 33rd annual running of Gary's Picnic, one of the oldest events in the UK's rodding calendar, the event will be headlined by a twelve-car-strong package from the Supercharged Outlaws while keeping with the theme of American nostalgia will be a round of the highly entertaining Wild Bunch racers together with the official début of the newly formed Gasser Circus Series as well as European visitors coming to race their VWs and Ford Lightning trucks. Expect the pits to be overflowing with all manner of American automotive rolling art especially with the Tri-Chevy Shootout for '55 shoeboxes to the '57 Bel Airs.

The weekend is also classed as a RWYB so expect a few modern rockets on the property together with bikes of every shape and size. Evening entertainment in Kenny's Bar will be provided on Sunday by the Scatsville Buskers. There will also be a disco, old time drags on the big screen and Eliminator Racing!

Gates open at 6:00 pm tomorrow (Friday) ready for the track opening time of 10:00 am each day subject to the usual conditions. Admission is £15 per person or £35 for the weekend. RWYB track fee is £20 per day or £35 for two days or £45 for the weekend. Please remember your driver's licence and don't forget to bring a crash helmet. Further details can be found on the Shakespeare County web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com, the SCR Facebook page, or call 01789 720180. See you at the strip!

Web site updates.
26th May: In the latest instalment of the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Stephen Moon reports upon one of the friendly rivalries within the class. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Event entry update.
25th May: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch to remind racers that Friday of next week, 3rd June, is the official closing date for entry to the SPRC Summernationals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 25th-26th June. Entry after next Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee. You can download the official entry forms via the Entry Forms link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. You can check out Version 1 of the official entry list for the SPRC Summernationals by clicking here.

Thanks to Paula Marshall for also forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry list for JapShow which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday 19th June. You can check out Version 1 of the official entry list for JapShow by clicking here, and you can download the official entry forms via the Entry Forms link of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

If you have any queries about entry to the SPRC Summernationals, JapShow, or any event at Santa Pod Raceway then please call Paula Marshall on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.

Thanks, too, to Emelie Carlswärd for forwarding us the latest version of the entry list for the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. You can check out the entry list (PDF format) by clicking here. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi.

Attention Funny Bike racers.
25th May: Anders Forsberg of the Nordic Funny Bike Racers has been in touch to ask European Funny Bike racers to contact him about running in 2012.

"The Nordic Funny Bike Racers have met Speedgroup to discuss the future for Funny Bike", says Anders. "We need help finding out how many racers have plans to run in 2012, so please send me an E-Mail if you intend to run Funny Bike."

You can make your intentions known to Anders at af@konsultel.se.

Grumpy's Farewell Tour.
25th May: If you've attended an English race meeting over the past thirty years, the chances are you will have seen Dave 'Grumpy' Wilson, fuelled by alcohol! Before questioning just what drives a man to thirty years of addiction, a look back over his incredible career as a multi Championship winner in the Top Methanol class of the quarter mile sport, may just give us some insight.

It's fair to say that "What Dave Wilson doesn't know about racing in the alcohol class isn't worth knowing". He's a five-time FIA European Top Methanol winner, with various British Championships and race wins to his name. Since his first experience of a dragster in the late 1970s to the present day, Grumpy has been through the highs and lows of a self-funded team, to a hugely succesful sponsorship programme which has enabled him to achieve success not only in Europe, but also in the Americans' own back yard.

After such huge success, it was always going to be difficult to finally hang up the race suit but the time has come to announce the Dave Wilson Racing Farewell Tour 2011. This season will be Dave's last chance to add one more FIA European title to his impressive collection.

Dave Wilson commented "It had to happen some time and I feel that this is the right time to retire from driving. I suppose as one door closes, another opens and I'm keen to see my dragster go on to fulfill its full potential and carry on winning races! This is a great opportunity for someone to come in and take on the car and have as much fun as I have. Let's talk! I'm open to offers to buy the complete operation, hire a drive for races or the complete FIA tour. There are many options and I'm open to discussing them all". The car will be available after the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod on 8th-11th September and gives a fantastic opportunity to be involved in one of the sports pinnacle classes, with a race-proven car.

To mark Grumpy's Farewell Tour, a new web site has been put together by 3t creative, which can be found at www.davewilsonracing.co.uk. The site includes some fantastic images from Grumpy's archive as well as a full history of his hugely successful career.

Dave Wilson Racing will be contesting the complete FIA Top Methanol Dragster Championship tour in 2011, with backing from key partners Silverline Tools and Sony PlayStation. Be sure to visit the team pit and wish Dave well for one final year. As Dave says, "It's the last chance!"

The six-second BMW.
25th May: Morten Authen writes that Vidar Strand's VS Motor BMW-powered and -bodied Top Doorslammer made it into the sixes with a pass of 6.93/327 kmh (203 mph) at Gardermoen Raceway on 14th May.

"The engine was built by VS Motor and is a BMW E60 M5 V10, twin turbo, 1851hp/1817Nm at 1.8 bar running methanol", says Morten. "The chassis was built by Niclas Svensson at NS Racecars to spec 25.1E, and the body is a modified copy of a BMW E90, built in carbon fibre by Kjell Arne Solberg at Carbon Design."

You can check out YouTube videos of the 6.93 run here and here, and a video of a dyno run of the V10 here.

Swift snippets.
25th May: Nigel Hoskison of Eurodragster.com sponsor Dynamic Metals Ltd writes that the plan to reveal the subject of 2nd May's spy picture at the FIA Main Event will not come to fruition. "The picture was of the rear wing of the new Showtime Fuel Funny Car", says Nigel. "It is on a current spec all carbon fibre body from John Force Racing which will be mated to a current spec chassis, also from JFR, but it's not just a new chassis and body: Bob Jarrett and John Spuffard have spent the last few months raising funds and sourcing the additional parts needed, and until everything was available it was not practical (or economic) to ship a container. It is now on its way and should be in the Showtime workshop by the middle of June then unveiled later this year."

The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (below left) came with the words "Drive happy!". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.


Many thanks to Karsten Andersen of Eurodragster.com sponsor Landmeco for passing us this shot of the Andersen Racing Top Fuel Dragster in its 2011 colours (above right). Driver Tommy Johnson Jr is due to drive the car for the first time at tomorrow's Pro Peak Performance Day at Santa Pod Raceway. You can find more pictures on the Andersen Racing Facebook page.

The picture below left snatched by Eurodragster.com US Correspondent Ed O'Connell initially seemed to show just how seriously Santa Pod Raceway were taking this weekend's race as Chief Timekeeper Steve Horn appeared to be giving the start line a quick once-over with the Hoover. However, this being Eurodragster.com, we were duty bound to permit the facts to get in the way of a good story and it transpired that Steve was in fact cleaning out the timing beam boxes.


Bill and Vin of Eurodragster.com sponsor Topspeed Automotive will be coming to Santa Pod Raceway tomorrow with their Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator 1969 Camaro and have asked us to remind racers that if anyone needs any of their two-week-old Hoosier Quick Time DoT treaded tyres (above right), Valvoline etc brought to the track then please let them know today (Wednesday) and they will make sure that anything ordered is loaded. You can contact Topspeed Automotive via their web site at www.topspeedparts.co.uk.

Santa Pod Raceway have two seats available in their Two Seat Dragster on Monday. If you would be interested in taking a turn in the Thrill Ride then check out www.santapod.com or call 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828).

UK Pro ET racer Paul Baynton has asked us to say a big Thank You to everyone who offered help with his motorhome's radiator. "Feltham Radiators came up trumps and re-cored and uprated the old radiator, which was successfully fitted yesterday", says Paul. "Thanks to Steve Hudson who did all the running around and got it sorted and helped to remove and refit it. The motorhome is still trying to fight me with an oil leak, but we should now be ok for travelling on Thursday."

We would like to wish a very Happy Birthday with added hugs to our good friend Jemma Harrison. Have a lovely day Jemma.

Zodiac Racing start their season.
25th May: Vincent Pels of The Netherlands' Zodiac Racing Supertwin team has been in touch with a report on the season so far. "Slippery was the only way the track could be described during the first round of the 2011 UEM European Championship, held at the old Russian airfield base near Kunmadaras in Hungary", says Vincent. "Difficult to tune against when you have 1000+ horses to play with, and with all changes Ton and Vincent Pels made over the winter, not the ideal situation to start with. But the Zodiac Racing team did more passes then ever before during a race meeting and their supercharged Nitro Harley is for sure a force to be reckoned with for the 2011 season.

"This winter the team did a lot of work to try to get the bike more reliable. Last season the main problem was heat and how to get rid of it. Apart from bending valves and burning up guides, the heat problem was so bad that the exhaust port of the cylinder head was melting and therefore the valve seat lost all its support. Our partners were consulted for technical knowledge and along with Kibblewhite Precision Machining new exhaust valves and guides were developed from the most exotic materials available and Supertrapp were asked for advice for a new exhaust system design. But by far, most time was invested in 'skulling' the cylinder heads. Complete copper alloy combustion chambers, so called skulls, were developed and inserted in the heads and with all the extra parts that had to make a little difference. Along with the engine cases which had a connecting rod kicked out at the European Finals last year, the team was again very busy during the winter months.

"We would have liked some track time to dial everything in before the opening round of the European Championship in Hungary, but with the Easter race at Santa Pod Raceway only one week before, it was decided to skip the testing and try to dial in the bike during qualifying.

"The first qualifying run was supposed to be a half pass, but only took about 0.2 seconds. Instead of going forward, the bike simply jumped up and smoked the tyre at the hit of the throttle, so Roel Koedam quickly got off the throttle and idled to the finish line. For the second qualifier the bike was backed down and, with the right lane being a fair bit better, it was able to find some traction and ran a reasonable 7.179, taking the provisional second spot 0.01 seconds behind Hans Olav Olstad. Hoping the left lane would turn for the better, nothing was changed for the third qualifying round Friday afternoon, but the result was identical to the first qualifier, the bike simply smoked the tyre at the hit of the throttle.

"During the evening the heads and cylinders were taken off for inspection and everything came out brand new. It seemed that all the hard work Ton and Vincent did over the winter was worth it. Everything was quickly assembled and the bike was ready for the next day.

"For the Saturday morning session the adjustment of the fuel system was changed a bit, as the engine did not run clean all the way when it ran the 7.17, but the tune-up of the bike was still kept conservative in every sense. At the launch the bike hit a huge tyre shake until the sixty feet, but after the second stage of the clutch came in it picked up the front wheel and went like a rocket, carrying the front wheel way past the 330 foot marker but then suddenly went rich and nosed over. Back in the pits Roel said that the bike did not change gear, and a quick look at the datalogger confirmed it. A pity, as the 4.464 eighth mile time was the quickest first half in qualifying.

"The last session was rained off, so the team could not improve their ET of 7.17, which put them in sixth spot on an extremely close qualifying ladder. After qualifying was cancelled the bike was checked out and the connecting rod bearings were changed, a normal maintenance procedure on Nitro Harleys. Because they did not have lane choice, the team again de-tuned the bike and were ready for eliminations.

"The weather on Sunday was a lot cooler and more humid than the previous two days, but with the eliminations put on a shorter schedule, all the finals could be run in between the light rain intervals. In the first round, Team Zodiac matched up with Finland's Samu Kemppainen, who was qualified third with a 7.120 on his recently-imported sixty-degree V-Twin. Being 0.05 seconds quicker in qualifying, Samu obviously chose the right lane. At the green, both bikes overpowered the track and it became a real pedal fest (well, throttlefest in this case). Roel smoked the tyre on the first and the second hits of the throttle, but after putting the bike in high gear and giving it a third attempt, the bike finally hooked up and was able to pass Samu, who was also struggling to find traction, at the 1000 foot mark. You can't always win them pretty, but it was one very exciting drag race.

"In the second round it was young Jan Sturla Hegre. Again the bike was de-tuned, as again the team had the inferior left lane, and they had not put a decent pass on it yet. Roel was quicker on the tree after a little stage battle, but Jan's bike was the quicker one this race. With the soft set-up in the supercharged bike, it never really accelerated hard, slipping the clutch from start to finish, so Jan was able to drive around Roel's 7.198 with a 7.067 and eventually took the event win.

The Zodiac SuperTwin Top Fuel drag racing team is proudly sponsored by Zodiac International BV, Supertrapp Exhaust Systems, Accel Motorcycle Products, Spectro Oils of America, and Kibblewhite Precision Machining.

FIA Main Event Perfect Awards.
25th May: This weekend's FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway is the latest event in the 2011 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme. £125 is on offer for perfect performance.

The Eurodragster.com/Cotsweld Race Cars Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Pro ET racer Ian Brown at the Springspeed Nationals. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available all to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to the equivalent of £75 for the Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena; if it is won then it will be reset to the equivalent of £50 for the Sweden Internationals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with race car builder Cotsweld Race Cars whose web site you can find at www.cotsweld.co.uk.

The Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at the Springspeed Nationals. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to run to the thousandth on their dial-in or index during qualifying or eliminations. The Perfect ET Award is available this weekend in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street and Junior Dragster (eliminations only), but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Run of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to the equivalent of £100 for the Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena; if it is won then it will be reset to the equivalent of £50 for the Sweden Internationals. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with RV sales and service specialists Gold RV whose web site you can find at www.goldrv.co.uk.

To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET decals, one on each side of the vehicle. If you pull this weekend's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. As with all contingency schemes racers are responsible for collecting decals; there is a large box of Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award decals ready and waiting for racers in the Signing On office.

Web site updates.
25th May: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we have two exclusive Racer Blog updates for you today. First up is the latest instalment in the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog in which Stephen Moon talks to racer Graham Balchin about his return to form and his work with Top Fuel Bike legend Brian Johnson, and second is Team Veidec Racing Pro Stock Bike racer Kalle Lyrén who discusses clutches and six-second passes. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Our good friend and occasional stand-in photographer Julian Hunt has updated his gallery at www.julianhunt.net with no less than 455 pictures from the Auto Trader Easter Thunderball including this spectacular shot of Dan William's wheelie. Julian adds that his pictures from the pre-Easter Thunderball Test Weekend will be posted shortly.

Ven takes the Green.
24th May: UK Super Street Bike ET record holder and multiple Champion Steve Venables is proud to wear British clothing label Pretty Green a few days ahead of his assault on the Main Event. Pretty Green, the clothing label founded and designed by Liam Gallagher, has supported Steve's SSB racing programme by kitting him out in a selection of Pretty Green Black and Green Label products from the 2011 collection.

Liam Gallagher set up Pretty Green with business partner Steve Allen in 2009. The label is distributed through its four UK stores, web site at www.prettygreen.com and a selection of exclusive independent fashion retailers. Pretty Green has won a number of leading industry awards including Menswear Brand of the Year and Best E-tail Marketing Initiative at the Drapers Awards. As well as growing rapidly in the UK, it is also expanding internationally.

Steve Allen, Director of Pretty Green, said: "It's always a great pleasure to have a high profile sportsperson wearing Pretty Green. Steve has had fantastic success and is a true British drag racing legend, everyone at Pretty Green wishes him the very best for the rest of the season."

The growth of the Super Street Bike class has been notable within the sport over recent years, with Steve being one of the leading lights having invested heavily in bringing the best of US technology over the water and using it to deliver multiple class records and Championships.

Steve Venables comments "Steve Allen wasn't really aware of Super Street Bike racing, so I took the opportunity to show him my race operation, and also some video of the SSB class. It's fair to say he was very impressed not only by how fast these bikes are, but also the professionalism. I'm really pleased to be able to wear Pretty Green, the collection is great."

Steve has also given the Eurodragster.com Super Street Bike Blog a full update ahead of the Main Event, so watch out for that in the next day or two.

Swift snippets.
24th May: Maikel Gloudemans writes that The Netherlands' eXplosion Club have extended the deadline for normal-fee entry to June's Drachten Nationals at Drachten Airfield. Normal entry is now open until Friday 3rd June, and any racer wishing to double-enter will only be charged half price for the second class. "The track will have the usual Drachten grip, as well as the sea level air, so you will have everything you need go fo fast!", says Maikel. For more information or to enter check out www.explosiondragracing.com.

This beauty is a Ford 100E Escort with Big Block Chevy, glide, nine-inch axle and 8-71 blower and belongs to Duncan Scott. "A bunch of mates have really helped me to build my dream car and to get it looking fantastic", says Duncan. "It's been a long road so far with a fair way to go but I would like to say a huge thanks to Davey, Charlie and Jim at Draper Brothers Racing for chassis, engine, gearbox and axle construction; big thanks to Chris Howell for body restoration and modification, and a big thanks for an exceptional paint job by Lee Wright. Also a big thanks to Andy Solly for moving and dealing with other things for the car in my absence."

Thanks to our own Simon for producing the post-Springspeed Nationals points standings in the APIRA Ultimate Power Championships. You can check out the APIRA points on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis has been in touch with a note about tomorrow's Private Test at Santa Pod, which he has organised together with Top Methanol tuner and Eurodragster.com Blogger Will Hanna. "No photos will be allowed by third party or amateur photographers who manage to gain entry", says Graham. "No times are to be posted unless by the teams themselves and then only their own times. We will take a dim view if anything appears on Facebook or elsewhere; if anything is allowed to be posted then Eurodragster.com has the exclusive rights first and foremost. We will do everything in our power to restrict access but anyone should get through please treat the day as private and act accordingly. Anyone ignoring the friendly advice and posting stuff should beware."

With his six-second Funny Bike parked, ACU UK Funny Bike Champion Steve French worries about UEM Top Fuel Bike which had two entries at its first round one of which Steve said should perhaps should have been in Supertwin. "At the Pod we have five entries which is a very poor show for the punters", says Steve. "I can foresee it being dropped next year unless something is done. Maybe next year we should put Funny Bike and Top Fuel Bike in a new class just called Dragbike (back to the 90s). To ensure decent racing, may I suggest that entrants must have previously recorded an ET quicker than 7.4 seconds at any track in the previous year before they can enter. The range of times is similar to Pro Mod car and the variety of machinery is likewise diverse. Top eight run for the big money, next eight run for the tinware. Just an idea."

Web site updates.
24th May: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we have three exclusive Racer Blog updates for you today. First up is Luke Bennett who brings us up to date with work on the Relentless blown-alcohol Topolino. Second is the latest instalment in the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog in which Stephen Moon talks to racer Richard Hann and Danny Cockerill's tuner Paul Watson, both of whom expect to see new Personal Bests this weekend. Finally Andy Frost describes the Red Victor 3 street-legal Pro Mod's first outing at the track. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

You've got three weeks...
 23rd May: Dutch Pro Modified racer David Vegter planned to start his season at July's Drachten Internationals, but that changed on 5th May when his phone rang.

"I received a call from Michiel of MPM Oil", says David. "He asked me if we could race at the Main Event. Ooff! That's in three weeks! The car was still in Andy Robinnson's shop for repairs. The engine was at Post & Dros for new sleeves and I had to go to Egypt on business.

"But after some calls we said "Yes, let's go for it". Now three weeks after that call from Michiel the car is back in Holland and ready to race.

"I would like to thank the people who have helped me so well in these last few weeks: Andy Robinson and his great crew (sorry for screwing up your scedule), Egbert from Post & Dros, Marck Harteveld for the great paintjob (in one day!) Gerard Huizinga from HKR Techniek, MPM Oil, and of course my great crew. Thank you guys. See you all at the Pod!"

McDonalds turn hand to Pro Mod.
23rd May: UK Top Fuel Dragster team McDonald Racing are pleased to announce that two of their team members, Sarah and Steve, will be working with Sweden's VBS Racing as part of Linda Thun Tønseth's Pro Modified crew.

"Our background up to now has been Top Fuel, and having got to know Linda over the past few years, when the opportunity came to work with her we were keen to join her crew and take up the new challenge", says Sarah of McDonald Racing. "We are very excited to be working with VBS Racing and looking forward to a new season working on a Pro Modified."

VBS Racing will contest the first round of the 2011 FIA European Championship at this weekend's FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.

Swift snippets.
23rd May: Johan Samuelsson writes that the weekend's Top Doorslammer round at Malmö Raceway featured thirty qualifiers for sixteen spots. "Top qualifier with a new track record was Pierre Rydberg's Akama Racing screw-blown '57 Chevy 57 with a 3.948/306 kmh, and the bump spot was finally 4.33", says Johan. "But later during eliminations Niclas Andersson ran a new track record of 3.944 in the Old 51. The race was won by Mikael Lindahl's Kendall Racing blown Camaro. For qualifying list, elimination ladder, pictures and video please take a look at www.topdoorslammer.blogg.se. The next TD race is at Sundsvall Raceway on 17th-19th June."

After spinning a big end on his first run at the Springspeed Nationals UK Pro ET racer Billy Gane and team have been working every night and all weekend to get the engine rebuilt for the FIA Main Event. "Can I thank a few people for their help without which without we wouldn't be going on Thursday", says Billy. "Firstly to my dad Dave for running around sorting and collecting the parts and helping in the garage putting it all together, and to Pro ET racer Terry Robins for helping us out with a crankshaft and lending us some tools which made it so much easier to put together! We really thought we'd be spectating next weekend but for once it has all come together for us! See everyone at the track!"

This must be about the fifteen thousandth time we have had to say this but with the FIA Main Event approaching now would be a good time to repeat that pictures, text or any other content must not be taken from Eurodragster.com without permission and posted elsewhere. A picture was stolen - legally it was theft, let's be clear on this - from yesterday's Peak Performance Day coverage and posted on Facebook within minutes of its publication. Permission was not sought. Taking any kind of content from Eurodragster.com without permission is a breach of copyright and is thus theft; we view it as such and will treat it as such.

We found this out too late to go on to yesterday's news update so a Happy Birthday for yesterday (Sunday) to Stephen Moon, sponsor of UK Pro Stock Bike racer Dave Beck and editor of the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog here on Eurodragster.com. Hope you had a great day Stephen.

Mike Lalouette tells us that the July 2011 edition of Hot Rod magazine mentions the restoration by Arizona's T2V Racing of the 1960s UK race car Megalomania. The owner, Owen Gibson, is after pictures and information about the car; you can find out more at www.hubgarage.com.

Just time for one last job...
23rd May: Legendary automotive artist Kenny Youngblood found time for one more airbrush job before heading for the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.

"I love few things more than painting on Funny Cars, I could do it everyday!" said Kenny, who has been at it for the past forty five years. "My friend Dennis Taylor called just this week, and asked if we could put some lights on the Nostalgia Mustang he's building so it was off to the paint shop.

"Painting headlights and tail lights on these things is to me an art form, and one that I truly enjoy" added Kenny, who went on to comment on that art form in Europe. "I was impressed with the front end on the MPM Oil Pro Mod; it looks really nice in the photos", he said. "I can't wait to get a closer look and perhaps meet the artist". When asked how it compares, Kenny said "It's probably better than I could do; I'm not necessarily the best, just the oldest!"

Kenny, along with US motorsport personality Trackside Tina Pettet, will be the guest of Santa Pod Raceway at this weekend's FIA Main Event as part of his Blood Did It 45th Anniversary World Tour. Fans are invited to stop by and meet them in the MPM Village, together with the MPM Oil team members, throughout the weekend.

Web site updates.
23rd May: In the latest instalment of the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Stephen Moon reports upon Mick Templeman's very rapid return to the track. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Pre-FIA Main Event Testing coverage.
22nd May: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Eurodragster.com are reporting from this weekend's pre-FIA Main Event Test Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway.

We plan to post an end-day reports and photo galleries from today's Peak Performance Day. The Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam will be on-line and broadcasting live video and trackside audio as long as the track is open each day. Thanks to Doyousee.me for the provision of streaming server facilities.

There were very few racers at yesterday's Run What You Brung so rather than post what would have been a sparse report we have placed detailed mouse-over captions on yesterday's photo gallery.

You can check out our pre-FIA Main Event Test Weekend coverage by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Help Baynton make the Main Event.
22nd May: UK Pro ET racer Paul Baynton urgently needs help if he is to attend the FIA Main Event.

The radiator on my motorhome has let go today and is not repairable in the time available", says Paul. "Does anyone have a radiator or know where I can get one for a 1979 Chevrolet G30 van? I need to get something sorted so that we can travel to Santa Pod on Thursday."

If you can help then please call Paul on 07983 796802 or E-Mail paul@baynton59.freeserve.co.uk.

AFB Racing Main Event preview.
22nd May: Nick Saunders writes that Shawn Rodman and the AFB Racing Supertwin team are excited about their European Championship début at the FIA Main Event:

We are relishing the opportunity to gain some experience running against the awesome bikes on the entry list from Europe. Unforunately our preparations were hampered at the recent Springspeed Nationals where we found ourselves chasing gremlins and not actually making it to the track. Following lots of hard work by the crew over the past week, we are ready to go and will put everything into our efforts over the weekend.

We would like to promote a free competition that we will be running over the Main Event weekend. We have one of our T-Shirts to give away for the best photograph taken of our bike at the event. Picures can be uploaded at www.afbdragracing.co.uk and the team will judge the best picture sent to us by 12:00 noon on Thursday 2nd June. The winning picture will be put on our home page and the T-Shirt will be sent to the photographer.

We are also very proud to annouce that we have been added to the list of sponsors for Junior Drag Bike in 2011. Looking from the outside it seems that everybody involved with Junior Drag Bike has put so much effort in, and the result has been fantastic. It was the idea of our Crew Chief Chris 'Shiner' Golding to get involved by putting up some extra prize money for the riders and to encourage this class to grow.

Good luck to everybody racing next weekend, see you there!

Swift snippets.
22nd May: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Next time I am at the Pod I won't be without a set of wheels". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.

Huge congratulations to ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Michael Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences for taking yesterday's Pro Fuel win at the IHRA Nitro Jam in Pittsburgh in a borrowed car after last week's crash. You can find out more at www.dragracecentral.com.

Lena Lingman of Sweden's Per Svedberg Racing Pro Modified team says that their recent outing at the NDRS Nationals at Tierp Arena was a success for a number of reasons. "It's a beautiful arena which all of us Swedes can be proud of", says Lena. "What made the weekend in the end, though, was the last test session when we saw the Demon's real potential for the first time. It made us go from hoping that we are battling for the European Championship trophy to believing it". The team has launched a new web site at www.svedbergracing.com and you can also stay in touch via their Facebook page.

Web site updates.
22nd May: In the latest instalment of the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Stephen Moon talks to SSB racer Graham Dance and US racer and consultant Walter Sprout. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Another victim of the Fotopic collapse, UK photographer Dick Parnham, has relocated his photo gallery to Fickr and you can now find his photographs at www.flickr.com/photos/dickparnhamdragracing

As a key goal of the Allard Chrysler restoration is an appearance of the car in the USA, with the help of Project 1320 and ACAG American Patron and Project 1320 Chair Traci Hrudka, the Allard Chrysler Action Group has made itself aware of guidelines for historic drag racing vehicles and cackle cars at sanctioned events in America. The Steve Gibbs-developed operational guidelines have already influenced the restoration process and safety requirements of our car. As the Nostalgia drag racing scene is expanding in Europe ACAG Chair Brian Taylor thought that it might be useful to publish the guidelines on the ACAG site, along with current IOPD certification requirements and new Project 1320 classification recommendations for the USA. The information might help similar discussions in Europe and legendary American Track Announcer Jon Lundberg has offered a special E-Mail address for those wanting to know more about the new classification proposals. The information can be found as a download on the ACAG web site at www.allardchrysler.org.

York expects Eights.
21st May: Pennine Drag Racing Club Chair Al Perkins writes that PDRC head into their next Club Championship round at York Raceway next week on the back of two great events.

"The god of sunshine is our new best friend, York has been bathed in glorious weather (if a bit windy)", says Al. "The track is steadily getting better following the team's hard work and the purchase of a new sprayer for the VP LC7. The next round will hopefully see our Super Cup racers breaking into the eights. Yes! Eight seconds at York. Super Cup is for doorslammers and the next round is sponsored by Martin Green of M. Green Fabrication, Billingham. Martin has kindly put up prize money for the first (or quickest) eight-second run of the weekend in a vehicle with functioning doors.

"All our other classes will be running, the biggest single class of American Muscle cars at any track (Super Stock), Air Cooled Eliminator for all things VW and Porsche along with Sportsman ET and Pro ET. We will have classes for our Hot Hatch and Modified car friends too."

Swift snippets.
21st May: UK Super Pro ET racer, graphic designer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Pete Walters will be selling posters from the Canon Reloaded pit at the FIA Main Event. The result of thirty hours of work, the digitally drawn posters feature Mats Eriksson's Crown Victoria and Fast Freddy Fagerströ's truck. The posters come on A3 250gsm card with a silk finish. The posters are £5 for one or £8 for the pair.

Your News Editor and Race Reporter embarrassingly missed it but luckily our good buddy, photo-journalist Steve Moxley spotted a new ACU UK Comp Bike speed record set by Harold Wolfenden at last weekend's Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. Harold clocked 187.57 mph in Q1 backed up by a pass of 186.64 mph in E2. Official ratification is on its way but the maths works so congratulations to Harold.

European fans have someone to cheer on in the USA this weekend as ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Michael Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences is contesting the IHRA Nitro Jam in Pittsburgh, in a car borrowed from Tom Conway after last weekend's travails. You can stay in touch with Mike's progress courtesy of our Drag Race Central colleagues at www.dragracecentral.com.

UK Top Sportsman update.
21st May: It has been a long time coming, but like a fine wine it needed time to mature to its fullest flavour; however Paul Marston tells us that the official web site of Top Sportsman UK is now available at www.topsportsman.co.uk:

On the site you will find some but not all of the competitors listed plus the rules and regulations. More interestingly you can now see the full list of sponsors who have come on board to support this most exciting new development in UK doorslammer racing at its very best. Our marketing partners from the UK and USA show a long term commitment and both Jeff Bull and I appreciate their faith in us to produce a first-class show.

On that note both Jeff and I would like to set straight a couple of points. The entry fee for Top Sportsman at Dragstalgia on 16th-17th July is £125 and that entitles you to compete on both days. You do still have to pay a gate entry fee, but you will not have to pay to sign on courtesy of Santa Pod Raceway. Remember, this is not a National Event: everybody pays, even Jeff Bull and I will pay to get in, there are no exceptions. The gate fee is not incorporated into the entry fee for one simple reason: all the entry fees and most of the sponsor monies are going into the prize fund. This means that this will be the richest doorslammer race seen at Santa Pod this century, period. There will be some expenses such as scrutineers, trophies, credentials etc. Neither Jeff nor myself will see a single penny and we both want to see this event succeed. UK drag racing needs an affordable domestic doorslammer event where you can run what ya brung and hope you brung enough!

This is your opportunity to be part of history, the inaugural running of UK Top Sportsman. You can enter now simply by downloading the entry form and sending it off. Once we know how many are coming we can project the anticipated prize fund so do not delay, enter today. if you have any questions then please call me on 07831 650230 or E-Mail pmracing@fsmail.net or email Jeff Bull through the link on the Eurodragster.com Swap Meet.

Once again a sincere thank you to everyone, both in the UK and USA, who has encouraged and helped Jeff and I. We are humbled by your support and faith in us.

Outlaws meet the JDL.
21st May: Amongst the big, bad and blown Outlaws sat three Junior Dragsters all eager to run alongside the big dogs at Shakespeare County Raceway's recent Public Track Day writes Jerry Cookson:

There were five Junior pilots at the event. The Webb boys Declan and Tyler were both present with their dragsters, the SCR Hire Dragster was being put through its paces by Joy Brett on Saturday and on Sunday by birthday girl Kayleigh Goodrich.

Alex Brett (or should that read Gallimore?) had a promised weekend of spectating as his favourite class is the Supercharged Outlaws. And what a weekend it turned out to be for young Alex! Under very close supervision of track marshals, child protection officers, fire officer and chief scrutineer, Alex was allowed to sit in Lee's Red Mist altered for an engine check. After all Lee is Alex’s hero. He didn't stop smiling in between holding his ears and wiping his eyes. Upon shutdown his only remark was "Dad I want one!". A huge thanks to Lee, all the Supercharged Outlaws, track safety officials and marshals for making this happen!

Saturday's action was even better than expected, long smoky burnouts, some real hair-raising and nail-biting runs. Nothing could top a brilliant day! That was until the four SCR Junior Dragster League racers and Treasurer Carl Webb were asked by Outlaw Chairman Alec Coe and Treasurer Lee Gallimore to accompany them to Kenny's Bar where they were welcomed by the entire Outlaw contingent backed up by SCR Media Marshals Dawn Watson and Dave Derry. The occasion was the hand over of the Supercharged Outlaws Spirit of Outlaws Shield to Carl Webb and a huge cash injection into the SCR Junior Dragster League prize fund.

"The Supercharged Outlaws are looking forward to watching the progress of the Junior Dragster League in 2011", commented Lee Gallimore. "We wish all the racers the very best of luck, and remember that it's not always about winning the race but making sure you can all help each other in the pits and do whatever you can to help your fellow racer when he or she is in difficulty. It's about two cars racing and not one left in the pits broken or out of fuel. This is the spirit of drag racing. Have a great season and all the best from all the Supercharged Outlaws. Have fun."

JDL Treasurer Carl Webb added "It was a great weekend of relaxed testing for the Webb Boys and a chance to support and watch some storming runs from our fellow JDL supporters the Supercharged Outlaws. The Saturday evening gathering in the bar was a great chance for the kids to meet up for a photo shoot and presentation with all the teams from the Supercharged Outlaws. Many thanks to them all for the prize money to add to the JDL pot and the Spirit of the Outlaws shield which shows the kids it's not just about fun and achievement on the track, but off it as well."

Web site updates.
21st May: In the latest instalment of the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Stephen Moon talks about the rules. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

His Fotopic gallery site having run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible, Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog has temporarily posted here on Eurodragster.com a gallery of pictures from the recent inaugural NDRS Nationals at Tierp Arena. There are 309 pictures in all, presented in chronological order, and you can check them out by clicking here.

FIA Main Event racer update.
20th May: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch with details of the arrangments for racers at next weekend's FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.

The final entry list and provisional running orders for all four days are now available and can be viewed by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Please note that as ever the running orders are provisional and subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials.

Please also note that both Sunday's and Monday's running orders have changed from those already issued to racers. The versions which are available here on Eurodragster.com are correct, and copies of these updated running orders will be available from the Signing On office.

Santa Pod Raceway's gates open at 2:00 pm next Thursday (26th).

The Signing On office will be open between 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm on Thursday, and will then reopen at 7:00 am on Friday.

Car scrutineering commences at 2:30 pm on Thursday. Bike scrutineering commences at 8:00 am on Friday; Super Street Bikes will be scrutineered first and then UEM bikes.

If you have any queries about FIA Main Event arrangements then please call Paula Marshall on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.

Speedgroup, Vicci Best Dressed Award.
20th May: Speedgroup and sponsor Vicci are launching a new contest at this year's FIA European Championship events in which the best dressed team at the race will be awarded with $250 worth of custom crew apparel fom Vicci.

The Best Dressed Team contest is open to all teams, Pro and Sportsman, Car and Bike, at the following events:

27th-30th May: FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway
9th-12th June: Sweden Internationals, Tierp Arena
30th June-3rd July: FHRA Nitro Nationals, Alastaro Circuit
12th-14th August: NitrOlympX, Hockenheimring
8th-11th September: FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway

At each event Speedgroup and Vicci will assign a host jury member to assist on site and at the FIA Main Event Speedgroup felt that the natural choice was Eurodragster.com News Editor and Race Reporter Tog. From Tog's position in Race Control he is able to monitor all of the action on track and will have seen every team pass by. When the event is over Tog will select the team which has made the best effort in regards to their appearance. What they wear can be of any brand or even of their own design: it is the thought and effort which Vicci and Speedgroup wish to award.

The $250 gift certificate can be exchanged for Vicci apparel; no other purchase is necessary. The certificate is valid for one year. As well as custom-made team clothing, Vicci's line of products also includes products such as lanyards, ticket holders and caps.

Vicci is also included in the Speedgroup contingency programme for all FIA and UEM Championship classes, rewarding teams in the winners' circle who wear Vicci team shirts or uniforms. In addition Vicci support all Pro and Sportsman classes with very competitive pricing and free advice. You can find out more at www.speedgroup.eu and at www.vicci.com.

To read the full article about the Best Dressed Award and why Speedgroup are highlighting teams who wear uniforms check out club.speedgroup.eu/newsletters/2011/edition5_2011/vicci_best_dressed/Vicci_Best_Dressed.htm#start.

Swift snippets.
20th May: European fans have someone to cheer on in the USA this weekend as ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Michael Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences is contesting the IHRA Nitro Jam in Pittsburgh, in a car borrowed from Tom Conway after last weekend's travails. Today is day one and you can stay in touch with Mike's progress courtesy of our Drag Race Central colleagues at www.dragracecentral.com.

Mort doubles up.
20th May: Jon Morton writes to say a big thank you to his well-wishers after his win in both Super Comp and Super Gas at the weekend's Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway last weekend. "I didn't realise that so many people cared!", says Mort.

"I couldn't have done it without the help of my crew Heide Page, Rod Stanley (who came for an easy race weekend before the Main Event!), Yolande Oosthuizen, Cameron and Dan Page. For their continued support I must also thank Jeff Bull, Steve Passey of Hagbourne Garage, Steve Clark, Homestead Timber Buildings, and of course the best watering hole The Three Horseshoes in Benson."

Electric bike sets UK record.
20th May: Weald Electric Vehicle Technology is claiming a new UK electric motorcycle drag racing record with their custom built Drag Racer project, writes Rick Cuthbert.

The prototype motorcycle hit 96.53mph in just 14.12 seconds over Santa Pod's quarter mile drag strip at the Alternative Energy Racing event last Saturday. The bike is based on a Yamaha XJ600, but it has been extensively modified, with all of the internal combustion elements dumped in favour of twin Angni motors and Lithium Ion batteries.

Weald's bike was ridden by Rob Moon, but Rob still has some way to go before he can claim the world record set by Larry McBride in the USA, who hit 177 mph in just 7.469 seconds over the standing quarter mile.

The UK electric car drag racing record also fell earlier in the year when Sam Young took his electric VW Beetle to an astonishing 9.51-second pass at the Easter Thuderball event in April.

Electric drag racing is a rapidly growing sport in both the USA, where it originated, and in the UK where Santa Pod’s Alternative Energy Racing event has run for four consecutive years with the latest event attracting more electric entrants than ever. You can find out more at www.aeracing.org.

UK Junior Drag Bikes Round 2.
20th May: Sharron Collier writes that the second round of the 2011 Junior Drag Bike Championship enjoyed a twelve-bike entry with close qualifying:

The top five riders were all in the 0.0s over index, with Scott Collier heading the pack with his 9.019 on a 9.00 dial in. First round saw Scott taking the coveted bye run of the eleven-bike ladder, due to ten year old Jack Wildeman being the first JDB rider disqualified from an event after having run underneath his 12.90 class index twice during qualifying. Sad news for Jack, although it didn't stop him smiling! Rookie Bradleigh Vardy lost out to our other ten year old, Louis Davies on his 'Lou's Oily Fueler' machine, and Jasmine Cordelle ran a fantastic 11.066 on her 11.05 dial but still losing out to Alfie Udall (11.67 on an 11.60) as Alfie crossed the line first. This however did secure Jasmine the 25 points and £25 prize sponsored by AFB Racing, for rider closest to dial-in, well done Jazzy Jazz. Jake Charman saw off the new machine of Bobby Frazier taking him to the next round, and Jordon Bissell ran another close dial of 8.92 on his 8.90 to take the win over Conor Meehan on the Tim Blakemore Racing machine. Last pair in the first round was Brett Cordelle taking the light over Josh Webb.

Into round two and Scott ran 9.08 on his 9.00 taking out Louis, and Jake had Alfie in catch up mode, unluckily for Alfie he tried too hard to catch Jake and broke out with a 11.52 on a 11.55 dial, so Jake went through to his first semi final, well done to him. Disaster for current Champion Jordon Bissell when a start line problem left him stationary whilst Brett soloed up the track.

This gave Brett a bye run into the final, and Jake to battle it out with Scott, with Scott taking the win light to meet Brett in the final.

In the final Brett dialled in 9.35 to Scott's 8.95, but the win light came on in Scott's lane with his 9.03 on an 8.95 dial, so well done to Scott, who also took the 25 points and £25 from AFB Racing for closest RT of the event, well done Scott.

This brings the points after two rounds to:
  1. Scott Collier 1280
  2. Brett Cordelle 745
  3. Alfie Udall 730
  4. Jake Charman 610
  5. Bradleigh Vardy 550
  6. Jordon Bissell 480
  7. Jasmine Cordelle 475
  8. Louis Davies 420
  9. Jack Wildeman 300
  10. Josh Webb 280
  11. Bobby Frazier 250
  12. Conor Meehan 220
Many thanks to this season's sponsors IMPhotography, Glyn Sainsbury, High Signs and Graphics, Coombes Property Services, Mitech Systems, Lightning Automotive Evesham, Projoint Custom Fabrications, GLS Engineering, AFB Racing and Hogbitz. If you would like any information on the Junior Drag Bike class then contact us on 01246 570304, look at our web site www.juniordragbike.co.uk or find us on Facebook - search for Junior Drag Bike Club. Our next round is July 9th-10th at Shakespeare County Raceway - see you there.

Eliminator: The common factor.
20th May: Mats Eriksson, Micke Kågered, Urs Erbacher, Paul Marston, Dennis Habermann, Anita Mäkelä. What do these six drivers have in common? They are all appearing at Santa Pod for the FIA Main Event, and they are all featured in the Eliminator card game, writes Ian Hart:

Eliminator is a great fun card game for all the family which is available in the Pod Shop. 60% of the profit from the sale of the game goes into the Eliminator fund which helps out racers and crews in financial difficulty. For the great price of £5.50 you can take away a pack of twenty of Europe's top drivers and cars, and race against each other in any of six featured games even when the strip is closed. But don't just take our word for it, here are some of the comments we have received on the game:

"We love it!! We bought five sets in the end and played it with the kids who were kept very entertained - great Christmas stocking fillers!!"
-- Sarah Howells, Wild Bunch

"Great game, the kids love it, and I must confess, so do I"
-- Paul Hoffmann, bankside spectator

"Brilliant, I didn't think I liked card games, but we play this at least once a week. Why wasn't this about when I was a kid?"
"This is a good game, we play this in our pit between rounds"
-- Dennis Habermann, Top Methanol Dragster

"This is a blast, it is real good fun"
-- Antron Brown, Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster

"My mum likes this, and she is 83 and not into racing at all"
-- Rob Burgess, spectator

"Cool, now when do I get a set with me in it?"
-- 'Fast' Jack Beckman, Aarons/Valvoline Dodge Charger Fuel Funny Car

SPR offer a Fuel run.
20th May: James Forster writes that not only do Santa Pod Raceway offer the most competitive prices on race fuel, but that they we will even deliver it directly to racers' pits. On offer are:

VP C12 - Octane 108 - 5 US Gallon Drum - £85.00
VP C14 - Octane 114 - 5 US Gallon Drum - £95.00
VP C16 - Octane 117 - 5 US Gallon Drum - £95.00
VP Q16 - Octane 116 - 5 US Gallon Drum - £95.00
VP C23 - Octane 120+ - 5 US Gallon Drum - £125.00
VP MotorSport 109 - Octane 101 - 5 US Gallon Drum - £90.00
VP Import - Octane 120+ - 5 US Gallon Drum - £135.00
VP SV-05 - Octane 98 - 5 US Gallon Drum - £95.00
VP M1 Methanol - 54 US Gallon Drum - £400.00

"We also have some new items available", says James:

VP MotorSport NO2 - Octane 120+ - 5 US Gallon Drum - £110.00
VP MotorSport 100 (AKA StreetBlaze100) - Octane 96 - 5 US Gallon Drum - £90.00
VP MotorSport Fuel Container - £29.95

"If you would like the fuel delivered to your pits then please let us know as soon as possible the event for which you need it along with the driver's or rider's name and race number.

"To place your order or for more information, please contact the office on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828)or E-Mail info@santapod.com. Alternately the fuel can also be purchased online on the Santa Pod Shop web site at www.santapodshop.com or bought directly from the Pod Shop on the day."

Web site updates.
20th May: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we have two exclusive Racer Blog updates for you today. First up is Top Methanol Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek Flynn who tells of off-season crises and controversies and looks forward to the 2011 season. Second is the latest instalment in the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog in which Stephen Moon talks to Germany's Thomas Granica, who has a particular reason to want to qualify in the top ten at next weekend's race. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

The Allard Chrysler Action Group web site at www.allardchrysler.org has been updated with more details and photos of the recent engine installation carried out at Beaulieu as well as more photos and extra news about the new AllardArt merchandise range, media coverage and public appearances of the Allard Chrysler dragster. A new photo gallery has also been created with lots of pictures showing the engine installation. Published next Thursday (26th), the latest issue of Octane magazine includes a six-page feature on the Allard Chrysler with new photos taken at Beaulieu. Order your copy now.

Another edition of the Speedgroup Club Europe Newsletter is now on-line. In this FIA Main Event Preview edition you will find an update from the organisers about preparations for the event, class previews for all eight FIA and UEM Championship classes, a Tech article from Racepak, and more. You can check it out at club.speedgroup.eu/newsletters/2011/edition5_2011/edition5_start.htm.

Shredded.
19th May: Ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Mike Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences rode out and then walked away from a fearsome 270 mph crash in testing at Baytown last weekend. Mike, who is thankfully quite OK, got in touch to tell us about it:

The weather looked so bad in Norwalk last week that we decided not to make the trip. It was a good call as after one qualifying hit they postponed the rest of the event. As the weather in Houston was stunning we took the oppurtunity to go to Baytown and test. The test included different tyres.

I made two passes in the right lane. The first was a very good 5.361/269 on a poor track, the second in deteriorating air a reasonable 5.41/270. The problem was that about sixty feet from the traps my right rear tyre blew out and car veered to the right. As I fought to keep the car off wall I thought "I'd better hit the chutes to straighten this thing out" but then got to see my chute was out: the safety wire deployed the chutes when the tyre debris destroyed part of my rear wing. I was hard on the brakes with no bounce and not only flat-spotted the slick but actually wore a hole clean through it.

I kept the car off the right wall and then headed to the left wall. I had the left wheel locked up and car turned around before hitting left wall. It then turned around again before it parked itself against the right wall. I could see flames around the fuel tank as I released my harness. At this point a small explosion erupted from the fuel tank, and I could feel the heat through my 20 Spec suit. After the explosion I could see that it was still on fire and nitro was spreading on the ground.

I quickly got out of car and strode swiftly away as the flames followed me. As I still felt hot I did not know if my suit was on fire so I ripped it off and threw it away from me. The safety crew did a great job, they had got there before I was out of car and they put the fire out in seconds. Per the computer I went through the traps at 5.4 seconds and and the car came to rest at eighteen seconds.

I was lucky as I can't even find a bruise on my body, although I am getting a massage and seeing the chiropractor this week (but that is not unusual for me). Never bitch about the safety rules, I think it's amazing to wreck at 270 mph and not get a scratch and that's all credit to the rules.

The car is a mess; it needs a new body and front half. If we had been able to get pipe on Monday then we would have rebuilt it and taken it to Pittsburg this week. Instead we are borrowing a car from Tom Conway and intend to race that for the next two weeks. I don't think we will be overly competitive as we won't have any real data on that chassis with our motor. Oh well, a poor race is better than no race.

Game on for Wilson and PlayStation.
19th May: The UK's Dave Wilson Racing Top Methanol Dragster team is pleased to welcome Sony PlayStation® back on board for the 2011 season. Moving in to their tenth year together, PlayStation will be using the quickest and fastest Top Methanol Dragster outside of America to once again promote the PlayStation 3 console (PS3™) and driving favourite Gran Turismo® 5.

"Sony PlayStation has been loyal to me for a number of years now and I'm delighted to welcome them back for the coming season", commented Dave Wilson. "Sony continues to build its presence in drag racing and we're privileged that it continues to use our team as the major vehicle for this."

"Sony Computer Entertainment and PlayStation is delighted to be sponsoring the Dave Wilson Racing Team for another year" said David Wilson (no relation), Head of PR for Sony Computer Entertainment UK limited. "Dave Wilson is a legend in Top Methanol drag racing and has accomplished so much in our nine years of partnership. We very much relish what he can deliver in another twelve months."

Dave Wilson Racing has a fine list of committed partners for the coming year. As previously announced, major backing remains in place from Silverline Tools and the list of associate partners remains strong. Dave said "I'd like to thank all my existing partners for their continued support. As well as Silverline and Sony PlayStation, these include Crane Cams, BMRS, Euro American Car Services and 1st Line Motorcycles. Without these partnerships, we wouldn't be able to go racing!"

There are also two new names to add for the 2011 season - Redline Oil come on board as oil sponsor and 3t creative will provide Dave Wilson Racing with a new web site and fulfil team PR duties.

Visit www.silverlinedragracing.com to find out more about the team's partners and their fantastic products or services. PlayStation is a registered trademark, and PS3 and Gran Turismo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks property of their respective owners.

Blown thunder at the Manor.
19th May: The 2011 tour for the UK's Supercharged Outlaws continued with a four car cackle in the heart of the Drayton Manor Theme Park in Staffordshire last Sunday for the NASC's 19th Annual Neil's Springnationals. As a taster to what hot rodding and American car enthusiast can expect to see and hear in a couple of weeks' time at Shakespeare County Raceway's Yanks Weekend/NASC Gary's Picnic, all four cars were invited by event organisers the National Association of Street Clubs to fire up twice and make as much noise as they could.

The line-up consisted of Trace Froome's Dodge Avenger Funny Car, the Stars'n'Stripes '53 Corvette of Ian Hanson and the 23T altereds of Lee Gallimore and Brian Gandy. At one point the crowd line surrounding the cars were four and sometimes five deep eager to see what all the noise was about. At the end of it all each and every onlooker showed their appreciation with a handshake or a cheery "Thank you for the entertainment".

Shakespeare County Raceway's Jerry Cookson was also on hand to rev up the eager onlookers despite falling into the cockpit of Lee's Red Mist altered as his little legs didn't touching the chassis rails when called upon to sit in the car when fired up. The seat was later taken by Wild Bunch racer Mark Coulsell who was just visiting the show after firing up his own Ballbreaker slingshot dragster at his nearby Tamworth home.

The Supercharged Outlaws will be in action again this coming Saturday (21st) for the PPC In The Park show at Mallory Park Circuit where loud blown V8 harmony is a must along with long smoky burnouts, as part of a promotional gig for Shakespeare County Raceway's Yanks Weekend. The Supercharged Outlaws-supported Junior Dragster class will also have cars on display and running.

On the subject of Junior Dragster exhibitions, SCR's Junior Dragster Experience car will be the centre of attention at young Harley Coulsell's school fête at Heathfields Infants School, Tamworth this coming Friday (20th). Harley is the son of Wild Bunch racer Mark Coulsell, owner of the Ballbreaker slingshot dragster. The following day the dragster will be driven in two exhibition runs along the Mallory Park start and finish straight by Kayleigh Goodrich.

Following last weekend's Springspeed Nationals with Callum Swinchatt at the wheel, the SCR Junior Dragster is available for hire at the Warwickshire drag strip's Yanks Weekend on 28th-30th May. From the interest shown from the events and shows at which the car has been displayed at so far places will be filling up fast! For a fee of £120 a day's hire consists of driver and parent tuition as well as race attire. One day or weekend tickets will be made available to parents or partners and additional tickets can be purchased in advance for any event.

The dragster is ideal for birthday surprises, or can be hired for displays. If you require additional information, or to book a day/weekend, then please call the Raceway Office on 01789 720180, E-Mail enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or check out the track's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk/juniordragsterhire.asp. SCR look forward to your call!

See Topspeed for EC-compliant Hoosiers.
19th May: Eurodragster.com sponsor Topspeed Automotive Ltd are pleased to announce their appointment as an approved Hoosier Tire agent:

We have an exclusive batch of Hoosier Quick Time DoT tyres (Street Eliminator approved!) which are compliant with the new European legislation regarding tyre production methods. These tyres have been specifically manufactured by Hoosier for the UK market to counter new European laws regarding tyres made with "dirty oil".

Immediately available are the common sizes, 31 x 18.5 x 15 at £233 each and 33 x 22.5 x 15 at £285 each plus VAT and delivery. Pre-orders of these tyres can be fulfilled at the FIA Main Event. Other tyre sizes will be available over the coming months alongside Hoosier slicks, front tyres and front runners etc.

Topspeed Automotive are excited at this new opportunity and are looking forward to a successful relationship with Hoosier and all of the race teams through this and the coming seasons.

If you have any enquiries then call Bill or Vinnie on 01932 341700 or E-Mail info@topspeedparts.co.uk.

Pre-Main Event Test Weekend coverage.
19th May: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Eurodragster.com will be reporting from this weekend's pre-FIA Main Event Test Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway.

We plan to post end-day reports and photo galleries from Saturday's Run What You Brung and Sunday's Peak Performance Day. The Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam will be on-line and broadcasting live video and trackside audio as long as the track is open each day. Thanks to Doyousee.me for the provision of streaming server facilities.

We will post a direct Home Page link to our coverage as soon as it commences but in the meantime you can check out our FIA Main Event Week event index, which includes the latest version of the official entry list, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Swift snippets.
19th May: Thanks to Emelie Carlswärd for forwarding us the latest version of the entry list for the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. You can check out the entry list (PDF format) by clicking here. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi.

Web site updates.
19th May: In the latest instalment of the 2011 FIA Main Event Super Street Bike Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car Stephen Moon talks to Mick Templeman, who took a 170 mph spill from his bike at Shakespeare County Raceway on Saturday. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Interview: Kenny Youngblood.
 18th May: The 2011 FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway will host a very special guest as legendary US automotive artist Kenny Youngblood will be making his first trip across the Atlantic to attend the race. Kenny will be based in the MPM Village and is looking forward to meeting and greeting European fans for whom he will be colouring Youngblood original cartoons.

Santa Pod Raceway recently interviewed Kenny Youngblood and kindly passed the interview on to Eurodragster.com to publish. You can check out the interview with Kenny Youngblood, which is presented in association with Lucas Oil Products and Carter Motorsport, by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Super Street Bike Blog II.
18th May: In the run-up to last year's FIA Main Event Stephen Moon ran very popular Blog focusing on the Super Street Bike racers who were making their first appearance in some years at an FIA event at Santa Pod Raceway.

We are pleased to announce that we have prevailed upon an already-busy yet willing Stephen to run another Blog leading up to the second round of the European Super Street Bike Mini-Series at next week's FIA Main Event. The Blog, which is presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, already has two entries - Stephen's introduction and SSB racer Dave Smith's thoughts on next week's race - and you can check it out by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Lucas Oil Team West-Tec at the track.
18th May: UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter and Lucas Oil Team West-Tec took a significant step forward in their 2011 programme at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend.

The team performed a meticulous systems check on the Top Fuel Dragster, including firing the car on nitro six times, before putting it on the track on Sunday afternoon.

"The commitment and effort of the Lucas Oil super-crew never fails to astound me, this weekend they worked a total of 250 man-hours, all for me to be on the throttle for just 0.6 seconds!", commented Andy Carter. A sixty foot launch was the plan but Andy was quickly off the throttle when he sensed an issue. "The car felt under-powered when I launched so I was out of it straight away", said Andy, "and the data told us I made the correct call. This is what testing is about."

Lucas Oil Team West-Tec Crew Chief Ben Allum said "After a long winter establishing our Top Fuel programme it was great to pull through the gates to Santa Pod this weekend. For us this test wasn't about trying to run four-second passes or find the perfect tune. We wanted to thoroughly check all of the dragster's control systems and create a solid foundation upon which to build our season, and we accomplished that mission."

Andy went on to tell us about his new safety gear for 2011. "I wore a Stand21 firesuit last season and found it to be of great quality and very comfortable", he said, "so for this season I decided to compliment the suit with gloves and boots. This weekend I took delivery of Stand21's first ever SFI 3.3/20 Top Fuel spec gloves and boots, and I must say I am very impressed. Throughout my career I have used gloves from manufacturers all over the world but none have felt as thin and as comfortable as these gloves from Stand 21. The feel you get of the wheel, pedals and levers is just great."

Andy and Lucas Oil Team West-Tec will be back at Santa Pod in a little over a week's time to start their assult on the 2011 FIA Top Fuel Championship at the FIA Main Event.

Fans can check out more photos from the Lucas Oil Team West-Tec's test weekend over on Andy Carter's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CarterMotorsport. Hit the Like button! Also don't forget to keep up to speed with pictures and lots of information at www.andycarter.net.

FIA Main Event snippets.
18th May: Many thanks to Karsten Andersen of Eurodragster.com sponsor Landmeco for forwarding us this rendering of the Andersen Racing Top Fuel Dragster's 2011 colours:


Tommy Johnson Jr will be making his first passes in the Andersen Racing dragster at next week's Pro Peak Performance Day at Santa Pod Raceway.

We are also indebted to Richard Stevens of Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK for sending us a floor plan for the MPM Village at next week's race. You can check out the Village plan (PDF format) by clicking here. "Pat McManus plus guests will be playing in our pit on both the Saturday and Sunday nights", says Richard. "He really is a fantastic guitarist; the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have covered some of his songs. All racers and fans are welcome to the MPM Village for a free concert on those evenings as a Thank You for their support over the years."

MPM OIL UK Ltd would also like to thank Michiel and Peter at MPM International for their continued commitment to sponsoring teams in the drag racing community. "It is because of MPM that we have been able to bring so many teams to the Main Event for inclusion in the MPM village", says Richard. "We not only welcome their support, but also their commitment to funding such a diverse range of teams, who are proud to be displaying the livery of MPM International at the tracks across Europe and the USA."

Santa Pod Raceway have seats available in their Two Seat Dragster on the Saturday (one seat) and Monday (two seats). If you would be interested in taking a turn in the Thrill Ride then check out www.santapod.com or call 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828).

Top Doorslammer kick-off.
18th May: An awesome weekend is in prospect at Malmö Raceway as the Scandinavian Top Doorslammers are in town, says Johan Samuelsson.

At the moment there are twenty eight teams entered and the number is still going up", says Johan. "The well-known race track in Malmö harbour has already produced a three-second eighth-mile in testing so we expect only the best of this event. And as a bonus, it as if the sun will be back in the area."

Top Doorslammer forms part of the Scandinavian Dragracing Series and after Malmö moves on to Sundsvall on 17th-19th June, Piteå on 8th-10th July, Gardermoen on 5th-7th August, Sundsvall on 19th-21st August, and back to Malmö for the final rounds on 9th-11th September. More details at www.topdoorslammer.se, www.s-d-a.se and www.srif.se.

Swift snippets.
18th May: Thanks to Emelie Carlswärd for forwarding us the latest version of the entry list for the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. You can check out the entry list (PDF format) by clicking here. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi.

Bitburg review.
18th May: The season kicked off for the 1 on 1 Motorsports crew at Bitburg, Germany last weekend, writes our good buddy Markus Münch of the der Beschleuniger web site. Bitburg hosted Test and Tune, Brackets for "Street racers" as well as the first round of the 2011 Street Eliminator Germany Series and international Junior Dragster Shootout:

Mainly many well-known racers were there in weather conditions which allowed the track record to be smasched for several times throughout the weekend. Many US Cars (nostalgic and up to date), VWs, Opels and other marques fought for their own Personal Bests. German, American (many US Army guys and their families live within 150 km of the track), French, Belgium, Dutch, Luxembourg and of course Swiss drivers participated. The track has been a quarter mile since 2001 and is unprepared but through the years there has been very good grip, especially in sunny weather.

The Street Eliminator Germany Series consists of four races. Micha Vogt with his bad Procharged Bel Air dominates the series, having won every event since September 2009. The Champ is the man to beat. Several well known and some new drivers are on the hunt. Micha was number one qualifier with new track record of 8.311 at over 270 kmh. The car is capable of mid to high seven-second runs on prepped tracks. Second was Gerd Habermann in his BMW with an Chevy engine on NOS who ran 9.55. Third was rookie Peter Staedter with a 9.80 in his first race with a newly bought Duster, and fourth was Peter Mahnert ,also a rookie, with a 10.23.

Fourteen drivers took part in eliminations. Only The Undertaker Ulrich Kegelmann in his Bad to the Blown Chevy pick-up was not able to attend the cruise and was out of competition, but ran a PB of 10.5 on a test run on Sunday. The number one and two qualifiers faced each other in the final. Micha Vogt won with an 8.43/263 against Gerd Habermann's losing 9.67/222. Nice runs and in three weeks time the second round will also be held at Bitburg.

The German Junior Nationals had their first round of competition. Champion Sally Ekerst was unable to attend the meeting but will be part of the Junior Nationals from the next race on. Four Germans faced six french boys and girls from the Custom Gang Dragracing Team. The Germans were Leonnie Weickard, Jason Engellage, Marc Schön and Jill Kemp. In Round one of the Shootout Jason Engellage was the only German to survive. Lisa Billault was too much for him in round two, only a hundredth away from her dial in, 13.01 on a 13.00. Unfortunately she redlit in the semi-finals, -0.001 red and only 0.02 over dial-in. Two French kids, Killian Maugan and Fabien Dubois, met in the final. Killian ran a 9.555 on a 9.5 dial-in to Fabien's 8.518 on a 8.39 dial, but Fabien won the race on the Tree with a 0.126 to a 0.308. Trophies were presented by Benni "The Voice" Voss. The French connection will show up again at Bitburg at the Junior National finals. Interested Belgiand Dutch Junior Dragster racers are welcome too.

Jason Engellage was honoured for his 0.009 Reaction Time during Junior Dragster qualifying with €50 sponsored by the Hanau Auto Racing Association. Norbert Schneider tested his new toy, a Nissan Skyline, and looked very confident with burnouts and runs in the 8.4s).

A great weekend at all. All racers are invited to Test and Tune at Bitburg in in three weeks' time.

You can check out Markus' gallery from Bitburg at www.derbeschleuniger.de.

Springspeed Nationals wrap-up.
18th May: Tig and Cath Napier had a down and up weekend leading to to the Pro ET win at the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway:

After the previous RWYB we spent the two weeks before the Springspeed Nationals checking and testing stuff and scratching our heads. We couldn't find much wrong. At the track our 9.95/138 told us we were still down on power. Watching the replay we noticed a lot of soot from the exhausts 'till about half-track. To cut a long story short we missed the second qualifying round after the carb primaries embarrassingly ran dry on the way to the pairing lanes. Back at the pit, we found we had a sticky float valve that couldn't decide if it wanted to be either permanently open or permanently closed! Anyway we got it sorted and were out for the third qualifier. We broke out by two tenths on our 9.84 dial-in. The 140+ mph terminal showed us we were back to what we had last year, so a good starting point.

On race day a string of consistent high 9.50s and tactically backed off 9.60s managed to get us through five rounds of exciting and very close racing to take the final win! Wow! A total contrast to the perplexing time we had just two weeks earlier! We were also two hundredths off our personal best which was set in much more favourable conditions. Looking at the tickets there is more to come as the backed off runs have quicker 990 foot times.

We'd like to say a big thanks to the team, Woody's Race Engines, Pro ET and of course all the staff and crew of Shakespeare County Raceway.

Congratulations to Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association racer Joe Bond for his track busting records for methanol-burning altereds at the weekend race. Joe's 6.478 second pass set in the 489 ci Nuthin Fancy Fiat Topolino not only took out Kenneth Feldthusen's five year old record of 6.681 seconds but the Wratten Brothers' four year old speed record of 205.70 mph with a stunning 214.29 mph.

CC Medical Services' Director Ian Connop has been in touch to say that it took an incredible ten seconds for the rescue services to respond and get to Gary Page after the Chaos Fuel Altered incident on during Saturday afternoon's qualifying. Ian also tells us that Mick Templeman, the unfortunate Super Street Bike rider who took a tumble at the top end, has donated his leathers to CC Medical Services to help demonstrate the forces at work when bike leathers meet asphalt at high speed.

Webmaster Alan Currans has updated the official web site of the Chaos Fuel Altered team with a report by car owner Lawrie Gatehouse and an extensive gallery of pictures which includes images kindly made available by Jon Spoard, Peter Donaldson and The Mad Welshman. You can check it out via the Latest News link at www.chaos-fuel-altered.com.

APIRA marshal Beth Satchell jas asked us to say a big Thank You to everyone who helped with the search for her mobile phone. "I am very relieved to report it has been found", says Beth. "I would particularly like to thank Barry Bohannan, Ian Jackson and his family, Angie Woods, Alex Brett, and everybody else who took the time to search. Also a big thank you to my husband Paul who eventually found it and showed remarkable restraint in resisting the urge to call me a lot of names!"

The official web site of the UK's Super Modified racers at www.supermodified.org has been updated with Chris Dossett's report of the class' weekend.

Courtesy of Dave Derry and DD Pics, pictures of Sunday's trophy presentations are now available to view on the APIRA Facebook page.

Also posting pictures from the Springspeed Nationals are Jeni Long, whose shots you can find at www.yawningcatphotography.com and Alan Currans, whose pictures can be found via the What's New link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk.

PTM Show results.
18th May: Many thanks to Rick Cuthbert for passing on the results from the weekend's PTM Show at Santa Pod Raceway. "It was great to see many new Personal Bests, some superb close racing, and a real development of everyone's professionalism and racecraft" says Rick.

Jap Drag Series Pro
Winner: John Bradshaw (Nissan 350Z) 6.947/195.44
Runner Up: Leon Green (Toyota Supra) red light

Jap Drag Series Factory Modified Winner: Stuart Williams (Toyota Supra) 9.194/149.06
Runner Up: Mark Moseley (Nissan Skyline) 10.790/131.05

Jap Drag Series Street
Winner: Mark Salem (Mazda RX7) 10.878/131.02
Runner Up: James Willday (Mazda RX7) 10.803/146.18

Jap Drag Series FWD
Winner: Douggie Gemmell (Honda Civic) 11.295/125.56
Runner Up: Karl Hart (Honda Civic) red light

Euro Sports Compact FWD
Winner: James Hodson (VW Golf) 11.107/130.92
Runner Up: Paul Bargate (VW Scirocco) 12.089/119.93

Euro Sports Compact FWD Pro
Winner: Sam Bolton (Vauxhall Tigra) 10.442/137.29
Runner Up: Robert Johnston (Vauxhall Astra) 10.889/132.21

Euro Sports Compact 4WD/RWD
Winner: Andy Waite (VW Golf 4WD) 10.631/136.17
Runner Up: Mark Gunns (VW Corrado) 10.690/138.12

The full PTM Show report with photos can be found at www.ptmshow.co.uk.

Event entry update.
17th May: Patrik Larsson tells us that Tierp Arena have had some problems with the payment system on the on-line entry form for June's Sweden Internationals. "If you have had problems entering the Sweden Internationals on-line then please call Emelie Carlswärd on +46 708 357336 to complete your entry", says Patrik.

Tomorrow (18th) is the closing date for normal-priced entry to the Drachten Nationals which takes place at Drachten Airfield in The Netherlands on 17th-19th June. Entry after tomorrow, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee. Entry is not complete until all fees have been paid and entries will not be accepted on the gate. For more information or to enter please check out www.explosiondragracing.com.

If you fancy some last-minute testing before next week's FIA Main Event then you just about have time to enter this Sunday's (22nd) Peak Performance Day at Santa Pod Raceway and/or the Pro Peak Performance Day on Thursday of next week (26th). SPR are also hosting a Run What You Brung this Saturday (21st). Entry to the RWYB and Peak Performance Day is open to all; entry to next week's Pro Peak Performance Day is only open to racers entered for the FIA Main Event in any class Pro or Sportsman. For more details check out www.rwyb.com.

Joon makes Main Event.
17th May: Richard Stevens of Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK has confirmed that Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com Blogger Lex Joon will be competing at next week's FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.

"After a long and very frustrating negotiating period, we have finally come to the decision to attend and run at the first event", says Richard. "Our American team mates are busy booking flights as we speak. Belinda Bear is really excited also to be running in Top Fuel also.

"We would also like to welcome Micke Kågered into the MPM family. He will also be located in the MPM Village at the Main Event. There may be more: we are just awaiting confirmation.

"We would also like to welcome some of our new sponsors:
  • AGS: Anti Graffiti Systems
  • Marshall : The makers of the best guitar amps and rigs on the planet
  • Honeywell Consumer Products Group brands FRAM, Autolite and Prestone
  • Clevite
  • East Mids Hire"
Stay tuned for the plan of the MPM Village.

Pre-Test Weekend Test Weekend.
17th May: Santa Pod's Performance, Tuning and Modified Show over the weekend gave attendees an opportunity to see the Kings of the Quarter in action being as a couple of Top Fuel teams were on hand for Test and Tune, and in the case of Finland's Antti Horto, an attempt to obtain a Top Fuel Dragster licence writes photo-journalist and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Andy Willsheer.

The 27-year-old electrical engineer kicked-off his straight-line addiction through initially competing in Junior Dragster back in 1995 before moving up to Super Comp, where, at age 16, he garnered the Finnish Championship before he was able even to obtain a regular driving licence, the minimum age in that country for issuance of same being 18.

The competent teen then graduated to Competition Eliminator ranks, where he campaigned a Spitzer-chassised, Small Block Chevy-motivated dragster, behind the wheel of which he twice procured Finnish Championship honours.

Fellow countryman Janne Ahonen, former Olympic ski-jumper and now making his mark in the Top Fuel ranks, was kindly afforded a drive in the Horto rail and the two are now good buddies. This friendship has led on to Antti being given an opportunity to step up to the premier class, driving the car that 34-year-old Janne campaigns out of the Rune Fjeld stable of thoroughbreds.

Antti said "To mark my birthday last March, I was presented with a cheque to cover the cost of upgrading my licence, something for which I'd like to sincerely thank all my friends and loyal associate sponsors for making possible."

Suffice to say the RF Motorsport Fueller was impeccably prepped for the weekend, allowing Antti to show his mettle neither without any embarrassing equipment failures nor, for that matter, any faux pas by the driver, who completed the task in hand over the two-day period without fault in what had to be a textbook demonstration of the licensing procedure.

Saturday saw burnout, launch and shut-off protocols handled with panache, leaving the Sabbath task one of complying with the FIA general regulations' requirement of making two runs of 5.40 or quicker and one run of 260 mph (415km/h) or faster.

First came a morning run that was dutifully clicked-off at the 1000-foot mark, the timing slip showing 5.47/204.40 and the track displaying black-tracking marks that clearly showed the car had not, let's say, quite followed the most direct route. Antti was unfazed and couldn't wait to make what he hoped would be his last run, something that needed final approval from Race Director Ian Marshall and deputy Darren Prentice. Suffice to say, this finale effort was undertaken without any histrionics – except, I might add, from those spectators who'd never seen a Fuel car make a full-tilt run at the home of British drag racing – the car recording 5.22/245.53. Although the necessary 260+ mph number wasn't shown on the finish-line scoreboard, timing control confirmed that the dragster had in fact recorded 268.26mph at the 1000-foot mark and this was duly deemed sufficient in the opinion of the aforementioned race officials, who rightly felt that the driver had clearly demonstrated control of the car during all stages of the licensing process and would be duly awarded the permit.

Antti said afterwards that he'd had the best weekend of his life, and was very pleased that his father and Eagle Racing-owner uncle had accompanied him on the long haul from Finland.

Much appreciation also went to Rune and the RF Motorsport crew guys for their support with his endeavours in making the transition to the rarified ranks of blown Fuel a thoroughly enjoyable one. Antti currently anticipates being on the competitor list with the car at Round 3 of the FIA European Championship - the FHRA Nitro Nationals - held at his home track of Alastaro, June 30-July 3. Fingers crossed...

The other supercharged, nitro-guzzling rail on hand was Andy Carter's Lucas Oil Team West-Tec entry, which is the ex-Risto 'Bad to the Bone' Poutiainen Fueller that recorded a stout 4.76/309 during qualifying at last year's season-wrapping European Finals. Bought in turn-key form and half-serviced (the bottom end having been overhauled prior to Andy's purchase,) the well-proven car has since been modified to suit the four-time European champion's penchant. Kitting out the trailer has also occupied much of the team's time during the off-season, and the weekend outing was the first time the car had been fired up. For various reasons, the Lucas Oil-sponsored entry didn't make it out on track on the Saturday, obliging the self-styled King of Europe to forego the pleasure of watching eight-year-old son Albert compete at a kart race in Oxfordshire on Sunday, subsequently entrusting Junior's welfare solely to wife Sarah.

The following day's hoped-for two check-out runs were unfortunately reduced to one when the car failed to show expected promise, an initial lengthy burnout being followed by a quick lift off the throttle pedal as the driver felt that "It just didn't have the (anticipated) acceleration". Andy will have a further opportunity to test the car prior to the Main Event getting under way, hopefully being able to put in a run on the Thursday's Peak Performance Day. The determined shoe will attempt to again make his mark in Top Fuel following a split at the end of last season from the team owned by Denmark's Karsten Andersen and Per Andersen.

The other car due to make a licensing outing was the Mustang-bodied flopper formerly campaigned by John Force Racing in the States, Britain's John Spuffard and Norway's Thomas Nataas. Unused for two years, it has been parked in the RFM workshop at the Pod, until, that is, Kevin Kent, boyfriend of 2010 Fuel-licensed driver Shelley Pearson, negotiated use of same in an attempt to obtain a Fuel Funny Car permit. Alas, this came to naught when late in the day the car was found to be non-compatible in the way of certain levers being beyond his easy reach when fully strapped in. And with seat harness mountings also needing to be repositioned, this just leaves the coming weekend for Kevin to try to make the grade. Should he duly pass muster, I'm reliably promised that he'll make a late entry to the Main Event programme, something that, if nothing else, will obviate the farcical situation of having just one crowd-pleasing AA/FC currently listed, that being the Shockwave of Gordon Smith and Dave Bryant.

DHL Express support for Ålund.
17th May: The first round of the European Pro Stock is only a week and a half away and Sweden's Jimmy Ålund and the J&J Performance Racing Team have been preparing the car for European race tracks after last year's Klintberg & Way Tour of the US writes Pär Willén, aka PiPPi:

There has been lots of engine work over the winter, a new paint scheme on the car and some very good news: a new sponsor for the team. We warmly welcome DHL Express to the wonderful world of drag racing.

Driver and six time European Champion Jimmy Ålund says "This is such good news for the whole team. DHL Express is the leader in international express shipping. The company has been around for over forty years now. And just like our operation, DHL Express is all about speed and quality."

DHL Express Marketing Director Ann-Kristine Johansson adds "I agree - this is a very good match. Jimmy and the team run the fastest Pro Stock car in Europe and that takes commitment, know-how and attention to detail. As far as service goes, Jimmy is a first rate representative for what DHL Express stands for when it comes to good customer relations. Everyone at DHL Express is very pleased to be part of a Championship team and we are very much looking forward to the start of the season".

On 7th-8th May Jimmy and the team attended the opening of the new world-class track at Tierp Arena in Sweden. "Yes, we went there for testing", Jimmy says, "and we were pretty satisfied with the results. We had time to test two different engines and we got good data from this session". Indeed, on the second test run of the season, the team pushed the car to an elapsed time of 6.74 seconds, which is very quick, but the story was the speed: 334 kilometers per hour is faster than the current European Pro Stock record, held by Jimmy himself. "Yeah, well, actually we were not all that impressed by that run", he says. "Sure, the speed was definitely there but we left a lot on the table as regards to running a faster time".

What about the first race at Santa Pod at the end of May? "Obviously we are very excited to go to the Main Event again, the race track and the event carry lots of history", says Jimmy. "It's gonna be very hard racing, beginning with the first qualifying session."

Any reflections on last year's tour in the US? "No doubt, it was a very good lesson for the whole team, we worked as hard as we've ever done in all our years in drag racing". Jimmy adds with his trademark grin "We picked up a few pointers that we will try to put to good use in the European Championship this year..."

Web site updates.
17th May: In the latest update in his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Pro Stock Bike racer Kalle Lyrén writes about his test outing at Tierp Arena. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Editor's note: Your News Editor is a little under the weather so there is a backlog of news which will be cleared on tomorrow's update. Tune back then for an interview with Kenny Youngblood, news from Bitburg, a number of Springspeed Nationals reviews and web site updates and more, and please keep those news items coming to news@eurodragster.com. It is neither too early nor too late for FIA Main Event previews, and our readers are interested in you regardless of the class in which you race, so don't be shy.

Springspeed Nationals results.
16th May: Congratulations to the winners of this weekend's Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway:

Super Modified: Nigel Payne 9.704/152.08 def. Andy Hone 19.064/40.38 red
Super Pro ET: Nigel Turner (8.26) 8.332/151.03 def. Bob Doyle (8.85) 8.912/148.54
Pro ET: Tig Napier (9.58) 9.640/132.39 def. Terry Robins (9.37) 9.330/143.36 b/o
Sportsman ET: Nicole Parker (12.90) 12.968/100.55 def. Jake Handy (13.79) 13.496/100.19 b/o
Super Comp: Jon Morton 8.923/146.73 def. Paul Brown 8.933/147.92
Super Gas: Jon Morton 9.897/149.54 b/o def. Brian Pateman 9.885/150.34 b/o
Super Street: John Grant 10.881/146.38 b/o def. Bob Lees 10.875/133.58 red
Junior Dragster: Joe Kellett (8.07) 8.097/81.67 def. Josh Saunders (8.01) 8.070/78.40
Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association: Joe Bond 6.478/214.29 bye
Wild Bunch: Chris Hartnell (8.88) 8.981/142.98 def. Terry Clifford (10.30) 10.366/128.13
Outlaw Anglia: Cliff Griffin 8.143/169.11 def. Colin Millar 8.673/147.61
VW Pro: Phil Norman (12.20) 12.168/104.66 b/o def. Sam Young (10.99) 10.779/127.22 b/o
VW Sportsman: Matthew Bennett-Sime (18.10) 18.242/72.01 James London (18.80) 18.726/71.90 b/o

Pro Stock Bike: Len Paget 7.645/172.16 def. Ray Debben 7.822/169.76
Super Street Bike: Graham Balchin 7.486/196.34 def. Chris Reed 10.657/148.13
Comp Bike: Harold Wolfenden staged (bye)
9.50 Bike: Jake Mechaell 9.564/134.07 def. Fred Furlong 9.485/137.46 b/o
8.50 Bike: Pete Austin 8.754/157.24 def. Martin Walker 8.832/163.08
Supertwin Gas: Chris Mott 9.215/145.32 def. Joe Elliott 9.329/146.63
Supertwin ET: Martin Brooks (10.70) 11.175/120.64 def. Tara Harris (15.00) 14.862/92.55 b/o
Junior Drag Bike: Scott Collier (8.95) 9.033/67.26 def. Brett Cordelle (9.35) 9.498/72.70

Congratulations also to Pro ET racer Ian Brown who won the Eurodragster.com/Cotsweld Race Cars Perfect Light Award with a 0.000 in qualifying. The Award has been reset to £50 for the FIA Main Event. The Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award was not won, although Super Pro ET racer Nigel Turner came as close as it is possible to get with a run +0.001 on dial-in, so this Award has been increased to £75 for the FIA Main Event.

Gary Page (Fuel Altered) and Mick Templeman (Super Street Bike) thankfully walked away from bad accidents on Saturday.

You can check out our Alamo Rent-A-Car-sponsored Springspeed Nationals Event coverage by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Springspeed Nationals.

We would like to say a big Thank You to Nigel Statham for lending us his mobile broadband stick without which the coverage would have been rather more difficult, and to Wayne Schreier and Simon Day of APIRA's Tech Crew: had we had £1 for every time they asked this weekend whether we had everything we needed then this web site would not need sponsors. Thanks also to Grace Roaf, Dave Derry and The Mad Welshman who contributed photographs over the weekend.

Child: VP is the Choice.
16th May: Lee Child, European Traction Compound consultant and UK distributor for Eurodragster.com sponsor VP Racing Fuels, reports that VP Racing Fuels' Lane Choice 7 traction compound is becoming infectious amongst track owners, promoters and drag racing clubs.

"Great things have happened with VP Racing Fuels' traction compound Lane Choice 7", says Lee. "After many years on another compound, Santa Pod Raceway decided to switch to VP LC7 last September and without any doubt it has had great results with track records and new Personal Bests for many teams. It makes the track very consistent and doesn't have to be sprayed so often. York Raceway have also had great improvement with PBs and a very consistent track."

VP LC7 is now used at Sweden's Malmö Raceway where the first Test and Tune of the season was excellent with three-second Pro Mod times and a 4.32 Pro Stock time on the eighth-mile track, as well as PBs for several teams. "We had some very nice comments such as "We can hit this hard" and "This is world class" from FIA Pro Stock, Pro Mod and Swedish Top Doorslammer teams", says Lee.

The story continues with Hungary's Kunmadaras switching to VP LC7 for the UEM Championship on the same weekend of the Malmö Test and Tune. It was the same success story with track records and PBs for the Hungarian venue with near-European record form in Pro Stock Bike to top it off.

"I am currently in talks with other tracks who are keen to switch to VP LC7", says Lee. "VP's LC7 price is 30 % lower than other brands of traction compound and it doesn't have to be cut with methanol. Most tracks on VP LC7 just spray once in the morning while other brands need to sprayed again in the afternoon. We have plenty of stock of VP LC7 and with have the technical back-up to prep your track. I am travelling to Malmö Raceway this weekend for more track prep with their crew - the goal is to make the track even quicker and even faster."

For more information on VP Racing Fuels' Lane Choice 7 and track prep contact Lee at Eurodragster.com sponsor LA Racing Parts on 01803 391740 (outside the UK +44 1803 391740) or 07771 590176 (outside the UK +44 7771 590176) or E-Mail lee@laracingparts.com.

Web site updates.
16th May: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we have two exclusive Racer Blog updates for you today. In the first update, multiple ACU UK Pro Stock Bike Champion and European record holder Dave Beck bring us up to date with the work on his bike's motor prior to the FIA Main Event, and in the second update Luke Bennett tells of work on Bennett Racing's blown-alcohol altered. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson has updated his Racebilder web site with pictures from Saturday's Test and Tune at Kjula. You can check out Patrik's pictures at www.racebilder.nu.

The Mad Welshman, who kindly contributed some photographs for our Springspeed Nationals coverage at the weekend, has posted a gallery of shots of Saturday's action on his Flickr site at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman. The gallery includes a sequence of Gary Page's frightening but thankfully injury-free crash in the Chaos Fuel Altered.

Another day for ACAG's diary.
 15th May: Tuesday 10th May at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu marked another important date in the restoration of Sydney Allard's 1961 Allard Chrysler dragster – a full inspection of the rolling chassis, qualifying condition and identifying part numbers, and the fitting of the Booth-Arons recreated engine into the chassis. Bob Roberts, Andy Robinson, Chris Eames, Syd Macdonald, John Hunt and Brian Taylor volunteered for the tasks that were carried out in the museum's workshops.

There had been worries about the spacers used on the rocker covers and inlet manifold creating fitting problems but these proved to be unfounded. The team had to remove the injection unit and the blow-off valve to shoehorn it in, but once manhandled through the frame the engine fitted like a glove. Not only that but the existing body panels fitted almost perfectly and the group sigh of relief could be heard in Southampton. The pipes from the blower to the inlet manifold are clearly not correct and the assumption is that they came from the dragster that replaced the 1961 car in 1965. As we need to replace these because their condition had been anticipated it's not such a big problem. For the first time since 1964 the car has an engine where it should be and is now on display at Beaulieu in that condition.

Andy Robinson and Chris Eames focussed on the rear end and transmission while Bob Roberts, Syd Macdonald and John Hunt concentrated on the front end. Everyone (including the Beaulieu crew) helped out with the actual engine installation. Fortunately the rest of the inspection confirmed that most components are in good order with basic refurbishment being required rather than component replacement.

Allard Chrysler Action Group Chair Brian Taylor reports "We discovered such anomalies as the need to remove the front brake calipers before the wheels could be taken off. There is also a sheared half-shaft and only one set of rear brakes, plus some of the cockpit controls need fabricating. But all in all we spotted no insurmountable complications. Chris Eames tried to locate the original paint by rubbing back the existing colour but it appears that it was all stripped back before applying the current metallic blue. And we did identify the dark colour on the chassis and rear panels as being a dark navy blue rather than black. Unless we get any additional evidence about the original colours applied we will match the existing colours."

Andy Robinson said "Considering the car hasn't been used since 1964 I was pleasantly surprised at the good condition of the components when we stripped them down. The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu have obviously looked after the exhibit well. Although there is still much to do, it looks like the restoration work should not be quite as extensive as originally thought."

Brian Taylor added "I must thank the team who joined me at Beaulieu and carried out the installation and inspection. And a special thanks to the Beaulieu team who helped with the lifting and preparation of a hydraulic test rig to check out the calipers. All this was done on a completely voluntary basis and although I have always considered it an honour to be involved with this restoration – as well as a responsibility - I would like to extend a big thanks to all of them. Now we have a car with an engine in place I can get down to fixing some public appearances during the summer. The Hot Rod Drive-In at Beaulieu on 18th-19th June is confirmed as is Dragstalgia at Santa Pod on 16th-17th July. I will be looking for volunteers to man our display shortly. But we do desperately need more funds to progress the work."

In celebration of this important stage of the restoration Paul Whitehouse has completed another excellent painting of the 1961 Allard Chrysler – this one based on a photo taken at Silverstone in 1963. Many think it is his best yet.

Paul has really captured the excitement of the occasion and the car is quite three-dimensional. In the background you can see the empty grandstand at Woodcote Corner where the old Club Straight met the circuit. There's Allan Herridge's Straight 8 Buick and the Worden dragster to the right. The gouache painting is currently being scanned, mounted and framed, and after being signed by Nick Mason and Alan Allard the original will be auctioned for funds. The last originals went really quickly so those interested in bidding should contact brian@allardchrysler.org or phone 01395 579733 (outside the UK +1395 579733). Prints will be made available full size and in A4 mini-print format.

Swift snippets.
15th May: Congratulations to Vidar Strand who clocked a fantastic 6.93 with his BMW at Gardermoen yesterday. Terje Håkensbakken tells us that there is more to come from the BMW-powered car since Vidar drive through shake off the line.


Richard Hadfield is offering for sale this mirror which he has engraved with an image of Mats Eriksson's Green Goblin Pro Mod. Richard tells us that Mats was impressed with the mirror and autographed the back. If you would be interested in purchasing this unique item then you can call Richard on 07770 886489 (outside the UK +7770 886489.

Web site updates.
15th May: Dutch Pro Modified racer Robert Joosten has updated his web site with the latest news from the Pro Dutch operation. You can check it out at www.produtch.com.

Main Event Friday Pro Q1 cancelled.
14th May: We have received the following statement from Santa Pod Raceway concerning the cancellation of the Pro qualifying and Test and Tune session planned for day 1 (Friday) of the FIA Main Event:

"After discussions with Speedgroup our Professional class qualifying and test session on Friday evening has now been cancelled due to issues beyond Santa Pod's control. Santa Pod's aim was to ensure a smooth and efficient qualifying session on Saturday after last year's six-and-a-half-hour marathon first qualifying session for the Professional classes.

"Our aim was for the Professional racers to have a qualifying and test session on Friday night, after Sportsman qualifying, which would have allowed many of the racers to run for the first time in 2011 to try to eliminate any niggles or problems with race vehicles and to dial in to the track conditions. This would have been to the benefit of the racers and the public for a smoother qualifying session on Saturday.

The first Professional qualifying session will now take place on Saturday morning."

Speedgroup CEO and Pro Modified racer Micke Gullqvist writes:

"We do appreciate Santa Pod's efforts of putting in an additional round on Friday and it sure would have enabled a better Saturday Pro session. Every run counts here, test or qualifying, and the racers will tune their vehicles for better performance each run. The Santa Pod races are great and very professionally-organised and I hope that we won't need six hours to conduct the first session again, and if we do then please forgive us.

"The main reason which makes the Friday round hard is that for many of the teams travel plans were concluded a few months back, and it wasn't possible to get set up and ready to race at short notice. For many teams it's hard and costly to extend the races with an extra day, and we feel that under the current situation two days of qualifying is good enough. For teams which want to test more before the Championship starts there are test sessions available at Santa Pod on 21st, 22nd and 26th May, all less than one week before the race."

A Village affair.
14th May: The UK's Shockwave Racing Fuel Funny Car team are pleased to confirm that they will be located in the MPM Village at the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.

"We are very happy to be associated with MPM Oil UK and hope that this project will be a big success", says driver Gordon Smith. "We will be looking for some special performances on the track as well as being available to talk to fans and supporters in the MPM Village.

"The Shockwave team were hoping to début the new car at this event, however there has been a delay in the arrival of parts from the USA so we have had to delay its first outing further. But the older car is well capable of putting in some serious laps and I don't believe that any of the fans will be disappointed with our performance if all goes to plan.

"We would would also like to take the opportunity of thanking our main sponsor Mapei for their further financial help in getting us to the Main Event after we had some engine damage at the Easter Thunderball.

"We are all looking forward to seeing our supporters so please look us up in the Village."

Swift snippets.
14th May: European fans have someone to cheer on in the USA this weekend as ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Michael Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences is contesting the NHRA Division 3 race on Norwalk, Ohio. Today is day two and you can stay in touch with Mike's progress courtesy of our Drag Race Central colleagues at www.dragracecentral.com.

Australian Supertwin racer Mark Ashelford is making his competitive European début at this weekend's NDRG Springnats at Gardermoen, where he will be mixing it with Toten's best. You can find out more on the Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen web site at www.ndrg.no. Meanwhile the FHRA Sonax Spring Nats take place at Finland's Motopark. More details at www.fhra.fi.

UK Pro Stock Bike racer Martin Bishop is seeking pictures of his bike in action at Kunmadaras in Hungary a couple of weekends ago, for use on his soon-to-be-launched new web site. If you have any pictures of Martin in Hungary then please drop him an E-Mail at martin@mbmotorsport.co.uk.

Event entry update.
13th May: Today (Friday 13th) is now the closing date at normal fee for entry to the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi, and the current version of the entry list is available (PDF format) by clicking here.

Many thanks to Paula Marshall of Santa Pod Racers Club for forwarding us Version 6 of the official entry list for the FIA Main Event, takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 27th-30th May. You can check out the Main Event entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the FIA Main Event. If you have any queries about FIA Main Event entry then please contact Paula Marshall at paula.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625).

Mantorp cancel Veidec Festival.
13th May: The thirty eight-year tradition of drag racing at Sweden's Mantorp Park in the last weekend of July has been broken as Mantorp Park Events has been forced to cancel this years Veidec Festival, writes Stefan Boman:

The reason is the same which caused Mantorp Park to withdraw their European Championship round earlier this year - the track needs to be updated in order to maintain safety standards when drag racing vehicles continually increase in speed. They were hoping to find a solution to run the NDRS classes and to run the Swedish Pro Mod Championship over the eighth mile temporarily but ran into too many practical problems to solve in the short time before the race.

Mantorp Park has ambitions and hopes to be back with the Veidec Festival including a European Championship round into 2012. Speedgroup and the Swedish National Sporting Federation ate looking to move the race to another track on the same date.

Tierp offer parking, laundry.
13th May: Patrik Larsson writes that Tierp Arena are offering fully-secured long-term parking to European drag racing teams.

"To make life a lot easier for teams who wish to race the whole FIA Championship Tour, Tierp Arena is offering secure parking in the gap between the Sweden Internationals at Tierp on 9th-12th of June and the Nitro Nationals at Alastaro Circuit in Finland on 30th June to 3rd July", says Patrik. "Teams can save both money and time parking their rigs at Tierp Arena.

"To make this parking service even more valuable, Tierp Arena has signed an agreement with local laundry service company Tierps Tvätten who will will take care of team clothing and anything else which teams would like laundered. Peter Eberhardsson, owner of Tierps Tvätten (right) wishes all European drag racing teams a warm welcome to Tierp. "We will take care of your clothes while you are away", he says."

If you are interested in leaving your rig at Tierp Arena in June, please E-Mail racingservice@tierparena.com.

Swift snippets.
13th May: We have two birthdays today. First up is a very Happy Birthday with added hugs to Gerda Joon of Lex Joon Racing. Have a lovely day Gerda. Pam and Wayne Hiscock have asked us to wish a very Happy 40th Birthday to returning UK racer Al Didwell. "We are very pleased that Alan has achieved his goal to get ready to return to Santa Pod during this milestone year, and we can't wait to see him in his dragster at the Main Event", they say. Have a great day Al.

Eurodragster.com sponsor Phoenix Personnel are urgently seeking HGV (C+E) Class 1 drivers for full- and part-time positions or weekend working, for immediate start. If you are in or could work in the Northampton area and are interested then please contact Phoenix Personnel on 01604 881664.

A Sticky weekend.
13th May: Many thanks to Sarah Payne of the UK's Sticky Situation Super Modified team for passing us team member Chris Dossett's highly-entertaining report of Nigel Payne and the team's weekend at Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway:

This meeting spanned only two days instead of four. This should hopefully mean that this race report will be only half as long as the last one...

After a very successful start to the season at the Easter Thunderball the Corvette had been on the receiving end of some changes to try to address some of the issues we had encountered at that Easter event. Here are those I can remember.

The datalogger had recorded some spikes in the engine revs and driveshaft speed at the top end of the track, probably caused by the rear wheels bouncing off the ground over a bump. This theory was backed up in no small measure by Nigel reporting that it felt like the rear wheels were bouncing off the ground at the top end after every run. To combat this it was decided that the gurney flap (that little lip on the very end of the rear wing) should be angled upwards some more to provide a little more downforce. The angle was increased from 45 to 90 degrees. Another area that required attention was the fuel pressure. The data showed a trace that suggested that it was somewhat erratic at the best of times, and all over the show at the worst. To try and help with this our Stateside tuning guru Matt Hartford suggested moving the fuel regulator from its solid mounting point on the front of the motor and relocating it in a free floating position at the rear, the idea being that any vibration from the motor would be minimalised. There was also a new stator in the torque convertor. Nigel had indeed been a busy boy. He had also claimed to have repaired all the bits I had broken at the last round. I'll get him back for that remark. So would it all mean an end to all our issues? By the end of the meeting we had the answer. You really want to read on now don't you!

The first qualifying session was not scheduled until late on Saturday afternoon which gave us plenty of time to make sure the car was good and ready. Nigel had set up most of the operation on the previous day and had waited for me to arrive and help him put the awning up. Just as we were about to embark on this task the rain came down and we decided that sitting in the trailer and looking out at the weather would be a much better use of our time. It did occur to us at this point that our whole trailer would fit inside Tim Mugridge's awning but we couldn't see him agreeing to that. Eventually with the rain gone and a bit of sunshine in the sky we got set up and had the car out under the awning. As well as our usual preparations some time was devoted to checking and adjusting the fuel pressure, both at the pump and at the regulator. These were checked again during the initial warm-up as was the transmission oil level as some work had been carried out in that area. Nigel also carried out another adjustment to the rear shocks as suggested by Matt Hartford. The car was, we decided, ready. We pushed it the short distance to the scrutineering building and they agreed with us.

When the time eventually came to get out on the track we found that only two other entrants had joined us for the first session. We sat back to see how they got on before having a go ourselves. First Peter Thompson shut off with engine trouble, then Andy Hone spun the tyres off the line. Nigel fired the car up and we kept our fingers crossed for a successful run. A nice, if undramatic, launch and straight run produced a reasonable 7.53/179. Not earth shattering but a good run and a good baseline for us to work from. We were happy enough and set off to collect the car and driver as little spots of rain began to fall around us.

Back at the trailer the data was downloaded and everyone crowded around the laptop to see what we were dealing with. The changes to the data were somewhat less startling than we had hoped for. In fact things looked really rather similar to the Thunderball data. The shift points were coming a little later than before, probably due to the changes in the torque convertor, but the fuel pressure trace was still rather hyperactive and a worrying dip in oil pressure was still occuring in the shutdown area. The Elapsed Time was down on the last meeting's average as was the speed, possibly due to the increase on the rear wing. "At least we only changed one thing" remarked Nigel, unhelpfully.

Nigel adjusted the oil pump for a little more pressure and raised the wheelie bars a little to help with the launch. When it came to warm-up time the motor refused to fire. After much frowning and exchanging of bemused looks Nigel remembered to turn the fuel pump on (sound familiar?). As my punishment for mentioning this I now have to report that on the way back from the last run I put the tow rope on the car upside down. Hardly the same though is it? Doesn't even make sense when you write it down....

We sat out the second session and made it down for the third and final one of the day. The rain that had been threatening to spoil the party felt closer than ever and we had packed the car cover in the tow truck just in case. Sure enough spots of rain began to fall and we decided to put the cover on. The cover that was in the back of the truck. The truck that was now alongside the start line waiting for us to run. In a moment of previously unimagined enthusiasm I sprinted off to get it, soon realising that it was much further away than I imagined, and I was going to have to run back carrying a bulky badly folded flapping car cover. I was aware of people laughing as I wheezed past on the return journey. Mission accomplished we rolled the cover out over the car. Did I mention that Nigel was already strapped in and ready to run? We wondered whether covering the car would have the same effect as putting the cover over a budgie's cage and he would go to sleep. But even if he had the sound of the heavens opening shortly afterwards would have roused him. The meeting was called at that point and we towed the car back to the trailer. A bit of a mixed day but we were finishing as number one qualifier, so far.

The rain continued through the night and the morning light revealed flooded tents, mud and a hard working crew out drying the track already. There was also a strong headwind to contend with. As I arrived at the trailer Nigel and Steve were tucking into "McSarahs". A magnificent, tasty, and far superior breakfast muffin to the one its name parodies. Sarah saw me arrive and presented me with an empty muffin. Apparently this was a satirical comment on my total ineptitude with technology. The disc I had given her, which I had filled the previous day with all the photos and videos from the Thunderball, turned out to be totally empty, just like my muffin.

We were ready to go when the call came for a delayed first qualfying session. All five cars made it out this time and we were the first to run. Nigel fired the motor, (he'd remembered to turn the fuel pump on) and sat waiting for the call to make his way around to the track. The call didn't come. Instead there was a signal to shut the motor off. The power had failed in Race Control. Once again Nigel was suited and booted and sat there with nothing to do. During this lull in proceedings he told me on the radio link that he thought the ring gear, which we replaced at the Thunderball, was on its way out already. We had no spare this time. Eventually it was time to go and an identical looking launch and run produced a 7.54. No improvement. In fact it was almost a carbon copy of yesterday's run. Back at the trailer the data looked similar again and there was another discussion which encompassed all the variables we were dealing with, and produced no real definitive solution. The headwind was obviously a factor to consider and Nigel began to regard the new gurney flap with deep suspicion. Before we knew it he had found a cordless drill and was drilling out the rivets that secured it to the wing. Such a drastic measure was sure to produce some kind of effect somewhere along the line. Wasn't it?

The final qualifying session saw only one car head down to the pairing lanes. Andy "Fred" Hone was number two qualifier and wanted to be number one. We listened to the commentary in our pit (we would have gone to the railing to watch but it was lunchtime) and collectively held our breath as we heard the Scorpio hurtle up the strip. He came close, very close and we all breathed again as the speakers announced a 7.56.

Qualifying over, it was race time and we had a bye into the next round by virtue of being number one qualifier. The car seemed to be launching a little harder, carrying the front wheels a bit further, but still only a 7.52/179. We were consistent if nothing else. Nigel was still concerned about the ring gear although so far it was holding up.

Round two came quickly and had us matched up with Tim Mugridge. Nigel chose the right hand lane and had the win handed to him immediately as Tim redlit. The scoreboards flashed up a 7.53 for Nigel as he crossed the line. It seemed that no matter what we did the car was going to run somewhere between 7.52 and 7.54. It wanted to join in with all the bracket racing going on perhaps? At the top end we discussed the strategy for the final against Fred. It was all academic really as there wasn't time between rounds to change very much. On the way back to the pits I had Sarah slow the truck right down so I could hop off and retrieve my comb which had fallen out on the way down the return road. Nigel wanted me to mention that too. He thought it was funny. It may be, but good combs are hard to come by these days. They don't make them like they used to you know! Anyway did I mention he forgot to turn the fuel pump on? Twice.

Before the final Nigel set about re-attaching the previously discarded gurney flap. It didn't seem to make any difference whether it was there or not and he wouldn't forget to take it home if it was attached to the car. There was no doubt that with the car's current performance Fred was going to be a tough opponent. Particularly since he had revealed to us that his 7.56 qualifying shot had been achieved even though he had run out of nitrous at 1000ft. There was just enough time for routine servicing before the call came for the final. Nigel even entrusted the packing of his 'chute to Kyle and myself while he checked the valve lash.

As we made our way to the pairing lanes we knew that we had done all we could and the car probably wasn't going to go any quicker than it had all weekend.

A lot of the day's crowd seemed to have gone home as we brought the car to the start line. The revs built in both lanes and on the green Nigel cut a great light and had the start over Fred, the Corvette launched hard, carried the front wheels and looked as good as it had looked all weekend but Fred caught Nigel and by the top end was a tenth of a second ahead with the quickest time of the weekend, a 7.45 to our 7.55. A good close race which was much appreciated by the spectators that remained.

At the top end hands were shook, congratulations and commiserations exchanged and we began to discuss the changes we had to make before the next round, which was only six days away. Just before he climbed into the car to be towed back to the pits Nigel exclaimed "Have we learnt not to mess with a winning combination do you think?". There followed what can only be described as a deafening silence from his assembled crew. "OK, Have I learnt not to mess with a winning combination now do you think?" I hope not. Racing doesn't work like that. If you win everything at one meeting everyone else will be changing things to try and catch you at the next one. Standing still and letting them catch up is not an option.

The answer to all our issues from Thunderball had not been found and, just to provide a fitting full stop to the weekend's action, a tooth from the ring gear was found on the ground under where the car had been standing. It never rains...

Our next outing, and Round Three of the Super Modified Championship, is this coming weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway. We hope to see you there!

You can check out the Sticky Situation team's official web site at www.stickysituationracing.co.uk.

Springspeed Nationals coverage.
13th May: Eurodragster.com will be reporting live from this weekend's Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car.

Our coverage will consist of frequently-updated reports on the on-track action, together with pit notes updated throughout each day and a photo gallery at the end of each day. Unfortunately, as things stand, we will not have a sufficient level of internet access at SCR to run the Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam either in live or static modes this weekend.

We will post a direct Home Page link to our coverage as soon as it commences, but in the meantime you can check out our Springspeed Nationals event index, which includes the official entry list and tomorrow's provisional running order, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Springspeed Nationals.

Web site updates.
13th May: In the latest instalment in her exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Junior Dragster racer Paige Wheeler brings us right up to date with what she has been up to including racing, announcing new sponsors, and appearing on TV. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Thanks to Mike Collins for letting us know that the second instalment of his feature about US Funny Car racer and British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Harlan Thompson is now showing on the Drag Racing Online web site. You can check out Mike's feature at www.dragracingonline.com or by clicking on the picture at right.

Event entry update.
12th May: Tomorrow (Friday 13th) is now the closing date at normal fee for entry to the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June.

On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi, and the current version of the entry list is available (PDF format) by clicking here.

Entry forms for the FHRA Nitro Nationals, which takes place at Alastaro, Finland on 30th June-3rd July, are now available on the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu.

Joon's Main Event doubts.
12th May: Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer, Eurodragster.com sponsor and Eurodragster.com Blogger Lex Joon's participation in Top Fuel Dragster at the Main Event is in doubt as he is not currently able to find sufficient funding. MPM Oil UK plan a sigificant presence at the race with a number of racers running from the MPM Village, but as things stand Lex's Top Fueller may not be part of the large MPM-backed team.

"The situation was looking really promising with regards to having the required funding in place to participate at the Main Event", says Lex. "The team and I feel that it's prudent to keep everyone up to speed, especially our fans, who are constantly asking what our plans are for the 2011 season in Europe.

"Unfortunately, as things turn out, our aspirations to compete in the first FIA event of the season are minimal. Some of the funding promised to us didn't come through, and although Richard Stevens and I are working very hard to introduce the MPM brand into the UK market, we are still in the initial stages of getting started, and we are not quite ready to fully fund our attendance at the Main Event with only a couple of weeks to go. As it stands, we are still marching on with our plans for the MPM family at the event. The MPM village will be filled with at least eleven teams representing classes from Junior Dragster all the way up to Top Fuel, something which we do not think has happened before and will be the first time ever done at Santa Pod or anywhere else were in Europe, where all the teams representing the MPM brand are all together in one area in the pits. Besides all the MPM-backed teams who will be available to the public, we also will have a program for our clients who will be attending to meet all the teams in the family so that they can get a better feel for the sport and its wide and varied classes.

"I'm really proud to have Kenny Youngblood and Toyota Tina situated in the Village. They will be meeting the fans, and Kenny will be producing personalised art work and handing it to them. Other famous people will join us over the course of the weekend; we will announce who will be attending as and when we have conformation.

"As a big Thank You to all the fans that have supported us all over the years, we would like to invite all of you to join the MPM teams in the village on the Saturday and Sunday nights as we have arranged a stage and live music from our pits once the day's racing has ended, so make sure you swing by, say hello and enjoy the entertainment.

"I will continue to try to find the missing funding until close of play on Monday, but unless we find the money we feel we need to attend and compete at the level I wish to, then I will have to make the very difficult decision to withdraw our Top Fuel operation from the Main Event.

"If you would like to see your name in connection with a Championship-winning team and be part of the fastest motorsport in the world then we can move things forward for you in record time. For information contact me at lex@lexjoonracing.nl.

Springspeed Nationals update III.
12th May: Shakespeare County Raceway have been in touch with another update on the arrangements for this weekend's (14th-15th) Springspeed Nationals:

The final version of the official entry list is now available; you can view the list by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Springspeed Nationals.

If racers have not received their tickets by today (Thursday), then they will they will be on the main gate listed by their name and race number. If racers wish to leave tickets for crew etc please can they ensure that the correct names are on the envelopes along with the racer's race number.

As the pit plan has to be drawn up, any racer who has entered at the last minute cannot be guaranteed a pit space with their class. Pit marshals will do what they can to accommodate everyone, but if that is not possible then please do not get the hump with the marshals.

If you have any queries about the Springspeed Nationals then please contact SCR at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180).

On the subject of Shakespeare County Raceway the track's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com is undergoing another make-over thanks to the site's new provider Granite Planet. New additions include pages for the SCR Junior Dragster Experience, Bracket Gamblers Races and Shakey Super Pull, as well as provisions for better positioning of photographs and YouTube videos to give the site a sharper look. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Tierp bests for Team Kendall.
12th May: The first test of the year for Peter and Sören Svensson and the Team Kendall Top Fuel Bike team took place at at Tierp Arena at the weekend:

After we passed scrutineering we checked the track preparation and we were amazed by the preparation but most of all by the ground concrete surface, it looked just like we were standing on some of the very best US tracks!

We woke up early on Saturday morning to be ready in time for our first run at lunchtime. The weather was nice and sunny and after checking the air we were stunned when we got a read out of six hundred feet below sea level. After checking the air we decided not to step up the power as we had decided the day before, in order to see what the track could take with the same set-up that we used at the European Finals at Santa Pod last year.

We were called to the lanes at about 1:00 pm to make our first test run of the day. Peter did his burnout, staged the bike, and the green light went on. We could all notice standing behind that the new rear wheel combination worked great since the fishtailing in second gear was gone and it looked like it was going to be a good run. Peter got off the throttle as planned just after the eighth-mile and passed the quarter muke in 6.44 seconds which was really great. We were all very pleased with the performance of the run, recording 3.99/317 kmh on the eighth-mile, first time out on a new track.

When we got back to the pits we decided to make some changes for our second run of the day later on the same afternoon. On the next run Peter had to abort the run after crossing the centre line after running 1.03 seconds at sixty feet which was promising for the next run on Sunday. After getting back to the pits we decided to keep our set-up since we had never really had the possibility to test it on that run.

Sunday morning came around and we all woke up to a nice and sunny day, the air was just about as good as the day before and we were all ready for our next test run. We were called to the lanes just before 11:00 am and lined up behind the Supertwins, only to see that they were having some small traction issues which somewhat confused us all. Peter did a nice burnout, staged, the green light came on, the bike ran really strong until the 1000 foot mark where he got off the throttle as planned and crossed the quarter mile mark in 6.08 seconds. During the run Peter set a new Personal Best speed for the eighth of 318 kmh, we were really pleased that knowing that there is al lot more power to add when the track can take it.

After our first run of the day we decided to add a lot more power just to see how much the track could take, making major changes to our base set up to test some new ideas. We were called to the lanes at about 3:00 pm and Peter made a nice long burnout. We could all hear that the engine really sounded strong and after Peter nailed the throttle we all knew that this was going to be a fast run if the track could hold the power. Unfortunately he smoked the tire at about seventy feet in to the run, still running a Personal Best at sixty feet - recording our first-ever sub one-second time at 0.99 seconds. What a great way to end the day!

We know that we have the power to run a five-second pass during the Sweden Nationals at Tierp Arena between 9th-12th June. Don't hesitate to come to this race if you would like to see some high-performance racing at one of the very best tracks in Europe.

A big thank you to everyone who makes this possible:

Kendall Motor Oil Sweden, supplied by Sollebrunns Oljeservice
Samek Tool AB, who make some of the best moulding tools in the automotive industry in Sweden
CemeCon A/S, one of the best coating companies in Europe when it comes to camshaft coatings etc
Real Form, product development within mechanical design
Romnet, consultants within computer networks etc
AF Konsult AB, consultants within most electrical installation areas

For more information about our previous achievements and off-season updates please visit our web site at www.billetracing.se.

Stäuble's PBs.
12th May: Tuner Horst Pauli has been in touch with a report on Swiss Supertwin racer Lorenz Stäuble's weekend at the first UEM European Championship round at Kunmadaras in Hungary:

Chinzia was not able to come because she had too much to do in her day job. So only Lo, Wini and I went to Kunmadaras. Wini arrived with the truck on Wednesday evening. Lo and I flew from Z¨rich to Vienna and the plan was to fly to Budapest. When we arrived in Vienna and headed for our connecting flight to Budapest they told us that we just missed the plane. So after some discussions with Austrian Airlines we rented a car and drove to Budapest Airport to take our reserved rental car so that we could drive to the race track.

That was the reason that we could not make the test runs which we really needed, so we started with qualifying on Friday. We could not start with the same set-up as last year, because we have made some minor changes since then. So we went up in smoke quite early in qualifying sessions one and two. In the second qualifying session we set a new Personal Best of thirty seven seconds for the quarter mile after Lo's tyre went up in smoke and the ignition shut off to save the engine.

On the next run, we set our next Personal Best, for this track, 7.1717 seconds and qualified us fifth. Saturday we did qualifying session four but I was just a bit behind the track with the set-up and Lo went close to the wall at the end of the track. The last qualifying session was cancelled because of rain. But the bike was running like a Swiss clock and we had no problems apart from finding a quicker set-up.

In the first elimination round on Sunday we were against Christian Jäger. He had made consistent runs so we were sure it would be a close one. Lo had the better Reaction Time and was in front until sixty feet, but then Christian overtook him. Congratulations to Christian and his team.

So that was it for us. Jan Sturla Hegre won the event with a astunning run in the final and he really deserved it. Congratulations to the whole team. We went for dinner with Roel Koedam, Ton Pels and Ian King's crew in a nice restaurant close to the race track. We had a fun evening which helped us to forget the bad result and showed us the really important things in racing - friendship and camaraderie!

We are looking forward to the Main Event at Santa Pod. We want try to repeat the run we made at the Finals last year, it would be great to be able to get in to the 6.4s again. To be able to do this, Lo rebuilt the drivetrain to make it much stronger, and we also have a two-sprag gearbox. Previously, when we tried to go faster then 6.60 the gearbox broke, so we looking forward to testing this on the perfect track and hopefully with perfect weather.

Euro Top Gas Serie Round 1.
12th May: This year's first Euro Serie Super Twin Top Gas Championship round took place last weekend over the quarter mile on the all-concrete airfield at Hoskovice in the Czech Republic, writes Herman Jolink:

On Friday we made untimed practice runs to get a feel for the track. Saturday and Sunday has nice sunny weather but it was very cold at night.

Qualifying started about 13:00 on Saturday. The standings were:
  1. Harrie van Schie NL on his 1966 Blower V-Twin 7.979/255 kmh. New Personal Best, during the winter Crew Chief Jaap Duin put in some better chamshafts and new piston rings. The team were very happy with the 7.979 but after the third run of 8.1 an outlet valve broke and damaged the cylinder head and a piston.

  2. Herman Jolink NL on Ducati 1198 RS (1266) 8.355/250 with five gears, the other runs were all on six gears. Herman started with an 8.5, an 8.4, and a 8.383/257, and on Sunday morning on a cold track 8.800/255.

  3. Milan Kolacny CZ on 1000 SP Honda Blower 8.513/258 on the ex-Sixta bike. Last weekend Milan was at Kunmadaras in Hungary, he made his first runs with a best of from 8.4/254.

  4. Chris van Nimmen B on 2600 ex-Klessens V-Twin with a new crank made by Anders Karling 8.851/226.

  5. Bernd Niessen D on 2240 V-Twin with Vortec mechanical turbo 9.765. The best time with this set-up but still problems with the belt losing teeth, Bernd needs a good dentist.

  6. Christian Bruhn D on Honda 1000 SP Turbo, last year the bike was ridden by team-mate Peter Niklas his team mate, 11.166 and broke the cylinder head gasket. Last weekend Christian made his first runs in Bechyne CZ and broke an engine. Over the winter he lost 28 kilogrammes of weight.

  7. Frank Heitmann D 2622 V-Twin, his bike is prepared by Cord Albers but he having problems with his back.
Sunday after the fifth qualifying session we had a presentation on the track then the quarter finals. van Schie broke, van Nimmen 9.364/214 winning over Niessen 11.762/125 red light, RTs van Nimmen 0.479 and Niessen -0.189. Jolink 8.562/257 bye run (Heitmann broke). Kolacny 8.459/258.44 bye run, Brund out with blown cylinder head gasket. Semi finals: van Nimmen 9.188/217 bye run, Niessen broke a push rod adjuster. Jolink 11.8799/131 winning over Kolacny engine broke after starting. Jolink in the left lane almost crashed with traction problems but got control of the Ducati back.

Final: Herman Jolink NL Ducati 1198 RS (1266) beat 2e Chris van Nimmen B on 2600 V-Twin. 8.996-211 RTs Jolink 0.134 and van Nimmen 0.139. Jolink had traction problems on Sunday, the track was a lot better for him on Saturday. The team was very happy with their first win of the season.

Euro Serie Super Twin Top Gas Championship
  1. Herman Jolink NL 670 points
  2. Milan Kolacny CZ 485
  3. Harry van Schie NL 380
  4. Chris van Nimmen B 350
  5. Bernd Niessen D 340
  6. Christian Bruhl D 330
  7. Frank Heitmann D 320
Other Classes:

Competiton Dragster: Otto Knebl CZ on his new Turbo Kawasaki qualified with a new Personal Best 7.89/293, Luc Raeymakers B on Kawasaki Funny Bike 8.7/247. On Friday Luc broke a needle bearing in his clutch, a friend of Otto Kebl made a bronze bush for the clutch which lasted three runs then broke so no race for Luc. Final: Otto Knebl CZ Kawasaki Turbo with nitrous 8.08/282 def. Michal Ponca CZ on 1484 Yamaha 9.813/220.

Super Street Bike: Josef Cizek CZ 9.931/241, runner-up Martin Mach CZ 9.891/232. SSB had two Belgian competitors, Marc Geens 10.0 Personal Best, Jonas Raeymakers 10.5.

Street Twin: Martin Scramek CZ 11.609, runner-up Miroslav Novak CZ 11.543/183
Modified Street Twin: Jedlicha Vladimir CZ 10.072/214, runner-up Kostelka Zbynek CZ
Public Woman: Petra Stranska CZ 11.862/206, runner-up Yveta Dlouha CZ 11.978/198
Teenager Dragster: Gijs van Schie NL 24.67/75, runner-up Andrea Binova CZ 21.666/85

Yvona Kneblova's team did a great job togehter with the Motor Cycle Club the Red Barons. A very good drag race although not many spectators, the die-hards where there. The next drag race for the Top Gas Championship is back at Hoskovice on 4th-5th June.

Herman Jolink and team had a bad accident with the Mercedes Benz on the way back home, about 40 km after Praha on the higway to Teplice Dresden the Mercedes 310 lost the right back wheel and had a bad crash ending up on one side. Luckily the team Piet Mom and Henry Evers have just some pain in their ribs. Herman was also not badly hurt. The Ducati 1198 RS was not damaged but now we must get another car. The Mercedes and the bike will come home next week.

Wild Bunch head for SCR...
12th May: Wild Bunch Race Co-ordinator Claire Meaddows writes with news of the beginning of the sixteenth season for the Club as they prepare for the Springspeed Nationals:

The Wild Bunch would very much like to thank Real Steel (Performance Parts) who have recently renewed their contingency sponsorship of the Wild Bunch for the eleventh year in a row The Real Steel web site can be found at www.realsteel.co.uk.

We started the season off well with a ten-car field at the sun-drenched Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway. The Top Four included last year's Best Newcomer Bob Hawkins winning an event for the first time, running his first eight-second passes in the Time Traveller slingshot, and recording the Best Speed of 149 mph along the way; young Adam Price qualifying #1 for the first time, getting to his first final, and running PBs in the low nines with the new engine in the Go Hard or Go Home Topolino altered; third place finisher Terry Clifford running five passes all within just over 0.02 seconds in the Ratcatcher Resurrection slingshot; and fourth-placed Crazy Chris Hartnell wheelying back into the eights with the new engine in the Backdraft slingshot.

More of the many highlights included Mark Coulsell and the Limited Funz team running deep into the nines for the first time with the stunning orange and black striped Ballbreaker slingshot, which won the Best Appearing WB Car prize; Keith Crampton overcoming clutch problems to win a round and record his best speed in the Soultown Shaker slingshot; and likewise overcoming problems, with the input shaft, Darren Law and the Wicked Lady team recording consistent 9.0-second passes before block damage sidelined their rear-engined dragster. Eurodragster.com sponsor DS Racewear's Pete (Ed) Yates put in a good performance in the RamRaider slingshot until a broken half-shaft curtailed his weekend. Dave Rowlands made some strong runs in the Destiny's Angel altered and contested the closest race in the first round, whilst Dave Williams had his best run of the weekend and biggest breakout of the day with the Green with Envy altered in a strong first round challenge. The full results and news from the event can be found on the Wild Bunch www.the-wild-bunch.co.uk.

After the success at Easter, the Wild Bunch are really looking forward to the Springspeed Nationals this coming weekend, their first of the year at Shakey, and there are nine teams entered so far. The event will be the Club's second Real Steel Series Round of the year, as well as the second round of their WB MSA Challenge Series.

Will Dave Rowlands run back deep into the nines and succeed in going rounds with the Destiny's Angel altered? Can Adam Price achieve his first MSA win in the Go Hard or Go Home altered and run more PBs along the way? And will Ed Yates and the team run better than ever with a newly-built axle in the RamRaider slingshot? Can Crazy Chris wheelie his way consistently into the eighths and the later rounds in the Backdraft slingshot? Will Dave Williams record more perfect runs with the Green with Envy altered? Can Scot Durrant take the unique Ruby-bodied Tiki Munki slingshot all the way to the final in his first ever MSA event with the Coupe? Will Terry Clifford be even more consistent in the Ratcatcher Resurrection slingshot and challenge for the win? We welcome Dick Sharp to his first WB event of the season with the legendary Dorset Horn which wheelied into the mid-nines at a recent Test and Tune. Can they earn the event win, or will Bob Hawkins take back-to-back victories and top the magic 150 mph mark in the Time Traveller slingshot? Hoping for another sunny Sunday, Sunday, Sunday to find out!

...as do the Junior Bikers.
12th May: The first ever competitive Junior Drag Bike event took place at the weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod where nine of the girls and boys took part, writes Sharron Collier:

After four very close qualifying rounds it was Jordon Bissell on top of the pile with a fantastic 9.17 on a 9.15 dial, followed by Scott Collier on a 9.05 on a 9.00 dial, brilliant stuff. This gave Jordon the bye run in the first round, where Brett Cordelle took the win over Alfie Udall, Scott took the win over Jake Charman, Louis Davies defeated Jasmine Cordelle and Conor Meehan took the win over Jack Wildeman. In the quarter finals Jordon took the win light from Brett, Scott got the bye run, and little Louis took out Conor. This gave Louis a bye run into the final and Jordon and Scott to battle it out, where Scott took the win. Finals time and after a five-second wait on the start line, Scott managed to beat Louis to the line within his dial-in time. Fantastic performance from all the kids, Louis taking the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award, what a star!

It was a fantastic weekend from start to finish, and we can't wait to go back to Santa Pod for the National Finals in September. Many thanks to everyone who made this possible and to all of the crew for making the Junior Drag Bikes so welcome.

No rest for the Junior Bikers as we are straight back to Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend for Round 2 of the Championship, where anything could happen! This is a twelve-bike field mirroring Round One held at Shakey in April (we apologise for lack of results as I was sent to hospital and took it easy as I was told). In Round Oe saw Scott Collier took the win and Alfie Udall runner-up spot, with Brett Cordelle taking the points for best Reaction Time.

Everyone is really geared up for Championship Round 2. This year is already shaping up to be the best yet with even closer racing, closer dial-ins and an ever increasing array of diverse and beautiful machines, with more riders on their way. Many thanks to our wonderful sponsors for this year: Ingrid and Martin at IMPhotography, GLS Engineering, Glyn Sainsbury, High Signs and Graphics, Coombes Property Services, Lightning Automotive Evesham, Projoint Custom Fabrications and Mitech Systems. Our hospitality area will be open and all our sponsors are very welcome to come and have a sit down and enjoy a cuppa and a cake with us at any time throughout the event.

Outlaws fly the flag.
12th May: The Supercharged Outlaws and the Shakespeare County Raceway Junior Dragster Experience car were on display at last weekend's Long Marston Model Air Show, writes Jerry Cookson:

Both Trace Froome's Dodge Avenger Funny Car and Brian Gandy's Skullduggery 23T altered attracted huge interest over the two-day show promoting the class and drag racing in general at the airfield. Although we couldn't fire the cars up both teams interacted with the many onlookers, allowing children and adults to sit in the cars and soak up the atmosphere. Just ask Trace the next time you see him to show you his upper body muscles from the amount of times he had to lift the body up in the line of duty.

Shakespeare County Raceway would like to thank both racers for giving up their weekends to be with us at the show.

The next show dates for the Supercharged Outlaws take place at this weekend's NASC Springnationals at Drayton Manor Theme Park where they will be making some noise, followed by PPC In The Park at Mallory Park Circuit where they will be making even more noise and smoke!

Swift snippets.
12th May: European fans have someone to cheer on in the USA this weekend as ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Michael Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences is contesting the NHRA Division 3 race on Norwalk, Ohio. You can stay in touch with Mike's progress courtesy of our Drag Race Central colleagues at www.dragracecentral.com.

Australian Supertwin racer Mark Ashelford will be making his competitive European début at this weekend's the NDRG Springnats at Gardermoen, where he will be mixing it with Toten's best. You can find out more on the Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen web site at www.ndrg.no. Meanwhile the FHRA Sonax Spring Nats take place at Finland's Motopark. More details at www.fhra.fi.

Web site updates.
12th May: Sarah Payne writes that the official Super Modified web site at www.supermodified.org has been updated with a Big Bang report written by newly-designated class reporter Chris Dossett, whom she says is doing a fantastic job, plus a team report from reigning Champion Andy Hone.

Springspeed Nationals update II.
11th May: Shakespeare County Raceway have been in touch with another update on the arrangements for this weekend's (14th-15th) Springspeed Nationals:

Version 2 of the official entry list is now available; you can view the list by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Springspeed Nationals.

Courtesy of Beth Satchell Saturday's provisional running order is now available and can be viewed by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Springspeed Nationals.

If you have any queries about the Springspeed Nationals then please contact SCR at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180).

Team Kendall take Tierp win.
11th May: Sweden's Team Kendall went to the new Tierp Arena in good heart after testing in Malmö the previous weekend and ended it in even better heart after Micke Lindahl took the first round of the NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Series. Magnus Lindahl writes:

Vi took us down for track with a 6.23 in the first round of qualifying which was number one qualifier. In the second and third qualifiers we increased the power but had trouble with tyre shake and the Lindberg Brothers took number one with a 6.18 in the final session.

On Sunday morning we were due to meet Urban Johansson and we put the car back as it had been when we arrived on Saturday. We won with 6.14 to a 6.21 for Ubbe. Next round was against Janne Gunnarsson with his '59 Cadillac, we ran 6.12 and took the victory. In the final we met Roger Johansson with his new Corvette. Mikael took the start and ran 6.12 again and win was ours.

This was well done after a lot of problems over the last few years. Now we have neither the time nor the money to get to Santa Pod for the Main Event. We will try to work out the turbo car and put in the time on that instead. Thanks to all the team and to everyone for such a fine facility at Tierp Arena

You can see a video from Tierp on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=76TNakJhFLk.

The Stude arrives home.
11th May: Stefani Robinson writes that Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson's blown-alcohol Studebaker Pro Mod is back in the UK after Andy's appearance in Hungary, and that the crew have checked through the motor in preparation for the FIA Main Event.

"The engine is happy and so are the crew which is always good", says Stef. "We have a few more things to do before the Main Event but all in all we are currently in good shape. The field is looking very strong already so it's going to be tough as always, but we're optimistic that we will be able to hold our own!

"We would like to say thank you very much to the organisers for inviting us back to Kunmadaras for a second year in a row, and to the spectators who made us all feel so welcome. The crowd are great and are so enthusiastic about the cars which is lovely to see. We hope you all enjoyed the show!"

You can find a race report at www.robinson-race-reports.co.uk and Stef has updated her Blog at www.femaleracingnews.com.

Didwell: It's mine, I'm back.
11th May: Returning UK racer Al Didwell has revealed that it was his Super Pro ET dragster in the spy picture published on 30th April.

Al last raced his 1960 Mk1 Capri in Pro ET in 2003, and was Santa Pod Racers Club Pro ET Champion in 2001. In 2004 Al dedicated his time to family matters including his new-born son. The Capri, transporter and all race items were sold and the money banked in preparation for an eventual return to racing. Al takes up the story:

During our absence we saved money and the plan was to come back to racing at a higher level. In September 2010 the plans and money were coming together and I started looking at cars and enquiring about them, mainly through Racing Junk but I inquired about one car in Germany and I was looking at all available options. The plan was to run Super Pro ET with a car which runs seven-second quarters, either a small altered or a dragster. I was looking for something which was easy to run, lightweight and consistent.

After a lot of enquiries about different cars I eventually secured a 2002 S&H Dragster in Pennsylvania which was raced in Super Pro there. The car is four-link, 225" wheelbase and tagged to 6.0. It has run high seven-second quarter miles with a 555ci Scott Shafiroff motor which was new in 2009 and which has only carried out 40 passes. I have the receipt for the engine and all the associated paperwork including the engine dyno sheet showing that it produces 905 BHP. The torque converter has a 5200 stall, the gearbox is stock case with upgraded internals, the rear end is fabricated with Mark William internals and has a 3.9 ratio.

This year will be a set-up year and we aim to run at the Main Event and the European Finals before running a full season in 2012.

I would like to say a big Thank You to my wife Leigh for her understanding and support, and to my crew Peter and Robert: I appreciate their commitment and support and it's great to have them on board.

FIA Main Event update.
11th May: Santa Pod Raceway can supply portable toilets to racers' pits at the FIA Main Event. portable toilets can be booked for £100 plus VAT which of course includes cleaning and servicing. For more information or to book your portable toilet please contact Darren Prentice at Santa Pod on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828) or E-Mail darren@santapod.com.

Nicola Hart of Santa Pod Raceway tells us that VIP hospitality packages are going fast. Packages start from £119 plus VAT per person for Grandstand Hospitality and £169 plus VAT per person for Balcony Viewing. Private Balcony Suites are still available for Saturday, Sunday and Monday at £1690 plus VAT. A private suite can hold up to twelve guests.

All packages include admission to the event, refreshments throughout the day, hot breakfast rolls, hot fork buffet, VIP toilets, privilege parking, souvenir of the day, paddock tour with a Championship driver, complimentary ear plugs, and programme. For all packages children go half price.

To book your VIP/Hospitality tickets, or for more information, please call Santa Pod Raceway on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828) or visit www.santapod.com.

Alamo JD Challenge standings.
11th May: Thanks to Andy Wheeler for passing us the post-Big Bang standings in the 2011 Alamo Rent a Car Junior Dragster Challenge, which will award the best combined RT/against-index packages at the end of the season:



Don't forget that Alamo Rent-A-Car are offering up to 30% discount on car hire. By using a special web link, cars can be hired at a preferential rate from any one of 8,800 worldwide locations. So whether you are a racer needing a hire car for the FIA Main Event, an official headed for a meeting overseas, or a fan going racing in the USA then this deal is for you. Check it out at www.alamo.co.uk/dragster.

Swift snippets.
11th May: Thanks to Emelie Carlswärd for forwarding us the latest version of the entry list for the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. You can check out the entry list (PDF format) by clicking here. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi.

Further to last Friday's announcement that the US' Tommy Johnson Jr is to drive their car this season, we understand that Danish Top Fuel Dragster team Andersen Racing now plan to contest the full 2011 FIA European Championship tour rather than run a limited schedule. Stay tuned and when we receive confirmation we will bring it to you.

Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our very own Simon for forwarding us the official post-Big Bang points standings in the 2011 UK National Drag Racing Championships and 2011 Santa Pod Racers Club Championships. You can check out the UK and SPRC points on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

The UK's Wayne Hiscock is returning in Super Gas at the FIA Main Event. "It's the same car, with a new engine and fresh paint", says Pamela Hiscock. "It doesn't seem that we have been absent that long although it has been four years! We are starting in Super Has but that may change later in the year if all works as planned!"

Many thanks to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for forwarding us the official timing data from the weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out the Big Bang timing data by clicking here or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

York Raceway's first ever rolling burnout competition on Easter Sunday was a huge success with many vehicles taking part, says Chris of York Raceway. "The overall winner was Ian Kerr with his blown BBC Willys pick-up for his long smoky burnouts, and taking advantage of the props rule by flying two flags", says Chris. "You can see the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJwf6JkKC7E."

Dawn Watson aka MissB will be showing her engraved glasswork in the pits at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend. Dawn says that examples of her work will also be on display in the Signing On office. You can find out more about Dawn's work on her Facebook page or on her web site at www.missbproducts.webs.com.

Springspeed Nationals Perfect Awards.
11th May: This weekend's Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway is the latest event in the 2011 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme. £100 is on offer for perfect performance.

The Eurodragster.com/Cotsweld Race Cars Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by 9.50 Bike racer Richard Beck at Big Bang. The money will be awarded to the first racer at this weekend's event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available all to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway; if it is won this weekend then it will be reset to £50 for the FIA Main Event. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with race car builder Cotsweld Race Cars whose web site you can find at www.cotsweld.co.uk.

The Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Junior Drag Bike racer Louis Davies at Big Bang. The money will be awarded to the first racer at this weekend's event to run to 0.000 on their index or dial-in. The money will be available this weekend in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations), 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, the Wild Bunch, NAST Supertwin ET and Junior Drag Bike but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Run of each event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway; if it is won this weekend then it will be reset to £50 for the FIA Main Event. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with RV sales and service specialists Gold RV whose web site you can find at www.goldrv.co.uk.

To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET decals, one on each side of the vehicle. If you pull this weekend's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. As with all contingency schemes racers are responsible for collecting decals; Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award decals will be available in the Signing On office first thing on Saturday morning.

Cars sought for fête.
11th May: In his capacity as Chair of the PFA at his kids' school, Dan Welberry of Eurodragster.com sponsor 3tcreative writes to invite cars to attend Sopley School's fête, which he organises:

The school has a tradition for one of the best fêtes around which has in the past had aircraft fly pasts! This year, I'd like to have a collection of cars on display as a main feature, a mix of race, rod and American if possible. I'm keen to hear from anyone with a car who would be prepared to be part of a static display on Saturday 25th June between 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm. I'm very keen to have at least one Junior Dragster on display, as I believe the schoolchildren would be really impressed.

Sopley School is on the border between Hampshire and Dorset and is about ten minutes from Ringwood. If anyone can help I'd really appreciate it. I can be contacted on 07770 781680 or via E-Mail at dan@3tcreative.com.

Web site updates.
11th May: Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson has replaced his temporary NDRS Nationals gallery with a full set of pictures from the inaugural event at Tierp Arena. You can check out Patrik's excellent shots at www.racebilder.nu.

Nostalgia fans will be delighted to hear that Nick Pettitt has started to update his web site with pictures by British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Brian Sparrow. "When I was researching my book last year Brian lent me an old shoe box crammed with hundreds of black and white drag racing photos going back to the sport's inception in the UK", says Nick. "Some I used in the book and the rest will now find a permanent home on my web site". You can take a look at Brian's pictures on Nick's Time Travel DVDs web site at www.timetraveldvds.co.uk/page104.html.

Thanks to Simon Hodder for letting us know that a new issue of Drag Racing Confidential magazine is now on-line at www.drceurope.co.uk.

Editor's note: We have a small backlog of news which we will post on the next update. Tune back tomorrow for a brace of Springspeed Nationals previews and more, and please keep the news coming to news@eurodragster.com.

Springspeed Nationals update.
9th May: Shakespeare County Raceway have been in touch with an update on the arrangements for this weekend's (14th-15th) Springspeed Nationals:

The official entry list is now available; you can view the list by clicking here.

Entry to the pits will open at 12:00 midday this Friday. If racers wish to arrive before Friday they are more than welcome but please use the camping fields. Anyone who manages to get into the pit area (which will be shut off at that point) will be asked to move if not in their correct pit area. Please note that pit marshals will escort all racers to their designated pit, so please be patient if a queue develops on the entrance road into the pits.

Scrutineering will commence for both cars and bikes at approximately 16:00 on Friday.

Saturday's running order will be posted here on Eurodragster.com on Wednesday. Copies will be available in the Signing On office which will open between 18:00 and 20:00 on Friday.

SCR and APIRA would like to thank all the racers for their support for the meeting, especially when it has been three in a very short period for some classes.

If you have any queries about entry to the Springspeed Nationals then please contact SCR at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180).

Tierp's NDRS Nationals a hit.
9th May: It was a spectacular début for Europe's newest drag strip Tierp Arena as the inaugural NDRS Nationals took place over a weekend during which even the weather could not have been any better.

The already-awesome facility was matched by a track which the racers and their vehicles quickly found to their liking. Although one could have been forgiven for expecting some organisational and logistical problems at a first event, there just weren't any such problems: the organisation matched the facility with a very efficiently-run first event with all eliminations wrapped up by mid-afternoon. This was also the first race of the NDRS Series under the stewardship of Speedgroup and again everything appeared to function perfectly.

As well as closely-fought Sportsman action and several PBs the new strip proved itself with the fastest-ever European Pro Stock run, a Top Methanol Funny Car run quicker than the current European record, a 6.0-second Top Fuel Bike pass, 6.1-second Pro Mod passes, and more.

You can see full NDRS Nationals qualifying lists and ladders via the Resultat link at www.nitroz.se, or if you want to go straight to the results and don't mind not seeing the rest of the page frame then click here.

The quickest way to both the Nitroz.se and Alamo Rent-A-Car-sponsored Eurodragster.com reports of Pro Modified and Pro Test and Tune plus picture galleries is via our Event Index page which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the NDRS Nationals. Patrik Jacobsson has posted an NDRS Nationals gallery on his web site at www.racebilder.nu/ndrsnats.

A big Thank You to Markus Ek who willingly signed on as a member of the Eurodragster.com staff for the weekend and supplied pictures of Pro Modified and the Pro Test and Tune sessions as your News Editor was in Race Control writing the live reports of those classes.

For all of their help Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog would like to thank all of the Tierp Arena staff, all of the Race Officials, all of the Time-Tree staff, Speedgroup, and of course the racers for all of their help and the provision of facilities.

An especial Thank You to our good buddy and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Christer Abrahamson who accommodated Tog and drove him around Sweden.

Big Bang results.
9th May: Congratulations to the winners at this weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway:

VW Pro: Sam Young (10.60) 11.1743/108.43 def. Phil Norman (12.45) 16.7246/79.09 red
VW Sportsman: Matt Bennett-Sime (18.60) 18.7154/68.77 def. Paul Herbert (14.20) 14.1188/87.00 b/o
Super Modified: Andy Hone 7.4596/182.15 def. Nigel Payne 7.5523/179.92
Sportsman ET: Sara Unsworth (13.24) 13.3419/96.28 def.Sean Armstrong (16.00) 15.9627/80.94 b/o
Lucas Oil Junior Dragster: Brad Jackson (8.05) 8.0959/79.09 def. Rhiannon Bellenie (8.00) 8.0522/79.51
9.50 Bike: Jake Mechaell 9.5197/134.86 def. Richard Sawatzki 9.4809/143.91 b/o
8.50 Bike: Dave Batcheler 8.9187/148.17 def. Dave Thomas 13.6482/73.56
Outlaw Anglia: Cliff Griffin 8.2786/162.53 def. Richard Colby broke
Junior Drag Bike: Scott Collier (9.10) 9.4281/64.31 def. Louis Davies (14.30) 14.4624/45.67

Congratulations also to 9.50 Bike racer Richard Beck who won the Eurodragster.com/Cotsweld Race Cars Perfect Light Award with a 0.000 in eliminations, with a zero in the fourth decimal place for good measure; and to Junior Drag Bike racer Louis Davies who won the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award with a 14.600 on a 14.60 dial-in. Both Awards have been reset to £50 for next weekend's Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway.

You can check out our Alamo Rent-A-Car-sponsored report and pictures by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting Big Bang.

Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog would like to say a big Thank You to Simon, Roger and Kirstie for their work on the Big Bang coverage whilst he was swanning around Scandinavia.

"What off-season?", asks Carter.
9th May: "Off-season" is a phrase which four-time FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter rarely uses, and this year has been no exception. Following his stunning 4.57-second European record pass at the FIA European Finals Andy and the newly established Lucas Oil Team West-Tec Top Fuel Team have not stopped working to prepare for the 2011 season. The team acquired a race-proven dragster and have meticulously prepared the car to fit their race strategy. The team have also custom built a new race trailer including hospitality area, office and living quarters.

"Unfortunately the car and trailer were just not ready in time to make it out at Easter, apologies to all of our fans who were disappointed not to see us", said Andy. "We want to hit the ground running at the Main Event though so will be testing over the coming weeks". Whilst Andy's confidence shows no sign of diminishing he is realistic about the team's chances this season. "I have spoken extensively with Gavin Wills (Team Manager) and Ben Allum (Team Crew Chief) about our goals for this season", said Andy. "Obviously we will aim to go out there and win every race we attend, but we know in our first season this will be a great challenge. Lucas Oil Team West-Tec will be looking to set solid foundations from which we can build as we learn and grow as a team."

Away from the drag strip son Albert is also keeping Andy busy. The young driver is now competing in the MSA Kart series and is attracting a great deal of attention. "Albert has made a fantastic start to his racing career, as a novice he has been starting at the back but has been battling hard to make it through pack and is only one signature away from getting his National A licence.", says Andy.

"I'd like to thank my crew for their tireless work getting everything ready for the start of the season and a personal thanks to Ben Allum for going beyond the call of duty, also thank you to all of my sponsors who have shown me such wonderful support.

You can catch up with Andy and some of the team before the first FIA points round this Wednesday (11th) at the CAAR show which takes place at the Forest of Arden Hotel in Coventry where they will have the Lucas Oil show dragster and Alberts Zip Lightning kart on display.

You can keep in touch with Andy Carter and Lucas Oil Team West-Tec at www.amdycarter.net or join them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CarterMotorport. If you would like to find out how you can support Albert Carter please head over to www.albertcarter.com or his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AlbertCarterKarting.

"See you all at the track", says Andy. "Please stop by and say hello!"

Firestorm returning.
9th May: Roger Goring, Helen Rusling and the UK's Firestorm Jet Funny Car team can't believe that it has been a year since the Funny Car hit the wall at the 2010 Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway:

It certainly hasn't been one of the easiest of years for us. We have been working flat out both to earn the money to continue with the rebuild and then working on the car in the workshop in any spare hours we can find. The car is really coming together, although when you look at it in the workshop completing it still seems along way away. The front and rear of the chassis have been replaced this has meant that all the fixtures and fittings have also had to be replaced; quite a lot of these parts are manufactured in our own workshop which takes time.

After studying the small amount of video footage we have of the crash we have been able to draw some conclusions as to what may have caused it, and in line with these findings there will be some changes to the Firestorm body. It will still be unmistakably Firestorm but equally it will be very different, we are all really excited about it and even though we all loved the old Firestorm, it is now certainly being brought into the 21st century and we think it will look stunning and be a real show-stopper!

We are keen to let everyone know that we are doing everything we can to get back on track and have now updated our web site at www.firestorm-jfc.co.uk with a report and pictures of the work in progress. Many thanks to everyone who has helped and supported us along the way. There are too many to name, but you know who you are. Thank you!

Swift snippets.
9th May: 18:00 Many thanks to Paula Marshall of Santa Pod Racers Club for forwarding us Version 5 of the official entry list for the FIA Main Event, which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. This version confirms the European return of Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com Blogger Lex Joon. If you have any queries about FIA Main Event entry then please contact Paula Marshall at paula.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625).

Thanks to Emelie Carlswärd for forwarding us the latest version of the entry list for the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. You can check out the entry list (PDF format) by clicking here. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi.

Paula Marshall has also forwarded us the final version of the official entry list for the PTM Show, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway this Sunday (15th). You can check out the PTM Show entry list by clicking here.

Maltese Top Methanol Dragster racer Monty Bugeja writes that Team Owner Joe Carabott and the Mister Whippy team have decided to come back after ten years. "We will be competing at the Main Event", he says. "We have a new car and a new motor which need testing but we will do our best to run with the others. The car will be in the same colours as before and with the same crew. We will meet everybody at Santa Pod."

Richard Stevens of Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK tells us that Junior Dragster racer Thaliah Gibb is the latest member of the team which the MOPM Oil UK will be fielding at the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.

Easter Thunderball Pro ET review.
9th May: Mike Lacey writes that it was a fantastic start to the 2011 season for the UK's Pro ET racers with 85-degree weather all weekend:

Eight rounds of qualifying, and first bite at the number one spot was Steve Hudson in the Intrevenous Altered with a 9.7135 on a 9.71 dial in. He held this for a few rounds until in round sic Mike Lacey grabbed it with a 9.5531 only to be deposed thirty seconds later by Lee Huxley in his Dark Horse Mustang with a 9.9303 on a 9.93 dial in. To top off the run Lee pulled a 0.002 light. Wow, what a run. Nigel Green popped into second place and Paul Marston into fourth, moving the once pole man Steve into fifth.

The number one qualifier trophies this year are glass tankards beautifully engraved by MissB Engraving, a cheque for £100, a fantastic Pro ET T-shirt designed by our very own Tat-Fink (aka Diamond Geezer Carl Burton) and printed by class sponsor Toxico Clothing, and two cans of Power Pour from sponsor Jon Webster of Webster Race Engineering. Well done to Lee for achieving his first number one qualifier.


Also this weekend a few people came out with new cars: Nick Williams with a bright orange 1964 Falcon which he finished painting (well almost!) in the early hours of Thursday. Keith Herbert's 64 Fury has the same body but that was about it: new engine, trans, chassis, suspension, wheelie bars to name but a few. Both Nick and Keith spent half the weekend still putting their cars together and it was a mighty effort by both of them to even get there. Deborah Laugher with a Plymouth Arrow with painted art work by Andy Stroud of Hairy Designs (becoming a bit of a regular in Pro ET it seems). A new guy by the name of Simon Gough in a '55 Bel Air - the old Money Box some of you may remember - showed enthusiasm and a willingness to join in. Looks like another regular with us. We welcome Simon and crew.

Last but not least, two people are already trying hard for the Wheelie Trophy this year. First Carla Pittau with a number of huge wheelies under perfect control up to 150 feet down the track. What a wonderful sight to see. And Dan Williams, brother of Nick, tried hard to match Carla, but unfortunately went a little too far putting his Nova on the back bumper and coming down quite hard. He said not to much damage though. Flat headers and a few bent brackets, so no problem for the Main Event.

The final round had two new showings with Bob Molden and yours truly, Mike Lacey. One of us was going to walk away with a first-time win. After a string of 9.90 dial ins and 9.90 runs, Bob did the same again. A 9.90 dial in and ran a 9.90. Unfortunately on this run I was a bit better on the light with an 0.02 reaction and managed to beat Bob to the line, to take the win. Both Bob and I said, it was the best weekend we had had in our racing lives, and we both went home extremely happy.

Thank you to our great sponsors Toxico, Penn Autos, LA Racing Parts, Engine Data Analysis, Power Engineering, Power Pour (WRE), Norbar, DS Racewear, Avonside Engineering, Modurstang.co.uk, Drag Race Engineering (Gary Springford), Grand Prix Racewear (GPR), Sick Boyz, Topspeed Automotive, LohrSpeed (Dusty Laugher), Real Steel, wolfysworkshop.co.uk and VP Racing Fuels.

Why do we drive altereds?
9th May: A rhetorical question for the Eurodragster.com team since none of us drives an altered, but Dave McKenzie of the UK's Team Thing Supercharged Outlaws team does, and it sounds as if he wondered once or twice why he does so during and after the Outlaws' first outing of the year at Shakespeare County Raceway:

It was a mixed event for us. The car sounded really strong all weekend but on most runs it got loose in the second part of the track. With the car moving about I had to lift of and this resulted in mostly nine second runs. On the plus side our sixty foot times were consistent at 1.21 seconds and our eighth mile time was 5.4 seconds so we were heading in the right direction.

On the last run we were up against Brian Gandy and I left the line well but by the eighth Brian had passed us and then all hell broke loose. The car moved about and then became airborne. When the car came down it landed on the front left wheel causing the steering bolts to rip out (Pete Donaldson's picture shows how high up the car went). The car then turned sharp left and I braced myself as I thought the car was going over. The car then straightened itself out and I managed to drive to the end of the track. I was asked why I did not pull the chute. This is easy to answer - I was too busy hanging on to the steering wheel and I did not want to let it go, and I believe this action stopped the car from going over! At the time I did not realise that Brian was also having the same trouble, it was said that both cars got up on the tires in the second eighth and then a strong crosswind got under both cars.

We never managed to run our first seven-second pass, although we were pleased with the way the car hooked up and ran over the eighth. Back at base we did the leakdown tests Mark Windridge found that both number one and three cylinders were above 80% leak down. We knew we had a problem with these cylinders and we were hoping they would last a bit longer than the first meeting. We are now in the position of all of our 2011 budget being used up and we cannot afford a new block. We are going to see if we can sleeve these two cylinders to get us back on track. We are also looking out for a 350 Small Block Chevy block to maybe freshen up and fit our rotating elements.

Whichever way we go I do not think we will be back on the track until the Nostalgia Nationals at the earliest. Here at Team Thing we do not give in easily and where there's a will there's a way - see you all at the track soon.

Web site updates.
9th May: Colin Donisthorpe has updated his Flickr gallery with pictures from the Easter Thunderball. You can check out Colin's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/colin_donisthorpe.

G rides high.
8th May: His win at the opening round of the 2011 ACU UK Super Street Bike Championship at the Autotrader Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway Easter was as much a shock for SSB racer Graham Dance as it was for anyone else:

Although we knew we'd made improvements over the winter, we far exceeded expectations by qualifying second with a 7.37/192. My crewman Sam predicted the time although I was more doubtful, after all six years in the wilderness somewhat curbs your dreams! Adding a sniff of nitrous on top of the turbo in fifth gear really helped the terminal speed but it was the 60 foot and 330 foot times where the eventual best of 7.27 in eliminations came from. The win was a real bonus and the week before the meeting I would have been more than happy to make the semi-finals.

I returned home then ten hours later we departed for Hungary, meeting up with Len Paget and his brother at Dover. It's fair to say I slept most of the way and missed Austria completely! Kunmadaras is a unique drag strip and the hard work by everyone involved really paid off when after a couple of qualifying passes the track came good - a quick note here that although very grippy on the start line you had to tune the bike quite differently especially where the chassis is concerned and with a narrow groove you couldn't drift off-line very far without experiencing wheelspin. Having said that Dave Smith and myself managed to run consistent 7.7s in eliminations and raced each other in the final where I drifted off line and Dave took a very well deserved win - they don't call him 'The Bounty Hunter' for nothing!

We met some great people in Hungary and were made very welcome by all, I would thoroughly recommend racing there and would like to thank everyone who made the event possible.

A big thanks to Len and his brother Dave for all their help (and for driving the 2500 miles) and to Martin Bishop and crew Tim and Baz for their hospitality and assistance during my interview!

Can't wait for Round 2 of the Euro SSB Series at the Main Event.

PBs for the Punisher.
8th May: The Easter Thunderball was a race of highs and lows for UK Pro Stock Bike racer Mark Smith, the Stunt Monkey Crew, and the Punisher Pro Stock Bike team:

The Punisher ran its Personal Best of 7.863 seconds, we also got a PB Reaction Time of 0.0015 seconds, and last but not least a PB sixty foot time of 1.14 seconds. Not all on the same run we must add! Overall it was a massive learning curve, with bike issues and a slight mess up from one of my so-called crew. He will learn or he is sacked (surely "punished"? - Ed). The biggest problem was a faulty tyre pressure gauge, which was reading way over: a good racer always blames his tools (or his crew).

We would love to thank everyone who helped us with our issues. Just to name a few: Ray Debben, Dave Beck, Len Paget, Stu Crane, bromey John and my crew of course. Big thanks for all the photos supplied by Shoot Me Photos and Simon Rich Photography. We also appreciate all the other photos in which we have been tagged on Facebook, thanks loads.

We hope to see you all at Shakespeare County Raceway on 14th-15th May. Let's see if we can blow the cobwebs away and get some good runs in. 

The Punisher and the Stunt Monkey Crew have also kindly been invited to represent MPM Oil UK at the FIA Main Event and will be pitting in the MPM Village. Big thanks go to Richard Stevens of MPM Oil UK for the invite and the remarkable opportunity.

Photos from the Easter Thunderball can be found at shootmephotos.zenfolio.com and on our Facebook page. We also have a new Blog at thepunisherprostockbike.tumblr.com.

Oakley back Paige.
8th May: UK Junior Dragster racer and Eurodragster.co Blogger Paige Wheeler will wear Oakley eyewear as part of a new agreement with the industry-leading lifestyle brand.

A winner at last year's FIA European Finals held at her home track of Santa Pod Raceway, Paige will compete in the UK National Championship as well as the NHRA Junior Drag Racing League Eastern Conference Finals under the R2B2 Racing umbrella. She may enter additional races in the United States pending her school schedule. Additionally, Paige will display her dragster at numerous car shows and exhibits.

Paige will wear Oakley gear whenever she's at the race track or other public appearances. There will be Oakley branding on her Alamo Rent-A-Car Junior Dragster, firesuit, crew uniforms and autograph cards.

"Oakleys are fantastic", said Paige. "They are so comfy and perfect for keeping the sun out of my eyes at the track. Plus they look so cool. I love wearing my Oakleys no matter what the weather."

Employment opportunity.
8th May: UK Supertwin racer Chris Hannam is seeking another engineer due to the increasing workload at his company Cannon Engineering, and he says that he is thinking outside the box here as there are some very skilful engineers in the pits at races:

The ideal applicant would have a good engineering knowledge and be able to work within our CNC milling cell. All are machines are XYZ conversational machines and you should be able to set and operate three- and four-axis CNC machining centres and turret mills etc and be able to work from sample or drawing. One of the main qualities I'm looking for is enthusiasm to work within a highly motivated team. We are a precision engineering sub-contract shop and we cover a large spectrum of work. We have regular overtime with the ability to earn £30K per year, with overtime, for the right applicant.

For more information interested parties can either contact me by E-Mail at info@cannon-engineering.co.uk, at work on 01132 797300, or on my mobile on 07775 501371.

Web site updates.
8th May: A reader who goes under the nom-de-plume of The Mad Welshman has launched a Flickr gallery at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman. The first update includes pictures from the Easter Thunderball, the Saturday Night Special also at Santa Pod Raceway, and the first Public Test Weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway.

UK rulebook nitro update.
7th May: Phil Evans, who heads up the UK's Tech Committee, has asked us to draw racers' attention to the below text which is included in the 2011 UK rulebook.

GSR 1.6.2 NITROMETHANE

It is mandatory that all Nitromethane fuel must contain a marker dye that will change colour when the fuel becomes sensitised or contaminated. Due to impending legislation regarding the supply of Nitromethane and its possible misuse by subversive organisations, the following measures have been agreed with the Special Counter Terrorism Security department of the Home Office.
  • Any Nitromethane fuel container not in service (actually being used) shall not be within sight or reach of the general public. After use all Nitromethane fuel containers holding any measure of Nitromethane shall be hidden away.

  • When a team vacates its pit area all Nitromethane fuels will be securely locked away or the pit area where the Nitromethane is stored is to be manned by an adult at all times to prevent unwanted intervention.

  • All Nitromethane fuels are to be securely locked away overnight.

  • Any Nitromethane container carrying marks such as; Fuel, Nitro, Nitromethane, NM, any numbers followed by the percentage sign (e.g. 88%), CH3NO2, UN1261, or any other marks indicating that the content is Nitromethane should have such marks removed and replaced with an alternative description and where necessary still conform to current hazard labelling requirements (consult fuel supplier if in doubt).

  • Any possessor of Nitromethane must;

    • Refuse all requests to onward sell, supply or hand over Nitromethane to any persons, organisations or bodies not known to them.
    • Not donate, volunteer, lend, make available to or offer Nitromethane to any persons, organisations or bodies not known to them.

  • If you notice anything that you think may be connected with terrorist activity, call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline without hesitation on 0800 789321.
If you have any queries then please contact Phil Evans.

Swift snippets.
 7th May: Further to yesterday's Swift Snippet, Richard Stevens of Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK has passed us this rendering by fellow Eurodragster.com sponsor Power Race Graphics of David Vegter's Pro Mod in MPM colours.

UK Super Comp racer Malcolm Motler is urgently seeking 3 x 1/8" spacers and screws to fit the pads/feet of a bolt-together Neal Chance torque converter to buy or to borrow. "I want to get hold of these spacers and screws just in case the ones I've ordered do not arrive in time, as I am keen to get the truck started up and tested for the Main Event", says Malcolm. "I am really looking forward to being there again, I've been away far too long". if you can help Malk with the spacers and screws then please get in touch with him on 07813 250039 or E-Mail mm.spellbound@ntlworld.com.

UK Super Pro ET racer Paula Atkin has asked us to say a big Thank You to her husband Stan, for letting her talk him into selling the 100E and getting the Mustang so that she could run a six second pass. "Thanks also to Clive Bond for a brilliant Ford Hemi powerplant and Kevin Cerasale for a reliable six-second Powerglide", says Paula. "Thanks to anyone else involved I might have forgotten. I am looking forward to the Main Event, fingers crossed for more six-second runs."

Web site updates.
7th May: Following Fotopic's demise Richard Smith has relocated his galleries to Zenfolio and re-uploaded the majority of images from 2007 onwards. You can find Richard's new site at rdsmith.zenfolio.com including four new galleries of the first two weekends at York Raceway including the opening round of the American Super Stock series and the PDRC Class Championships.

Andersens confirm 2011 driver.
6th May: It is with great pleasure that Denmark's Andersen Racing Top Fuel Dragster team announce that Tommy Johnson Jr will pilot the Top Fueller owned and tuned by the Andersen Racing brothers Karsten and Per Andersen.

Tommy, who is a multi time winner in both NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car and a well-liked person in the world of drag racing. He has been involved with drag racing all his life and is looking forward to adding yet another unique experience when he joins forces with the Andersen brothers in 2011.

Tommy will start the new FIA European Championships in the Top Fuel Dragster which last year ran yet another European record of 4.57/320 on the all-asphalt Santa Pod track. The car, parts, crew and spirit has never been this ready and knowing that parts are made to be used there is a big chance of seeing more records than ever at the first race of the season, the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway on 27th-30th May.

Andersen Racing hope to join the whole FIA European Tour. Racing with Tommy Johnson Jr is possible thanks to the team's very supportive sponsors Sunoco, Landmeco, Else Marie, Veidec, Teslak Transport, DOL sensors, HAC Art Paint, ABC Skilte, and Motovario.

For more news and updates please join Tommy Johnson Jr and Andersen Racing on Facebook.

First look at Tierp Arena.
6th May: The Eurodragster.com coverage team got their first look at Sweden's new Tierp Arena this morning as preparations continued for this weekend's NDRS Nationals. Although construction work is continuing 24/7, it is already very easy to see just how spectacular a facility this is and is all the more impressive when you consider that there was nothing there but a runway a few short months ago and that the construction period has included one of the harshest winters to hit Sweden in twenty years.


We took a quick look at the track and the concrete racing surface looks flat enough to be used as a set square. Right now the Timetree crew are putting in their portable timing kit.

The Arena is attracting a lot of media interest which is being deftly handled by Tierp Arena's PR Patrik Larsson. In the picture above right Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered can be seen being interviewed by public TV station SVT.

Tune back this evening and we will update our Alamo Rent-A-Car-sponsored Event Coverage with a small gallery.

Event entry update.
6th May: Event entry information and entry form are now available for the 2nd Grand-National Drag Race which takes place in Bechynê (CZ) on 24th-26th June. Frans of MSTO tells us that the information and form are available at www.msto.org.

Today (Friday) is the deadline for entry to the FIA Main Event, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 27th-30th May. Entry after today, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee. You can download the official entry forms for all classes from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc and entry forms for FIA and UEM classes are also available on the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu.

18:10 You can check out Version 4 of the official FIA Main Event entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

If you have any queries about FIA Main Event entry then please contact Paula Marshall at paula.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625).

Entry is still open for the Spingspeed Nationals, the second and third rounds of the UK Championships depending upon class, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 14th-15th May. You can download the official entry form from the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com.

If you have any queries about entry to the Springspeed Nationals or entry to any event at Shakespeare County Raceway then please contact SCR at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180).

Entry is also still open for the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi.

Goaaaaal!
6th May: UK Pro Stock racer Conrad Stanley says that the Panther Racing team's Easter Thunderball weekend was marked by great weather, a great track, and awesome results:

We came to the track with the Grand Am looking to familiarsze ourself with the maintenance and tuning of the car, so that when we are in competition we can prepare the car between rounds in the allotted time. Under the watchful eye of our clutch guru Markus Svensson the team soon got up to speed and performed with the speed and finesse required to make one of these cars perform.

At the same time the driver was also on a steep learning curve and no matter what he thought happened on each run, Markus was quick to point out that Racepack data doesn't lie - Big Brother is with you on evey run.

At the begining of the year the team sat down to talk about our goals for 2011. And goaaaaal! Did we score: 6.87 seconds at 200.06 mph. Season over? Not likely, new team meeting arranged with new goals (Hoch, don't forget the jumpers).

Thank you to everyone who has sent messages of congratulations. We will be flying the flag in Pro Stock at the Main Event, it's now down to making the eight-car field. To round off a great weekend Lee Child of LA Racing Parts confirmed that VP Racing Fuels will be supplying our fuel for the 2011 season.

Swift snippets.
6th May: Eagle-eyed readers with good memories will have spotted the names of Finnish Top Fuel Dragster racer Timo Lehtimäki and the TIL Racing team on the FIA Main Event entry list when the team's original plan was to start their season at Tierp Arena in June. "We are racing at the first round thanks to ex-Pro Comp Funny Car driver Timo Aartomaa", says Timo Lehtimäki. "Now we have a new chassis and a lot of new engine parts. Timo gave us enough money to travel to Santa Pod for the first race."

Further to yesterday's snippet, Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK's team at the FIA Main Event will also include Pro Mod racers Robert Koper, David Vegter and Henri Joosten. Stay tuned for more news about the MPM Village at the FIA Main Event.

Lisa Selles and the whole Selles family have asked us to wish a very Happy Birthday for today (Friday) to Henriette Selles. "We love her so much", says Lisa who supplied Henriette's age but your gentleman of a News Editor will keep that to himself. We are very pleased to do a favour for one of our favourite drag racing families so have a lovely day Henriette, a very Happy Birthday to you, and have a big hug from the Eurodragster.com team. A very Happy Birthday also to our good buddy, FIA Drag Racing Commission member, Chair of the SBF Drag Racing section and bad mini-golfer Lars Pettersson. Have a great day Lars and we'll see you very shortly.

'Blood's latest.
6th May: American drag racing artist Kenny Youngblood is not only still at the easel after forty five years but but his artwork looks better than ever.

Pictured is Blood's latest, a piece commissioned by Royal Purple Raceway, in Houston, Texas. "Doing a painting is just like testing a race car; you learn something every time" says the sixty five year old artist, who got involved in drag racing in 1966. "It's a great ride any time you can make a living doing what you love". We're glad he's still doing it; looking at one of Kenny's paintings is probably the next best thing to being in the driver's seat!

Kenny, along with American motorsport personality Trackside Tina, will be featured guests of Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK at the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway, as part of his "Blood Did It" 45th Anniversary World Tour.

Big Bang racer update.
5th May: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding the arrangements for this weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway.

Santa Pod Raceway's gates are open between 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm today (Thursday), and then open for the weekend at 9:00 am tomorrow.

The Signing On office opens at 8:00 am on Saturday.

Car scrutineering commences at 8:00 am on Saturday, and bike scrutineering commences at 8:30 am on Saturday.

The weekend's provisional running orders are now available by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting Big Bang. Please note that as ever these running orders are subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials.

The track is open for Run What You Brung tomorrow and Saturday for VWs and racers in classes being contested this weekend. RWYB sign-on opens at 12:00 midday tomorrow and again at 8:30 am on Saturday. Please remember that competition licences are not valid for RWYB; to run in RWYB you must present your DVLC licence.

Event entry update.
5th May: Entry is still open for the Spingspeed Nationals, the second and third rounds of the UK Championships depending upon class, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 14th-15th May. You can download the official entry form from the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com.

If you have any queries about entry to the Springspeed Nationals or entry to any event at Shakespeare County Raceway then please contact SCR at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180).

Tomorrow (Friday) is the deadline for entry to the FIA Main Event, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 27th-30th May. Entry after Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee. You can download the official entry forms for all classes from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc and entry forms for FIA and UEM classes are also available on the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu.

You can check out Version 2 of the official FIA Main Event entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

If you have any queries about FIA Main Event entry then please contact Paula Marshall at paula.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625).

Many thanks to Emelie Carlswärd for forwarding us the third final version of the official entry list for the inaugural NDRS Nationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena this Saturday and Sunday, 7th-8th May. You can check out the entry list (PDF format) by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the NDRS Nationals.

Entry is also still open for the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi.

Tierp Arena from the air.
5th May: As they prepare for this weekend's opening event, the inaugural NDRS Nationals, Sweden's Tierp Arena have released a set of aerial pictures showing the facility as it is right now. You can check out the aerial shots and find out more about the facility and this weekend's event at www.tierparena.com.

The guys at Nitroz.se will be posting full qualifying and elimination results and broadcasting their excellent live webcam from Tierp; Eurodragster.com and Speedgroup will be co-operating on pit notes and photo galleries. We expect our coverage plans to evolve as the event gets underway and we find our way around the facility. You can check out our NDRS Nationals Event Index page, which contain links to the official entry list, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Swift snippets.
5th May: Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK are creating the MPM Village at the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. Teams representing MPM Oil UK at the race and running out of the Village are planned to be Lex Joon Racing (Top Fuel Dragster, TBC), the Shockwave Fuel FC team, the Punisher Pro Stock Bike team, and Martijn de Haas' Funny Bike team. Don't forget that the legendary Kenny Youngblood will also be based in the MPM Village during the event. Richard Stevens of MPM Oil UK says that there will be more to tell and that as soon as he knows, we will know.

Nick and the crew asked us to say a big Happy Birthday to UK Super Pro ET racer, and new owner of Ray White's Zephyr, Lee Cohen aka Wiffy. Our pleasure guys, have a great day Lee.

Back to the subject of event entry lists and one would have thought that this went without saying, but we publish entry lists here on Eurodragster.com as soon as we receive them. It thus follows that if we haven't published an entry list, then we have not yet received it.

Kunmadaras UEM review.
5th May: The 2011 UEM European Drag Bike Championship season began in Hungary at the weekend and Jari Halonen writes that the weekend's watchword was "Youth":

In Pro Stock Bike the youngest rider was only sixteen years old, Elvira Carlsson from Sweden. Also the winner Jesper Thiel and second placed Kalle Lyrén are young racers, they are both under thirty. Number one qualifier Jesper Thiel 7.174, runner-up Kalle Lyren 7.230 and Elvira was number eleven qualifier 7.947.

In the Supertwin finals experience and youth met each other. "Old veteran" Hans Olav Olstad met youngster Jan Sturle Herge. This time, youth won. Number one qualifier was Hans Olav Olstad 6.968 and runner-up Jan Sturla Herge 7.108. And lets not forget former Funny Bike rider Christan Jäger who was number four qualifier, 7.170.

In Top Fuel Bike there was only two participants, but they were even more colourful: Nate Gagnon from Canada and Ian King who was on the move with a brand new bike. A very nice season's start for Ian, 6.573.

The Funny Bike Cup winner was Rikard Gustaffson and runner up Markku Poikajärvi. This was Markku's comeback after many years. Not bad season start at all.

You can check out the post-Hungary UEM Championship points on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Woppi writes from Austria to tell us that you can take a look at some great pictures from Kunmadaras on Ernst 'Paparazzo' Gruber's web site at www.motorsportfotos.at. Finally, in the latest update in his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Kalle Lyrén writes about his very successful weekend in Hungary. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Dream début for Gulf Oil Dragracing.
5th May: The Gulf Oil - Grand Prix Originals Top Fuel Bike made a dream début on the notoriously tricky Kunmadaras track in Hungary when the 1500 horsepower machine (managed by multiple Championship winners King Racing stunned many with an unbelievable 6.57 second run at over 200 mph on only its third ever run on track despite very conservative power settings.

After qualifying on pole, British rider Ian King set low elapsed time and high terminal speed of all bikes in competition on his way to defeating Canadian rider Nate Gagnon and taking the early Championship points lead.

The former Soviet Nuclear Bomber airfield track is known to lack the grip required by the more powerful machines so this performance bodes well for the team's next race and UK début on one of the fastest tracks in Europe, Santa Pod Raceway, on the 27th-30th May.

The team is extremely proud to be supported by many leaders in their chosen markets in their quest for an unprecedented sixth European Championship title:

APE - The world's most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for drag bikes
Cometic Gaskets - The premier manufacturer of racing gaskets
Craft Helmets - The ultimate helmets for safety and uniqueness in design
Gates - The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics
Goedhals - The name in recision specialist gear cutting and engineering
Goodridge - The original and the best in fluid transfer systems
Grand Prix Originals - The brand for drive and lifestyle, past and present
Gulf Oil International - The world's most iconic brand in automotive fuels and lubricants
Hyperpro - The leading producer of progressive suspension products for motor bikes
JE Pistons - The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons
Kent Cams - Specialists in motor sport camshaft manufacture, short runs and one-offs
Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc -Tthe highest quality valve train components on the market
Mickey Thompson Tyres - Simply the best drag race tyres in the world
MRE - Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems
NitroShutter - Europe's leading drag racing photo-journalists
NCT Engineering - Manufacturer of the world's leading non contact torque sensors for motorsport
Portable Shade - The best custom branded collapsible canopies available
Pro Alloy Motorsport - UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators
PsycleWorkz - The UK's best custom and race fabricators and innovators
Puma Engineering - Manufacturers of the world's most powerful motorcycle engines
RSG Customize - The UK's most creative website designers and vinyl artists
Vanson Leathers - The most iconic brand in motorsport leather goods
Zodiac - Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts

Another Gambler's, another Huxley.
5th May: After twenty five years of friendship Brian Huxley finally acted out sweet revenge over his racing buddy John Mulligan in the final of last weekend's Royal Gamblers Bracket race at Shakespeare County Raceway sponsored by Piston Apparel, Alamo Car Rental and American Car Magazine, writes SCR's Jerry Cookson.

With a sixteen-car field in prospect, leading the charge after the first of three qualifiers was the silver 302 Mustang of Outlaw Street racer Nigel Jenkins. This all changed in the next session after Nicole Parker, racing dad's 5.0 Mustang in preparation for her first UK National event at Shakey in a couple of weeks' time, ran a 13.570 on a 13.55 dial-in. This in turn bumped the VW Golf of Phil Evans and John Mulligan's Buick Skylark down a couple of places. In session three street racer Graham Slaven drove his V6 Ford Taurus station wagon into the number one slot to a perfect 17.208 on a 17.20 dial-in giving him the lucky dog bye into round two. Anchoring the field was Dave Cherrett's Vauxhall Corsa! A fourth qualifier was scheduled but was later cancelled after a RWYB biker deposited a trail of oil on to the track due to a broken con rod and a holed block.

Round one opened with wins for Vic Fisher's Ford Rancher Thunder Truck, Nigel Jenkins over a red lighting Simon Parker in the Nightmare nostalgia Camaro, Nicole Parker against Cliff Turner who also turned the red light on to match the colour of his 508 ci Dodge Dart, and John Mulligan after the Model Y driven by Steve Heath also fouled.

In an all-Cherrett family outing young Stephen Cherrett in an Astra took out his uncle and Pro ET racer Dave in a twenty one-second drag race but the race of the round saw Brian Huxley's Dark Horse Pro ET Mustang force the Golf of Phil Evans to break out of its 16.38 dial-in with a losing 16.32 against Brian's safe 10.07 on a 10.01 dial-in. Graham Slaven took the round's lucky dog when he was due to meet the Mustang of Nigel Jenkins but a suspected blown head gasket prevented Graham from taking the start. In an all Ford battle, Brian Huxley advanced another round after taking out Fisher's Thunder truck, leaving the 5.0 Mustang of Little Miss Billy with the lucky dog into the semis.

Embarrassing moment of the race must surely belong to young Stephen Cherrett who on a five-second handicap stalled the Astra and lost hands down on the line against Mulligan's Buick.

In the semis Mulligan and Huxley both stepped up their games by psyching out their opponents Nicole and Nigel to break out.

With Brian electing to go with a 10 flat in the final to John's 16.1, Brian had to wait a tad over six seconds to get his bulb of 0.060 and chase that Buick to the line. 10.128 seconds later it was all over as the win light came on in the Mustang's lane. John meanwhile ran a 16.228 on a 16.10 dial-in.

Shakespeare County Raceway would like to thank all the racers and sponsors Piston Apparel, American Car magazine and Alamo Rent-A-Car who have supported this year's Gamblers Races. The next Gamblers event is the Big Bucks Race being held at the Raceway's Yanks Weekend on 28th-30th May. See you at the strip!

Something else for the weekend.
5th May: If your bored or at a loose end this weekend then why not go to this Sunday's (8th) Wallingford Car Rally, writes Dan Page. This is a regular event on the town's calendar and is open to all classic, custom and interesting vehicles from bicycles to tank transporters.

The event starts at 11:00 am with a parade of all vehicles through the historic market town to the display field which is a large piece of common land in the heart of the town known as the Kinecroft. The owners of the vehicles are encouraged to show their vehicles in the display ring and to talk to visitors to the event. There are reserved areas for enthusiasts clubs' to display their members vehicles. During the afternoon the local Fire Brigade will demonstrate motor accident procedure in the display ring and the Wallingford Museum over the road from the Kinecroft are especially open with two-for-one entry.

"Jon Morton and I have supported this event for the last three years with our cars, firing them up and driving them into the display ring" says Dan. "This year Wendy Baker and Paul Stubbings' Time Warp Funny Car will be attending, hopefully giving the town its first smell of nitro!

If you want to bring your own car to the rally and be in the parade then please see the web site at www.wallingfordcarrally.org.uk for more details on how to enter. This event is totally non commercial. All profits, after operating expenses, go to local charities.The principal charity for 2011 is SeeSaw, which supports children in Oxfordshire who are struggling either before or after a close family bereavement by offering them dedicated face-to-face support and providing information, advice, training and resources to their families and concerned professionals.

Easter Thunderball NFAA review.
5th May: It was a scorching Easter meeting for the first round of the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association Championship, with a red-hot track which is normally unheard of at the Thunderball, and some exciting antics from all of the NFAA entrants over the long bank holiday weekend writes Matt Glassup:

Congratulations must go to Gary Page and Lawrie Gatehouse for their first NFAA round win. A well deserved trophy after a weekend of consistently running the numbers and recording the car's best terminal speed in the process.

With Friday reserved for test passes the first qualifying session took place on Saturday early afternoon. After a whole heap of work and tons of effort over the last nine months, the Freddy's Revenge team were back and ready to put in their first pass of 2011 and shake off the demons and bad luck that has plagued the team of late. It was said at the weekend that if they didn't have bad luck, they wouldn't have any at all - and that rung true as car appeared to hook up so hard that it buckled its wheelie bars and launched skywards. The inevitable slam back to earth shattered one of the front suspension components instantly releasing one of the front wheels causing the car to veer across the track and come to rest against the concrete wall. It was a sad sight for anyone to see a scarily similar repeat of previous events that has seen the Topolino spend more time in the workshop than anywhere else of late. Best wishes to the whole team in getting the car back together as soon as possible.

From this first qualifying round on Saturday, the man on top was Joe Bond with a 6.910 straight from the trailer clocking 195.54 mph. Lawrie Gatehouse opted to take Chaos back to the pits and sit the first round out to ensure they could turn the car around and make it out for the afternoon session which would have cooler air. The afternoon session saw Chaos storm through with an early shut off and a 6.8135.

Sunday brought some impressive times and wild passes with a 6.782 from Joe Bond who probably covered an additional eighth mile he was fighting the car so much. Gary Page recorded his quickest qualifying time of 6.311/221.10 making him number one qualifier by round 3. In the afternoon session which was the fourth round of qualifying, Terri-Anne White completed her full pass gaining her license and recording a 7.533/166.68 in the process - well done Terri-Anne! Chaos snapped a rod when firing up in the pairing lanes and Adam Gleadow's Motor Psycho was unable to get out on track once again. Nuthin Fancy stormed up the track taking Joe to the provisional number one qualifying spot (based on average) with a 6.542/208.96 - a new PB for Joe!

Monday morning soon rolled round and with it the final chance for qualifying. Joe opted to sit this one out as he had secured the necessary times to be safe in the final and it left the remaining three cars to tow down. Adam's troubles continued on track and with a lot of revs the car seemed like the clutch wasn't engaging correctly and recorded an 11.761. Terri-Anne cut a fantastic light but the car seemed lacking in power and ran through to a 8.340. The Chaos team knew what they had to do, and Gary managed a 6.461/191.32 securing the number one qualifying spot and their first place in the final. With concerns over parts, Joe decided to stand down from the final, and Ollie Burns informed us that the mob were all out of nitro. This left Adam Gleadow with the chance to step into the other lane and race Gary for the final and a chance to score some prize money even though he wasn't eligible for points due to being an alternate. The final saw Chaos storm away from the line and record its quickest run of the weekend and take the win, 6.2687/223.30 to Adam's 9.9154/152.07.

The points standings after this round are:
  1. Gary Page 155
  2. Joe Bond 55
  3. Terri-Anne White 50
  4. Adam Gleadow 35
  5. Dave Grabham 0
Calling European nitrous refillers.
5th May: Simon Barker of Eurodragster.com sponsor Nitrous Oxide Supplies would be pleased to hear from anyone who refills nitrous on the European continent.

"Both Nitrous Oxide Supplies and our customers are regularly asked if we know of anyone who can refill nitrous on the Continent", says Simon. "Holland, Italy, Spain, Finland and Norway have been mentioned but we would be interested to hear from anyone in Europe who provides the service so that we can pass details on to their local customers."

If you refill nitrous or if you know of companies which do then please E-Mail name, business address, telephone number and any other relevant details to iwantgas@nitrousoxidesupplies.co.uk.

Web site updates.
5th May: The official web site of the UK's Chaos Fuel Altered team has been updated with a report on the team's weekend at the Autotrader Easter Thunderball. Webmaster Alan Currans tells us that you can check out the updates via the Latest News link at www.chaos-fuel-altered.com.

Mark Skinner has updated his Flickr gallery with pictures from the Easter Thunderball and recent Run What You Brungs at Santa Pod Raceway. You can find Mark's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/fast_n_bulbous.

Event entry update.
4th May: Many thanks to Emelie Carlswärd for forwarding us the final version of the official entry list for the inaugural NDRS Nationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena this Saturday and Sunday, 7th-8th May. You can check out the entry list (PDF format) by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the NDRS Nationals.

Racers are reminded that this coming Friday, 6th May, is the deadline for entry to the FIA Main Event, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 27th-30th May. Entry after Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee. You can download the official entry forms for all classes from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc and entry forms for FIA and UEM classes are also available on the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu.

You can check out Version 2 of the official FIA Main Event entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

If you have any queries about FIA Main Event entry then please contact Paula Marshall at paula.marshall@btconnect.com or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625).

Entry is still open for the Spingspeed Nationals, the second and third rounds of the UK Championships depending upon class, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 14th-15th May. You can download the official entry form from the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. If you have any queries about entry to the Springspeed Nationals or entry to any event at Shakespeare County Raceway then please contact SCR at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180).

Entry is also open for the inaugural Sweden Internationals, which takes place at Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June. On-line entry to the Sweden Internationals is available at www.tierparena.com/regsi.

2011 Swedish Championships.
4th May: Thanks to Lars Pettersson for forwarding us details of this year's Swedish Championships.

Pro Modified: all rounds count.



Stock/Super Stock and Competition Eliminator: the best four of five rounds count.



Junior Dragster:: the best six of ten events count.



"The Championship prize ceremony takes place at the 75th Anniversary celebration of the Swedish Automobile Sport Federation in Stockholm on 19th November", says Lars. "You can download the rules at www.sbf.se then click on Dragracing."

Alamo JD Challenge standings.
4th May: Thanks to Andy Wheeler for passing us the post-Autotrader Easter Thunderball standings in the 2011 Alamo Rent a Car Junior Dragster Challenge, which will award the best combined RT/against-index packages at the end of the season:



Don't forget that Alamo Rent-A-Car are offering up to 30% discount on car hire. By using a special web link, cars can be hired at a preferential rate from any one of 8,800 worldwide locations. So whether you are a racer needing a hire car for the FIA Main Event, an official headed for a meeting overseas, or a fan going racing in the USA then this deal is for you. Check it out at www.alamo.co.uk/dragster.

Bishop's bests.
4th May: UK Pro Stock Bike racer Martin Bishop says that he and his team had a great weekend at the first round of the 2011 UEM European Championships in Hungary:

We arrived in Hungary on Wednesday and set up camp, we had a test session on Thursday and ran a 7.44/291.81 kmh right off the trailer. This time was the fastest all day for any class!

On the first day of qualifying we ran 7.40 which was number one spot after the first round and a Personal Best. On the second pass we ran another new PB of 7.37/295 and qualified third, an excellent result. We then ran a new PB of 7.36 in eliminations.

We took two wins then a carb came off in our semi-final. We were over the moon to run three PBs so we are now looking forward to the Main Event - and there's more to come! Thanks to Lucas Oil, my crew Baz and Tim, and you guys at Eurodragster.com (Thanks! - Ed).

Wright's World of Adventures.
4th May: Living near Chessington World of Adventures theme park Andy Wright, twenty two-year Crew Chief for the UK's BA Racing Pro Modified team, decided last year to try a different adventure and get his Pro Mod race licence before he gets his bus pass. Bert Englefield writes:

After running a 7.27 at last year's National Finals, one more run of 7.40 was needed to complete his licencing. On paper this sounds easy, the only problem is that every time you let the clutch up on a Pro Mod you can either run a 5.99 or 12.99.

Friday's session was missed due to faulty new parts. Saturday's first run was a half pass 8.60 but with no data from the Racepak and higher than normal track temperatures the next three runs only produced either tyre shake or spin. With the Racepak still not working gear ratio and clutch settings were a bit of guesswork. Come Monday's eliminations we were allowed another run after the first round of eliminations. With the track temperature back to ninety degrees and first gear the same as at the National Finals a 7.11/195 came up on the scoreboards, enough to get Andy's licence signed off. And the Racepak finally worked so at least we have got some data.

Now we just have to decide who drives at the Main Event. We will probably toss a coin as I still have my two-headed ten pence piece. We would like to congratulate Roger and Dave Moore on their win with half of my old nitrous motor, and also thank Lucas Oil and Les Downey for their support since 2005.

Fireforce on the up.
4th May: It has been a tough couple of months for Martin Hill and the FireForce Jet Funny Car team, firstly having to miss a couple of appearances due to problems with FireForce 4 and then the incident when Number 4 met the guardrail, but team member Donna Finnegan says that are looking up at last:

Number 3 arrived back from Abu Dhabi after an unexpected delay on the water. It arrived just in time for Easter - on the Wednesday before - and this meant that the first run on Friday was steady and cautious as the team had little time to go through the car. However, the weekend passed without a glitch and the car managed all of its runs with impressive times in the 5.8s. Last weekend's Saturday Night Special also passed by without problems with a 5.88/274.69.

There is also good news on Number 4. All repairs and modifications are well underway and the problem has been found! The body will be in the paint shop next week and fingers crossed we will be back out at the end of May.

Although the incident with Number 4 dented the team's confidence a little, the support and goodwill shown by everyone has been of great comfort. And with a couple of good weekends under the belt, the team are itching to get out and run at Big Bang this weekend.

More news and information can be found on www.fireforce.co.uk.

Robinson's Easter.
4th May: Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson and his Pro Mod team struggled with a few issues at the Autotrader Easter Thunderball but after his last pass on the Monday team member Stefani Robinson is pleased to say that the engine was looking spot on.

"We were all very pleased with the 6.10 pass", says Stefani. "This will hopefully leave us in a good position for the Main Event. We would like to thank everyone who helped us over the weekend so on behalf of the team big thanks must go to Graham Ellis, Danny Cockerill and his father, John Spuffard, Dave Wilson, Dave and Steph Milam, Steve at Torco, Clive Bond, and anyone else who gave us advise or helped out with parts so we could continue to race.

"We also went to Hungary last weekend, we had a great time and will update our web site later in the week with a report of our weekend. In the meantime we have posted our Easter Thunderball report at www.robinson-race-reports.co.uk and I have also updated my personal Blog which can be found at www.femaleracingnews.com. Our Facebook page has also been updated with some great photos from the very talented Matt Woods."

Bengtsson's bad weekend.
4th May: Swedish Supertwin racer Per Bengtsson and the Beast Drag Bike team arrived at the Kunmadaras race track with expectations that the traction had increased since their last visit in 2009. After three rounds of qualifiying on the Friday the team's Racepak computer told them a different story. "To cut a long story short, we have all the tools to go really fast on good race tracks but it's much more difficult to back off with a really strong engine combination", says Team PR L-O Jonsson.

"On our fourth attempt on Saturday morning we at least got down to the finish line with very little clutch and low ignition and the scoreboards showed 7.33 seconds. We weere at that moment ninth on the ladder with two more rounds to go. Unfortunately rain suddenly hit the area and ended the day and we found ourselves not qualified.

"The ambition for the race in Hungary was to earn important points in the Championship and to test the new Bentec clutch control system. The result was that we got nothing to take back to Sweden with us. It was a big disappointment for the team of course and we will now focus on the Main Event at Santa Pod where we can expect a first-class race surface.

"On top of this some different electrical problems occurred during the Kunmadaras race which affected our different timer systems. These issues will be solved in our shop before leaving for the next race on the Championship tour.

"Thanks to our sponsors who makes this season possible: Swedcut, Gates/Lönne, Red Line Oil, Fanhultstvätten Älmhult, Ulvsgården AB, Cemecon, Liqui Moly, Autoexperten Växjö, Bilservice i Åseda, Larssons Bilverkstad Lenhovda, Kalvsviks Bilverkstad, Rävenåla Bilservice, Bentec Engineering and Flexoart."

Easter Super Modified review.
4th May: After a long cold winter since last years VP Racing Fuels National Finals, five Super Modified cars made it to Santa Pod for the Easter Thunderball meeting which took place over all four days of the holiday period. Chris Dossett writes:

Two racers had made an appearance testing at the previous Sunday's Peak Performance Day: Nigel Payne, who had been absent from most of the previous season, and Rob Smallworth. Nigel had problems with his new four-link set up and struggled to get the car off the line while Rob posted an encouraging best of 7.80/174. The five entrants for the Thunderball were reigning champion Andy (Fred) Hone (1986 Ford Scorpio), Tim Mugridge (1968 Camaro), Nigel Payne (1962 Corvette), Rob Smallworth (1955 Chevy) and Peter Thompson (1968 Chevelle).

The first of a scheduled nine qualifying sessions took place on Friday morning and saw only Nigel Payne make the call. The team were eager to see whether a revised four-link set-up would eliminate the launch problems that troubled them at the previous weekend's Test Day. An undramatic launch and straight run resulted in a 7.47/181 which pleased the crew. Back in the Sumo camp Rob and Fred were busy rebuilding the motors of their cars after Dave Cumbridge from the Tech Crew carried out his inspections. Peter Thompson was finishing off work from his winter modifications to his 1968 Chevelle which left Tim Mugridge the only competitor to make the second round of qualifying with Nigel Payne rectifying an oil leak back in the pits. Tim laid down a 7.76/177 to open his account in the orange Camaro before heading back to the luxury of his new trailer. The call for Friday's final session came at 5:00 pm and both Tim and Nigel made their way to the start line for the first side-by-side qualifier of the day. There was still plenty of heat in the track but after strong burnouts the pair failed to improve on their earlier times with a 7.82/176 in the left hand lane for Tim and a 7.54/179 for Nigel.

The weather continued to be warm and sunny as Saturday arrived and three cars lined up for the days first session. Nigel improved his previous performance with a 7.45/182 whilst Rob and Fred made their first appearances of the weekend with a strong side-by-side pair of runs. Rob, in the right lane got the '55 Chevy off the line ahead but Fred got to the top end first with a 7.70/181 to Rob's 7.78/177. Session two saw the first pairing of Nigel and Fred almost become a solo pass for the Scorpio when the Corvette's motor died after the burnout. Nigel got the motor running again with the start line crew in close attendance but on the run failed to improve on his earlier time with a 7.51. In the left lane however Fred managed to step things up with a strong 7.55/180 to consolidate his number two position in qualifying. Rob unfortunately had problems getting the '55 started and had to be towed back to the pits. To close the session Peter Thompson brought the black Chevelle out for it's first outing. After a strong burnout Peter was delighted with a new personal best of 8.34/161. After some hold ups during the day all five Sumos made their way down to close the days proceedings. In the slowly fading light Nigel and Peter paired up first, Peter rolled through the staging lights before his launch while Nigel remained consistent with a 7.49/180 to a 9.43/161. The next pairing saw Fred in the right lane with Tim on the left. Both cars launched hard, a little too early in Tim's case but red lights don't count in qualifying. Fred began to drift to the left and came very close to the centre lane getting to the top end just behind Tim. A solo pass from Rob closed the day with a 7.80.

A warm and sunny start greeted us yet again on Sunday as the teams prepared for their final shots at qualifying. The first session proved to be a challenge as all the teams struggled to get traction off the line. The first pairing of Rob and Nigel saw Rob hit tyre shake while Nigel lost traction, the car beginning to turn right before he got off the gas. Tim and Fred both had shake, the Scorpio in the left lane starting to head towards the right and picking up the left front wheel on correction. Both drivers were on and off the pedals with Fred posting the session's best time of 7.88. Peter followed up with a 9.40. Session two once again saw all five cars come to the pairing lanes and three out of the five managed to improve their times. The morning's traction problems seemed to be gone as both Fred and Rob stepped up from 7.55 to 7.49 and 7.78 to 7.70 respectively, Fred maintaining the number two spot while Rob moved ahead of Tim to number three. Nigel closed the session to remain at number one with his weekend's quickest pass yet of 7.44. As the day progressed it became clear that the final session was to be cancelled and that the qualifying positions would remain as they were:
  1. Nigel Payne 7.44
  2. Andy Hone 7.49
  3. Rob Smallworth 7.70
  4. Tim Mugridge 7.76
  5. Peter Thompson 8.34
After three days of hot sunshine Monday didn't disappoint with some cooler air, which would help the naturally aspirated cars, but still plenty of sunshine. Round One of eliminations came as a bit of a surprise as it was called an hour and a half early. All the cars made it to the paring lanes in time though and the first pairing of Tim and Rob saw Tim get away first with a lightning reaction. Both cars however had problems off the line and Rob managed to take the advantage and the win, an 11.92 to an 18.43. The next pairing of Peter and Fred provided some thrills for all concerned with a 7.67/182 winner for Fred whilst Peter got out of shape in the Chevelle and gave everyone a scare as he narrowly avoided the wall. "We stepped it up a bit" he said at the top end, "but we might have gone a bit too far"! Despite having a bye into the next round Nigel continued his run of good form and set a new class ET record of 7.381/183. Round two came just after three o'clock and saw Fred make his way to the final with a solo 7.51/182 while the other semi saw Nigel Payne solo to a 7.41/183 after Rob sadly had trouble starting the '55 shutting off before making his way to the start line.

No more than an hour and a half later the final pairing of Fred and Nigel were waiting patiently for the deciding round. Lane choice went to Nigel and he again chose the right hand side which had worked well for him all weekend. Side-by-side burnouts pleased the crowd before the cars staged and Fred got the start over Nigel. Both cars launched hard but the Corvette soon drew level and by the top end Nigel took the win with a 7.40/184.32 (a new class speed record) to Fred's 7.59/183.61.

All in all the Thunderball provided a good start to the 2011 Super Modified Championship, with new records and Personal Bests, and the next few rounds should see more cars attending as the teams finish preparing their machinery. Whether we are blessed with the kind of weather this meeting experienced we will have to wait and see. Round two takes place again at Santa Pod when the Sumos appear this weekend's Big Bang VW Festival.We hope to see you there!

Sarah Payne writes that the official Super Modified web site at www.supermodfied.org has been updated with videos in individual team profiles as well as enlarging the Media Gallery. Information and updates are posted in the Latest News section, most recently a report from SM1968 Peter Thompson.

Swift snippets.
4th May: Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our very own Simon for forwarding us the official post-Easter Thunderball points standings in the 2011 UK National Drag Racing Championships. You can check out the UK points on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Ian Norman's recent crash in his Outlaw Anglia destroyed the car and forced Ian to take the very hard decision to hang up his firesuit for the last time, a disappointment after twenty five years. Fellow Outlaw Anglia racers Adam and Matt Cooper and Jason Yates of the Orange Pop team will be holding a collection for Ian Norman at this weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway. The collection will be held in the Coopers' pit (OA52).

Due to a cancellation a slot is free in Santa Pod Raceway's Two Seat Dragster at Big Bang this Saturday (7th). If you would like to hop in the seat then either contact Darren Prentice at darren@santapod.com or see driver Steve Warner on the day.

Eurodragster.com's Alamo Rent-A-Car-sponsored coverage team will be pulling double duty this weekend as we will be attending both the NDRS Nationals at Tierp Arena and Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway. The guys at Nitroz.se will be posting full qualifying and elimination results and broadcasting their excellent live webcam from Tierp; Eurodragster.com and Speedgroup will be co-operating on pit notes and photo galleries. We expect our coverage plans to evolve as the event gets underway and we find our way around the facility. Our Big Bang coverage will consist of final qualifying standings, full details of eliminations, and an end-day photo gallery on Sunday. We will post links to both sets of coverage when they commence but their Event Index pages, both of which contain links to the official entry lists, can be accessed by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Many thanks to everyone who took part in the test of the Doyousee.me streaming server yesterday evening. Maikel Gloudemans of Doyousee.me is now assessing the results and will report back in due course. So far as our Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam is concerned multiple cameras and chat room are, respectively, not a priority right now and not going to happen.

Supercharged Outlaws Round 1.
4th May: Alec Coe says that the UK's Supercharged Outlaws had a very enjoyable weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway and managed some good racing despite the awful crosswind which proved a bit scary for more than one driver, especially Dave McKenzie in The Thing altered who at one stage was hanging on by just one front wheel (picture Courtesy and ©Peter Donaldson).

Brian Gandy had a fantastic run, nearly losing the plot but keeping his foot down hard and managing a great save with his daredevil driving. Commiserations to Trace Froome who had trouble with the gearbox in his Funny Car and despite two days of hard work did not manage to run. Sam Freeman and the Vic Hammond team managed four excellent runs winning the event and managing to take the $100 for quickest Reaction Time courtesy of Good Vibrations Motorsports to whom we are most grateful. Richard Davies came in second place driving his shiny red '41 Willys with some great consistent runs. Paul Watts took third place driving the monstrous No Easy Pick Up so a big congratulations to them both.

Ian Hanson with his superb Chevy Corvette had fun with a few of his now-normal sideways burnouts. Steve Goode had a winter rebuild of the Hemi-powered Ghost Train Funny car and wow! Did that sound strong. The the motor sprung a small oil leak so he cautiously retired to check it without causing more unnecessary expensive damage. Lee Gallimore pulled a variety of fantastic smoky burnout runs in the oh so shiny Red Mist altered sporting new rear tyres with which to paint stripes on the track.

A new kid on the block was Nobby with a Big Block Chevy sitting in a Rover 214 body, he did a great job considering this was the first time ever in a race car and the first time ever on track, culminating in a ten-second run. Well done mate. Chris Pattison came out to join us for the first time as well with a cool T-bodied altered chalking up some very good burnouts and trial runs. Alec and Tom Coe had to manage without Kev, their Main Man who was unfortunately having a rest in hospital. Kev is home now but still not well but had better get his arse in gear as Tom and Alec made a few errors without his guidance. Alec managed a 7.9 driving through a nasty headwind and Tom managed an 8.1 with a sliding crosswind run.

Massive thanks to our sponsors and to everyone at Shakespeare County Raceway for looking after us so well. Keep safe and see you all at Round 2 at The Yanks Weekend.

You can read more on the Supercharged Outlaws' web site at www.supercharged-outlaws.co.uk.

Web site updates.
4th May: In the latest instalment in his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Luke Bennett brings us up-to-date with the latest from the Bennett Racing workshop. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

French nostalgia racer Georges Guegan invites readers to take a look his web site at dragsterequipage.free.fr which features the Darth Vader slingshot as well as a fair bit of nostalgia and other interesting stuff.

Cannons on deck.
 3rd May: Multiple IHRA Pro Modified World Champion Scotty Cannon and son Scotty Jr have arrived in Sweden and are already hard at work on on Swedish Pro Modified racer Per Svedberg's new blown-alcohol Dodge Demon to prepare it for its first outing.

Per spent several years racing in Pro Street and then Top Doorslammer before commissioning the Demon, which has to be one of the lowest Pro Mods around with a roof height of all of forty five inches, from Denmark's All In Race Cars. Per will be making his first outing in NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified at this weekend's inaugural NDRS Nationals at Tierp Arena.

"Scotty and his son are nice guys", Per told Eurodragster.com. "We met them through Jörgen Leanders. We have a Leanders clutch in the car; Jörgen met Scotty and asked him if he would like to help with a new car. This is a new experience for us. They have changed everything since they got here - ignition, fuel, everything! The car has two motors from Taylor Laster's Texas Racing Engines; one is in the car and the spare is on its way to us. We are planning to fire the car up for the first time in the morning."

As things stand Scotty and Scotty will also be working with Per at the first round of the FIA European Pro Modified Championships, the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway later this month, but Per hopes that they will be able to work with him for the whole Tour. "It looks like they will be working with us for the rest of the season", said Per, "but I need to talk to Scotty about that. I need to adopt him for this season!"

"Everything is going well and the car looks great", Scotty told Eurodragster.com. "The last couple of days have been real good and the team are great guys - the first thing I noticed about this team is that they are all hard-working, everyone is giving a hundred and ten per cent including Per.

"My goal is to get Per some laps and get him back safely with everything in one piece. Then we have a few weeks to regroup and to go at it. We just try to make progress but the goal is the Championship."

Scotty said that his son is a major asset both to himself and to Per's team. "I rely on Scotty Jr", he said. "He is my right-hand man. I have had three back surgeries, I am OK but Scotty does the building, puts the engines in and out, in fact does more than his fifty per cent. I have the final call on the tune-up but I have a good co-Crew Chief. Scotty has won World Championships of his own and it's worth a lot to have him here.

"The new track looks interesting. We have been checking the air daily and it was thirty feet below sea level today. We will start the car tomorrow and then go to the track and start to train the team.

"It's going to be a busy summer, and you don't know what to expect walking into a new deal. There may be some growing pains with a new car and a new Crew Chief, but if the car goes like it looks then it'll be the quickest and fastest in Europe and that'll be a feather in my cap."

Three and fours for Team Kendall.
3rd May: Frank Johansen of Sweden's Team Kendall Pro Modified team writes that Micke and Magnus Lindahl and the team had a successful weekend's testing at Malmö Raceway.

"The plan for the first run was to do a burnout and a launch", says Frank. "It was was a long burnout, almoust 200 metres! The sixty foot time was 1.04 but the car went a little to the left. We decided to try the same again with more power and the car went a little to the left again.

"So we made some changes to the rear axle and went out for a third attempt. 1.02 sixty foot, 2.68 to 330 feet, and 3.981/296 kmh at the eighth. Good numbers and a big smile on the crew's faces! After that we made some small changes and went 4.05, 4.02, 4.01 and our best sixty foot time was 1.000.

"Now we are looking forward to Tierp Arena this weekend."

Swift snippets.
3rd May: UK Super Gas racer Steve Dunn has asked us to say a big Happy 50th Birthday to his Tokyo Toy partner, Super Gas racer Jon Evans. Our pleasure, have a very Happy Birthday Jon.

Big Bang, NDRS Nats Perfect Awards.
3rd May: The Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme will be running this weekend at both Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway and NDRS Nationals at Tierp Arena. £100 at Santa Pod and 1000 SEK at Tierp are on offer for perfect performance.

The Eurodragster.com/Cotsweld Race Cars Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 and 500 SEK respectively after it was won by Junior Dragster racer Joe Kellett at the Autotrader Easter Thunderball. The money will be awarded to the first racer at each event weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available all to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first perfect light of the event. If not won at both events this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway; if it is won at at either or both events then it will be reset to £50 for the Springspeed Nationals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with race car builder Cotsweld Race Cars whose web site you can find at www.cotsweld.co.uk.

The Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been reset to £50 and 500 SEK respectively after it was won by Pro ET racer Lee Huxley at the Autotrader Easter Thunderball. The Perfect ET Award is available this weekend in the following classes:

Big Bang: VW Pro, VW Sportsman, Sportsman ET, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations), 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike

NDRS Nationals: Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Stock/Super Stock (eliminations), Junior Dragster (eliminations), Super Comp Bike, Super Gas Bike, Street Bike, Junior Drag Bike (eliminations)

The money will only be awarded for the first Perfect Run of each event. If not won at both events this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway; if it is won at at either or both events then it will be reset to £50 for the Springspeed Nationals. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with RV sales and service specialists Gold RV whose web site you can find at www.goldrv.co.uk.

To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET decals, one on each side of the vehicle. If you pull this weekend's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. As with all contingency schemes racers are responsible for collecting decals; Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award decals will be available in Signing On.

Web site updates.
3rd May: Our good buddy Alan Currans has updated his Acceleration Archive web site with a gallery from the weekend's Public Test and Tune Weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway, to which the Supercharged Outlaws turned up mob-handed for the first round of their 2011 Championship. You can check out Alan's pictures via the What's New link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk.

Anita meets a Dingle.
2nd May: The Autotrader Easter Thunderball didn't go quite as planned for Finnish Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä, apart from meeting one of her heroines:

We had shake, instant smoke, blower belt, burst panel problems, which meant that we didn't run any full passes. The bright side is that it is better have these problems at Easter and hopefully that's all and now we are ready for Main Event.

But England was at its best. The weather was simply great! And it was so beautiful everywhere: fresh and green and all the trees were blooming! I have never seen England so beautiful.

And, of course, the best part of Easter was the visit of Lucy Pargeter, Chas Dingle from Emmerdale! Lucy was even more gorgeous in real life than in TV. She talked and laughed a lot and sounded like Chas. Lucy was pretty interested in motorsports. I showed her my car and rigs and I heard she got a ride in the Two Seat Dragster later on. What a pleasure her visit was. Thank you to Santa Pod for bringing Lucy along and letting me meet my favourite actress!

By the way, have I mentioned that I'm a fan of the Royal Family, too?

Vanguard for sale.
2nd May: Race car builder, Super Pro ET and Super Comp racer, Pro Mod racer-in-waiting and Eurodragster.com sponsor Chris Isaacs has put his immaculate and unique Standard Vanguard up for sale.

"A lack of time is stopping me from really running the car at present", Chris told Eurodragster.com. "Not only are we extremely busy with customer cars in the shop, having recently completed updates for Paul Woodhead, Graham Ellis, Nicky Frost and Dave Day along with our full build schedule, my personal roster of toys has also been growing. Most people know that Spencer Tramm and I are collaborating on our turbo Pro Mod 1970 Duster, which is progressing well at CIRC Towers, however I have also been building a Small Block Chevy-powered Morris Minor for circuit racing over the last three years - sorry to mention the c-word, Tog! - which is now approaching completion. Added to this, I have now been offered a drive in a 300hp Duratec-powered MK1 Escort circuit racer which we have been carrying out some work on.

"Realistically it will be tough for me to do everything, both in time and money, and rather than have the Vanguard sit gathering dust in the workshop I am prepared to let it go to a good home.

"I am not desperate to sell, and am quite happy to have the old car keeping me company for a while yet, but if someone is looking for a complete, unusual and ready-to-race doorslammer, this is a good opportunity to get out there and race straight away."

If you are interested then you can check out the details in the Cars For Sale section of our Jeff Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet, or you can contact Chris through the Chris Isaacs Race Cars web site at www.chris-isaacs.com.

Swift snippets.
2nd May: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with no words. If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.

We will be asking readers' help to simulate giving the Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam a hammering tomorrow (Tuesday). We would like as many people as possible to go to our webcam page some time between 19:00 and 21:00 UK / 20:00 and 22:00 European. So please make a note in your diary and we will post details on tomorrow's update.

Ouch!
2nd May: UK Tot Rod racer Callum Swinchatt enjoyed his first taste of Junior Dragster League racing at Shakespeare County Raceway a couple of weeks back, despite the drama that occured on the Saturday night writes dad Chris:

After a good day's racing on the Saturday, after running a Personal Best and whilst getting ready for competition on Sunday, an incident in the evening. A Renault Clio was accidentally started up by remote start, it was in reverse and went across the pits and crashed into the Tot Rod, cracking the body! The only thing stopping it writing off the car was that the car's door had been opened in an attempt to stop it, and it hit the van next to us. Luckily we were able to race on Sunday.

The day after the meeting the body went to Przym Paintworks, Callum's sponsor for the Springspeed Nationals, for the body to be repaired and we went to pick it up yesterday. It is pictured with Callum's car which is ready for paint. All looks as good as new, cheers Andy.

Web site updates.
2nd May: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we have two exclusive Racer Blog updates for you today. In the first, street-legal Pro Mod racer Andy Frost gets his Vauxhall body back from the paint shop and tells of the work to make the test weekend before the FIA Main Event. In the second update, Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon tells of a return to the track. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Kunmadaras results.
1st May: Congratulations to the winners of the weekend's UEM Drag Bike/Honda Biker Celebrity of May which took place at Kunmadaras in Hungary:

UEM Top Fuel Bike: Ian King 6.573/354.23 kmh def. Nate Gannon 8.779/260.64
UEM Supertwin: Jan Sturla Hegre 6.821/314.48 def. Hans Olav Olstad 7.221/290.49
UEM Pro Stock Bike: Jesper Thiel 7.097/298.34 def. Kalle Lyrén 9.543/140.02 red
Funny Bike Cup: Rikard Gustafsson 7.560/215.73 def. Markku Poikajarvi no time
European Super Street Bike: Dave Smith 7.797/291.73 def. Graham Dance 8.124/289.62

Competition: Lásló Papp 8.192/264.25 def. Andrea Matusik 8.321/245.74
CEPSA Super Street: Tsakiris Sotiris 8.336/273.78 def. Wolfgang Mayerl 8.714/270.15
D1000+: József Orbán 9.315/241.86 def. Péter Király 9.391/237.98
UP 900+Top: Ferenc Sziklai 9.707/242.11 def. Lajos Bánki Horváth 9.6893/242.35
Street 1000: György Vigh 9.798/232.28 def. Stano Pozivenec 10.767/203.05
Moditwin: Tamás Nagy 9.954/237.10 def. Tamás Sági 10.357/209.70
Street 750-900 OldTop: Balázs Békési 10.443/218.39 def. Zoltán Szabó 10.654/212.19
Street 600: Imre Czeglédi 10.816/206.43 def. Zoltán Jóni 11.017/182.17
400-ig: András Kaselák 12.463/171.56 bye
Junior 100: Atilla Nagy 13.600/153.51 def. András Kaselák 13.988/146.03
Junior 50:Zalán Faragó 16.481/112.25 def. Lásló Papp 18.633/105.40

Eurodragster.com and Speedgroup co-operated to cover the event and you can check out our coverage, which is presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. We must thank Zoltán Hernady of Kunmadaras Motorsport for kindly sending us timing sheets, and Åsa Kinnemar, Lena Perés and Aila Striem of Speedgroup for sending us pit notes and pictures.


Earlier news