No repeats, thank you. 30th June: FIA European Top Methanol Dragster Champion Urs Erbacher and his TMFC and Supertwin team will be commuting back and forth between northern and central Europe over the next few weeks as they make appearances at Alastaro, back at home in Switzerland, and then in Sweden. Team member Andrea Wucher, one of two crew coping with broken bones at present, says that the team are done with history repeating itself. "Our rig just rolled of the ferry in Turku and Martin and Horst are driving it up to Alastaro", says Andrea. "Here in Switzerland we are sweating and waiting to catch our plane. The team for Alastaro was set some time ago, but we suddenly needed some more hands. First I, and then Wini our bike mechanic, broke our collarbones and are not much use at the moment. I will manage to wash the salad and prepare food with one hand, but Wini definitely can't push back the bike to the starting line, so we urgently needed an additional crew member. Dario has joined us now and will be giving Lo a hand with the bike. If our bike pit gets crowded with the most beautiful girls, it will be because of that charming Latin guy Dario. ©Eurodragster.com "The Funny Car is race ready and we think that we found one or two gremlins on the bike. But we will see. The Main Event was more or less a repeat of the 2004 edition for us. Our B&J just broke in the semi-final and not in the final. We ran the first round against against Jürgen Nagel, and with Niclas Andersson shut off on the line we managed to get into the final with a destroyed B&J, and having Dan in the other line at the final is always fun. Too bad there was no champagne at the prizegiving ceremony this year...Dan just missed his champagne shower. "For Alastaro: no repeat please. Last year we had one qualifying run, we changed an engine just to be on the safe side and lost in the second round against Leif Andréasson. So please, come up with something different this year. Urs in the water barrel again would be fun! "We are sorry that Arvid Grødem is not in Alastaro and we wish him all the best - we are already missing his late-night support. Ulf Leanders will do anything to get as many points as possible so we are looking forward to a great, spectacular and good race. "After Alastaro Martin and Horst will drive the truck and trailer back to Switzerland. On 23rd-24th July we will race at the Valais in Switzerland: racing-mad locals, cow bells, cheese soup, a good atmosphere, our sponsors and friends, and the National press are all good reasons to do the extra kilometres." Fatty takes the crown. 30th June: As reported on Monday, UK Street Eliminator racers Ian Hook, John Sleath and the the other UK representatives gave a good account of themselves at the King of Europe event in Belgium, with Fatty taking the event win and John winning the Rear Wheel Drive class. Fatty has been in touch to tell us all about his weekend. "There was a really interesting mix of vehicles there, from muscle cars through hot rods to rally-prepped Scoobies and the Fast and Furious crowd", says Fatty. "The Brits were well represented with ourselves, John Sleath, the Taz Racing crowd and Stuart Meads' Mini. Altogether eleven different nations were represented including a very quick Supra from Russia! "The track was quite unusual. Like Hockenheim the quarter mile is part of a race circuit. However at Chimay, when there is no racing, the track is a public road. The return road is also public roads and was still open to controlled traffic whilst we were racing! The lanes were very narrow and grass verges meant that an out of shape run was not an option. "Qualifying started on Sunday afternoon. I went out and ran a gentle 10.70 to start and found the track to be surprisingly grippy. It was no Santa Pod but for what was a public road just two days before it offered a lot of traction. After the 10.70 we ran a 10.09 then heard from John that he’d run a 9.32. We put a little more power in and ran a 9.45. The car moved around a lot the tyres actually squealing on the gear change and when the second system came in, Andy Carter (who was on a busman’s holiday) thought I’d shifted twice as the nitrous induced squeal was so loud. The 9.45 was our final qualifier and we were number two to Two Tins. The race was being run on a Pro ladder so in theory we’d meet John in the final. "After running the car on Saturday the interest that evening was huge. Loads of people came to look and asked questions (causing me to use my best schoolboy French) and I even had a couple of TV interviews. At times the car almost disappeared behind the sea of people. I must be honest – I loved it! "The event was split into two parts. Firstly there was the individual class racing – the top sixteen for FWD, RWD, 4WD and brackets for cars slower than 12.50. We didn't race until 3:00 pm when we started on the RWD Super Street eliminator. We had a bye in the first round where I tested the lights (Sportsman tree – yuk!) and pulled the predictable cherry. I then raced a French driven Trans Am and went on to face a Swede, Stefan Gustafson, in his Pontiac Lemans. This was a bit tougher as the car was shod with ET Streets – a DoT tyre which is almost a slick. However I caught and passed him at half-track so was in the final. On the other side of the ladder things had also gone with qualifying times so I faced John Sleath in his 8.3-second (but not on this track) Audi. I thought I’d have to cut a good light so tried very hard – unfortunately too hard. I red-lit by just one thousandth of a second and handed the win to John. A look at the timing ticket suggested that we had the performance to have beaten him as well as we were up on his times until he lifted. We ran a 9.11, just two hundredths John’s quickest. "With that out of the way we had a short break before going on to the big one – the King of Europe. Having practically matched John’s ET we felt in with a real chance. The KoE final was made up of the quickest sixteen cars at the event. The first two rounds were relatively easy as I disposed of a Renault (France) and a Subaru (Italy). Then we heard the shock news that John was out – beaten by a Lancia Integrale when his fuel pump failed. It may have been the heat as we were having to turn the cars around in under twenty minutes for each run and the ’34 was starting to get hot under the collar. "Our opponent for the semi-final was Luca Lodi driving an absolutely mental Fiat Punto with 4WD and a turboed and nitroused Cosworth motor. The car had run very low tens so I couldn’t afford any mistakes. 9.13 seconds later we were in the final. The number of runs in such a short space of time had started to take their toll and the temperature was up to 100 degrees. We had just fifteen minutes to turn the car around and couldn’t do much apart from pour cold water over the rad. By the time I got to the start line the temperature was up to 110. Up against us for the second time that day was Stefan Gustafsson who had got his Le Mans into the nines in his semi-final. Fearing another red light I took it easy of the start line and watched him pull away from me. Then I got tyre shake and the car started to move around on the narrow track. Grabbing second gear calmed the car down but I still had to wait a while until punching the button for the second system. By this time the Le Mans was quite a way ahead. But the second system did the trick and I overhauled him with about two hundred feet to spare. "But the drama didn’t stop there! I lifted off the pedal as I crossed the line and the car kept going – the throttle was jammed. I turned off the nitrous then cut the power. The engine carried on running for a while (dieseling) but stopped once the fuel ran out. I was already hard on the brakes and fed the car as gently as I could into the bend at the end of the track (yes, a bend!). I freed the throttle and drove back to the start line for the winners’ line up. Wow, what a reception! There was cheering and air horns, applause and thumbs up from the 8,000 crowd. What a great feeling. We’d done it! Winners of the first Toyo Tyres King of Europe!" Another Green for Averstedts. 30th June: Viveca and Håkan Averstedt have been in touch from Florida to let us know that they have become permanent residents of the United States of America. The former Top Fuel Dragster racers have been awarded their Green Cards although they say that they have not completely given up on racing in Europe. "We are so happy!", says Viveca. "We have been in Florida for seven years, but it has become very hard to become a permanent resident after 9/11. Our attorney filed under the category "Person of Extraordinary Ability", based on our professional background in motorsports. They required a lot of documents from us: for example, we had to have contract or a letter of reference from our sponsors Philips Electronics, Grundig, Valvoline and Fram Filters. It was hard work to find the marketing directors, our contact at Philips is now based in China but I finally got in touch with him. We also needed a letter from Svenska Bilsportforbundet about my winning Female Driver of The Year and of course, perhaps the most important, copies of all media coverage. ©Eurodragster.com "I think it is so neat that we could get Green Cards based on my career in drag racing and also Hakan's in the Stock class, even though it was a long time ago! That means that drag racing has equal status with circuit racing, tennis, golf, etc. "We have never regretted our move, despite having give up racing in Europe although we still hope that we will be back one day. Of course, we miss the racing and all the great people but thanks to Eurodragster we can follow European drag racing. We are hoping to go to Mantorp Park in July. I can't believe that it's eight years since we were racing there!" Swift snippets. 30th June: Former Custom Car Street Eliminator standout Bill Macdermid is returning to the track this weekend in a 1969 Camaro just imported from the USA (right, click on picture for another shot). "The car is fully street-legal and has a Procharged intercooled Bg Block Chevy making approximately 1200 bhp", says Bill. "I'm going to Santa Pod on Saturday for the Street Racer series, to make a couple of shakedown passes and break myself in easily! This will be the first time I have raced since 1996 when I ran the first CCSE eight in my old 69 Camaro." ©Eurodragster.com After a lot of time, effort and money were spent lightening, streamlining and tuning his '67 Camaro, UK Super Mod racer Andy Kirk made it into the sevens at the SPRC recoding a best of 7.81. "Huge thanks go to a great team - Lee, Baggy, Tim, Barb and Charlotte - for all the hard work and perserverance", says Andy. "Also to Clive Bond at Ultimate Race Cars for a great motor, tune-up and endless advice (he must dread the sound of his mobile at times!), to Andy Robinson of Andy Robinson Race Cars for excellent chassis work and more tireless advice, nothing is ever too much trouble. Finally and most importantly, to Lawrie Gatehouse of Process Systems International, whosw faith and financial support has made all of this possible....thanks for making a dream come true Lawrie. Now, where's that pesky Oldsmobile?!" UK Street Eliminator Championship leader Colin Lazenby tells us that he jokingly asked his crew if they were "Trying to kill me" after Sunday's final at the SPRC Summernationals. Colin gave sponsor and crew Garry Coull and Luke Robinson free hand to try out a "mental" tune-up should he reach the final. This duly happened and in the money round against Andy Frost Colin found himself headed for the centre line and then the guardrail. Colin did however run a new Personal Best of 8.223 during Sunday's eliminations, that with a loss of belts towards the top end. UK Supertwin Gas racer Ric Naylor would like to hear from Johnny Walker who he believes had some parts for sale at Shakespeare County Raceway last week. "If Johnny is reading, could he please E-Mail me at mrmellie@gmail.com, I'd like to spend some cash!", says Ric. Our good friend Hannele Höydén tells us that she will be posting live coverage of this weekend's FHRA Nitro Nationals, which starts tomorrow, at www.fhra.fi/fin/index.php?page_id=129. Mixing it with the the Pro Mods. 30th June: UK Super Pro ET racer Derek Flynn tells us that he enjoyed mixing it with some of Europe's biggest Pro Mod hitters at the SPRC Summernationals. Gordon Appleton, Andy Robinson and Ian Bishop moved into Super Pro ET for the race and Derek found himself taking on Gordon not once but twice. "Our first few runs were a little down on power", says Derek. "We also cracked the timing case cover, which meant a really late night for the crew who had to strip it out and get it welded and finally rebuilt around midnight. Thanks guys. I would also like to thank Steve Turner for his welding skills, the Fireforce team for the loan of the tig welder etc, and also Steve Johnson for the loan of some tools again. After our last qualifier on Sunday morning we noticed the new MSD distributor cap had come loose. We re-aligned it, tightened it up and then had the dilemma of what to dial in - would we get back into the sixes from the 7.3 and 7.15s we had previously run? We didn't think so as the blower was also down a little on boost. "We were then told "You have Gordon Appleton in the first round". We had already raced Gordon in qualifying and whilst we beat him down the track because he got a little out of shape and I pulled a bit of a cherry, he had had an absolutely storming qualifier with Andy Robinson. I did not get to see it personally, as I had just run ahead of them, but I did hear those engines and blowers absolutely screaming through the top end and my team had a great view as they were driving up to come and get me. ©Eurodragster.com "It was great pairing up with Gordon and his team - what an awesome car - in the first round and like most of last year, I was going to be chased rather than being the chaser. I cut a great light and was off like a rocket, PB to the eighth, got too three-quarter track and still could not see Gordon and I even lifted before the line, but alas broke out with a six. This is where I have to eat some humble pie, with Andy Robinson outqualifying me and Gordon knocking me out in the first round, I guess they can dial in those Pro Mods just as good as they look and go! Gordon at first congratulated me on the win but once my crew arrived I had to go back and congratulate him. He was the perfect gent and apologised if he had messed up our Championship by dropping in to Super Pro ET. Personally I think it is great and look forward to racing the Pro Mods again, it's shame that Gordon could not get it turned round in time to compete in the second round. "Also of the Gold RV Racing team would like to congratulate Gordon and Andy on their excellent runs and wish them all the best for the rest of their seasons. Still at least we can say we beat a Pro Mod to the stripe twice and it was great to be involved in a Super Pro side by side six, I hope that there are many more!" Naylor good and bad. 30th June: UK Supertwin Gas racer Ric Naylor says that he had a good and bad weekend at the SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway. "The bad stuff: now that Floydy is back on the scene and Brian Udall is getting to grips with his new Gas bike, I'm slipping down the rankings", says Ric. "Scooby's not really competitive any more and having my two-step fail on me didn't really help matters this weekend. On the first run the replacement coil for the one which broke off last weekend at Shakey came loose causing a misfire and the intake balance tube also popped off! Despite this, I still managed 10.92/118. ©Eurodragster.com "The good outweighs the bad though. The Santa Pod crew were excellent as ever, and Darren Prentice's judgement call on running the third qualifier on Sunday morning worked a treat! It gave me a chance to test the clutch changes we'd made Saturday night and move myself up a position in qualifying. We were then able to make further tweaks ready for the eliminations. In the end we managed to match the 10.43 best time I've done on Scooby (set last weekend at Shakey) but with a much better terminal speed. I got knocked out by Les Harris in the first round of eliminations, but couldn't have been happier for Les to win as he set his own new PB of 9.75! Overall I'm sure we're very close now to matching Shaggy's 10.3 which he ran on Scooby before moving to Comp Bike. "And then there's Floydy...wow! Three 9.0s over the weekend! I hope Sharkman is eating his words now, he tried to tell us the two-strokes were dead a couple of years ago. I knew different which is why I've stuck with them, and John has proven the point! Top Gas will be an eight-second class very soon! And guess what's in the pipeline for Scooby later in the year..." Editor's note: Sharkman responds "Come on you four-strokes, don't let me down!" NAST make Hackers welcome. 30th June: 2004 UK National 10.09 Bike Champion John Hackney has been in touch to thank the National Association of Supertwins for making him feel welcome in his first outing in Supertwin Modified at the SPRC Summernationals. "Les Harris can stop pestering me to join the Club now!", says Hackers. "Thanks also to Julie Ford of Oxford Products for all of her help the HJC helmet sponsorship, TJ O'Brien for all his encouragement - I'm still going for your record mate. ©Eurodragster.com "The old TLR was running like a bracket bike; 10.04, 10.02, 10.01, 10.002, that nine-second run will come soon! The first round of eliminations was a bye run, then in the second round I thought I'd have a problem with Chris Mott running his best ever, fortunately for me he didnt run quite as quick in our race, The final was a one-horse race as far as I was concerned, with Tony Legg having a half second advantage over me, but I gave it my best! Respect to Tony for getting his bike running in the 9.3s, superb!" Web site updates. 30th June: Our good buddies at Svensk Dragracing have updated their web site with the post-SPRC Summernationals points standings in the Nordic Drag Racing Series, which put the UK's Brian Pateman and Spencer Tramm in the lead of System Edström Super Comp and Twinlab Super Gas respectively. Check it out at www.dragracing.se. Lee Kirk has updated the official web site of the UK Super Modified racers with Shakespeare Nationals and SPRC Summernationals reports, and an addition to the Seven Second Club. You can find the Super Modified web site at www.supermodified.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with some five hundred photographs from last weekend's SPRC Summernationals including a photo sequence of NFAA racer Dave Grabham's huge wheelie on Sunday morning. You can find Sharkman's web site at www.topendtales.com. Also posting an SPRC Summernationals photo update is Gary Cottingham who has updated the Dragsterworld web site with a number of shots from the weekend's race. You can check out Gary's pictures at www.dragsterworld.com/2005reports/summer_nats/index.htm. Eurodragster.com takes the Challenge. 29th June: We are very pleased to announce a sponsorship deal with July's Kamasa Tools Mechanic Challenge, one of Europe's premier off-track drag racing promotions. This is the second year of the KTMC which proved hugely popular in 2004, even being nominated for Best Public Event in the prestigious Gyllene Hjulet awards. The Kamasa Tools Mechanic Challenge is a knockout contest in which Top Methanol Funny car teams disassemble and then rebuild and fire up their engines against the clock. There are three elimination rounds with the contestants sharing a €10000 prize fund. Last year's event was won by Niclas Andersson and Kågered Racing's Sandflex-sponsored TMFC team who took apart, rebuilt and fired up their engine in seven minutes and fifty seven seconds in front of a crowd of 15,000. The Kamasa Tools Mechanic Challenge takes place in Kungsträdgården in central Stockholm between 12:00 and 18:00 on Saturday 23rd July. So far last year's winner Niclas Andersson, Leif Andréasson, Jürgen Nagel, Ulf Leanders and Martin Lindkvist have entered the Challenge, and Jöran Persåker will be attending and firing up the Team Nasty Toys Top Fuel Dragster for good measure. ©Eurodragster.com A master of ceremonies and a commentator will describe events with large screens broadcasting the action to spectators. Between heats there will be other activities with public participation including a Change the Spark Plug competition, as well as promotions for the Veidec Festival which takes place at Mantorp Park on the following weekend. You can find out more on the event's web site at www.ktmc.se, or click on the logo at left. Eurodragster.com will be attending the Challenge and we will be posting a report and pictures after the event. We would like to thank Anna Christell of Kamasa Tools and Leif Andréasson and Anders Magnusson of Andréasson Motorsports for their support and for their help in arranging the deal with Eurodragster.com. Carey's thanks. 29th June: If you were tuned in to our coverage of the SPRC Summernationals at the weekend you will have read that UK Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Carey made his first six-second passes on his Purple Princess Puma. Steve says that this is a good opportunity to thank all of those who have helped, encouraged and supported him into the sixes. "The bike and settings are mainly as we bought them from Roald Dogge, so a big Thanks goes to Roald for all the work he did putting the bike together originally", says Steve. "I am proud that we have been able to carry on where he unfortunately had to leave off with the bike. "It was a big step coming back to racing a Top Fuel Bike, after the last bike I rode down the strip was my old Puma Triumph back in the very early 1990s. It is also ironic that the engine I had in my Triumph was previously raced by Phil Baimbridge, since the engine in the Top Fuel Bike was also built, developed and raced by Phil, so thanks Phil. ©Eurodragster.com "We have all learned a lot so far, but the learning is only really just starting and so we are grateful for all the help and assistance given by everybody including other racers and their crew members, along with the help and support from the track staff at Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceway. "So big thanks go out to Paul Webster, Paul Kennard, Annette Trangmar (my personal nurse), Bob Lovett, John Bewick , Colin Wells and Sue Clarke for all their efforts. Thanks also go to Perry Reeves and Rossetts Mercedes Benz Commercials of Eastbourne, along with support from Mobil Oil. Earls Performance, Weruwise windows and doors of Bexhill, Steve Conway at Bikes of Brighton, Charlie Whyte at Phoenix Motorcycles of Bexhill, Rick Coussins and Rother Triumph Owners Club, and Neil Patterson of Pace Products, to mention just a few. "I would also like to add thanks to all my work colleagues at VOSA who follow and support our progress." Gay gets a serious strapping. 29th June: UK Sportsman ET racer Nick Gay tells us that as his Metro pick-up is now clocking 103 mph at the finish line, he decided that it was time for a serious harness. So together with three members of the Southampton Special Purpose Workshop, Nick paid a visit to Stockbridge Racing, home of the Willans harness. "Stockbridge Racing very kindly offered to supply me with their product", says Nick. "Not only that, but when we collected it (right, Nick with Bill and Terry Thompson) Company Director Bill Fenning showed us around the factory. As a trained engineer I was impressed with the quality control in the factory. Goods in, components, webbing, sub-assemblies and full harnesses are tested to destruction at regular intervals and all stitching is done by CNC machine ensuring the finished harnesses are of the highest standard and meet SFI and FIA specifications. ©Eurodragster.com "SSPW1, fastest front-wheel-drive car in the UK Championship, is displaying the Willans logo and I would highly recommend them to anybody needing superior harnesses or tie-downs! They can be purchased from all good motorsport outlets (Demon Tweeks etc)." Nick says that he has a lot of work to do on the Metro before the next round of the UK Championship, the Custom Car Magazine Allstar Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. "I have to improve my sixty foot consistency and break into the twelves (13.087 best so far)", he says, "so I have lots of testing at RWYBs before then." The SSPW1 will be on display this Saturday (2nd July) at Hedge End Carnival, near Southampton, possibly accompanied by Chris Johnson's Super Comp MG. Nick has also updated his web page at www.sspw.co.uk/Nicks_car.html. Swift snippets. 29th June: Dave Alexander of the European Top Methanol Racers Association has been in touch with the sad news that Norwegian Top Methanol FC racer Arvid Grødem has had to withdraw from this weekend's FHRA Nitro Nationals at Alastaro. "Arvid is in hospital having treatment for a problem with his arm", says Dave. "He sends his apologies and says he'll see us in Sweden". We're sure that everyone will join Sharkman and Tog in sending Arvid their best wishes for a rapid recovery. UK Pro Stock Bike racer Dave Beck tells us that he has negotiated a deal with Velocity Racing to import their record-setting turbo kits from the USA. "Anybody wanting any kind of Velocity Product please call me on 07771 652139 or E-Mail beck.racing@virgin.net for a great deal and a great product", says Becky. ©Eurodragster.com Not only did SPRC Summernationals Sportsman ET winner Rick Denny take the event title, but he ran his first twelve-second pass. "Again I would like to thank Al, Linda and Maz for their help, plus Chris at WASP (01945 588091)", says Rick. "And now I have to thank the engine builder, whom I told wouldn't get a mention until I ran a twlve: thanks to Ian Turnbull at Plough Garage (01304 823366). I'd also like to say well done to Wayne Hiscock on his runner-up place in Super Gas at his first attempt." UK Super Street Bike racer Dave Warren and the Krazy Kat SSB are featured in the August issue of the bike magazine Two Wheels Only. "The two page spread is well laid out, without too many mistakes, and includes two very good pictures", says David. "The magazine is available now from most newsagents and is priced at £3.70." Rods and Rockers Retro Show. 29th June: More than two hundred quality street rods, hot rods, American V8 muscle cars and wild-looking race cars are expected to converge on Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend (2nd-3rd July) for the Warwickshire race track's annual retro throwback, the Nostalgia Drag Racing Nationals, writes SCR Press Officer Jerry Cookson. Organised by the oldest-sanctioning hot rod club in England, the National Street Rod Association event features a two day festival of street-legal drag racing for pre ’69 ‘high dollar’ street rods and customs flexing their muscles in the safe confines of a quarter mile drag strip. Many taking to the track are original examples of early hot rodding from an era known as the roaring forties through to the way out sixties. Where else can you expect to find period side-valve flathead roadsters, classic V8 Coupes, chopped and channelled Topolino’s, Willy’s Coupes and ground-pounding nostalgia dragsters with gleaming chrome and unbridled horsepower. Amongst the many race cars present, the stars of the show will be the Nostalgia Fuel Altereds: nitro-burning, ground-shaking race cars capable of covering the quarter mile in seven seconds or less. This is a world where two weekends of the year you’ll find the hardest of the hardcore hot rods. Clearly, these are the most radical machines in the sport and are the throwbacks from the pre-historic days of salt lake sprints. Although there hasn’t been an official class recognition since the early beginnings of the sport in England, these cars, known the world over as the ‘Awful-Awful-Altereds’, are as every bit as popular today as their modern day Top Fuel Dragster and Funny Car counterparts. At the first national showing of the Fuel Altered Association at Santa Pod in April, the star of the show was The Mob Model T Ford in the hands of veteran racer Mickey Moore. Racing a seven-litre stone age V8 on an 85% mix of nitro and methanol fuel, Moore ran a trio of 200+ mph rides culminating with a 7.1 second pass at 210 mph. With more horsepower and clutch added to the car, Moore’s first cross into the six-second zone is a distinct possibility at the weekend's Nostalgia Nationals. Keeping the retro scene buzzing will be a mix of Flathead Meltdown roadsters, high-riding doorslammer antics from the Gasser Circus, and the Outlaw Anglias as well as nostalgia dragsters from the Wild Bunch and Jet Car exhibitions from Roger Goring and the Firestorm Funny Car team. Shakespeare County Raceway will be open between 10.00 am and 6.00 pm on Saturday and 11.00 am and 5.00 pm on Sunday. Admission to the Nostalgia Nationals is £15.00 both Saturday and Sunday, or £22 gets you a weekend pass. Under-sixteens go free. For more details about Shakespeare County Raceway including how to get there log on to the track’s official web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com or the National Street Rod Association web site at www.nsra.org.uk. ©Eurodragster.com For the fan of big jugs... 29th June: If Batman has an accessories kit for his Batmobile, Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor VP Racing’s newest five-gallon utility jug is sure to be in it. Although not impervious to cartoon villains, the jug’s sleek black color “Will provide ultimate protection for its contents against harmful UV rays,” said Bruce Hendel, VP’s Global Sales Manager. “And if the jug is handled by dirty, greasy hands, it won’t matter because the dirt won’t show.” VP has offered a rainbow assortment of utility jugs for a number of years, including eight different colours, but never black. “Other than VP’s orange utility jug, I can’t think of a more appropriate jug for all those Harley lovers out there, or anyone who likes to play on the ‘dark side,’” joked Hendel. Like the other jugs in VP’s product line, its black jug is made of virgin high-density polyethylene, featuring an ergonomically contoured handle and bottom grip for easy pouring. With a retail price of $26.66, it includes a non-breakable multi-purpose cap and is subjected to a fifteen-point quality test. ©Eurodragster.com “VP Racing has a heritage of formulating fuels with only the highest quality components available to achieve consistent maximum performance,” Hendel continued. “We’re no less demanding in the engineering of our utility jugs, and we’re confident our customers will find our black jug, as well as all our other containers, to be the most durable on the market.” Since 1975, VP Racing has made the best fuels in motorsports, fuelling champions in virtually every racing category and class from drag racing and circle track to motocross, off-road, off-shore and even aeroplane racing. In addition to fuels, VP’s product line includes oils, lubricants, performance chemicals, traction compounds and racing-related accessories. Its five-gallon utility jugs have proven to be a popular item among those in the racing community and performance market, achieving a near ubiquitous presence in pits and garages across the country. More information can be obtained from VP’s web site at www.vpracingfuels.com. Steve Scheidker of VP tells us that these jugs will be available from VP dealers around Europe. Good weekend for DSD. 28th June: It was a hard battle this weekend for the whole DynoSpeed Developments team, says Eurodragster.com sponsor Paul Watson. Jamie Sneddon on the DSD flagship Honda Blackbird Super Street Bike own the event and set a new ET record of 7.720, and the other DSD-supported bikes kept Paul and the team busy. "We hoped to get some good track time at Friday's WRE Test but only managed one pass, an 8.4 half pass, then the rain came", says Grumpy. "Alan Young on his turbo bike had a oil leak so I pulled him off the line, so poor Al didn't even get to make a pass. Saturday was a busy day. Ian Berry is still getting to grips with his new clutch set-up after a great performance at the FIA Main Event where he ran consistent 9.5 and 9.4s with mid-1.4 sixty foot times. A bit more track time and I'm sure he'll be a contender. Big Al Young managed a few 9.5s and is getting to grips with the new set-up from the DSD chassis department. Al managed to get to the semis on his first-ever meeting, a big Well Done mate. "Nick Parrish on the DSD/BTC Moto nitrous Busa didn't have such a good time. Nick isn't used to the awesome track at Santa Pod and had many problems with it. A new clutch set-up, a different type of track and a new nitrous set-up were just too much to do but Nick was so impressed that he will be back at the Pod - watch this space. ©Eurodragster.com "After a disastrous time at SCR with traction problems, we left all the settings the same and found Jamie Sneddon's DSD Blackbird wanting more clutch and more power in the first two hundred feet. So we were pleased to get back to 5.1 in the eighth and some consistent 1.35 sixty foots. We slowly started to up the game plan, not as easy as it sounds as we had tyre trouble like a few others in SSB. After two and a half passes the tyre was trashed so a new tyre went on - that only lasted one pass, so you can imagine the problems we had trying to tune the first two hundred feet. A big Well Done to the DSD crew Jules and Pixie who worked so hard all weekend to turn the bike round. Pixie is really getting to grips with the clutch department and a special Thank You to Marc Dresser, aka Egg, who came up on Saturday to sort out a few computer issues. "All in all a good weekend; number one qualifier, new ET record, and a win in the finals. This will make for an entertaining Championship in SSB. Thank You to everyone who stopped by our pits to say hello." Coming together for Branch. 28th June: UK Funny Bike racer Shaun Branch had a bad start to his weekend but it got better as the SPRC Summernationals went on, he says. Shaun will be heading to Mantorp Park for the Veidec Festival happy with the form of his supercharged Suzuki, and he adds that he has room in his trailer for another bike should anyone wish to thumb a lift to Sweden, Norway and Hockenheim. "We intended to test at the Webster Test Day on Friday, but on firing the bike we found that the transmission was jumping into first gear", says Shaun. "We stripped the motor and no fault could be found, so we decided to change the complete transmission. Fortunately the fault did not return over the weekend. "We were pleased with the consistency of the bike. Each consecutive pass was quicker than the last, culminating in an early shut off 7.38 late on Sunday afternoon. We also ran 180.19 mph earlier on Sunday, the first 180 for us in the UK. I would like to thank Darren Prentice for letting us run a couple of demos, as we were put out in the first round it turned into a bit of a test and tune day." ©Eurodragster.com Shaun says that only a couple of changes were made to the bike ovet the winter and they are now starting to bear fruit. "The bike has run half a tenth quicker on the eighth-mile this year, so there is more to come when the fuelling gets closer", he says. "Our next outings are the FIM rounds in Sweden and Norway before returning to Hockenhiem, so if you want to come race abroad then there is room in the trailer for a Pro Mod, Pro Stock or Funny Bike." If you would like to take the spare space in Shaun's trailer then you can drop him a line at masterthatcher@hotmail.com. Ouch! and Thanks! 28th June: If the UK's Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association racers thought that the Easter Thunderball was a baptism of fire, then the SPRC Summernationals was a war of attrition, says NFAA Promoter Lawrie Gatehouse. "On Saturday the weather was against us, but even so, some of our teams were anxious to put on a show - to their cost", says Lawrie. "Damp and slippery conditions, in spite of the track preparation, caused over-revving on a couple of the nitro cars, resulting in a completely totalled two-speed Lenco in The Mob and damage to the reverser in Harry the Spider. "The BB/FA cars of Clayton Round and Bob Glassup both suffered damage to their gearboxes on the Sunday so could not perform to their true potential. Wendy Baker made some launches and sixty foot passes in the Time Warp as the team get to grips with the surplus of power, sensibly developing the combination on a step-by step basis, which bodes well for future appearances. "Dave Grabham surely gets the accolade for the Wheelie of the Event, when Freddy's Revenge took off skywards after a super launch. Unfortunately the damage sustained when it came down broke the A-arms, so no steering control was available to prevent it kissing the wall, sustaining significant damage. Thankfully Dave was unhurt and although bowed he is not broken and the team's determination shows through in their message: 'We are not in the NFAA to be also-rans, we want to run the numbers, although hurt we are not out and we will be back'. ©Eurodragster.com "All of the teams are now thrashing and getting new parts form the USA and hope to field the show next weekend at the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, when we expect Frank and Luke Bennett's heavily-reworked Topolino BB/FA to join us. "Such is drag racing. We put on the best show that we could given the lack of track time and we were encouraged by the enthusiasm shown and the help extended by, amongst others, Steve and Rob Turner, Andy Robinson, Lindsay Deuchar and Roy Wilding. "The Class is growing and gathering speed.......maybe we should apply for Equity Cards." We've also heard from Jo Carter of the Freddy's Revenge team, who would like to thank everyone who donated their last pennies towards their collection after Dave Grabham's wheelie and crunching touchdown (right). "Approximately £300 was raised so thank you very much", says Jo. "We'd also like to thank the SPRC marshals and officials for all their help, without them I'm sure we wouldn't have made it home with Freddy. Thanks also to the Every Penny Racing Team for all their help loading the car up. "Phil Cornish's welding stood to amaze us, while rails bent and dented all over the place his welding has held up and attempted to keep the car together. So thanks a bunch mate. Thank you Lawrie Gatehouse for all his hard work with and for the NFAA and continuously trying to help. "If anyone has any photos of videos of Dave's wheelie we would be very interested to hear from you. You can contact us at davegrabham@freddysrevenge.freeserve.co.uk. "If Ronnie Picardo wants a wheelie Topolino..." Barbecue Two. 28th June: Last week's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway hosted the first of two match races between the John Woolfe Racing/LA Racing Parts/Wright Racing Top Fuel Dragster and the B&Q sponsored car of current FIA Top Fuel Champion Andy Carter - and the second spectacular start for the Wright Racing car, writes Team PR Derek Todd. The late delivery of new heads and a new clutch can on the Thursday before the event meant that the team were up against it on the Saturday, finally running out of time to get everything together when the clutch would not disengage sufficiently to allow the brakes to hold during the warm-up. Overnight the car was fettled ready for the Sunday face off against Andy. As the pictures showed, things didn’t go exactly to plan off the line with a huge fuel and oil fire after only sixty feet (right). ©Eurodragster.com The normally-enigmatic tuner John Wright captured it simply. “We now know the two ends of the performance envelope", he said. "Our previous explosion was a result of too much fuel and not enough spark. This time the spark was right but too little fuel resulting in a blown head gasket. Next time we need to aim for a happy medium! As the twin fuel pumps deliver over eighty gallons of nitromethane per minute, this is a fine balance!” Driver Darryl Bradford put it more graphically. “The car launched initially but then went flat, trouble was I couldn’t see Andy Carter!", he said "By the time I did it was a bit late” The team will be ready for the Custom Car Magazine Allstar Nationals rematch at Shakespeare County Raceway on the August Bank Holiday. As Team Owner Lesley Wright put it: “This time I’ve asked for a BBQ free zone”. Swift snippets. 28th June: Racers please note that today (Tuesday) is the last day for entry to Mantorp Park's Veidec Festival at the normal entry fee. For more information check out our news item One week for Festival entry of 21st June or go straight to the Veidec Festival web site at www.veidecfestival.com/2005/forms.htm. ©Eurodragster.com Many congratulations to Swedish Top Methanol FC racer Ulf Leanders and his wife Karin who were married at the weekend. We're sure that everyone will join Tog and Sharkman in wishing Ulf and Karin every happiness for the future. Santa Pod Raceway is holding its third Peak Performance Day of 2005 this Saturday, 2nd July. "Peak Performance Days provide a cost-effective way of testing with lots of track time and pit-space, with a full track preparation to race standard", says Dave Jones of Santa Pod. "Places are restricted to a maximum of one hundred and are available on a first-come first-served basis. This event is open to both cars and bikes. For full details visit www.rwyb.co.uk/performance.htm." Summernationals timing, anoraks. 28th June: We are indebted to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for sending us the timing data from the weekend's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway. You can view the weekend's timing data by clicking here, or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Andy has also sent us an updated European Bests sheet which includes the ACU records set at the weekend's race. You can view the updated sheet by clicking here, or by clicking on the European Bests link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Finally Andy has kindly supplied the usual anorak stats for the SPRC Summernationals: Track clear/Tower ready: 625 Pairs: 511 Singles: 87 Byes: 27 Total vehicles entered into system: 1136 Made it to the finish line: 1084 (including 85 Junior Dragsters) Made it to quarter: 999 ©Eurodragster.com Average ET (not including JDs): 10.515 seconds Average speed (not including JDs): 133.44 mph Low ET: 6.321, Gordon Appleton High speed: 228.64, Tony Baker Closest race of eliminations: VW Sportsman Final, Paul Herbert (Winner) v Abigail Tether, 0.001 (approximately 1.483 inches) Closest to dial-in: Keith Herbert (Pro ET) +0.000, 11.340 (17:00 Saturday) Joe Stevens (Pro ET) +0.000, 9.970 (11:26 Sunday) Ian Brown (Pro ET) +0.000, 10.750 (15:28 Sunday) Best Reaction Time: Aidan Kenny (Pro ET) 0.000 (13:06 Saturday) Rick McCann (Pro ET) 0.000 (15:30 Sunday) Total run time (all cars to reach finish line including JDs): 3 hours 10 minutes 41.049 seconds Web site updates. 28th June: Our good buddies at Svensk Dragracing have updated their web site with more information about the Gold Town race and its new location, the thirty year anniversary of SHRA Nyköping, a few words with Inge Hägglund who is driving daughter Kristina's car whilst she has a baby, congratulations to Ulf Leanders, and updated invitations and entry forms in the Downloads section. Check it all out at www.dragracing.se. ©Eurodragster.com Another good buddy, Gwynn, has updated his Slimboy Fat web site with a number of pictures from the SPRC Summernationals. You can check out Gwynn's excellent work at www.pbase.com/slimboyfat/summer_nationals_05. Pete Roberts has updated his personal web site with a number of half-track photographs from the SPRC Summernationals. If you've not visited Pete's web site before then it is well worth a look; as well as the latest pictures there is also a range of excellent 360-degree panoramas taken all around Santa Pod. Check it out at myweb.tiscali.co.uk/lithopa/SPpanos.html. James Hands has a new web site which will feature drag racing and other non-racing photography. James' Racing 05 web site is still up and running but will not be updated again. You can find all of James' photographs at jameshands.smugmug.com. SPRC Summernationals results. 27th June: Congratulations to the winners of this weekend's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway: Top Methanol: Steph Milam 6.488/221.65 def Lindsay Deuchar 8.970/92.41 Super Modified: Graham Ellis 7.715/177.13 def. Andy Kirk 7.880/169.86 Super Pro ET: Barry Giles (7.59) 7.618/172.23 def. Steve Johnson (7.20) 7.321/180.02 Pro ET: Rick McCann (10.28) 10.256/131.26 def. Lee Huxley (10.50) 10.381/128.24 red Sportsman ET: Rick Denny (12.99) 13.118/102.56 def. Tanya Partridge (13.50) 13.326/100.22 red Super Comp: Pete Cresswell 8.931/146.59 def. Chris Isaacs 8.917/148.60 Super Gas: Brian Pateman 9.858/141.15 def. Wayne Hiscock 10.941/102.05 deep stage Super Street: Brian Huxley 10.871/100.43 def. Bob Lees 10.871/126.51 lesser b/o Junior Dragster: Nick Mugridge (7.90) 7.912/83.35 def. Jay Hauser (7.90) 7.873/75.50 b/o Street Eliminator: Andy Frost 8.429/172.32 def. Colin Lazenby 8.502/165.35 VW Pro: Nigel Green (11.40) 11.976/91.81 def. Jonathan Grigg (12.10) 13.028/112.00 VW Sportsman: Paul Herbert (14.90) 14.818/83.80 def. Abigail Tether (16.53) 16.245/84.77 b/o VW Alternate Engine: Matt Attwood (13.33) 13.429/98.00 def. Andy Raw (11.50) 11.692/117.17 Wild Bunch: Tony Smith (11.48) 11.555/106.32 def. Mike Cresswell (11.50) 11.786/104.14 Top Fuel Bike: Steve Woollatt 6.487/216.51 def. Steve Carey 6.968/188.96 Funny Bike: Neil Midgley 6.764/193.11 def. Dave Holland 7.056/185.98 Pro Stock Bike: Dave Beck 7.305/182.93 def. Richard Gipp 7.644/170.96 red Super Street Bike: Jamie Sneddon 7.757/189.85 def. Dave Smith 7.986/179.10 Comp Bike: Phil Leamon 8.465/156.90 def. Sandra Chaplain 8.473/160.06 9.50 Bike: Richard Sawatzki 9.568/136.06 def. Fred Furlong 9.585/143.39 Supertwin Gas: John Floyd 9.057/142.87 def. Andy Smith 9.437/139.78 Supertwin Street: Dave Jones 10.423/131.57 def. Ian Radanke 10.813/127.91 Supertwin Modified: Tony Legg 9.621/151.31 def. John Hackney 10.077/138.79 Subject to official ratification a number of National records were set: ©Eurodragster.com ACU Pro Stock Bike ET: 7.215 seconds, Dave Beck ACU Pro Stock Bike speed: 185.19 mph, Dave Beck ACU Funny Bike ET: 6.737 seconds, Neil Midgley ACU Funny Bike speed: 193.11 mph, Neil Midgley ACU Super Street Bike ET: 7.720 seconds, Jamie Sneddon NAST Supertwin Gas ET: 9.057 seconds, John Floyd NAST Supertwin Gas speed: 143.71 mph, John Floyd Of particular note is Dave Beck's ACU UK ET record, which is now quicker than the FIM/UEM European record. The Super Street Bike semi final between Dave Smith (winner) and Steve Venables will also go into the books as the first side-by-side seven second passes. The Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards both went to Pro ET racers and to the numbers one and two qualifiers. Aidan Kenny won the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award with a 0.000 in Saturday's qualifying, whilst Keith Herbert won the Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award with an 11.340 on an 11.34 dial-in, also in Saturday's qualifying. UK Pro Mod racer Gordon Appleton became the second-quickest Pro Mod racer in Europe with a 6.321/222.91 demonstration pass yesterday afternoon. Gordon's Crew Chief Adrian Spencer has promised to tell us all about it later this week. Click here to view our American Car Imports-sponsored SPRC Summernationals coverage, or click on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Our good buddy Gareth Evans has updated his UK1320 site with a brief report, results and photographs; you can find Gareth's site at www.uk1320.com. The King is crowned. 27th June: Many thanks to "Drag Team Widow" for letting us know that UK Street Eliminator racer Ian Hook and his team were victorious in the King Of Europe contest in Belgium this weekend. ©Eurodragster.com "They won the King of Europe and were also second in the Rear Wheel Drive section", says the Widow who is otherwise anonymous. "They all sound very happy chappies working out the exchange rate of the prize money and are at the moment popping the champagne." Many thanks to Andy Carter for letting us know that fellow UK SE racer John Sleath was winner of the Rear Wheel Drive section. Well done guys! Pels heads for Alastaro. 27th June: 2004 FIM/UEM Supertwin Champion Ton Pels' bike is on its way to Finland for the second round of the European Championship at Alastaro this coming weekend, writes Monique Pels. "Since it's quite a long drive to Finland - always interfering with Ton's business commitments - we have a couple of friends drive the motorhome and trailer to Alastaro so that we can fly in for the weekend", says Monique. "In this way our friends have made it possible for us to race at Alastaro every year since 1999, when it was added to the Championship calendar. As last year our trailer contains the bikes and equipment of both the Zodiac and Koedam teams. ©Eurodragster.com "After the Main Event Ton and Vincent spent quite a few hours in the workshop. First of all we broke the clutch hub support, so we had to make a new, stronger one. But there was more. Back home in the workshop we found out that during qualifying the engine had endured some low-RPM stress and too-lean conditions when we were trying out different combinations to find a good set-up. Therefore we completely checked and overhauled the engine. It's as good as new again. "We made the bike a bit softer for the Alastaro track, as it smoked the tyre in the first round at the Main Event. We still don't have a real good baseline for the new clutch and fuel systems, but a lot of the parameters are starting to look like last year's again, so we're getting there. Also we now know we are able to make too much horsepower, which is always a luxury of a problem. We're currently fifth in the Points Standings, so our goal for the race in Finland is to climb in the rankings." For more information check out Ton's Zodiac Racing web site at www.zodiacracing.com. Racers: Send your FHRA Nitro Nationals previews to us at news@eurodragster.com and we'll publish them here. Swift snippets. 27th June: Vic Smith has been in touch to remind readers that the next UK Northern Drag Racing Night takes place tonight (Monday) at 8:00 pm at the Red Lion Inn in Jackson Bridge, West Yorkshire. You can find the Red Lion Inn web site, which contains a map, at www.the-red-lion-inn.com or call 01484 643499. ©Eurodragster.com Beck dominates. 27th June: Pro Stock Bike racer Dave Beck dominated Pro Stock Bike at this weekend's SPRC Summernationals, with a series of record breaking passes resulting in him securing both ends of the UK ET and speed records, and adding a European best ET, writes PR Stephen Moon. Dave's three qualifying runs, quarter-final and semi-final runs were all quicker than the European record, ranging from 7.243 to the best of 7.215. In addition, all six runs of the weekend were in excess of 181 mph with a best of 185.19 taking the UK speed record for the class. Taking the win in the final against Richard Gipp, the ET slipped to 7.305 as track conditions deteriorated. "The bike has been building up to this for some time, so it was a very pleasing performance", said Dave, "but there is still more to come as we struggled all weekend with poor sixty foot times. This bike has a definite 7.1-range run in it." Dave was quick to thank the many people who support his racing efforts, remarking "Performances like this come from the efforts of many people and I would like to thank Roger Upperton, who has proved his motors can live with the best, as well as Jay Regan at MRE, and Paul and Kevin at Fast By Gast, plus my pit crew Charlotte, Stephen Moon and Wolf Blass. I would also like to thank Steve Conway at Bikes of Brighton, Nimbus Motorsports, Torco Oils, Cam Coat, Jim Long Engineering,Web Cam, Dyna, PMFR, PR Factory Store and Racepak for their support. Last but not least, thanks to Ian King, and great job by the Santa Pod track team for delivering a smooth weekend's racing despite Saturday's poor weather." This outing marks Dave's last appearance at Santa Pod in 2005 due to a Prostar commitment in October, and lack of funds to mount an attack on the European Finals. The team will be in action next at Shakespeare County Raceway on August Bank Holiday weekend. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 27th June: The official website of the European Pro Mod Association at www.promod.nu has been updated with a Team page for new EPMA member Bruno Bader. ©Eurodragster.com Four hundred litres of seven up. 25th June: FIA Top Fuel Dragster Championship leader and FIA Main Event winner, Holland's Lex Joon, is proud of one particular achievement at the race at Santa Pod in May. "We were the only team who made all seven rounds at the Main Event - four qualifiers and three rounds of eliminations", says Lex. "We used four hundred litres of nitro and got a lot of data. The car wasn't running as well as it could, we did damage every round, so we know that there is a lot of performance left." Lex and the MPM Oil Top Fuel team have been working hard on the dragster since the Main Event and are eager to get to Alastaro for next week's FHRA Nitro Nationals, the second round of the 2005 Championship. "The car is ready, we have repaired all the damage done by the final-round fire at the Main Event", says Lex. "We bought six more cylinder heads from Baca Family Racing, so we now have twelve cylinder heads! We have lots of other spares, we're ready to go and we're feeling good. Last year we did one and a half passes at Alastaro, this year we'll be doing a lot more. Our strategy will be to go round by round and defend our points lead. But looking at the car, crew and our programme I think it's possible to go to the final round and we'll see what happens then." ©Eurodragster.com Lex believes that the problems suffered by Formula One in the USA last weekend could work to the advantage of drag racing. ""It's good to see an eight-car Top Fuel field at Alastaro", he says. "After the problems in Formula One people will be able to see that drag racing can put on a good show." Lex has welcomed a new team member in the person of UK Wild Bunch racer Andrew Gibb, a longtime friend. "I lost one of my team to work commitments, so I asked Andy if he would like to join", says Lex. "Andy will be driving the rig to Alastaro on Tuesday and then at the track he will be working on the engine as we know that he knows what he is doing." FIA: the definitive stats. 25th June: Do you know which racer has the most #1 qualifying spots in the history of the FIA European Championships? Who has been in the most final rounds, or taken the most round wins? What is the quickest bump spot in the history of FIA Pro Stock? Our good buddy Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe has, with the help of a number of officials and Eurodragster.com readers, been hard at work collating the results of FIA European Championship events and has come up with a fascinating, fact-filled factsheet containing the answers to the above questions as well as just about everything else you could want to know about the FIA Championships, broken down by class as well as combined. ©Eurodragster.com You can view Andy's FIA statistics sheet by clicking here. Andy hopes to complete a similar factsheet for FIM/UEM competition very soon. Swift snippets. 25th June: Urban Olars of VP Group Sweden has been in touch to inform racers passing Norrköping on their way to Alastaro that they can buy methanol at Swed Handling AB. "You can find our address and two maps at: www.vpgroup.se/mainpages/News.htm", says Urban. 2004 MSA British Drag Racing Champion Doug Ripley has been forced to withdraw his CC Racing Top Methanol Funny Car from this weekend's SPRC Summernationals due to a nasty bout of food poisoning. "We left it as long as possible to see if Doug would be OK, but he is in no fit condition to drive", says team member Darren Gould. "We are all very disappointed to drop out at the last minute as we and the car are ready to go racing". We are sure that all of our readers will join Sharkman and Tog in wishing Doug a rapid return to health. CC Racing stablemate Pete Smith has also had to withdraw his Just Mental Street Eliminator 'Vette from this weekend's race as Doug Ripley's illness has prevented him from completing work on a new radiator. ©Eurodragster.com Santa Pod Raceway have launched a contest to win a limited-edition print of Keith Hill's stunning painting Sign Of The Times, which captures the atmosphere of today's Santa Pod whilst providing a link with the track's World War II heritage as USAF Podington. You can find the contest on the Competitions page of Santa Pod's web site at www.santapod.com. If you don't win the contest then you can purchase one of the two hundred prints, which comes with a certificate of authenticity, via the Merchandise page of the web site or, of course, at the track. Yesterday's Webster Race Engineering Test Day was rained out after a total of thirty passes had been made. Low ET and High Speed of the Day went to Super Street Bike racers Jamie Sneddon (8.405) and Dave Smith (171.70) respectively, whilst Driving Job of the Day went to Super Pro ET racer Steve Johnson whose years of experience showed when he found himself looking at the right-hand guardrail after pedalling for tyre shake. Tog and Sharkman would like to wish all of our Scandinavian readers a very enjoyable Midsummer Weekend. Anyone who remains sober through the entire weekend without good reason will be deemed to be letting the side down and is liable to be banned from reading Eurodragster.com in future. PMR's just desserts. 25th June: The UK's Paul Marston Racing enjoyed some just desserts at last weeks Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, says Paul. "Kicking things off were a great track and some scorching weather", says Paul. "Add to this a virtually seamless meeting with all the three Saturday qualifying sessions completed with time to spare, well done to all the crew at SCR. "At the end of the third session our resident six foot Crew Chief and John Everitt, current shoe of the Alien altered, elected to run at the very end of Super Pro ET. With a good handle on the track they produced one of the biggest upsets of the year so far in Super Pro by putting the altered on pole with a 7.938 on a 7.92 dial. Quite a feat, given the conditions and the altered's traditional sensitivity to extreme conditions, all in all quite an achievement. After a handy bye run in the first round of eliminations John succumbed to the mighty Giles and Hartley dragster in the second round. This was no mean achievement and will in all probability move John further up the National standings from his sixth place prior to the event. John will be keen to capitalise on the qualifying prowess demonstrated last weekend. "Dave Catton made his début in the Whoopass Monza in Super Street, setting a PB for speed and having his closest race to date when he lost a real squeaker to Kev Slyfield in his Dodge Coronet by a mere thirteen hundredths. Neither driver knew who had taken it until returning to the pits. Dave was extremely pleased with his weekend's work, having used a transbrake for the first time and although losing the race having pulled a superior Reaction Time. The August Bank Holiday will see Dave returning to SCR. "Double-classing in the Whoopass Monza was Top Fuel crew man Tethys who competed in Pro ET and took out Champion Rick McCann in the first round. In the second round Tet was up against John Atkinson in his event-winning Mk1 Cortina Estate. Tet did everything right, faster RT and never saw John until after the finish line, unfortunately taking too much stripe and breaking out. Nevertheless a good competitive drive from a promising new driver in his first season, again setting PBs for ET and speed and making his first transbrake launches. Tet will be back out again at the Summernationals and will be looking to build upon last weekend’s positive performance. ©Eurodragster.com "The Summernationals will hopefully also see the return of Grumpy's Dodge in the hands of Drag Race Engineering proprietor Gary Springford, who will be looking to put things right after an axle breakage put Grumpy out of the game at the FIA Main Event. Gary will be hungry to score some points and improve his position in Pro. With the late arrival of axle parts, there is still a possibility that Grumpy still might not make the show. The whole Paul Marston Racing crew are working so hard to get things done. Gary Springford was due to re-assemble the axle on Thursday morning; our sincere thanks to Ray Eldred at Hauser Race Cars for locating the parts so quickly when our usual American supplier let us down. Providing the assembly has gone smoothly, count on Grumpy being there. Otherwise I will probably revert back to joint Crew Chief and not drive. It's a tough choice to make but the team comes first: I have the other Paul Marston Racing drivers to think of and what is best for them.” Meanwhile PMR's Drag Race Driving School ET and speed records were reset at the recent Fast Ford event at Santa Pod Raceway. Stan of Santa Pod's security team laid down a 9.70/142 in the Whoopass Monza, the first pupil into the nines and more than half a second faster than the previous record set in Grumpy's Dodge. "Stan has worked at Santa Pod for twenty years doing night security on the main gate", says Paul. "All those years seeing other people thunder down the quarter must have rubbed off.. I always feel it a privilege to teach someone who has in one way or another been involved for so long in drag racing but who has never had the opportunity to try for themselves. Stan had great natural ability, without doubt the right attitude, respect for what he was driving, and a capacity to learn fast and not make too many mistakes. It’s a really tall order to drive a Super Gas-spec doorslammer in a day. Stan did admit that there was a hell of a lot more to it than he thought, but he got the job done to a level where we thought he should have a try at the record. After all the hard work Stan had put in, he had earned a crack at it. The rest, as they say, is history." Paul Marston Racing would like to express their thanks to all the staff working that weekend at Santa Pod for all the hard work put into keeping the track in such good condition and keeping the drivers safe. For any further details about passenger rides, Drag Race School courses or race car rentals for National events, call the PMR office on 0208 597 4575, Paul's mobile 07831 650230, E-Mail office@pmracing.fsnet.co.uk, or check out the PMR web site at www.paulmarstonracing.com. Web site updates. 25th June: 2004 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter's web site has been updated with images of the new range of merchandise together with new prices. "Some older merchandise such as old crew shirts has been reduced to clear", says Dan Welberry of Carter Motorsport. "You can also purchase the full range of Lucas Oil products". Check it out at www.andycarter.net. ©Eurodragster.com Olson on FIA TMD. 24th June: If you read last Thursday's news item about the proposal to remove FIA Championship status from Top Methanol Dragster, you will recall that we promised to bring you the comments of FIA Drag Racing Commission Chair Carl Olson as soon as we received them. ©Eurodragster.com Carl kindly offered to be interviewed by Eurodragster.com and has answered all of our questions in a frank and detailed manner. We asked about the background to the proposal, the vote itself, the future of Top Methanol Dragster outside the FIA European Championship, and the effect of the proposal upon the FIA Championship as a whole. You can read our interview with Carl Olson by clicking here, or click on the Interviews link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Swift snippets. 24th June: UK blown-alcohol altered racer Frank Bennett has had to withdraw from this weekend's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway. "Although we have worked so hard to get the car to where it is now, we still have about a week's work left and just have run out of time", says Luke Bennett. "I would like to apologise to the racers and fans alike and also to class promoter Lawrie Gatehouse. We have hit too many problems with all the new stuff we have got that it delayed every other job, and we only got the cam yesterday so there is simply too much for us to do. We will only go out if the car is 100% spot on. We will definitely be at the Nostalgia Nationals." ©Eurodragster.com UK Super Street racer Mike Bentley has been in touch to thank everyone who has been in touch regarding the incident in the pits between his borrowed tow vehicle and a youngster on a pit bike. Mike has asked if any witnesses to the incident can please drop an E-Mail to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall at paula.marshall@btconnect.com. "If you could spare a couple of minutes of your time to do this I would be extremely grateful", says Mike. "Again I would like to thank you in anticipation. I know it will mean some involvement, but it would really help - not just in this instance but in the future." UK Super Comp racer Belinda Bull says that she is pinching herself after making it to the final in her first outing in the class. "We had such a great weekend", says Belinda. "I managed to improve on my reactions and the car was behaving itself, probably the best it ever has (for me anyway). I even managed number one qualifier for a while, too. Not too shabby for a girl eh? Thanks to Chris Isaacs and a big Thank You to Jeff Bull - I couldn't have done it without him doing his thing!". Belinda has also asked us to say a big Get Well Soon to UK Super Pro ET racer Gary Malin who is recovering from surgery at the start of this week. "Get well soon Gazza and best wishes to Lin, Carly and David" says Belinda, and we're sure that all of Eurodragster.com's readers will join Tog and Sharkman in adding their own best wishes to Gary for a rapid recovery and return to the track. Summernationals running order. 23rd June: We are indebted to Santa Pod Raceway's Race Director Darren Prentice and Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us the provisional running order of Saturday's qualifying at the SPRC Summernationals. ©Eurodragster.com You can view Saturday's 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 SPRC Summernationals. Please note that running orders are subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. One Knut is not enough... 23rd June: The Carbon By Design Top Fuel Dragster team face a busy couple of weeks, says team owner Knut Söderquist. The four-car team will shortly be heading for Finland for next week's second round of the FIA European Championship before going on to Piteå for the Midnight Sun Internationals at which Susanne Callin will be returning to the seat of one of the CBD Top Fuel Dragsters. "I think I'm going to have to be split by nuclear fission to get three of the trucks to Alastaro by myself!", says Knut. "Everything else is just fine." Knut says that the CBD team are looking for big improvements after falling short at the FIA Main Event. "As usual I am not making any predictions, except that we will be doing our best", says Knut. "It's a different track and there will be different conditions. Also we won't have Bill Schultz with us this weekend because he has a commitment at home in the USA. But he will be with us for every other event this season." ©Eurodragster.com Pite Dragway's Midnight Sun Internationals on 8th-10th July is hosting its traditional Top Fuel Dragster match race and as usual the Carbon By Design team will be fielding a couple of cars. Susanne Callin and Gary Page are scheduled to take on Monica Öberg and Tommy Möller. Susanne last raced in Top Fuel in 2003 but is driving the Rod and Race two-seater dragster this year; racing at Piteå will keep Susanne's licence current and we understand that more appearances may be in the pipeline. After the Midnight Sun Internationals Jöran Persåker will be representing the CBD team at the Kamasa Tools Mechanics' Challenge in Stockholm, about which more very soon. Records update. 23rd June: Shakespeare County Raceway Press Officer Jerry Cookson and Wayne Schreier of SCR's Tech Crew have confirmed that, despite the hot and humid conditions encountered by racers attending the weekend's Shakespeare Nationals, the following track records were established during the running of the second round of the Ultimate Power Drag Racing Championship. Congratulations to: ©Eurodragster.com Street Eliminator speed: 180.09 mph, Colin Lazenby Pro Stock Bike speed: 183.55 mph, Dave Beck Super Street Bike ET: 7.829 seconds, Steve Venables Super Street Bike speed: 196.86 mph, Steve Venables Supertwin Gas ET: 9.092 seconds, John Floyd Supertwin Modified ET: 9.399 seconds, Tony Legg Supertwin Modified speed: 154.23 mph, Tony Legg We are also indebted to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers for updating the list of European Bests with records set at the weekend. You can view the updated sheets by clicking here or by clicking on the European Bests link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Summernationals Perfect Awards. 23rd June: This weekend's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway is the fifth event in this year's Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards scheme, with a total of £125 up for grabs. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Andy Kirk at the Shakespeare Nationals. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a perfect Reaction Time of 0.000. The Award is open to all classes and is available during qualifying or eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the weekend. If the Award is not won this weekend then the prize fund will increase to £75 at next month's Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park in Sweden; if the Award is won then the prize fund will be reset to £50 at the Veidec Festival. The Perfect Light Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and high-performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow, whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk, or visit the Roadzombie 2 pit at Santa Pod this weekend. ©Eurodragster.com The Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at the Shakespeare Nationals. The money will be awarded to the first racer to run to the thousandth on their index or dial-in during qualifying or eliminations. The Award is open to all ET classes, all Super classes, Junior Dragster, all VW classes, the Wild Bunch and 9.50 Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend. If the Award is not won this weekend then the prize fund will increase to £100 at next month's Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park in Sweden; if the Award is won then the prize fund will be reset to £50 at the Veidec Festival. The Perfect ET Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and performance supplier LA Racing Parts, whose web site you can find at www.laracingparts.com. Good luck! All invited to Charity Show. 23rd June: Carolina Classics have announced that they are to hold an all-American Hot Rod, Classic and Bike Show at Thruxton Circuit on Sunday 4th September. The Show is to benefit charity and exhibitors are offered free advance entry. "The Show is to benefit a charity which helps to put disabled people into a working environment to lead a normal life", says Nigel Taylor. "Those of you who have been to Enham Alamein Village will know their massive achievements so far." ©Eurodragster.com Drag racers, hot rodders, and classic American Car and Bike owners are invited. "If you can spare some time for a very worthwhile cause then please call for a pre-entry form on 01264 321170 or 07816 126038", says Nigel. Other attractions for the Show on 4th September include bouncy castle, helicopter rides, hot air balloon rides, Thruxton driving demonstrations and more. The Show will run from 10:00 to 16:00 and will feature a beer tent, barbecue, Show and Shine, and trophy presentation. Web site updates. 23rd June: Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with a 350 photographs from the weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. Check it out at www.topendtales.com. ©Eurodragster.com MSD service Europe. 22nd June: Anders Magnusson of Andréasson Motorsports has been in touch to tell us that MSD Ignition will be providing on-track parts sales and free testing of magnetos and boxes at FIA European Championship events starting at the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park on 28th-31st July. "MSD's Service Manager Joe Pando is coming to Mantorp Park to help racers and to get things started", says Anders. The venture was arranged between MSD Ignition, Andréasson Motorsports and Jarmo Pulkinen. ©Eurodragster.com You can read all about this great development on the Andréasson Motorsports web site at www.andreassonmotorsports.com/start_msd.htm. Summernationals gates, entry. 22nd June: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch with details of Friday's gate opening times at Santa Pod Raceway. "Santa Pod's main gates will be opening at 11:00 am on Friday (24th)", says Paula, "and the pit gate will close at midnight as usual." ©Eurodragster.com Paula has also forwarded us the final version of the official SPRC Summernationals entry list, which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting SPRC Summernationals. Jon Webster of joint Eurodragster.com webcam sponsor Webster Race Engineering tells us that there are ten places left for Friday's WRE Test Day at Santa Pod. Assuming that they are not taken during this week those ten places will be available on Friday, but entries during this week and at the track will of course be subject to the late entry fee. For more details please call WRE on 01933 315236. Persåker welcomes honorary blond. 22nd June: Swedish Top Fuel Dragster racer Jöran Persåker has announced that Cliff Gould has become a permanent member of his Team Nasty Toys Top Fuel team. Cliff, formerly Crew Chief for 2004 MSA British Drag Racing Champion Doug Ripley, worked with Jöran and the team at the FIA Main Event and the arrangement worked out very well for all involved. "Cliff is a competent Top Methanol Crew Chief, and his move over to the Fuel ranks is a natural transition", says Jöran Persåker. "It will be strange for Cliff to move from the Swiss Watch of racing classes over to the nail and hammer of Top Fuel. There is a rawness which could be a real eye opener for him but the rewards are the same if not greater. Cliff has a great deal to offer the team and we are all look forward to working with him." ©Eurodragster.com Jöran says that his Top Fuel Dragster, owned by Knut Söderqvist, just needs air in the tyres and oil in the motor and it will be all ready to race in next week's second FIA Championship round at Alastaro. Jöran will be on double duties at the FHRA Nitro Nationals, driving both the Top Fueller and his Pro Stock Avenger. Shakespeare National records. 22nd June: Six new UK National records were set at the weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway in addition to a number of track records. We will bring you the list of new track records as soon as we receive it, but congratulations to the following on their new National records (subject to official ratification): ©Eurodragster.com Street Eliminator speed: 180.09 mph, Colin Lazenby ACU UK Super Street Bike speed: 194.23 mph, Steve Venables NAST Supertwin Gas ET: 9.200 seconds, John Floyd NAST Supertwin Gas speed: 140.79 mph, George Laycock NAST Supertwin Modified ET: 9.399, Tony Legg NAST Supertwin Modified speed: 154.23, Tony Legg Look out Belgium! 22nd June: UK Real Steel Street Eliminator team FB Racing are preparing for their second overseas expedition of the year as they ready their street-legal eight-second ’34 Ford to compete in the Toyo Tyres-sponsored King of Europe drag challenge in Chimay, Belgium this weekend. “Seven Street Eliminator cars were scheduled to compete, but it is now down to just two – ourselves and John Sleath", says driver Ian Hook. "But the surviving pair of vehicles make an interesting contrast; our nitrous-assisted Ford-powered hot rod and Two-Tins’ blown Chevy-powered late-model Audi.” Ian and the FBs are still buoyed by Personal Bests of 8.575 at the FIA Main Event and 170.73 mph at the Shakespeare Nationals as well as getting past Steve Nash's Cougar to make the Street Eliminator final at the weekend. However, Fatty says that he is not expecting PBs this weekend. "Although the track is reportedly to be prepared with Trackbite (or similar) I doubt very much that it will offer traction anywhere near what we’re used to at either the Pod or Shakey", says Fatty. "I’m sure that my ‘pedalling’ skills will be tested to the max. ©Eurodragster.com “It will be interesting to see how we get on, especially in the final eliminator which pitches the front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and four wheel drive cars together. On an ‘iffy’ track I think that the 4WD cars will be a real threat, especially when you look at the ETs these cars are achieving now.” Fatty has a few Thank Yous for this weekend. "Firstly a massive Ta to Trev Jones who has prepped his truck way ahead of schedule so that we can have a roof over our heads when we go", he says. "Also I’d like to express my gratitude to our sponsors who have been particularly supportive this year: the FB Associates, A & E Fire Equipment, hotrodtees.co.uk, RS Autoservices and the Everest Balti House. Plus of course Thanks to my crew, without whom none of this would happen and there’d be nowhere near as much fun.” Swift snippets. 22nd June: Congratulations to Swedish Pro Stock racer Jan Murén who clocked a best ET of 6.952 and a best speed of 322.56 kmh (200.43 mph) - the fastest-ever Pro Stock run in Europe - in testing his new Pontiac Grand Am at Sundsvall Raceway. "It's nice to give the other racers some sleepless nights", says Jan. "We will be racing at all of the remainining FIA rounds this year." Lars-Olof Jonsson of Motor Events AB has been in touch to confirm the hotline number for fans wanting to purchase tickets for the Veidec Festival which takes place at Mantorp Park on 28th-31st July. "The hotline number is +46 771 260 260", says L-O. "We've noticed a very big interest from UK spectators, and many first-timers which is of course very positive!" UK Wild Bunch racer Tony Smith has been in touch to congratulate Sarah Howells on her event win at the Shakespeare Nationals. "Fair shout", says Tony. "It was my third final and I was hoping third time lucky, but it could not have gone to a better person. I don’t know what made our car bounce like it did, it's not done that for a long time. All we can think is that the track was so sticky. We'll just have to wait until next weekend to see if it still does it. I would also like to thank Sarah and Darryl for giving my wife Linda a Honda Civic after her old car was stolen and burnt out. Thank you both, it's a great little car for Linda to learn in". Tony adds that he has updated the News and Reviews page of his web site at www.cunningplan.net. ©Eurodragster.com UK blown-alcohol altered team Bennett Racing have announced a sponsorship deal with Performance Oils. "I would especially like to thank Paul Ballantyne for all his help and look forward to a long and successful partnership", says Luke Bennett. You can find the Performance Oils web site at www.performance-oils.co.uk and the Bennett Racing web site at www.bennettracing.moonfruit.com also has a page dedicated to the new sponsor. Although Eurodragster.com will not be reporting live from this Friday's Webster Race Engineering Test Day at Santa Pod Raceway, the Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam will be on-line on Friday and will be scheduled to broadcast a picture every two minutes. So many miles, so many smiles. 22nd June: UK Super Pro ET racer Derek Flynn and the Gold RV Racing team had a great weekend after their six-and-out at the FIA Main Event where they spun a main bearing. Derek says that there was very little time for the Gold RV team to rebuild the engine but that he is glad that they did. "Another six straight off the trailer and then we made it all the way to the final where we were beaten by just .031 seconds by Barry Giles", says Derek. "Congratulations to all the Giles and Hartley team for their victorious weekend including young Daniel, well done!" Derek says that he only just made it to Shakespeare County Raceway at the weekend and that it took some extra special help and a few late nights from some very special people. "Firstly a huge thank you to Jeff Bull who really pulled a rabbit from the hat for us when at the last minute we were let down by a machine shop which shall remain nameless", says Derek. "Jeff kindly offered to supply us with a crank, and if I got him our block then he would have that machined and readied for the new crank, balance it and then fit it for us, which turned out to be another rather late evening, and all this within a couple of working days. Thanks also to Belinda for keeping us supplied with tea, and congratulations for reaching your final too. ©Eurodragster.com "We also have to thank Lee and Richard of J & W Automotive who also assisted in the engine rebuild, especially Lee who came all the way up from Devon, helped us rebuild the engine late into the night, and went home the next day. I also have to thank the Go Gold Crew who really put in the hours to ensure that we could be ready to race. So finally, after three attempts, our luck at Shakey has turned around and we had a great weekend, and I do believe that we were the quickest and fastest car of the meeting apatr from the Jet Funny Car, which makes all the effort and the thousand miles of driving worthwhile. We would also like to say thanks to all the fire and safety crews, marshals etc. who all did a great job and must have been absolutely melting in all that heat. "We are looking forward to following this up with a good test day at Santa Pod this Friday and hopefully a good run in the Summernationals, although with Andy Robinson and Gordon Appleton in our class I doubt if we will be the quickest in Super Pro ET this weekend. It won't be for the lack of trying though, so bring on the Pro Mods and let's see if they can dial in as well as they look and go!" Lucky and hot. 22nd June: The UK's Jones and Friend Comp Bike team had some frantic work on their hands to make the final round and take the win at the weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. Dave Friend says that Gary Jones' victory was due to a certain element of luck and not a little assistance from their colleagues. "That was a scorcher of a weekend, with variable track conditions we were unable to get any consistency", says Dave. "Even after taking out lots of power, we were still spinning the tyre at different parts of the track so we were consistently inconsistent. "After winning this round of the championship and taking out a very off-form TJ O'Brien in the first round we now have a small cushion of a points lead, but we are sure that TJ and everyone else will be sure to try to close this lead down. Having a bye in the semi-finals was a real piece of luck for us, as around the eighth the bike lost all drive - unknown to Gary the bike had thrown the chain! A frantic tow back to the pit, into the spares box only to find our spare chain too short - aagghhh! A real big thanks to Stu Chamberlain who gave us his new spare chain, we owe you big time on this one Stu. ©Eurodragster.com "With the clock ticking on the turn-around time a big thanks to TJ's Crew Chief Kev Charman, who was just leaving the pit to go home but stopped to help us get the bike finished for the final - thanks buddy, beers are on us for this. Our opponent in the final was Phil Leamon and a true sportsman with it, he waited for us to tow down to the start before he left his pit behind us - a real racer there. "Having no time to check the clutch due to the time spent fitting the chain, Gary rode the bike off the line chasing Phil who was well away, to take the win in the last few feet of the track, close or what? "A big thanks to our sponsors for their support: Extreme Electrical, Universal Turbos, Worldwide Bearings USA, Mistral Engineering, BEK Wholesale, and Ian Carver. See you all this weekend, hopefully not so hot and bothered." SCR 9.50 Bike review. 22nd June: Also finding the Met Office forecast of a hot and humid weekend spot-on for the Shakespeare Nationals were the 9.50 Bike racers. Fred Furlong kindly sent us a review of the action. Qualifying was close on a very sticky track with Fast Freddie setting the pace with a 9.52 out of the van, posting a time everyone else was trying to better. Three rounds later at the end of a scorching day it was still Fast Fred followed by Richard 'Boss' Hann at 9.54 and Rick Sawatzki in third place. All three riders from the Somerset posse of Ooh Aar Racing! The hot weather took its toil on what was the largest field of all the bike classes losing Chris Jones to piston problems in round one and Ady Lockley dropping a conrod on the turbo 'Busa leaving a trail of oil down the track (Ady apologises). The first round of eliminations saw two surprises with Steve Knapp and Paul Hambidge (Winner and Runner Up at the Main Event ) both going out early. The quarter finals went to form except for Fast Freddie losing out to the ever-improving Martin Chunk Walker's 9.58. In the first of the semis Martin Walker was again the surprise victor, beating current National Champion Rick Sawatzki to the stripe. Another shock awaited us in the other semi-final when Richard Hann ran a PB of 9.52 sending home leading Hyena man Steve Coombs. The final was between Martin Walker and Richard Hann, neither rider having reached a final before and both racing nitrous Bandits. Richard Hann running back to back 9.52s was too good for the Hyena man Walker who had to settle for runner-up. Both riders collected their first-ever trophies in this hotly-contested 9.50 bracket class. ©Eurodragster.com Huge Jap success. 22nd June: Rick Cuthbert of Trakbak Racing has been in touch to let us know that an official report of the weekend's JapShow at Santa Pod Raceway is now on-line at www.JapShow.com with full Pro Shootout results, Run What You Brung winners, Show Car Paddock winners and a huge picture gallery from the event. "The Pro Shootout was won by Dee Ireland (right) after some legendary battles in the semi finals and plenty of major upsets in difficult conditions", says Rick. "We had two firsts from Subaru Imprezas, including a wheelie by Dave Rowe’s CRD Impreza and a 10.477 by Paul Blamire. ©Eurodragster.com "Mark Watkins was beaten by Tim Webster in a very interesting road car vs. race car duel, and the whole show was a superb showcase for the Modified scene and their commitment to doing drag racing differently. "You can view footage of Dee Ireland’s Supra tearing up the strip in the first round of eliminations by clicking here. As you can see, the car is a real handful with no shortage of power, spinning up right to the finish line at nearly 150 mph!" Rick tells us that sponsors are becoming heavily involved in the Jap scene. "The number of huge deals is staggering!", says Rick "Some have factory support and others have big tyre and oil company deals which pay for their whole racing operation. It’s really great news for the scene, Santa Pod, and drag racing in general." Points updates. 22nd June: Our good buddies at Svensk Dragracing have updated their web site with Nordic Drag Racing Series and Swedish Dragracing League points standings after the weekend's Bike Weekend at Västerås, as well as results from that race. Check it out at www.dragracing.se. ©Eurodragster.com Post-Shakespeare Nationals points standings in the UK Street Eliminator class are now available by following the Standings link on the official Street Eliminator web site at www.streeteliminatoruk.com. Hill OK, but puzzled. 21st June: UK Jet Funny Car pilot Martin Hill escaped unhurt from a top end crash in his Fireforce 3 FC at yesterday's Japshow at Santa Pod Raceway. However, Martin has expressed himself mystified at the cause of the crash. "I went through the top end at 258 mph and then on shutdown the car suddenly veered towards the guardrail", Martin told Eurodragster.com yesterday. "I tried to steer away from the wall and just missed it, but by then I had full lock on and when the car caught up with my steering it went broadside across the track. The skid scrubbed off a lot of speed but we hit the rail, which took off almost all of the rest of the speed and then we came to rest against the opposite wall. I got myself out and the fire crew were there." Martin said that the crash could have been a lot worse. "The crew were right there", he said, "and that concrete guardrail in the shutdown area saved a more serious accident. If it had been armco then I'd have been over. As it is I am nursing a broken fingernail so I suppose I'll have to see a manicurist!" ©Eurodragster.com The damage could also have been a lot worse, said Martin. "The body is totalled, and the front A-arms are damaged", he said. "So the car only needs front-ending and Andy Robinson has already offered to take on the job." Martin is planning to be back on-track in Fireforce 3 in time for July's Bug Jam at Santa Pod Raceway, and Fireforce 1 will take its place at this weekend's SPRC Summernationals, but he says that he will not run the 5.7-second, 336 mph Jet FC again until he knows what caused this crash. "I ran 265 mph in the morning without incident, and this accident happened at a slower speed", he said. "We need to know the reason why. But we'll get it worked out and then we'll be back running the big times and speeds." Check afterburner and cake. 21st June: UK Jet Dragster pilot Ian Caseley says that the Roadzombie 2 team are delighted to be attending this weekend's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway. Ian, Chris, Hugh, Kate, Fay and Grace will be testing at Friday's Webster Race Engineering Test Day at Santa Pod and the team feel that staying on for the National event is a natural thing to do. "I just hope that Kate George can bring along enough cake to keep us going for three days", says Ian. This weekend's outing, following on from Ian's first six-second pass at Rotorstock II which was posted on video here on Eurodragster.com, centres on modifications made to the afterburner including some as-yet untried features. "Our focus remains with developing the speed of our dragster and learning what we can along the way - and boy, have we learnt some stuff these past few years", says Ian. "Our thanks to the jet people from near and far who have helped out. ©Eurodragster.com "It's fair to say that if we knew four years back what we know now, then things would have been a bit different. But that’s not to say we haven’t enjoyed the challenges that crop up from time to time!" If you have not yet enjoyed the Roadzombie 2 on-board video then you can view it by clicking on the Features link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Wells' welcome return. 21st June: Steve Wells and his fan-favourite Team Orange Ford Pop pick-up are making a welcome return to the track in Super Street at this weekend's SPRC Summernationals after Steve completed the repair of damage sustained in a top end crash in testing at the start of this season. "The Pop is near enough done", Steve told Eurodragster.com on Friday. "I took the opportunity to update the front suspension from HC Viva to Capri struts. I have also fitted new a wheel arch, running board, prop shaft, ladder bars and mounts and diagonal link, repaired the one-piece front, and made new exhausts which will now exit the rear to prevent the same accident. The Revolution wheels have also been replaced with Weld Pro-stars." ©Eurodragster.com Steve went to the back of his garage to find the Pop's former power plant, a 3.5-litre Rover which he has freshened up and fitted a solid cam and Yella Terra lifters. "This should be ideal for Super Street", said Steve. "I just have a few bits to finish but I am hoping to make the Webster Race Engineering Test Day this Friday, and to have the old girl running consistent 10.90s by Saturday morning. Doesn't sound too hard, does it!" Beck extends lead. 21st June: UK Pro Stock Bike racer Dave Beck continued to widen his ACU Championship lead with a solid win at the Shakespeare Nationals this last weekend, writes PR Stephen Moon. Red hot conditions and a variable track surface saw an out-of-shape 7.9 second first qualifying run, but fuel and clutch adjustments saw an improvement to 7.5 by the end of Saturday, good enough for the number one qualifying spot. Sunday's atmospheric conditions worsened, although hard work by the track crew resulted in an improved surface. The lessons from the three qualifying runs resulted in a number of changes to the set-up, with Dave entering the eliminations in a confident mood. The semis of the four-bike field saw Beck face off against Paul King, and although Dave smoked the tyre for the first 60 feet, a much-improved 7.39 second run was good enough for the win. The final saw a classic encounter with the much-improved Len Paget (number two qualifier with a career-best 7.6) and Dave saved his best for last taking the win with a 7.35 second run. The terminal speed of 183 mph was the fastest-ever Pro Stock Bike pass at Shakespeare County Raceway and a great outing for the newly-built Roger Upperton motor. Dave feels that there is more to come going into this weekend's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway. "It's great to see the class strengthening", said Dave. "Ray Debben is now consistently in the sevens, and Len Paget looking like he is going to be a strong contender with his new Ward motor, as well as seasoned competitors like Richard Gipp threatening to enter the fray as the season progresses. We know we have to step it up now and fight for the title. We learned a lot this weekend though, and expect to put in even stronger performances." Over the weekend there were several questions and a lot of speculation about whether Dave would been seen in UEM events facing off against the best of the European competitors. "It's all about funding" was Dave's response. "I run a shoestring operation, and the funding required to compete at a UEM event is beyond our current budget. If any potential sponsors out there would like to discuss backing me in the Finals, please drop me an E-Mail at beck.racing@virgin.net." ©Eurodragster.com Smoking and steaming. 21st June: Paul Watson of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor DynoSpeed Developments says that it wasn't a great weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway for Jamie Sneddon and the DSD Honda Blackbird Super Street Bike. "We're still having problems with the track", says Paul. "We just could not get off the line without smoking the tyre. We worked hard on the clutch, poor Pixie, 90 degrees, hot clutch and not a whimper, Jules also taking turns as the girls were getting familiar with each other's jobs. ©Eurodragster.com "It was interesting to see such high top speeds: 196 mph by Ven - awesome, that's USA standard but I thought with that speed he should be running 7.3s. A brave effort from the Fish (Mark Fisher - Ed) once again, taking control of the track. "Still, on a positive note we will leave the settings as they are and try them at the WRE Test Day on Friday concentating on the eighth. It would be great to see an improvement at this weekend's Summernats, our team all work so hard. I must say I am missing racing my Pro Stock Bike - congrats to Len Paget, a great effort into the sevens." Getting still better for Sarah. 21st June: UK Wild Bunch racer Sarah Howells had another great weekend in Bernie Nicholas' Destiny's Angel altered, taking the event win at Shakespeare County Raceway. "Unfortunately the Wild Bunch suffered various shut downs and breakages this weekend which were a shame for Trace Froome, Steve Field and Tony Wynne-Jones but nevertheless we had a great time together as always", says Sarah. "My luck held out again this weekend. I'd drawn Crazy Chris Hartnell in the first round and he came out with a storming 8.884 personal best - but had dialled in 9.1 so I snuck through! Fair shout to Chris and we are so looking forward to racing at the Pod it's just unreal! "I drew Darren Law with the rear engined Wicked Lady in the second round, we had a cracking race and again I went through because Darren broke out! D'oh! So there it was, Tony Smith and I in the final. A grudge match from the previous Ultimate Power event when the semis were rained off. Tony had a bit of a wild ride so I caught him fairly quickly and just held it to the line. "My first ever Ultimate Power event win! We also picked up the spot prize for Best Altered and Best Engineered. Many, many thanks to the Hartnells and to the Black Pig team for dousing me with water throughout and lending me a fan! Thanks as always to Bernie for the most amazing drive in the most amazing car and to Darryl for being the best husband in the world ever! "Apologies to anyone who thought we weren't our normal bouncy, loud-mouthed selves. We were just exhausted, but we'll be back on form soon! By the way, if anyone has any photos of Chris Hartnell and I together then I would really appreciate a copy because that's the second time he's run an eight with me next to him! Please let me know at sarah.howells@tradeteam.com." Swift snippets. 21st June: Priit Vaikmaa, organiser of Estonia's Rock Race 2005, the biggest race event in the Baltic States, has confirmed that Sweden's Lorentzon and Möller Top Fuel Dragster will be maing demonstration passes at this year's event at Pärnu Airfield on Saturday 23rd July. "Race teams from Finland Latvia and Sweden will participate", adds Priit. "Drag racing has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, and attracts the most spectators amongst motor sports" . Qualifying starts at 9:30 am with Classes F to I racing at 14:15, Classes A to D at 16:00, Super finals at 18:00, and the Top Fueller running at 15:45 and 21:00. You can find full details on the event web site at www.rockrace.ee/start.php?lang=eng. FIA Main Event Top Fuel Dragster winner and Championship leader Lex Joon has an opening for crew to join the MPM Top Fuel Team. If you would like to join Lex and the team then send an E-Mail to crew@lexjoonracing.nl giving your personal details, previous experience, and why you would like to work on the team. The UK's Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association have introduced new rules allowing dataloggers and hi-helix blowers for BBFAs (at an overdrive penalty) in response to racers' comments. For one, we understand that the rule changes make ICE Automotive's forthcoming Bantam-bodied Havoc altered, to be driven by Nick Davies and tuned by Rob Loaring, eligible to join the NFAA fray. You can find the new rules on the NFAA web site at www.nfaa.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Frank Bennett, one of the abovementioned NFAA racers, is still waiting on parts from the USA to make this weekend's SPRC Summernationals but the Topolino blown-alcohol altered will be on show if it is not running, says Luke Bennett. "The only old parts on the engine are the heads and block - everything else is new", says Luke. "We had to update the chassis too, so we will make sure that everything with the car is OK before we run flat out. I can't explain the amount of hard work it has taken to get this far, and we have been working flat out since the Xtreme Wheels. We have gone from a 457ci to 511 ci and from a 10-71 to a 14-71, and we're now running an MSD 44 amp mag. The problems that have crept up have been plentiful. As I write the body is still at The Car Clinic being painted and we will be picking that up on Thursday". 2004 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter said that his headache lasted until three o'clock in the morning after the B&Q Top Fueller hit severe shake on his second demonstration pass at the weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. "I hit shake on both passes but the second run was the worst shake I've ever had", Andy told Eurodragster.com. "I was gutted because it was shaping up for a good weekend - we found the problems we had at the Main Event and I gave it 110% to put on a good show for the fans and for Lee Child (Promoter - Ed)." UK Funny Bike racer Steve French had to miss the weekend's Shakespeare Nationals, and will have to miss this weekend's SPRC Summernationals, as a small hairline crack was found between the spark plug holes on number four cylinder during an engine rebuild on his very rapid French Injection Kawasaki. "Not being able to source a suitable head in time I am forced to pull out of both June meetings", says Steve. "This is doubly annoying when there is an enormous gap of no racing in what is normally the warmer part of our year. Promoters, can you please try and schedule the events (a) in the warm months and (b) further apart; we don't all go to Europe". Steve adds that he found that a bearing problem was causing his rear wheel to lock up on the bike's last outing. 2004 NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Champion Håkan Nilsson and his team had an enjoyable weekend at the rain-curtailed Meca Nats, says team member Ulf Stadig. "We made some very solid passes in testing and we realised why some people are saying it's the best track in Europe", says Ulf. "We got the best out of the car and Håkan ran new Personal Bests for Europe of 4.137/282.65 kmh but then the fun ended with the rain. But we were the quickest nitrous car, we traced some gremlins which have plagued us for years and we are now looking forward to the our sponsor's event, the Veidec Festival, at Mantorp Park in July". You can read more and check out some great pictures on the team's official web site at www.nilssonmotorsports.com. Ear defenders are recommended for those attending this weekend's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway, not just for the noise produced by the race vehicles but because Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog will be repeating last year's feat of commentating alongside Graham Beckwith (for whom you won't need ear defenders - Ed) as well as posting the weekend's live race reports. ICE Automotive go Green. 21st June: In order to accommodate increasing demand in the services requested by customers at their Silverstone Circuit facility, Eurodragster.com main sponsor ICE Automotive have welcomed long-time racer Steve Green to their team. "The increase in space since the move to Silverstone has enabled the business to undertake some ad-hoc fabrication and chassis work requested by long-term customers during the past couple of years", says Rob Loaring of ICE Automotive. "We felt unable to service the increasing number of requests adequately without additional help. Steve’s knowledge and experience bring an added dimension to the business whilst maintaining our pursuit of quality. Anyone familiar with the presentation, performance and success of the Cortina which Steve has raced over the last twenty-six years will understand why we wanted him to work with us." ©Eurodragster.com So long as work on their own cars, both of which are expected to appear at some point during 2005, doesn’t get in the way the business is now in a position to service most customer requirements. For more details about the services on offer check out ICE Automotive's web site at www.iceautomotive.co.uk. One week for Festival entry. 21st June: Fredrik Ström of Motor Events Sweden AB has been in touch to remind racers that next Tuesday, 28th June, is the deadline for normal-rate entry to the Veidec Festival which takes place at Mantorp Park on 28th-31st July. "Please don’t forget to register/send in your entry this week", says Fredrik. "Entry forms can be downloaded from the Veidec Festival web site at www.veidecfestival.com/2005/forms.htm. If you would like the entry form sent or faxed to you then please contact Mantorp Park by phone at +46 142 29 88 50. If you need more information on entry or guidance filling out the forms, please don’t hesitate to contact Mantorp Park at the above number or info@motorevents.com. Also please note that all electricity must be pre-ordered, and that pitting is due to availability after closing date for entry at normal fee. "Please fax the completed entry form to Mantorp Park at +46 142 29 88 69, or send by regular mail to: Mantorp Park VEIDEC Festival 2005 SE-590 17 Mantorp Sweden ©Eurodragster.com You can also find the Veidec Festival entry forms on the Downloads section of the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se. UK National points update. 21st June: We are indebted to UK National Championship points co-ordinators Simon Groves and Yvonne Tramm for passing us the post-FIA Main Event standings in the UK Championships. The post-Shakespeare Nationals standings will be forwarded shortly. ©Eurodragster.com Click here to see the UK National points standings, or click on the Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Web site updates. 21st June: Ex-pat UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Smax Smith has launched a new web site at www.smaxsmith.com. "I'm really pleased with the way the new site looks", says Smax who decided that his new jet-setting lifestyle merited an international .com address. "The guys at Seedy Pea and Net Factory have done a fantastic job now go and give it some hits and enjoy!". Smax's professional-looking new site features news, race reports, gallery, biography, sponsor page and much more. Our good friend Gareth Evans, who kindly stood in for Tog producing Eurodragster.com's live reports from Shakespeare County Raceway, has updated his UK1320 web site with a number of photographs from the Shakespeare Nationals. You can check out Gareth's excellent shots at www.uk1320.com. ©Eurodragster.com Another good buddy, Gwynn, has updated his Slimboy Fat web site with a number of pictures from the weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out Gwynn's pictures at www.pbase.com/slimboyfat/shakespeare_nationals_05. Also updating from the Shakespeare Nationals and, he tells us, with something for everyone is Richard Stirling who has updated top Topnitro fan site with photographs, sound clips and a report from the weekend. You can find Richard's site at www.topnitro.co.uk. Shakespeare Nationals coverage. 17th June: Eurodragster.com is covering this weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway in association with American Car Imports. This weekend's coverage will consist of end-day reports and photo galleries on both Saturday and Sunday. In Tog's absence, race photographer Sharkman will be joined by our good friend Gareth Evans of the UK1320 web site who will be producing the reports on the on-track action. ©Eurodragster.com You can view our Shakespeare Nationals coverage by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Gareth is also planning to post photo galleries on his own web site at www.uk1320.com. Bell out of time. 17th June: UK Super Pro ET racer Ashley Bell has plain run out of time to repair his eight-second Cobra after the serious fire suffered in qualifying at the FIA Main Event, and so will have to miss this weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. "The fire damage to the Cobra was bad", says Ashley's close friend and Super Gas racer Matthew Wright, who sponsors Eurodragster.com's Home and News pages through Gleeson Wright Security. "That said, there was no structural damage. Apart from the carb, bodywork and fuel cell the rebuild has consisted of a rewire, new fuel system, Andy Hone has freshened the motor, and we have put a lick of paint on the chassis. ©Eurodragster.com "Unfortunately, time has run out. We are hoping to make the SPRC Summernationals next week. We would like to thank Paul (Snappy) who spent two day of his holiday stipping the car; Andy 'Fred' Hone who has co-ordinated the rebuild from day one and who has been and still is working his nuts off to try and get Ashley back out; Larry Ward for paint; and Andy for the body rebuild. "The biggest Thank You of all has to go to all the fans. You guys amazed me - over £700 raised and with a couple of local busineses matching the amount we have managed to fix the car. We could not have done it without you, thank you. We'll see you all at the Pod, please come and say hello. "Finally, let's learn from this. Ashley was lucky - the Pod staff and the hospital staff saved him from serious injury." Meanwhile Matthew's own ride is also sidelined this weekend after suffering major damage at the FIA Main Event. The Chevy pick-up damaged all eight pistons, both cylinder heads and both gaskets due to a problem with the fuel system. "One head loked like someone had gone at it with a blowtorch!", says Matthew. "Peter Knight has been fixing it up, we will be picking up the engine tomorrow and we should be back at the Summernationals next week. The wheelies will be back, too! We've got also got a new Neal Chance converter and new rear end ratios. Thanks to Peter Knight for his help, and also for doing Ashley a great deal on a carburettor - top chap! Thanks also to Steve Pateman for the loan of his spare torque converter, and thanks to John Grant for the starter motor." Swift snippets. 17th June: Further to yesterday's news item about the withdrawal of FIA Championship status from Top Methanol Dragster in favour of Pro Modified, UK Sportsman ET racer Dave Nelson has set up an on-line petition for the retention of the class which can be signed at www.petitiononline.com/tmdpet/petition.html. We have also been asked to correct a comment made in yesterday's news item about TMD. It has now been confirmed to Eurodragster.com by official sources that FIA Pro Modified will run sixteen-car eliminations from the outset and not eight-car as we were originally informed. UK Pro Modified racer-in-waiting Ray White has decided to put back the début of his blown-alcohol Lethal Zephyr to 2006. "The Zephyr is coming on a bit slowly but that's down to business which pays for the car", says Ray. "I was very impressed with how Danny Cockerill had his car ready to launch at Xtreme Wheels and tested early. I have decided to do the same, licence early in 2006 and then race a full year rather than bring the car out in time for the European Finals and then have to put it away again. It also gives Neil of Prosign a bit more time to spend on the paint and you know what that means. It will be worth the wait!" ©Eurodragster.com Kay Rogers, aka Mrs Tog, has asked your News Editor to pass on her thanks to the otherwise-anonymous 'Friends of Eurodragster' for her birthday bouquet. "I have never received such a large bouquet in my life", said Kay. "It was a lovely surprise and the flowers are just beautiful. Thank you very much indeed to whoever sent them!" Drifting to the East. 17th June: The JapShow takes place this Sunday at Santa Pod Raceway, and alongside the Jap-only Run What Ya Brung is another round of the Pro Shootout, writes Rick Cuthbert of Trakbak Racing. "This knockout competition is held using normal heads-up drag racing rules, and features some of Europe’s fastest street cars, where big turbos are preferred to big V8s", says Rick. "At least two of the competitors are proven nine-second cars, including the 2800 cc Supra of Dee Ireland (right), and the 1300cc Mazda RX-7 owned by RE:WORX and driven by Andy Barnes. Many more of the sixteen-car field are teetering on the brink of the nines, so this is sure to be a very hotly contested part of the show! ©Eurodragster.com "Drag racing demos come from National Championship drag racers Bob Doyle and Mark Watkins in their Datsun Zs, and European Pro Stock Bike Championship leader Martin Bishop. The Fireforce 3 Jet Funny Car also takes to the track, so a full day of drag racing action is guaranteed! "Off track, the Meguiars show car paddock and club displays will host some of the top Jap show cars, and drifting demos will take place on the unique drift track in the pits. "Tickets are available on the gate at £15. You can get more information by calling 01234 782828 or at www.japshow.com." S&S Cycle press release. 17th June: S&S announces that G-Squared Motorsports is the exclusive distributor of Proven Performance S&S Racing engines, components, and assemblies for North America . Additionally, they are the exclusive distributor of the S&S NHRA Prostock engine and special application twin-cam style crankcases and engines worldwide. The performance and reliability of the S&S 160" Prostock Motorcycle engine has been instrumental to a very successful racing program this season for S&S in the United States , in part due to the expertise of G-Squared Motorsports. This success is carrying over to the international market and S&S, along with G-Squared, are taking the lead to support racing abroad. With the advance of racing internationally, S&S Cycle has brought two of their major overseas distributors to the table with G-Squared Motorsports. These two distributors are East Coast Custom in Australia and Zodiac in the Netherlands. Customers in these market areas (Australia and Europe ) are now able to purchase Proven Performance S&S racing components through these distributors with the help and support of G-Squared Motorsports and S&S Cycle. G-Squared Motorsports, Inc. is owned by George Bryce and George Smith. They have been very successful working with new teams and expect to bring more teams on board with various S&S power plants before the season concludes. They provide turn-key solutions and valuable training opportunities for new riders, along with continued support at the track with the backing of S&S Cycle. "G-Squared paved the way by demonstrating the potential of the S&S engine last year. We have worked with S&S to offer the package to racers and are giving our customers the necessary support at the track to win," said George Smith of G-Squared Motorsports. In the United States , S&S is actively involved with the sponsoring the AHDRA and the NHRA sanctions this season. S&S is the official sponsor of the AHDRA Pro Stock, Pro Gas, Super Sport, and S&S 124 Challenge classes and is also the largest contingency sponsor for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in the NHRA. This contingency sponsorship is a very important because it allows S&S to stay connected with the individual racers/teams using the S&S power plant at the highest level of competition available. Riders who are signed up for this contingency sponsorship will be awarded if they pilot their S&S powered bikes to the finals or semi-finals. "Our sponsorship program with the AHDRA is huge," says S&S Race Relations Manager, Charlie Hadayia. "It's very important for us to stay connected with a growing organization like the AHDRA and we're excited to see the number of fans growing for these events. Additionally, providing the contingency sponsorship for the riders in the Prostock Motorcycle Class of the NHRA is integral to our relationships with competitors at all levels," continued Hadayia. "We're looking forward to new opportunities to get involved with racing in Europe and Australia very soon," concluded Hadayia. S&S has recently received TUV approval in Europe for their 96" and 124" S&S engines. This is part of a strategic plan to continue growing distribution in this market and plans to support racing are in the works. Having agreements with distributors in Australia (East Coast Custom) and Europe (Zodiac) is very important to the success of S&S racing products globally. "It has been a great pleasure working with all of our global race parts distributors, particularly because they work so well together," said S&S president, Brett Smith. "G-Squared, my dad's company with George Bryce, has really promoted our NHRA Pro Stock engine with great success in a short period of time. Ton Pels from Zodiac - the 'godfather' of racing - is the European 'go-to guy' for racing support. And our business in Australia is exploding with EC Custom under the direction of Greg Shepherd and Neal Bolam. Those two are helping S&S put together some exciting things for racers 'down-under'." "We are proud to announce we have been appointed exclusive distributors of Proven Performance S&S Racing and G-Squared Motorsports products for Australia ," said Neal Bolam, Marketing & Racing Manager for East Coast Custom. "We have had a strong involvement with USA V-Twin motorcycle drag racing in Australia since 1984, with staff having raced everything from street to double engine top gas to nitro Harleys. Managing Director of EC Custom, Greg Shepherd, was the first Australian to run a seven second quarter mile in 1991 on his top fuel USA V-Twin," continued Bolam. "EC Custom also conduct the S&S Pro Gas Series across Australia at Nostalgia Meetings, Drag Bike Riders Of Australia, and All-Bike Meets with great trophies and S&S product vouchers awarded to sportsman racers at every round and the final," concluded Bolam. 'Godfather' Ton Pels of Zodiac had this to say, "The appointment as Europe' s only S&S Racing and G-Squared Motorsports products distributor is a significant milestone for Zodiac International. Zodiac has always been very involved in the V-Twin High Performance and Drag Racing scene in Europe . The Zodiac Drag Race team has been at the forefront of V-Twin Top Fuel every year since 1992. We hold three European titles (including the 2004 title) and in 1996 we were the first in Europe (and third in the world) to run over 200 mph on a Harley. The back-up of S&S and G-Squared to our performance parts division will allow the racing and performance market to grow immeasurably in the future. My sales offices throughout Europe are excited to be part of the new product distribution," concluded Pels. From the salt flats of Bonneville, to the success in the NHRA, S&S has a proven performance record of producing high-performance V-Twin engines, components, and assemblies. For more information about G-Squared Motorsports visit www.g2motorsports.net. Visit S&S Cycle at www.sscycle.com. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 17th June: The official web site of the UK's Real Steel Street Eliminator at www.streeteliminatoruk.com has been updated with a very informative and entertaining preview of this weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway written by Darren James, aka Flapper. If you like your drag racing street-legal then the SE site is for you, featuring competitor run-down, class history, points standings, results and reports, cars under construction and much more. ©Eurodragster.com Eurodragster.com update. 17th June: The next regular Eurodragster.com News update will be posted next Tuesday, 21st June. In the meantime please keep those news items coming to news@eurodragster.com and we will post them then. ©Eurodragster.com FIA TMD crisis. 16th June: FIA Top Methanol Dragster racers could be contesting their last-ever FIA European Championship after the FIA Drag Racing Commission voted to remove FIA Championship status from the class in 2006 to make way for Pro Modified. The decision was taken at a Commission meeting in Bahrain shortly before the FIA Main Event but was only confirmed to racers in response to a query to the Commission Chairman to try to quell rumours about the future of the class. The Top Methanol Dragster racers now have until Wednesday 29th June to try to reverse the decision before it is ratified by the FIA World Motor Sport Council. The Commission cited three reasons for the removal of FIA Championship status from Top Methanol Dragster. These were that organisers wanted to include Pro Mod but did not want to increase the prize fund, and that they were concerned about the low car numbers in TMD. Whilst the racers conceded that numbers have been down in recent years, the entries of Timo Habermann and John Parkinson to the FIA Main Event (John not able to licence due to bad weather), and the entries of Mats Björklund and Arto Höylä in coming events, is evidence that the class is growing again. In a letter to the FIA Drag Racing Commission signed by the FIA and FIM/UEM racers, several reasons were cited against the removal of FIA Championship status, both procedural and sporting. Foremost amongst these is what is viewed as a lack of consultation: the racers had long been aware that the class may be dropped but had understood that they would receive two years' notice. In addition, the decision having been made by the Commission in May, the racers received no official notification and say that they in fact had to approach the Commission for comment on a rumour. The TMD racers also pointed out that the class enjoys performances comparable to those in the USA. Top Methanol Dragster has also historically been a stepping stone to Top Fuel Dragster and so the racers see TMD's removal as potentially detrimental to Top Fuel. The racers add that the removal of FIA Championship status from Top Methanol Dragster would inevitably result in it not being viable to run a competitive TMD with the removal of TV and other exposure, and that neither sponsorship opportunities nor today's prize funds would be available. Tony Cohen of American Car Imports, who sponsor not only the ACI Racing Top Methanol Dragster team but also Santa Pod Raceway and the FIA Championship TV coverage, has written to FIA President Max Mosley about the procedures behind the decision including the lack of consultation, the lack of official notification, and the lack of notice (less than one calendar year) of their removal from FIA Championship status. ©Eurodragster.com Eurodragster.com has approached FIA Commission Chair Carl Olson for his comments on this matter and we will bring you his response as soon as we receive it. In the meantime, both the TMD racers and Eurodragster.com would be interested to hear readers' opinions on the removal of FIA Championship status from Top Methanol Dragster. Please send us an E-Mail at tmd@eurodragster.com and we will publish a selection of the views received in due course. Sunshine and nitro! 16th June: ...the two ingredients for a classic summer drag racing weekend, says Wright Racing Top Fuel Dragster driver Darryl Bradford who is taking a break from commentary duties to get behind the butterfly of the gorgeous 'new' John Woolfe Racing/LA Racing Parts Top Fuel Dragster at this weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. "When I was growing up at the race track, the one thing that always made it more exciting, if that was possible, was the prospect of great weather for a racing weekend", says Darryl. "Well, this weekend's early forecast is for lovely warm English weather and nitro in the tank, so bring on Andy Carter and the B&Q team! "We are going to be trying our hardest to get back John Wrights track records and I know that Andy won't be lying down so be there, we'll be trying our best! ©Eurodragster.com "A huge thanks have to go firstly to John and Les for entrusting me with their beautiful Top Fuel car, Dave Riswick of John Woolfe Racing who we hope will be there at the weekend, and to Lee Child of LA Racing Parts for making us part of the show! "We will also be joined by Royal Purple Motor Oil, Flint Insurance, IMAX Birmingham, Mass Racing Engines, and hopefully our good friend and longtime supporter Josh White of White Contract Services. Please stop by and say Hi, and we look forward to seeing everyone there for a great weekend's racing!" Sleath in big tool deal. 16th June: UK Street Eliminator racer and race car builder John Sleath has announced a sponsorship deal with L J Hydleman and Co Ltd, main importers and distributor for Gedore tools in the UK. ©Eurodragster.com "L J Hydleman and Co approached me", says John. "They have been importing Gedore tools since 1930, and I am very proud to say that I am the company's first venture into motorsport sponsorship and that I am very pleased to be associated with such a well-known and quality brand as Gedore. I have agreed a two-year deal with the Skipton-based company to start with, but see no reason wh yit should not last for many years more. "Please take the time to check out their web site at www.hydleman.co.uk and ask about their 2005 catalogue." Web site updates. 16th June: Our good friend Alan Currans has updated his excellent Acceleration Archive web site with a seventh gallery of photographs from Geof Hauser's collection. "The update includes some interesting pictures of cars from yesteryear including the Houndog 4 and JWR Hot Wheels Pro Fuel Dragsters, a Swedish jet-powered Land Speed Record car, the Stones' Opus One, Metronome the wild blown and injected Bond Bug, Roy Phelps' Gloworm Funny Car and much more besides", says Alan. "It also greatly benefits from some well-researched captions by Andy Barrack". Check it out at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Shakespeare Nationals running order. 15th June: We are indebted to APIRA Clerk of the Course Ozzy Ewing for passing us the provisional running order for Saturday's qualifying at the Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. ©Eurodragster.com You can view Saturday's 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 Shakespeare Nationals. Racers please note the notice of the Riders and Drivers Meeting in the grandstand at 8:45 on Saturday morning. Please note that running orders are subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. Any engine you like, as long as... 15th June: This Sunday's (19th June) Ultimate Road Car Challenge at York Raceway includes round four of the Modders Shootout, lots of Run What You've Brung and also features York Raceway's 19th Annual Ford Shootout - the big event for hard-hitting Fords and an opportunity for a gathering of the Ford clans and clubs writes PR Howard Holmes. "To compete in the Ford Shootout, the Modders Shootout or the Run What You've Brung, all you need is a driving licence, a crash helmet (some are available for loan at the track), and a car!", says Howard. "For your car to be eligible to compete in the Ford Shootout, the simple rule is that it needs to be a Ford on the V5 (log book). If you've bunged in a non-Ford engine, a GM V8 for example, it's still a Ford. Put a Ford motor in an Astra, Ford it ain't. For further clarification or other info, please call 01422 843651. "Gates open at 8:00 am, scrutineering from 9:00 am, and the track is open from 10:00 am so get there soonest for most track time! The bar opens at 12:00 noon. You can find more details at www.york-raceway.co.uk. Hope to see you there!" Swift snippets. 15th June: We're sure that everyone will join Tog and Sharkman in sending their best wishes to Anthony Cohen, Eurodragster.com Main and Event Coverage sponsor American Car Imports and American Car Imports Racing Team Principal, who is sporting a broken wrist after coming off his motorbike on his way to a Harley Davidson event in France. Anthony is back in the UK and Dave Wilson tells us that he is OK save the broken wrist and metal in his arm which was not previously there. ©Eurodragster.com Mention of Eurodragster.com's Event Coverage sponsor leads very nicely into the return of trackside condition reports in our Event Coverage, starting at the SPRC Summernationals. Regular Eurodragster.com reader Martin Wilson kindly donated the cost of a new weather station sensor after the previous item was stolen at the FIA Main Event. We're sure that all of our readers will join Sharkman and Tog in thanking to Martin for his donation. Many thanks to Perry Antoniou for pointing us to an interesting article on msn.com about UK Street Eliminator racer and World Street Race winner Steve Pateman. You can find the article at cars.msn.co.uk/carnews/streetracejun05. Carter set for combat. 14th June: Directly after their appearance at Coventry’s Brandon Road B&Q Warehouse Store on Thursday 16th, FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter and the B&Q Power Tools Team will be moving into Shakespeare County Raceway to set up, and to prepare to defend their unbeaten record at this weekend’s Shakespeare Nationals. It will be almost a year since the Warwickshire facility has witnessed the full spectacle of Top Fuel combat, and the first time that Andy has faced-off against Darryl Bradford in the Wright Racing, John Woolfe/SCR-sponsored machine. Needless to say, both teams will be out to win, and will be working hard to put on a ground-shaking show to thrill the fans. This will be Andy’s fourth match race at Shakey, where he holds both the track ET and Terminal Speed records. In 2000, Andy beat Barry Sheavills 3-0, and two years later it was Susanne Callin’s turn to fall to another 3-0 defeat. Last year Andy dished out the same punishment to stable-mate Thomas Nataas with a 2-0 victory over the Norwegian racer during his first year in Top Fuel. When the race is over, Andy’s entire operation will be shipped to Finland in preparation for round two of the FIA European Top Fuel Championship. Bader ready for Pro Mod. 14th June: Switzerland's Bruno Bader is ready to take his first steps in Pro Mod after a long period of work, says team member Ute Friesch. "We waited for special parts from the USA and spent many hours on the 524 BAE engine, but now that is done", says Ute. "We are now doing the final work on the engine, Lenco and data control and then the season finally starts." Bruno, daughter and Junior Dragster racer Yvonne, Andy Buehler and Arndt and Ute Friesch will be taking the Golden Vette to Turtmann in Switzerland to test on 22nd-24th July and will then head to Sweden for the Veidec Nitro Festival the following weekend. "If everything works fine, then we will also attend the European Finals at Santa Pod", says Ute. "Yvonne is spending her last year in Junior Dragster and will also be racing at every event we attend." ©Eurodragster.com "Bruno and the whole team are very much looking forward to the coming races, and we would like to say hello to all of our fellow racers in our new class", says Ute. "We hope that with Bruno’s long experience in drag racing we will be able to make some good runs even in our first season in Pro Mod. We are happy to have Andy Buehler back in the team, but unfortunately we have had to say goodbye to our Crew Chief Fränzi Bader. "The Golden Vette Dragrace Team, and especially Bruno, would like to thank our sponsors who made it possible to move to the new class: Friesch Plumbing Corporation in Tuebingen, Germany, and Suter AG and IMMO AG, both Switzerland." Pro Mod records fall at Meca. 14th June: The NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Series continued this weekend with its second round at Malmö's Meca Raceway. Sixteen Pro Mod teams were on site and the track record was broken several times during qualifying. When the last round of qualifying was done, four former Pro Mod champions were on top of the list: Micke Gullqvist, Patrik Wikström, Håkan Nilsson and Roger Johansson. "We were surprised by the fantastic condition of the track", said reigning Champion Håkan Nilsson. "We thought the top spot would be around 4.20, but instead we were able to run comparable times to our personal best".  Many drivers were impressed by the great quality of the track. "Looking at our race computer, I was really impressed by the great-looking curves which the smooth, bump-freee track produced", said number one qualifier Micke Gullqvist. Sunday's eliminations offered some spectacular runs such as the race between Mats Eriksson and Freddy Fagerström. "I got a good start and was ahead at half track when my car started to get sideways", said Mats. "I was really busy and just before the finish line I saw Freddy drive by on fire with a lot of flames coming out from under his car. I guess it looked quite spectacular." After two rounds of eliminations, the top four qualifiers had survived and were ready for the semi-finals when heavy rain stopped further racing. Rapport på Svenska hos Svensk Dragracing. You can find Pro Modified and all NDRS class results from the Meca Nationals on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se, and 250 pictures from the weekend have been posted on the European Pro Mod Association web site at www.promod.nu. ©Eurodragster.com Summernationals entry closing. 14th June: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch with a reminder to racers that the absolute closing date for the SPRC Summernationals is fast approaching. ©Eurodragster.com "I will be accepting Summernationals entries until this Friday (17th)", says Paula. "However the additional £40 fee for late entry fee is now applicable." You can view the current SPRC Summernationals entry list by clicking here. Turners head for Scandinavia. 14th June: The UK's Turner Motorsport Top Methanol Dragster Team are happy to be preparing for the three Scandinavian rounds of the FIA European Championship, writes PR Sarah Foster. "After missing the race in Alastaro, Finland for the past two years the whole team are very excited to be able to have a serious shot at the Championship this year", says driver Rob Turner. "The class is now very strongly-contested with six cars entered for the Alastaro race, and there should hopefully be a full eight-car field at the final round at Santa Pod in September. As ever the Championship should be very close and exciting with nail-biting qualifying and close racing between all competitors." ©Eurodragster.com "Rob, Carmel and Steve Turner would like to thank their current sponsors for their continued support this season", says Sarah. "They are Fuchs Silkolene, NGK Spark Plugs, G Max Fuels, GRP Connecting Rods, CT Autoparts, Rushden Graphics Company and James Lister Hoses and Fittings. They would also like to take this opportunity to welcome their new sponsors for 2005: Gold RV, Process Systems International and Eternal Image Tattoo of Rushden. "Lawrie Gatehouse of PSI is also the promoter of the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association, and the Turner Motorsport dragster will also be carrying the NFAA logo for the rest of the season. Derek Flynn of Gold RV will be joining us on the first leg of the Scandinavian tour in Finland, as well as campaigning his six-second Super Pro ET dragster at the forthcoming SPRC Summernationals. Turner Motorsport will be with him at Santa Pod and we wish him all the best at this event." Running back. 14th June: UK Outlaw Anglia racer Bob Hancox has been in touch with the latest news on the rebuild of his Runaway Prefect. We were very pleased to hear from Bob that we may be seeing him back on track earlier than expected. ©Eurodragster.com "After loads of hard work we now have a new roll cage on our car", says Bob. "This is all down to two people: Roy Wilding and Jim Usher, ex-fire marshal at Shakespeare County Raceway. I am not sure how I am going to pay these guys back, but a big Thanks on Eurodragster.com can only help. "On Saturday I arrived at Roy's and was welcomed with a cup of tea - thanks for the many cups of tea Angela - then Roy went into work mode bending the tubing. He made it look so easy, and it is when you know what you are doing as he does and have the correct tools - I have neither so big thanks Roy. On Sunday morning Jim arrived at my house. We started work on putting the cage in, and worked non-stop all day with the end result a roll cage fully-welded and installed, big thanks Jim. I haven't worked so hard for many years so it really does look like we will be back out later this year." Swift snippets. 14th June: Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe has asked us to thank those who responded to his appeal for qualifying and eliminations data from European Championship rounds. "I now have almost everything I need", says Andy, "but I am still looking for details of Top Fuel Dragster and Pro Stock at Gardermoen in 1996, 1997 and 1999 and Top Fuel Dragster from Hockenheim in 1999". If you can help then please drop Andy a line at andy@tsitimers.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com A Perfect £100. 14th June: A total of £100 is up for grabs for perfect performance at this weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Ron Bartlett at the FIA Main Event. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a perfect Reaction Time of 0.000. The Award is open to all classes and is available during qualifying or eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the weekend. If the Award is not won this weekend then the prize fund will increase to £75 at next week's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway; if the Award is won then the prize fund will be reset to £50 at the SPRC Summernationals. The Perfect Light Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and high-performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow, whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com This weekend's Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Frank Mason at the FIA Main Event. The money will be awarded to the first racer to run to the thousandth on their index or dial-in during qualifying or eliminations. The Award is open to all ET classes, all Super classes, Junior Dragster, all VW classes, the Wild Bunch, 9.50 Bike and Junior Drag Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend. If the Award is not won this weekend then the prize fund will increase to £75 at next week's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway; if the Award is won then the prize fund will be reset to £50 at the SPRC Summernationals. The Perfect ET Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and performance supplier LA Racing Parts, whose web site you can find at www.laracingparts.com. Good luck everyone! Muscle in Rugby. 14th June: Over twenty American V8 muscle machines of all marques turned out for Saturday’s Frankie and Benny’s Birthday Bash in Rugby hosted by the American V8 Coventry club, writes Shakespeare County Raceway Press Officer Jerry Cookson. With late-model Mustangs, Camaros, Oldsmobiles, Dodge Chargers and Ram pick-up trucks filling the restaurant’s car park to capacity, the car which provided most people’s attention was Warwick Bowden’s Pro Street Mercedes. Not seen since the 2001 Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County, Warwick said that he only decided at the eleventh hour to bring the car to the show and give it a run round in Rugby town centre after reading Eurodragster.com’s update late on Friday evening. In addition to the Merc, Warwick also brought along the FAST Response Dodge Ram support pick-up truck, but towards lunchtime decided to leave the Harley at home! Also on display and with a racing background at SCR was Jeff Cowley’s cherry red Z28 Camaro; a regular at all of the Raceways hot rodding and American drags. The show also attracted a low-riding Lincoln on hydraulics, stars from the Coventry Jets American Football team, a dance troupe, Harleys and V Rods together with a burnout or two: the real burnout star of the show was club member Paul Haywood in his ’34 Ford hot rod. You can view the day’s photo gallery, and catch up on the Club's other meets and shows for 2005, on the American V8 web site at www.americanv8.co.uk courtesy of American V8 Coventry Secretary Paul Hestie. ©Eurodragster.com Shakespeare Nationals entry list. 13th June: We are indebted to Avon Park International Racers' Association Club and Race Secretary Wendy Talbot for forwarding us the official entry list for this weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. As has become normal Pro ET heads the list as this weekend's largest class, although Junior Dragster is not far behind. Amongst a number of new names are Ray Comer in Street Eliminator, Steve Wareham in Pro ET, Michael Brogan in Sportsman ET and Tyler Clutterbuck in Junior Drag Bike, and John Floyd makes a welcome return to Supertwin Gas and will be one to watch having run 9.2s in testing. The Volkswagen Drag Racing Club also has a good turn-out for its second event at SCR this season. ©Eurodragster.com You can view the Shakespeare Nationals 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 Shakespeare Nationals. SCR regains licence. 13th June: Next weekend's Shakespeare Nationals and other Championship events at Shakespeare County Raceway are definitely going ahead after the Warwickshire facility's track licence was re-enacted on Saturday. The UK's Motor Sports Association had suspended SCR's track licence, pending remedial work at the top end, in May after an inspection prompted by the Top Methanol racers' withdrawal from April's Power Nationals due to their safety concerns. "The MSA required some work to the top end guardrail where it meets the new concrete barrier, levelling work in the field on the right-hand side of the shutdown area, and the grass to be cut in that field", said Lee Child of LA Performance Services, promoter of events at Shakespeare County Raceway. "We accepted the MSA's judgement without question. The work has all been done and John Symes came back to the track on Saturday to inspect it." John Symes, the MSA's Technical and Risk Control Manager, expressed himself satisfied with the remedial work and re-enacted SCR's track licence which allows next weekend's Shakespeare Nationals and other Permit events to go ahead. "John Symes is very knowledgeable and is a real gentleman", said Lee. "He was very thorough in his inspection, but his attitude was that he was there to work with us to help us get racing again. He made a point of saying that he was impressed with the teamwork shown by the officials and track staff, which is something he does not see in other motorsports." ©Eurodragster.com Lee said that recent months have been very difficult for Shakespeare County Raceway and LA Performance Services. "After the track licence was suspended in May the rumours snowballed", said Lee. "For example there was a story that the track had been shut down altogether, which was never true but which spread through the racing community anyway. Unfortunately very few people bothered to contact us to find out what was true and what wasn't. "The MSA have now re-enacted the track licence which means that they are satisfied with the facility, so everyone who enters an event at Shakespeare County Raceway can be satisfied that the MSA view the track as safe. We see this as the end to the recent problems and we can now concentrate on the racing." Tooled up in Coventry. 13th June: Prior to his match race against Darryl Bradford at this weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, reigning FIA European Top Fuel champion Andy Carter and the B&Q Power Tools Team will be appearing at Coventry’s Brandon Road B&Q Warehouse Store between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm this Thursday, 16th June. This will be the perfect opportunity for race fans to try and buy the fantastic range of power tools on offer from the team’s principal sponsor, and to see the 6500 bhp Top Fuel missile up close. B&Q’s dedicated sales staff will be on hand in the mobile workshop to demonstrate products from Makita, Metabo, Ryobi, AEG, DeWalt, Bosch, and B&Q’s own power tool brands, Performance Power Pro and MacAllister. The full range of new B&Q / Carter Motorsport merchandise will also be available. Andy will be available to sign autographs, have a chat, and explain how the car works. Click here for a map and directions to the B&Q Warehouse. ©Eurodragster.com Grecian earner. 13th June: UK Pro Mod racer John Ellis has sold his Lethal Calibra to a racer in Greece, says Ray White. Ray tells us that John changed his plans after being made an offer he couldn't refuse. ©Eurodragster.com "John was not going to sell the car until the end of the season, but he was made such a good offer that it had to go", says Ray. "John is flying over to Greece on 22nd to drive the car at a Summer meeting. I will let you know how he gets on." Ray adds that John is looking at a move to Top Fuel Dragster; watch this space for more. The Fang fires. 13th June: Carl Wadkin-Snaith has been in touch with the great news that his now Supertwin Fuel-destined The Fang has been fired up for the first time and that everything went OK. "With methanol kindly supplied by Tim Blakemore Racing, The Fang roared back into life on Saturday", says Carl. "With its 300/420° crank it sounds very reminiscent of the old blown Triumph drag bikes. We will be track testing soon, and then we will be moving up to nitro, I can't wait! ©Eurodragster.com "Thanks to all those fans who have kept me going over the last twenty months, and in particular to my internet pal 'Toad' who helped out with parts and invaluable encouragement when my enthusiasm waned." You can find out more on Carl's excellent Fang web site at www.thefang.co.uk. Swift snippets. 13th June: Shakespeare County Raceway Press Officer Jerry Cookson tells us that the latest issue of Twist and Go magazine contains a three-page colour spread from the X-Race scooter round held at SCR in April. "There even photos of young Scotty Collier’s Junior Drag Bike and a terrific mid track shot of Tony Smith against Wobbly Bob", says Jerry. Twist and Go magazine is £3.10 and can be purchased via the magazine's web site at www.twistngo.com. ©Eurodragster.com Alkyoneus meets the public. 11th June: Mckenzie and Windrige Racing's Alkyoneus altered (right, click on picture for large version) is due to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public in Cleethorpes this weekend, says Dave Mckenzie. "We have worked nearly twenty four hours a day all week just to get the car ready, albeit only in show mode", sys Fuzzie. "There are no internals in the engine or gearbox in the car as along with the magneto those are still in transit from the USA. The show is being held at the Cleethorpes Show Ground both today and tomorrow and is a Max Power show with all the hot hatches and a sprinkling of hot rods, plus our altered. If you are around the area then please drop in and see us. ©Eurodragster.com "At this stage I would like to thank a few people for all their help in getting the car this far: B+J Nostalgia, Gary Burgin, Jim Mehar at Good Vibrations, Tom of Color Fast Powder Coatings, all the lads at Hewson and Turrell in Grimsby (they all hide when they see me walking into the machine shop), Nathan and Eddie, two of our crew, and last but not least Les Hill: what this guy can produce in his backyard shed is unbelievable. Mark Windridge and I could not have done this without their help. "Hopefully the car will be ready to run at York in August, when we will do some shakedown runs with the Wild Bunch. If we do not make that meeting then it will be the Hot Rod Drags in September." A weekend to forget. 11th June: UK Pro Mod racer Danny Cockerill has had a weekend to forget at the Meca Nationals in Malmö. Two problems in two runs have put his beautiful Chevy out of competition and back on the trailer to the UK. ©Eurodragster.com "We had a 'chute failure on one run and ended up in the kitty litter at the end of the track", Danny told Eurodragster.com this morning. "The car was scuffed but not too bad and my crew and I worked very hard to sort it out. We made the session last night (Friday) but put a rod out during the burnout." We asked Danny if he had the spares to continue. "Right now I haven't got a spare pound!", he said. "The rod came out of the pan and not the block. We will get it home and have a look at it." Nimbus offer balaclavas. 11th June: Steve Clark of Nimbus Motorsport has been in touch to let us know of a product which is available to suit racers affected by the UK rule change for drivers of open-bodied cars, upon which we reported on 9th June. "For those of you needing help to find a suitable fire resistant balaclava, then look no further than Nimbus Motorsport", says Steve. "A twin eye hole balaclava is available in CarbonX fabric, which has FIA approval. CarbonX fabric is inherently fire resistant and has one of the highest LOI’s of any flame-resistant fabric on the market, significantly higher than Nomex. It is also extremely comfortable to wear due to its great moisture wicking properties. ©Eurodragster.com "Nimbus CarbonX twin eye balaclavas can be bought from Demon Tweeks, by visiting www.nimbusmotorsport.com, or by calling the Nimbus technical sales team on 01377 236170." Swift snippets. 11th June: Vic Smith has been in touch ot let us know that the next UK Northern Drag Racing Night takes place at 8:00 pm on Monday 27th June at the Red Lion Inn in Jackson Bridge, West Yorkshire. "Free food and great beer are available", says Vic. You can find the Red Lion Inn web site, which contains a map, at www.the-red-lion-inn.com or call 01484 643499. ©Eurodragster.com Stunning response to RZ2 clip. 11th June: We are overwhelmed by the response to yesterday's publication of on-board footage from Ian Caseley's Roadzombie 2 Jet Dragster: in less than twenty four hours after its publication, more than one thousand Eurodragster.com readers had played the video clip. Ian says that he is very pleased to have done something to help generate interest in the sport and its development; again we are very grateful to Ian for sending us the clip and for giving us permission to publish it. ©Eurodragster.com There is obviously huge interest in on-board video so we would like to invite racers to submit any other on-board footage of their own for publication here on Eurodragster.com. If you have any such footage then please drop an E-Mail to eurodragster.com@btinternet.com and we can discuss its submission and publication. Web site updates. 11th June: Many thanks to Fred Babcock for letting us know that he has a collection of photographs and other items from the NHRA team's trip to the UK for the 1964 British Drag Fest at client.webshots.com/album/207191383rQuIAM. We've checked out Fred's gallery and it makes great viewing with fascinating pictures of what was the state of the art at the time, as well as certificates and other items of interest, many autographed by those involved. There are also links to several other excellent galleries which will keep any Nostalgia fan occupied for hours. ©Eurodragster.com Ex-pat UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Smax Smith's web site has been updated with a race report and insider photographs from the FIA Main Event. Click on Race Reports at www.smax.co.uk. Gullquist's bogey track. 10th June: Swedish Pro Mod racer and European Pro Mod Association Chairman Micke Gullquist says that Santa Pod Raceway is becoming a bit of a bogey track for his beautiful Chevy. "We often go out in the early rounds of eliminations at Santa Pod", says Micke. "It feels like we have bad luck, but the reality is more that the track had exceptional traction and we just did not manage to get a consistent set-up. Of five runs at the Main Event, we were only able to get down the track twice, and you simply don’t win races that way. ©Eurodragster.com "We were very satisfied with the two runs we got though: a 6.42 and then a 6.34, which led to number two qualifying position. In the first round of eliminations I hit bad tyre shake at the top of first gear and when I tried to pedal it, the engine went silent. A wire to the magneto had shaken loose and killed the engine instantly." Micke is expecting things to be different at this weekend's Meca Nats at Malmö's Meca Raceway. "Most of the teams have never been on the eighth-mile track built just for drag racing", he says. "We are really looking forward to going down to Malmö and racing. "I would like to thank Twinlab, NordicLan, and Lucas Oil (UK) for helping us to run the fastest classic Chevy in Europe." Ride the Roadzombie. 10th June: We are very pleased to offer our readers the chance to take a 230 mph ride on a Jet Dragster courtesy of UK Jet Dragster pilot Ian Caseley, who has kindly given us permission to publish some spectacular on-board video from his Viper-powered Roadzombie 2 dragster. A camera is attached to the Roadzombie 2 for every run; on this particular occasion, Ian's first six-second pass which took place at the recent Rotorstock at Shakespeare County Raceway, the camera was mounted directly above the tailpipe of the jet looking backwards. The video is in .wmv (Windows Media Player) format, comes in at 3.72 Megabytes, and lasts for one minute and forty one seconds. The clip starts with the pre-run flame and thunder show and carries on through the run and all the way down the shutdown area until the dragster turns off the track. You can view the video clip by clicking here, or by clicking on the Features link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Although Ian Caseley has kindly given his consent for the publication of this video on Eurodragster.com, copyright remains with Ian and we must ask that the video clip is not copied, converted to another format, or posted on any other web site (although a link to it is of course acceptable). Web site updates. 10th June: Thanks to our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson for letting us know that pictures from this week's pre-Meca Nats testing at Malmö's Meca Raceway are available at www.motor.cnfoto.se/050608 and r2d2.df.lth.se/~cruzing/meca050608/meca050608.html . ©Eurodragster.com If you can't make the Meca Nats, which starts today, then don't forget that the track has a great webcam at www.srif.se. Patrick Kuyper has updated his Imaginary web site with photographs from the FIA Main Event. Click on Races and then Santa Pod at www.imaginary.nl. UK rule amendment. 9th June: We are indebted to UK Tech Inspector Geoff Martin for sending us details of an immediate change to the UK rules. "Learning lessons from Ashley Bell's Main Event mishap", says Geoff. "We all hope that Ashley's face is healing nicely." GSR 10:7 on page 66 of 2005 Yearbook ©Eurodragster.com This has been revised to read: Drivers of any open bodied car, wearing an "open face" helmet, must wear racing type protective goggles and a dual eye port, flame-retardant balaclava. This is not mandatory for Junior Dragster, but is recommended. "Competitors will find that this amendment is in the Final Instructions for the SPRC Summernationals, but drivers who are affected by this revision will now have ample time to act before the Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway on 18th-19th June", says Geoff. If you have any queries then you can contact Geoff by E-Mail at chassis1@onetel.com. Editor's note: We have repeated this news item from yesterday's update as it was posted relatively late in the day. Six and out for Gold RV. 9th June: UK Super Pro ET racer Derek Flynn achieved one of his season aims at the FIA Main Event when his blown-alcohol dragster went into the sixes (right). Derek got in touch to tell us all about it. "In the words of Dennis Priddle - it was terribly quick, but I just could not wait to do it again!", says Derek. "The weekend was just fantastic. We warmed up with a couple of low sevens, but at least the car was going straight now, thanks to a set of new Mickey Thompsons. Then with a bit more of a tune and finally running on all eight and a set of perfect EGT's we got our first Six in a great qualifying race with Pat Talbot, who was only just behind with a very low seven herself, despite the massive head wind. Our next run was a 7.0 and we were strangely a little disappointed but went into eliminations confident of running another six. "We dialled-in a 6.96 and we were up against my mate Steve (The Stores) Johnson who was number one qualifier. I knew I was going to have to be sharp away from the line and due to the fact that Steve was not running his nitrous we would have to give him a head start, but alas I was a bit too sharp away from the line and pulled a 0.036 cherry. D'oh! At least this meant I could just go flat out and not worry about lifting, and duly clocked another six passing Steve before the finish line, but out. This at least gave me an opportunity to watch the rest of the weekend's great racing. Also a little consolation was that we were knocked out by the eventual winner: congratulations Steve, Pat and Ian, look forward to our next race. One-nil to you at the moment, not that I am counting! ©Eurodragster.com "Still it was nice to be the fastest and quickest in Super Pro, and thanks to all the people who passed on there congratulations for the Six - it was very much appreciated and we were all very proud of our achievement. As it turned out it was just as well I pulled a cherry, as on the leakdown test my crew noticed the engine was a little tight and on further inspection we found we had spun a main bearing, double D'oh! Had we won we were out anyway and that would have been horrible to knock out a mate and then not being able to compete. "I would like to dedicate my first Six to my superb Go Gold Crew; I could not have achieved this ambition without all your tireless effort not only at the track but after hours at work too! Thanks! Also I do have to say a few other thanks: to the Turners thanks for their assistance with tuning, and congratulations on making it to the final, thanks also to Lee and Richard of J & W Automotive, Terry and Tina Gibbs, Bob and Cathy Glassup, and Andy and Kate Robinson, for all their continued help and support. Thanks also to everyone I have missed. The next goal is the magic 200 mph, once we have rebuilt the engine! "Finally we would like to pass on our belated congratulations to Pete Walters on his excellent weekend in Junior Dragster, number one qualifier with a perfect 0.000 and then to go all the way and win it, it just goes to show the J & W Gold RV Junior dragster is an excellent race car and now proven winner, and are available from J & W or Gold RV Racing. Racers: It's not too late to send your Main Event reviews, nor too early for your Drachten Nationals, Meca Nationals and Shakespeare Nationals previews. Drop us an E-Mail at news@eurodragster.com and we'll publish it here. Swift snippets. 9th June: We are again indebted to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers for sending us the official timing data from last month's Big Bang and ET Challenge at Santa Pod Raceway. The timing data covers the three VWDRC classes, Super Modified, ET Challenge and the weekend's Run What You Brung. You can view the Big Bang and ET Challenge timing data by clicking here or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com If you were tuned in on 4th June you will recall that UK Super Street racer Mike Bentley had an eventful off-track weekend at the FIA Main Event including a youngster riding a moped into a tow vehicle borrowed from Shaun Wilson. Shaun has asked if anyone who witnessed the moped incident in the pits can please contact him by E-Mail at Shaun.Wilson2@dwp.gsi.gov.uk. American V8 birthday bash. 9th June: This coming Saturday (11th June), the American V8 Coventry club will be will be staging its annual get-together as part of the infamous Frankie and Benny's Birthday Bash in Rugby, writes SCR Press Officer Jerry Cookson. "This is our third year of supporting the event and each year it just gets better and better", says Secretary and AACI area rep Paul Hastie. And the question has already been asked - who will win the Burnout Competition held in the restaurant’s car park? Will Carl Levine of Sox and Martin replica fame regain the title which Guy Papworth took last year? "Sadly Guy and his yellow Cuda can’t make the event, but will Carl’s car be ready in time?", asks Paul. "Will he want to christen those tyres!" Traditional American food, fantastic cars and entertainment will be laid on from high noon, and the staff at Frankie and Benny's have promised to be in fancy dress raising funds for a well respected charity Children In Need. "It really is an excellent meet well supported by Midlands cars and attracts a lot of media interest", says Paul. Paul and the rest of the V8 posse also want to invite race cars - V8 of course - to come along and to help promote drag racing, and next week's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, to a wider audience. If you’re interested in bringing a race car along to the show, please drop an E-Mail to Paul Hestie and Jerry Cookson at secretary@americanv8.co.uk and quartermilenewsmakers@yahoo.co.uk, or if you want to come along to support the event then Frankie and Benny's can be found south of Junction 1 of the M6 heading towards Rugby (click here for a map). Action starts at 12:00 noon. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 9th June: Our good buddy Erik Zettervall has updated the Svensk Dragracing web site with a Meca Nats preview on the Swedish Dragracing League page as well as updated Meca Nats invitation on the Downloads page and updated NDRS points after the Thunder Valle race. Check it all out at www.dragracing.se. ©Eurodragster.com UK Wild Bunch and Pro ET racer Adam Charnley tells us that his Cougar Racing web site ran out of bandwidth after its last mention on Eurodragster.com. "We've bought some more bandwidth", says Adam. "Since the site was down we decided to revamp the whole lot. There are several new pages including the history of the car, multimedia and a brief introduction to drag racing with the different types of car, terminology and drag racing facts". You can find the Cougar Racing web site at www.freewebs.com/cougarracing. NFAA queue up to race. 8th June: Lawrie Gatehouse of the UK's Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association says that he is expecting a good turnout by the NFAA at their next two outings, the SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway on 25th-26th June and the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway on 2nd-3rd July. "Some of the teams are still awaiting parts from the USA", says Lawrie, "but subject to that, we expect the following Altereds at both events: ©Eurodragster.com AA/FA: The Mob (Mickey Moore), Harry the Spider (Jim Seward), Timewarp (Wendy Baker) BB/FA: Rebel T (Clayton Round), Freddy's Revenge (Dave Grabham), Xtreme Racing (Bob Glassup), Transworld racing (Frank Bennett) "We have had zero track time, due to inclement weather, but we will do the best we can to put on a good show." London City Airport entry. 8th June: Terry Homan of Motorsports Promotions has been in touch with full details of their quarter-mile sprint which takes place at London City Airport on Saturday 6th August. Last year's very popular and well-organised sprint was attended by a large number of bike racers, all of whom were glowing in their comments afterwards. "The racing format will be the same as last year: two lanes over a quarter mile", says Terry. "This year it will be bikes only and no demos, the idea being to maximise the time available - 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm - as running time for the riders. The entry fee is £38, please E-Mail me at homantj@aol.com for an entry form and regulations. ©Eurodragster.com "For spectators the event is only open to advance ticket holders at £5 per adult and £2 for children. Please E-Mail me at homantj@aol.com for a ticket application. "Everyone attending will park up inside the airport site. This is to eliminate the problems from last year when local crooks tried to raid the bike park." Paddy Power heading home! 8th June: 2004 ACU UK Comp Bike Champion and Birthday Boy (Happy Birthday!) TJ O'Brien is getting ready for a trip to Ireland, where he will be making display runs at Enniskillen this weekend. "I have fuel, thanks Klotz; I have nitrous, thanks Linde Gas; I have tyres, thanks Matt and Ray at Abbey Discount Tyre and Exhaust Centre; and some lovely new vinyls, thanks Learn to Dream", says TJ. Don't worry Jones And Friend, Crew Chief Kew Sharman is coming to make sure I don't indulge in too much Guinness so that I can take the #1 spot back off you at Shakey! "I won't be doing any one-handed cartwheels, but Eurodragster.com please note that if they have dodgems then I will not be responsible for my actions." DSD latest. 8th June: Paul Watson of Eurodragster.com Home/News sponsor DynoSpeed Developments has been in touch to bring us up-to-date with events in the DSD stable, starting with Paul's own result in 9.50 Bike at the FIA MAin Event. "Since we hurt the motor of the Blackbird Super Street Bike at Shakespeare County Raceway we decided to have some fun at the Main Event", says Paul. "Jamie Sneddon took his road 'Busa, a 1400 with 197bhp which is for sale - and I took Ian Berry's 'Busa so we could set it up to suit his riding. With the aid of new data recorder Ideal for Suzuki FI I managed to go from 9.76 to 9.42/143 then qualified ninth with 9.56, but lost in the first round with a 9.493/123, must be out of practice. ©Eurodragster.com "The DSD Blackbird is now running and apart from a trip on the dyno is ready to go we have data from the last outing at SCR so we have some soft settings to start from. All being well we plan to turn things up at the SPRC Summernationals and try and set some new records. "Our thanks to Kent Stotz for all his help and to Malcolm Francis at Air Sea Logistics for all his help and hard work. Congratulations to Steve Wood (Woody) on his first time at a big event in 9.50 Bike - he managed a string of 9.5s - and to Dave Friend and Gary Jones, What a great weekend they had with a new PB 7.6. Watch out for this team when they have their new chassis, well done boys. Lastly a sad fairwell to H and Mike Vickers, won't be the same without you. We wish you every happiness in Oz (Hear, hear - Ed)." Swift snippets. 8th June: German Pro Mod racer Torsten Kath will be testing his new C5 Corvette-bodied race car (right) at the Drachten Nationals this weekend. Torsten tells us that the container containing the Tim McAmis chassis and Suncoast body was delayed by six weeks, holding up the start to his season, but that after the race at Drachten he will be racing at the Veidec Nitro Festival at Mantorp Park and the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. Meanwhile Jürgen Kath will be racing the Kath Brothers' previous Corvette in Competition Eliminator at Drachten this weekend. The car has been completely rebuilt and will be running in AN/A with a 622 ci engine and Powerglide. ©Eurodragster.com UK Jet Funny Car pilot Roger Goring tells us that he is very much looking forward to continuing the development of his Firestorm Pontiac at next week's (18th-19th June) Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. Roger has set new personal best speeds on his last few outings at SCR and did the double at Rotorstock II last week when he set new PBs for ET and Speed as well as "Having a ball" running alongside Mark Newby in the Split Second Jet Dragster on the Monday. You can read all about it on the Firestorm web site at www.firestorm-jfc.co.uk. Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe would be pleased to hear from anyone who can give him details of FIA and FIM/UEM eliminations for the Nitrolympx at Hockenheim between 1996 and 2002, and for the NDRG Drag Challenge at Gardermoen between 1996 and 1999. "Even if you have the points standings for those specific events it will be enough, as I can work out the rounds from those", says Andy. If you can help then please drop Andy a line at andy@tsitimers.co.uk. King Racing press release. 8th June: Despite UK Top Fuel Bike team King Racing’s triumph at the season opening ACU/UK Drag Bike Championship meeting at Easter, the second event on their tour was clearly to be a much more onerous affair. Santa Pod Raceway in England was the stage for the Main Event - potentially the best drag racing to be seen in Europe in recent years, with burgeoning fields of the best vehicles that the UEM/FIA European Championship classes could muster. And Ian King’s class was no exception, with no less than thirteen bikes vying for the eight-bike elimination ladder in Top Fuel Bike. The weather over the weekend was a real challenge to both rider and tuner alike, with the temperature varying between thirty degrees and twelve degrees Celsius and gusting winds and rain to contend with. The first qualifying round saw King (right, picture courtesy and ©Stefan Boman) veer precariously close to the centreline in the wind and entailed an early shut off 7.832/115.05. Despite this King was left on the right side of the ladder in fourth position. The second qualifying session was no improvement as tremendous tyre shake just off the line saw both the hard-working supercharger and primary drive belts snap leaving King to coast across the finish line at 9.763/82.87. However, King still remained in fourth qualifying spot going into the last day of qualifying. Sunday dawned brighter and with less wind, and the King Racing team decided to go for broke. The all new eight-valve billet cylinder head was in its final stages of construction, and the standard sixteen-valve Yamaha FJ1200 head that had been used for the last few years was destined for retirement. It had been nursed through many events, but had been a limiting factor in the amount of power that the team dare put into the combination. The decision was taken for more fuel volume and the commensurate clutch changes that the Automan designed management system would allow, and prayers were said for the life of the cast aluminium item originally designed to harness less than one tenth of the power produced by the Puma engine... The results were immediate. The next qualifying session saw King jump in to first position with a 6.451/198.50, bumping the current European Top Fuel Bike champion Roel Koedam of The Netherlands into the number two position. And more was to come as King had momentarily lost fire in two cylinders that would need some attention in the fuel system settings if he were to enjoy a full power run down the entire quarter mile. The final qualifying run saw King make the pass without the benefit of a burnout, but easily consolidate his number one qualifying position with a stunning run of 6.353/205.47 – the fastest Top Fuel Bike run in Europe in 2005 to that point. Raceday saw King paired with fellow countryman Shaun Branch. Branch got away first, but the power of King’s machine saw him blast past and onto a new best time of 6.336/205.47 and a pairing with Neil Midgley and his awesome six-second Suzuki in the semi finals. Again King prevailed, hauling past the lighter (and hence quicker-leaving) Funnybike to a 6.396/200.78. King was now in the final in a repeat of the pairing at the UK Championship final at Easter against veteran Steve Woollatt. This time King left nothing to chance, leaving the Watford-based rider on the start lights and accelerating away down the famous Bedfordshire tarmac to yet another consistent 6.383/206.19 run and the event crown. “What a weekend!", said a breathless King. "Four passes on the trot in the 6.3 second zone is amazingly consistent, and the great thing is that there’s more to come as each and every pass had a small time-delaying problem that should be alleviated when we put the new cylinder head on. The performance is testimony to my ever hard-working crew of Michael Beaumont, Chris Powell, Debbie King , Martin Brookman, Nick Pepper and Mark Fossey, and the world class engineering of the team engineers - Mark Hawkins and Martin Brookman. "Special thanks must go to our amazing fans who as ever make all of our hard work worthwhile, and the dedicated track crew, safety marshals and staff of Santa Pod Raceway, the premier drag strip in Europe. Finally, our partners in this race effort cannot be forgotten as they are the very people who enable us to participate in the sport we love – support them because they support our sport!” The next stop on King Racing’s 2005 tour is the Nitro Nationals in Alastaro, Finland on the 1st–3rd July. King Racing are proud to be supported in their 2005 campaign by Mickey Thompson Tires, Gates Power Transmissions, Performance Machine, Pinnacle Autoparts, Wackyshack Paintshop, Turboville.com, RSG Customize, House of Kolor UK, Murdoch Racing Enterprises, Goodridge UK, Vanson Leathers, White Line Cycles (Athens), Cometic Gaskets UK, Aerotek Fasteners, Straightline Racing, Pixeleye Design, Web Camshafts, Mark and Jackie Hawkins, Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes, Kath Carter, and Obsession Motorsports. ©Eurodragster.com Gone Wild at York Raceway. 8th June: Claire Meaddows, race co-ordinator for the UK's Wild Bunch, writes with a report of the Bunch’s wild weekend up at York Raceway last week. "We had a field of eleven cars, and set up Saturday night in a nicely displayed line in the middle of the pits", says Claire . "The weather stayed good all weekend, and many drivers had between seven and nine runs. We welcomed back Mike Davies and Linda White-Jones with their Pinto-powered Trespasser slingshot, and longtime drag racer Sag Southworth and family with the Daddy Cool rear-engined dragster for their first Wild Bunch events of the year. "Some of the highlights of the weekend, were Tony Smith’s smoky burnouts in the Cunning Plan minivan altered, earning him the Best Burnout trophy and the commentators’ admiration, shouting “Now it’s Tony time” every time he appeared on the start line! Helen and Dean Smythe’s lovely purple altered Hell’s Belle won the “Best Altered” prize, whilst the whole of Team Twisted won the “Best Appearing Team” accolade with their smart purple crew shirts and fleeces with logos and everything in the team matching - right down to Mum Christine’s accessories, and the team’s bear mascots uniforms! "Steve Field’s strong burnouts and runs in The Black Pig Plymouth-bodied altered resulted in his first trip into the 130 mph bracket, and the Wildest Ride spot prize! ‘Crazy’ Chris Hartnell made wild launches and recorded and seven runs over 145 mph in the Backdraft slingshot. Also doing well were Mike Cresswell in the Living the Dream slingshot, Sarah Howells in Bernie Nicholas’ Destiny’s Angel altered, and Joe Stevens, fresh from competing at the Main Event with his Back in Black altered, probably the only racer to compete at two events that weekend! ©Eurodragster.com "Tony Smith took the event win and the prize money of £115, which was useful towards his nearly six hundred-mile round trip from Wales. Father and son Pete and Gavyn Loveridge both put in PB’s of 10.430 and 10.385 respectively and a Closest to Dial-in (.011 off) on their way to second place with the Herr X slingshot. Crazy Chris had his first Top Four placing since last June with a close-run third place, a York PB of 9.082/148 and the Best Slingshot prize. Sid Slattery had his first Top Four Wild Bunch placing with his beautiful Jag-powered Destiny slingshot which ran well all weekend. Tony now leads the Wild Bunch and Real Steel Series, with Sarah in second place. Congratulations to all the drivers who put on a great show, both in the pits and on the track! "Many thanks as always to all of the track crew and officials for all their hard work throughout, and to everyone at York Raceway for their hospitality. We had a great time! We’re really looking forward to the next few events starting with the first leg of three in a row, the Shakespeare Nationals at Shakey on 18th-19th June, and what with the SPRC Summernationals” the following week and the Nostalgia Nationals at Shakey the week after, there should be some great racing this month. "For further details, see the Wild Bunch web site at www.the-wild-bunch.co.uk, Tony Smith’s web site at www.cunningplan.net, the Team Twisted web site at www.teamtwisted.co.uk, and the Backdraft web site at www.backdraftdragracing.co.uk." Web site updates. 8th June: The official web site of the UK's American Car Imports Racing Top Methanol Dragster team has been updated with a report of the team's victorious weekend at the FIA Main Event. Although Dave Wilson was #1 qualifier, won the event, and set a new European ET record of 5.422, team member Phil's report as ever describes what was obviously a hard weekend for the team in entertaining fashion. Check it out under the Race Reports link at www.americancarimportsracing.com. ©Eurodragster.com Andrew Kirk has been in touch to let us know that his Drag, Rod and Classic Review magazine has been updated with a report of the FIA Main Event by our good buddy Roger Gorringe, together with an interesting story on last weekend's NSRA Billing Fun Run. You can find the DRC web site at www.drcreview.com. Wright TF ready for match. 7th June: After the spectacular engine failure at the Ford Weekender in May, the UK's Wright Racing Top Fuel Dragster team have been working hard to get the John Woolfe Racing/Shakespeare County Raceway Top Fueller back into racing shape in time for next week's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, writes Team Development Manager Derek Todd. ©Eurodragster.com “It was hard to miss the Main Event, but the chassis and engine damage was too great to be repaired in time”, said Team Owner Lesley Wright. “We have taken the opportunity to add a new clutch can to the car, so I’ve got more scope to tune the car to the conditions", added tuner John Wright. "We’re still a long way from the limit of the car’s potential”. Darryl Bradford will be matching up against Andy Carter in the B&Q Power Tools car and is aiming to set new track records. “Obviously it’s a stiff test going out against the might of the current FIA Champion, but David can beat Goliath”, said Darryl. "All eyes are now on the Shakespeare Nationals in two weeks when we go head to head with Andy. It should be a great show - anyone for the first 300 mph pass?" Ripley heads for Summernationals. 7th June: 2004 MSA British Drag Racing Champion Doug Ripley will be making his next outing in the CC Racing Top Methanol Funny Car at the SPRC Summernationals at the end of June, says Team Manager Jane Ripley. ©Eurodragster.com "We were unable to take part in the FIA Main Event due to our prior commitment to the MSA Championship", says Jane. "We had planned to be at the Shakespeare Nationals but we have recently parted company with some of our crew and therefore needed a little time to reorganise the team. "We have entered the SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway where we hope to iron out any creases and get back on track." Swift snippets. 7th June: A reminder to racers that tomorrow (Wednesday 8th June) is the deadline for entry to the Shakespeare Nationals which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on Saturday and Sunday week, 18th-19th June. 2004 NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Champion Håkan Nilsson is opening his account at this weekend's Meca Nationals, which takes place at Malmö's Meca Raceway, just round the corner from the Veidec-sponsored team's workshop. Team member Ulf Stadig tells us that Håkan and the team will be testing their now-728 ci engine tomorrow evening (Wednesday) including work on the heads and other tips picked up from IHRA Nitrous racer Robbie Hood. You can read more on the Nilsson Motorsports web site at www.nilssonmotorsports.com. UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Smax Smith has asked us to add a big Thank You to his dedicated team member Belfast Ray to those in his news item of 4th June. ©Eurodragster.com Luke Bennett of UK NFAA and Wild Bunch team Bennett Racing has been in touch to ask us to thank Steve Smith of Vibration Free for working all day balancing the team's short engine having got back from holiday the previous night. "As is normal the rotating assembly was out of balance but when we returned the difference was just amazing", says Luke. "We could have put a marble on the block face and it would not have moved, the precision with which it was all done was top quality and I would recommend his work to anyone. Although Vibration Free are not a sponsor of ours I have included a page for them on our web site at www.bennettracing.moonfruit.com as with out Steve opening up on the Saturday for us we would have had no chance of making the SPRC Summernationals." The latest issue of German drag racing magazine Dragracer.de is now available. Dennis Kieselhorst tells us that the new issue includes features on the Test and Tune Luckau, German RaceWars, 1on1 Bitburg, the German Street Rod Association, Lowrider Masters, Bug In USA, the UK Volksworld Show, K&H Racing, Jürgen Nagel Racing, Ronald Jütting's Spirit of Westphalia and more. For more details including details of how to purchase the magazine check out www.dragracer.de. In the interest of rumour control we are announcing nice and early that Eurodragster.com News Editor and Race Reporter Tog will not be attending next weekend's Shakespeare Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. We're pleased to say that this has nothing to do with Tog's health problems; in fact it is Mrs Tog's birthday on day one of the race and after being away at the track on or about Kay's birthday for the last seven years Tog is taking her away for the weekend. Our good buddy Gareth Evans of the UK1320 web site will kindly be standing in for Tog on Eurodragster.com's Event Coverage - more details on that next week. Free runs for the right cars... 7th June: Racers with a Blue Oval on their bonnet are invited to attend the Classic Ford Show at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday 12th June, where free entry and free sign-on are available for the right vehicle. As if that's not enough, Rick Cuthbert of Trakbak Racing also tells us that demonstration slots are also available for racers at the Retro Cars Show on Sunday 3rd July. ©Eurodragster.com "The Classic Ford Show is a great place to see historic Fords and modern classics in action", says Rick. "Another great one-dayer on the horizon which requires demo cars is the Retro Cars Show, a celebration of 60s, 70s and 80s motoring. This show was a big hit last year and we welcome cars of all makes and models for the event. As with the Classic Ford Show there will be free entry and sign on for the right cars. Racers usually receive a lot of attention at these shows and it's a great way of showing drag racing to a non-drag racing audience." If you would be interested in running at the Classic Ford Show or the Retro Cars Show then please drop Rick an E-Mail at rick@trakbak.com or call him on 0208 852 5005. Web site updates. 7th June: Our good buddy Erik Zettervall has updated the Svensk Dragracing web site with a few words about Patrick Wikström's new Pro Mod records as well as results and photographs from the recent NDRS round at Thunder Valle. You can find the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se. ©Eurodragster.com Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with nearly 1200 pictures from last week's FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. Sharkman's extensive galleries include a long sequence of Bert Englefield's two-wheel trip across the track as well as several pictures of Monday's highly-popular flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Check it out at www.topendtales.com. Feature: The FIA Main Event family. 6th June: The team of race and track officials at last weekend's FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway included personnel from Clubs across Europe working in all areas. The UK, Sweden, Finland and Germany were amongst the countries represented, continuing a growing trend for co-operation at European Championship events which has benefitted racers, officials and fans alike. ©Eurodragster.com Eurodragster.com's pitside reporter Simon Groves spoke to some of the officials at the FIA Main Event to find out about their individual jobs, and how their hard work contributed to the event and to European drag racing as as a whole. You can read our feature by clicking here, or by clicking on the Features link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Englefield's ride and a half. 6th June: One of the most frequent comments which the unenlightened make about drag racing is "1320 feet in a straight line - what could be easier?". UK Pro Mod racer Bert Englefield (right) certainly has an opinion on that after his wild ride in qualifying for last weekend's FIA Main Event. Bert gave us the inside track on his eventful qualifying pass, which included a great driving job preventing serious damage to his Coupe although Bert is very modest about his involvement. "Over the winter we had put a new Superman blower on the car, but apart from that nothing had changed", says Bert. "We set the clutch the same as for last year's European Finals hoping that it would run a 6.5 or 6.6. I went into stage, built up the revs, let the clutch out and it felt as if the car left pretty well. It started shaking by about the sixty foot mark, but I knew from last year that I could drive through it - once I hit second gear it goes. "So on went the shift light and I hit second gear. The next thing I knew, the car turned hard right and was up on two wheels and I was facing a concrete barrier. At that point I realised that I was along for the ride as I was not going to get myself out of trouble on two wheels. Then all of a sudden it was back on four wheels with the barrier coming up fast, so I decided to try to steer away from the barrier. Amazingly the car spun round and just clipped the barrier front and rear. "Back in the pits we looked at the damage, which was mainly to the bodywork, wheelie bars and headers. However when we pulled the shafts out of the axle, one of the bearings was damaged. Although we had the parts to fix it, we made the decision to withdraw from the event as we couldn't be sure if the bearing had caused the car to turn right and we didn't want to be a danger to other drivers. "The car is now back at the shop and stripped down. The axle is being converted to a floater set-up, and we would like to thank Andy Robinson for helping us out with that. We are also seeking sponsors for this season or for 2006. Anyone who is interested, please E-Mail me at penglefield@hotmail.com or call my mobile on 07956 343980." Web site updates. 5th June: The official web site of the European Top Methanol Racers Association at www.etmra.com has been updated with Top Methanol timing data from last week's FIA Main Event. ©Eurodragster.com Victory changes Hansen's plans. 5th June: FIA Pro Stock Championship leader Jackie Hansen and his team have had a re-think of their 2005 plans after Jackie's victory at last week's FIA Main Event. Before the race Jackie announced that he would be running a limited schedule with his Cavalier in 2005, but team member Henrik Lund tells us that the team will now be making the trip from Denmark to Alastaro. "We didn't plan to race in Finland because of a lack of team members", says Henrik. "But the way things look now I guess we'll have to go, right?". The usual team of five will be down to three at Alastaro. "Erik and Michael can't come so it will be Jackie, Harry and I", says Henrik. The Cavalier will be receiving some attention from the team before the race in Finland. "The motor will need a minor overhaul before we go", says Henrik. "All of our runs in eliminations at the Main Event were made on only seven cylinders, so making it to the final was great. "We would like to thank our sponsors, friends, fellow racers and race fans for the great support they give us - thanks!" Henrik adds that the team are still chasing their first six-second pass, and that he believes that this would have happened last weekend had Eurodragster.com provided Jackie with a pair of decals. No sooner said than done, Henrik, watch your mailbox. Swift snippets. 5th June: Mark Turner of Sweden's Team Nasty Toys Top Fuel Dragster team has asked us to pass on Jöran Persåker's thanks to Jon Webster for his help at the FIA Main Event. "Jon built a new front windshield for the dragster in two hours on the Thursday evening", says Mark. "He did a great job and we are very grateful." ©Eurodragster.com Nigel Anniwell has been in touch to let us know that the monthly Drag Racing Nights in Newton Bromswold have had to be put on hold. "Andy and Kelly are no longer running The Swan, so we are having to look for another venue", says Nigel. "I would like to thank Andy and Kelly for their hospitality and wish them all the best for the future. As soon as we have managed to find a new venue I will let everyone know." PMR's historic weekend. 5th June: Paul Marston Racing had what Paul describes as a "Historic" weekend at the FIA Main Event, fielding three cars in no less than five classes. Paul (Super Street), Gary Springford (Pro ET), John Everitt (Super Pro ET) and Tony Morris (Super Gas and Pro ET) had a weekend of mixed results but together with their crew would have taken the award for sheer hard work. "Without question the PMR crew were the real heroes of the weekend", says Paul, "especially Gary Springford, proprietor of Drag Race Engineering, who went above and beyond the call of duty. Not only was Gary competing in Grumpy's Dodge in Pro ET, but had to oversee the installation of the new ring and pinion brought from the USA by Tony Morris before we could leave DRE. Once at the track Grumpy really showed off: first a leaking core plug, then a cracked gearbox casing, then to cap it all a rear ring and pinion failure - a brand new part which was five runs old. Sorry to everyone on the start line for that one. Gary was in the thick of all of that as well as the lion's share with the other two race cars, the Alien altered currently shoed by John Everitt and the Whoop Ass Monza driven by our ex-pat guest and BLP consultant Tony Morris. "Gary and I shared the duties in Grumpy's Dodge in Super Street and Pro ET respectively, a usually-flawless race car reminded us that anything can happen. What are the chances of cracking the case on a gearbox which has made over two thousand passes, lunching an axle, and a core plug failing all in the space of twenty four hours? Simply put, it was not our day. But on the up side Gary ran his first nine in Grumpy with a 9.93/133 on a foot brake launch. The signs are that Grumpy will be back in Super Gas real soon. "The Alien also had a really good weekend in Super Pro ET with a new best of 7.88/166, well done John Everitt. John really is beginning to get a handle on the Alien and was over the Mmoon with the run. John went two rounds in Super Pro and is in the top ten in the National points and enjoyed expert crewing and insight provided by Dave Gibbons who was a very welcome addition to the usual PMR Crew over the weekend. There are some nice improvements in the pipeline for the Alien. ©Eurodragster.com "Last but by no means least we had Tony Morris who was over on invitation from Orlando, Florida to drive the recently-renamed Whoop Ass Monza, named incidentally in his honour. We entered Tony Morris in two classes, which is not uncommon over here in Europe, we felt this would give Tony a better understanding of what European Sportsman drag racing is like for a competitor. We also knew that Super Gas would be no problem and would be Tony’s strongest class as the Super Gas rules are the same in the USA, and we also figured that with no electronics allowed in Pro ET Tony would have the opportunity to experiment with the set-up, running flat-out every time without wasting valuable qualifying runs in Super Gas. "Tony brought with him a BLP gasoline carb to bolt straight on the Monza, and after some tweaking and jet changes it settled down to work very well. The throttle stop also needed figuring out as Ashley Bell, the previous owner, had not used it. When the dust had settled Tony had procured #1 spot in Pro ET qualifying, a creditable achievement for sure, and eighteenth in Super Gas. At this stage I was scratching my head a little as Tony was in and amongst everyone in the class in which I thought he would excel and was almost dead-on in Pro ET. Come race day Tony was on the trailer in the first round of Pro ET, it happens. Super Gas was another matter and went closer to my prediction. Tony made steady progress carving through the field and all the way to the final where in an incredible close race multiple event winner and National Champion Frank Mason nipped in with a 9.901, wow! "Tony was kept extremely busy by other racers who took full advantage in consulting a very experienced and knowledgeable NHRA Super Comp National Event player about carb set-ups, throttle stops, timers, chassis tuning, fuel - you name it, they asked it. Although still jet lagged Tony had time for everyone and I feel sure that his visit will have left a lasting impression on Sportsman racing in Europe. Tony also took the opportunity to visit his parents Roy and Sue who live nearby, his sister Andréa flew in from Germany, it was a real family affair. Tony flew back Tuesday and was back at work Wednesday, ouch! Tony would like to pass on his thanks to Darren Barthell, who looked after the Monza all weekend. "I wanted for nothing, Darren is a real asset to Paul Marston Racing", said Tony. "I would like thank the fantastic crew who all played their part at the FIA Main Event. Gary Springford for all he did over the weekend and the week prior to the event, we could not do it without you mate. Anthony Middleton, for all your stats work and liaison, you are a star, the BBQ was good too! Michael Pusey for being the most experienced crewman we have, he knows precisely what needs doing every time. Sefton and Lizz for being great crew and friends, you are welcome every and anytime. Dave Gibbons just because you are a real gentleman who knows more about altereds than anyone I know. Mark Garden for bringing up the spare Powerglide for Grumpy from Drag Race Engineering at a moment's notice on Saturday then staying to crew, changing all his weekend plans to help out. That’s hard core! "Thanks to everyone at Santa Pod Raceway for staging such a great event, it was a pleasure to compete. An extra special Thank You to Paula Marshall of Santa Pod Racers Club for all the work she put in to ensure that Tony our guest from the USA had all the credentials and licences he needed in order to compete. Thank Yous must also go out to all the fans who stopped by to say hello, especially ex-Passenger Ride victims and Drag Racing School Drivers. I must apologise for not having the PT Bruiser out at the Main Event: I really miss driving it and did not really realize how many people come just to see it run. I will now be making an extra special effort to get the Bruiser back out just as soon as I can. "Lastly to all our sponsors, fans and supporters, Thank You for all your words of encouragement and good wishes, and for being respectful in leaving us to get on with the job when we were at times up against it on Friday and Saturday. Finally we would like to wish Ashley Bell a full, speedy and infection-free recovery." Nelson on dialling-in. 5th June: UK Sportsman ET racer Dave Nelson says that he made a nervous entry to the FIA Main Event after experiencing several problems with scrutineering with his Crooked Scheemer at the Easter Thunderball. "The scrutineers passed us for the Main Event with no issues", says Dave. "Our first run was a bit disappointing; halfway down the track the engine died, and flames could be seen flickering around the scoop. Many thanks for the concern from the fire crews, who (unknown to me) came darting out only for me to disappear off to the pits without stopping. After seeking advice from other racers at the track - Steve Talbot is one I can remember off top of my head - we decided that we, as inexperienced racers, had let the nitrous bottle run out! With no time to get it filled between rounds of qualifying, I decided to put in two runs without the nitrous, one 14.73 and one 14.75, leading me to conclude that we should stay off the bottle, and dial in a 14.70. The next run was a 14.76, and saw us into the top five qualifiers. Overnight weather conditions changed, leaving us stumped about what to dial in, and we dropped to number seven. ©Eurodragster.com "We entered round one of eliminations feeling very doubtful that we stood any chance of getting through against Sandie Gibb who was number two qualifier, but I consoled myself with the fact that when we went out we could go watch the racing with a few beers. But Sandie had a slight issue with the car leading to her rolling out of stage and handing me the win, and as luck would have it a bye into the semi finals. Again conditions changed and again with little experience we were unsure what to set as a dial-in. We used the bye run to try to get an idea, and I also recognised that my reaction times were nowhere near good enough so we decided to try something different where the red light would not matter. At the end of the run we had a rough dial dial-in in of 14.7, which seemed correct when compared with the numbers from the first day and the weather conditions, and a definite improvement to our reaction, with a 0.025 light. "So into the semi against Rick Denny, a very consistent racer who had been bang on with reactions and dial in throughout. I knew I had to pull a good light, and tried too hard putting a cherry on the Tree. Not only that but breaking out by about three tenths of a second (We all do it - Ed)! The car certainly pulled quicker all the way up the track, leading to a new off the bottle personal best of a 14.3/93. So while slightly disappointed by my numerous mess-ups, I was dead chuffed with the run. "I would like to thank my crew who did a sterling job all weekend, the other racers at the track especially the Sportsman ET racers, in particular Tanya Partirdge and her crew, Petch, and Martin Lewis. I had always recognised the camaraderie in the pits, but it's even more eye-opening when you're racing. Thanks also to all the fans who showed their support, with one guy even telling me he had been cheering for me from the bank in the semi!" Web site updates. 5th June: The official web site of Sweden's Andréasson Motorsports Top Methanol FC team has been updated with FIA Main Event reports, pictures and results and the latest FIA Championship points standings. Check it out at www.andreassonmotorsports.com. ©Eurodragster.com The Team section of the European Pro Mod Association web site at www.promod.nu has been updated with information about new EPMA member, Finland's Marko Lantto and his blown Corvette. Smax: You're the best! 4th June: Ex-pat UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Smax Smith has one message for his fans after last week's FIA Main Event: "You are the best!". "We had dedicated the Main Event to the memory of Dave Elden our top clutch technician who we lost this year, and I feel sure his spirit was around us", says Smax. "I felt a million dollars receiving so much support from the UK fans and racers who all seemed genuinely glad that I made the trip back from Canada to race the weekend. We had a new car and team and we were all so relaxed and happy, and had great fun all weekend - not one argument, not bad for Top Fuel! "Stuart and Rich McDonald, the car owners, had done an impeccable job of preparing the car and each team member knew their job. Apart from owning, building and tuning the car Stuart trained new guy Mark on the bottom end. Rich meanwhile did the clutch and Robin and Tet did the heads with Steve. The other Steve was in charge of headwork and his fabricating skills were mega impressive. Sarah, Ferret, Kirsty and Deborah were doing designated tasks from making tea and butties to hand-making wheel spacers, pedals and brackets. Well done guys - you were awesome. Stu and Rich say a big thanks too! "We had decided to do a 300 foot squirt with our old blower to open up qualifying, and we were so happy that the car was straight, no shake, all cylinders lit and so clean. The second session was a half pass, again perfect, so we then put on our good blower to make up the power. A nice burnout and staging job then bummer - the lights failed! We had to shut off and go back to pits to turn car round in half an hour. We changed the oil, topped up the nitro and reset the clutch, but with four-disc and no clutch cooler we were unsure that things were OK. Back to the track, we burned out and staged with Thomas and the Batmobile but we only went eighty feet and had a horrendous clutch explosion. Luckily I caught the motor and saved it before it over revved and did damage but Thomas and his five-disk clutch clocked an amazing 4.87 "In hindsight we should have sat out that session and gone for the fouth. As it transpired we had a spare clutch but it was not built so we missed the fourth session. It was awful waiting for the outcome as all of Knut's cars were behind our half-pass 6.6 and with top tuner Al Jackson over there we felt sure we would get bumped. However after various woes we ended up qualified seventh - great result. Then came the thrash! All the team did an all-nighter preparing the car and did a great job to make the first round. Big thanks here to Peter Schöfer who helped to repair the clutch fork, cross shaft and one lifter, thanks also to Peter Knight for the loan of his clutch can and to Andy Robinson for tagging the can, all at such short notice but to the line we went! ©Eurodragster.com "The car sounded awesome and clean in the first round. Did the burnout, got reverse OK, backed up then I couldn't get forward. After trying like mad we had to switch off and watch Tommy Möller idle down the track for the win. Towing the car back to the pits all the fans were clapping and cheering for us feeling our disappointment. We were gutted as we were positive we would have run a four, but drag racing is full of what ifs! "Congrats go to Lex who did a fine job all weekend, I was scared for him at one point when his car was way up in the air, as I charged past him I had no idea how it would all end. I helped organise getting the Pod demo car's A-arms and Jon Webster to help Lex get sorted - it was the least I could do as his sponsor MPM Oils came on board at last minute to supply our oil for the weekend. Thanks to Michel van Wilgen and to Eurodragster for the plea! "On the positive side we qualified and went home in one piece, pleased a lot of fans and racers, cemented well with the team and learnt loads. My arm was aching signing autographs and body parts! We need to work on raising money for the finals but hopefully we will be supporting the Bulldog Bash on the weekend of 12th August. That just leaves me to thank the Bulldog gang, especially Dicko and Sarah, for believing in me and sponsoring us for the Main Event, also Ben from 1st Stop Body Shop, the new FastCo UK guy, Antony from G Max Fuels, Ribble Technology, MPM Oil, and Eurodragster. Big thanks to Stu and Rich McDonald for asking me to drive for them, and to all the loyal fans and racers who supported us. I'm sure we are one of the few teams who get along with all the Top Fuel guys and feel like we are all friends. 'Til the next race, stay safe and happy." The best seat in the house. 4th June: With Mark and Ann Flavell off for a long-awaited twenty fifth wedding anniversary (having spent the previous twenty four at Santa Pod), Crew Chief Craig Owen was let loose in the MFR Super Pro ET dragster at last week's FIA Main Event. Craig had a successful competitive d&eacutre;but, clocking bests of 7.508 second and 178.56 mph. "With just a quick squirt at York and a rained-out Peak Performance Day, coming to the Main Event with no track time was a bit daunting", says Craig. "I had more than enough encouragement and support from my wife Joanne and the backing of (not so big) Steve Metcalfe, my Crew Chief, Mark, Mal and Sam the buggy man. ©Eurodragster.com "I was first down the track on Friday morning thanks to Ian Marshall and Darren Prentice. The sixty foot was nerve-wracking, the eighth was like being shot out of a cannon, and my first full pass was amazing, running 7.91/163.65. With two runs on Saturday it was then farewell to Mark and Ann as they headed off to St Lucia. I qualified tenth and drew Ashley Bell in the first round of eliminations, sadly he could not race due to his accident. All of us at MFR wish Ash a quick recovery. Round two was against Pat Talbot. Luck was with me, Pat pulled a red light. The MFR dragster performed well all weekend, sadly I lost to Gary Malin in round three, but hey what a weekend. "Twenty years of crewing for Mark gave you a good idea of what was going on in the car, but to do it is something else. I was overwhelmed by the support and wishes from my fellow racers and crew. Many thanks to you all. My biggest thanks, though, must go to Mark and Ann for the best seat in the house. Thank You!" Nothing falls off, win £75. 4th June: UK Super Gas and Pro ET racer Ron Bartlett writes to thank Eurodragster.com and Speedflow for his £75 Perfect Light Award which he won in qualifying last weekend. "When I was flagged down in the shutdown area and was told "We have just had a message from the start line" I thought "Oh no, what's fell off it this time"!", says Ron ."Then was told what I had done - it was great, and contrary to what John and Tom Atkinson said my finger did not slip off the transbrake button! Running two classes was a bit hectic, I made eighteen runs and ran a new Personal Best of 9.607. ©Eurodragster.com "I would like to thank my Crew Chief Simon and Tush for their help, Kaz (Simon's wife) for keeping me fed and watered, and Nathalie, Hollie and Kirstie (Simon's little ankle biters) for the entertainment! "The car's rear set-up as been changed to stop it twisting off the line - I know it's not so photogenic but it now means I can put more power through it. Thanks to Frank of Frank's Autos (01926 624818) and Andy for getting it ready in time, and thanks to everybody at the 'Pod for a great weekend. See you all at Shakey." Thanks all round. 4th June: FIA Main Event Super Street finalist Paul Spiers has been in touch to thank fellow racers Nick Griffin, Jack Brewster and fellow Team Lawbreaker member Nick 'Nail It' Curtis, all Dorset racers, for their encorgement and support in the past months to preapare the car for the 2005 season. "They enabled me to have a competitive car to reach the final round", says Paul. "Special thanks to Jack Brewster for selling me the ex-Just Mustard car, and for the hours of effort to rebuild the car to my specification. Special thanks to Nick Curtis for the blood, sweat and tears in preaparing and painting the best paint job I have ever seen, and also special thanks to Nick Griffin for his time and technical knowlege in setting the engine up. ©Eurodragster.com "I was very suprised to be in the final on Monday. Lady Luck was definitely with me as I snapped a top rod end against John Grant, as the car was still moving forward I kept my toe down until I passed the finish line. "Thanks to all the racers for some great close rounds. Although this is my first season in drag racing, everyone has made me feel very welcome and I would like to thank them. Thanks also to John Grant for giving me some carbon dioxide for my empty air shift." It's all happening off-track... 4th June: 2004 UK National Super Street Champion Mike Bentley had an eventful Main Event weekend, but he tells us that most of the action happened off-track. "We set off in good time", says Mike. "Ten miles from home on the M55 the bus' big ends started knocking. I pulled onto the hard shoulder where it seized up solid! I phoned the RAC and started ringing round everyone I knew to organise another way to get to the Pod. Shaun Wilson of the Hot Rod Gazette stood up to be counted and came up trumps above and beyond the call of duty; he loaned me his people carrier, collected the trailer, and met me back at home - top guy. We set off again, arriving at Pod at 00:30 on Friday. Dave (Crew Chief) slept in the van at the pit entrance and I took up my squatters rights in Dave Cherrett's trailer, thanks Dave. "Next morning straight into tech inspection, we missed the first session of qualifying whilst still working on the car. After all the qualifying sessions we ended up #5 with the car not as it should be, but with plenty of data under our belts. The only fly in the ointment was that as Dave was driving the borrowed tow vehicle through the pits a very young girl, I believe the daughter of a Top Fuel Bike racer, decided to park her moped under the moving vehicle smashing the bumper, indicator and lower valance. Luckily for her, after a check-over from the medics she got the all-clear and her father assured us that he would come and see us and pay for the damage caused. A quick chat amongst the bike pits and apparently this young girl had been, to quote one team member, "An accident waiting to happen, she's been racing up and down since they arrived". I found this hard to believe because on everybody's final instructions it clearly states that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. Well as we were out in round two we decided to pay a visit to the bike pits and collect the money owed...you've guessed it, no sign of the team bus and no sign of daddy! "Having to take the borrowed vehicle back to Shaun in this condition was not a moment I was looking forward to, and even less was I looking forward to paying for the damage out of my own pocket. The bottle of Jack Daniels helped to smooth things over with Shaun, as well as my assurance that I would meet the cost of the repairs." Dutch Championship ready to go. 4th June: The Dutch Championship season starts on 11th-12th June with the eXplosion Drachten Nationals which has attracted nearly 190 entries, writes Henriette Selles. "You can view the entry list at www.explosiondragracing.com/D1-2005.htm", says Henriette. "Teams from Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy will make their way back to the temporary race track in the Netherlands. If you are interested in crossing the Pond then advance tickets are available at www.lexjoonracing.nl/kk_300000.html. "The next event will be the MPM Internationals on 15th-17th July. Teams can register at www.explosiondragracing.com/inschrijven.htm, don't miss out on the opportunity to experience the Dutch way of drag racing!" Second WRE Test Day beckons. 4th June: The next Webster Race Engineering Test Day takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on Friday 24th June, allowing racers a dedicated day of testing immediately before the SPRC Summernationals which take place on 25th-26th June. Webster Race Engineering Test Days feature a track prepped to event standard as well as full marshal and safety cover. Catering is also available on-site throughout the day. The track is open betweeen approximately 10:00 and 17:00 with a half-hour break for lunch. ©Eurodragster.com Entries will be accepted up to four days before the Test Day; after this deadline an additional £25 late entry fee will be payable if entry is accepted. You can download the official WRE Test Days entry form (Word format) by clicking here. For more details about the Test Days, call Webster Race Engineering on 01933 315236 or check out the WRE web site at www.webster-race-engineering.co.uk. Swift snippets. 4th June: UK Outlaw Anglia racer Bob Hancox has been in touch to ask if any Eurodragster.com reader can help with the repair of two wheels damaged when his Runaway Prefect crashed at Shakespeare County Raceway. "The wheels need welding up then turning back down", says Bob. "They are only scuffed on the edge. I can't find anyone to do the job for less than a phone number figure, as we run on a tight budget we need some help. We also need to thank everyone for their help so far - more information is coming soon". If you can help Bob then please drop him a line at runawaydragteam@aol.com. UK Nostalgia Top Fuel racer Johnny Hall tells us that he is putting together a European Digger Page for the B+J Nostalgia web site at www.bjnostalgia.com and would be pleased to hear from anyone with a front-engined dragster who would like it included on the page. "The page is all about preserving existing cars by knowing who the current owners are and not letting them fade away as so many already have", says Johnny Mental. "All cars are welcome including four-banger, six-banger, oddballs or whatever - if it is an FED then it can go on, even cars currently being built are welcome. A photo and a little bit of history would help". You can contact Johnny at jonmental@aol.com. Dan at UK 9.50 Bike team Clarence Racing has asked us to say Thank You on Steve Gwatkin's behalf to all of the 9.50 Bike riders who offered their help and advice to what was a memorable first meeting at Pod. "Owing to a last minute glitch, Gwatty was faced with the daunting task of heading to Pod by himself for his first qualifying runs", says Dan. "Special thanks to Steve Ashby and his son Adam. We are at the moment lengthening and lowering the bike. And yes we have got shot of that bloody alarm! You can find the newly-updated Clarence Racing web site at www.clarenceracing.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com UK Pro ET racer Carla Pittau has asked us to add a big Thank You to Harrison Brown to those in her Pro ET review on the last news update. No sooner said than done, Carla. Huge thanks to the 53,565 visitors who viewed our American Car Imports-sponsored Event Coverage from the FIA European Finals. Thanks also to the 91,079 who viewed the Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam. We're sure that everyone will join us in thanking American Car Imports, Webster Race Engineering and MPM Oil for their support of our coverage. A quality weekend. 4th June: A top quality drag racing weekend was had by all at the FIA Main Event, says Ross Spencer of the UK's Inzane Racing Sportsman ET team. "The weather was hot, then windy, then hot, then windy again", says Ross. "These conditions played havoc with everybone's dial-ins, and many people found themselves scratching their heads as to what to scribble on the back of the car next. "Over in the Sportsman ET camp, everything was much as it always is. Many of the characters who normally appear had in fact, well, appeared and there was much laughter and amusement. Congratulations to Rick Denny on his win at the event. Nick Gay is continuing to enjoy the high life by getting through to the final for the second event on the trot, so well done to you as well mate. Other interesting happenings down in the pits were Jon Turner's surprise at getting through to the semi finals, shortly before the shock wore off and he realised that this unexpected extra journey time had resulted in a shortfall in the amount of fuel present in his tank. That'll teach you to not be optimistic, Jon. Ian 'Petch' Petrie's wheels had also fallen off, almost literally, when scrutineering spotted the rather oversized wheel nut holes. But it all came good in the end, doesn't it always? ©Eurodragster.com "One last, very well deserved, Congratulations must go to Dave Nelson, Animal and the crew of the Crooked Scheemer slingshot. They made it through to the semi finals of what was really their first full event, good going lads (You'll be able to read Dave's take on events in the next news update - Ed)! We were not so fortunate in this event, only making it as far as round one before a very clever drive by Rick Denny sent us packing. But hey, we've had a blinding run so far this season, and in every bowl of custard, a few lumps must appear, eh? Thanks to all of you who turned out, both racers and spectators. Hope to see you next time." Speed TV schedule. 4th June: Many thanks to FIA Championship Co-ordinator Kjell Pettersson for passing on the schedule for broadcasts of the 2004 FIA and FIM/UEM European and NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Championships on the US' Speed TV. The first six programmes have passed, but the rest of the schedule is as follows: ©Eurodragster.com Alastaro Top Fuel Bike/Pro Stock Bike Friday 29th July 4.00 pm Alastaro Supertwin/Pro Mod Friday 29th July 4.30 pm Mantorp Park Top Fuel Dragster/Pro Stock Friday 29th July 5:00 pm Mantorp Park Top Methanol Friday 29th July 5:30 pm Mantorp Park Top Fuel Bike/Pro Stock Bike Thursday 4th August 3:00 pm Mantorp Park Supertwin/Pro Mod Thursday 4th August 3:30 pm Gardermoen Top Fuel/Pro Stock Thursday 4th August 4:00 pm Gardermoen Top Methanol Thursday 4th August 4:30 pm Gardermoen Top Fuel Bike/Pro Stock Bike Thursday 4th August 5:00 pm Gardermoen Supertwin/Pro Mod Thursday 4th August 5:30 pm Hockenheim Top Fuel/Pro Stock Friday 26th August 6:00 pm Hockenheim Top Methanol Friday 26th August 6:30 pm Hockenheim Top Fuel Bike/Pro Stock Bike Friday 26th August 6:00 pm Hockenheim Supertwin/Pro Mod Friday 2nd September 2:30 pm Santa Pod Top Fuel/Pro Stock Friday 9th September 6:00 pm Santa Pod Top Methanol Friday 9th September 6:30 pm Santa Pod Top Fuel Bike/Pro Stock Bike Friday 16th September 8:00 pm Santa Pod Supertwin/Pro Mod Friday 16th September 8:30 pm You can stay in touch with any schedule alterations on the Speed TV web site at www.speedtv.com. Eastern promise fulfilled. 4th June: Not only were several European records set on track during last weekend’s Rotorstock Street Fighters Shootout for Japanese cars but the organisers of the ultimate Far East performance festival, the Mazda Rotary Club have hailed the weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway as an unqualified success, writes SCR Press Officer Jerry Cookson. "What a fantastic weekend", said chairman of the MRC Glenn Butcher after the event. "Japanese vehicles are a huge force to be reckoned with, and with over 10,000 people through the gate over the two days, and around 850 cars involved in the drag racing, drifting, displays and the use of the mobile dyno, we can proudly say Rotorstock II was a complete success." The MRC are also pleased with the turnout of rotary powered cars and bikes, all 160 of them making the festival the largest rotary gathering in Europe. "It was wonderful to see so many Mazda’s running down the drag strip and people attending the event from as far away as Germany", added Glenn. "There was also a tremendous amount of media press and TV coverage from all three national magazines (Japanese Performance, J-Tuner and Banzai) as well as a TV crew from Men and Motors, Neweramedia, SCR’s own crew from Powerpoint Communications, together with a few private TV companies taking footage of the event." The Japanese Performance Street Fighter Shootout will become one of the most memorable finals staged so far and was far from the walk over that many people presumed it would be with Adrian Smith’s Fensport Corolla beating Keith Cowie’s monster European record breaking FWD Skyline (9.385/158.32) away from the line. Leaving Keith to play catch up, and with the crowd standing in anticipation, the Nissan to managed to dip passed the Toyota on the line proving that in real drag racing the outcome is never ever certain. Perhaps now that overall world record of 8.5s at 166 mph for a R32 GTR on street tyres held by a New Zealander isn’t that far away! Also Keith’s RB Motorsport-backed Nissan picked up the Most Outstanding Award too. Also setting records of European importance was Ross Juniper’s Mazda RX-7 FD. Tuned by specialists Dragon Performance his 10.435 at 138.35 mph blast puts Ross in the record books as the quickest and fastest rotary powered car in the EEC. "With so much going for the event, Rotorstock III has already been booked for 28th/29th May 2006 again at Shakespeare County Raceway, and without the helpful and friendly guys and gals who run and operate the raceway together with all the great members of the MRC this event wouldn’t have been the success it has been", concluded Glenn. ©Eurodragster.com The return of the H2. 4th June: Sharron Collier of UK Comp Bike team Jade Racing tells us that Jerry Collier and the team had a fantastic long weekend testing the Kawasaki H2 at Shakespeare County Raceway at the weekend. "We arrived on Friday and got home on Tuesday evening!", says Sharron. "The object of the weekend was to do some gentle passes on the H2 testing various new stuff put on since last year, also for Scott to get in some practice at towing Jerry back from the top end as our pit ped's engine is now firmly fixed in his Junior Drag Bike. We were really pleased with the way things went. Jerry ran 8.61 with just a sniff of gas, which makes us optimistic for the seven second pass we are after - only one H2 in the world has run a seven. We had a small seizure on cylinder number two but we fixed it on Sunday evening after Jerry drove home to get the sulphuric acid! The H2 ran another 8.6 on Monday, so all was well. ©Eurodragster.com "Thanks to our crew, 'Uncle Sean' McDade and Rick 'bald but fast' Davies, as we managed to juggle crewing and babysitting Skye between the three of us! We would like to say a huge Thank You to Wendy and team, Ozzy, all the marshals, and Lee Child for putting on a great event. It was a street car club weekend, which was well organised and supervised. Anyone who moans there's not enough track time at Shakey should try turning up occassionally! Despite it being a very busy weekend we had no trouble getting in all the runs we needed. The track was very well prepared, and although we were running behind street vehicles, Jerry found no problem getting grip. Shakespeare County is and always has been a very good track, Jerry has set three world records there and we will continue to give the track and crew our full support. Thanks again guys and girls, we had a great time!" Joon in dreamland. 2nd June: FIA Main Event Top Fuel Dragster winner and current FIA Championship leader Lex Joon says that his victory on Monday still seems like a dream. "We were so busy turning the car around that we didn't have time to think about what we were doing", he says. "You know you can do it, but when it happens you still can't believe it." A news item from Lex's Crew Chief Eddie Corr on Eurodragster.com last week stayed with Lex throughout the race. This was Eddie's first race in attendance with the MPM Oil-sponsored team, as commitments in his day job kept Eddie at the end of a phone line at the Easter Thunderball. "All through the weekend, your headline on Eurodragster saying "Corr: We're here to win" was going through my mind", says Lex. "Eddie does his job, I do mine and it turned out that we worked together really well. I knew that Eddie was really clever, but I didn't know what to expect in the race envionment. Eddie is a real fine person to work with. He told me afterwards "I had a great time, we have a great crew, and you are driving really well and you gave me all the information I needed"." The MPM team had a particularly hard time of it on Sunday night, but Lex's crew came through for him. "We worked all night on Sunday", says Lex. "The crew didn't sleep at all and I only slept for a couple of hours for the sake of my reaction times. I surprised the crew because we finished at midnight on Sunday and then I said to them "OK, now we have to prepare the parts for three rounds". They worked through the night and the TV crew stayed up with them - they had the time of their lives because we gave them a lot to film. I asked one of the crew to prepare a spare set of wheels and slicks, and another to prepare three sets of pistons. On Monday one of the slicks lost a chunk and we needed all three sets of pistons. One of crew guys said "How did you know?" and another said "Now I know why we have to do that!". So I have a great Crew Chief, a good car, a good crew and good sponsors, and we have made a big step forward." ©Eurodragster.com Lex squared up to fellow Eurodragster.com webcam sponsor Jon Webster in Monday's Top Fuel final. Jon had contributed to Lex's successful weekend when he worked into the small hours on Saturday night repairing the front end of the MPM dragster after its huge wheelie in the second round of qualifying. "We joked with Jon about running together in the final", says Lex. "I said to him "If you get to the final I'll give you a freebie because you helped me!". When he won the semi-final I thought "Oh no!". Before the final I went up to Jon and said "Here we are then, do you want your freebie now?". Jon said "No, I want to race!" and I replied "You bet, I want to race too!". If we had lost then it would have been no problem because the guy deserved to win. I always had a soft spot for Jon and the further his team went the more pleased I was. Jon is something else, a real credit to the class." The MPM team have an appearance at Drachten before heading to Finland for the next round of the FIA European Championship at Alastaro. "I think of this this way: there are only twelve rounds of competition left this year and we are in a good position", says Lex. "The car didn't perform as well as it could, but it will do." Pels' weekend. 2nd June: Monique Pels has been in touch with a report of 2004 FIM/UEM Supertwin Champion Ton Pels' weekend at the FIA Main Event. "Ton and son and Crew Chief Vincent decided to take small steps in tuning the new fuel system during qualifying", says Monique. "This worked fine because with each run they improved their ETs by one tenth of a second, resulting in the #2 spot at 6.80/201. In the last qualifying session the clutch broke and Ton went to Frank Brachtvogel's workshop - thanks a lot Frank! - to fix it, whilst Vincent stayed at the track doing the rest of the maintenance on the bike. It took a while and they had to burn the midnight oil but as a result the bike was race ready around 2:30 am. "In the first round on Monday Ton took on Germany's Joachim Riemer. Unfortunately the track seemed to have lost some of its traction and Ton's tyre went up in smoke causing the bike to drift towards the centerline. He had to get off the throttle to avoid hitting one of the reflectors and he was out. This made for a very disappointing start of the season for the Zodiac team: Round Elapsed Time Speed Result Comments Qualifying 1 7.114 189.85 mph 305.47 kmh #2 of 8 Straight pass. Engine was running too lean Qualifying 2 7.015 195.65 mph 314.80 kmh #1 of 9 Nice straight pass again. Still a bit too lean, but mainly it needs more clutch. Qualifying 3 6.909 200.79 mph 323.07 kmh #2 of 9 Solid pass. Need to step up a little for next qualifying session. Qualifying 4 6.800 200.97 mph 323.37 kmh #2 of 10 Improved one tenth again but broke the clutch. Just missed the pole. Quarter final 7.329 178.01 mph 286.42 kmh LOST Smoked the tyre, drifting the bike to the centre line. Ton had to get off the throttle and lost to Joachim Riemer's 7.316. "On a positive note: last year's result at the Main Event was exactly the same for Ton and he still managed to become European Champion after that, so the team is very much looking forward to round two in Finland to make up for this. "The team would like to congratulate Svein-Olav Rolfstad from Norway with the event win and express their thanks to their sponsors Zodiac, Supertrapp, Accel, Spectro, Vanson and Performance Machine Inc." ©Eurodragster.com Gibbs happy for Eldred. 2nd June: FIA Main Event Super Pro ET runner-up Vince Gibbs has been in touch to thank the Sanity Assassin team and his close buddy, car owner and builder Ray Eldred. "I was very proud to be a member of the team which helped to collect Ray's first trophy after several years of racing in Pro ET and Super Pro", says Vince. "The car is super consistent and Ray's skill of dialling in his car to within a few hundredths was a big contribution to our runner up position. As the driver all I need to do is let go of the transbrake button at the right time and then hold on, the car and the dial in do the rest." ©Eurodragster.com Vince last contested in a National Championship during the years of Street Rover. "After moving up North for twelve years it was great to be driving at the Main Event at Santa Pod", says Vince. "The whole of the banking and the grandstand were completely full, and from the perspective of a driver that's an awesome sight. This was also the first time - but not the last time, so watch out! - that I have stood on the podium and collected a trophy at Santa Pod. Looking at all the people on the start line giving me applause was a great feeling." Racing as a bonus. 2nd June: Dave Friend of the UK's Jones and Friend Comp Bike team says Monday's eliminations at the FIA Main Event was an unexpected bonus. "Our intentions were to use the meeting for testing to sort out the two-step and get the slider clutch set up, so that Gary can actually launch the bike rather than ride it off the line, as he has been doing so we would be even more competetive for the National Championship", says Dave. "After a very blustery first run, with the info gained, we made a few little adjustments and our weekend just got better and better. With a personal best for the team of 7.604/174 and with some luck we won a place in the semi finals against Steve Woollatt. Although we lost, we got more data to help our development of our EFI turbo system so we are looking for even more personal bests at the next two meetings this month. ©Eurodragster.com "Thanks to super crew Eric and Arron and to everyone who dropped by our pit to gives us encouragement. Congratulations to Graham Dance and Ian King on solid performances at this meeting. Also a big thank you to all the Santa Pod personnel for making it such a brilliant weekend, and to Keith Bartlett for the continued improvements at Santa Pod, it was so much easier to get around the pits etc. and there was also a lot less dust blowing around. "Big thanks to our sponsors Extreme Electrical Ltd, Universal Turbos, BEK Wholesale, Worldwide Bearings USA, Mistral Engineering, and Ian Carver." Curtis bares rear end. 2nd June: UK Super Street racer Twistin' Nick Curtis' weekend was curtailed by a broken rear end but he still found a lot to enjoy including team-member Paul Spiers' final-round appearance. "What a fantastic meeting", says Nick. "Great weather, great racing, and the pits are sorted. A big Well Done to fellow Team Lawbreaker Paul on getting all the way to the final in only his third event. Paul told me that on that last run he felt something break, which turned out to be the rose joint on the four link. But being a Lawbreaker kept his foot in it all the way...to bad about the red light though. Well done to John Grant on a nice win. ©Eurodragster.com "As for myself, the Chevy went great with five runs on Friday, but Saturday morning on run number six - bang went the back end and stripped all the gears. I wish I had a pound for every photo taken of the damage. If anyone or any company can help out with some sponsorship so that I can get back racing that would be great. Please E-Mail chevy4682002@yahoo.com and get your name on the maddest-launching car out there..." Swift snippets. 2nd June: Santa Pod Raceway are seeking race vehicles to make demonstration passes at Sunday's (5th June) Performance Vauxhall Show. "The PVS is one of the most popular one-day events at the Pod, and the drag racing demos are always a massive hit", says Rick Cuthbert of Trakbak Racing. "Any racer with a Vauxhall or GM-group car will be more than welcome to attend. Please drop Sarah a line sarah@santapod.com or call 01234 782828. Free entry and sign-on is available if you have the right sort of car." UK Funny Bike racer Sarah Jane Head has been in touch to thank everyone who contributed to her Air Ambulance collection at the FIA Main Event. "I collected just over £500", says Scary. "I collected £731 at the Easter Thunderball and Paula Marshall told me that SPRC were going to make that up to £1000. So up to now we have managed to get just over £1500. It would be nice to collect £3000, so we are half way there. I will be collecting at the Summernationals and the European Finals, which is when the money will be handed over to the Air ambulance, so please keep giving as they are needed." ©Eurodragster.com UK Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy Robinson had a great weekend at the Main Event, says Bob Roberts. "The car ran two tenths and six mph faster than ever before, and without any apparent damage to the new engine", says Bob. "It was a steep learning curve running an alcohol engine in competition, and we were grateful for some oildowns which gave us a bit more time between rounds. I took advantage of being in the ARRC pit all weekend to take some pictures and movies which I've built into a storyboard, which can be found under Current Racing at www.robinson-race-cars.co.uk. Main Event Sportsman ET winner Rick Denny has been in touch to thank Al and Linda Platt, Darren Hulkes and Maz for helping to push his car, allowing him to run it much cooler resulting in his quickest- and fastest-ever times with a best of 13.09/101.59. "Thanks also to Chris at WASP (01945 588091) for his support", says Rick. "I must also mention the Santa Pod crew, as the track was great and their clean-up work on Friday resulted in our getting all of our five qualifiers even after all the stoppages." Many thanks to FIA Championship Co-ordinator Kjell Pettersson for sending us the post-FIA Main Event points standings, which you can view by clicking here (PDF format). Squadron Leader Clive Rowley of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, who made an appearance at Santa Pod Raceway on Monday, says that he got the impression from the air that everyone on the ground enjoyed the flypast of the Lancaster and two Spitfires. "If anyone would like to send comments on the flypast then please E-Mail me at rowleyc@coningsby.raf.mod.uk", says Squadron Leader Rowley. Koedam Racing Main Event review. 2nd June: 2004 FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike Champion, Holland's Roel Koedam started the FIA Main Event well, opening his account with a 6.4-second pass, but a broken piston put him out of competition. Crew Chief Marius van der Zijden has been in touch with a review of the team's weekend: In the days before the event we worked around the clock to finish the bike. Without forgetting anyone in particular, a special thanks has to go out to Jan Roelofs (Race Service) for finishing the ports and valve seats in the tough new cylinder head inserts and also to Jan Smit for opening his workshop for us on Sunday. The final assembly of the pistons, block and cylinder head took place on Thursday and the bike came to life after its long winter sleep only some four hours before our scheduled departure to England. All sounded well and we could start packing the race trailer and cross “The Pond”. When we arrived at the track the next day, it was good to see some new improvement to the venue like the extended pavement of the pit area and the new staging lanes. The track itself looked superb as ever. As always during our first outing of the year we built it up slowly to get into our rhythm. Therefore our first check out pass was shut-off just after the eighth mile and was a 7.0 second pass. Apart from a small problem with the shift button, everything looked to be A-OK. The new Scott Owens transmission itself worked fine. Our second qualifying attempt would be a little more serious. We kept the nitro percentage low on purpose just to see how the engine would respond to it. This one was clicked off 5.7 seconds in the run, the result was 6.49/198. At that time it was the provisional # 1 qualifying position. At the end of the run there was a small puff of smoke seen from one of the exhaust pipes. No real problem so far, as we intended to take the cylinder head and cylinder block off anyway after the first day just to check it out. The new inserts in the cylinder head looked just fine so far, however one of the new design pistons showed an unexpected problem. The ring land between the second ring and the oil ring was damaged. After some study it emerged that we had made a mistake during the finishing process of the cylinder liners, stopping the top compression ring sealing. The other three pistons looked better then we have seen for a long long time, so the design looks a major step forward. In order to solve this problem we had to refinish the cylinders, which itself was not an impossible task at the track. But at the same time we needed at least one new piston. Continuing with this piston would definitely end in catastrophic results. We have “Been there, done that and don’t want to be there again”. Because we had no spares, we were forced to withdraw from eliminations. As long as we can remember we have never, ever been in this unfortunate situation with this bike. Not being able to take part on race day was even more of a pity as the conditions (both track and weather) were absolutely picture perfect that day. Who knows how long we might have to wait before we see these conditions again? We are also very sorry if we let anyone down by not being able to make more runs. Our 6.49 pass was good enough to take the points for second qualifying spot. We had never before run with such a low nitro percentage, and still being able to put down this performance tells us that despite the mishap with the cylinder finish we are on the right road. Our next scheduled event should be the second Championship round in Finland. Giving the present situation it might be that we squeeze in an extra test session. ©Eurodragster.com Pro ET Main Event review. 2nd June: We are indebted to UK Pro ET racer Carla Pittau for sending us a review of the weekend's action in Pro ET: Despite having to fight for a small pit space, arriving at Santa Pod for the Main Event was wonderful. Great to see the big improvements in the pits, spectator areas and fire up lanes; the promoters' re-investment policy is obviously continuing and it is extremely pleasing to perceive a strong commitment to making the track more and more professional and really look at the long term benefits of having one of the best facilities (if not the best) in Europe. The crew worked tirelessly as always and delivered a good sticky surface to race on, the organisation was good and we had our share of qualifiers as planned. I also really liked the 'mobile band' playing up and down the track during down times - it makes a welcome change from firing T-shirts onto the crowds! Nothing could go wrong at this point… well unless your car refuses to co-operate. The Heaven and Hell Camaro gave us Hell for most of the day on Friday - the weather was sultry and oppressive and despite trying to dial in the unfavourable conditions our runs were up and down - too slow or too quick in such a dramatic way that John Price declared that whatever we wrote on the back of the car, she would do the opposite. We finally managed to give the thirsty bitch enough fuel on the launch to stop her from coughing and splattering and she settled down enough for us to hit a dead-on with an 8, which miraculously catapulted us from number twenty five or so or so to number three, and ET was subsequently easier to predict. As usual the qualifying in Pro ET was as tough as old boots - with Paul Marston's ex-pat friend Tony Morris jumping in the fray with a +.002, Chris Isaacs hot on his heels with a +.003, yours truly with +.008 followed in the same session by Spencer Tramm's own +.008 and +.009 by John Atkinson and Wayne Hiscock. Number one qualifier was however out in the first round compliments of Chris Hodkgins, looking good in his Chevy powered dragster who pulled a good light and broke out the least. Chris's dragster uses a 406ci 'small' block and Powerglide to run 10.50s and although it was running half a second slower at the Main Event, Chris was able to dial it in quite successfully - until Top Banana Lee Huxley put a stop to it all on his way to the final. A mushroom-shaped piston stopped Phil Topping from running, and breakage also unfortunately stopped Bob Doignie and Gino Bernadine, the latter suffering a wrist pin failure. I enjoyed a good first round race with Joe Stevens in the Back in Black altered and emerged the winner, only to lose to John Morris in the second, both of us having slow lights but mine being the worst. Mike Lacey was lucky to pull a red light in the first round, as his diff was on its way out and promptly broke as he was loading the car on the trailer, his first round loss avoiding spillage and more serious damage on the track had he got through to the second round. Mike has now sorted a new axle with Jon Webster's help and will have it in time for the Shakespeare County race. Kevin Slyfield in the Yellow Belly Belvedere was in top form and got past Mike in the first round, proceeding to dispose of Terri Lee in the second and John Morris in the third and being stopped only in the semi-finals by red-lighting against Lee who pulled another of his consistent good lights. Championship leader John Atkinson was doing rather well, achieving a +.009 twice in qualifying and getting past Anthony Wilkins' 55 Chevy in the first round, and although he lost to the unstoppable Lee Huxley in the second round he still keeps his National Championship lead by over 500 points. Nicky Frost's beautiful 468ci-powered Camaro suffered slight damage during qualifying, when a couple of plugs were found to be cracked, requiring a frantic search in the pits and then a trip to pick up replacements which fortunately turned up in time to be fitted and indexed in by the crew, allowing Nicky to only miss two qualifiers and then get past Steve Phillips in the first round, who despite pulling an .015 light could not get his Bee On Edge Superbee to run in the elevens. Nicky continued by disposing of normally invincible Keith Herbert - who still blames us (it's a long story) for the break-out, however omitting to tell us that he had a most unusual long snooze on the start line. Nicky's luck ran out on red-lighting against the ineffable wily old fox Chris Isaacs in his immaculate Standard Vanguard, who got past Malcolm Motler's Spellbound Morris Minor Pickup in the first round, proceeding to do away with Dave Ward's historic Monza funny car in the second, then disposing of Nicky in the third and red-lighting Clive Cox in the semis. Clive, in the very well-presented Joyrider Camaro was back after suffering engine damage at the Thunderball and got all the way to the semis by getting past Terry Spenceley in the first round, Ron Bartlett's well-sorted Sweet FA Anglia in the second and Aidan Kenny's 427ci powered Ford Pop in the third. Ron managed to get a straighter launch out of the Anglia using a new rear end set up which worked well, although everyone missed the wild wheels up launches normally performed by the very pretty little red car. Big stakes in the final round, when the two experienced drivers faced up for the fourth (?) time in ninety five years (Chris says twelve, but I don't believe it) and Chris had to thrash away to replace a broken brake line and made it just in time. An almost perfect light from Chris turned out to have been just two-thousandths of a second too quick and the win was handed to the deserving Top Banana Lee Huxley. Well done to both racers and many thanks to everyone who contributed to make the weekend so enjoyable - last but by no means least to Tog, who despite his recent health problems still worked tirelessly to upload regular updates on Eurodragster - so much so that I received text messages congratulating me for "Coming back from the dead" with the +.008 less than thirty minutes after I actually ran (Thanks Carla, all part of the service - Ed)! Best wishes to all and see you at the next one. Unofficial points standings for the Pro ET class have now been posted on the Pro ET web site at www.pro-et.co.uk and the Heaven and Hell site at www.heavenhellracing.com, but please compare with the official points when published. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 2nd June: Gwynn has updated his excellent Slimboy Fat web site with a number of photographs Sunday's action at the FIA Main Event. Gwynn tells us that he went to the race to spectate, and that he tried to keep the camera in the bag, but we're glad he didn't succeed. Check out Gwynn's pictures at www.pbase.com/slimboyfat/main_event_05. Next up with an FIA Main Event update is Santa Pod Raceway's web site which is now showing a Main Event report and photo gallery and which you can find at www.santapod.com. Our good buddy Erik Zettervall has updated the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se with FIA Main Event results for FIA, FIM/UEM and NDRS classes; FIA, FIM/UEM and NDRS points standings; updated Download section; and an updated Comp Eliminator index page. ©Eurodragster.com The official web site of the European Pro Mod Association has been updated with a link to the entry form for the Meca Nats, whose entry closes on 5th June. Check it out at www.promod.nu. Our good buddy James Hands has decided on a change of direction for his Racing 05 web site and from now on will be concentrating on photography rather than news and interviews. You can find James' site at www.racing04.co.uk. UK Wild Bunch and Pro ET racer-in-waiting Adam Charnley now has his own web site address at www.freewebs.com/cougarracing. "Thanks to James Hands who hosted my site up to now", says Adam. Shakespeare as usual. 1st June: Lee Child of LA Performance Services, who promotes events at Shakespeare County Raceway, has told Eurodragster.com that it is business as usual at SCR for the Shakespeare Nationals, which takes place at the Warwickshire venue on 18th-19th June. Racers' entries will be accepted until next Wednesday, 8th June. The Shakespeare Nationals features a Top Fuel Dragster match race between Darryl Bradford in the Wright Racing Top Fueller and 2004 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter in the B & Q-sponsored Top Fueller. Roger Goring, who set new personal bests at SCR last weekend, is also providing exhibition action in his Firestorm Jet Funny Car. The Shakespeare Nationals is the fourth round of the UK National Drag Racing Championships and the third round of the ACU UK Drag Bike Championships including Top Fuel Bike, as well as a Championship round of the Outlaw Anglia Championship, the Real Steel Series for the Wild Bunch, the National Association of Supertwins, and Junior Drag Bike. Tickets are available now from the LA Performance Services Credit Card Hotline on 01803 550306: ©Eurodragster.com Day Advance Gate Saturday n/a £15 Sunday n/a £20 Two days £26 £30 Advance ticket booking is open until 22:00 UK on Wednesday 15th June. A generous response. 1st June: UK Super Gas racer Matthew Wright has been in touch to thank everyone who contributed to the collection for his close friend Ashley Bell, whose Super Pro ET Cobra suffered a serious fire during Friday's FIA Main Event qualifying. "Everyone was just fantastic" says Matt, who sponsors Eurodragster.com's Home and News pages through Gleeson Wright Security. "We had offers of help from all over and we would like to thank everyone for their help and concern". ©Eurodragster.com Comp Bike racer TJ O'Brien and his partner Pat got together with Matt and organised a collection for Ashley which raised no less than £723 and €20. "Thanks to everyone who donated to Ashley, and thanks to Nitro FM who broadcast an appeal", says Matt. "It was a brilliant joint effort by everyone." Matt says that Ashley will be back with the Cobra very soon. "Andy at South Coast Creations, a fibreglass specialist, is doing the body repairs free of charge", says Matt. "If you need any fibreglass work done then you can talk to Andy on 01303 840901. We'll be back in three weeks!" Dancey's breakout gratitude. 1st June: UK Super Street Bike racer Graham Dance says that he has a few people to thank after the successful début of his new TL1000 SSB at the FIA Main Event, when he ran into the 8.1s in what almost everyone else thought was 9.50 Bike. "First of all the biggest thanks must go to Jon and Sharon Hogarth at Specialists In Design for manufacturing a first-class chassis which runs straight as an arrow, and ran 8.10 on its third-ever pass", says Graham. "I really feel that this combination will get me deep into the sevens with a bit more track time! ©Eurodragster.com "Other people who need my gratitude are Chris Sadd at CS Engineering in Norwich who put up with list after list of extra work needed to get this bike out for last weekend! Also Brad at BTC Moto for wiring and support, Len Paget forever curing problems and still providing great cylinder heads (no matter what other racers may think!), Graham Balchin for data logging help, Sam Birch for always being there for crew duties and keeping my feet on the ground! Last but not least Claire for putting up with me whenever I say 'I just need to quickly do this...' "Now just wait until Trev Langfield at Wizard of Nos gets his new nitrous system on the bike..." That's what friends are for... 1st June: Also in grateful mood is UK Pro ET racer Chris Isaacs who had a thrash to make Monday's FIA Main Event final in his beautiful Standard Vanguard. Luckily Chris found that there were a number of people to whom he could turn for help. "Following our Pro ET semi-final against Clive Cox, I discovered I had very little braking activity in the shutdown area", says Chris. "I made the last turnoff OK, although a bit faster than I might have liked, but a subsequent inspection showed a fractured brake pipe from the master cylinder to the line-lock valve. "At this stage, with the final only minutes away, the Tramm/Isaacs 'cast of thousands' pit crew pitched in to help, and I would particularly like to thank Rachel, George, Ben, and my old mate Steve 'My car will definitely be out this year' Harrington who variously thrashed on the Vanguard or blagged parts from other teams to assist. I would also like to thank Danny Cockerill and Tommy Möller and their teams for brake pipe and a brake flaring tool respectively, all of which enabled us to make the pieces we needed and rebleed the front brakes in record time in order to make the call for the final. ©Eurodragster.com "Unfortunately the team couldn't replace the driver, who cut a two-thousandths red light in the final against Lee Huxley, thus taking the twelve-year Isaacs-Huxley match score to, I think, 3-1. Well done Lee and Brian. Last but not least, thanks to Eurodragster for another sterling reporting job (Thanks! - Ed), and respect to all the FIA and UEM teams for one of the 'cleanest' events I can remember for a long time." FBs' Best weekend. 1st June: Despite being knocked out in the first round of Super Pro ET eliminations, the FIA Main Event was a good meeting for the UK's FB Racing, says Ian Hook. "We went with three items on the agenda; have fun, run an eight and watch some racing for once!", says Fatty. "If we could better our 8.67 Personal Best that would be the icing on the cake. Friday was extremely frustrating with the nitrous system proving to be very temperamental, but on Saturday we fixed the nitrous, watched some racing (love those Pro Mods!) and finished the day with an 8.86, our first eight of 2005. ©Eurodragster.com "Sunday morning was even better when we broke out of our 8.67 dial in with a new best of 8.575! And have fun? Of course we did! "I'd like to say a big thanks to my crew who had to put up with my sulks when we just couldn't get to the bottom of our nitrous problem. They are all stars! We're looking forward to trying to improve on this at the next round of the Real Steel Street Eliminator Championship at Shakespeare County Raceway on 18th-19th June, and perhaps even mixing it with the big horsepower boys a bit." Racers: Keep those FIA Main Event previews coming to news@eurodragster.com and we'll publish them here. Fil's 'Vette half way there. 1st June: Greek Pro Mod racer-elect Filippos Papafilippou tells us that his year is not going exactly as he planned. Click on any link for a picture. "I have a very busy work load, which has made me put drag racing aside a little", says Fil. "My Murray Anderson chassis/Jim Oddy engine Pro Mod Corvette C-5 is at last in the UK and on its way to Neil of Pro-Sign for a new paint scheme. The Drag Warriors Team and I plan to test in Malta during the summer and hopefully come to the FIA European Finals. ©Eurodragster.com "I would like to thank Malcolm Francis and his company Air Sea Logistics for taking care of the shipping from New York to the UK. It wasn’t an easy task since the car was located in Buffalo, which is close to the Canadian border where the Niagara Falls are located. It was even more difficult since the car came to Europe in a 28' Haulmark trailer. I strongly believe that without Malcolm’s help and guidance the car would still have been still in USA. "Malcolm also put me in touch with Greg Ozubko of GOS Motorsport Graphics who designed the paint scheme of Malcolm's marvelous Grand Am. Greg was very co-operative and with his guidance and knowledge, he understood what I really wanted and prepared for me the final paint scheme (right). Malcolm got me also in touch with Neil of Pro-Sign, who will start to paint the car after the Main Event. "I went to stay with the Oddys for ten days in April 2005. It was a nice experience and I tried to learn as much I could about the car. "In Greece we have now finished and developed Luke Ramage’s Nova, and we entered some events in Greece and Cyprus, but we struggled with engine and transmission problems. Hopefully luck will be on our side in the near future." Unhappy Baldie. 1st June: Finnish Funny Bike racer Asko Määttä (right) tells us that he was not completely happy even though he won all of his races at last week's FHRA Spring Nats. "It was a pity we didn't have more contestants", says Asko ."Besides myself there was another Funny Bike and 'Kalix' Kalttonen racing a Top Fuel Harley equipped with a Jaska Salakari-built engine, clutch and technical parts. Kalix wasn't able to make a qualifying pass, so we match-races on Sunday. "Despite winning all my races I am not happy. I had many problems tuning the clutch/engine combination and clutch management system for the start. I had only 1.5- to 1.9-second sixty foot times, normally I run in the 1.1- to 1.2-second zone. I went in the right direction all the time but but I should have made more radical changes. ©Eurodragster.com "Anyway I'm happy that my new Hoosier slick proved to be much much better than the ten-inch MT bike tyre I used last season. The bike was very easy to handle all the way. I'm also satisfied with some of the ETs and speeds I had although using a mild engine set-up. I went from 330 feet to the finish line some three tenths better than before set a new eighth-mile speed of 145 mph. "Thanks to my sponsors: Pro Turbo Systems Oy, AO Jyväskylän ammattiopisto, AO Jyväskylän aikuisopisto, Kopparin Kukka, JMK Jyväskylän Moottoriklubi and Baldie Racing and Media Relationships." NitrolympX update. 1st June: Many thanks to our good friend Peter Calwer for passing us details of this year's NitrolympX at Hockenheim, courtesy of promoter Rico Anthes. For the first time this year, we will have a race for Street Cars and Bikes the weekend before our Big Event, which also includes a Test and Tune session for Sportsman drag racing classes. Even though we have to follow noise restriction of 100 decibels on 13th-14th August, there will be a huge number of cars and bikes running down the drag strip and putting rubber down on our newly-prepared asphalt. The first 220 metres of the Hockenheim quarter mile will be painted with a tarmac primer, which will help the VHT traction compound to stick a lot better to the surface and take the rubber from tyre dragging. Experience from last year had shown that from Friday qualifying to Sunday eliminations the track got better every day. So we feel that with the treatment of the asphalt and the additional five hundred runs the weekend before, we will achieve good traction for our Twentieth NitrOlympX from 19th-21st August. Two NHRA specialists in track preparation and safety will be at Hockenheim during both race weekends, helping to supervise our team who have been servicing the event for the past nineteen years. Welcome European Racers to the Twentieth Jubilee Event at Hockenheim" The following Bike categories will be run at the Hockenheim NitrolympX: UEM European Drag-Bike Championship: Pro Stock Bike Supertwin Top Fuel Bike Super Street Bike (invitational only): Cannonball-style elimination, best out of four runs qualify for the final, lining up the best German SSB riders against the top European Super Street Bike racers: Graham Dance (winner Hockenheim 2004), Brad O’Connor, Phil Wood, Steve Venables, Nick Pepper, Richard Stubbins, Dave Smith and Pete Bellenie will challenge Italian riders Massimiliano Biasutti, Luca Carbonera, Massimo Compagnone, Eros Malisan and German riders Thomas Granica, Martin Klug, Alex Rose and last years runner-up Rudi Thurmayr. The following Car categories will be run at the Hockenheim NitrolympX: Junior Dragster (complimentary entry for sixteen Junior drivers only) Public Race (Germans Street legal car class index 12.0 seconds) Modified Street (Super Street cars and advanced Street legal cars index 10.0 seconds) Super Gas 9.900 seconds Super Comp 8.900 seconds Competition Eliminator (all index classes up to AA/Dragster and AA/Altered) Pro Mod Thunder: Cannonball-style elimination, best out of four runs qualify for final. List of invited teams: Andy Robinson, Freddy Fagerström, Henri Joosten, Robert Koper, Marc Meihuizen, Peter Wacker, Markus Hilt, Rolf Ammann, Norbert Kuno, Jürgen Schomann. Still open to the new European record holder Patrick Wikström and/or one more fast British team to come and race for good money! Contact E-Mail: info@dragster.de. Funny Car Cannonball: Best out of four runs qualify for final. List of invited teams: Showtime Fuel FC v Urs Erbacher, Dezsoe Krivan, Urs Embacher, Dan Larsen, Jörgen Johnsson, Jürgen Nagel. Still open to one more fast Scandinavian and/or one more fast British team. Contact E-Mail: info@dragster.de. Top Fuel Challenge: Cannonball style elimination, best out of four runs qualify for final. List of invited Teams: Thomas Nataas, Andy Carter, Gary Page, Lex Joon. Still open for one more fast Scandinavian and/or one more fast British team. Contact E-Mail: info@dragster.de. Nostalgia dragsters of the past twenty years are welcome to perform exhibition runs. All information for participants will be available on our racers' page at www.nitrolymp-x.de. Entry forms will be sent out at the beginning of June to all riders and driver who have participated in the past two years. Racers not on our mailing list please send your postal address to by e-mail to info@dragster.de. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 1st June: UK Funny Bike will never be the same again as Mike Vickers and Heather Bond are setting off to make a new life in Australia. Mike is taking his bike with him to show the Australians how to race bikes, and H - official hug supplier of Eurodragster.com - assures us that her computer is crated up and on its way down under to keep her in touch with everything up top. We're sure that everyone will join Sharkman and Tog in wishing Mike and H the very best in their new life. If you were at Santa Pod at the weekend then you can't have failed to notice our good friends, photojournalists Roger Gorringe and Andy Willsheer, bravely perched on a cherry picker during some of the Pro sessions. Roger got some great pictures as this shot of Lex Joon, and a shot of Ian King show. "It certainly was hairy on occasions", says Roger, "especially on Saturday when we were subjected to the 50-60 mph gust of winds which were constantly blowing. The cage moved around a bit and the slightest movement from either of us, never mind the wind, along with trying to stay with the vehicle looking through a long lens proved a trial at times. It was all down to Andy Willsheer who organised it and sorted the special permission from SPR". (Editor's note: please do not copy or use these pictures without Roger's permission) ©Eurodragster.com FIA Main Event Junior Dragster victor Peter Walters says that he had am amazing weekend at Santa Pod. "I qualified number one with a 0.000, but fair play to Ron Bartlett who got the Perfect ET before me in the morning and took Eurodragster's cash, but that's racing!", says Peter. "We went all the way to the final and took it in a great race against Daniel Giles. It was the first final for both of us and my first win! Well done Dan. I would also like to say a big Well Done to Derek Flynn on running his first six, sadly not a 200 but there's a lot more to come. Well done also to Collin Morrice and Jay Hauser." Thanks to our good friend Hannele Höydén for letting us know that the official entry list is now available for the FHRA Nitro Nationals, the next round of the FIA and FIM/UEM European and NDRS Bilsport Pro Mod Championships which takes place at Alastaro on 1st-3rd July. You can find the Nitro Nationals entry list at www.fhra.fi/fin/index.php?page_id=97. "The list will be updated daily, and entry closes on 5th June", says Hanski. Many thanks to Bjørn Vidar Pedersen for letting us know that FIA/UEM invitations, entry forms and Supplementary Regulations for August's NDRG Drag Challenge are now available on the Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen web site at www.norskdragracing.com. UK Super Gas racer Matt Gatland has asked us to say a big Thank You to Louise on the Pit Entry for all of her help and support over the last five years. We're very pleased to do that for you, Matt. Our good buddy James Hands tells us that although he is not likely to race in Junior Dragster next season he will be making his licencing passes at Santa Pod on 2nd July with backing from Adam Charnley of Cougar Racing. "A big Thank You to Adam for his help and to Tog for coming up with the name No Limits Racing", says James. FIA Main Event stats. 1st June: Many thanks to Eurodragster.com honorary staff member Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for sending us the official timing data from the FIA Main Event, as well as an updated European Bests sheet including Dave Wilson, Urs Erbacher and Patrick Wikström's new records and a new closest races sheet. You can view the FIA Main Event timing data by clicking here or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurordagster.com page, and you can view the European Bests by clicking here or by clicking on the European Bests link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Andy has also sent us his regular 'Anorak Stats' from the FIA Main Event: Track clear/Tower ready: 1006 Pairs: 901 Single runs: 90 Byes: 15 Total vehicles entered into timing system: 1907 ©Eurodragster.com Made it to the finish line: 1798 including 196 Junior Dragsters Made it to the quarter: 1602 Average ET not including JDs: 9.920 Average MPH not including JDs: 140.87 Low ET: 4.874, Thomas Nataas High MPH: 308.28, Tommy Möller Closest Races: Super Gas final, Tony Morris v Frank Mason (winner) 0.000880: 0.168 feet, 2.019 inches Top Methanol FC Round 1, Jörgen Johnsson v Dan Larsen (winner) 0.000882: 0.303 feet, 3.635 inches Closest to dial-in: Frank Mason (Super Gas), 9.900 (16:47 on Friday) Jon Morton (Super Gas), 9.900 (17:29 on Saturday) Conrad Stanley (Super Gas), 9.900 (17:32 on Saturday) Clive Cox (Pro ET), 10.310 (13:24 on Sunday) Brian Pateman (Super Comp), 8.900 (13:50 on Sunday) Chris Isaacs (Pro ET) spot on, 9.630 (12:57 on Monday) Best Reaction Time: Ron Bartlett (Pro ET), 0.000 (13:58 on Saturday) Peter Walkers (Junior Dragster), 0.000 (17:46 on Saturday) Track live: 25 hours 18 minutes Total run time, all cars to reach finish line: 5 hours 3 minutes 33.295 seconds Runs under 5.000 seconds: 5 (Lex Joon x 3, Thomas Nataas, Tommy Möller) Runs under 5.500 seconds: 19 Runs under 6.000 seconds: 59 Runs over 300 mph: 1 (Tommy Möller) Runs over 250 mph: 25 Runs over 200 mph: 128 FIA Main Event FIM/UEM review. 1st June: FIM/UEM European Championship Co-ordinator Lars Andersson has been in touch with a review of the FIA Main Event: The track was in excellent condition. It is one of the best prepared tracks in the whole world. Even the time it takes to clean up the track after an incident is now in a low time thanks to qualified personnel and new methods. First a little about Top Fuel Bike. Roel Koedam showed once again that he wants to defend his title, but a piston in the engine was thinking other things. The spare is coming this week. Instead Ian King showed that he wants to have something to say during this year. I have never seen Ian perform so well before. So Ian ended up in the final against Steve Woollatt. Both Ian and Steve ran sixes all the way to the final, and in a close race Ian showed that the will be ready to race for the title this year. Two of my favourites, Nils Ole Lund and Eric Teboul, both had so much trouble that they could not qualify. One more to talk about is Neil Midgley on his Funny Bike running sixes all the time. If we had a separate Championship for Funny Bike I am sure that he would be the winner. In Pro Stock there were also good times and hard qualifying. Roger Pettersson arrived with a complete new bike. It was not finished so they had to do the last work on Friday and on Saturday morning. As time ebbed away they decided to sleep a little instead of running the first qualifying round. In the next round they came out and made a 7.5 run. That put them in the second place at that time, because in the first round both Anders Abrahamsson and Anders Larsson made mid-seven runs. Anders Abrahamsson also had new bike and showed that he wants to give Roger a fight for the Championship. Anders Larsson will also give Roger big problems this year, but the same thing happened to Anders as happened to Roel. A broken piston stopped him racing for this weekend. In the first round of elimnations Roger went out and beat Len Paget with a 7.28. Now we all thought we would soon see a new record, but a broken gearbox stopped Roger as they did not have the time to change it between the rounds. Anders Abrahamsson was 0.014 seconds too early so he caught a red light in the first round against Ray Debben. Now was it only Englishmens in the semi and the final. Martin Bishop ended up winning the whole race from Richard Gipp. Martin Bishop has now got his bike to perform well and he will also run all rounds of the Championship this year, so he will also try to stop Roger winning one more title. Supertwin turned out to be a Norwegian thriller. Of the ten riders five were from Norway, the class was for many years dominated by Swedes. Svein Olaf Rolstad was the number one qualifier and also the winner. Ton Pels had some problems and worked almost the whole night before the race, but Joachim Reimer stopped him in the first round. So in the semi final there were three bikes from Hawgs MC in Toten, Norway against one German. I must also mention Tomas Sulek from the Czech Republic, this bike with a boxer two-cylinder will be something to look at in the future. Also the two completely new bikes from Gunter Sohn and Lorentz Stauble will be something to look at and keep in mind for the rest of the season, but they must get used to the power and how to handle the bikes. It is not so easy to start racing with new bikes. The next event is in Finland at the same time as the UEM Congress so Both Ian King and I will miss the Congress as we are in Finland. I hpoe that we will nave a nice race in the land of thousand lakes. A lot more things are going on at the moment and I hope to come back later with more news about new tracks and other things going on. Unfortunately is it not all good news. There are also a lot of discussions going on in the cars Championship. But then looking at the crowd this weekend I must say that it all looks good. All the investment which has been made at Santa Pod, with new asphalt both in the start area and in the pits, makes Santa Pod look much better. The old Santa Pod is now almost a memory. You can find the post-FIA Main Event FIM/UEM Championship points on the King Racing web site at www.kingracing.com, or by clicking here (Excel format). ©Eurodragster.com Rotorstock Day 2 report. 1st June: Keith Cowie's continued domination in what is now regarded as a highly competitive Japanese performance scene moved further forwards on Bank Holiday Monday at Shakespeare County Raceway's Rotorstock II, writes SCR Press Officer Jerry Cookson. In a continuance of Sunday's nine second blitz, Keith took home to his native Scotland the title of being the quickest and fastest 'Street Fighter' overall as well as beating last year's winner Adrian Smith. The day's competition began with a couple of low elevens and tens just to warm up the differentials on the four-wheel-drive Skyline, by the quarter final stages of the competition the power from the 2700cc special began to emerge as a 9.779/150.27 was quickly eclipsed with a 9.385 at 158.32 mph against John Aplin driving a 1308cc Mazda RX7. Although Adrian Smith driving the Fensport Corolla received a couple of lucky passes to eventually go up against Paul Hackley's Skyline, Adrian knew that he had to cut a good light and that's what he did in the final shootout against the mad Scotsman as a .373 to .501 held good until mid track where he was quickly swallowed by a 10.266 at the finishing stripe to a 10.795. In the F2 Shootout for Road Tyred cars Paul Hackley, running in two competitions, pushed his 2.6 litre Nissan passed the similar ride of Nick Evans. Quickest reaction time and winner of an ice cream donated by track announcer Paul Venners with an RT of .118 was Mohammed Janjua behind the wheel of a 2000cc Mitsubishi Lancer while a close second was Marc Light who carded a .221 for his efforts behind the wheel of his Underground Racing 2.5 litre GTST Skyline. Making his mark in the drifting arena and a worthy winner of the first ever Rotorstock Drifting competition was the specially adapted Mazda MX5 turbo of Declan Hicks. With most of the guys turning donuts and fast corner drifting in an impromptu display in front of the start line and grandstands your reporter, with radio mic in hand, was quickly strapped into one of these mad things on the strict orders of APIRA call-up marshal Bev. I have to say that once the initial shock of what was to come had worm off it was quite pleasing in some ways to be thrown around in the passenger seat by someone who knows what they're doing. But once another car enters the drift in the opposite direction just inches apart from your car's front bumper you begin to realise how expert these drivers really are! Bring it on I want some more! ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 1st June: Brian Fawcus has updated his personal web site with a number of pictures from the FIA Main Event. Brian's excellent shots are a mixture of on-track action, pitside and people. You can check out Brian's Main Event collection drag.fawcus.com. Next up with an FIA Main Event photo update is Andrew Bamford whose Racing Green web site you can find at www.racing-green.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Third of our four FIA Main Event updates is James Hands whose Racing 05 fan site features fifty one pictures from the weekend plus coverage of Andy Carter's race. You can find James' web site at www.racing04.co.uk. Finally on the FIA Main Event front Gary Cottingham has updated the Dragsterworld web site with sixty photographs from the weekend, which you can access via the 2005 Reports link at www.dragsterworld.com. Earlier news

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