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What's New
31st August: UK Fuel Funny Car racer Smax Smith faces a huge bill to repair the Mainline Menace, which was severely damaged in a double fireball at Shakespeare County Raceway last Sunday. However, he is very grateful for the help which he has already had from fans and fellow racers.
"A big Thank You to all our of fans at Shakespeare County Raceway who donated to the rebuild - and also for the cheers during my ambulance ride!", says Smax. "Unfortunately the damage is quite extensive, so I'm hoping that someone out there knows someone in a position to sponsor us in return for media coverage and TV advertising. Please contact me at smax@fastco-uk.freeserve.co.uk."
Smax would also like to hear from anyone who has video or photographs of his incident last weekend. He tells us that the first video clip is already available on his web site at www.smax.co.uk, where you can also find webmaster Kellett's account of the weekend.
PT Bruiser takes Euronats honours.
31st August: Paul Marston Racing's PT Bruiser took top honours at the Mopar Euronationals at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend, running the low ET and high speed of the weekend for both a Mopar and overall. "We ran our quickest ever ET with an 8.57/160 straight off of the trailer and, later on Sunday, our quickest-ever sixty-foot time", says Paul Marston. "When all the dust settled we were top of the pile, adding our name to some rare company indeed on the trophy. It was one of the best weekends away we have ever had, as voted by all the crew."
The PMR team had a very busy weekend, entertaining sponsors and guests, and giving passenger rides. "Our guests over the Bank Holiday included Chrysler management, Richard Nichols of Street Machine Magazine, the UK Cruiser Owners' Club, staff from two Marshall’s Chrysler dealerships, a huge press contingent - and of course the odd few Mopar enthusiasts!", says Paul.
One of the passenger rides was given to Alistair Weaver of Autocar Magazine. "He was a great sport", says Paul, "Although we did have doubts as the colour seemed to visibly drain from his face when he witnessed a launch and sixty-foot prior to his turn - according to the crew, anyway, I was busy at the time! I have also began to notice a disturbing change in the crew whenever we have a passenger ride. A certain glint seems to appear in their eyes, lots of grins and nods, a little longer in the burnout perhaps? The crew are now enjoying these rides for a whole different set of reasons, none of them mentionable before the watershed! The Autocar feature will be the first article written by a journalist who has experienced the fastest current passenger ride in the country, so it should make good reading."
That it was such a successful weekend for the team is, Paul says, down to a lot of people. "I must thank everyone from the Mopar Muscle Association for organising such a great event; Santa Pod's Press and Public Relations team - in particular Dave - for all the hard work put into to helping us over the weekend; Darren Prentice and the track crew - it was a tough job keeping the track in such good condition in the heat as the racers pushed their muscle cars to the limit; our sponsors Chrysler UK, ATI, MAC Tools, Individual Clothing Company, Redline Oils for all their support; and not forgetting the tireless efforts of the crew: Steve Brennan, Mick Pussey, plus Del and Pete from Individual Clothing and all the rest of the crew at Paul Marston Racing who worked so hard all weekend to make this possible."
Web site updates.
31st August: Photographer Bill Sly has updated his Bad Boys Imagin' web site with a large number of pictures from Super Series 4. "There are sixty five car pictures, and forty bike pictures", says Bill. Check it out at www.badboysimagin.com.
The DTE Racing web site at www.dteracing.com has been updated with news and photographs from the Super Pro Street team's weekend at the Nordic Pro Street Cup finals. "We also want to inform you that our fast Volvo is for sale", says Fredrik. "The car will be sold without engine and gearbox. It may possibly be sold with a JAMS-prepped PG and also with the turbine. The chassis is tube-framed. The car has run a best of 7.56/295 kmh and 1.20 to sixty feet. Price 70000 SEK or to the highest bidder. For more information see the DTE Racing home page, or contact Johan at johan.wigstrand@dteracing.com."
News from the German Drag Racing Page at www.dragracing.de:
Wir haben ab sofort ein neues und sehr umfangreiches Forum. Das Forum bietet unter anderem die Möglichkeit eigene Foren zu gründen und zu moderieren, Benachrichtigungen zu erhalten, Buddylisten anzulegen usw.
Wir suchen noch Moderatoren für die Bereiche Cars und Bikes (z.B. Forum All Harley Drags).
Alles was Ihr tun müßt um im Forum aktiv zu werden ist Euch dort zu registrieren. (Username und Passwort reicht eigentlich, aber seht Euch die anderen Möglichkeiten einfach mal an). Der Vorteil der Registrierung ist, daß niemand Euren Usernamen nutzen kann, da Ihr immer zum anmelden das Paswort benutzen müßt.
Das Board ist wirklich sehr umfangreich und bietet sehr viele Möglichkeiten. Wenn es am Anfang ein bischen verwirrend wirkt, einfach weiter ausprobieren und mal Nachrichten posten (schreiben). Falls Sie nicht da landet wo Sie hin soll - kein Problem, Ihr könnt Sie selber löschen oder bearbeiten oder wir machen das für Euch.
Also, schreibt bitte was das Zeug hält, denn wir machen das hier mehr oder weniger auf lau und die einzige Anerkennung ist Eure Mitarbeit.
Das Gästebuch ist übrigens auch neu und bietet die Möglichkeit Bilder mit zu plazieren. Also her damit.
Sid's race against time.
30th August: UK Super Pro ET racer Martyn Jones, aka Sid, faces a race against time to repair a damaged gearbox in time for this weekend's Dutch Open at Drachten. Martyn's long-serving gearbox broke at Shakespeare County Raceway last weekend, and the thrash to fix it is made worse by the fact that Martyn himself currently lives and works in Holland, whilst the seven-second dragster is based in the UK.
"Kev, who crews with Paula and Stan Atkin, came to the rescue and volunteered to make one good box from the two piles of junk I had left", says Martyn. "He's a hero just for trying and I am very grateful indeed to him."
Martyn's long-standing friend and Crew Chief Crunch stands ready for phase two of the operation. "Whenever they get the box back together, Crunch has to drive back to Boston and turn round for the ferry over", says Martyn. "I am similarly very grateful indeed to him for all of his work."
You can find more details on this weekend's race at Drachten on the Explosion Drag Racing Club web site at www.explosion.nl.
Super Modified to run at SS5.
30th August: After a successful running of the class in demonstration at Super Series 4 last weekend, Super Modified will again be run at Super Series 5 at Shakespeare County Raceway on 22nd-23rd September.
Close-fought eliminations at the weekend saw Danny Cockerill victorious in his Chevrolet-powered Rover in what was the second outing for the proposed class. "With racers once again putting on a show reminiscent of the early days of Pro Modified, interest in the new class is growing meeting by meeting with more requests for rule books from seasoned racers, promising good things for the future", says Nick Davies of ICE Automotive, who together with business partner Rob Loaring was instrumental in proposing and formulating Super Modified, in consultation with racers and officials.
Super Series organisers Obsession Motosports were impressed with the show and have been quick to welcome Super Modified racers back. They have however asked that all racers wishing to attend Super Series 5 submit their entries as soon as possible.
More details on the proposed Super Modified class, including the rules, are available by E-Mailing rooster.ice@btinternet.com.
FHRA Finals is NDRS final.
30th August: This weekend's FHRA Finals at Alastaro in Finland is the final round of the Nordic Drag Racing Series in all classes except for Junior Dragster.
The Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se has been updated with the second part of the Series points analysis and includes the news that whatever happens at Alastaro, Patrik Wikström is NDRS Pro Mod Champion; congratulations to Patrik.
The Finnish Hot Rod Association web site at www.fhra.fi has a preview of this weekend's race, including an entry list, and will be posting reports and results as the race progresses. You will also be able to find live coverage on the Svensk Dragracing web site.
Pro Mod Association proposed.
30th August: Swiss Pro Mod racer Peter Wacker has been in touch again with news of a proposed association for Pro Mod racers in central Europe, which would complement the Nordic Pro Mod Association.
"As you know, there have been no Pro Mod races in central Europe this season, apart from at Hockenheim, and that was won by a Pro Stock", says Peter. "There will be ten new Pro Mods competing seriously in 2002, to add to the Scandinavians. We all know that Pro Mods, together with the other Pro classes, are crowd pleasers. All promoters want to run them at their events. But there are always two problems: how many cars will show up for a minimum eight-car field, and what will the prize and travel money be for these £100,000 race cars."
Peter Wacker, the UK's Andy Robinson, and Germany's Peter Hilt are proposing to found a Pro Mod Association for central Europe in 2002. There are many questions to be addressed, says Peter. "We are still only brainstroming and any ideas, comments or questions are welcome. For example, we are looking at the following questions:
- What about a Championship, sponsors, new name (e.g. Euro Outlaws, Wildbunch)?
- Would Scandinavian racers be willing to travel to Santa Pod, Shakespeare County Raceway or Berlin?
- Would the central European racers be willing to travel to Mantorp Park, Piteå and Gardermoen?"
Seminar in Holland, too.
30th August: Further to yesterday's news item about the Doorslammer Chassis Seminar organised by Hauser Race Cars, our good friend Robert Joosten has written from Holland to tell us that Dave Morgan will also be holding a seminar in Holland. "The seminar is to be held at the weekend of 27th-28th October", says Robert. "Tickets will be Fl. 200 per day, which includes lunch."
For more details, E-Mail Robert at robert@doorslammers.nl.
Web site updates.
30th August: UK Top Methanol Dragster racer Lyndsay Deuchar has updated his web site with an account of his weekend at Super Series 4, where he was plagued with problems at the start line but nevertheless put in some very quick passes. Check out Lyndsay's report at www.laracing.co.uk.
The European Drag Racing Database at www.eurodrag.com has been updated with 150 excellent pictures from July's Sko Uno Drag Festival at Mantorp Park, results from the Nitolympics at Hockenheim, and results from the Autmn Championship at Piteå.
Phil and Gary Cottingham's Dragster World web site at www.dragsterworld.com has been updated with the promised report and photographs of Monday's events at Super Series 4, to add to the end-day reports and pictures from the Mopar Euronationals which were posted at the weekend.
On the subject of Super Series 4, we have had a few queries from readers who have heard about Sharkman's photograph of Smax's fireball but who have had trouble tracking it down. You can't miss it on Sunday's pictures page.
The Swedish Pro Street News Magazine at www.swedishprostreetnews.com has been updated with 350 pictures from the weekend's final round of the Nordic Pro Street Cup at Landskrona.
Finals entry closing.
29th August: Entry for the FIA European Finals closes on Friday of this week (31st August), and Santa Pod Racers Club are encouraging racers to submit their entries as soon as possible.
"If you ring to say that your entry is on its way so that I know that it's coming then that's fine", says Paula Marshall of SPRC, "but if you ring out of the blue next week and ask if you can enter then the answer will be no! Next week we have to prepare the paperwork, and work out the pitting and running orders, so please get your entries in by Friday."
You can find entry forms to download for posting or faxing on the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc, or call SPRC on 01933 313625.
At time of writing, the entry includes eight Top Fuel Dragsters, six Top Methanol Dragsters, ten Top Methanol FCs, six Pro Stocks, six Pro Mods, fifteen UEM Comp Bikes, fourteen Supertwin Top Fuel Bikes, and nine Pro Stock Bikes. You can find more information on the FIA European Finals, including ticket prices, on Santa Pod Raceway's web site at www.santapod.com.
Mäkelä runs what she brung.
29th August: Reigning FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion, Finland's Anita Mäkelä, has announced that she will be testing her Top Fuel Dragster at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday September 9th, at the last Run What You Brung before the FIA European Finals. Anita is currently lying second in the 2001 Championship, and wants to test a three-element rear wing and other changes before the race itself.
"We believe that you will have to go below five seconds to win the event", says Anita, "and it is likely that several of the teams who will be attending the European Finals will be capable of running under five seconds."
You can read more on Anita's testing plans, in Finnish and English, on the News pages of her official web site at www.anitamakela.com.
Doorslammer seminar details.
29th August: Back in July we reported that Hauser Race Cars were organising a Doorslammer chassis seminar featuring the USA's Dave Morgan. We have now received more details of the event.
The seminar is to be held at a venue in Huntingdon over the weekend of 13th-14th October. Tickets will be £55 per day, which includes lunch and a workbook.
Day 1 covers Basic Chassis Tuning and is designed to show racers how to tune suspension components. Spring rates, front end geometry, ladder bars versus four-link systems, reading drag slicks, and more is covered in the six-hour course.
Day 2 is the Advanced course, and includes such topics as roll centres, centre of gravity, instant centres, four-link and ladder bar effects on the centre of gravity, and aerodynamics. This is also a six-hour course and includes the use of a race car for static demonstrations.
A detailed course itinerary and registration forms are available from Hauser Race Cars. all interested parties must pre-register to guarantee a place. For more details, or for an application form, please contact Hauser Race Cars by E-Mail at info@hauserracing.com or phone 01933 312735.
NAST Points Standings.
29th August: Post-Super Series 4 points standings in the UK National Association of Supertwins Championships are now available on our 2001 Points Standings page, courtesy of Sue Beneke.
Champions, more at Super Series 4.
28th August: It was a fast and frantic weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway which saw plenty of highlights and a number of 2001 Championships secured.
Norm Wilding made a dream return to Fuel Funny Car with victory over Gordon Smith in the final. John Spuffard was a shock first-round exit in eliminations but secured the 2001 British Fuel Funny Car Championship and recorded a whopping 277 mph in the third-place run-off. Smax Smith suffered a frightening double fireball in qualifying as his engine let go and then, just as he could see where he was going, the fuel tank exploded. The FAST team were there before the car stopped rolling, which went a long way towards ensuring that Smax was quite OK.
Doug Bond won the final of Top Methanol, in a successful weekend for the Shell Racing team which saw Joe Bond take the Junior Dragster victory. Rob Turner won another MSA British Top Methanol Championship although the Turner Racing team didn't have the best of days as they suffered engine damage in eliminations. Top Methanol also welcomed two racers to competition, as Steph Milam and Doug Ripley gained their licences at the weekend.
Ian King secured the 2001 ACU British Top Fuel Bike Championship although he did not make the start line in eliminations against Steve Woollatt as a primary drive belt broke. Also on two wheels, the informal European Super Street Bike Series came to a close yesterday, Tony Clark taking the title with Graham Dance and Mark Pointer in second and third places.
Hazel Williamson is fine after a nasty-looking back-over wheelie on her Supertwin Street RMD Harley. As with Smax's accident the safety crews were there instantly and Hazel was able to take the applause of the crowd before being checked out at the medical centre.
Pro ET racer Bob Doyle won Eurodragster's Perfect Light Award of £75 with a 0.500 in qualifying, and Danny Cockerill is £25 richer after winning the Super Modified demonstration for which we put up a winner's prize.
In a weekend of attrition, Eurodragster had its own problems with broken phone lines, but we were able to post summary reports, results and now pictures which you can view by clicking here, or by clicking on the 2001 Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page.
Kågered TF Tour Champion.
28th August: Congratulations to Micke Kågered who became 2001 Swedish Top Fuel Tour Champion at Landskrona at the weekend. Although Tommy Möller won the final at Landskrona, Micke had a sufficient points lead to take the title.
You can find full results and a report on the Kågered Racing web site at www.kagered-racing.com.
Rønning plans Top Fuel in 2002.
28th August: Norwegian Super Comp racer Linda Rønning has announced plans to race in the FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Championship in 2002.
"Maybe it is time to get some youngsters in to give the older racers a match", says Linda. "Maybe not the first season, but! And maybe it is also time to have a Norwegian Viking spirit to fight the Finns, Danes, English and a certain American for the title. I have spent some time working with a Top Fuel team and learnt from the inside what makes the car go, so I think that I have some back ground to tame the car at such speeds."
The News page of Linda's web site, which you can find at www.simlane.com, has more details including a contact point for anyone who may be interested in sponsoring the young Norwegian.
Wacker on Hockenheim.
28th August: Swiss Pro Mod racer Peter Wacker had a good weekend at the Nitrolympics at Hockenheim, setting a new personal best and makign it to the final round where he was runner up to Michael Malmgren for the second year running.
"I lost with a 7.37/305 kmh run to Michael's 7.16/311 kmh", says Peter. "In eliminations, all of my reaction times had been in the .400s, so my only chance to beat Michael's quicker car and his professionalism was to make him nervous at the lights. No way! Michael was relaxed enough to stage first. With my .497 against his .613 reaction we raced side by side for the last 300 metres, and the the AC Delco team set low ET of the event at 7.16. I lost, but it was a fine race and everybody gave of their best."
Peter is already looking to 2002, when he will be campaigning a new car. "I'll be back next year with a brand new revolutionary Pro Mod - guess which body shape?", says Peter. "The car is already under construction at the famous Andy Robinson Race Cars shop in the UK. I'm looking forward to competing with the Swedish and Brits (if there's a Pro Mod class again) in 2002."
Peter has extensively updated his web site with pictures, video clips, and the elimination ladder from Hockenheim, together with details of the new drag strip which is to be built at Hockenheim in time for the 2002 Nitrolympics. Check it out at www.roofers-toy.ch/Nitro 2001.htm.
Hockenheim TMFC reports.
28th August: Dutch Top Methanol Funny Car racer Lex Joon has posted on his web site a report and pictures from the TMFC Cannonball at last week's Nitrolympics at Hockenheim. Lex was runner-up at the event although the issue of lane choice in the final was, from his account, a contentious one. Check it out at www.lexjoonracing.nl.
Winner of the TMFC event at Hockenheim was Leif Andréasson, whose own account is now showing on his web site at www.andreassonmotorsports.com.
Vincent ties the knot.
28th August: Congratulations also to Vincent Pels, Ton Pels' son and Crew Chief, on his marriage to Annemieke on Friday after seven years' courtship.
"After the official part of the day, all the guests went over to Ton and Marianne's house for a wonderful garden party with barbecue", says Monique Pels. "When the skies got dark and the lights went on, the party continued with some serious dancing. It got very late - I heard the cows on the farm land adjacent to Ton & Marianne's property didn't give any milk the next morning!"
You can see some photos from the happy day at home.wxs.nl/~pels0024/Wedding.
Free entry for Modena race.
24th August: The Italian Drag Racing Association is offering free entry to bike classes for their race at Modena on 29th-30th September, which includes the final round of the European Top Gas Series - currently led by Italy's Riccardo Gilberto.
"The Supertwin Top Gas class decided to join our race and have their finals in Italy, so we are also inviting other bike classes to join the race for no entry fee, in order to get a taste of our organization", says IDRA President Lorenzo Lauro. "Super Gas and Super Street car classes are also invited, and if we can arrange the right safety equipment then we will open the race to Super Comp as well."
Lorenzo also told us a little about the track at Modena. "The track is 850 metres long and 20 metres wide, good flat asphalt", he says. "It is a very nice airport and has a semi-permanent underground wiring for our Portatree timing system, which has scoreboards, time slip printer and full qualifying software. Chances are that during next winter the track will be increased to 1.2 kilometres."
The IDRA web site at www.dragster.it has been updated with details of the race at Modena, including classes to be run, an entry form, maps and a list of hotels. Lorenzo tells us that as soon as the decision is made about Super Comp, it will be posted on the web site and that he will send us the news for posting here, so watch this space.
DTE Racing win Stockholm Cup.
24th August: Swedish Super Pro Street team DTE Racing are celebrating victory in the Stockholm Cup after the Volvo's latest round at Tullinge on 18th August. "We put in two passes", says Fredrik of DTE Racing. "One of 7.72/291 Kmh and one of 7.73. These two runs with our earlier results this year made us the winner!"
The DTE Racing team are now getting ready for their last race at this weekend's final NPSC round at Landskrona, after which the car will be for sale. Fredrik tells us that the team web site will be updated with reports, results and pictures over the weekend.
The DTE Racing web site has also been updated with results and pictures from last weekend's race at Tullinge, check it out at www.dteracing.com.
Gustavsson returns to AC Delco team.
24th August: Swedish Pro Stock team AC Delco Racing have announced that erstwhile Crew Chief Christer Gustavsson will be rejoining the team for the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September. Christer has taken most of this seaosn out, but stayed in touch with the team's progress. AT Santa Pod he will work alongside Heikki Parviainen, who has been calling the shots on the six-second Camaro this season.
"All of our team has been looking forward to this", says driver Michael Malmgren. You can find more details on the AC Delco Racing web site at www.acdracing.net together with an updated crew profile now including recent crew addition Ari Suhola.
Team member Magnus Cato also tells us that the AC Delco girls will be at the Finals handing out T-Shirts. "Be sure to be there!", he says.
Beck's season ended.
23rd August: Swiss Top Fuel Dragster racer Peter Beck has announced that his 2001 season has finished with the Nitrolympics at Hockenheim. However, Top Fuel Team Switzerland are going out on a high note, having won the final of Top Fuel at the weekend in the Nitrolympics Top Fuel Dragster after Rico Anthes redlit away a 4.92/299.
"You can imagine that we are absolutely happy with our win after the bad year we've had", says Crew Chief Horst Pauli. "It is the best possible end to the season. The dragster ran like hell at Hockenheim! We suffered absolutely no damage at all, and our set-up produced so much power that Peter smoked the tyres on almost every run. We really had trouble getting it to the ground. In the final we ran 5.47/265, and that was smoking the tyres from 1.6 seconds to the top end."
The Top Fueller is now being returned to its owner, Rico Anthes, and Horst tells us that the team are hard at work returning the car to pristine condition.
You can find TFTS' report on the Nitrolympics, including full results from the USA v Europe Top Fuel Challenge, on their official web site at www.topfuel.ch.
Kågered ready for TF Tour final.
23rd August: Swedish Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered is headed for Landskrona this weekend for the last round of of the 2001 Swedish Top Fuel Tour.
Micke leads the TFT Championship by 150 points, and he and second-placed Tommy Möller are going head-to-head on the Landskrona eighth-mile to decide the outcome. "We honestly don't know if Tommy can pass Micke in the points standings if he wins at Landskrona", says team manager Åsa Kinnemar. "It all depends on how the rules work when there are only two cars competing so we will not start celebrating anything until the race is completed!"
The Bahco Tools/Quaker State team certainly are not taking anything for granted. "Tommy should have the advantage of running the eighth-mile at Landskrona, since his car has proven to be quicker over the first part of the track than Micke's car", says Åsa "Over the last half of the track, Micke runs as quickly as many of the cars in the USA, and that is one of the reasons that he has been doing so well overall."
Åsa has also confirmed that Micke Kågered will be racing in both the Top Fueller and the Top Methanol Funny Car at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September. "We said 'never again' to running both cars at the same race after the Main Event in May, but after that we have been sorting out both the crew and our routines pretty well, and things worked out much better at Mantorp Park where we also doubled up."
For the latest news from Kågered Racing, including updates from Landskrona, check out the official web site at www.kagered-racing.com; for the latest Top Fuel Tour news check out the TFT web site at www.topfueltour.com; and for more details about the race at Landskrona check out the SHRA Malmö web site at www.shra-malmoe.com.
Shell Racing to star on HTV.
23rd August: UK Top Methanol and Junior Dragster team Shell Racing are one of the teams to be featured in this weekend's HTV coverage of Super Series 4 at Shakespeare County Raceway.
"Two weeks ago, Martin Wells from HTV Television came to our workshop to film us reassembling our engine ready for our next meeting at Shakespeare County Raceway", says Crew Chief Martyn Hannis. "Yesterday we took Doug Bond's Top Methanol Dragster and Joe Bond's Junior Dragster to Corsham Media Centre for an interview about drag racing. HTV will be attending the Super Series meeting this weekend to finalise its filming on us and one or two other teams."
Martyn has promised to let us know as soon as broadcast details are announced. In the meantime you can read all the latest from the Shell Racing pit on their web site at www.eurodragster.com/shellracing.
Wet but silent day for the Bruiser.
23rd August: Paul Marston Racing had a frustrating day at North Weald last Sunday, after rain plagued the PT Bruiser team's attempts to test a set-up for the Brighton Speed Trials in September. However the custom exhaust, needed to attenuate the noise from the Pro Stock engine, was fitted to the car and the team were happy with the outcome.
"The crew did a sterling job of setting up the pit so that we could do some noise tests on the newly fitted exhaust system", says driver Paul Marston. "The tests were very encouraging, with the noise levels well within the rules. It never really had a chance to dry out enough for us to have a crack at the track. It was our only chance to improve our set-up for Brighton Speed Trials in three weeks' time. We had also replaced and rebuilt a number of components so the replacements and work had to be checked."
Paul, the Bruiser and the team were also subject of much interest from the TV crew attending the event at North Weald. "We were interviewed by Santa Pod and Super Series commentator John Price for a forthcoming series on Granada Men and Motors and Carlton. Due to the damp conditions John and the crew shot quite a bit of film interviewing the team and featuring the PT Bruiser, hopefully it will mostly see the screen and not end up on the cutting room floor!", says Paul.
Paul has also regretfully announced that due to sponsor commitments he will be running the Bruiser at the Mopar Euronationals at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend, rather than at Super Series 4. "I can only apologise to all our fans for this, but I guarantee that we will be at the Super Series Finals in September", he says. "We will all be heading directly to Shakespeare County Raceway to watch the eliminations on Monday, you just can't miss those Funny Cars!"
2001 Mopar Euronationals.
23rd August: The eighth Mopar Euronationals take place at Santa Pod Raceway from Friday to Sunday of this weekend. The re-arranged event is one of the highlights of the year for Muscle Car fans, featuring a RWYB, Show and Shine, burnout contest, trade stands, swap meet and party featuring live music from Executive Relief and a karaoke and disco.
Entry to the track is £12 per day, or £20 for the weekend, under-16s go free. The track is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Signing-on is £10 on production of a valid DVLC licence. Please note that the RYWB is not open to open-wheel cars, gassers or dragsters.
For more details, check out the Mopar Euronationals web site at www.moparnats.co.uk, the Santa Pod Raceway web site at www.santapod.com, or call Tim Holmes on 0114 264 8185 or Tony Oksien on 01730 268375.
More Nitrolympics pictures.
23rd August: Peter Calwer's excellent dragsterracing.de web site has been updated with a number of his partner Christine's superb pictures of the Super Street Bike class at last weekend's Nitrolympics at Hockenheim. The pictures cover both on- and off-track action and are well worth a look. Peter also has some nice but undeserved words about the Eurodragster staff, for which we are very grateful. Don't miss Christine's pictures at www.dragsterracing.de/ukssb01.
Following on from yesterday's news item about Michael Malmgren's success at Hockenheim, Sweden's AC Delco Pro Stock team have updated their web site with a number of photographs from the event. Check them out at www.acdracing.net.
Weekend event coverage.
23rd August: It's a busy weekend for race fans, and if you can't get to the track then there is plenty of coverage to keep you in touch.
Super Series 4 at Shakespeare County Raceway is the UK headliner with Fuel Funny Cars, MSA Top Methanol, UK and ACU National Drag Racing Championships, and much more including the Firestorm Jet Funny Car. Eurodragster will be covering all three days of the race, and you will be able to view our coverage via the Raceday page of the Super Series web site at www.eurodragster.com/superseries.
As mentioned above, this weekend sees the final round of the Swedish Top Fuel Tour and the Nordic Pro Street Cup over the eighth-mile at Landskrona in Sweden. Our buddy Hasse of the Swedish Pro Street News Magazine will be posting reports at www.swedishprostreetnews.com, and has already posted a preview. Micke Kågered Racing will be providing the usual excellent pitside coverage at www.kagered-racing.com.
Our good friends Gary and Phil Cottingham will be attending the Mopar Euronationals at Santa Pod Raceway and will be posting end-day updates on the Dragster World web site at www.dragsterworld.com. The Dragster World team will also be attending Super Series 4 on Monday, and promise a report during next week.
Web site updates.
23rd August: The official web site of the UK's Firestorm Jet Funny Car has been updated with a report of the team's recent appearance at the Ultimate Street Car event at Santa Pod, plus the latest winner in the monthly photo contest. Check it out at www.firestorm-jfc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk.
The Feel The Noise web site at www.feel-the-noise.com has been updated with 115 of Anni Valder's photographs from the recent Bulldog Bash at Shakespeare County Raceway. "The pictures have been added in five new sections, which can be found under 'Special Interest Meetings' on the main index page", says webmaster Bob Valder.
Selkämaa to move to STTF.
22nd August: Finnish Super Street Bike and Super Pro Street Bike racer Kai Selkämaa has announced a move up to Supertwin Top Fuel Bike for the 2002 season.
"The old Suzuki bike is now for sale and the team is looking forward to competing in the European Super Twin Top Fuel Championship with a with nitro-powered Harley-Davidson", says Kaija Kohtala. "We haven’t got the new bike yet: several negotiations are going on as we would like to find a bike that could run six seconds from the start."
Meanwhile the popular seven-second racer is headed for Landskrona this weekend for the final round of the Nordic Pro Street Cup. "We'll be trying to keep our leading position and win the Championship there", says Kaija. "Our team is looking forward to Landskrona. We've had great results at the last two races: at Tullinge on 5th August we ran our best time of the season, 7.99, and at Alastaro on 11th August the terminal speed was 302 kmh - that is our own record in this class, too."
Two-wheel Hockenheim action.
22nd August: We are indebted to Ian Turburville for passing us Piet Mom's excellent account of the drag bike action at the Nitrolympics at Hockenheim at the weekend.
Race conditions in Hockenheim are always murderous: you have to get there early on Thursday to take part, the place can turn into an oven when the sun shines, the organisation is very rigid, and the quarter mile track is not ideal. This year the race was not sanctioned by the FIA and UEM so some real competitive racers stayed home, and Supertwin Top Gas was the only class which had a European series. And the sun was out all weekend...
For the Supertwin Top Fuel bikes, the Pro Stockers and the Top Fuel bikes the organizer had made up a Cannonball, where bikes from different classes raced against each other. Nevertheless we saw some great drag racing and really good results, thanks to the crew from Shakespeare County Raceway, UK, who were hired to prepare the track and clean up the mess that racers sometimes leave on the track. New track records were set in Top Fuel Bike and Top Fuel Dragster.
Ton Pels from the Netherlands ran a personal best with 6.79 seconds on his nitro-burning "Overkill" harley, and we saw a Dutch six second, side by side pass with his friend Rob Van Geffen on his homemade V-Twin in the other lane. British Top Fuel Bike rider Ian King was present, with 6.60 seconds as his best result. He is still keeping his fingers crossed, hoping that his spare cylinder head will get him through the season. He is still in competition for the European Championship with Roel Koedam who managed to stop the clock at 6.40 on his Puma Top Fuel Bike on Saturday.
Koedam's wizard Marius found a good set up at last race at Gardemoen, Norway and had discovered the cause of the damage they had at Mantorp, Sweden, so he was taking naps between rounds. Koedam met 'Godfather' Pels on Sunday afternoon. Both riders qualified first in their own separate classes and then had to race one single round, Twin against Four Cylinder, to win the "Nitro Challenge" and become champion of Hockenheim. Pels, who is extremely popular in Germany, was cheered by 10,000 spectators who were all quickly dissapointed. Roel Koedam bettered his own track record: 6.39 seconds at 222.78 mph. The Zodiac Twin lost power half way down the track and Ton Pels clocked a 7.3.
The Funny Bikes and Pro Stockers met in a "Pro Bike Challenge", which Peter Bossert won with new personal bests of 6.98/197.7 mph in a great duel against Ken Cooper. The Cooperized engine was already hurt after qualifying, and Ken had set the ignition a bit later to get it through eliminations and not smash the engine to pieces before the finals. 7.3 seconds was his time, and a lot of blue smoke came out of the exhaust just before the clock stopped. Well timed, Ken!
The real upset was the first European seven-second run on a Top Gas Harley. Ricardo Gilliberto did it on an S&S four-cam like the Pro Stockers race All-Harley Drags in the USA. It could well be the first seven on a Pro Stock Harley outside the United States, and on Saturday afternoon Team Fast did it again, this time even quicker, taking the the record down to 7.95. Ricky also won the race, after meeting Job Heezen on his Hyperformance/Zippers blower bike. Both riders ran 8.2 in the semi-finals, so hard racing was expected, with Heezen even having lane choice. But unfortunately Job's bike shut off just before going into pre-stage, so 8.08 seconds later the Italian rider disappeared laughing into the forest at the top end with the Championship in his backpocket.
With two more races to go, Ricardo just needs to qualify. But with the last race of the series being held in Modena in his home country, we can expect more from "Recordo" Gilliberto. In two weeks' time he will definitely try to better the eighth-mile record on the fast track in Drachten, Holland, and the other 25 Top Gassers are still fighting a hard battle over the other Top Ten plates. Swedish riders Danne Asander and Janne Gustavsson are still in it, and so are Axel Seiffert and Gunther Sohn from Germany. Jörg Suessdorf is going for the "Rookie of the Year" award, and Herman Jolink hopes to fine-tune his new blown bevel-drive Ducati some more. Herman ran two 9.5s on Friday and two 9.7s during qualifying on Saturday, and was eliminated in round one on Saturday evening. After 25 years of Ducati drag racing that didn't bother him too much, and on Sunday he had a good talk with his piston sponsor Mahle and already started making his plan for the Dutch Finals in Drachten.
Thanks very much, Piet. You can stay in touch with all the latest news on the European Top Gas Championship on their official web site at www.topgas.com.
On the subject of Hockenheim, the webmaster of the official Nitrolympics web site at www.dragster.de has apologised to fans for the mix-up with results, and has promised to post the correct version very soon.
Pro Stock wins Pro Mod, again.
22nd August: Swedish Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren took the Pro Mod title again at Hockenheim last weekend. Crew member Magnus Cato tells us that the AC Delco team had the usual great time.
"Yes, we won again, beating the gentleman of drag racing Peter Wacker", says Magnus. "A big crowd (thirty five thousand on Saturday night!) cheered Michael when he stopped at half track on his long burnouts. AC Delco gave away thousands of caps and T-shirts, this will be repeated at the European Finals. We are also scheduled for that burnout at the Swedish Touring Car finals on the second of September."
Magnus also tells us that the AC Delco team will have a guest mechanic, Bob Elliott from Preston, at the FIA European Finals. You can read more on Michael's weekend at Hockenheim on the AC Delco Racing web site at www.acdracing.net.
Supertwin Top Fish a draw.
22nd August: On Saturday we described the 'Supertwin Top Fish' contest which was taking place that day between Stefan Junerud and Per Bengtsson. We can now excusively bring you the outcome of that competition.
"After almost four hours of extremely exciting fishing, we have no winner!", says Stefan Junerud. "Not because we didn't get anything, oh no, we really did catch a lot of fish. But because it was a dead heat!
"It was decided that cod would be the only fish counted. Bentec left hard from the line and took the lead. Servex never backed off, just shifted gear (lure) and up they came. With only half an hour to go, Bentec had a very small lead of only one cod until Servex crewchief Magnus got two cods on the same hook! Isn't that amazing. A disappointed Per Bengtsson and his son Alex suddenly got a fish on his rod and managed to bring it on board. It was not a cod, and not big. It was something else which nobody knew the name of. But like the real sportsmen we are (typical Supertwin Top Fuel racers) we accepted that fish as well. So we had exactly the same number after almost four hours: 3-3! A really great fish-cannonball was over and the dinner in the afternoon went off just as well. Next time we'll show them!"
Web site updates.
22nd August: The Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se has been updated with the points standings in the Nordic Drag Racing Series after the Linde Open, plus the first of a two-part look at the possible outcomes in the Series, which for most classes ends at Alastaro next week. There are also some great pictures from the Linde Open.
The Drag Torque web site at www.dragtorque.co.uk has been updated with over three hundred pictures form the FIA Main Event and the Cannonball, both at Santa Pod Raceway, a new features section looking at particular teams, and a new How Stuff Works section which kicks off on the subject of horsepower. Webmaster Dave Nelson also tells us that the standings in his Fantasy Drag Racing League have also been updated.
Dave is also keen to from anyone with a copy of Bethesda Software's IHRA Motorsports, as he is interested in setting up a European Simulated Drag Racing League. You can contact Dave by E-Mail at dave_nelson99@yahoo.com.
Showtime gets plastic surgery.
21st August: The Showtime Fuel Funny Car will be sporting a Dodge Avenger body rather than the usual Firebird in the final round of the British Fuel Funny Car Championship at Super Series 4 at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend.
"It's to help the top end stability", says Crew Chief Bob Jarrett. "If it helps we will stick with it, if not we will go back to the Pontiac".
Driver John Spuffard has freshened parts, and the team are all set for the weekend. " We hope to repeat our past success there", says Bob. I am sure that the track will be prepared to the usual standard and we are looking to run a little quicker than 5.51, but the 281 will be a tough act to follow."
Although the Showtime team have a big lead in the Championship, Bob is taking nothing for granted. "It's great to see the other cars getting quicker and faster, as I knew they would with some track time", he says. "If Smax continues to run quick and becomes reliable, then this is where I see our main threat coming from. Gordon and Dave are gaining ground in sorting out their clutch control system on Shockwave, and now with Mark Hawkins' Dodge having the experience of Norm Wilding at the helm, we should see some great racing."
You can stay in touch with the news from the Showtime pit on their official web site at www.showtimeracing.co.uk.
Bonin closer to 2002 FIA return.
21st August: As we mentioned last week, 1999 FIA European Top Fuel Champion Gordie Bonin
is working on a return to FIA competition in 2002. It is now beginning to come together with the latest
press release from German company Cyberkat, who sponsored Gordie's appearance at Hockenheim at the weekend, including
this picture of the design of the car for next season.
Gordie is currently somewhere between Europe and the USA, but stay tuned and we will bring you the latest news on his return.
European Finals hospitality.
21st August: The deadline is fast approaching for booking hospitality at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway on 14th-16th September.
"The facilities we offer for corporate hospitality at the Home of European Drag Racing are as impressive as the drag racing", says Chris Ware of Trakbak Racing. "To ensure a truly memorable day for you and your guests, our hospitality includes top designated grandstand seats which offer truly panoramic views of the on track action. This means you can enjoy all the exhilaration of great drag racing in genuine comfort - together with excellent food and first class wines, served by our highly professional catering team."
Bookings close on Friday 31st August. For more details, or to book hospitality, call Santa Pod Raceway on 08700 782828 (from outside the UK, +44 1234 782828).
Outlaw Anglia web site launch.
21st August: The UK's Outlaw Anglia class has launched a web site at www.outlaw-anglia.co.uk. The site features everything you could want to know about the popular class for 'Sit up and beg' race cars including a history, Championship details with race reports, a roster of current and past drivers, links and more.
Hockenheim pictures.
21st August: Wolfgang Schick has posted on his personal web site a number of pictures from last weekend's Nitrolympics at Hockenheim. There is a good mix of action pictures from various classes (including, for those who were not there, the first look at Rico Anthes' new Top Fueller) and shots from around the facility. Check them out at www.wschick.de.
Perfect Light up to £75.
20th August: Eurodragster's Perfect Light fund increases to £75 for Super Series 4 at Shakespeare County Raceway this coming weekend. The money will be paid to the first racer who cuts a perfect reaction time (0.400 or 0.500 depending on the class) during qualifying or eliminations. Shakespeare County Raceway has been the place for perfect lights, as all the winners since the scheme started have come at SCR and, remarkably, all the winners so far have come from the ranks of Super Street Car.
With big fields in all classes and plenty of good racing to look forward to, we will be packing the cheque book this weekend!
Super Modified prize.
20th August: As well as our ongoing Perfect Light prize fund, Eurodragster will also be posting a one-off prize of £25 for the winner of the Super Modified Exhibition eliminator at Super Series 4. This will be most race fans' first chance to get a look at the low eight-second heads-up racing that this exciting new class brings to the track, after the class made its debut at the Bug Jam. The inaugural event was won by Danny Cockerill who made steady improvement throughout eliminations before taking the final with an 8.05/172 mph blast. Let's hope for more of the same at Super Series 4.
Nitrolympics Results.
20th August: Yesterday was race day at the Nitrolympics at Hockenheim, and expect the official web site at www.dragster.de to have the results available some time today.
Web site updates.
20th August: The Swedish Pro Street News Magazine has been updated with a new photo album. Check it out at www.swedishprostreetnews.com.
Eurodragster staffer Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with a new feature, Sharkmans own peculiar take on Drag Racing Terminology. Check it out at www.eurodragster.com/sharkman.
Hal Far report and pictures.
19th August: Bernie Hepworth, who tuned the Borg Brothers Top Methanol Dragster to the first five-second pass on the island of Malta, has very kindly sent some more details on last weekend's race at Hal Far Raceway.
"The meeting was held on the Friday and Saturday nights due to the excessive daytime temperatures. It was still in the nineties on Friday night and eighties on Saturday.
"There was the usual attendance of around thirty immaculate Mk 1 Escorts with various engine combinations. Each has its own class, from push-rod four-cylinders through to Cossy motors with every trick in the book and NOS, from manual standard box through to Jericho-type gadgets. Of note were the the two new Cosworth-powered dragsters of around 220-inch wheelbase. The car owned by Charles Camilleri aka 'Zoqdi' and driven by Emanuel Mangion ran 7.68/170mph. The Charles Abela-owned and driven car ran 7.88/165mph. Both cars look to have a lot more performance to come, it's early days yet. With the Maltese ingenuity and enthusiasm a six wouldn't suprise me at all. Both cars have clutches and Liberty or Jericho transmissions, one even has a trick tit can! Bugger the cost.
"The trucks were out again but failed to live up to previous performances. The Maksar Truck running I think 11.8/115mph, still quick for a Ford Cargo but way off his best 0f 11.55/120. Four altereds were present but all seemed to have a variety of problems. The pretty Buick Regal funny car of Salvo Desire was around but I did not see it run as I was somewhat tied up with our car. I've always liked these since Dale Pulde had one.
"The venue gets better and better due to the efforts of the track staff. When I first went in 1993 the track record was in the tens and now they are in the fives. Most English have seen the two touring dragsters of Manty Bugeja and John Ellul. They are shy and reserved whilst in Europe. Come see 'em at home! It's only £4 in to the track, and beer is 50p a bottle. Will the bastard who stole the track lighting generator bring it back or I'll tell his mum."
Thanks very much, Bernie. Thanks also to Michael Buhagiar who has kindly sent us a few pictures from Hal Far. Click here to see Michael's pictures.
Bradford ready to race.
19th August: UK Top Methanol Dragster racer Darryl Bradford is looking forward to competing at next week's Super Series 4 at Shakespeare County Raceway and the subsequent FIA European Finals at Santa Pod, after the Canto Consultancy team fixed engine damage suffered at the Cannonball.
"The heads have been machined, and the engine is back together", says Darryl. "It's a good solid engine. Everyone has worked really hard, the team is working together very well."
Darryl, in his rookie season, won a round and set personal bests at the Cannonball before the engine damage sidelined the team. "We did better than we dared hope at the Cannonball", he says. "Now we're up for Super Series 4 and the European Finals. Another round win would be great!"
You can find news from the team on the Canto Consultancy web site at www.canto.co.uk.
Web site updates.
19th August: Eurodragster staffer Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with a new entrant into his famous School of Excellence. Sharkman welcomes FHRA's Hannele Höydén as the first female graduate and 2001's first international inductee. Check it out at www.eurodragster.com/sharkman.
Bruiser prepares for Brighton.
18th August: Super Comp racer Paul Marston is taking the PT Bruiser to North Weald tomorrow to set it up for Paul's annual visit to the Brighton Speed Trials.
"The Bruiser is going to look and sound a little different on Sunday", says Paul Marston. We are using the RWYB at North Weald to set the Bruiser up for the Speed Trials on 8th September. This will be the third successive year we have fielded an entry for Chrysler to this prestigious event, the two previous being with the Grumpy’s Dodge Super Gasser. The rules are a little different, prohibiting the use of wheelie bars and a parachute, so as the Bruiser is currently set up to run the wheelie bars hard off the start line some major changes are needed to the setup - and it’s time to test the brakes!
The other major change to the car is the fitting of a full exhaust system. "Hopefully a very quiet exhaust system!", says Paul. "The exhaust system is very much a suck it and see as no-one, to our knowledge, has ever tried to silence a Pro Stock motor this much with so little space for the system. The system we use this weekend will be our baseline from which to work.
North Weald has a similar surface to Madeira Drive in Brighton and will, in all probability, see a few Frosts Brighton Speed Trial entrants testing. See you there!"
Paul Marston Racing extends thanks to Graham at Custom Chrome for fabricating and despatching the silencer system so quickly, and to Pipecraft at Chadwell Heath (0208 599 1000) for fitting the spaghetti to the Bruiser. "A job well done!", says Paul.
For details about tomorrow's event at North Weald, check out the official web site at www.dragstrip.co.uk.
Junerud and Bengtsson hook up.
18th August: Swedish Supertwin Top Fuel racers Stefan Junerud and Per Bengtsson and their teams are head-to-head again today. Although the racers are not on two wheels on this occasion, the competition is deadly serious.
"The challenge is to catch as many cod (or whatever one can get) as possible over a specified time period", says Stefan. "The fishing will be with rods from a boat in the Öresund outside Helsingborg, between Sweden and Denmark. We believe that Bentec team has less potential compared to Servex, even though they live by or close to the sea. It is thought that Bentec will have to borrow one crewmember from Servex, making their chances a bit better as most of the Servex crew is more skilled. Last night's preparations were very serious as it is going to be an exciting event with lots of prestige!
"In the afternoon there will be a prize giving ceremony, probably in Helsingor, Denmark. In the evening there will be the chance to try one or two more of the famous and ever so good-tasting 'Danish Green'!"
Stay tuned and we will bring you the result of the contest.
Allsport offer Finals ferry deals.
18th August: Travel specialists Allsport Logistics have been in touch to offer good deals on ferries to the UK for the FIA European Finals in September. Allsport Logistics are well-known as long-standing sponsors of the Nemesis Top Methanol Dragster team and, this year, of the Carter Motorsports Top Fuel Dragster team.
"I can arrange travel to events with good discounts on ferries to the UK", says David of Allsport. "If you require any information, please contact me by E-Mail at daihiggs@aol.com, by phone on +44 1873 859500, or by fax on +44 1873 858513."
Fuel FC Championship curtailed.
17th August: The final round of the British Fuel Funny Car Championship, which was scheduled to be held at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September, has been cancelled. The last round of the Championship is now set to be the third round, which is to be held at Super Series 4 at Shakespeare County Raceway next week.
We have received the following statement from Keith Bartlett:
"It is with much regret that we have had to cancel the last round of the British Funny Car Championship, due to be run at the European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. This decision has not been taken lightly.
"We have possibly the largest field of drag racing teams attending this year's FIA European Finals ever seen in the UK with a potential 8-10 Top Fuel Dragsters and full fields in all the other professional FIA Classes.
"Whilst we are thrilled to have such a huge entry for this prestigious event, the European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway is the most expensive event to stage across the whole European Drag Racing calendar and the budget can no longer support the additional Funny Car expenses.
"I think everyone will be very aware of my own personal support for the Nitro Funny Cars over the past 5 years. Terry and Tina Gibbs (Obsession Motorsports) have joined me in this in 2000/2001. Together with the teams we have, I feel I have at last moved the Funny Cars into some real form of racing this season I am confident that we will be able to build on this for 2002.
"Therefore the Funny Car Championship will have its concluding and final round at Shakespeare County Raceway over the August bank holiday weekend. I will be there and supporting the Funny Cars as always."
Smax gutted at cancellation.
17th August: UK Fuel FC racer Smax Smith is the first Fuel FC racer to react to the news of the cancellation of the Championship's fourth round.
"We are all gutted by the news", says Smax. "We had a big plan to step right up for the European Finals and maybe get sponsors there. We are still trying and the scene ain't dead just yet!"
Smax is now looking to Super Series 4 after a successful test at the Bulldog Bash last weekend. "We are confident that we will get down track as the Bulldog was a good test session for us", he says. "Although the track was slippery we recorded a fine 6.01/221, pedalling twice and dropping the chutes early! Terry Gibbs and the boys have promised us a good track at Super Series 4 so if we can all chase the clouds away together...we are coming!"
You can get the latest news from Smax and the Ant Hill Mob at his official web site at www.smax.co.uk.
There's a Moose loose...
17th August: Unconfirmed reports from continental Europe say that a crazed elk is on the loose. Sightings have been reported as far afield as Sweden and Germany. Experts have identified the beast as a Booze Moose and warn the public to approach it with great care.
You can track the Moose's movements and find an artist's impression by following the Achtung Deutschland page of the Andréasson Motorsports web site at www.andreassonmotorsports.com.
Racing in the street.
17th August: This weekend also sees the Linde Open, the latest round of the Nordic Drag Racing Series. This race has a special place in the racers' hearts as it takes place on a specially-prepared public street in Lindesberg. Our buddies at Svensk Dragracing have posted on their web site a preview of the Linde Open, and will post be posting results. The Svensk Dragracing web site can be found at www.dragracing.se.
Danish Nationals pictures.
17th August: Our good friend Tommy Nilsson, webmaster of the European Drag Racing Database, has updated his web site with a large number of excellent photographs from last weekend's Danish Nationals at Vandel. Check them out at www.eurodrag.com.
Junerud misses Nitrolympics.
16th August: Swedish Supertwin Top Fuel Bike racer Stefan Junerud is to miss this weekend's Nitrolympics at Hockenheim after running out of time to rebuild his engine. The reigning European Champion broke a con rod at Gardermoen and has been working hard to get everything back together for the Nitro Bike Thunder race.
"It looks like we failed in our attemps to make Hockenheim", says Stefan. "The crankshaft was in such a bad shape, but a great job has been done to rebuild the crank and it is now ready to be mounted in the Servex engine, but just a few days late to be ready. Anyhow, it looks like there will be a chance to test it at the race at Landskrona, which we hope has enough bite to load the engine a bit, before the European Finals at Santa Pod in September."
Stefan's limited schedule his season means that he has only had one chance to make a quarter-mile pass this season, and that was at Gardermoen where disaster struck on his first pass of the weekend. "We only been to eighth-mile races at Mantorp and Västerås and that is no use", he says. "We still are not sure about what caused the breakage at Gardermoen - tyre shake, bearing failure, detonation or human error. It's a problem only making two hundred metre passes and optimising the engine for that. Then on a quarter mile you never know exactly what is going to happen at three or four hundred metres, even if the engine is set up for four hundred metres. Nitro can be very hard on the engine, but it can also be very funny!"
You can find Stefan's web site at www.servexab.com.
Halinen gains TMD licence.
16th August: Finnish Comp Eliminator racer Jari Halinen won his Top Methanol Dragster licence in the Mad Bomber car at Alastaro last weekend. Jari made three passes culminating in a 6.22 which easily beat the required 6.54 standard.
You can get the full story in both Finnish and English on the Mad Bomber web site at www.madbomberracing.fi.
Super Series 4 entry list.
16th August: The official entry list for next week's Super Series 4 at Shakespeare County Raceway is now available by clicking here, or by clicking on the Entry Lists link on the Super Series web site at www.eurodragster.com/superseries.
UK, SPRC points updated.
16th August: The latest, post-Cannonball, standings in the UK National and Santa Pod Racers Club Championships are now available on our 2001 Points Standings page. Thanks to Spencer Tramm for passing them on.
The first Five on Malta.
15th August: Congratulations to driver Mario Borg, the Borg Brothers team, and tuner Bernie Hepworth on recording the first five-second pass on the island of Malta, with a 5.97/225 at Hal Far Raceway at the weekend. The Borg Brothers dragster is powered by a 372 ci small block, and weighs in at 1970 lbs. Bernie tells us that Mario recorded an impressive 0.927 sixty-foot time on his way to the historic clocking. "There are some very happy guys at Borg Brothers Racing!", says Bernie Hepworth.
"Thanks to the track staff at Hal Far Raceway for the excellent track preparation and the usual enthusiasm", adds Bernie. "Also thanks to Kenny Coleman and his staff at EDA in Castleford for the engine preparation work. Anthony Borda, your dream has come true!"
Andréasson wants track record.
15th August: If you were with us yesterday you will have read that Lex Joon has his eyes on Scandinavian scalps in the TMFC Cannonball at the Nitrolympics at Hockenheim this weekend. Swedish TMFC racer Leif Andréasson is also on the list of invitees for the event, and isn't intending to lie down.
The Andréasson Motorsports team go to Hockenheim on the back of victory at Mantorp Park and an appearance booked in the final round at Gardermoen before rain curtailed the event. "This week we're heading for Hockenheim, and we expect to put on a show there", says Andréasson Motorsports team member Anders Magnusson. "A track record would be nice!"
For more news from the Andréasson Motorsports pit, check out their web site at www.andreassonmotorsports.com.
Two-seater rides up for grabs.
15th August: Michael Malmgren's sponsor AC Delco in association with Santa Pod Raceway sponsor Halfords have arranged for the famous two-seater dragster, driven by Sweden's Susanne Callin, to come to England in the week before the FIA European Finals, and rides in the seven-second car are up for grabs in competitions to be run by both companies.
The passenger rides will take place at the Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday 9th September. For your chance of the ride of a lifetime, pick up the September issue of Max Power, which has just been published, or the August issue of the auto aftermarket magazine Autotrade.
For more details check out the AC Delco Racing web site at www.acdracing.net.
Llewellyn learning a lot.
15th August: Our latest Scandinavian Tour report from UK Super Comp racer Zane Llewellyn comes from Finland, where he was plagued by break-outs in a weather-affected weekend.
"When the lightning hit the timing equipment it caused havoc", says Zane. "We had one qualifier on Saturday after the track had dried and the timing system had been sorted out. That was at seven o'clock and there is a curfew of eight o'clock at the track. Unfortunately I broke out. The organisers managed to squeeze in another round of qualifying on Sunday morning and I broke out again!"
Zane faced Harri Sassi in round one of eliminations where he broke out for the third time in three passes. "I put it down to only having two chances at qualifying", says Zane. "But on this tour we have learnt a lot about setting the dragster up for different tracks."
Zane is now on his way to Hockenheim where he will join up with his fellow racers from the Bristol Doorslammers, who are making their traditional annual trip to the Nitrolympics.
Collier's World best.
15th August: One of the drag racing contingent at the Bulldog Bash, Supertwin Gas racer Jerry Collier, ran another world's best in exhibition at the weekend. As the time was not run in competition, it doesn't stand as an official record but the team were delighted nontheless. Ozzy Ewing of Jade Racing takes up the story:
"Jade Racing are no strangers to the track at Shakespeare County Raceway, this being their home track and with the Bulldog Bash now in its fifteenth year we felt this was an ideal opportunity to show the public what our little RD400's are capable of. So all the stops were pulled out as both Jerry Collier and Rick Davis put on an exciting, if noisy show for all the public, running consistent nine-second side by side passes. Jerry also ran a pass on Rick's bike but overpowered the track kangarooing up the strip to eighth- mile before power could fully be turned on.
"In the final demonstration pass on the Saturday, after some serious rubber had been laid down from the Supercharged Outlaws - Jade Racing were ready to race. This was the big one with two huge side by side burnout's each finished in style with a rolling burnout, the crowd and gathered racers shuddered as two of the worlds quickest RD 400's screamed in anger. As the bikes moved into pre-stage followed by stage you could feel the intense energy that these two guys generate when racing one another. As the tree flashed from amber to green the noise was deafening as Jade Racing stormed up the track, with Jerry ever so slightly ahead. This run was like no other during the Bulldog Bash, it was perfect. With the two bikes passing through the top end we saw numbers that we just couldn't believe Jerry Collier on his RD400 had managed to run 9.522 seconds, making him clearly the worlds quickest RD400 (naturally aspirated slick and wheelie barred). Although an unofficial world record at 9.522 seconds we had claimed a new track record at Shakespeare County Raceway and a personal best.
"Jade Racing would like to thank the Bulldog Bash for allowing them to run, Shakespeare County Raceway, APIRA, Bruno and the FAST crew, Red Line Oil, Activ8, Eurodragster and Sharkman. Jade Racing will next be competing at Super Series 4 held at Shakespeare County Raceway on August 25th - 27th - we will have oil from our major sponsor Red Line Oil (if you need some please e-mail info@jaderacing.com or call 07930 902137) and a new sponsor, Midland Pipeline Supplies (01889 585054).
You can stay in touch with Jade Racing on their official web site www.jaderacing.com.
Ozzy is also very grateful to Sportsman ET racer Vince Andrews for a lift home after his brother's Z550 broke down leaving him stranded in Stratford. "Not only did I get the bike to Walsall, Vince also bought me a pint when we got there. So a very big thank you to Vince Andrews and his crew for helping me out, very much appreciated."
Web site updates.
15th August: Photographer Bill Sly has updated his Bad Boys Imaging web site with a large number of pictures of the drag racing contingent at the Bulldog Bash. The pictures cover both cars and bikes, although parents should note that there are also a couple of photographs which they might not want young children to see. You can find Bill's photographs at www.badboysimagin.com.
Joon ready to kick butt.
14th August: Dutch Top Methanol FC racer Lex Joon is headed for this weekend's Nitrolympics at Hockenheim with a new transmission set-up in the Splitfire FC, and with every intention of winning the TMFC Invitational. Lex got back into the fives at the Cannonball, where he won the TMFC section of the event and was runner-up to John Spuffard in the overall final.
"I think there was a good chance that had we had lane choice we would have beaten Spuff", says Lex of the Cannonball final. "The left lane was really not as good as the right one. We had a lot of wheelspin after a hundred metres, so imagine if things had been the other way round."
Nevertheless Lex is happy with the way things are progressing. "We are getting the whole picture together", he says. "The set-up of the car at the Cannonball was the same as we ran at the Main Event. The car only runs with the clutch slipping the complete quarter mile, and I said at the Main Event that we had to look for a tune-up that would get the car to the other end without too much shake, and we found that tune-up at the Cannonball.
"It can still be a lot better, so for Hockenheim we have put in a different transmission set-up. We have rebuilt our engine and put together a spare, so if I can quickly find a tune-up for the new parts then we will kick everyone's butt! We still think that we have to teach our Scandinavian brothers a lesson, after we did it to the Swiss guys at the Cannonball. It would be better to do it at their home track, Mantorp Park, but without solid financial backing it's not possible."
Lex has attended every Nitrolympics. "It's a very special event for me", he says. "I don't think there are many racers who have been there every year. We are really looking forward to racing nine cars and coming out the winner. Dutch TV will be following us on Saturday and Sunday, too, so there's an extra incentive for us to win this event."
You can find more details, and a large number of new photographs, on the Lex Joon Racing web site at www.lexjoonracing.nl. For more details on the Nitrolympics including the entry list, check out the official web sites at www.nitrolympics.de and www.dragster.de.
Bulldog thrills and spills.
14th August: The Bulldog Bash at Shakespeare County Raceway this past weekend was as ever attended by a number of racers putting in exhibition runs. Racers from classes including Fuel Funny Car, Top Fuel Bike, the Supercharged Outlaws, Pro Mod Bike, Comp Bike, Supertwin Gas Bike, Super Street Bike and the Wild Bunch were there to represent the competitive quarter-mile fraternity. APIRA Press Officer Jerry Cookson has done a sterling job of posting a very detailed run-down of the weekend's highlights on the News page of the APIRA web site at www.eurodragster.com/apira.
We were shocked to learn of Wild Bunch racer Tony Froome's crash in his Sundance 3 altered at the Bash. By all accounts it was a horrifying accident and we were pleased to hear that Tony escaped relatively unscathed although the Altered is history. Tony sends a big Thank You for their usual excellent work to the FAST top end fire crew, APIRA, and the rest of the emergency teams at Shakespeare County Raceway.
Another FAST weekend at Hockenheim.
14th August: Jerry Cookson also tells us that the FAST team are this week embarking upon their annual trip to Hockenheim to provide safety skills at the Nitrolympics. "Bruno, Sophie, Jim, Ozzy, the rest of the crew and I are very pleased to have been asked by promoter Rico Anthes to attend the event again.", says Jerry.
We are also very pleased to add that on top of the hard work which they will be carrying out every day, Jerry and Ozzy Ewing will be sending us reports from Hockenheim. Thanks in advance, guys.
Early Super Series 4 notes.
14th August: Super Series 4 takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 25th-27th August, and features the third round of the British Fuel Funny Car Championship, the final round of the MSA British Top Methanol Championship, and the final round of the ACU UK Top Fuel Bike Championship, as well as the latest round of the UK National and Super Series Championships.
Terry Gibbs of Super Series organisers Obsession Motorsports has been in touch to confirm that entry is now closed for this event. "It doesn't matter which class you race in, if you haven't entered yet then it is too late!", he says. We understand that there are some two hundred and forty entries for Super Series 4, and we hope to be able to publish the entry list very shortly.
Avon Park International Racers Association and Obsession Motorsports are asking racers for co-operation and consideration in pitting at Shakespeare County Raceway next week, as the entry is so large. "The pits have been extended", says Terry Gibbs, "but it will still be tight. I'm also pleased to say that pit lighting will be provided again at Super Series 4."
We also hear that a TV crew from HTV will be filming on the Saturday and Sunday of the race. They will be focusing on the Bristol Doorslammers contingent but will be filming all classes on and around the track, so this might be a good time to get those team uniforms and chamois leathers out! The programme is to be shown on Carlton as well as HTV, as soon as we get a transmission date we will of course pass it on.
For more details on Super Series 4 including ticket prices and a map, check out the official web site at www.eurodragster.com/superseries.
Mid West Show this weekend.
14th August: This coming weekend sees the Mid-West American Car Club's American Extravanganza and Motor Show, which is to be held at Cheltenham Racecourse Exhibition Centre. As the name suggests, fans of American metal will find a lot to suit their taste, and drag racing will as usual be well-represented.
Les Sanderson has been in touch with a message for this weekend's exhibitors. "Please don't forget to let me have names of crew, family etc. so that you don't get charged on the gate", he says. "I must have names of everyone in your party who is over the age of fourteen. Please E-Mail me at les.sanderson@blueyonder.co.uk or call 01242 576082 - the best time is around six in the evening."
>From what Les tells us, it is not too late for more racers to bring their vehicles along to display at the Show. "Anyone else who would like to promote drag racing in general, and the Super Series in particular, please get in touch", he says. "It's a free weekend for you, your family, your sponsors and your crew. Terry Gibbs told me that last year's effort did make a difference on numbers, and that's what is needed to keep the Super Series going!"
You can find more details about the Show on the Mid West web site at www.mid-west.co.uk.
Bonin heads back to Europe.
13th August: 1999 FIA European Top Fuel Champion Gordie Bonin is heading to Hockenheim this week for the USA v Europe Top Fuel Challenge at the weekend's Nitrolympics.
Gordie is part of a three-car US contingent together with Alcohol FC legend Bunny Burkett and Top Fuel racer Jimmy Rector. They will be taking on the European team of Rico Anthes, Peter Beck and Barry Sheavills. "I have never been more ready for an event, ever!", says Gordie. "I have had more seat time this last month than I have since our 1999 FIA season. I've raced in NHRA competition at Seattle, and in AHRA at Spokane this past weekend. At Hockenheim I'll have sponsorship from CyberKat, a German company with a new concept in fuel mileage, power and cyber tracking."
Gordie is also taking part in a cover story for the German edition of Hustler magazine. "Five lovelies for three days and nights!" he says, going on tell a fellow racer whom we'd better not name to "Eat your heart out!".
Gordie had a terrible weekend at Hockenheim last year, and is intent on making up for it in 2001. "I'm looking forward to beating Rico at his own game, it's time we took home some more gold from Germany!", he says.
Gordie also tells us that he is working on a deal to return to FIA competition - we will of course bring you more details on this as we hear them.
Weather affects NDRS rounds.
13th August: It was a frustrating weekend for the National Drag Racing Club Denmark as rain wiped out eliminations in their only race of the year, the Danish Nationals at Vandel which was one of two Nordic Drag Racing Series rounds this weekend. You can find full qualifying stats on the European Drag Racing Database at www.eurodrag.com and on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se.
The FHRA Night Race at Alastaro in Finland, the weekend's other NDRS round, also had its share of weather drama with a hailstorm and a lightning strike on the timing equipment. The kit was repaired and qualifying and eliminations were completed yesterday, although our good friend Christer Abrahamson off Svensk Dragracing tells us that rain hit Alastaro again a mere ten minutes after eliminations were completed. You can find results on the Finnish Hot Rod Association web site at www.fhra.fi and a summary on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se.
Finals Banquet tickets available.
13th August: Tickets are now on sale for the post-race banquet which is traditionally held on the Sunday night of the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. The banquet is scheduled to commence either at 21:00 or one and a half hours after the last final round is run. After a two-course dinner and coffee, the FIA and UEM Champions will be presented with their trophies and then a 1970s disco will round off the evening.
Tickets are priced at £32 and should be ordered before 31st August, although a limited number will be available over the Finals weekend at £35. For more information, contact Ian Whitehorn via E-Mail at iw@trakbak.com, by phone on 0208 852 5005 (from outside the UK, +44 208 852 5005) or by fax on 0208 852 5006 (from outside the UK, +44 208 852 5006).
Web site updates.
13th August: The Swedish Pro Street News magazine at www.swedishprostreetnews.com has been updated with a large number of photographs from recent Nordic Pro Street Cup rounds.
SPN webmaster Hasse has been busy with his suite of web sites, as he has updated Pro Mod racer Freddy Fagerström's web site at with new photographs. You can find Fast Freddy's web site at www.swedishprostreetnews.com/fast-freddy.
Another of the SPN sites has been updated with Uffe gävle's photographs from the recent NPSC and Top Fuel Tour round at Tullinge. Check it out at www.swedishprostreetnews.com/uffe.
Three records.
11th August: Op de internationale wedstrijd te drachten is het ons team gelukt om op de 200 meter diverse records neer te zetten. Doordat de baan te kort was voor de kwart mile( 400 meter) werd er besloten om 200 meter te rijden. Iets minder leuk omdat dan de snelheid niet gauw boven de 250 km komt terwijl we bij 400 meter toch boven de 315 km zitten.
Totaal in 2 dagen 7 runs gereden waarvan 6 runs allemaal onder 4.7 sec. Met een record run 4.06 sec. 245 km Voor ons een Persoonlijk record ,maar ook een officieel nederlands record en ook nog een baanrecord.
Het beloofd wat te worden als we volgende week Hockenheim aan doen voor een 3 daags spectakel. Dan zal het een stuk moeilijker worden gezien de concurentie uit heel Europa. Maar omgerekend naar 400 meter zullen wij toch wel hoog kunnen eindigen.
Kijk hoe we het doen met elke dag foto's en resultaten op www.dragster.de.
Henri Joosten Dragracing
www.joostenracing.nl
Llewellyn aims for round four.
11th August: UK Super Comp racer Zane Llewellyn, who is on the third leg of his Scandinavian tour at Alastaro this weekend, checked in with a few thoughts on his weekend at the NDRG Drag Challenge at Gardermoen last week.
"We had some very long waits because of weather and oildowns, but the track was very consistent even with all the rain it had on it", says Zane. "It's a pity about the weather because on Sunday in particular it was lovely when it wasn't raining! The roll-out was very tight, but I was happy with my lights. I made it through to the third round, but then the rain came again. I still haven't been able to get through more than three rounds! Maybe I'll have more luck in Finland."
Drag Racing film festival.
11th August: London counter-culture art gallery The Horse Hospital is hosting a drag racing film festival next weekend, 18th-19th August. In all, thirteen hours of drag racing movies are on offer, spread over Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings. The line-up is as follows:
Saturday 18th (starting 2:30 pm): Funny Car Summer, Fabulous Floppers, American Nitro, John Force: Still The One (7:30 pm), Red And Rosy, Heart Like A Wheel
Sunday 19th (starting 3:00 pm): Challenge Of Fire, Drag Racing's Speed And Technology Stars 2000, From England To Englishtown, Wheels Of Fire (7:30 pm), Kustom Kar Kommandos, Two Lane Blacktop
The Horse Hospital is at the Colonnade, Bloomsbury. Entry is £6.00, or £5.00 for members/concs. For more details call kinoKulture on 0207 833 3644 or E-Mail popculture@btclick.com.
Lindelöw's morale booster.
10th August: Swedish Top Fuel Dragster racer Pelle Lindelöw is preparing for September's FIA European Finals after a morale-boosting last run to win the third-fourth place run-off at last weekend's Top Fuel tour round at Tullinge. Only the TFT leader Micke Kågered and second-placed Tommy Möller will be racing at the final round of the Tour at Malmö, which gives Pelle an extra two weeks to prepare for his farewell at Santa Pod Raceway.
"We are all happy that it was possible to finish the race at Tullinge after the heavy rain on both Saturday and Sunday morning", says Pelle. "Everyone I've spoken to is of the same opinion, that Stockholm needs a track and that it's a pity that the promoter Lelle Olsson can't have a long term contract at Tullinge. With some additional asphalt in the pits, Tullinge would be a perfect race track and the fact that it's only twenty minutes away from our shop makes it even better than that!"
Saturday's first qualifying pass was cancelled because of rain, leaving the TFT contestants with one shot to qualify. " I won't go any deeper into that run, but this time we can't blame the car for the bad performance", says Pelle. "Sunday's first run against Micke Kågered was a little bit better. I was almost a tenth ahead at the start, and a sixty-foot time two hundredths better than Micke's told me that this was finally our race. But it's like we never have luck on our side. The blower belt broke and hit one of the hoses to the oil pump, and that was another defeat. Luckily there was no damage to the motor but we caused an hour's delay for the clean up, which was only appreciated at the hot dog and ice cream stands!"
Pelle took on Monica Öberg in the third-fourth place run-off. "In that run I had the worst reaction time of my life through fiddling with the clutch pedal instead of being alert, but when I finally left everything felt good and when I saw Monica loosing traction about half-track I knew we'd won a round at last. Unfortunately something distracted me by the end of the run, later we found out it was one of the side panels on the left of the car which blew off and made me shut off. It's a pity, a 5.25 should have been a lot better considering that the speed over the finish line, 372 kmh was only 10 kmh higher than at half track. The computer said that I was running under power for only 4.5 seconds, so there is capability in the car.
"The best result of the weekend was that we consumed almost no parts, or no more than normal, and that the clutch was working as it was supposed to. Obviously all the time that Gunnar, Ulf Schill and Leif Hamberg spent in the shop finally paid off and after two problem-filled seasons, with numerous hours trying to get it to work right, we could leave the track after exchanging only three floaters and with all the clutch fingers still on the pressure plate and not in the garbage bin!"
Pelle and the team are now preparing for the FIA European Finals which is to be his last race before retiring. "We have four weeks, and we will save no effort to come to Santa Pod as well prepared as possible. Looking at the numbers produced at Gardermoen, we think that this years Finals are promising to be the quickest ever. Together with the fact that there are more cars around than for a long time we are not reckoning on an easy ride. This event will be our last appearance and we will do our best to give all fans a worthy farewell. Let's just hope that the weatherman approves our plan and co-operates, then this could be a memorable weekend for all of us!"
For all the latest news from P & G Racing, check out their official web site at www.pgracing.nu.
Larsson unhappy with Norwegian result.
10th August: Swedish Pro Stock Bike racer Anders Larsson came away from Gardermoen less than satisfied with the outcome of his weekend.
"At Mantorp we were competitive with both Roger Petterson and Kenneth Stromberg", says Anders. "We had the low ET and top speed, but a rider error in the semi-final was the end of that meeting.
"So we were very confident when we headed to Norway for the fourth round of the European championship. But as things turned out we were quite off the pace. We didn't run the top speed, even if the Gardemoen is a better track compared to Mantorp. It turned out that the valve springs lost their tension. We changed them on Saturday night, but as you all already know the rain stopped us on Sunday. We made one pass on Sunday, but still we were a bit off the pace.
"If we look at the event in Finland and compare it with the runs in Norway, we are struggling in the high RPM between eleven and thirteen thousand. We made some changes to the head after Finland, which we now can say made it worse. Gardermoen was the first really fast track after Finland, so the answer was ultimately lack of BHP at high RPMs. This Wednesday we left the head for another update, as we now know and understand what went wrong with the earlier work.
"It wasn't a total disaster, as we managed to set 1.14-second sixty-foot times. Now we have another test and tune scheduled on the 24th-26th August, and then we are looking forward to the Finals at the Pod, hopefully fully competitive!"
Mäkelä's account.
10th August: Reigning FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion, Finland's Anita Mäkelä has posted on her web site an account of her weekend at the NDRG Drag Challenge at Gardermoen. The report is available in both Finnish and English, with Swedish to be added soon. Check it out on Anita's web site at www.anitamakela.com.
Halinen tests Mad Bomber.
10th August: Veteran Finnish racer Jari Halinen is to test the Mad Bomber Top Methanol Dragster at this weekend's Night Race at Alastaro. Jari has taken over in the cockpit after Miki Falkstedt left the team after one race, the Nitro Nationals in June. "The purpose is to test the race car and to get seat time for Jari", says Crew Chief and Team Manager Simo Patoharju.
You can find more details on the new Mad Bomber web site at www.madbomberracing.fi. This is one of the best-designed web sites you'll see, featuring news, history, team run-down, race calendar, photo gallery and a lot more. Don't miss it.
Super Modified at Super Series 4.
10th August: After the successful debut at the Bug Jam, the new Super Modified class will make its first appearance at Shakespeare County Raceway over the August Bank Holiday.
With eleven entries last time out and new cars expected, the class is looking to build on the good publicity already generated. Although run as a demonstration class around the main National Championships, expect to see rolling burnouts, wheels-up launches and runs down into the low eight-second done from these wild doorslammers.
Racers are reminded that they must contact Wendy Talbot at wendy@shakespearecountyraceway.fsnet.co.uk as a matter of urgency if they have not already entered, and that they will be expected to be race-weight legal - cars will be checked!
Two-race weekend for NDRS.
10th August: Nordic Drag Racing Series participants have a choice of two events this weekend; the Danish Nationals at Vandel, and the Night Race at Alastaro. Qualifying starts today with eliminations on Sunday.
Stay tuned to the National Drag Racing Club Denmark site at www.ndcd.dk, the FHRA web site at www.fhra.fi, and the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se over the weekend for news.
Entry lists are now on-line for both races; an updated list for the Danish Nationals can be found on the European Drag Racing Database at www.eurodrag.com, and the entry list for the Night Race is available on the FHRA web site at www.fhra.fi.
Malmgren's disappointment.
9th August: Swedish Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren and the AC Delco team had several reasons to be disappointed with the rain-out at Gardermoen.
"We thought we would leave Norway with a good points lead, but no", says team member Magnus Cato. "With runs ranging from 7.03 to 7.01 and getting quicker, we were sure that we would be able to run a 6.98 in the semi-final, weather permitting. That 7.01 was calculated down to 6.90 and that was among our best ever! The rainout was typical just when we had an obvious power advantage."
Michael and the team are among many racers who have complimented the track and staff at Gardermoen. "The track was the best, and the marshalls are probably the most polite in the business", says Magnus. "They made us feel very welcome indeed. It's easy to race under these conditions. We'll be back for that six second run!"
The team's primary sponsor AC Delco got in on the act at the weekend, giving away one thousand t-shirts to fans, and this is expected to be repeated at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway.
Michael's next race is at the Nitrolympics at Hockenheim, where he traditionally runs in Pro Mod, a class which he has won at the German event for the last couple of years. "We have changed engines in the Camaro, old Viper should do some work!", says Magnus.
Michael and AC Delco have announced the launch of an official team web site at www.acdracing.net. The web site features inside info from Magnus, photographs, team run-down, results, links and more.
Averstedt back in A Fueller.
9th August: Swedish former Top Fuel Dragster racer Viveca Averstedt has returned to the track. Viveca, husband Håkan and the team have upped sticks and moved to Florida where they are now campaigning an A/Fuel Dragster in NHRA Federal Mogul competition.
Backed by local companies Adrenaline Films, GRM Creative Services and Rhubarb Productions, Viveca made her first test passes at Atlanta Dragway last weekend. Her best run came in the final pass, a 1000-foot shutoff 5.687/223.91, with a 0.960 sixty-foot. Viveca was forced to shut off at 1000 feet as the car moved towards the wall.
"The last several months have been very busy ones for us as we have been not only finalizing our new car but working with a dynamic group of marketing and promotional professionals to assist us in our marketing efforts", says Viveca. "Their expertise includes years of experience with Disney, Universal and advertising agencies. They are spearheading all of our marketing and sponsorship procurement efforts. Their ideas are some of the most innovative we have ever heard in racing". The team are currently soliciting sponsorship opportunities for Federal Mogul A/Fuel partnerships for the remainder of the 2001 season, and A/Fuel and Top Fuel sponsors for 2002-2005.
Averstedt Nitro Racing have launched a web site to enable fans to stay in touch with Viveca's Stateside exploits. Check out www.averstedtracing.com for news, photographs, video clips, race calendar, team run-down and much more.
Smax returns to Bash site.
9th August: UK Fuel Funny Car racer Smax Smith is headed for this weekend's Bulldog Bash at Shakespeare County Raceway, returning a year after his first spectacular accident in the Mainline Menace Achieva.
"We're aiming for more five-second runs with our spare Stage 10 block", says Smax. "A big thanks to Davey from Full On Racing for getting my Stage 8 repaired as a spare, also to new sponsors Car Range who helped out, and the fans at Santa Pod who kicked in a couple of hundred pounds to a collection at the Bug Jam. Then there's Vince Andrews who supplied my warm-up oil, so massive thanks to everyone who is keeping us happening!"
Smax's web site has now been brought up-to-date, and can be found at www.smax.co.uk.
DTE Volvo the fastest?
9th August: Swedish Super Pro Street team DTE Racing believe that they have the World's fastest Volvo, says Fredrik Karlsson.
The DTE Racing Volvo comes equipped with a twin-turbo 468 ci BB, which Fredrik tells us made 1975 horsepower and 1550 lb/feet on a dyno test earlier this year. At the Big Street Nats at Tullinge last weekend, the tube-framed 240-bodied car clocked 7.56/295 kmh (183 mph). "That's with a car weighing 1310 kilogrammes!", says Fredrik.
DTE Racing are now preparing for the Nordic Pro Street Cup finals at Malmö at the end of August. Fredrik plans on-line updates from the track on the DTE Racing web site at www.dteracing.com. The web site is presented in both Swedish and English and features technical details about the race car, a team run-down, photographs, video clips, results, links and a lot more besides.
For the ladders from all of the Nordic Pro Street Cup classes which ran at Tullinge last weekend, check out the NPSC web site at www.nitroz.se/motor/street/npsc.
FIA and UEM points standings.
9th August: The latest, post-Gardermoen points standings in the FIA and UEM European Championships have now been calculated and are available for viewing.
The FIA points standings can be found at the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se and on the European Drag Racing Database at www.eurodrag.com.
The UEM points standings are available on the King Racing web site at www.kingracing.com and on the Svensk Dragracing web site.
Mini-tour reports.
9th August: Two more race teams have posted accounts of their Scandinavian mini-tours on their official web sites.
First up is the UK's Nemesis Top Methanol Dragster team whose web site at www.eurodragster.com/nemesisracing contains a report on both the Sko Uno Drag Festival and the NDRG Drag Challenge by Crew Chief Andy Bissett. As ever, Andy's report manages to combine in-depth information with good humour, doing a great job of describing the atmosphere at FIA Championship races.
UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter's Scandinavian tour is described by Crew Chief Eddie Corr on Andy's web site at www.andycarter.net. Eddie's account starts many weeks before the team's departure for Sweden and brings us bang up-to-date with a preview of the car's appearance at next week's Nitrolympics in the hands of Gordie Bonin.
Sheavills' damage-free Four.
7th August: UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Barry Sheavills is delighted with a highly successful weekend at Gardermoen, where he returned to the fours with a pass of 4.986 in the Triple R/A1 Motor Stores Top Fueller in the first round of eliminations.
"The track was awesome!", says Barry. "Everyone was on a roll! I didn't break a thing all weekend, all we had to do was to change two bearings!"
Barry now holds a narrow lead in the FIA European Top Fuel Championship, which will be decided at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September. You can stay in touch with the latest from Barry and the team on his web site at www.topfuel.co.uk.
Danish Nationals entry list on-line.
7th August: The entry list for this weekend's Danish Nationals is now available on the European Drag Racing Database web site at www.eurodrag.com. Our good friend Tommy Nilsson has gone above and beyond the call of duty with the list, including photographs of many of the entrants.
We understand that entries are still being accepted for this race: the deadline is Friday. You can find an entry form on the National Drag Racing Club Denmark web site at www.ndcd.dk.
Web site updates.
7th August: The UK's Time Machine team web site has been updated with pictures of a number of the previous cars to carry the name, together with some technical details on Time Machine 8, the Junior Modified dragster driven by second-generation racer Adam Gleadow. Check it out at usit.shef.ac.uk/~timemachineracing. The team are off to Hockenheim next week where they are the only UK invitee and one of only two JMs in the class.
The Feel The Noise web site at www.feel-the-noise.com has been updated with pictures of the Fireforce Jet FC in action at the recent Mini Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway, together with an extended section on the Wild Bunch featuring a page for many individual teams.
Rain ruins Gardermoen.
6th August: This weekend's round of the FIA and UEM European Championships, and the Nordic Drag Racing Series, was curtailed by rain which struck at Gardermoen in the middle of the day yesterday. Although affected on and off by the rain which eventually prevailed, the event saw some stellar performances.
Barry Sheavills returned to the fours with a 4.986 in the first round of Top Fuel Dragster, the first four-second Top Fuel pass ever run in Scandinavia, whilst rookie Kim Reymond got close with a 5.014 at a huge 293 mph. Top Methanol Dragster Championship leader Rob Turner set yet another personal best and consolidated his Championship lead, whilst Leif Andréasson strengthened his claim as 2001 Champion-elect with two round wins. Pro Stock was the usual close-fought affair with three of the four first round winners running in the 7.0s.
On two wheels, Ian King ran a new personal best in defeating close UEM Comp Bike Championship rival Sverre Dahl; also in Comp Bike, Roel Koedam ran a stunning 6.29/358 (222 mph). Supertwin Top Fuel Bike racer Anders Karling lost the chance to clinch new European time and speed records (see yesterday's news item), as he had to replace the engine in his bike. In Pro Stock Bike, three of the first round winners ran mid- to high sevens.
You can find full qualifying and elimination results from Gardermoen on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se.
Another TFT win for Kågered...
6th August: Swedish Top Fuel Dragster and Top Methanol Funny Car racer Micke Kågered won another round of the Swedish Top Fuel Tour yesterday, at the Big Street Nats at Tullinge Raceway. Micke put in a quasi-bracket performance with consistent runs in the 5.1s and two terminal speeds of 293 mph, beating Tommy Möller in the final round which was over as soon as Möller pulled a wheelie. Pelle Lindelöw took the third/fourth place run-off from Monica Öberg.
You can read the Kågered Racing team's account of the weekend on their official web site at www.kagered-racing.com, and all the latest news on the Top Fuel Tour at www.topfueltour.com.
...TFT Sunday report.
6th August: Our special reporter Ivan Sansom has delivered another report from Tullinge, here's how he saw yesterday's action:
Sunday was a much improved day weather-wise, although there was some rain early in the morning preventing racing from starting until gone eleven - the track drying wasn't helped by the track prep tractor breaking down at half track and depositing fluid all over the right hand lane - yet another slog for the track crew...
Prior to the first round of eliminations in Top Fuel I had the chance to chat with Micke Kågered who was in a quietly confident mood, with the Bahco Tools Quaker State CBD dragster running clean and quick. Micke now feels very much at home in Top Fuel and sees his future very much in the class, and has adjusted to the more subtle corrections required in driving a fuel dragster as opposed to his TMFC. His talent for TMFC obviously hasn't desserted him as Micke ran a 6.3 test pass in the Quaker State Funny Car this afternoon (Magnus Larsson had a more troubled test pass in his gorgeous silver and blue Trans Am bodied TMFC today).
Monica Öberg typically downplayed her driving job from yesterday, remarking "It was just a little" when asked about the violent twitch at the top end - all who saw it will know different!
First round of TF saw No 1 qualified Tommy Möller take the win (5.30 at 436 km/h) over a tire spinning 5.49 effort at 350 km/h from Monica which also resulted in the blower belt being spat off. Monica and Tommy were pretty much even as they came past me at 100 feet, although the short end of the track was covered in slightly different fashion - Möller cutting a sci-fi like 0.402 RT coupled with a lazy 1.014 60 foot time, whilst Öberg had an impressive 0.937 60 foot and a 0.543 RT.
In the second pairing Pelle Lindelöw was confident of putting yesterdays problems behind him. Pelle was almost a complete car length (roughly a full tenth of a second) ahead of Kågered at the 100 foot mark through a nice holeshot, but then the blower belt let go and cut an oil line at 200 foot putting paid to Lindelöw's bid for a place in the final as the bright pink fueler slowed to a 7.74 at 172 km/h. Micke meantime shot off to another teen - this time a 5.15 at 473 km/h (Top Speed of the meet, and the same TS as the car ran at Piteå earlier in the Top Fuel Tour). Pelle had a mixture of disappointment - "I thought I had him" - and apologies for causing the lengthy clean up job. Hopefully Pelle's luck will improve for the rest of his final season.
In a sense Lindelöw's season improved in the 3rd/4th place runoff with an early shut off 5.25 at 385km/h defeating Oberg's tire smoking 5.65 at 422 km/h. "A bad race weekend" for Monica.
The 1st/2nd place match up saw co-crew chief Alan Jackson very happy with the setup on Kågered's car - "it runs so clean and consistently quick", whilst Peter Lantz (acting as advisor to the Lorentzon & Möller team) had been trying to find the 5.05 set up he ran at Tullinge two years ago, whilst comparing notes with Kim Reymond (racing at the FIA round in Gardermoen). Asked if a five-zero was likely, Peter replied "maybe 5.0, but who knows with these cars!"
Möller welded Micke on the startline, but then climbed into a three foot high wheelie by the time he passed the Christmas Tree - Kågered was long gone on a clean and quick 5.10 (low ET of the meet) at 472 km/h and Tommy wisely clicked the Optima car off as he brought the front end back down to earth.
So another eventful weekend on the Top Fuel Tour - as usual my thanks go to the racers and teams for taking the time to chat with me; Lelle and the NPSC organisers; the SPN guys and Stefan Boman for helping me with the Svensk; and Kinna and Elliott. Cheers guys, hope to see you all again at Tullinge next year when, hopefully, the track will be able to fend off the very real threat of closure for a housing development. Stockholm needs this track!
Junerud rebuilds to finish season.
6th August: Reigning European Supertwin Top Fuel Bike Champion Stefan Junerud faces a rebuild to make his remaining 2001 race dates after a serious engine breakage, which gave him a hairy moment in qualifying at Gardermoen. Stefan has been running a limited schedule this season, and attended the weekend's race encouraged by his runner-up spot at Mantorp Park. His delight at that result quickly turned into a nightmare.
"The engine produced so much 'unused' power at Mantorp that we knew we had a fair chance to improve a lot with the track conditions which Gardemoen always offers", says Stefan. "In the first qualifying round the rear tire smoked at fifty metres, then hooked up again. The engine pulled very hard, but a broken con rod at two hundred and fifty metres totally ruined the engine and stopped us making any further sessions. Unfortunately the engine left a lot of oil down the track, causing racing to be stopped for an hour and a half. Of course we are really sorry for that. I was lucky that Ton Pels, in the right lane, never got that close as my bike went all over the track during the braking. That was the sort of scary experience I wouldn't want anyone to go through."
Stefan still plans to attend races at Hockenheim (in two weeks), Landskrona and Santa Pod Raceway this season, and so is already hard at work on fixing the damage. You can read more on Stefan's excellent web site at www.servexab.com.
Web site updates.
6th August: Chris Dossett has updated his Trakbyte's UK Drag Race History web site with a large amount of new information. Foremost among the updates is a detailed Hall Of Fame entry for late UK racer Tony Boden, written by regular contributor Darren West, together with HoF entries for Tony Densham, John Hobbs, and Sydney and Alan Allard. There are also updates to various years' histories. Check it out at members.aol.com/trakbyte.
Karling on course to smash records.
5th August: Congratulations to Swedish Supertwin Top Fuel Bike racer Anders Karling on doing the first half of the job of setting European records at Gardermoen. Anders clocked an astounding 6.486/349.51 (217.22 mph) in qualifying, both time and speed will be new records if backed up today: 6.551 and 346.05 respectively will do the trick.
You can read Anders' own account of the pass on his web site at www.karlingracing.com, and full qualifying stats on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se.
Cooper sets PB.
5th August: UK Comp Bike racer Ken Cooper was also on a flyer at Gardermoen yesterday, setting a new Personal Best of 7.102 on his Pro Mod Bike.
"Saturday was frustrating in many ways, due to a late start caused by heavy overnight rain, and a couple of very lengthy oildowns", says Ken's webmaster Andy Holten who spent the day at Gardermoen as Ken's guest. "However I'm pleased to report that Ken laid down a superb 7.10 second pass! Unfortunately Ken's second pass was a less superb 7.5, shutting off early. Just before I caught my plane back home, I saw the reason why - a melted spark plug and a carb blown off the block by a too-rich fuel mixture. Hopefully all will be fixed for Sunday's eliminations."
You can get all the news from Team Cooperized on their official web site at www.cooperizedracing.com.
TFT Saturday report.
5th August: Thanks to our special reporter Ivan Sansom for sending us the following report on yesterday's Top Fuel Tour action at Tullinge:
Saturday proved to be an extremely long and tiring day at Tullinge Raceway, with qualifying for the third round of this year's Top Fuel Tour cut short to a single round thanks to a combination of the weather and a phenomenal number of oildowns in the accompanying Nordic Pro Street Cup. First and foremost a big Thank You must go to the SHRA Stockholm track crew who battled through the weather conditions to enable qualfying to start at 3 pm this afternoon, and then proceed through the numerous aforementioned oildowns and vehicles stuck on the track until just after the 6pm curfew. Hopefully the crew will be rewarded with better weather on Sunday - needless to say it turned out to be a beautiful sunny Stockholm evening after the final pair went down the track!
However, the Top Fuel qualifying session saw a couple of excellent passes from Kågered and Möller and a superb driving job from Öberg. The four cars on the Tour came out late on under overcast skies with solo efforts being the name of the game. First up was Tommy Möller in the Optima Batteries and Sunoco Fuels backed tangerine dream machine - a strong burnout was followed by a picture perfect 5.19 at 442km/h with a beautiful wheels up launch and header flames shooting high above the wing. Not good enough for number one qualifier though, as Micke Kågered belted out a 5.13 at 461 km/h in the very next pass - a slight waver at mid track was quickly corrected and what looked like death smoke at the top end proved to be nothing more than a whole load of kitty litter being picked up by the Bahco-Quaker State machine. Alan Jackson was looking somewhat ruefully at the cleaning job that faced him when I left the track.
Unfortunately I missed Freddie Fagerström's 6.64 on Friday, but his 6.9 driving job whilst sideways through the lights more than made up for this - and I'm sure his burnouts are getting longer! Kent Trenneman, Jallo Makima and Kenneth Feldthusen are all nicely in the high sixes as well.
The weather's looking better for Sunday - so if you are in the Stockholm area there is only one place to be - the Top Fuel Tour eliminations look like they should be a classic (four seconds could be the magic numbers), the NPSC classes will be entertaining as always - and there are two Swedish TMFC's at the track and they should be out and testing - what more could you want!
We hope to have a report on today's action on the next news update.
Beck an absentee.
4th August: Swiss Top Fuel Dragster racer Peter Beck is an absentee at the FIA round at Gardermoen this weekend after suffering serious engine damage at Mantorp Park last weekend. Top Fuel Team Switzerland made the decision to return to base in Oberonz to give them time to rebuild the engine of the Nitrolympics Top Fueller for the USA v Europe Top Fuel match race at Hockenheim in a couple of weekends.
For the team's account of how this season's wretched run of luck has continued, check out the News page of the Top Fuel Team Switzerland web site at www.topfuel.ch.
Web site updates.
4th August: The UK Streetracers web site at www.ukstreetracers.com has been updated with results from the fourth Street Racer Sunday at North Weald. The web site also features details of members' cars, performance stats, links, calendar, and a page for Mustang owners.
Karling ready to race.
3rd August: We've heard from Swedish Supertwin Top Fuel Bike racer Anders Karling who is in the pits at Gardermoen waiting for a shower to stop.
Anders won STTF at Mantorp Park last weekend with a dominant performance, setting new European records in the process. "The weekend was a success for us", says Anders. "We took all the points you can take at one event. That's sixty eight points, and it took us into the lead in the series, twenty five points ahead of Per Bengtsson and twenty seven points ahead of Ton Pels. At Mantorp we made eight passes, and discounting an early shut-off 5.0 my average ET was 4.34 with the best of 4.29. I recorded sixty-foot times of between 1.098 and 1.109 on all passes. In eliminations the speed was between 280.59 and 278.53 kmh. So the new records are 4.29 and 280.95. I also recorded 284.20 but didn't back it up. For Gardemoen this weekend we put on a new tyre and just did some regular maintenance."
Anders also brought us up to speed with the news of some some of his fellow racers. "Lasse Wahlberg has built a new drive for his supercharger to get more boost. Most of the guys from Norway had to make repairs after Mantorp, but they are starting to run out of parts and have had to look around in both Sweden and Norway to find something they can use. Ton Pels is trying to get rid of his problem with the burning of points on the magnetos. Nielsen, Nyhlen, Bengtsson and Juneryd are ready to tune their bikes for the conditions here."
Anders will be posting updates from Gardermoen on the News page of his web site at www.karlingracing.com.
Llewellyn's solo effort.
2nd August: UK Super Comp Racer Zane Llewellyn's Scandinavian tour got off to a lonely start at Mantorp Park last weekend.
"My wife Wendy missed the plane to Sweden, so I had to race on my own", says Zane. "I had no-one to back me up from my burnouts. I couldn't go and pick her up until I was out of competition and so she had to sit at the airport until the third round!"
Zane qualified third after breaking out in a number of qualifying sessions, and then went out on a red light in the third round of eliminations. "Setting-up was very difficult", says Zane. "It was very hot, and the adjusted altitude was more than one thousand feet. There was also a stiff headwind on Sunday. The red light was very close indeed, so I didn't mind it too much."
Zane continues to be impressed with the Nordic Drag Racing Series. "I had lots of offers of help and hospitality from the other racers - they were brilliant!", he says. "The race was well-organised. There were lots of oildowns, cars went off the end of the track, but it didn't slow things down."
Zane is headed for this weekend's Drag Challenge at Gardermoen, and then the Night Race at Alastaro on the following weekend, before going to Hockenheim for the Nitrolympics where he will join up with some of his fellow Bristol Doorslammers team members (presumably including Wendy - Ed).
Goring storms back.
2nd August: UK Jet Funny Car pilot Roger Goring is back in action after a broken turbine blade wreaked havoc inside the engine of the Firestorm Jet FC, threatening to end his season.
The blade broke during a demonstration pass at the recent Streetfighters Straightliners event at Elvington in Yorkshire. "The problem with broken blades is that they break other blades, which in turn break others. It's like a chain reaction. The turbine was wrecked big time!"
Things looked bleak for the Firestorm team just as they were approaching their busiest part of the year, with bookings lined up at the Drag and Custom Show at Crail in Scotland, Ultimate Street Car at Santa Pod, Super Series 4 and the NSRA Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway, and the FIA European Finals and Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod.
However, Roger's good friend and UK Land Speed Record holder Colin Fallows stepped in to save the Crail show. "I called Colin and asked him if he would take over the Crail booking, because they had never seen a jet car and we didn't want to let them down", says Roger. "Colin immediately offered us his Vampire Jet Dragster, he even said that I should drive it. I eventually persuaded him to come along and drive the Vampire, and he was a great success. Colin saved the day, he saved our face, and Crail want both Firestorm and Vampire there next year! I am very grateful to him."
Meanwhile, Roger and his crew Helen Rusling and Ian Blaylock had located a new turbine for Firestorm. After a sterling effort the turbine was placed inside the jet, and the Funny Car made a triumphant return to the track at York Dragway last weekend. "We had a great time at York", says Roger. "The first few runs were very encouraging, the sixty-foot times were right on. It was leaving like a rocket!"
A lot of hard work still lies ahead. "The new turbine is a more up-to-date item", says Roger. "It's more efficient, so the car should go a lot faster, but it does mean that we have to start from scratch again with the combination. We're not going after Martin Hill's records just yet, but we will be going quickly this year!"
Roger will now be appearing at all of his remaining bookings with Firestorm, the next being Ultimate Street Car at Santa Pod Raceway next week. To stay in touch with the latest developments, tune in to the Firestorm web site at www.firestorm-jfc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk.
Tullinge track prep underway.
2nd August: Lennart Olsson and his track crew are hard at work prepping the surface at Tullinge Raceway prior to this weekend's Big Street Nats, which features the third round of the Swedish Top Fuel Tour as well as the latest round of the Nordic Pro Street Cup.
Our good friend Hasse of the Swedish Pro Street News Magazine visited the track last week and found Lennart elbow-deep in work. "We started ripping off old rubber and other pollution until we had a surface as shiny as a mirror", Lelle told Hasse. "Then the track is treated with trackbite and new rubber. We’ll provide the best prepared track you can get. Spectators visiting Tullinge Raceway this weekend will get what they want, with tight duels on the dragstrip! And given that this could be the last large race at Tullinge, a four-second run would be nice before the weekend is over."
You can find Hasse's full article on the Swedish Pro Street News Magazine at www.swedishprostreetnews.com/press/tullingeng.htm.
Web site updates.
2nd August: The Drag Torque web site at www.dragtorque.co.uk has been updated with the latest standings in Dave Nelson's Fantasy Drag Team competition, which is proving to be a close-fought affair with several potential winners.
Kågered heads for Stockholm.
1st August: Swedish Top Fuel Dragster and Top Methanol Funny Car racer Micke Kågered is heading for the third (of four) round of the Swedish Top Fuel Tour in Stockholm this weekend, thereby missing the FIA round at Gardermoen.
"We have to run in the Top Fuel Tour because we have signed up to do so", says Team Manager Åsa Kinnemar. "Micke thinks that it is very sad that two organisers decide to run their events the same dates, since there are so few drag racing events overall."
You can stay in touch with the latest news from Kagered Racing on their official web site at www.kagered-racing.com. The web site will be updated with reports from Stockholm on Saturday and Sunday of this weekend.
For more details about this weekend's Big Street Nats at Tullinge Raceway in Stockholm, which is also a round of the Nordic Pro Street Cup, check out the NPSC web site at www.nitroz.se/motor/street/npsc, and for more details on the Top Fuel Tour, visit the official web site at www.topfueltour.com.
Watch out for Malmgren!
1st August: Swedish Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren is going all-out to preserve his performance advantage at this weekend's NDRG Drag Challenge at Gardermoen, which is the fourth (of five) round of the FIA European Championships. Michael was number one qualifier at Mantorp Park in the AC Delco-sponsored Camaro, and was runner-up to Niclas Andersson in a close final.
"We set new Pro Stock track records of 7.01/197 at Mantorp", says crew member Magnus Cato. "I still can't believe those figures, I thought Mantorp was doomed to be a 7.10 track and I was impressed by Totalmek team when they ran a 7.09 - I honestly didn't believe it was possible to run faster. We would like to dedicate that 7.01 to the promoters at Mantorp, and the expert advisers from Santa Pod. I've made a promise to Ian Marshall the Chief Starter that we will run very quick indeed at Santa Pod in September!
"First things first, we are heading to Norway this weekend, trying to keep this streak going. We found some momentum to go really fast in our hot rod, so watch out! As I have mentioned before, luck has a lot to do with it, and we are very lucky indeed with Heikki Parviainen onboard as Crew Chief. We are also are very grateful to our supervisor Christer Gustafsson, who took time to discuss some matters at Mantorp. It looks good in the AC Delco camp!"
King plays down chances.
1st August: UK Top Fuel Bike racer and current UEM Competition Bike Championship leader Ian King is playing down his Championship chances ahead of the UEM round at Gardermoen. Ian has a clear lead in the Championship after victory and new European records at Mantorp Park, but he is refusing to get carried away.
"We hoped to have a chance at Mantorp as we have been running good eighth-mile figures already this year. It's our second half that struggles", says Ian. "The remaining rounds at Gardermoen and Santa Pod will be much tougher for us. They are power tracks, and Roel Koedam and Sverre Dahl are still favourites for the Championship due to this fact and their vast experience."
Ian enjoyed his weekend at Mantorp, the first time he had ever raced at the venue. "It was bloody hot!", he says. "I was very impressed by the size and interest of the crowd. There was a great atmosphere, nice track officials, and well-run. The track prep was good, although part of the eighth was new tarmac, and at that point traction became marginal. We ran a slow final round against Ken Cooper, the clutch gave up and didn't lock before the finish line. But I was pleased to win first time out, and to set new records in the process. I was also glad for our event Sponsor, Sikema AB of Stockholm, who came to a drag race for the first time and saw 'their' bike win. I am very grateful to my crew for the weekend of Michael Beaumont and Nick Pepper, to Dave Wilson and the Nemesis crew for bringing our bike out to Scandinavia, and to North Herts Engineering whose cylinder head welding is still standing up!"
Ian has updated his web site with more news from his weekend at Mantorp Park together with the latest standings in the UEM Championships. Check it out at www.kingracing.com.
FIA points standings.
1st August: The latest (post-Mantorp) points standings in the FIA European Championships are now available on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se and the European Drag Racing Database at www.eurodrag.com. In Top Fuel Dragster and Pro Stock, the margin between first and second places is a mere two points, whilst both Top Methanol classes are beginning to look a little more clear-cut although not decided!
The Svensk Dragracing web site has also been updated with more pictures from the weekend's events at Mantorp Park.
Drag Challenge entry list.
1st August: The official entry list for this weekend's NDRG Drag Challenge at Gardermoen is now available on the NDRG web site at www.norskdragracing.com, together with more details about the event (in Norwegian). Click on Les mer under the picture on the Home Page and then for the entry list click on on Terminliste.
Mantorp Park reports.
1st August: Two Top Fuel racers have posted on their web sites accounts of their weekends at Mantorp Park. First up is reigning Champion Anita Mäkelä whose report can be found on the Finnish and English News pages of her web site at www.anitamakela.com.
Second is the current Championship leader, the UK's Barry Sheavills, whose account is on the Press Release page of his web site at www.topfuel.co.uk.
Turbo offers Vancil models.
1st August: UK drag bike photo-journalist Ian 'Turbo' Turburville is offering bike fans what will soon be very rare die-cast models of the Vance and Hines Top Fuel Harley which is ridden in the USA by Doug Vancil.
"The die cast is going to be hard to get as it is proving very popular and is only being made in limited numbers", says Turbo. "I have arranged for delivery of just ten models for the end of the week, so if anyone wants one better get one quick! They are not expensive for what they are, an absolutely fabulous, high detail model, in massive 1:9th scale, of the world's quickest Harley drag bike. I will be looking to supply Vancil T-shirts and posters also later on,as well as T-shirts of other American teams. Anyone interested can contact me at vancil@turboville.com."
Earlier news
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