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31st August: After a very hot Drachten Internationals, Erwin Raets writes that everyone is looking forward to the Quartermile Drachten Finals, which will take place at Drachten Airfield on 5th-7th October: The reason that the Finals is this late in the season is that we had to cancel the July race due to heavy rain, and the first weekend in October was the first possible option. Because this date is a little out of the ordinary we wanted to make this a special edition as well. We will be cooperating with DHRA on Friday, to host a round of their street-legal Championship in combination with the qualifying rounds for the Quartermile Drachten Finals. It is a joint effort we are really looking forward to! It will be the first time these two similar but yet totally different races will be presented simultaneously. But there is another type of doorslammer cars which will attend the races. What is by far the most popular class for the audience to watch will be well-represented at the Quartermile Drachten Finals to attend the first edition of the Drachten Pro Mod Battle. The idea is to have up to eight Pro Modifieds entering the battle, and weather permitting all participants will have at least eight runs to put their best time on the scoreboards. The fastest run of the weekend wins the battle, and takes home a substantial amount of money. If the track record - currently held by Adam Flamholc at 4.18 seconds - gets broken in the process, an extra bonus will be added to that! Only the first eight entries will be accepted, and on-line will be available via the Speedgroup web site soon. We have received positive reactions from several teams after sending out an E-Mail to check if they were interested in joining the battle; we will send out another message to all teams when the entry is open. There will be no need to worry about the track condition, as Danny Bellio already made several sub-four second passes over the eighth mile, and Lex Joon even managed a 3.69. We are sure it will be a weekend full of action, a worthy end to the Dutch drag racing season! About that quickest FWD... 
31st August: Further to Wednesday's news item about Guy Chamberlain's European
Best for a Front Wheel Drive street car, Bjorn Holmberg writes from Sweden that
he believes that his eight-second FWD Nissan Cherry is the quickest FWD in Europe:
Last year at Tierp Arena I ran 8.99/259 kmh (160 mph) in my FWD Nissan Cherry. The car is powered by a four-cylinder two-litre SR20 engine. Back in 2006 we built the car and put the first engine together. We dyno'd 915 hp at the crank and ran 10.18/238 kmh (147 mph). It took us two years until we ran 9.91/248 kmh (154 mph) in 2008, then we had a couple of years struggling with gearbox issues until we finally got a move last year. We started off running 9.23/255 kmh and throughout the season we were just going quicker and quicker until we finally ended up at brand new Tierp Arena in late September. We broke one gearbox in qualifying, but then we ran 9.02 in the first round of eliminations. In the second round of eliminations we had a bye so we tried a different clutch setting, but that didn't work. So for the final round we went back to the original setting and ran an amazing 8.99/259 kmh! Don't get me wrong, any FWD which runs nines or better deserves respect, and to dyno 1021 hp in a two-litre four-cylinder engine is also a great job. I have only proof of 915 hp on the crank from 2006 and 830 hp on the wheels in July. Any time we tried to get more at the crank the engine blew, and the wheel dyno could not handle any more power. And can we honestly define a FWD street car? There must be thousands of versions of what is a street car and not, but at the end of the day isn't it hard enough to run FWD? People in Sweden have argued forever what is a street car but frankly it is impossible to say. Does picking up a pizza make it a street car? Going to work in it? Even fully registered cars which have passed their MOT aren't always used every day. You can see video of Bjorn's eight-second pass at www.woken.se/carmaniacs_film/wok2011/woken_tierp_film_2011_e.htm and his account of the run at http://www.woken.se/wok/2011/tierp_nof_2011_e.htm. Exit Super Pro 340. 31st August: After much discussion and deliberation UK Super Pro ET racers and longtime Eurodragster.com supporters Pat and Stephen Talbot have decided to retire from racing. Pat and Stephen write: We have had a great eighteen years in Bracket racing, from two races in Modified ET (remember that!) then into Super Pro ET. We started with the small white dragster with a 3.5 Rover. Then onto two great Chrysler-powered dragsters built by Hauser Racing and Jon Webster. Pat ran an 8.5 on her first day out in the blue car, twice runner-up in in the UK Championship (the second time missing it by one point), and finally going from 7.5 to regular 6.9s a couple of years back in the 262" car we are running today. We would like to thank all of the people who have helped us along the way: Geof Hauser, Jon Webster, Kev Cerusale, Rob Loring, Nick Davies and Al O'Connor. A special shout out to Crunch – David Crunkhorn - who has been our inspiration for many, many years and especially kept Stephen sane over the winters. Of course we want to thank everyone who has crewed for us over the years not least Tom Ward (Sharkman), Lisa Shone, Jonny Talbot, Matthew Talbot, and many others who have given up their time and very often holidays to help us get the results we achieved. Obviously we are going to miss Super Pro ET and all of the Super Pro ETers especially Crunch, Martyn Jones, Steve and Pat Johnson and all of the other characters with whom we have shared a few drinks over the years. We hope to keep involved in the racing somehow but after another great season, including two perfect runs (so far), running the dragster is coming to an end at the European Finals. If anyone is interested in buying the car, trailer and tow car/pick-up then please contact Stephen via E-Mail at garagesale@talbotracing.com or come to see us at our last race, the European Finals at Santa Pod. Lazenby's last word. 31st August: Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Colin Lazenby writes that next week's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway represents the last chance fans will get to see the popular '56' Chevy in its current guise: Racing for the team has certainly had its challenges over the last couple of seasons having attended only two points events in 2010 and none whatsoever in 2011. Indeed the Finals will be only the second event the team have attended this year and yet they are even more determined to press ahead with what they believe is unfinished business in terms of improved ETs and/or speeds. This motivation exists in many teams but for this team their astounding 7.65 record, set with Sportsman Pros at the 2010 FIA European Finals, looks likely to remain in the record books for ever. While we're on the often sensitive subject of tyres, specifically the new Hoosier QTs, Colin says “We have yet to find the limits of the Hoosiers but we are keen to push the boundaries before we are forced to make significant change. However one thing is certain: I will not continue to waste my time and our combined energies to compete against lesser cars which are being allowed to use a tyre regarded by many as being better than the equivalent-sized slick. It's an easy route to quicker ETs and no leveller at all. Any records run on these tyres count for nothing with me. Christ, they've been running sub-sevens on Drag Radials in the USA for years. For us and without the spirit (or the mood) for change this will finally see us move away from the class, changing the powerplant, the chassis or, selling up altogether”. With this in mind fans of the always beautifully prepared '56' should make a point of stopping by and taking a good look at this original VIN plated car before the unthinkable takes place, remembering that change is not always a good thing, even when it's made for all the right reasons. Never one for controversy, Colin's parting shot is to forewarn any SE competitors running turdos or Drag Radials to ‘lock and load' the Iceman is back and he's coming for you at the Euros. Another record weekend. 31st August: One of the undoubted highlights of last weekend's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena, in fact one of the highlights of the season if not the decade, was Peter Svensson's world best 5.709 on the Team Starta Top Fuel Bike in qualifying. Sören Svensson has been in touch to tell us about the team's weekend which included another new European record: On Friday morning we got ready for Q1 keeping in mind the that we ran very well in June re-setting our own European ET record. We we decided to change to a softer set up in order to get a good qualifying run. The green light came on and we all could see that the Peter was on a good run and the scoreboard showed a 5.927 to give us the number one spot despite an early shut off at about 1000 feet. We got back to the pits and prepared the bike for Q2, changing the tune up to be able to run very quick since we thought that the track would improve after all the cars had made their first qualifying attempt, and at the same time the sun started to shine. After a strong burnout Peter staged and hit the throttle when the green light came on we could all see that this was a storming run and straight as an arrow until about 1000 feet when the bike started to drift a bit towards the guard rails and Peter had to click off the throttle. The scoreboard showed a stunning 5.709 sec at only 355.50 kph letting us all know that Peter had just made the quickest run ever on a Top Fuel Bike with an early shut off! 
The whole team went wild, the crowd went wild, Pippi the speaker went wild (The word of which I'm thinking begins with "Ape", and I won't tell you what I said - Ed who was sat next to PiPPi), and so did everyone else at the track. A dream had just come true for all of us in the team and we wonder if anyone else (apart from Larry and Steve McBride) knows the feeling that we got ever since that run. We built the bike back in 1992 in order to some day be the quickest in the world and now we have the quickest bike on the planet! The whole team and all of our friends in the pits were celebrating until late Friday night and it really was a night to remember. Saturday morning came around and we decided to try to back up our previous run and we were called to the lanes for Q3. Peter made a strong burnout and at the green light we all could see that we had added a bit too much power to the bike and it started fishtailing forcing Peter to get off the throttle. We got back to the pit and started to prepare the bike for Q4 and decided to try backing up our best ever ET once again. Peter made a great burnout and the green light came on and then we all could see that Peter start to drift towards the centre line forcing him unfortunately to abort this run also. Back in the pits we discovered that we had a sprag failure and had to change it for to the next run. The weather forecast for Sunday didn't look too good and the whole team decided to get up early in order to be ready forround one of eliminations 1 just to see the rain starting to fall early in the morning delaying E1 by about an hour. The track crew worked hard as always in order to get the track ready and we were called to the lanes at about 13:00 for E1 against Kai Selkämaa. Peter made a nice long burnout and as I was pushing him back I noticed immediately that the track had the same high standard as always. When Peter hit the throttle he moved straight and hard to a nice run taking the win at 5.860 seconds to set a new European record, backed up by the previous much too quick 5.709. 
E2 was approaching and since we were top qualifier we had a planned bye run. Once again we decided to try to back up the 5.709 and changed the tuning of the bike to be ready. We were called to the lanes and decided to run in the left lane once again. Peter staged and was as ready as he could be, the green light came on Peter ran straight but unfortunately we could all hear the engine dropping cylinders and the transmission belt broke due to this just before the 1000 foot mark, still running a great 5.92. Back in the pits the whole team, with some help from our opponent in the final Rikard Gustafsson, started to fix the bent valves and to check the rest of the problems that occurred when the transmission belt broke and then the rain started to fall. After about forty five minutes we got the message that the Race Director had to take the hard decision to cancel the race due to the weather conditions. We started to pack all our equipment together with the bike and started the long journey back to our home town Sollebrunn with a smile on our faces, thinking what a great weekend we had all had. Our next race will be the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod and we hope to see as many as possible of our fans there to come over to our camp and have a chat, or just to pick up a hero card. This race will be our last of this season unless a sponsor can provide us with the funding to go to Valdosta and the Manufacturers Cup in November (Come on someone - Ed). Finally we must take the opportunity to thank both the organisers of the race and Kjell Pettersson, as well as the track crew who gave us the opportunity to run the quickest ET ever for a Top Fuel Bike! Thanks guys! A big Thank You to all those who make this possible: Starta Produkter, supplied by Sollebrunns Oljeservice HRM Engineering AB, skilled engineers within mechanical engineering, mechatronics, electronics and software development Samek Tool AB, who makessome of the best moulding tools in the automotive industry in Sweden CemeCon A/S, one of the best companies in Europe when it comes to camshaft coating etc Real Form, product development within mechanical design Romnet, computer network etc consultants AF Konsult AB, consultants within most electrical installation areas JJ Ventservice, solve all your problems when it comes to ait conditioning and ventilation Pippi, No. 1 when it comes to marketing All our fans and family members who are supporting us towards new achievements every year! For more information about our previous achievements and updates, please visit www.billetracing.se. What a Count! 31st August: The UK's Vince Gibbs, aka the Fearless Count, owner and driver of the Nosferatu Super Pro ET Pontiac Firebird, says that he was surprised to run his first-ever 200 mph pass at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway last weekend: All year we have been suffering a tuning problem with the car nosing over just past half track. The data showed us that the front four cylinders were going out and we suspected that we were over-fuelling the motor, but other signals were showing that we were close to running lean on the rear four cylinders. We took loads of advice and made many small changes until at the Summernationals at Santa Pod we found our tune window by running back into the low sevens, with a lift before the stripe. The first pass at Shakey was a 7.1 at 197 mph and again the data showed we were a little on the warm side so more fuel was added to cool it down. The expectation was that Nosferatu would run a little slower but instead it gulped the extra fuel down and pushed me to a new Personal Best of 208 mph. The next run was a slightly slower 205 mph but nicely backed up. I would like to thank all those at the track who offered their congratulations, the organisers for preparing a good track, and his team of Mina, Igor the Silent One, Wednesday and Pugsley. Plus honorary team members James-the-wine, Jimmy and Helly: thanks for your help. Also a big thanks to our current sponsors The Gothic Shop, Auto Colour Match and Nick Bolton Body Repairs and Resprays. The joy of break-outs. 31st August: After revealing that their returning crew member for Dragstalgia was none other than Norman the Skeleton, or too be a little more truthful, Norman son of Norman as, unfortunately, the original Skeleton went to the bone yard in the sky many moons ago, things have been on the up for the UK's Paranoia Wild Bunch team. Team member Steve Williams writes: Norman seems to have had a positive influence on the car and on Sunday at Dragstalgia we found that we had finally banished all the niggles with the fuel and NOS systems which had plagued us this season and the car ran through the whole quarter on all six cylinders. This put the car back in the nines and it recorded a best of 9.80 at 134 mph which were Alan Loten's first nine-second runs since he returned to the track last year and his first for twenty seven years. We were looking forward to our next meeting, at the Open Sports Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, to try to repeat the nine-second performance but the weather forecasts in the week leading up to the event seemed to suggest that the whole event would be a wash out. Thankfully, the forecasts proved to be incorrect and, although it did rain on all three days, we managed to get runs in on each day. For the only run we did on Saturday, we left the same settings in the car as at Dragstalgia and it launched well off the line, ran through strongly on all six and I was hopeful that it was another nine but, due to the noise on the start line and the top end boards not working, I didn't get the time. I collected Alan at the top end and he felt that it was a good run and commented that as the car was now running properly he had been able to concentrate on trying to get the maximum out of it. When we returned to the pits, and picked up the ticket, we were shocked to find that the car had actually powered through in 9.49 seconds at 139 mph! A quick check on the incrementals showed that they were all up so it wasn't a piece of litter in the lights but a genuine time, so we were two happy bunnies on Saturday night. On Sunday we got two runs in, the first was spoilt when the car bounced a couple of times off the line and then developed a magnetic attraction to the barriers, slowing the car to a 9.98 second run. On the second run, which was only our sixth with the car running properly, we felt there was enough nitrous left in the bottle for a run but were still unsure of exactly how much the car uses. On the run, it turned out we had underestimated the amount of nitrous needed and the bottle ran out before the finish line and slowed the car to another 9.96 run. This left us unsure of what time to put on the car on Monday for the eliminations, in the end we went for 9.60 and Alan decided he would run through all the way to see what the car would do. What the car would do was another 9.48 second run at 140 mph which meant that we had broken out and lost but were we bothered? No we weren't. The two runs in the 9.4s at the weekend represent personal bests for Alan over both halves of his career and the car is at present going better than expected given its current specification so we are again looking forward to our next meeting at the UK National Finals where we hope the old Jaguar will continue to roar. Our thanks go to the crew at Shakespeare County Raceway who managed to run most of the meeting despite all that the weather gods could throw at them, to all who have offered help and advice which has got us to this point and all who offered congratulations when we got there. Special thanks go to Terry from the Dorset Horn crew who has been helping us out on the start line while my mobility is not so good. We'll see you all at the next meeting. FBs' last Shakey stand. 31st August: With retirement looming the Open Sports Nationals event was to be the final outing to Shakespeare County Raceway for Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Ian Hook and the FB Racing team: Our recent performance levels combined with the ominous weather forecast meant that I had low expectations for this event but, happily, I was to be proved wrong. The weekend didn't start well when rain prevented us from running at all on the Saturday although the annual Street Eliminator barbecue helped to lift the spirits on Saturday night and served to bolster the already vibrant atmosphere in the SE pits. Sunday's forecast was a lot better and was borne out in reality with sunshine, a rapidly improving track and three qualifying runs - well done to the Shakey crew. This was our first time using a pneumatic throttle control, designed and built by Crew Chief Martin Kerr, and it worked superbly rolling the throttle in away from the start and eliminating start line traction loss. Another great innovation from Martin which netted us third in qualifying with an 8.20 ET, our best at Shakey, and 175.49 mph, our fastest ever speed anywhere. Our qualifying position was confirmed following our successful completion of the Cruise, the weather holding to make for a very enjoyable final ride through the Warwickshire countryside in the FB Racing '34 coupe for Martin and I. Monday's weather was a concern but we almost got away with it! For round one it was a battle of the hot rods as we faced Jeff Meads' screaming yellow Pop. We'd taken a little performance out of the tune as we were concerned that the track may have gone off a little and the car produced a winning 8.23 to put us into the semis. After what seemed a very long time we lined up against Stuart Williams in his astounding Supra for our semi. Having seen that the track was holding up we'd tuned for an eight-teen and almost got there. A good RT and an 8.21 ET was enough to get by Stuart who had problems running a couple of tenths off his best of the weekend of 8.1. In the final we would have faced Mark Todd who'd got there after an amazing race against Brian Payne, the Pontiac driver taking the win 7.79 to 7.80 having installed the kitchen sink tune (well, almost) but sadly the weather closed in and curtailed proceedings. And that made our semi-final win the last appearance of FB Racing at Shakespeare County Raceway, twenty eight years after I débuted there in my Cleveland-powered Mustang. I sneaked away from the pack up and took a last look down the track from a racer's viewpoint – so many memories, so many fantastic people and so much fun. I will miss it all very much and would like to say a huge thanks to everyone, my crew, fellow racers, sponsors, track crew, officials and spectators – you all made it very special. So, we've just two meetings to go. Now where did we put that seven-second tune? Joe back on the beat. 31st August: After deciding not to contest the EDRS Series, as no rounds took place in the UK, UK and NDRS Junior Dragster Champion Joe Kellett decided to go to the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. This turned out to be an excellent event for the Drummin' Man team as Joe's dad Pete reports: The weather was fantastic and the atmosphere electric even if we didn't have a good track. It was OK for the Juniors of course and we had four qualifying runs on the Saturday. Joe pulled three red lights trying for that perfect reaction. The commentator said the Drummin' Man has lost his beat, which I thought was a good way of putting it. I told Joe "You have one chance left to qualify", so with the pressure on he pulled a 0.24 and then coolly said "Whats the problem? It's sorted". The beat was back. Joe qualified eleventh. We went through round one and the quarter finals and into the semis against Lucas Duborget. We dialled in 8.06, and ran 8.06 to take the win. We were then paired against Jacob Kopasz with whom we had travelled all the way from the UK, how bizarre was that? Anyway an all-English final which was great. Jacob's dial in was excellent but Joe just had a better reaction which gave him the win. Congratulations to Joe and also to Jacob Kopasz for getting to the final. Thanks to the Hockenheim crew who worked hard to try to get the track prepped, and to Jerry Lackey for inviting us and putting on a great after-race trophy presentation and all the free beverages. Thanks to the Super Street Bike racers for giving Joe such great rapturous applause when he went up for his trophy, they brought the house down. Last but not least thanks to Dave Elliot for his help with the transport. Swift snippets. 31st August: European fans have someone to cheer on at the US Nationals at Indianapolis as Swedish Pro Modified racer Adam Flamholc and ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Mike Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences are contesting the event. Both are in action today; you will be able to stay in touch with Mike's and Adam's progress courtesy of our Drag Race Central friends at www.dragracecentral.com. Good luck guys and stay safe. Thanks to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for forwarding us an updated European Bests sheet now including all the records set at last weekend's Scandinavian Internationals. You can check out the updated sheet of European Bests by clicking here or by clicking on the European Bests link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Julie Bennett asked us to wish Dan Bennett a great stag weekend at Volkswagen Action at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend. "Hope you all have a great weekend, but don't forget you have to be sober enough to be back at the Pod next Wednesday ready for the Euros", says mum. Have a great weekend Dan. NAST AGM and party. 31st August: Chair Bev Batsford writes that the UK's National Association of Supertwins is holding its annual AGM and End of Year party on Saturday 3rd November. The party takes place at: Bulkington War Memorial Club Stafford Close Bulkington Bedworth CV12 9QX All-girl band The Kixx will be providing the music. Tickets are £5 and will be available from the NAST pits at the UK National Finals and the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend. Alternately contact Bev via Facebook to book your ticket and pay and collect at either event. Hotels near to the venue are Travel Lodge Coventry 02476 383541, Weston Hall Hotel 02476 678671, Premier Inn 02476 343584 and De Vere Ricoh Arena 0844127271. PDRC v the forecast. 31st August: Pennine Drag Racing Club Chair Al Perkins writes that the PDRC and racers ignored the weather forecast and went ahead with their meeting at York Raceway at the weekend: Before racing got underway, a minute's silence was held for Kasey Dixon Grainger on the anniversary of his accident. Sunday was a great day and we went racing. Running two full rounds of American Superstock and the NSCC in one weekend was always going to tough. All competitors were qualified and the ladders ready when a brief shower came in, so brief that it didn't really wet the track. We did a quick drying job and were good to go again. It was the largest field of Super Stock this year, which was great to see, and it produced close racing. We also had largest field of Super Cup racers of the year too. Super Cup is York's heads-up, anything-goes class which features altereds and doorslammers running close to sevenseconds. Qualifying set the bar at mid eights with the track improving, so we were set for a great battle in Monday's eliminations. The Superstock and NSCC finals became victims of heavy rainfall at the end of the day, so we decided to run these finals on Monday morning. We quickly had these run and went into qualifying for Monday's round. Monday forecast was for heavy rain in the afternoon, so eliminations began early. We managed to get to the quarter finals before the really heavy stuff came in and ended any chance of finishing the meeting. We decided to run the remaining eliminations at our next meeting in September. Thanks to all for their patience, unfortunately even we cannot control the weather though we are working on it! We set about holding the KC memorial event we had planned with KC's family. We started with a cruise / parade up the track, pausing briefly at the top end to assemble into a line of four to return slowly back to the start line. We had reversed the tree so the lights pointed up the track and KC's mum Tanya gave the green light for 10.1 seconds of noise (KC's final run was 10.1). We then had a pit bay barbeque for all racers, spectators and officials followed by a our favourite band Karma Heart who rocked us to the small hours. We knew KC would be watching us, so everyone made sure to enjoy and have fun. FWD Outlaw Shootout review. 31st August: Again further to Wednesday's news item from Guy Chamberlain, Richard Batty kindly sent us a report of the recent UK FWD Outlaw Shootout at Santa Pod Raceway: The day before the event thirteen cars were entered. Some were out testing and some were still on the dyno getting ready for the big day. Most of the testing went smoothly with few noticeable exceptions. Last year's winner Adam Buckley in his Honda Civic locked up a rear wheel slowing down and had a blowout on one of his skinnies, then later on had an engine failure which ruled him out of the competition. Last year's runner up Allan Duthie with his Vauxhall Corsa turned up on a trailer straight from a dyno session announcing he was out due to lifting the head, and Richard Batty in his Mitsubishi FTO snapped an inner CV and with no replacement also looked out. However it turns out that Mitsubishi inner CVs are very similar to Honda's with the same number of splines and similar lengths (give or take 1 mm) so CPL Racing offered to rush him one up the next morning. So with the day's testing complete, it was time to settle in for a few beers and a BBQ One FWD competitor who hadn't even entered had been having gearbox problems all day and spent the night frantically stripping and rebuilding a second box. At 10:00 on the morning of the competition he calmly walked over and said that he would like to pay for last night's burgers and handed over his entry fee! The field was complete: fourteen cars entered, twelve were left standing to battle it out for the 2012 Outlaw FWD Shootout crown. Early morning testing included a new FWD Normally Aspirated record from Daz Honor 11.0529/122.07 before qualifying. For the first qualifier only nine were ready; George Lockerby was running late travelling down from Scotland and Richard Batty's CV joint arrived just as the cars were heading out for the first qualifier. All the cars safely made it through the first qualifying with CPL Racing setting a new benchmark for the rest of us to aspire to, a new UK FWD record of 9.4542/156.36, almost four tenths faster than his closest rivals. All the talk on the internet beforehand had Guy as favourite and this cemented the fact he was here for the win. You can see a video of the first qualifier at www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4mJTswEzcw. Between Q1 and Q2 George Lockerby arrived and decided to do some test runs and snapped a CV joint so he was in then straight back out. Q2 again had nine cars out on track with Guy Chamberlain from CPL sitting it out not expecting anyone to take his #1 qualifying spot, and Richard Batty's CV was fitted just in time for him to get out for the session. You can see a video of the second qualifier at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug2z6W96lUI. With the ladder decided it was time for eliminations. In round 1 veteran Andy Nicholls in his Rover was up against new boy Ray Saunders in the Honda Civic, Andy took the win with a 10.9/106 but it looks like he is still having gearbox problems. Daz Honour in his NA Civic v Mike Dunlevy in his turbo powered Civic: the NA was quick off the line but could the turbo power pull him back, no Daz takes it with an 11.1/121. Lee Walker in his Honda Civic v Pete Wilson was a close battle, both having similar PBs, Lee just taking it on the line. Richard Batty in the Mitsubishi FTO v Matthew Simmonite in the Honda CRX was David vs Goliath, Matt needed a good start to stand a chance, but he redlit and Richard took the win. Neil Holden in the Honda Civic v Kiel Priestman in another Civic was another David and Goliath match, Kiel had him by over three seconds. Finally a bye for Guy Chamberlain and probably his slowest ever run at eighteen seconds! So on to the quarter finals. First up Guy Champerlain v Lee Walker. Lee's PB in the elevent against the current UK record holder of 9.4, you couldn't make this up. Guy missed second gear, Lee went through with an 11.4/130. Richard Batty v Andy Nicholls was set to be the draw of the round, on paper both capable of low tens but another snapped CV meant that Andy took an easy win, how unlucky can one guy be. Finally Daz v Kiel, on paper Kiel was one second quicker than Daz, but Kiel made a schoolboy error - he staged before he was ready, he wasn't even in gear when the lights went... bet he doesn't do that again. All the favourites out, all the nine-second cars out, this really was turning into anyone's race. You can see a video of the quarter finals at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FX65TiaL3o. In the semi-finals Daz in his NA Honda had a bye, and only had to break the lights so put in a safe thirteen-second pass. Andy Nicholls v Lee Walker, Lee was quick off the line but the superior power of the Rover passed him just after the eighth to go on to victory. You can see a video of the semi-finals at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bz78So3dVg. And so the final was set. Andy Nicholls, who lifted the head on the Rover a week earlier, was on the dyno until midnight on Friday before setting off to Santa Pod, arriving at Pod at 03:15, racing and winning on Saturday in the ESC then spending all night changing a gearbox. Daz Honour keeping the end up for the normally-aspirated boys, running times some turbos would be proud of and who also spent the night fixing the car, and gear shift selector problems. Never in a million years would you expect this final with the line-up at the start. As always Daz in the NA Honda got off to a flyer, but Andy was even quicker and ahead by 330 feet. There was no catching him, running a 10.6/135. You can see a video of the final at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdR452uY3Xw. So for all those out there thinking they aren't quick enough to enter competitions like this, think again: if you can run in the twelves you have as much chance as anyone else. You can check out the UK's current quickest FWD times at www.mitsubishi-fto.net/ukfastestfwd.htm. The winners Winner: Andy Nicholls Rover MGZR Runner-up: Daz Honour Honda Civic Losing semi finalists: Kiel Priestman Honda Civic, Lee Walker Honda Civic Quickest ET: Guy Chamberlain Honda Civic 9.4542 Quickest N/A ET: Daz Honour Honda Civic 11.1026 Quickest NOS-powered car: Andy Nicholls Rover MGZR 10.4554 Quickest Reaction Time: Kiel Priestman Honda Civic 0.0761 Quickest 60 foot: Guy Chamberlain – Honda Civic 1.5552 Fastest eighth speed: Guy Chamberlain Honda Civic 124.56 Fastest terminal speed: Guy Chamberlain Honda Civic 156.36 Number one qualifier: Guy Chamberlain Honda Civic First 160 mph car: No winner First breakage: Richard Batty Mitsubishi FTO Fastest Honda D Series: Matthew Simmonite Honda CRX Fastest Honda B Series: Kiel Priestman Honda Civic Most of these cars compete in either the Euro Sports Compact or Jap Drag Series, check out the websites and find out how you can enter the series. Also checkout the Outlaw Shootout web page at www.outlawshootout.co.uk, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UKOutlawStreetFWDShootout and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/UKOutlawFWDShootout. Thanks to our sponsors The Driveshaft Shop, Injector Dynamics, Garage 786, CPL Racing, TDi North, Wizards of NOS, EFI Parts, East Coast Customs, Concept Graphix, GB Enterprises, Aford Awards, and Lou Connor. Ravenol back the Bennetts. 
31st August: Ravenol, the high performance oil and lubricant manufacturer, is pleased to
announce a sponsorship deal with one of the UK's foremost drag racing teams, Bennett Racing.
Ravenol, one of the largest independent oil and lubricant manufacturers in Germany, specialises in developing and manufacturing high performance oils and lubricants for the automotive, motorsport and motorcycle markets, as well as producing diverse products for agriculture, commercial vehicle, industrial, and marine applications. Ravenol, who in 2012 launched their range of high performance oils and lubricants into the UK market, will be partnering with Bennett Racing, as well as a number of other high-profile motorsport Championships and teams, to raise awareness of the Ravenol brand and to demonstrate the technical excellence of Ravenol products Ravenol are no stranger to motorsport, having already been used in the World Rally Championship, World Touring Car Championship, FIA GT1 and GT3 series, European Truck Racing and Powerboat racing to name a few. Ravenol will be launched in the UK by German Oil Limited, whose Managing Director Brian Chase and Sales Director Dave Mott have a combined experience of around thirty years in the oil industry. Luke Bennett, Crew Chief and the man behind Bennett Racing comments "We are proud to have won the support of Ravenol and to be working with them in demonstrating the technical excellence of their high performance oils and lubricants". Ravenol UK Motorsport Director Jeff MCNeil is delighted with the new arrangement. “Despite many years of being involved in all forms of motorsport world-wide the involvement with drag racing is a completely new venture for Ravenol and we are really luck y to have found such a competent and experienced partner as Bennett Racing", he says. You can find Ravenol's web site at www.ravenol.co.uk. Pre-Finals testing coverage. 31st August: This weekend's Run What You Brung, VW Action and Peak Performance Day at Santa Pod Raceway is the penultimate chance for racers to test before next week's FIA European Finals and Eurodragster.com will be there to bring you the action in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car. This is the start of our build-up to next week's race which will also include coverage of Wednesday's Pro Racer Test and Tune Day. The plan for this weekend's coverage is end-day photo galleries both tomorrow and Sunday, and end-day reports if there are sufficient numbers testing - if not then we will put mouse-over captions on the galleries. The Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam will be on-line so long as the track is open, including tomorrow evening's VW Action night racing session, and will broadcast live video, trackside audio and timing data overlays. Thanks to Maikel and our friends at Doyousee.me for the provision of streaming services. We will post a direct Home Page link to our coverage as soon as it commences, but in the meantime you can check out our FIA European Finals week event index, which includes a link to the latest version of the official entry list, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the FIA European Finals. MrD opening for 2012-13. 
31st August: MrD Slot Drag Racing and Rebel Rousers Hot Rod
Clubs would like to invite slot racers to the 2012-13 Slot Drag Racing season opener on 8th-9th September at the Sturdee Club, Hoo, in Kent. Steve
Dudley writes:
We will be slot drag racing from midday on Saturday until Sunday afternoon and there will hopefully be an impromptu car meet as well. On Saturday there will be the usual Test and Tune and elimination races, finishing off with qualifying for Sunday's main races. On Sunday we will run the Bracket, 16D and Group 20 eliminations, with prizegiving at the end. Note that if you cannot make it for qualifying on Saturday then you may be able to arrive early on Sunday morning and post a quick time before we start racing. Entry for the slot drags event is £1 per slot car (two cars per class per person maximum). As per usual practice at the Sturdee Club, please buy your drinks from the bar and I will arrange a collection for the hall owner; donations will be collected throughout the weekend. Overnight camping is available on-site for this event. If you have any queries, or to confirm your participation, contact steven.dudley2@btopenworld.com. You can find out more about slot drag racing at slotdragracing.weebly.com. Web site updates. 31st August: In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, street-legal Pro Modified racer Andy Frost becomes a TV star and prepares for next week's FIA European Finals. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. A superb video clip of Peter Svensson's world best 5.709-second Top Fuel Bike pass at Tierp last weekend is now available on YouTube at www.youtu.be/KFkDtuX5uUw. FIA European Finals racer update. 30th August: Thanks to Ian and Paula Marshall of Santa Pod Racers Club for forwarding us details of the arrangements for next week's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway: Santa Pod Raceway's gates open at 14:00 next Wednesday (5th). If you are entered for Wednesday's Pro Racer Test and Tune Day then you will of course be allowed in earlier. The signing on office will be open between 14:00 and 20:00 on Wednesday. Car scrutineering will commence at 15:00 on Wednesday; bike scrutineering will commence at 08:00 on Thursday. The final version of the official entry list can be checked out by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the FIA European Finals. The provisional running orders will be posted shortly. Post-Finals Award Ceremony details. 30th August: Santa Pod Raceway are pleased to announce details of the European Championships Award Ceremony which will take place after racing on Sunday 9th September. The ceremony is only open to Pro teams and officials. The evening will consist of live entertainment, barbeque, the all-important FIA and UEM Championship trophy presentations and of course a bar serving drinks and refreshments. Proceedings are due to commence two hours after racing finishes, or at 21:00 at the latest if racing is delayed, and will run through until 01:00. The ceremony will be held in the VIP marquee next to the fire-up road. Tickets are £20 per person and can be purchased in advance by completing the booking form and returning it to Santa Pod Raceway with payment, or you can purchase tickets throughout the FIA European Finals weekend from the Garage next to the Pod Shop. Any tickets bought in advance will need to be collected from the Garage during the weekend. Click here to download the booking form in PDF format, or click here to download the booking form in Word format. Open Sport Nationals review. 29th August: The all-too-familiar call of rained out hit Shakespeare County Raceway's Open Sport Nationals with just the second half of the Lucas Oil Junior Dragster semi-finals and other class' finals to run. Jerry Cookson writes that inly the ACU Funny Bike final between Dave Peters and Maarten Zijlstra was declared a result having been run early in the day with Dave taking the win 7.529/175.51 to Maarten's 8.400/155.61. With such a bad weather forecast on all the popular weather web sites racers and race officials were really surprised at how far the race had progressed until the luck ran out at 4:00 pm. The Sportsman finals would have been: Super Pro ET: Scott Hauser v John Atkinson Super Comp: Brian Pateman v Shaun Latham Super Gas: Brian Pateman v Jon Evans Super Street Car: Leigh Morris v Billy Gane Pro ET: Lee Huxley v Steve Hudson Sportsman ET: Craig Wright v Nigel Hale Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator: Ian Hook v Mark Todd Outlaw Anglia: Cliff Griffin v Colin Millar Wild Bunch: Darren Law v Adam Price VW Pro: Paul Herbert v John Hodson VW Sportsman: Dean Clatworthy v Holly Baldwin Lucas Oil Junior Dragster: Page Wheeler v Joe Kellett or Billy Everitt ACU Competition Bike: Phil Crossley v Phil Leamon ACU Super Street Bike: Chris Reed v Graham Balchin 8.50 Bike: Mick Winyard v Robert Field 9.50 Bike: Fred Furlong v Paul Furlong Junior Drag Bike: Louis Davies v Connor Meehan NAST Supertwin Gas: Joe Elliott v Nigel Batsford NAST Supertwin ET: Tim Boutle v Dave Smart Congratulations to the top qualifiers: Super Pro ET: Jack Brewster (8.35) 8.350/164.63 Super Comp: Brian Pateman 8.906/156.20 Super Gas: Nick Curtis 9.911/120.42 Super Street: Leigh Morris 10.907/121.90 Pro ET: Steve Hudson (9.28) 9.282/139.15 Sportsman ET: Craig Wright (17.67) 17.675/75.66 Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator: Mark Todd 7.779/191.66 Outlaw Anglia: Colin Millar: 7.820/173.18 Wild Bunch: Scott Durrant 13.381/96.05 VW Pro: Dave Bridge (12.75) 12.757/102.67 VW Sportsman: Dennis Cox (15.00) 15.006/90.09 Lucas Oil Junior Dragster: John Przybyl 0.003 ACU Funny Bike: Maarten Zijlstra 8.336/157.80 ACU Competition Bike: Phil Crossley 7.931/166.56 ACU Super Street Bike: Graham Balchin 7.499/194.66 8.50 Bike: Robert Field 8.533/165.57 9.50 Bike: Paul Furlong 9.569/138.60 Junior Drag Bike: Louis Davies (10.45) 10.482/60.57 NAST Supertwin Gas: Joe Elliott 9.207/147.19 NAST Supertwin ET: Dave Smart (10.55) 10.715/135.01 Although not listed here there were many Personal Bests in both qualifying and eliminations, some of which we'll get to read about here in post-race team reports! Further congratulations go to Jack Brewster for winning the £75 Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award with an 8.350 on an 8.35 dial-in from the Just Mustard Pontiac Firebird during Super Pro ET qualifying. APIRA Race Officials would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all racers and teams for supporting this year's Open Sport Nationals especially in these difficult times and with the sometimes-unpredictable weather conditions experienced on Saturday. We had nearly six inches of standing water in the start area after the biblical storm which the Raceway encountered twice on Saturday afternoon, something which hasn't been seen since the 2003 Bulldog Bash! Thanks also to those who have contributed to our Facebook page with complimentary thank you messages. Hopefully we'll see you all again in 2013! You can check out a gallery of Open Sport Nationals shots on Alan Currans' excellent Acceleration Archive at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. The quickest way to Alan's shots is via the What's New link. Don't eat my dust. 29th August: UK Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis has a week or so to learn a new shutdown area routine after he and his team fitted a Rossler trans and Pro torque converter to his twin-turbo Superbird at the weekend: The wiring was a headache as we have to use a foot-operated trans brake. That in itself is no problem as the Bruno and Lencodrive users have been doing that for years, but unlike those units we need to apply the tran brake to reverse too. We also have to disable the pedal switch as soon as I leave the start line, but twenty years in clutch cars is not an easy habit to break. My usual reaction to passing the finish line is to lift the throttle and depress the clutch pedal, but if I do it with this set-up it's all over and there will be a big crash, no doubt. The usual fixes for this problem can't be applied because of the need to apply the brake to reverse. The Americans have now allowed a normal transbrake release because of the safety implications. Apart from that it all went well at the weekend and we will test this Sunday. When we arrive we have some jobs to do and some mapping tweaks to apply but we are looking forward to a decent European Finals. I personally am looking forward to not eating clutch dust ever again... in this car. I would like to add a Thank You to Kathy Taylor for cleaning out the inside of the trailer at the weekend. Back in black... OK, silver. 29th August: Swedish Pro Modified racer Adam Flamholc and his team are in the air right now heading for Indianapolis where Adam will be competing in the US Nationals: Our US crew member Mike Canter picked the car up at a paintshop down in Florida, and will meet us in Indy. The Camaro is "Back in black" but mostly silver. Scott Bathurst at Classic Graphics helped us with a new logo for T-shirts, sweatshirts and so on. 
Once in Indy we have a lot to do to get the car race-ready for the first round on Friday, but I'm sure we will be in good shape by then! I think that we have improved a lot during the last couple of ADRL events, and at the last race in Charlotte we qualified number one. We have had some issues with the electrical system on the car, but I'm confident that we have got it all sorted out now. It's going to be a challenge at US Nationals with many good teams, but we are really motivated and are hopes are high! After the NHRA event in Indianapolis we are driving down to Memphis for round eight in the ADRL series. European fans have someone else to cheer on at Indy as ex-pat UK racer Mike Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences will be contesting Top Alcohol Dragster. You will be able to stay in touch with Adam's and Mike's progress at Indy courtesy of our friends at Drag Race Central at www.dragracecentral.com. Anita's dream track. 
29th August: Finnish Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä says that
a good track is every racer's dream, and that that is what they got at Tierp Arena at the weekend:
I think that the good tracks is the reason why so many teams would like to run at NHRA races. Tierp again gave us the best possible raceway and what a pleasure it is to run a Top Fuel Dragster on full throttle from the bottom of your heart! I was so happy to be there. The facility and the racers are in the same boat. We invest a lot and work hard to improve our performance, because we want to be the best and win the race. When the facility does the same, the mutual co-operation is at its best. A good race track is like an appreciation for us racers, too. I was number three in qualifying and I was happy. We didn't improve on our 4.09, but surely that track could have taken much quicker runs. We were again suffering from tyre shake. The power seems to be there, but there just isn't enough wheel speed after launching. Some more work with the clutch, I guess. Although dark clouds surrounded the track, we were very lucky to run all four qualifying rounds without rain. That luck didn't last over the finals on the Sunday as you know. On Sunday we met Patrick Pers on the first round, but he never showed up on the start line. I lost one cylinder at the hit and that's why I just rolled over to the other end. In the next round we met Jari Halinen, but tyre shake didn't allow me to challenge him. After my car calmed down, Jari was long gone. Tierp and Alastaro have the return road in front of the grandstands. That allows us racers to share our feeling with the spectators. Although Tierp has that huge grandstand with a lot of people I could see many, many familiar faces over there. I tried to wave to all of you, but if I missed anyone then I'll do it next time. Another week and we will be on the way to Santa Pod with high hopes again! See you there! What happened next? 29th August: The UK's Robin Read tells us that a lot of people have asked him "What next?" after he brought his six-second nitro-burning Daimler dragster back out for Dragstalgia: The journey home from Dragstalgia was a mixture of what-ifs and regrets plus our normal debriefing procedure whereby everyone says what they saw and how they interpreted what had happened! We had a myriad of small problems which had conspired to affect the overall picture of the weekend. Had the car run to form on the Saturday then it might have broken the axle gears then giving us time to reinstate the old 4.11 gears which we had removed in order to run with the 3.73 gear set. These would have produced the 200 mph speeds I was seeking, maybe! I shouldn't even have put the 3.73s in at all. The upside to the weekend was that the car was back on tune: it broke the axle because it was making good power. The decision to put the 4.11 gear set back in was an easy one as it was the only game in town. So now the car could run again! But where and when? Hockenheim was suggested but was not to be. We were however welcomed by the HAMC to run at the Bulldog Bash at Shakespeare County Raceway. Despite reservations about the weather, the weekend turned out to be hot and sunny. Our first pass was a 7.10/187, no problem with gears this time! This was followed by a 7.0/186. For the driver this event is a different experience as your support vehicle doesn't immediately follow and retrieve the car from the track. All the cars are run then brought back down the track together. There are two sides to this. You have to clear the shutdown area quickly and completely, which for me involves driving the car onward. I couldn't make the first exit and would roll to a stop before the end exit. Rather than delay the meeting or drag the parachute on the ground unnecessarily which could tear it and make it very dirty, I needed to drive on under power. This is quite unusual and it was a bit surreal to be driving a nitro car like a street car before coming to rest and shutting down. Of course there were other vehicles gathered there, and it was good to chat to the other drivers, but of course normally by now, you would be on your way back to the pit area knowing what you had run. It was good to see my crew arrive, excited at the way the car had run and wanting me to guess the time and speed of the pass! The second side to this way of running was being towed back down the track where we received the applause and spectator reaction to our run. For the driver of the dragster this was really good because normally after a run the car and driver just return to the pit area away from the spectators. The next day we ran a 7.6 pass, not sure why. We had left the tune-up the same and so we got to stripping and checking various parts of the car. Nothing was found and so we changed the nitro load a bit for the last run of the weekend, another fine 7.0/186. At the end of the weekend, our car was the quickest piston-engined vehicle by half a second and at least 200 cubic inches smaller than the next quickest car! Every one was happy! What now? Do we acquire a new axle? We really have come to the end of the road with the 8¾" Chrysler unit, with no gear sets available in the ratio or material specification required. To put a nine-inch Ford type axle into our car requires extensive chassis modifications. So do I keep this historic car as it is and build a new car for the new axle and billet motor? The jury is still out on that one. I would welcome feedback from Eurodragster.com readers what they feel should be the way forward. Please let me know at robinread@aol.com. Sunoco Civic's European best. 
29th August: UK Front Wheel Drive racer Guy Chamberlain has found it impossible
to test, let alone race, this season due to the appalling weather. This has been particularly frustrating
for Guy since the dyno promised great things since he switched to the E85 fuel produced by Eurodragster.com sponsor
Sunoco Race Fuel. However, when Guy finally got his Honda
Civic out on the track that promise was fulfilled:
I would like to go back a couple of months to when we strapped our car to the dyno to test the Sunoco E85. The car was tuned using a branded race fuel 119 octane at a set boost level. Once optimised we switched to the Sunoco E85 and proceeded to optimise the tune. The first thing we noticed was that the engine required approximately 25% more fuel with the E85. Once the air-fuel ratio was good the extra power was immediately clear. As there was no sign of detonation we continued to turn up the boost level until we were frankly too scared to keep going. The resulting power output can be seen at right. Bear in mind that this is a four-cylinder two-litre Honda engine. So after sitting out test session after test session due to inclement weather we finally decided to throw caution to the wind and make the trip to Santa Pod Raceway and just pray that there would be enough of a break from the rain to get the car up the track a couple of times. Straight off the trailer the car ran 9.88 secs at 152 mph, this was just 0.23 seconds off a European record. A quick check of the data logs and out again, this time 9.64/155 breaking the European record for a FWD street car on just its second run using Sunoco's E85. On a side note, we only had to use approximately two thirds of the engine's total power to achieve this, so it looks like falling records are the future for this set-up! Stay in touch as Richard Batty has sent us a full account of the UK Outlaw FWD Shootout which followed this Test Day and we'll have that for you on the next update. New sponsors for ACAG. 29th August: The Allard Chrysler Action Group is pleased to announce that Motoshine, Mooneyes and NGK have joined the list of sponsors supporting the restoration of Europe's first dragster, Sydney Allard's 1961 Allard Chrysler. Motoshine provide a specialist alloy polishing service and have been the polishers of choice for many award winning show vehicles since 2003. Operated by Ash Coupes and Claire Vize they have worked with the media on a variety of project machines, and bikes and cars polished by Motoshine are regularly featured in magazines. ACAG Chair Brian Taylor said "I have known Claire Vize for many years having provided automotive aftermarket information to ph impetus, a highly respected automotive management consultancy and business service provider developed by her father John. In fact John sent me on my first overseas conference speaking assignment addressing Ford of Europe Country Managers about a Fast-Fit concept. "We met up again at the drag strip because Claire and Ash run their 350 Chevy powered Model T in the Wild Bunch and they kindly agreed to polish the five-spoke mag rear wheels. We were keen not to over-restore them and Motoshine has done a great job. We thank them for that. All we need to do now is paint the spokes red as per photos of the car in its heyday back in 1961." Claire and Ash said "As drag racers ourselves, we are delighted to have been asked to work with such an historic car - it is an iconic part of drag racing history and we're proud to have been chosen to provide the polishing service for the Allard Chrysler dragster." 
A famous name associated with the car back when it was built in 1961 is Dean Moon and his company Mooneyes. The business supplied many of the parts used in assembling the engine and Sydney Allard organised for the Mooneyes dragster driven by Dante Duce to visit the UK in 1963 – the first American dragster to do so. Continuing that history, Chico Kodama of today's Mooneyes business was pleased to become involved with the Allard restoration, donating a Mooneyes fuel tank for holding the pre-nitro switch-on methanol carried on the team mobile starter trolley. It was sent to the US Automotive assembly point in Atlanta and loaded onto their next shipment to Heathrow. Another international brand joining our list of sponsors is NGK Spark Plugs. Brian Taylor said "Brian Childs of NGK is someone else I have known for many years and along with Tim Howes has been keen to support our project for many months. They have been waiting for my call for B7ES plugs and when the call went in the plugs winged their way to Andy Robinson Race Cars and were installed in the engine. "The first set of plugs to be removed from the recreated engine since its first fire up on July 1st 2012 has now been boxed and the set (with accreditation certificate) is available as memorabilia to sensible bidders. All proceeds will go to the restoration fund. Contact brian@allardchrysler.org." 
Bob Walker of Hot Heads has been helping out again by supplying a couple of swan neck fillers so we can complete our head water cooling system. Nice one Bob. Access to all these sponsors' web sites is available via the links page of our web site at www.allardchrysler.org. The Allard Chrysler dragster and team will be at Chelsea AutoLegends show this coming weekend. If you are there, drop by and say hello. Web site updates. 29th August: Our good friend Remco Scheelings has updated The Netherlands' Autosport web site with his usual brace of post-event reports, this time from the weekend's Scandinavian Internationals. You can check out Remco's race report by clicking here and his off-track report by clicking here. Another good buddy, Patrik Jacobsson, has updated the Racebilder web site with some five hundred pictures from the Scandinavian Internationals. You can check out Patrik's pictures at www.racebilder.nu. Scandinavian Internats rained out. 
27th August: The weekend's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena was rained
out with Pro classes at finals and Sportsman classes variously in their second and third rounds.
The Pro finals would have been:
FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Antti Horto v Jari Halinen FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Manty Bugeja v Peter Schöfer FIA Top Methanol FC: Leif Andréasson v Arvid Grødem FIA Pro Modified: Martin Lundkvist v Micke Gullqvist FIA Pro Stock: Thomas Lindström v Jimmy Ålund UEM Top Fuel Bike: Peter Svensson v Rikard Gustafsson UEM Supertwin: Svein Olav Rolfstad v Nate Gagnon UEM Pro Stock Bike: Fredrik Fredlund v Ulf Ögge Subject to official ratification the following European records were set: Pro Modified speed: 398.52 kmh / 247.63 mph, Martin Lundkvist Pro Stock speed: 334.78 kmh / 208.02 mph, Micke Callin Top Fuel Bike ET: 5.860 seconds, Peter Svensson Supertwin ET: 6.409 seconds, Svein Olav Rolfstad Pro Stock Bike ET: 7.025 seconds, Fredrik Fredlund As can be seen from your Race Reporter's scribbles (right) it was a busy weekend for records and new bests. As well as the above bcked-up records, Peter Svensson ran the world's quickest-ever Top Fuel Bike pass with a 5.702 ET in qualifying, whilst Martin Lundkvist became the first FIA Pro Modified racer over 250 mph with a 403.59 kmh / 250.78 mph pass also in qualifying. Jaska Salakari ran Europe's first 6.2-second Supertwin pass with a 6.278 in eliminations. You can check out our Alamo Rent A Car-sponsored race reports, pit notes and galleries by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Many thanks to Markus Ek who contributed to this weekend's galleries. Many thanks to Kjell Pettersson and Palle Lind for forwarding the post-Scandinavian Internationals points standings in the FIA European Drag Racing Championships and UEM European Drag Bike Championships, which you can check out on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Palle tells us that on the basis of dropping your least profitable of the six rounds, which is in this year's UEM Championship rules, he considers that Nate Gagnon has won the 2012 UEM Supertwin Championship so congratulations to Nate. Editor's note: We are now on our way home from Sweden and we really, really need a day off so our next news update will be posted on Wednesday. Please keep those news items, Scandinavian Internationals reviews and FIA European Finals previews coming to news@eurodragster.com and we'll publish them then. Event entry update. 25th August: Ian and Paula Marshall of Santa Pod Racers Club have been in touch to remind racers that next Friday, 31st August, is the closing date for entry to the VP Racing Fuels National Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 22nd-23rd September. Entry after next Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee. You can download the entry forms from the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. NitrOlympX statement. 25th August: The Hockenheimring have released the following official about the recent NitrOlympX: The Hockenheimring has been offering first-class drag racing sport since 1986. Our Quarter Mile and its continually excellent preparation have formed, in recent years, the basis for top speeds and best times in all participant classes. In actual fact, Hockenheim is known in the drag racing community for being a tarmac for records. During this year's NitrOlympX from 10th - 12th August 2012 however, the condition of the track meant that no record speeds were to be expected. During the preparations for Formula 1 at the Hockenheim Ring in late July, for the first time the entire drag strip had to be cleaned because of FIA safety requirements. This meant that, in contrast to previous years, the entire rubber layer had to be removed from the surface of the track. Our crew worked tirelessly together with the team from Baden Motorsport Club, external specialists and renowned experts from abroad (Santa Pod, England), to make up for the loss of grip and to make the track usable and safe for the NitrOlympX . This great effort paid off: all safety standards for the DMSB, FIA and UEM were met, the track was approved by the race stewards. Even if the Rico Anthes Quarter Mile wasn't quite presented in top state, and the conditions for hotshot speeds and records were not there, first-class racing took place on all three event days. 140 participants in seven different sportsman classes, all UEM bike classes, as well as the FIA Top Methanol Dragster, lined up to the starting position and delivered an exciting competition right up to the finals. All FIA car classes, including the Top Fuel Dragster, contested their qualifying heats on Saturday. Going against the decision of Race Director, Jerry Lackey, who was a dragster driver for many years, and the authorities from FIA, who were present on-site, the drivers of the FIA car classes - with the exception of the drivers of the Top Methanol Dragster - judged the track to be non-competitive and decided to race no elimination heats on Final Sunday. Even the few Top Fuel drivers, who had indicated their readiness to start, finally had to give in to the decision. As event organiser we had no other choice than to accept this decision. All attempts to find a solution came to nothing. Nevertheless our spectators were still offered, despite the FIA heats being absent, the entire Sunday race action: show heats from the Top Fuel Funny Cars and Jet Dragster, and the final heats of all other classes. Many people appreciated this and have confirmed this to us. Nevertheless we have a great deal of understanding for the criticism directed at us and the disappointment of some of our visitors. As event organiser, but also as fans of this fantastic motor sport, we take this feedback very seriously and greatly regret what happened. We would also like to apologise for the fact that, due to continual negotiations and constant new developments, we did not manage to give comprehensive information about the developing situation on the spot. We have learned our lessons from this year's event and guarantee that next year, we will offer an optimal dragster track on which records can once again be celebrated - as in the previous 26 years. As a gesture of good will, but without acknowledging any legal obligation, we invite all holders of a one-day or weekend tribune ticket for the NitrOlympX 2012 to visit one of our other motor sport highlights with an accompanying person. By changing your Nitro ticket, you will receive a choice of two weekend tickets for the big final of the IDM 2012 (14th - 16th September), the Hockenheim Classics 2012 (22th - 23th September), the ADAC Masters Weekend 2012(28th - 30th September) or the Bosch Hockenheim Historic 2013 (April 2013). These tickets will be available on the respective event days for you to collect from the information desk/administration of Hockenheim-Ring GmbH. You can find out further information about these events at www.hockenheimring.de. Please understand that another or a further compensation cannot be granted, especially as top-class drag racing was shown throughout the entire weekend. We would be delighted if you could visit the Hockenheimring for one of the above-mentioned events. Above all, we hope to be able to welcome you to the NitrOlympX 2013. FIA European Finals VIP. 25th August: Kelly Dormer of Santa Pod Raceway writes that there is only one Bankside VIP suite left for race day (Sunday) of the FIA European Finals on 6th-9th September. "If anyone is interested in getting a party of twelve friends, family or customers together the suite is available at £1890 + VAT", says Kelly. "We also have limited availability of other packages based on smaller groups or individual bookings starting from £89 + VAT per person." For more information, or to book your VIP package, contact Kelly on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828) or E-Mail kelly@santapod.com. Szabb's double first. 24th August: Pro Stock Bike racer Szabolcs Borsay because the first PSB racer to have a pillion passenger as he took a model for a ride-along at Kunmadaras last weekend: "We had been thinking for some months why nobody had tried to make a double pass on a drag bike", said Szabb. "We found a nice small girl, Andi Vangel, who is a Playmate in the Hungarian Playboy magazine! She really liked the idea and she wanted to do it but she had never tried a motorbike before" 
"I left the line really soft but then opened the throttle to full and we ran 9.9 seconds! We will try it again in 2013!" Tee with Ålund. 
24th August: Pro Stock racer Jimmy Ålund is débuting his brand spanking new T-shirt design
at this weekend's Championship race at Tierp Arena. Pär Willén writes:
Artwork is by none other than the world famous Löörs who has been a top designer, artist and illustrator in all sorts of genres for many decades. Feel free to visit the customer hospitality area in Jimmys pit and get your T-shirt while they last. While you're there, don't forget Jimmy's sponsorship deal with X-Parts, Sweden's most comprehensive supplier of speciality starters and generators for enthusiast vehicles. Jimmy's team carries a selection of high-torque starters for GM, Ford and Mopar for direct sales at all 2012 European Championship races. The target audience is racers and anyone else who needs high torque starters for their cars. You can visit X Parts' web site at www.x-parts.se. Finals ticket update. 24th August: James Forster of Santa Pod Raceway writes that advance tickets are are still available at a discount for September's FIA European Finals: There's plenty to play for in almost every class of the European tour and a strong entry list so you can expect to see some flat-out, close racing from both the cars and bikes. There's plenty to see aside from that too with a round of the UK National Drag Racing Championships for many Sportsman classes as well as Monster Trucks, the FireForce 3 Jet Funny Car, Eric Teboul's Rocket Bike, aerial displays, music, fireworks and loads more. You can now book and even select your own grandstand seats on-line and print your tickets off yourself in the comfort of your own home. For further information, photo entry list, preliminary running order or to book please visit www.santapod.com. Web site updates. 24th August: Our good friend Alan Currans has updated his excellent Acceleration Archive with an update on the restoration of Veney's Vega by Pat and Linda Neal. You can go directly to the latest update via the What's New link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. 
Chris Eyre has updated his Euro Drag Pics site with two galleries from the recent Drachten Internationals. "After some rather fortunate pit space
allocation - right next to the track - with the tail lift as a viewing platform I grabbed the camera and did my best in between working on the
Time Warp funny car, and without melting in the amazing Dutch sunshine", he says. "There was a great variety of cars racing and some impressive times posted in the
30+ C heat. This can be found at
www.eurodragpics.com/galleries/2012/drachten-internationals-2012.
"The second gallery is focused on the efforts of the Time Warp team who despite the heat put on a great show for the Dutch fans, with a little help from Rockin' Ramon's back-up girl Kirsten that is! We managed to make two runs on both Saturday and Sunday and a cackle show and this gallery shows our efforts on Saturday. Many thanks to Monique du Pon for grabbing the camera and getting some great shots. Check out the shots at www.eurodragpics.com/galleries/2012/time-warp-at-the-drachten-internationals. On a personal note I would like to thank the medical staff at Drachten who took great care of me after a tow hook failed firing the hook into my foot at some ungodly speed. Wendy did ask them if they would have to amputate, they decided not to and four days later my foot is still here, still swelling up nicely. Even with this I only missed one turn around on Saturday afternoon and was back for the cackle show later that evening... thats dedication, or foolishness! I would like to thank Rockin' Ramon and the whole Wild'r At Heart funny car team for making us feel so welcome, and the barbeque and beer, you're the best! I would like to also like to thank the guys at Arizona USA Cars for giving Paul and I somewhere to work on the Funny Car between Hockenheim and Drachten. That is our Funny Car Summer done for this year. Four races in six weeks was a challenge which will be remembered with great fondness. I am really looking forward to next year now, with hopefully some more cars in the mix!" Open Sport Nationals racer update. 23rd August: Many thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for forwarding arrangements for this weekend's Open Sport Nationals: Event entry is open until Saturday. Entry to the pits will be from midday tomorrow (Friday). Anyone found in the pits and in the wrong space before that time will be asked to move. On arrival pitting marshals will be on hand to escort racers to their pit spaces; please be patient if you have to wait a few minutes at the entrance to the pits. If you entered the race in or after the middle of last week then your tickets etc will be on the gate. Scrutineering will begin tomorrow afternoon: bikes from 6:00 pm and cars between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm. Scrutineers will visit racers' pits. The signing-on office will be open from 6.15 pm until 8.15 pm tomorrow evening. Saturday's provisional running order has been released and can be viewed by clicking here (PDF format). Please note that the running order is provisional and is subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. The final version of the official entry list can be viewed by clicking here. If you have any queries then you can contact the SCR office on 01789 720180 (outside the UK +1789 720180). Swift snippets. 23rd August: Santa Pod Raceway are offering racers portable toilets for the FIA European Finals at £100 plus VAT. portable toilets will be delivered to the racer's pit and will be serviced daily. For more information or to book your portable toilet either E-Mail Darren Prentice at darren@santapod.com or call 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828). If you are headed to this weekend's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena and fancy a turn down the track then Rune Fjeld Motorsport and Multilotto.com are offering the chance to win a ride in a two seater dragster on Sunday (26th). To register, visit www.multilotto.com/topfuel. Euro Top Gas Round 5 review. 
23rd August: Herman Jolink writes that the fifth round of 2012
Euro Serie Super Twin Top Gas took place over the
quarter mile at the Drachten Internationals this past weekend:
The traction at Drachten was very good. No rain but a lot of sunshine and very high temperatures of 38 C. On Friday and Saturday it was possible to make ten qualifying runs. Qualifying:
Final: Herman Jolink NL 8.455/248 kmh def. Milan Kolacny CZ 9.028/222 kmh reaction times Kolacny 0.075 and Jolink 0.130 but Milan was going towards the guardrail and had to close the throttle briefly. Top Gas Championship:
All the bike and car racers gave their support to Drachten to ensure that the event was not cancelled, thank you very much. King wins OlympX gold. 23rd August: Whilst Team GB competitors were winning gold medals in British rider Ian King's home town of London his own Gulf Oil Dragracing – Grand Prix Originals Top Fuel Bike team won gold at drag racing's NitrOlympx in Hockenheim, Germany, increasing their lead in the UEM European Championship. Hot, sunny and most importantly, rain free conditions were forecast for the weekend and it looked as if the exuberant fans of over 60,000 were in for a thrilling FIA and UEM race event. However, rumours of a track problem initiated from the previous weekend's Test and Tune event were confirmed upon arrival at the track. For those who may be unaware, Hockenheim boasts both the F1 circuit and the standalone permanent dragstrip. The F1 Circuit does not share any part of the dragstrip, but the run off area from the famous Sachs Curve indeed does. According to the organisers there is a requirement from the FIA that excessive rubber be cleaned from the track in this area. Although not a new ruling, it is claimed the requirement was reinforced after a bad accident last year during a GT Series race when a car ran over the edge coming out of the Sachs curve, hit the wet from rain on the drag strip and then slid at a very high speed into the wall, seriously injuring the driver. The organisers claim that the FIA said that they would no longer sanction an FIA event of any kind as long as the drag strip at the Hockenheimring was covered with rubber and trackbite and so they were forced to clean the entire drag strip from start area to past the finish line. This was completed in October last year but unfortunately those responsible had high pressure cleaned the track with 800 bar equipment which not only removed the rubber but also the bitumen leaving the stone aggregate proud of the surface. Disappointingly, this was seemingly only realised a few days before this event and despite efforts by the track crew to sled and glue the surface it was to little effect. After a number of incidents in qualifying the majority of the FIA (car) competitors held a meeting and it was decided that they would not race this weekend. Conversely the UEM motorcycle competitors voted unanimously to race. Final qualifying would prove that the track was very difficult for the 1000+ HP machines, with King in 'only' fourth and current European record holder Peter Svensson qualified in last position. However, the team was quickly getting a hand on what was required to win here, judicious use of the clutch, fuel and ignition settings coupled with careful and responsive use of the throttle to keep the back tyre on the edge of breaking away. Proof of this approach was seen when King made a demonstration pass at the start of the Night Show, recording a 7.09 second pass which was to remain the quickest time of all the bike classes that day. For the first round King was in the favoured right hand lane to face Finland's Kai Selkämaa but it was a holeshot which proved the difference between the two riders, King away first 0.179 to 0.237 and with a better sixty foot time of 1.165 to 1.230. Selkämaa's tyre was up in smoke by sixty feet as King maintained traction before starting to smoke about 400 feet out and the bike started to move to the right. King feathered the throttle and got back on it and stayed just far enough ahead to take the win with a 7.118/201.34 to the Finn's quicker 7.092/204.76. The semi final was to pair King against current European record holder Peter Svensson of Sweden, who had proceeded through what should have been a tricky first round against number one qualifier Rene van den Berg after the Dutch rider was shut down on the line with a fuel leak, affording Svensson an unopposed bye run. Svensson was away first 0.147 to 0.192 with only a hint of tyre smoke. However, King had the better sixty foot of 1.171 to 1.260 and King pulled ahead by the eighth 4.494/169.85 to Svensson's 4.749/167.49. Svensson drifted towards the centre line and took out the reflectors as King took the win with what was to remain the quickest run of any motorcycle over the weekend, 6.857/209.56 to a slowing 7.227/177.12. The final paired King against his fellow countryman Steve Woollatt, whose Dealer team (including former TFB rider Phil Baimbridge) were also using all of their experience of running on variable tracks over the years to good effect this weekend. King's prior run gave him choice of his favoured right hand lane but Woollatt was away first 0.204 to 0.287 but with a gentler launch, 1.387 to King's 1.224. The Dealer team started to celebrate as King's tyre went up in smoke passing the Tree but he stayed with it as Woollatt's tyre hooked up and they ran side-by-side going towards the eighth, a 4.827/163.18 for Woollatt to King's quicker 4.809/162.65. King carefully feathered the throttle and his tyre stopped hazing past the eighth and the bike started to pick up again to take this thrilling race by only 0.0333 seconds with a 7.188/189.76 to Woollatt's 7.304/200.09. This weekend the team are at Tierp Arena, Sweden for the penultimate round of the Championship leading both the European and UK Championships and looking to defend their points lead. The team are also to contest the final Championship round, the FIA European Finals, at Santa Pod Raceway on 6th-9th September. For more information on the European Championships visit www.speedgroup.eu, and for more information about King Racing visit www.kingracing.com. The team is extremely proud to be supported by many leaders in their chosen markets in their challenge for the 2012 European Championship: APE - The world's most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for drag bikes Action Cameras - Europe's leading source for action sports cameras Cometic Gaskets - The premier manufacturer of racing gaskets Bell Helmets - The ultimate iconic helmet brand Gates - The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics Goodridge - The original and the best in fluid transfer systems Grand Prix Originals - The brand for drive and lifestyle, past and present Gulf Oil International - The world's most iconic brand in automotive fuels and lubricants Hyperpro - The leading producer of progressive suspension products for motor bikes JE Pistons - The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons Kent Cams - Specialists in motor sport camshaft manufacture, short runs and one-offs Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc -The highest quality valve train components on the market King Racing - The most successful Top Fuel Bike team in European drag racing history Mickey Thompson Tyres - Simply the best drag race tyres in the world MRE - Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems MTC Engineering - Manufacturer of clutches for the fastest motorcycles in the world NitroShutter - Europe's leading drag racing photo-journalists NCT Engineering - Manufacturer of the world's leading non contact torque sensors for motorsport NGK Spark Plugs UK - The world's number one spark plug manufacturer Pär Willen - Master webmeister and proprietor of HarleyDrags.com Portable Shade - The best custom branded collapsible canopies available Pro Alloy Motorsport - UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators Puma Engineering - Manufacturers of the world's most powerful motorcycle engines RSG Customize - The UK's most creative website designers and vinyl artists Vanson Leathers - The most iconic brand in motorsport leather goods Worldwide Bearings - The world's leading supplier of ceramic bearings for racing Zodiac - Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts Frost's EU warning. 23rd August: Street-legal Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com Blogger Andy Frost has been in touch with news of the threat of yet another EU directive to restrict our interest. Frosty writes: It has come to my attention that an EU directive to ban any kind of modification to a street-legal car is about to be passed as law. Concerns were voiced to MEPs when this was proposed, but we were told "Not to worry". Now is the time to be very concerned.# You can read the EU directive by clicking here. If this passes through, then every business that has anything to do with modifying any car for the public highway is done for. Any individual who owns a car which is legal for the road and is modified in any way from standard is done for. We need to act now! A draft letter to send to your MEP will be posted at www.the-ace.org.uk/armageddon. You must voice your strongest concerns. Business owners, promoters, street-legal class organisers, RWYBers especially need to voice their protests. It affects you! Do not ignore it. If this goes through there is no going back. We have very little time, so action is required immediately. You know what to do, folks. Editor's note. 23rd August: We are now at Tierp Arena covering the Scandinavian Internationals. Perceptive readers will realise that we will be very busy indeed for the next few days and so news updates may become sporadic (The words "We know you're busy, but..." will eventually get someone executed - Ed) and postings to our Jeff Bull Race Engines Swap Meet may be delayed or temporarily suspended. Thanks in advance for your understanding. Bengtsson books US trip. 
22nd August: Sweden's four-time European Supertwin Champion Per Bengtsson has now finalised the
Beast team's plan for racing at the Manufacturers' World Cup at Valdosta, Georgia, USA in November. And the Beast team are doing
it in grand style as they will tale three other UEM teams with them to challenge the best American racers on their home ground:
"We have all worked very hard to get everything in place for our planned trip to the USA and after a lot of investigation we came to the conclusion that the best solution is to rent our own container", says Per. "That left us with the possibility to offer three more race teams the opportunity to come with us at a reasonable cost. We've had a lot of discussions with Top Fuel Bike rider Peter Svensson to join us but unfortenately the Billet Racing team are not able to make it this time. "But we are very glad to announce that Norwegian Supertwin racers Svein Olav Rolfstad and Jan Sturla Hegre, as well as Swedish Funny Bike racer Rickard Gustafsson, will join us during this adventure! The container will be shipped straight to South Georgia Motorsport Park and the track will be our base for the whole trip. Our ambition is to race at the very same track one week before the Manufacturers' World Cup to be well-prepared before the big one, but we're waiting for a green light from Race Director Jay Reagan who is very happy to see competitors from Europe at the Valdosta event." 
Both Per and Rickard are members of the Swedish National Drag Racing Team announced by the Swedish Motorcycle Federation
earlier this season but are still waiting for a decision regarding the level of support from SVEMO.
"Our ambition is to compete with the best in the business and to be competitive at their home track", says Per. "Our recent numbers on the track - 6.40 at Tierp in June and 6.38 at Gardermoen - shows that our combination has the capacity to qualify in the top half of the ladder in America. Together with the other European teams we will make sure to market European Drag bike racing in the best possible way." During this weekend's upcoming Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena the goal for the Beast team is to set a new European ET record once and for all, if the weather cooperates. As the event title defender (winner at Tierp in June 2011 and June 2012) the ambition is of course a third final and hopefully the winners trophy in Per's hand on Sunday afternoon, but with eighteen bikes entered you can't take anything for granted. We also hope that our visiting guests will experience some very exciting racing during the weekend, don't forget to stop by our pit! As always none of this would be possible without our sponsors. A big thank you for your support. Autoexperten Växjö, Gates/Lönne, Swedcut, Red Line Oil, Per Andersens Restauranger, Fanhultstvätten Älmhult, Persåkers Speed Shop, Liqui Moly, Rävemåla Bilservice, Larssons Bilverkstad Lenhovda, Bilservice i Åseda, Kalvsviks Bilverkstad, Ulvsgården Ab, Bentec Engineering and Flexoart. For more information please visit the Beast team web site at www.bentec.net. Nostalgia is what it once was! 
22nd August: On Sunday and Monday of this weekend (26th-27th) the annual northern "Gathering of geezers",
the NSRA Hot Rod Reunion, takes place at the UK's York Raceway,
the home of drag racing in the north.
The NSRA Hot Rod Reunion will be a weekend of unashamed nostalgia with a Show'n'Shine area for hot rods and pre '72 custom and classic American and British cars and bikes. The on-track action allows plenty of opportunity for pre '72 RWYB sessions throughout the weekend, so if you'd like to run your car in the tyre tracks of your drag racing heroes then make sure you have your driving licence and a helmet (some loan helmets may be available) . There will be Championship drag racing on both Sunday and Monday with two complete Championship rounds for the huge fields of American muscle cars of the American Super Stock Championship. The dragsters, altereds, hot rods and doorslammers of York Raceway's Sportsman ET and Pro ET Championship bracket classes and the heads-up Super Cup cars will qualify on Sunday and race Monday for Round 6 of their Championships as will the Air Cooled Eliminator series for those of a classic VW persuasion. The evening of Sunday 26th will feature the 36th Annual UK Street Racer Championship, in which the competitors must run in full street trim and will be required to hot-lap back to the pairing lanes with no cool-down or tinkering time between elimination rounds in a bid to become the quickest truly streetable car. Also on Sunday, a cruise into the historic city of York will give you a chance to see the sights before returning to the track for live entertainment, bench racing and reveling in the way it used to be in the bar. Throughout the weekend, Julian Webb will be making exhibition runs and performing flame and thunder shows with the spectacular 10,000 hp Split Second jet Dragster. Chris Murty, on behalf of York Raceway, said "Nostalgia drag racing has grown to become a huge phenomenon right across the world and at York Raceway we are proud to always recognise the roots of our sport. By partnering with the NSRA to bring some of the coolest hot rods, customs, and race cars from the past and present together we honour our hot rod heritage in our unique annual August bank holiday motorsport event. "NSRA members who arrive at the Hot Rod Reunion driving a rod or other pre '72 classic / custom will receive free admission. Admission to York Raceway for all others is £12.50 per day or £20 for the weekend with concessions for teens (13-16) of £7.50 per day or £10 for the weekend. Accompanied kids under 12 go free! A £30 per day sign-on fee applies for everyone wishing to RWYB (including NSRA members). A camping area is available for the weekend and will open at midday on Saturday at a cost of £5 per adult, teens and kids camp for free. The way it was is the way it is at the 2nd Annual NSRA Hot Rod Reunion over the August Bank Holiday weekend, so head out to York Raceway and relive the glory days of hot rodding. Lots of Wild Bunch combinations. 22nd August: Wild Bunch Race Co-ordinator Claire Meaddows writes that the Nostalgia racers are really looking forward to this weekend's Open Sports Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway where there are already twelve teams entered: The competition should see some more close exciting racing! This event will include the Final round of the 2012 Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series. All current leader Adam Price has to do to win the Series is to turn up and sign on in the Team Gridlock 'Go Hard or Go Home!!' altered. There are nine teams in with a shout of the runner-up spot and eight of these are entered at the event. Third and fourth places are also up for grabs and closely contested. The event is also the second and final round of the APIRA Series, and current leader Chris Hartnell has just rebuilt the engine in the 'Backdraft' slingshot in time to keep up his challenge. He leads by just 50 points over Darryl Howells in 'Chemical Reaction', who is only 10 points ahead of Darren Law in 'The Wicked Lady' who in turn is only 10 points ahead of Andrew Murphy in 'B-Sting'. Ed Yates is only 10 points behind him in 'RamRaider' and Bob Hawkins 10 points behind him in 'Time Traveller', so the top six are separated by less than one round! So an exciting finish to this Series is expected! The event is also the Club's third round of their four-round Springbridge MSA Challenge Series which covers the Easter Thunderball, Springspeed Nationals, Open Sports Nationals and the National Finals. This Series is led by Darren Law closely followed by Chris Hartnell, Bob Hawkins and Darryl Howells, and still pretty wide open. Also closely contested is our contingency sponsor Real Steel (Performance Parts) Series which is in its eighth round of nine this weekend. Adam Price is leading this Series, with a tie for second place between Tom Larman in 'The Ferret' and Darren Law in 'The Wicked Lady'. Then just behind them is a three-way tie between Dave Williams in 'Green with Envy', Team RamRaider and Team B-Sting. So this event should see the ties broken. Can Adam Price increase his Real Steel lead and take his fourth win this season in the 'Go Hard or Go Home!!' altered? Will Dave Williams secure another Top Four placing his 'Green with Envy' altered? Will Crazy Chris wheelie his way with 'Backdraft' into a Series win this weekend? Can Mark Coulsell break back into the eight with the 'Ballbreaker' slingshot? Will Ed break into the Top Four in all the Series in 'RamRaider'? Will Scottie earn a Top Four placing in his first event in 'Tiki Munki' this season? Can Dick Sharp lower the ET even further in the iconic 'Dorset Horn'? Will Darren Law challenge for some Series wins with 'The Wicked Lady' dragster? Can Ian Turburville earn his first ever Top Four placing in his 'Mr Spokehead II' slingshot? Will Darryl Howells drive the 'Chemical Reaction' to a Series win? Can Alan Loten repeat his new-found nine-second form in “Paranoia”? Will Bob Hawkins improve on his 8.1 second PB in his 'Timetraveller' slingshot, currently quickest of the Bunch? We'll all find out by Monday, Monday, Monday! Full results and news from previous events can be found on the Club's web site at www.the-wild-bunch.co.uk. Open Sport Perfect Awards. 22nd August: This weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway is the latest event in the 2012 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards scheme. £150 is on offer for perfect performance. Racers please note that decals are mandatory for both Perfect Awards this season. Please also note that, as the Eurodragster.com staff are not present at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend, any payouts will take place after the event upon receipt of the official timing data. 
This weekend's Eurodragster.com/ModUrStang Perfect Light Award has been increased to £75 after
it went unclaimed at Bug Jam. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a Reaction Time of
0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available all to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations,
but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be
increased to £100 FIA European Finals; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the FIA European
Finals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with vehicle modification specialist ModUrStang. For more
details about the services which ModUrStang can provide see Mike Lacey in the Pro ET pits at
any race or visit www.modurstang.co.uk.
This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been increased to £75 after
it went unclaimed at Bug Jam. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to run to the thousandth on
their dial-in or index during qualifying or eliminations. The Perfect ET Award is
available this weekend in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street,
Junior Dragster (eliminations only), the Wild Bunch, VW Pro, VW Sportman, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, Supertwin ET and
Junior Drag Bike but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Run of the event. If not won this weekend then the
Award will be increased to £100 FIA European FFinals; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the
FIA European Finals. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with RV
sales and service specialists Gold RV. For more details about the services which Gold RV can provide visit
www.goldrv.co.uk.
To be eligible to collect either Perfect Award, racers are required to carry decals, one on each side of the vehicle. If you pull this weekend's first Perfect Light or Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect Light or Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. ModUrStang and Gold RV decals are available in Signing On. See Blakemore for EK Chains. 22nd August: The UK's Tim Blakemore Racing have become stockists for EK630 SHB Top Fuel / Funny Bike and EK 530 DRZ 2 Pro Stock / Street Bike drive chains. "We will bring stock to this weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway and to the UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway on 22nd-23rd September". If you have any queries or to place an order contact TBR on 0117 904 2216 (shop) or 07554 748344. Euro Top Gas Round 4 review. 
22nd August: Herman Jolink writes that the fourth round of 2012
Euro Serie Super Twin Top Gas took place over the
quarter mile at last week's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim:
The traction was very bad, because the FIA wanted all the rubber removed from the track. The track crew did their best, but you can't prepare a track in a short time. On Friday Top Gas had three qualifyng rounds and one round on Saturday. Qualifying was as follows:
Semi finals: Lewis 10.185/162 win over Bruhn 10.662/214; Kolacny 10.095-237 bye run after Abraham had problems at the start Final: Kolacny CZ 9.282/247 win over Simon Lewis D 9.951/194, Kolacny lost almost control of his bike shortly after the start and came very near to the centre line, but he got the bike under control and was first across the stripe. Top Gas Championship:
The next Top Gas round was at last weekend's Drachten Internationals, and our finals will take place at the Mosten Race Days in Denmark on 30th August-2nd September. Raw NitrOlympX. 22nd August: After a year out of drag racing, UK Super Pro ET racer Andy Raw bumped into NitrOlympX Race Director Jerry Lackey at the FIA Main Event and Jerry popped the question: This was the first time I had run my VW Funny Car since I had the argument with the camper van and the axle stand. Jerry asked me if I wanted to go to the NitrOlympX, I thought about it for about three seconds and said "Yes". I wanted it to be a proper road trip even though I was not allowed to drive either to or from Germany; this was the agreement I had with my wife Lisa. I was picked up from my home and then we went down to Dover to pick up my crew Steve Taylor, Tom Pearce and Chunky. We got the early ferry from Dover to Dunkirk and then we had a long drive to the USAF base at Spangdahlem. At Spangdahlem we were taken to one of the air craft hangars and had the amazing chance to get close and personal to the A10 tankbuster and the F16 fighter plane. We also got to look at the guns and bombs which they carry and watched a plane being loaded to go to Afghanistan. 
That night we stayed with a very good friend of mine where we had a good old American barbecue, lots of beer and red meat. Next morning we woke up for the drive to the track. As soon as we got on to the motorway we got so much attention that we had a job overtaking as we had the Funny Car on a open trailer and the other cars kept slowing down to take pictures. We eventually arrived at Hockenheim, All I can say is to get there you have drive through the biggest forest in the word. We got pitted and then set up the car for the next day. We had been entered in Super Pro and there were a lot of very nice cars in the class. After a walk in the pits we had been told that there was a problem with the condition of the track so we went to have a look at it and it was in a very poor state. The track crew were working their nuts off to try and do something with it. Unfortunately it was a waste of time but they didn't give up! Next day we ran the engine up and it sounded sweet so we went to run it down the track. Waiting in the fire-up lane is always the bit I hate: your stomach is turning and your mouth is dry but the atmosphere there was electric and when the crowd saw the car they went mental! Driving the Funny Car was not a good place to be I could not get the tyres to hook up, just lots of noise and tyre smoke but the crowd liked it. We needed a plan to at least try to get it down the track, fortunately for us Charlie Draper was at the track. He tunes the Mr Whippy Top Methanol Dragster, and after a quick text and the bribe of a cup of Yorkshire tea he came over and tried to do something with the fuel system... I'm not sure what, he keeps it very secret. We went for the second run and it was the same thing, a long burnout on the launch. It did hook up in second gear but I was going sideways at the time which, again, the crowd loved! 
We decided that we could not run the car safely under these track conditions so regrettably we give the rest of the racing a miss. I was gutted that we had come all this way to race but had to give up. There was just one thing to do, suck up the atmosphere and drink the German beer. Funny really, we were all in bed asleep by 10:30. Think we're getting old The trip back had a bonus. On the long drive home we stopped for a break and bumped into Erik Lindberg who liked the bug and invited us to Sweden for next year's VW meeting, how surreal is that! I would like to thank my crew Steve Taylor for driving all the way there and back, Chunky for sorting out the road trip and making us laugh so much, Tom for all his help, Charlie Draper for the tune-up as with out his help we were lost - thanks mate, Vaughn and Laura for putting us up for a couple of nights, the guys at the USAF base at Spangdahlem, Jerry Lackey for the invitation, and Lisa the love of my life for letting me go. Another winner writes... 22nd August: Ian Turburville writes that his daughter Laura had always wanted to go to the NitrOlympX, and that Nate Gagnon really needed the help with his Supertwin as he only had countryman Robert 'Surfer' Reid to crew for him, but that he could never afford it. There was only one recourse: to enter the recent Eurodragster.com NitrOlympX contest... By pure luck we won the competition for two free tickets to the event, but I still could not afford to go so Laura stepped up and paid for the flights out of her pocket money! Looked like we were going then! Big Kids here we come! Luckily we were rescued from a difficult train journey by Wendy Baker who along with Rockin' Ramon had been booked to do the famous Night Show. 
I won't go into the track difficulties we all faced as that is an ongoing situation and well known by now. I would just
like to say that we had a fantastic four days, brilliant weather, amazing event, great racing and lots of fun with the
best family in the world... drag racers! The bikes elected to run, and we worked very hard to make it all happen in
difficult circumstances. It was a bit hit-and-miss but we found a way down the track and, thanks to a stroke of
inspiration from Nate, put on the most awesome night show ever with teammate Samu. They blasted full power into
the evening with flames exploding from the exhausts while the fireworks lit their way and ran a 7.0 to much applause!
On Sunday Big Kids Racing made it all the way to the final against an ever-improving Christian Jaeger but he had lane choice, and that proved to be the deciding factor. The left lane was drastically worse than the right so Nate knew he had to not only run his best but cut a good light to stand a chance. Alas he cut it too close and pulled a red but spun the tyre so much that it threw him across his lane so he had to back off. Oh well, that's racing, big congratulations to Christian for a truly well-earned win. In the other bike classes the UK teams dominated, as in Junior Dragster. The legendary night show was all I was told it would be but the highlights were Nate and Samu and the brilliant match race between Wendy and Ramon in their Nostalgia Funny Cars. They have already been booked for next year and there will be more nostalgia cars in the show with them! I can't wait. A few well earned thanks: Eurodragster.com for running the competition (lifesaver), Jerry for the tickets (caught between a rock and a hard place), Laura for everything (thanks buddy), Wendy for the taxi service, the Night Show, and the bitchin', impromptu, Friday night cackle in the pits! (great work Paul), Samu for taking care of us as always and being such a cool guy (V60s rocked the world once more), Nate for working me like a dog all weekend (love ya bud, win this thing), Rob for being best crew mate ever (the race was dedicated to Rob's father Big D who passed unexpectedly just before the race), Pete Kellett who helped with logistics (and whose so Joe won the event), Dave and Linda Wilson for putting us up and being top racers (you made the right decision mate), all the other racers for being just the coolest people on the planet and making drag racing the best motor sport on earth bar none! The next meet for Team Turboville is this weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, then the European Finals, then the Hot Rod Drags, then the UK National Finals, all with the slingshot. Laura's Overkill is still for sale whilst we get her new slingshot ready for her but she might make a surprise appearance in a big car soon! See you all at the track! Web site updates. 22nd August: In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Super Pro ET, JDS Pro and Comp Eliminator racer John Bradshaw enlarges upon his plans mentioned in Monday's Swift Snippets. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Our good friend Remco Scheelings has updated The Netherlands' Autosport web site with his usual brace of post-event reports, this time from the weekend's Drachten Internationals. You can check out Remco's race report by clicking here and his off-track report by clicking here. Event entry update. 21st August: Many thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for forwarding us Version 2 of the official entry list for the Open Sport Nationals, which takes place this weekend (25th-27th). You can check out the Open Sport Nationals entry list by clicking here. Entry remains open until Saturday; you can download the entry form from the SCR web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. If you have any queries then you can contact the SCR office at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +1789 720180). APIRA Championship Outcomes. 21st August: The APIRA Ultimate Power Drag Racing Championship has its final round at the Open Sports Nationals and the points are as close as in previous years. APIRA Championship Co-ordinator, our very own Simon, writes: With some elimination rounds taking place for only about half the classes running at the Springspeed Nationals due to the cursed weather, those coming out with event wins this weekend are likely to win trophies for the Club Championship as well as receiving them for the event. In Super Comp, Shaun Lathan will win the Championship if he qualifies and beats the returning Andy Williams (with only two cars entered, the points for the National Championship will be awarded provisionally subject to a ruling by the organising clubs). Super Gas is led by Stuart Doignie and he will win if he goes all three rounds. Super Street is led by Leigh Morris and he will be up against the opposition he usually faces. Super Pro ET had one round of racing in May; Deborah Laugher qualified first and went the round to lead the points standings. A crash at the FIA Main Event put her participation for the rest of the season in doubt but she has now acquired the '63 Corvette previously campaigned by Martin Curbishley and tested it this past weekend in the hope of gaining her first Championship. Eurodragster.com sponsor Peter Walters, Dave Catton, Ian Powell and Paul Brown will be hoping to out-qualify and go more rounds than Deborah. After a couple of rounds, Pro ET has Paul Brown as leader by a margin of 80 points from Rick McCann. Paul Baynton, Bob Molden, Carla Pittau and class "rookie" Bob Lees are close behind. At time of writing Rick and Carla are not on the entry list, though, with the three experienced drivers left to give a challenge to the youthful dragster racer. The Sportsman ET standings are led by Nigel Hale with Sean Armstrong and Nicole Parker close behind and running at the event. The Hale family have made an impact on the class this year; will they aid Nigel to his first Championship too? Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator has Mark Todd in the lead and Brian Payne, Mats Andersson and Ian Hook close behind. Mark has now run into the sevens at Summernationals and his GTO should be in with a strong chance. Outlaw Anglia is led again by Cliff Griffin and Steve Wells, Richard Colby and Rob Stone are close behind. Cliff leads performance-wise but the class is unpredictable. The Wild Bunch is led by Chris Hartnell and with engine repairs complete he will be defending the lead from Darryl Howells, Darren Law and Pete Yates. The VW Sportsman leader Paul Jackson is not entered, so Eurodragster.com Honorary Staff Member Spencer Tramm will be looking to come out on top against Dean Clatworthy, Dennis Cox and Holly Baldwin. VW Pro is also minus Championship leader Matt Attwood so Paul Herbert will have a 60 point advantage over the field, none of whom attended the Springspeed Nationals. In Junior Dragster, Jacob Kopasz has a 50 point advantage over Joe Kellett with rookie Siobhan Moor and Aaron Fensome just a few points further back. The Funny Bike field in May was strengthened by the addition of three Dutch riders and Maarten Zijlstra and Mike Olie are returning to contest the Club Championship against leader Dave Peters. Nick Daniels is also in contention. In Competition bike, Phil Crossley is returning after engine breakage at the earlier event to defend his lead from Harold Wolfenden, Phil Leamon and Nick Milburn. The Super Street bike points leader Danny Cockerill just joined the entry list. Danny will be competing against Nigel Barker, Graham Dance, Chris Reed, Richard Hann and Steve Venables for the Championship trophy. In 8.50 Bike, Mick Winyard has a 60 point cushion over Jemma Venables, with Phil Bloomfield and Dave Thomas also in the hunt. 9.50 Bike is a family affair with Eurodragster.com sponsor Fred Furlong and Paul Furlong at the top of the standings. In Supertwin Gas, Jo Elliott has an advantage over Terry Green and Dave smart whereas Supertwin ET is tied between Ian Felstead and Giselle Moor. Finally, Junior Drag Bike is previous Champion Scott Collier's to defend against Jordan Bissell and Jasmine Cordelle, with others keen to make an impression. Swift snippets. 
21st August: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words
"I'll be scaring myself at the National Finals". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.
Many thanks to Kjell Pettersson for forwarding us the official provisional running order for this week's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena, which starts on Thursday. You can check out the provisional running order, which is as ever subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Congratulations to Finland's Jaakko Salakari who clocked a stunning 6.337/319.31 kmh on his Supertwin at the at Blåkläder August Nationals at Motopark Raceway on Sunday. With Per Bengtsson having run a 6.3 a short while ago, Supertwin at this weekend's Scandinavian Nationals is a mouth-watering prospect and maybe one of European drag racing's longest-standing records could be broken. Raimo Vuopionperä tells us to check out the evidence by clicking here. The date for this year's EDRS prizegiving banquet has been set for Saturday November 24th at a location yet to be confirmed but which is planned to be within one hour's journey of Stockholm. Racers' and organisers' meetings will be held in conjunction and the EDRS work group will confirm locations within the next few weeks. The EDRS Banquet is not only open for teams who have awards to collect but to all EDRS teams, organisers and officials connected to the EDRS European Drag Racing Series. Please note that to be eligible for any top three awards, racers must be members of the Speedgroup Drivers and Riders Club, about which you can read more on the EDRS web site at www.speedgroup.eu. if you have any queries then please visit the Speedgroup Service Centre, in the Media Centre, at Tierp Arena this weekend. Following on from yesterday's interview with UK Junior Drag racers Paige and Belle Wheeler, UK network radio station Radio 2 will be again be featuring drag racing today as MSA Pro Modified Championship PR and all-round good guy Robin Jackson is to be interviewed about the FIA European Finals by Simo Mayo at around 17:20 today (Tuesday). Giving a whole new meaning to the word Podcast... do you see what we did there? Editor's note: Your News Editor is really under the cosh in the day job today; it has been a real struggle to get even this short update coded and posted. We have a backlog of news which will be cleared this evening before we leave for Tierp Arena but we can always take more so please keep it coming to news@eurodragster.com. Kunmadaras UEM SSB Cup day 3. 20th August: Geoff Myers of Trakbak Racing has been in touch with a report from the third day of the 2012 S-Riders Shox Extreme Weekend event, which includes a round of the 2012 UEM European Super Street Bike Cup, held at the Kunmadaras Drag Arena in Hungary: 
On race day we once again arrived at the track to be greeted by blue skies and very warm weather.
The big news was that we saw not one but two official UEM Super Street Bike Cup records set and claimed this weekend:
The first round of eliminations took place at 9:00 am yesterday to take advantage of the cooler conditions, but despite the early start the riders had to contend with air temperatures of 32 C and with the temperature continuing to rise into the 40 C range I did not envy the riders their racing leathers at all. Round one (click here for full ladder): Thomas Granica def. Eric Gruber Graham Dance def. Gal Tamas Mongen Lund def. Steffan Schmidt Richard Stubbins def. Luca Carbonera Dave Smith def. Daniel Donat Lencses Graham. Balchin def. Istvan Okrosi Thomas Granica def. Eric Gruber Round two (click here for full ladder): Graham Balchin def. Thomas Granica Graham Dance def. Mogens Lund Richard Stubbins def. Dave Smith Despite losing to Graham Balchin, Thomas Granica was pleased to have set another Personal Best speed of 303.91 kmh or 189.94 mph. Round three (click here for full ladder): Richard Stubbins def. Graham Dance who had a problem on the line Graham Balchin had a bye into the final In the final round both Richard Stubbins and Graham Balchin overpowered the track but Richard's 8.50 won him a worthy victory. 
The prizegiving was conducted by the Mayor of Kunmadaras and Mrs Judy Hadnagy of S-Riders; with no Speedgroup representative
on hand to award trophies to the winners and runners up in their Funny Bike class I was asked to step in to assist.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank S-Riders for their fantastic hospitality and the hard work of their crews, the Trakbak track crew who worked very long hard hours to provide the riders with a record-setting track, and last but by no means least the riders and their hard-working teams who provided the marvelous Hungarian crowd with round after round of superb racing. I think we are all in for a very exciting final round of the UEM European Cup for Super Street Bikes at Santa Pod Raceway in September. I can't wait! Kunmadaras UEM SSB Cup day 2. 20th August: Geoff Myers of Trakbak Racing has been in touch with a report from the second day of the 2012 S-Riders Shox Extreme Weekend event, which includes a round of the 2012 UEM European Super Street Bike Cup, held at the Kunmadaras Drag Arena in Hungary: Upon arrival at the track we were greeted by beautiful blue skies, 25 C temperatures and lots of happy faces. Overnight Graham Dance had discovered that a broken timing component had significantly affected his performances post engine swap and was confident of improving upon yesterday's times. His prediction was to be proved to be correct, however others had also taken advantage of the excellent track conditions to collect data which would allow them to improve their positions in the qualification list. In qualifying session four all five top riders improved upon yesterday's times. Graham Balchin retained his number one position with an improved time of 7.57 secs, and Graham Dance moved from number eight to number three with a 7.81, Richard Stubbings consolidating his number two position with a 7.59. 
In qualifying session five the track grabbed the riders' attention, with the excellent traction giving Steffan Schmidt the first proper Super Street Bike wheelie of the weekend. In this session five riders made it into the seven-second bracket with two 7.50s and a 7.60. This high-energy session also featured Thomas Granica improving his Personal Best speed to 302 kmh. The story of qualifying session six reads like a script written for the the S-Riders' 15th Jubilee event. Graham Balchin stormed to a 7.41, no mean feat given a track temperature of 54 C and air temperature of 34 C, a combination of Graham's excellent riding skills and low ET and high speed gaining thunderous applause from the crowd, the crew and fellow riders and gaining Graham a well-deserved number one qualifier position. We will keep you updated. Thaliah flies her flag. 20th August: Whilst the rest of us were putting together our packing lists for the trip to Hockenheim, UK Junior Dragster racer Thaliah Gibb was already in Germany, taking her MPM Oil-sponsored dragster on a promotional tour with the MPM Oil / FGR Motorsport / Shockwave/ Mapei / Marshall / Smokehead Fuel Funny Car team. Thaliah's first stop was the Geiselwind Bike and Music weekend. "Stripper and Manfred made us very welcome at Geiselwind", Thaliah told Eurodragster.com. "Another Junior Dragster racer was at the event but broke so they asked us to take over his slot making exhibition runs. The track was uphill! I made launches and then turned round and came back up the track. I made one run on the first day and two on the second day. Stripper introduced us to a lot of people. They gave us food and drink and treated us as VIPs! Thank you very much to Stripper, Manfred and the club." 
After two days off visiting theme parks, the team made an early start to go to the Ramstein USAF base where they were to put on two separate exhibitions.
In the morning the Funny Cars and Junior Dragster were on display in front of the base shopping mall. "Jason Phelps and I signed so many hero cards!", said
Thaliah. "Our visit was broadcast on the Forces' Network and visitors came from bases all over Germany. 150 kids sat in my car and had their photos taken.
They gave us lots of food and drink, thank you to Jake for looking after us.
"After lunch we packed up the trailer and went off to the USO Centre. I stayed at the USO Centre and met some of the wounded warriors whilst Mum went to the hospital. We had the Junior and the Funny Cars on display again and Jason and I signed more hero cards, and I had my picture taken with some of the soldiers. Jake had given me a scarf and because I thought the wounded soldiers were the real heroes I got them to sign my scarf, and then I put the scarf on the car to race with it at Hockenheim. We were challenged to play a racing game on the XBox against two of the warriors and Jason and I lost! We're used to driving real cars, you see, not XBox! Thanks to everyone at the USO Centre, they were fantastic." 
This was Thaliah's first visit to the NitrOlympX and she quickly found out about the legendary long trip back to the pits.
"Spencer Tramm arranged for all the Juniors to be shown the exit from the track, how to turn off and where to go", said Thaliah. "And the very long
route back! Thank you to Spencer. We had to borrow tow vehicles from David Vegter and the Habermanns, and Richard of MPM borrowed us a quad. The
distance from the burnout box was different, too. It was quite short and on the first run I accused mum of not taking enough steps back
and messing up my routine!
"On Saturday twenty soldiers from the USO Centre came to visit our pit. We gave them hospitality, showed them round the cars and they wanted hero cards so we signed a lot more. Richard took them to the track to see some racing. Someone who was at Geiselwind came and spoke to me and wished me good luck! I enjoyed the racing and I definitely want to go back next year. "Thank you to Richard and everyone from MPM Oil, Jason Phelps and Gordon Smith who shared their pit with us, Neil and John for driving the lorry and looking after the cars, and Jeff Kline who took loads of great pictures. And thanks to Mum for taking me!" A word from our winners. 20th August: Reinhold Bogaard, who won our Nitrographer for a Day contest to spend at day photographing trackside at the NitrOlympX, has been in touch with his experiences at Hockenheim: Wow, it gets loud that close to the track! A couple of proper earplugs turned out to be no luxury. Luckily I had anticipated that. They also helped with the comments coming from the pits about the track conditions. Photography-wise it was an excellent weekend anyway. A pity that track and weather conditions seem to be a difficult combination. 
What an excellent idea of the Hockenheimring to have a contest for a photographer of the day. I realise it's a bit of a shot in the dark as you never know who will turn up and whether he or she will understand track safety rules. A few times the track safety crew had to dampen even my enthusiasm. I did get a bit more respect for the Pros out there especially shooting crisp pictures whilst shovelling through ankle deep gravel, carrying lenses that I would put on a lorry, dragsters blazing by and a steady sun burning away. 
I myself shot Velvia 50 ASA slide film with a pair of vintage Minolta X-700 cameras which kept up very well. It was interesting to find out that by the time the camera mirror pops back down the viewfinder shows an empty lane with no clue how the picture will actually come out when the film gets developed. I often found myself looking straight into the top end of a fellow photographer's telephoto lens. I hope I didn't turn up with a huge grin on too many of their pictures. I'll refrain from bragging any more about 35 mm slide film, it's a drag racing news site, right? A big thank you to everyone who was very patient with me, especially Christine of Hockenheimring who guided me through all the safety drills. VIP ticket winner Bill Martland has also written an account of his weekend at Hockenheim which you can check out (PDF format) by clicking here. Swift snippets. 
20th August: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words
"Back with a vengeance". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at
eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.
12:30 Thanks to Paula and Ian Marshall for sending us Version 10 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 6th-9th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Standard-priced entry is now closed and so entry is now subject to a late entry penalty. You can download all entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. 12:30 UK Junior Dragster racers Paige and Belle Wheeler are to be interviewed by Simon Mayo on UK network radio station Radio 2 at 18:45 UK time this evening (Monday). Whilst waiting check out an excellent on-board video from Paige's dragster at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bw30reFCdw. UK Super Pro ET, HKS Pro and Comp Eliminator racer John Bradshaw has confirmed that his record-holding six-second Project Zed Nissan is to be taken to Australia in 2013 (see our 2012 Autosport International coverage - Ed) but has also revealed that the Brams Racing team plan to field a twin-turbo V8 in Pro Modified. We'll bring you more on the latter as we get it. UK Pro Modified racer Wayne Nicholson says that he and the Lucky Devil team had a great experience at the NitrOlympX and that it was good fun apart from the obvious disappointments. "Massive thanks as always to our sponsors Lucas Oil, NGK Spark Plus, Dentrepairs, Allyfab and Originals Hot Rod Supply", says Wayne. "The crew all deserve a medal too: Dennis, Adam, Joe, and Tony, and welcome to new team members Andy and Lee Kirk. Thanks to Belinda for keeping us all in line too!". You can read about the team's weekend at www.luckydevil777dragracing.com Smart TV provide Tierp webcast. 20th August: If you can't make it to the biggest race of the year at the most modern drag strip in Europe, this week's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena, then you can instead follow it on your computer in full 1080p HD. 
Close to 300 teams will battle it out at Tierp and Smart TV will cover the race
with at least eight cameras in the pits, pairing lanes, start line, finish line and top end. "We are also working to have a presenter to
do interviews with a roving cameraman" says Smart TV owner and producer Robert Karström. "We can promise some surprises.
This time I have also managed to get Anders 'Bostic' Envall aboard as a director for most of the time. Up to now he's been a helpful director-from-hell
from his computer, but now he can help on location. Robert's son Dennis will as usual be editor, Niklas Carlsson will do the graphics with the help of
info runner Kjell 'Ståkkhålmskjelle" Ahl who is new to the Smart TV crew. Lelle Olsson and his Time-Tree team will provide all the timing data."
Smart TV, who have broadcast for free up to now, will be charging a very reasonable €10 for three days of drag racing, Friday to Sunday, although Thursday's webcast will be free. "Thursday will be set-up day for the crew", says Robert. "We will broadcast live in HD from the first camera we set up on Thursday morning and we will add cameras throughout the day. It'll be a free show on Thursday!" The Smart TV webcast will be offered in 1080p HD or standard definition. After a year of flawless HD streaming from many different drag races in Scandinavia, Robert has a lot of confidence in his self-designed system. "We are all excited to show what you can do at a race like this, in an arena like this", he says. "We are very happy to have signed Smart TV to cover our race" says Leif Andréasson of Tierp Arena. "We think that they perfectly understand the essence of drag racing and will give all those viewers who can't attend a vibrant show and good service in a superior quality at home on their computers TV sets." Eurodragster.com will be covering the Scandinavian Internationals live in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car. VW Action beckons. 20th August: VW Action, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on Friday 31st August to Sunday 2nd September, should once again live up to its name with many cars from the European mainland and a large field of extremely quick race and street VWs including Cal-Lookers from the JG54 Greenhearts and SAS Rennwagens, ACE and VWDRC race cars, the Split Buses of the BWA and Bays of the USB all taking part in the Night Racing session on the Saturday evening. Added to the quick Bugs, Buses and nine-second Golfs are the Supercharged Outlaws of Lee Gallimore (Red Mist altered), Dave McKenzie (Team Thing altered), Brian Gandy (Skullduggery altered), Vic Hammond (Speed Demon slingshot), Steve Goode (Ghost Train Funny Car), Paul Watts No Easy Pick Up doorslammer), Andy Hadfield (The Twister altered), Ian Kerr (Pontiac Firebird Doorslammer), Martin Green (Plymouth Duster doorslammer), Clive Bush (Crazy Horse altered) and Simon Cooper (Chevy Nova doorslammer). This year's Guest of Honour at VW Action will be Clyde Berg, son of VW legend Gene Berg. A USA VW drag dacing star and VW performance guru in his own right, Clyde will be on hand to meet and chat with visitors to VW Action and will be presenting the Show and Shine trophies etc, much like California's Randy Carlson did in 2011. On top of this, Clyde will also be taking part in the VW Action Night Racing session in his old car. The car is now owned by Kaag Kevers proprietor and VW drag racer Ingmar Devos who will be bringing it to Santa Pod from the Netherlands for Clyde to use. VW Action promoters NAS Events have always been at the forefront of bringing international guests to the UK and their events have previously seen the likes of Clyde's father Gene (RIP), Hot VWs' RK Smith, Orange County Raceway commentator Dyno Don Chamberlin, Ron Lummus and the now-infamous Hoodride founder Dopebeat Derrick amongst others. VW Drag Race fans should be in for a real treat at this event. You can get full details on this very comprehensive event at www.vwaction.com/vwaction. Web site updates. 
20th August: Photographer Julian Hunt has updated his web site at www.julianhunt.net
with pictures from June's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway.
Issue 11/2012 of the Speedgroup newsletter is now available and features a brief review of the NitrOlympX, Eurodragster.com Editor's Diary about the NitrOlympX, preview of this week's Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena, and more. You can check out the Speedgroup newsletter at club.speedgroup.eu/newsletters/2012/edition11_2012/edition11_start.htm. Drachten Internationals webcast. 19th August: Our streaming service provider Doyousee.me are webcasting this weekend's Drachten Internationals, which commences today (Friday). The webcast will as ever be free and will include timing data overlay. You can watch the Drachten Internationals at www.doyousee.me/explosion. Kunmadaras UEM SSB Cup day 1. 19th August: Geoff Myers of Trakbak Racing has been in touch with a report from the first day of the 2012 S-Riders Shox Extreme Weekend event, which includes a round of the 2012 UEM European Super Street Bike Cup, held at the Kunmadaras Drag Arena in Hungary: 2012 is a landmark year for S-Riders who are this weekend celebrating fifteen years of organising and running drag racing at the Kunmadaras facility and four years of hosting UEM Championship and Cup events in conjunction with Trakbak Racing. This year Trakbak Racing brings the UEM European Cup for Super Street bikes to the venue for the first time, following on from the success of the popular 2011 three-race pilot series. A combination of an excellent track prepared by the highly regarded Trakbak Racing / Santa Pod track crew of Darren Prentice, David Warren and Steve Horn and excellent weather promise to make this a superb event. The first round of qualifying for the UEM European Cup for Super Street Bikes got underway at 10:30 am with all riders keen to take advantage of the excellent track conditions. The United Kingdom's Graham Balchin laid down the gauntlet to the rest of the field with a hard charging 7.68 second pass at well over 300 kmh. The second UEM SSB qualifying session was delayed due to a full quarter-mile oildown which was ably dealt with by the Trakbak Racing and S-Riders track crews. However the big story between rounds is that both Graham Dance and Thomas Granica both had a monumental thrash changing motors ready for the second qualifying session with Thomas beating Graham to the first fire up by a mere five minutes. The second session qualifying session proved to be equaly competitive with Dave Smith, Richard Stubbins and Graham Balchin all firmly in the sevens. A tour of the pits found teams coping with various degrees of success with the ninety-degree temperatures, however the one constant was the teams' positive view of the track condition and the fact they were enjoying their racing. It was great to see three Hungarian riders entering UEM competition for the first time at their home track. Daniel Lencses Donat was particularly enthusiastic. "I am really happy to have the opportunity to be racing with the rest of UEM SSB teams", he said. "I did some damage testing in the week leading up to the event and have had to change motors". However it should be noted that, tough competitor that he is, it did not stop him winning the national SSB class final held today! A big well done Daniel and we look forward to seeing you in UEM competition again tomorrow. Round three of qualifying included another three seven-second passes with Mogens Lund putting a 7.9 on the board and Thomas Granica laying down a blistering 7.8 second pass to massive cheers from the enthusiastic Hungarian Crowd and their equally enthusiastic track commentator! Also worth a mention is Austria's Eric Gruber's consistent performances this weekend in both the UEM SSB and Hungarian National SSB race in which he was a worthy runner up to Daniel Lencses Donat. It all bodes well for a very exciting weekend's racing. We will keep you posted. Event entry update. 18th August: Many thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry list for the Open Sport Nationals, which takes place on Saturday-Monday of next week (25th-27th). You can check out the Open Sport Nationals entry list by clicking here. Entry remains open until Saturday week (25th); you can download the entry form from the SCR web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. If you have any queries then you can contact the SCR office at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +1789 720180). Erbacher's NitrOlympX. 
18th August: Reigning FIA Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com sponsor
Urs Erbacher has been in touch with an account of his weekend at the
NitrOlympX:
We decided that we would try the track on Saturday, I ran four times on Saturday including the Night Show. My team worked like hell because we had 170 guests who paid €400 each to see us run. We really tried to run without a throttle stop and detune the car as much we could. I didn't want run in eliminations with the challenge being who can cut the best throttle stop in the class. That's not the way to run. So really we tried our best. In the Night Show I spun the tyres all the way to the thousand feet. It cost me a set of tyres just for nothing. On Sunday morning we tried to find a way but the track wasn't safe enough. Some spectators and ex-fans were calling us pussy drivers on Facebook (Yet another reason to dislike Facebook - Ed). I can only say that none of the Pro drivers is a pussy. My sponors and my guest were made on Sunday but after two or three days they cooled down and told me that they would come again. I want to thank all of my fans, guests, and sponsors. They understood that we could not risk our lives just for a show. Special thank to Robin and my whole team. On Saturday we made four runs in a short time, that's like in the USA when you win a race. A lot of work. Thank you guys. I will pay you back in Tierp with fast runs. The track people including Jerry tried the best they could. Yes maybe it was too late to react but they tried. So thank you to the people who worked at the Hockenheim race. Hope we can come together again next year because it's still an amazing place and over 60,000 spectators at the Night Show says everything. 
We will go to Tierp and that's it for this year because the cost of running a Top Fuel Car is extremely high. We spent $6,000 per run, and if you win the race you spend over $40,000 and the most you can win including travel money is 15,000. The difference has to come out of my pocket or from my sponsors. I think all the Pro teams in the other classes are spending more than they can earn. But we do it because we are racers and we have fuel in our blood. Let's go to the next race and make it better. We ran Lo's bike for the last time this year. Lo and his team worked hard but after the second run the crank bearing was broken. Lo fixed it over night but he ended in number nine spot and was not qualified. The bike is still for sale and is race-ready. If everyone is intrested then just ask. Bruiser hits Sywell. 18th August: Paul Marston Racing are pleased to announce that the infamous PT Bruiser will be attending the Sywell Jubilee Air Show in Northamptonshire tomorrow (Sunday 19th), having been invited through team member Ian Hart on behalf of Patrick Morgan of Dawn Treader Performance Ltd, a specialist company which restores classic race cars. On site will also be Jacques Villeneuve's first F1 winner - the Williams FW-18; Ayrton Senna's 1000+ BHP Lotus 98T; Leyton House CG901B fresh from victory at Goodwood; Emerson Fittipaldi's 1990 Penske; Paul Tracy's Penske from 1997 - this car achieved win 99 for the team; Archie Scott-Brown's B-Type Connaught; a pre-war Talbot Lago Grand Prix car; and the fantastic Ducati GP5 Desmosedici MotoGP bike. The Show once again supports the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance. At the last show in 2010 a cheque for £31,744.30 was presented to the Air Ambulance: enough to fund thirty one life-saving flights. In addition to the flying display there will be aircraft on static display along with military and vintage vehicles, numerous trade stands, flight simulator, fairground rides and the Sywell Aviation Museum. Gates open at 10:00 and the flying display commences at 13:45. Admission is £15. For more details check out the Show web site at www.sywellairshow.co.uk. Statement from Speegroup. 
17th August: Still in the aftermath of the weekend's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim we have
received the following statement from Speedgroup
CEO and Pro Modified racer Micke Gullqvist:
There are always mistakes made running Championship events and we are constantly working to find ways to avoid them at future events. In the 1990s, the FIA distributed the rights and running of the events in the European Drag Racing Championships to the National Automobile Federations (ASNs) in the countries which hold a Championship event. Today the FIA have a Technical Committee for drag racing, which is strictly working with the technical rule book. This means that the FIA does not actually have anything to do with running or promoting the events in the Championship. This is confusing for most people when trying to find a 'responsible person'. The goal for Speedgroup is to bring it all together and run the Championship and its events in a professional way with quality assurance for the benefit of anyone involved. We have the network of people to do that and there are a lot of skilled people in different areas in Europe. There will always be a risk of problems when running all the events under different management teams. We need to sign up people in key positions running the events in the same way anywhere we go. There just is no other way of doing it seriously, this is definitely where we have to go to get smooth running, safe events in an environment which can attract corporate sponsorship in a better way. We're not claiming to be smarter than anyone, we just see that we need to standardise the procedures at all Championship events to ensure a high and acceptable level of quality. In 2011, we released a Championship Event Guidelines document of twenty two pages, which describes the best routines and procedures we can think of for all the important things which you have to think about when running an event. The information in the document comes from experiences which we had at many events and the sources are racers, organisers, sponsors and spectators. It is constantly updated and new suggestions are added after almost every event. The challenge for us is that is that some tracks might see us as a threat and that "No one should come here and tell us how to run our events". This work on improvement will possibly hurt on the emotional level for some in the short term, but I'm sure that everyone understands that it is the only way forward. And if tracks are not interested in our quality assurance procedures, how can we justify that racers, sponsors and fans should go there? Speedgroup is a limited shareholders company currently owned by about one hundred shareholders with equal amount of shares throughout Europe. Disneyland for bikers and racers. 16th August: Richard Stevens of Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK writes about the first leg of the MPM / FGR Motorsport / Shockwave/ Mapei / Marshall / Smokehead Fuel FC team's visit to Germany: 
The Geiselwind Bike and Music weekend blew us away. The annual event organised by the Knight Riders MC and the Strohofer family is a must for anyone who loves drag racing, American cars,
bikes and rock music.
The organisers' hospitality started as we arrived and never finished until we left five days later; we could not have been looked after any better. The venue, which from the outside appears to be a hotel but which contains a festival hall which can best be described as one of the halls at Earl's Court and capable of holding in excess of 6000 people, hosted some amazing bands from Saxon to Ramstein. The atmosphere was amazing, and between the music and the drag racing demos, stunt team displays on the live action track and the music in the main hall, it's a must for anyone who likes fast bikes and cars and rock and roll. Throughout the weekend we were entertained by Stripper, the head of the Knight Riders MC chapter, who can only be described as a fantastic guy. He couldn't do enough for us, trying to promote us as much as he could. We were not allowed to spend a penny of our own money, and we had a free bar and food and hotel rooms for the whole time we were there. From having models airbrushed in MPM and Marshall livery, to insisting to the British rock band Saxon that they have the Marshall and Smokehead custom shop amps on stage with them for their performances, they couldn't do enough to entertain us. 
On the drag racing front, the crowds were entertained from Junior Dragster (Thaliah Gibb) to Nitro Funny Car (Jason Phelps) and everything in between, and all the teams did their best to make as much
smoke and noise as possible. The track was only suitable for extended burnouts by the larger cars, but the 25,000 attendees really showed their appreciation to all the teams and stunt drivers and riders.
We are hoping that we get invited back next year, and would say it's well worth a visit if you get a chance. The event is always on the weekend before Hockenheim, so contact the organisers (Google Geiselwind Bike and Music Weekend and I'm sure they would be more than happy for you to attend if you were happy to do some demo launches and burnouts. I have to finish by saying a big thank you to Stripper, Manfred Strohofer and all of the Knight Rider MC members for putting on one hell of a show and looking after us so well. And last but not least, a great big Thank You to Jeff Kline of JD Kline photography who documented and censored the weekend with amazing pictures. Malmgren: How? 16th August: Swedish Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren has a question about the weekend's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim: how could it happen? You can for sure ask how could we end up in this situation when we are running under FIA flag and rules. You need to have this and that, and many small details, you have obligations to fulfil, and all for safety is what we always get as a reply. Now what about safety to run on a track which that can't even take Top Fuel runs on throttle stop without smoking the tyres. Is it safe when you can't run better than two seconds off your normal performance? If it was a licence run you wouldn't get your license and you would not be allowed to run, so how come we were allowed to run now. With all respect for the organiser HockenheimRing, we all know now that they had to clean all the rubber off for circuit racing, but we all know that a virgin track will not work: think of the Santa Pod Finals 2011 experience which upset many racers, and many teams stayed home for the Main Event this year. Now Santa Pod have worked hard to get it back to normal standad and we look forward to running there again in September. What makes me and the rest of the racers very disappointed most of all is when we hear that they refused to bring the guy who prepped the track last year with good results. He was too expensive, they were concerned about spending money on a Pro track prep guy, and in the end with no crew with experience to fix the track we ended up running on ice. Due to the risk of crashes and blowing up engines there was no racing on Sunday except in Top Methanol Dragster, which are the easiest cars to adjust to slick conditions. Still the numbers were way off, and the A/Fuel Dragsters just could not make it work, so in my world it was not fair racing. Why did they run? Well, what I understand is that it was a voting matter and most of the Top Methanol Dragster teams wanted to run, and the organisers were panicking to get cars out, so they accepted that. Many cars went sideways and were close to crashing when they tried to make a good run for high qualifying position. Robert Joosten's Pro Mod went into the wall, luckily there was no car at other lane since if there was then god knows how that would end up. Bruno Bader was up on two wheels running on his headers, milliseconds from going upside down (good driving job Bruno!). The Hockenheim organisers had arranged to get Ian Marshall of Santa Pod Racers Club to work on the track but he couldn't come. How come no Plan B? Safety must be the main concern. Even if Ian could have come it would have been too late, to fix this track it would need day and night work from day one after they cleaned the rubber from the track. A couple of teams walked the track Saturday evening and there was no activity and we asked the guys who were still there but ready to leave why they didn't drag rubber all night. The answer was that we will not be paid to work after 20:00. I can't say whether that was the truth but if I was in this situation as a track organiser I would drag rubber all night long so that we could at least show that we tried our best. But this was not the case. It is the obligation of every track promoter to make sure that he has a good track prep crew who understand drag racing and know how to get a which is track safe to run on. Ironically the only part which had very good traction was right after burnout box, and that is the only place in which we don't want good traction: we want to be able to break the tyres loose for a long and nice burnout without killing the engine. The bottom line is that we still did not let them hang out to dry. We offered to make show runs on Sunday, one round each class, in return for our price money. The organisers liked that but suddenly one hour before we were supposed to run on Sunday that was also cancelled, what a mess. I am thinking of all of the teams' efforts to come to this race, people who have worked their asses off to be able to take time off work to go racing (for most teams this race is seven days off work), many racers has ordered parts from US to be ready with expensive overnight freights, and spent big money on ferries and airline tickets. In the end it all went under due to cutting out the most important guy of all, the mastermind in track preparations, to save money and cut costs or whatever. Personally it cost me €5000 for the weekend, and I can imagine the costs for all of the other teams. This is my and my team members' personal reflection on this matter, but I am pretty sure that 98% of the FIA teams would say the same, and maybe more. The HockenheimRing is the most fantastic place to race in Europe, so let's hope that the FIA and all involved will take action to improve matters, if they are interested in having an FIA round there in 2013. Thanks to Gullan who really tried his best to put it together! Swift snippets. 16th August: Thanks to Paula and Ian Marshall for sending us Version 9 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 6th-9th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Standard-priced entry is now closed and so entry is now subject to a late entry penalty. You can download all entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Our streaming service provider Doyousee.me will be webcasting this weekend's Drachten Internationals commencing tomorrow (Friday). The webcast will as ever be free and will include timing data overlay. We will post a direct Home Page link to the webcast tomorrow but you will be able to watch at www.doyousee.me/explosion. We would like to wish a big Happy Birthday with added hugs to Leah Hinchcliffe. Have a lovely day Leah. Seven up. 16th August: As ACU UK Top Fuel Bike Champion Kev Charman was not making demonstration passes at the weekend's Bulldog Bash at Shakespeare County Raceway, it fell to team-mate Lizz McCarthy to run on the team's Funny Bike. Lizz writes: It meant more track time before the Open Sport Nationals, and would give us a chance to test a few things which we had been unable to due to the terrible weather and my broken wrists in May! The weekend's crew was Kev and his Crew Chief Chris Pyke. They have a wealth of experience and an amazing rapport, and certainly put me at ease. For the first demo I was quite nervous. From watching some of the Run What You Brungers going up the strip, it looked a bit slippery. I was assured that the track would be prepped so went and got changed, and did the last checks on the bike with the boys. We were then called so went and got ourselves situated against the wall. Kev started me, and burnout done I forgot to stop and wait for him to get me back into first gear, and rolled towards Chris who was spotting me, and looked quite surprised to see me there so soon. Gears sorted, purged nitrous, and went into pre-stage. Everything happened quite quickly after that, hit the shift points, I may have missed a gear, but up to the end in one piece, and waited for someone to come and tow me back. I thought about my run, and what I could have done differently, and then Kev appeared with a serious look on his face, and asked me how quick I thought I went. I thought it may have been an 8.7 - he then told me I had run a 7.95/165! My first seven. I did a bit of a happy dance, and the grin is still there! The tow back was en masse back down the track, and Jerry Cookson who was commentating introduced the riders and drivers as they were towed back down. The cheers were amazing when he said my name. My five minutes of fame! The amount of people who came to congratulate me was overwhelming, thank you to everyone who did, and if I seemed a bit dazed, it's because I was! Bike checked over and all A-OK, the next demo at 5:00. The weather was very warm and the track was sticky - happy days! The next run was a bit strange. Although it wasn't said out loud, I put myself under pressure to do it again. How gutted would I be if I ran an 8.0. It felt very strong, the sixty foot was a 1.18, however I was battling with the bike to keep it straight, and it was a very messy run. Lack of experience and being on the bars for nearly the whole run, felt a bit wobbly and the shift light seemed to be coming on very quickly - so wheel spinning. As it goes, happily I ran another seven, a 7.96 but ten miles per hour down. Got the bike back to the pits and was questioned on if I was on full throttle. I know I was as I tried to open it a bit more but was there already! We decided to do a leak down and it wasn't good, so decided to lift the head off and see if it was something we could repair at the track. Unfortunately this was not possible - the head gasket had gone. To be honest I didn't really care. I had run two sevens, beating my PB by 0.8 seconds (Nice one - Ed)! We are not going to rish the repair. We are going to order some parts, and seeing as we are not in any Championship battles we don't want to put ourselves under any more pressure getting this ready for the Open Sport Nationals. We could thrash to do it, but there's no need. It's a shame, but I'm hoping to be back for the UK National Finals at Santa Pod. A great weekend. Big thanks to Dicko and Sarah for inviting me, to Kev and Chris, you guys rock! I strongly believe that I could not have achieved this without you. To the track crew at Shakey, thanks for their hard work and thanks for such a good track. Thanks also to Richard Stevens at MPM Oil UK, Steve Wood at Motorshack, Debs at Armadillo Ink and Simon at Claron Graphics. Oh! and to all those people whom I told last year that I would quit as soon as I ran a seven... sorry, I lied! Bad, worse, good, bad, good! 16th August: Vic Hammond writes that the UK's Speed Demon Supercharged Outlaws team's weekend at the Bulldog Bash at Shakespeare County Raceway started bad, got worse, got better, got worse again and ended up OK in the end: The bad luck started on Thursday shortly after starting the trip to Shakespeare County Raceway as my tow car overheated and had to be recovered back to my house in North London. Mickey Moore was summoned from already being en route to the Bash to come and tow the trailer. Within a mile of setting off the tow bar on his pick-up sheared off (some inferior smaller than required bolts being the cause). A bit more shuffling and we were parked up on a slip road. Paul Shaw to the rescue with ten new bolts. Eventually after seven hours we arrived at the track where the weather was great and we set up camp for the weekend. The first run on Friday turned a bit sour as soon as Sam started his burnout and found the steering butterfly attached to his hands but not the rest of the car. He obviously shortened the burnout and somehow managed to lock the butterfly back on, with steering now fully functional. Upon staging the car the transbrake did not function and the car rolled through, undeterred he set off and the next thing we knew it sounded like it was on the limiter - it was, RPM shifter was not working - despite hitting the shifter it was too late, it was misfiring, so he coasted through. No idea what the time or speed was. Paul asked Sam what had happened over the radio and his reply of "It's *****d" was perhaps a tad on the harsh side, but it seemed like a reasonable answer at the time. Back in the pits we started to check things out, to be honest we thought we were out but the further we got into it the more we started to realise that we could possibly run Saturday or even the last session if things went OK. The damage was limited to twelve bent pushrods and a couple of marked rocker arms (Oh, is that all - Ed). Lee Gallimore had a set of the correct length pushrods but they were a bigger diameter. That was fixed with a bit of grinding with a borrowed angle grinder. Everything went well and we looked likely to make the second session. We warmed it up with time to spare much to the amazement of some other competitors who were pitted near us. After the warm-up they even gave us a round of applause which was very nice of them. So back out for our second run. We had no time to look at the shifter problem so it was decided to do it manually, and also to short shift just to make sure everything was right with the engine. All seemed OK so Sam drove it through the finish line. According to Sam he had the chute out and was hard on the brakes but it became rapidly obvious that he was not going to make the first turn off. Stopping short of the top turn-off meant he had to be recovered from the top end of the track. Paul and I arrived some time later to recover the car and broke the news that not only had we got through the run OK with a time of 7.6-odd but had in fact broken our own and the Supercharged Outlaws' speed record, 197.58, by only 0.5 mph but they all count! This also confirmed that there was not a lot wrong with the engine. Early on Saturday morning, we were sitting round in the pits when a crack was spotted in the chassis, and then on closer inspection there were two. After everything we had to do on Friday were we going to let this stop us? Not likely, we were off and within thirty minutes we had a welder and operator, thanks to Jet FC pilot Martin Hill, and a generator capable of running it, thanks to Paul Watts. Another panic situation sorted. The next run was a side by side with Alec Coe in the Shy Talker slingshot, two mid seven-second slingshots side-by-side is always going to be a good race. We edged Alec with a holeshot, but still shifting manually and with no transbrake. For the first time that weekend we had a few minutes to spare, i.e. nothing had broken or fallen off the car or any associated equipment, so we investigated the shifter failure. Initially it looked like it may have been a bad connection on the relay which operates the solenoid. We moved things about a bit and were happy that we may have found the problem, but we would find out for sure on the warm-up. We found out more when we tried to fire up and the engine refused to run. It was dead. That then gave us all our answers in one go: there are two main fuses on the car of the same value, we had removed them when we were checking a few things out and replaced them in the opposite locations, the transbrake button now worked and we suspected the shifter would also, a new fuse in the ignition side of things soon had us running. Our last run was against Paul Watts but was converted to a solo as one lane was out with an oil spillage. What the hell, we were there to put on a show, so flaming headers and a nice long burnout, seeing Gail through the heat haze when backing up was a bit of a problem but we got there. The burnout and chute pins were removed, about ten dry hops right up to the start line, and stage, Sam hit it hard off the start with one hand straight on the shift lever just in case. He was just about to shift and it clicked in, shook the tyres for a few yards and was away, pulled hard all the way to the finish line, chute out with no dramas as he was going to the end anyway. Paul and I arrived a while later gesticulating and shouting but Sam couldn't hear till we got closer. 7.478, another Personal Best, this time ET and not speed. The result of all of the above was that we won the Supercharged Outlaws at the Bulldog Bash, this was decided by the commentators and track crew as it was not an official Outlaws points round. We'd like to thank them for nominating us and for all their hard work all weekend: you don't run PBs on bad tracks so that tells you how good it was. A lot of hard work goes into running one of these cars and although the chips were stacked against us a few times we came out on top because we never ever give up. We - the team of Vic, Sam, Paul, Mickey and Gail - would like to thank Dicko for the kind invite, our fellow competitors in the Supercharged Outlaws, the track Crew and commentators and everyone else who helped us over the weekend. Great weekend with some great people! Apologies if we've missed anyone out. Drachten Internationals definite. 15th August: The Netherlands' eXplosion Drag Racing Club and Quartermile Events have confirmed that the rescheduled Drachten Internationals will be taking place on Friday to Sunday of this week, 17th-19th August, at Drachten Airfield: As an exception to the rules we're still accepting entries to race, so everyone can still enter and enjoy the sea-level air, good track preparation offered by Drachten Airfield, and the ever-present perfect ambience which may be helped by the big yellow ball in the sky You can find out more at www.explosiondragracing.com. A personal note from the doyousee.me staff: please don't look at the webcast this weekend but take your car or bike and drive up there. eXplosion has had the worst of luck for a season and a half now, so go up there and support this marvellous team of volunteers and drivers who never stopped trying although all odds were against them. We will of course run our cams for those who really can't make it. SPRC notice to racers. 15th August: We have received the following notice from Santa Pod Racers Club regarding entry to the FIA European Finals: Those racers who have contacted us recently referring to their European Finals entries should please make sure that the forms are with us before this coming Friday (17th), thank you. You can check out Version 8 of the official FIA European Finals entry list by clicking here. The boys are back in town! 
15th August: Defying everybody's expectations, Danish Top Fuel Dragster team Andersen Racing are back in European drag racing in 2012 for a one-race-only
deal, with the best driver in Europe behind the wheel: Thomas Nataas.
The name of the game is: The FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway, September 2012. "Obviously this has nothing to do with the Championship, but everything to do with the great love for true drag racing which Andersen Racing and Thomas Nataas share", say the team. "Andersen Racing are currently looking for sponsors for the event, and there are plenty of good spots left on the car. For which read: all of it! If you are interested then contact Karsten Andersen on +45 296 868 19 or ka@andersenracing.dk, or Per Andersen on +45 229 352 50 or pa@andersenracing.dk. "The car is ready, the crew is ready, and the driver was born ready. So let's hope the track is ready. See you there, race fans..." Anita's weekend. 15th August: Finnish Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä has been in touch with a review of her weekend at Hockenheim: 
I feel so sorry for the spectators.
I feel so sorry for the officials. I feel so sorry for us racers and teams. This should not ever happen: a spoilt track The surface of the drag strip is supposed to be even when running Top Fuel Dragsters. This weekend the Hockenheim track was not. After Friday's qualifying was cancelled, we were scheduled to have three rounds on the Saturday. On the first run we turned all the power down as much as we could without hurting the engine. Instant smoke and pan pressure activated the automatic shut off system and I stopped on the middle of the track with open chutes. The second and third round were driven on the throttle stop, times were 6.9 and 6.1. But that was not racing. It was a lottery. And when the speeds were growing, it was getting dangerous. Our cars need to meet FIA safety regulations. But it takes two for racing: a car and a track. I'm wondering where was the FIA sanctioning body to tell everyone that this was not safe for Top Fuellers any more and to call the race off. Safety must be the number one issue always and I'd be amazed if this isn't the FIA's rôle and duty. We tried to run there but it was simply too dangerous for racing. Show runs are of course different thing. It was a pleasure to run in the Night Show with Janne Ahonen. It is a unique feeling the be a part of that great show. To sit there in my dragster surrounded by that fantastic crowd made my weekend! What a feeling again! Super Show! Sorry that we couldn't give the audience the best possible racing, but 6.9 and 7.1 runs were all we could do. But we were smiling all evening. Anyway, I just love Hockenheim. Hockenheim has had the reputation as the fastest track. I look forward breaking my records there again in the future. NitrOlympX updates. 15th August: Many thanks to Kjell Pettersson for sending us the post-NitrOlympX points standings in the 2012 FIA European Drag Racing Championships which you can check out on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Our good friend Remco Scheelings has updated The Netherlands' Autosport web site with his usual brace of post-event reports, this time from the NitrOlympX. You can check out Remco's race report by clicking here and his off-track report by clicking here. Patrik Jacobsson, who kindly contributed to Eurodragster.com's NitrOlympX gallery on Sunday, has posted large NitrOlympX galleries on his own web site at www.racebilder.nu and on the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu. Our good friend Lena Perés has posted a NitrOlympX gallery on Facebook which you can check out by clicking here. Swift snippets. 
15th August: The Pennine Drag Racing Club are holding a Tribute to KC at the forthcoming meeting at
York Raceway on 26th-27th August. "After Sunday qualifying and eliminations and Street Racer, we will
hold a parade of race cars and Hot Rods, 10.1 seconds of noise", says PDRC Chair Al Perkins. "This will be followed by a huge Pit Bay Barbecue. The Barbecue is free for all
racers and crew, and we also have a live band in the start line bar. There is a cash prize for the Super Cup and the challenge is out to all come to take our money!".
Jan Ekstrom writes that new track records of 3.926 seconds (Micke Lindahl) and 310.64 kmh (Martin Lundkvist) were set in Top Doorslammer at the Power Street Finals at Malmö Raceway at the weekend. "We had fourteen Top Doorslammers and the track was in excellent condition", says Jan, "Don't miss the next big event, the Winter Nationals 2012 on 7th-9th September. We are going to run the Top Doorslammer finals on that weekend and we promise you a world-class track capable of delivering 3.8-second times". More at www.srif.se. The National Association of Street Clubs, organisers of the 38th Annual Street Rod Nationals which is to be held at Trinity Park, Ipswich over the August Bank Holiday weekend (24th-27th) are looking for a few dragsters and nostalgia race cars to put on a display and to perform fire-ups in the main Show arena. Drivers will be interviewed by legendary drag race announcer John Price. It's a full-on weekend of entertainment which includes live music and cruise nights as well as the popular NASC Show'n'Shine. If you're interested in joining in on the fun then give the NASC office a call on 07904 034034 or stop by www.rodandcustom.co.uk. We would like to wish a big Happy Birthday to Donna Finnegan of Santa Pod Raceway. Have a lovely day Donna. JRM sponsor Team Gridlock. 15th August: The UK's Team Gridlock Wild Bunch team have announced that JRM 24 Hour Recovery Services will be sponsoring them at their final event of 2012, the VP Racing Fuels National Finals, at which they will try to retain their Wild Bunch Championship and prized WB1 race number: Established for over ten years, JRM 24 Hour Recovery Services is a specialist vehicle transportation company based in Braintree Essex specialising in the recovery of low sports cars, classic and competition vehicles. JRM started out recovering cars for a local dealership but soon found problems getting some cars on the back of transporters without damaging the spoilers, bumpers and body kits. JRM have now found the perfect solution and can cater for the low sports cars and motorcycles. Yes, even the large Harley Davidson V Rods and trikes go on their trailer with ease. You can check out JRM's web site at www.jrmrecovery.com. JRM will be hauling Team Gridlock's Competition Altered to the track and will be providing a unique tow car for the event: an H2 Hummer. Driver Adam Price is currently just three points clear in the Wild Bunch Championship, and with so many other great cars snapping at his heels it will prove to be an exciting finale to the season. Web site updates. 15th August: In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Luke Bennett of the Bennett Racing blown-alcohol altered team brings us up to date with recent events. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. It has been a busy season for the UK's The Fang Supertwin team with Sharon Wadkin-Snaith's quarter-mile sprinting with the National Sprint Association and reaching a major PB milestone, daughter Bryony finding time to ride in 9.50 Bike, crew for the Nitrous Junkie Team, crew for the MPM Oil / Marshall Amplification / Smokehead/ FGR Motorsport Funny Car Team and setting a new PB on the Team Fang Honda Blackbird at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can read all about it and check out a spy picture of the team's new project at www.thefang.co.uk. The Mad Welshman has updated his Flickr site with three albums from the Mopar Euro Nationals and an album of the NSRA Cruise into Santa Pod Raceway on the Saturday. You can check out Mad's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman. NitrOlympX results. 13th August: Congratulations to the winners of this weekend's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim: FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Dennis Habermann 6.023/402.03 def. Peter Schöfer 7.615/234.82 UEM Top Fuel Bike: Ian King 7.188/305.39 def. Steve Woollatt 7.304/322.01 UEM Supertwin: Christian Jäger 6.868/306.00 def. Nate Gagnon 7.355/273.25 red light UEM Pro Stock Bike: Fredrik Fredlund 7.184/302.63 def. Gert-Jan Laseur 7.474/285.68 UEM Super Street Bike Cup: Rick Stubbins 8.125/290.92 def. Sotiris Tsakiris 8.752/263.63 Comp Eliminator: Robin Sattler (9.65) 9.329/192.26 def. Rene Meierhofer (9.42) 9.987/189.23 Super Pro ET: Mike Bruckmüller (8.63) 8.632/256.87 def. Bert Gorselitz (8.96) 8.963/246.85 Pro ET: Alain Duerr (9.90) 9.937/219.76 def. Kevin Feist (11.58) 11.569/181.32 breakout Super Comp: Rene Kloss 9.066/256.87 def. Erich Mathis 8.853/248.55 breakout Super Gas: Andrea Villi 9.943/227.80 def. Ronald van Let 9.969/214.93 Junior Dragster: Joe Kellett (8.07) 8.120/129.06 def. Jacob Kopasz (8.05) 8.069/129.18 Funny Bike: Eric Richard 7.614/295.91 def. Luc Raeymaekers 9.059/234.72 Supertwin Top Gas: Milan Kolacny 9.282/247.81 def. Simon Lewis 9.951/194.50 FIA Top Fuel Dragster, FIA Top Methanol FC, FIA Pro Mod and FIA Pro Stock were not contested after racers elected not to hold eliminations as they considered that the track was not up to standard. The problem had its roots in an FIA decree to the Hockenheimring to remove the rubber from the entire drag strip, not just the part shared with the circuit, for the recent Formula 1 race: the removal of the rubber damaged the racing surface adding to the severe enough problems of a virgin surface. A statement released by the Top Fuel Dragster racers recognised the work done by the track crew but in the end they and the other FIA classes mentioned were not happy to race upon the strip. You can check out our Alamo Rent-A-Car-sponsored reports, pit notes and galleries by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Our own weekend was not without its difficulties as former Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe left the team in the middle of the event and photographer Kirstie's camera failed on Saturday morning. We must thank Markus Münch for the ready loan of a camera to Kirstie, and Mathias Schneider (Saturday) and Patrik Jacobsson (Sunday) for contributing to our galleries. For their assistance at Hockenheim we must say a big thank you to Jerry Lackey, Christine and Peter Calwer, Yvonne Blaull and Benni Voss all of whom went out of their way to help us, to Yas and the timing crew who got your Race Reporter out of a tight spot more than once and kept the information coming, and to all of the race officials and Hockenheim staff. We would also like to thank our sponsor Alamo Rent-A-Car, particularly Andy Wheeler, without whom we would still have been walking from Frankfurt Main airport. Editor's note: We are currently on our way home from Germany. The next news update will be posted on Wednesday and postings to the Jeff Bull Race Engines Swap Meet will also resume on that day. Please keep the news and NitrOlympX reviews coming to news@eurodragster.com and we will post them then. Swift snippets. 11th August: Thanks to Paula and Ian Marshall for sending us Version 6 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 6th-9th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Standard-priced entry is now closed and so entry is now subject to a late entry penalty. You can download all entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Our best wishes for a long and happy future to Jemma Harrison and Scott Downey who are due to be married today (Saturday). Have a lovely day guys and save us a Gough's Chicago date. 10th August: The UK's Simon Gough is on his way to the USA to test his new 2012 Camaro before shipping it to the UK next week. Simon plans to contest Super Pro ET with his new ride, "We are testing the car in Chicago tomorrow", Simon told Eurodragster.com. "We have two days' track hire with the NHRA Pro Stock Champion. We will then fly the car back into UK next Friday to get her ready for the European Finals. "We will be taking the car to display at our sponsor's showroom in Basildon. Chevrolet have been good to us, giving us a new Camaro for the event to tow the car down to the pairing lanes and back from the shutoff area. "We will also have a large barbecue all over four days of the event for anyone who wants to check out the road going Camaro or the race car. We will be giving away T-shirts and other Chevrolet items such as pens, cups, caps and we will have tea, coffee or cold drinks and food all over the weekend. Toomey Chevrolet will be on hand all weekend for anyone interested in the new road going Camaro." Bengtsson's new best. 9th August: Per Bengtsson and the Beast Supertwin team reached a new level of performance at last weekend's Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen Raceway. After collecting the winners trophy at the Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena track in June and setting new European speed record of 360 kmh Per decided to go to Norway for some test runs before returning to Tierp in August. L-O Jonsson writes: 
The track and air are always very good at Gardermoen and that was the case this time as well. Our ambition was to improve the sixty foot times
and performance out from the start line up to about 100 metres, as the downtrack numbers are already there.
After an earlier 6.59 the last qualifying run took place under dark clouds on Saturday evening. Per went down the track and 6.382 came up on the scoreboards! The modest speed of 347.83 km/h was a result of Per getting off the throttle off after 5.7 seconds. "I felt it was a very fast run and was at first a little concerned about the breaking distance and that's why I dropped the throttle a little earlier than expected", said Per afterwards. "Since the air quality and track conditions changed slightly for Sunday's eliminations we were not able to back it up this time but, with the 6.40 run at Tierp in June in mind, we know that we have taken a huge step in the right direction. We learned a lot about our new clutch set-up and collected a lot of information during the weekend which will be useful at the coming races. We also set a new Personal Best of 4.21 seconds for the eighth mile so it sure was a good weekend." During Sunday's eliminations Per went through a sixteen-bike ladder and got to the final after beating Hans Olav Olstad, Ismo Mäenpää and Jan Sturla Hegre on the way. The final against Samu Kemppainen was rained out. The plan is to once and for all back up a new European ET record during the next FIA/UEM Championship round at Tierp Arena track in a couple of weeks and to lower the performance even further if the weather stays with us. "We are working very hard to get everything in place for our planned US trip to the Manufacturers' World Cup at Valdosta, Georgia in November where we will challenge the best in the business", says Per. "We will make an announcement including a few surprises when all is set" he adds with a smile. A big thank you to all of our sponsors who are helping us the season: Autoexperten Växjö, Gates, Swedcut, Per Andersens Restauranger, Fanhultstvätten Älmhult, Persåkers Speed Shop, Red Line Oil, Liqui Moly, Rävemåla Bilservice, Åseda Bilservice, Larssons Bilverkstad Lenhovda, Kalvsviks Bilverkstad, Ulvsgården AB, Bentec Engineering and Flexoart. Swift snippets. 
9th August: Gerrit van Donkelaar writes that Frank Eijskoot is to rebuild his Fierce Fiero
which was damaged in a crash at this year's Drachten Nationals. Frank plans to race the car again in 2013. You can stay in touch with the rebuild
at www.lowlandsxtreme.com.
Thanks to Paula and Ian Marshall for sending us Version 5 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 6th-9th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Standard-priced entry closes tomorrow (Friday); entry after tomorrow, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry penalty. You can download all entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Thanks to Sten Brunnström for letting us know that a webcast will be available from this weekend's Power Street Finals at Malmö Raceway. The event takes place tomorrow and Saturday and the UStream webcast will be available at www.ustream.tv/channel/malmo-raceway. We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to UK Fuel legend Gary Page. Have a great day Gary. Outlaw Street Round 6 review. 9th August: The Mopar Euro Nationals is a long standing traditional favourite with all of the members of the UK's Outlaw Street who milk every last drop of American muscle car heaven from the three-day event, arriving early Friday morning and racing all weekend through to Sunday tea-time. Mark Wallington writes that this year was no exception with thirty nine members and twenty three cars attending across the three days: 
Out for the first time this season were Allan Matthews in his OS-34 '69 Big Block Mustang, accompanied by fellow Mustang fan Spencer
Chittenden in his OS-36 '69 Mustang. Out for the Chevy camp for the first time were Andy Blackett in his '68 Camaro and Outlaw Street
sponsor Chris 'W-a-s-p' in his Big Block-powered Camaro.
The Friday was the day for track time with very little queuing and a nice sticky track which quickly yielded new PBs for several members. On the Saturday the vast volume of muscle cars, classics and modern Yanks meant that the pairing lane queues often stretched the length of the quarter mile, meaning less runs but plenty of time to shoot the breeze with other car nuts and to check out the vast array of rare muscle cars sat in the lanes. The long weekend of racing gave several members the chance to try to chase after one of the Joe & Co sponsored Reaction Time trophies and prize money. At OS-6 the RT Trophy and prize money were won by OS-19 Steve Moisey with a 0.0400 RT from his late model supercharged Mustang. This was a welcome surprise for Steve who had suffered electrical gremlins on the startline on Saturday afternoon. The top six RTs over the weekend were:
At each points round the highest points scorer wins a year's subscription to American Car magazine and a unique one of a kind engraved tankard by MissB Engraving. The OS-6 winner of the year's subscription and engraved tankard was OS-48 Martin Green with his Pro Street Ford Consul with 216 points. This is Martin's first season in Outlaw Street and his first win to date, although I sense there's a lot more to come from Martin and his Consul in the future. The top six points scorers for the weekend were:
We're six rounds into the 2012 season with three more to go. The gaps are closing and there is everything to race for with
468 points between the top twelve, only 58 points between the top six, and a jaw-dropping seven points separating the top
three! After OS-6 the 2012 League Table looks like this
The next round of Outlaw Street, OS-7, takes place at VW Action at Santa Pod Raceway on 1st-2nd September (and thus will be webcast by Eurodragster.com - Ed). If you'd like to learn more about Outlaw Street then check out the forum at www.outlawstreet.co.uk. Rotorstock joins with God. 9th August: Santa Pod Raceway has enhanced one of its favourite shows to widen its appeal. God of the Pod (GOTP) on Saturday 18th August is the ultimate track day out for owners of all marques, but also includes the ever popular Rotorstock event for fans of the iconic rotary engine. To become GOTP, you and your car need to excel in all disciplines. It's no good being the fastest thing on the quarter mile if you can't excel on the handling circuit. Throughout the day, the best times on both will be aggregated to discover who really is the best all-rounder in the UK. Don't worry if your car isn't set up for both though, as entrants can concentrate on one or the other if they'd rather. It's all about having a bit of fun, after all! Run What You Brung sessions will be running all day for a mere £25, allowing you to pit your car against the drag strip, racing on the FIA-approved surface in a safe and legal environment. There are real bragging rights in a well-timed slip, after all! Alongside the Clubs which make up the Rotorstock part of the event, hard standing pitches are available for any other Club which wants to attend God of the Pod, and everything from American Car Clubs to Classic and Modified Car Clubs is welcome. But of course this is Santa Pod Raceway, the most famous drag strip outside of the USA, so you'd be right to expect a plethora of proper race Championships to ogle and marvel at... and you won't be disappointed at GOTP, with rounds of the Jap Drag Series and Euro Sports Compact Series running all day. In the Jap Drag Series, the UK's fastest modified cars compete in a four-class Championship. Incorporating the FWD class, Street Class, Factory Modified and 200mph Pro class, these monstrous versions of familiar Japanese cars will take your breath away. The Euro Sports Compact Drag Series showcases the most highly-tuned cars from European manufacturers running head to head in a battle to find our continent's king. Euro Sports Compact is for cars of European manufacture with engines from four to six cylinders, with an open tyre choice. Cars typically run ten- to twelve-second quarter miles at 130 mph plus! As ever, Rotorstock serves up its own unique mix of racing, show cars and annual awards, meaning that no matter how you like your engine to fire, there's something for you to admire, enter, compete for or enjoy at this superb, much larger event. Although God of the Pod is a Saturday-only event, weekend tickets are available which include free camping and evening entertainment. Weekend tickets give full access to Sunday's events, which include the superb Monster Truck Nationals and the Outlaw FWD shootout. For more information on God of the Pod please visit www.gotp.co.uk or call the team on 01234 782828. Web site updates. 9th August: Richard Smith has updated his Zenfolio gallery site with pictures from the Saturday of the Mopar Euro Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway and from York Raceway's UK Northern Nationals. You can check out Richard's excellent shots at rdsmith.zenfolio.com. Hanssen heads west. 
8th August: Defending FIA European Top Methanol Dragster Champion Fred Hanssen has his eyes set on a new challenge,
as he has shipped his entire racing operation to the US in an effort to compete against some of the best racers in the world. While the Norwegian commercial
fisherman may not hit the track this season, the wheels are in motion compete in NHRA competition in the US in 2013. The Fred Hanssen Enterprises team
will be based out of Crew Chief Will Hanna's home town of Deer Park, Texas, a suburb of Houston.
Making the decision not to stay and defend his Championship was a tough one for Hanssen. His growing fishing business was requiring more of his attention, and racing in the US has always been his dream. “It was very tough to not defend our Championship” said Fred. “I have been building this new fishing ship for a few years. Until I got everything working right on it, it is hard to send it out with other people running it. This has been hard work. I am close to having things to where I can take the time off to race again. That is why we made the decision to send the car to the US. Racing in the US against the best has always been my dream. “I wanted to send the car over a couple of years ago, but Will told me we must win a European Championship first. Winning the Championship was not an easy thing to do, but we had a good season last year. I will go from being the big guy in Europe to the little guy in the US.” Initial plans were to make a US début in Las Vegas and Pomona at the end of this season, but Will and his wife are expecting their first child in late October, so Fred's debut has been pushed back to 2013. “The plan all along has been for Fred to come over and do Vegas and Pomona” explained Will. "With our boy being due some time in late October, I won't be making the trip. I offered to try to tune over the phone and internet, but Fred said he wasn't going to race without me at the track. Pomona is kind of on the outside of that window, but that's a lot of work for one race. He would be going cold turkey into it after being out of the car for more than a year. Right now our focus is on gearing up for 2013.” Despite being committed to racing in the US, sitting back and watching the record book being reset the first few events of the European season has Fred chomping at the bit. “It is hard watching these guys run 5.20s”, said Fred. “We came very close, running 5.30 twice. I definitely miss the racing. We also miss the fans we have met over the past few years. Hopefully we get to see a few of them next year when we race in the US.” Event entry update. 7th August: The organisers of the forthcoming Drachten Internationals at The Netherlands' Drachten Airfield have warned that the event will have to be cancelled unless the paid entry reaches 140. Entry is open untl 18:00 this Friday, 10th August. You can find out more at www.explosiondragracing.com. Racers are reminded that standard-priced entry closes this Friday, 10th August, for the FIA European Finals which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 6th-9th September. Entry after Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry penalty. You can download all entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. You can check out Version 3 of the official FIA European Finals entry list by clicking here. Entry is still open for the APIRA MSA/ACU Open Sport Nationals, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on the Bank Holiday weekend 25th-27th August. Entry forms can be downloaded from the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. If you have any queries about event entry at Shakespeare County Raceway then please contact the track at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180). Fuel bikes go Extreme in Finland. 7th August: Asko Määttä writes that a series is to be started for Fuel bikes in Finland, but that all are invited: In recent years Finland has become the home country of many Top Fuel four-cylinder and nitro Supertwins. The success and performance of our riders, and their numbers in both UEM and EDRS Fuel bike classes is the best proof of that. So we have shown that we can do Nitro bike racing at the international level; now we are going to the next level of this show here in Finland. Extreme Fuel Circus is a bike class and racing format for both two- and four-cylinder Nitro bikes. The first race is going to happen at the FHRA DEFA Finals at Alastaro on 1st-2nd September. We don't intend this only for our own racers and fuel bikes. We are open-minded and we welcome all foreign Nitro bike racers to participate, there is room for all. Take a look at www.extremefuelcircus.com and www.fhra.fi. The Series pages are only in Finnish at the moment but the pictures and videos tell you about the show we will produce. If you are willing to be part of Extreme Fuel Circus at the FHRA Finals at the beginning of September, or to race in the EFC show next year, then don't hesitate to contact us at extremefuelcircus@gmail.com. Double Flamholc in 2013. 7th August: Swedish Pro Modified racer Adam Flamholc has announced that he will be doing double duty in 2012 after agreeing a deal with US Top Alcohol FC legend Frank Manzo. It was already a good weekend for Adam as he was top qualifier in Pro Modified at ADRL Dragstock IX: 
After a couple of solid qualifying runs we went into elimination as number one qualifier (3.89/193.54) in one of the toughest fields ever in
ADRL Pro Mod. Unfortunately the track got hot and greasy during eliminations; we lost against Pete Farber in a pedal-fest. Still I feel very
confident as we prepare the car and team for the biggest race of the year, the US Nationals in Indy over the last weekend in August.
Next year I'm going to drive two race cars. My Pro Mod car as usual, and then an alcohol Funny Car from Frank Manzo. It is not yet decided yet in which series or on which continent we are going to race next year. I hope and believe that we can have one car in US and one in Europe! I'm still working to close the deal with some sponsors, and as soon as it's done we will send out a press release. Hockenheim opener. 
7th August: The traditional pre-NitrOlympX Public Test Weekend took place on the Rico Anthes
Quartermile at the Hockenheimring at the weekend. The event took place in difficult conditions: the management of the
drag strip had been forced to remove rubber from the track at the behest of F1 and other circuit event organisers, but although they did their best to bring the track up to
standard before the Test and Tune traction was difficult on Saturday. However some racers reported that it was improving on Sunday and work is continuing
on the track as you read this. Our good friend Mathias Schneider writes that there was a lot to be positive about at the Public Test:
There was a record audience attendance with a full main grandstand. Some of the tuning folks with their radical VWs and Opels (Vauxhalls) managed to run mid eight-second runs on Saturday. Drivers from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovenia, Belarus and other countries came to Hockenheim. Most of their cars were not built to SFI/DMSB standards so they only made the trip for this weekend will not be attending the NitrOlympX. We also had weird stuff like a Go Kart and a jet-powered pocket bike on track. German Street Eliminator and Street Outlaw ET Bikes had a round of racing, as well as lots of very promising Super Street Bikes from all over continental Europe testing for this weekend. next week. You can check out Mathias' pictures of the Public Test and Tune, as well as a huge number of pictures from the past few years, at www.facebook.com/sideviewinnrocks. York defies another forecast. 7th August: Once again the weather was threatening its worst for York Raceway's latest event but Pennine Drag Racing Club Chaor Al Perkins writes that once again the Northerners would not give in: We ran another full meeting, completing all the class finals. The track was in great condition and very soon PBs were being recorded as the day got better with the sun continuing to beat down on us. We test-ran the new timing display boards on which James Murray has spent so much time (big thanks James) and all worked well. Great work by Chris Murty, our stand-in timekeeper, and get well soon to Carl Smith. Congratulations to all of our winners: PDRC Championship class winners American Super Stock: Andy 'Boz' Bosomworth Pro ET: Adam Nowak Sportsman: Lee 'Cookie' Chiles Super Cup: Ben Rushforth Air Cooled: Daz Chandler The next meeting at York is on 25th-27th August. NAST Round 4 review. 7th August: The fourth round of the 2012 National Association of Supertwins Championship took place at a sun-drenched Shakespeare County Raceway writes Jerry Cookson: With four qualifiers on offer on Saturday, Supertwin ET was led by Pete Harrison's distinctive Ducati for two of the four rounds. However, by mid-afternoon it had all changed when Dave 'The Hat' Smart, who had dropped down a class due to problems with his Gas bike prior to the round, ran out a 10.579 on a 10.50 dial in demoting Pete to number two and Turbo Tim Boutle to third. 
In the Supertwin Gas category there was no stopping Joe Elliott's Little but Quick 1125R Buell as the gutsy little rider pulled out
an unbeatable - or so he thought - 9.449/142.14 mph in the opening session. Joe has run faster with this bike at Shakey with
a maxed out speed of 152 mph last season. Second quickest was Chris Mott with the Cupid & Mott Harley at 9.590, a much-improved
time from his opening 10.01. This was followed by a revitalised Nigel Batsford on board his 1125R Buell. After nearly destroying a brand
new American clutch set up earlier in the month it was all finally coming together as his fourth session time of 10.052 clearly showed.
Robbie Dobbie was fourth at 11.297 followed by a misfiring Double Trouble Harley of Martin Holgate at 11.29.
With qualifying over, round 1 of eliminations commenced with an out of sight 9.296/146.34 (told you so) pass for pole sitter Joe Elliott. Nigel Batsford's good fortunes continued with a new PB winner of 9.886/136.23 against Robbie Dobbie's Honda Firestorm while in the all Harley match up Chris Mott yet again pulled out a not so straight 9.420 against a much-improved Martin Holgate at 10.682. With the semi finals set for a battle of the Buells, Joe Elliott had backed it down slightly but still took the round win with a 9.373/146.21 over Nigel Batsford's quicker reacting bike (.179 to .185 rt). At the tale of the tape yet another Personal Best flashed up on the boards for our Nige, 9.818 at 136.99 mph. Taking the lucky dog bye into the final was Chris Mott at 9.70. With two very quick bikes in the hands of two equally quick riders Chris knew that a holeshot start over Joe would be good. A .145 to Joe's .184 gave the Harley rider some hope but by mid-track the Buell started to haul the mail to cross the winner's stripe in 9.396 at 143.41 mph to the Harley's game 9.623 at 139.78 mph. With another massive points haul to his name Joe is now starting to make the 2012 Championship his, with 1735 points over Chris Mott's 1095 and Terry Green's 780. 
With just three riders competing for Supertwin ET honours Turbo Tim Boutle took the win on his Honda CX650 Turbo in a battle of the
breakouts against Dave Smart. With Dave dialing in what looked like a 16.60 and Tim a 13.00, both riders pulled into stage to accept
what had been placed on the boards. Thirteen hundred and twenty feet later Dave had rattled off an 11.353, a monster breakout
on his part against Tim's 12.796 on a 13.00 dial. With everyone looking at each other and no result declared it was finally announced
after a quick consultation with the stewards that Tim had been awarded the win for breaking out the least. Later it was revealed that
this had been his first Supertwin win after a long drought since 1999 in the old Supertwin Modified class. Well done Tim. At least everyone
left the Raceway feeling happy.
Although a semi final loser, Peter Harrison keeps his lead in the Championship with 950 points over Tim Boutle who moved two places up from fourth with 770. Giselle Moor stays third at 470. The next round of the series is at the end of the month when the NAST riders do it all over again at Shakespeare County Raceway's Open Sport Nationals. Scannell finally karts it off. 7th August: Regular RWYBer Lee Scannell writes that he is the new owner of David Hersey's GSXR-powered kart, which has a best time to date of 9.2 seconds at 139 mph: 
I will be taking the kart to test at the Outlaw Picnic meeting at North Weald on 19th August then to VW Action to get a few passes and to see how it goes
see how goes before adding a fogger kit and winding her up!
I had wanted buy this kart for ages and finally, after I was let down with another purchase, I saw this for sale and couldn't resist. I saw this kart some time ago at North Weald and it gave me the inspiration to build my own which ran a 600cc motor managed a of 12.03/109. I couldnt believe it when saw Dave's kart for sale and now it's finally mine. I've got big plans for her, right now she's running a 1216cc motor but who knows what she will run... I'm currently looking for rear slicks 11.5 x 8.00-6, if anybody has any new or good used tyres then please get in touch - as you can imagine they don't last long. I'm willing to use it as demonstration vehicle for shows and meetings if anyone is interested. If you can help woth slicks or if you are interested then please E-Mail me at leescannell@aol.com. Finally a Thank You to Dave for letting me buy her! Web site updates. 7th August: Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson has updated his Racebilder web site with pictures from the weekend's Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen Raceway. You can check out Patrik's shots at www.racebilder.nu. Editor's note. 7th August: Please note that, as we will be at Hockenheim and working long days covering the NitrOlympX, postings to our Jeff Bull Race Engines Swap Meet may be delayed or occasionally suspended between Thursday of this week and Tuesday of next week. As ever, we will do the best we can; if we get a repetition of what happened last time when, despite two news items of notification, we got stroppy E-Mails one of which was an exhortation for your News Editor to go **** himself then the offenders will be named here on the news page and their E-Mail addresses published to allow fellow Eurodragster.com readers to deal with them. Sunoco Drag Challenge webcast. 
5th August: This weekend's Sunoco Drag Challenge
at Gardermoen is to be webcast in High Definition by Smart TV.
The broadcast commences at 09:00 European today and tomorrow. If your internet connection
is not up to full HD then a standard-def option is available.
You can tune in to the Sunoco Drag Challenge at www.smarttv.se/live. Thanks to Terje Håkensbakken for letting us know that Gardermoen Raceway again proved to be one of Europe's best drag strips yesterday. "Per Bengtsson ran 6.38 on his Supertwin, which is the second-quickest ever Supertwin ET in Europe. Other good times were Arvid Grødem 5.78 in Top Methanol FC, Terje Håkonsen 6.21 inn Pro Mod, Svein Olav Rolfstad 6.59 in Supertwin, Kenneth Vik 309 kmh in Pro Stock Bike, and Benny Strand 4.14 in Top Doorslammer." USC audiocast. 5th August: Santa Pod Raceway's Ultimate Street Car is in full swing and although there is no webcam an audio stream of commentary / Nitro FM will be available courtesy of streaming service provider Doyousee.me. You can listen in to USC at www.eurodragster.com/nitrofm and live timing is available at www.1320go.com/santapod. Swift snippets. 
5th August: Congratulations to Reinhold Bogaard (Nitrographer for a day), Bill Martland (VIP pass), and
Ian Turburville (Event tickets) who were the winners in our NitrOlympX contest. Reinhold's winning photo entry can be seen at right. Thanks to all who entered
and thanks to Christine Calwer and the Hockenheimring management for posting the prizes.
We would like to say a big Happy Birthday and hugs to our good friend Libby Mottershead. Have a lovely day Lady Libby. Dragstock IX webcast. 4th August: European fans have someone to cheer on at ADRL Dragstock IX at ZMax Dragway as Swedish Pro Modified racer Adam Flamholc is contesting his sixth ADRL event of the season. Qualifying qualifying and eliminations take place today and the great news is that right now Adam is #1 qualifier with a 3.891/193.54. A webcast will be available at www.livestream.com/adrllive and results will be available courtesy of our Drag Race Central colleagues at www.dragracecentral.com. Adam will be updating from the track on the Flamholc Racing Facebook page. Good luck Adam, keep going and stay safe. NitrOlympX on Web TV. 4th August: If you can't make next weekend's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim then don't worry as for the first time the NitrOlympX will be offering a high-quality pay-per-view livestream, bringing the action to your computer screen in real time. The webcast offers cameras from different perspectives all the way through from start to finish spiced with interviews and impressions! Two days of unique motorsport moments in brilliant quality offerered to you on the Saturday and Sunday of the event, 11th and 12th August. 
For only $10 you can access the two days of adrenaline live on Nitro-TV. Take the opportunity to register yourself at www.nitrolympx.com/live and watch a great drag racing show live! Registration will be available one or two days before the race. Nitro-TV is produced in a co-operation between Speedgroup, the organizers of the UEM European Drag Bike Championships, and the Hockenheim-Ring GmbH. Swift snippets. 4th August: We would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to UK Junior Dragster racer Paige Wheeler. Have a lovely day Paige. Web site updates. 4th August: Back to the NitrOlympX and the latest edition of the Speedgroup newsletter features a NitrOlympX preview, Eurodragster.com Editor's Diary, what Speedgroup are up to at the moment, and more. You can check it out at club.speedgroup.eu. One Goat, two goals. 3rd August: The Mopar Euro Nationals is a personal favourite event of UK Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Mark Todd. Having missed Bug Jam due to family commitments the Mopars was an ideal opportunity for Mark to get Project GTO back out on track for some testing: 
We went to the Mopars with two goals:
1. Get the car to sixty feet in the 1.2s; 2. Run a 7.6 A further bonus was that the Mopars was also a round of Direct Plastics Top Sportsman. Top Sportsman has great appeal, mixing bracket racing with heads-up. With an entry list including Pro Mods and Super Mods it was sure to be a good one. Friday was bracket day with racers given ine opportunity to put a number on the board, this first run was crutial as following runs could only be adjusted up or down by a tenth. After a quick suspension pre-load adjustment I primed the car with a safe eight-second tune-up. This netted us an 8.78 starting point. In the first round we faced fellow Street Eliminator racer Richard Billings. Not knowing how consistent the car would be we erred on the side of caution and posted an 8.72 dial-in. We took the win with a 8.80 but I don't think it concerned Richard who ran a 201 mph terminal speed. Congratulations to Richard, Alan and Mark. In the second round we faced Super Comp racer Paul Woodhead. We decided to brave an 8.76 dial-in and to my surprise we again took the win with an 8.81. In round three we faced friend and Pro ET bracket racer Mike Lacey. Again we upped the dial in to 8.78. Mike cut a brilliant 0.02 light and took a well-deserved win. Despite the loss we were chuffed to bits, looking at the time slip we had actually run closer to our dial in with another 8.80. Four runs all within three hundredths... look out Super Pro! Saturday was heads-up qualifying day and the wick was duly turned up! With our two goals in mind we decided to take the opportunity of a test run. The car launched hard and felt strong, the shift light was on way before the line suggesting that it was a good run but I was blown away by the 7.62 second slip, unofficially the quickest street-legal pump gas run ever! At 1.30 the sixty foot was close to our 1.2 second goal but no cigar. Still smiling and having made a few tuning tweaks made we were back out for Top Sportsman heads-up round one. We faced Nick Griffin, again the car launched hard but turned the tyres mid-track netting a 7.70/188, which took the win. Best of all, our second goal was achieved with a 1.27 sixty foot. 
Unfortunately it looked like we were out of the competition: when the chute hit, the turbo intake pipe had become detatched and a spark lead had been sucked in
and duly devoured one of our 88 mm Holset turbos. The damage was limited to the compressor wheel but what were the chances of getting a replacement in time?
This is where the generosity of the drag racing community comes into play. Ron Haslett is currently building a new car which utilises the same turbos. One call was
all it took: Ron jumped into his car and drove 140 miles arriving late Saturday. Working late into the night we got the new turbo mounted. Phew!
On Sunday the weather changed and with a cold track we de-tuned the car slightly. Choosing the Summernationals semi-final tune-up, which had netted a 7.78/188 we faced Super Pro ET racer Tom Atkinson. We were duly tree'd with a 0.04 light to our 0.06 but the extra power helped us to take the win with a surprisingly consistent 7.78/188. Next up was Brian 'The Professor' Pateman with his oh-so-consistent '68 Firebird. Again we were tree'd, aarrgghh! Brian had his nitrous well and truly turned up but again the back half power of the Street eliminator car shone through taking the win with a... wait for it... yes, a 7.78/188. Hats off to Brian who ran 8.20 which was a great new PB. A place in the semi-finals meant facing a serious powerhouse in the form of Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield. We were ready to turn things up, but unfortunately rain stopped play. We really enjoyed this great event, with a great bunch of racers. I'd like to thank my crew Paul Houston and Chris Rushden for their help, Ron Haslett for coming to our aid, and event organisers Paul Marston and Jeff and Belinda Bull. Here's to next year. The inside view. 3rd August: 'Trainee Crew Chief' Martin Davey writes to thank Pro ET racer Rick Denny for a passenger ride in his '69 Firebird during last weekend's Mopar Euro Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway: 
We can sit in the grandstand, stand on the start line, work on cars in the pits and study timing tickets, but until you have sat in the passenger
seat of a race car...
I wish I could describe the experience, put it into words written or spoken, but it's impossible. The only thing I can say is that I couldn't breathe for the first eighth mile and spent half an hour after trying to get my internal organs back to their original position. Then I had another three goes! After being a crew member and standing on the start for three years, I thought I knew what to expect? Wrong! The runs were in the 11.4s and it puts a whole new perspective on what the drivers experience and why drag racing is such an amazing sport. Anyone who gets the chance of a ride, don't think about it, just do it. It is unbelievable! Thanks again to Rick, and thanks to Eurodragster.com for their continued good work (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed). I'm off to find a Pro Mod with a passenger seat! Swift snippets. 3rd August: The organisers of the Mini in the Park event, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday week (12th August), are seeking four to six race cars to make demonstration passes. If you are interested then please E-Mail Russ Harman at russ@eventdevelopments.co.uk. UK Top Fuel Bike racer Ian King would be pleased to hear from anyone who has a double or twin hotel room to spare in the on-site hotel at Hockenheim or at the nearby Ramada next weekend. If you can help then please get in touch with Ian at ian@kingracing.com. History in the making. 3rd August: Paul Marston writes that history was made at last weekend's Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman doorslammer shootout which was held at the Mopar Euro Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway: With a record thirty two, yes that's right thirty two, teams entered the action over all three days was thrilling to watch and stunning to compete in. To say that every single team competing had stepped up their game is a fair summation. There were so many records broken and so many Personal Bests, it really is difficult to know where to start. So the more detailed race report will follow next week. First and foremost, thanks and richly deserved recognition must go to the Paul Marston Racing crew of Mick Howling, The Crew Chief, Mick Pusey, Lisa Farmer, Sefton Whitlock and Keith Bick, whose hard work made the event the success it was. They ran the pit, marshalled the teams and basically organised the Top Sportsman event. Jeff and Belinda Bull and I are very grateful for all their efforts. Thanks also to the SPRC track crew for providing us with such a great racing surface to compete upon. It really was very good: the number of Personal Bests was stunning and the Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman record book was torn up and thrown away. Thanks also to the SPRC timing crew, Steve Horn and Sharon, who provided all the information and ladders. Also to our dear friend Graham Beckworth for allowing me to provide colour commentary on the UK Top Sportsman track action. The Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman race teams produced some of the very best quality heads-up action which has ever been seen in the UK. Just ask anyone who was there, it really was that good! There were teams from all over the country, every drag strip was represented, every class was represented. We even had Fred Dorland from Holland representing Drachten and all of the UK Top Sportsman competitors really appreciated Fred and his team's attendance and made him feel very welcome. From the organisers of the Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman event a massive thanks to all the teams who competed. You really should be proud of yourselves, you were there at the beginning. Once again there was a huge prize fund which was shared as far and wide as was considered fair. Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman has always attempted to share the wealth amongst the competitors and we paid all the way back to third round of the bracket race and to every single one of the sixteen cars qualified in the heads-up race. This is our way of showing our appreciation of how hard these guys and girls race, providing a simply stunning show and our gratitude for them coming. The TV company were happy with what they shot and hope to get a one-hour special from the footage, please stay tuned to Eurodragster.com for details of broadcast dates. A very big thank you goes out to Dave Gibbons of Rough Diamond Racing who is working with Zeon TV and hosting the Direct Plastics UK Top Sportsman TV show. Special thanks to all of our sponsors, who believed in us enough to put their money into the prize fund: Title sponsor Paul Woodhead – Direct Plastics: The UK's leading supplier of engineering plastics. To buy on-line go to www.directplastics.co.uk. Paul's company offers a great service for screens and windows for your race car, give him a call. Bill McDermid – Topspeed Automotive: Surrey's premier retailer of motoring accessories and performance parts at www.topspeedautomotive.co.uk. Geof Hauser – Hauser Race Cars: Offering many services and consultancy for a large variety of fabrication and manufacturing processes including roll bar and custom tube bending and engine building for street or race. Visit www.hauserracing.com. Dave Raper – Cole Mechanical Services: Supply, service and maintain waste compactors, balers, scissor lifts, dock levellers, floor care equipment and document shredders. Visit www.colemechanical.co.uk. Chris Isaacs – Chris Isaacs Race Cars: CIRC has been building tube chassis cars for sixteen years, and their products have scored numerous event wins, Championships and records. They can construct your car to the most exacting standards and to any level of completion you require, including fully turn-key vehicles ready to take to the track. Visit www.chris-isaacs.com. Malcolm Francis – Air Sea Logistics: Managing Director Malcolm Francis, a drag racer himself, provides fast, reliable freight services at competitive prices. Number one choice of drag racers for the transportation of engines, spares or complete car or bike from and to anywhere in the world, by air, sea or road. Visit www.airsealogistics.com. Kenny Coleman – Engine Data Analysis: The racer's choice! Specialists in drag racing, American touring car and circle track. Proven engine building and dyno tuning experience. Always speak to Kenny first at www.engine-data.co.uk. Gary Hall – Damn Yankees American Car Club: A well established, friendly club for enthusiasts of American cars and trucks. Annual shows. Damn Yankees' 26th Annual Summer Slam takes place tomorrow, Sunday 22nd July, at North Weald Airfield. Show and Shine, arena events, trade stands, auto jumble and live music. Paul Foote – Paul Foote Ink : As a fast, reliable and competitive company PFI offers more than just signs. Their creative team can supply ideas, concepts or layouts for your sign, exhibition or project. Specialising in vehicle and trailer wrapping covering the design and installation. Visit www.paulfoote.com. Darren West – Power Race Graphics: With over twenty years' commercial experience creating innovative solutions for industry and retail, Power Race Graphics offer high quality graphic services from a fully qualified professional. Match this with a life long passion for motorsport and PRG have a combination in which you can have confidence! Visit www.powerracegraphics.com. Paul Marston – Paul Marston Drag Racing School: Europe's Premier Drag Racing School. Visit www.paulmarstonracing.co.uk. Jeff Bull – Jeff Bull Race Engines and Performance Parts: With over thirty years' experience, Jeff has put his valuable knowledge into every engine he's created. Specialising in Chevrolet Big Block, his engines have powered many racers to the winners circle. For a full engine build or a winter freshen up, contact Jeff. Also in-house crankshaft balancing service available. Visit www.jeffbullraceengines.co.uk. Doug Herbert – Doug Herbert Performance: USA's No. 1 supplier of Go Fast stuff. Peter Miller – Transmission Specialities: Manufacturers of high performance automatic transmissions, torque converters and related parts in the USA. Mike and Bo Laws – BLP Racing Products: Orlando, Florida based. High quality race engine parts including racing carburettors, gaskets, fuel pumps and fuel system components. Please support our sponsors as they support us! Last but by no means least thanks to Eurodragster.com for assisting in providing the interweb broadcast courtesy of Webster Race Engineering, Nimbus Motorsport and Doyousee.me, the photo gallery, and for everything else you guys and gal do, thank you (Thank you, you're welcome - Ed). Event entry update. 2nd August: Paula and Ian Marshall have asked us to remind racers that standard-priced entry closes next Friday, 10th August, for the FIA European Finals which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 6th-9th September. Entry after next Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry penalty. You can download all entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. You can check out Version 1 of the official FIA European Finals entry list by clicking here. Entry is still open for the APIRA MSA/ACU Open Sport Nationals, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on the Bank Holiday weekend 25th-27th August. Entry forms can be downloaded from the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. If you have any queries about event entry at Shakespeare County Raceway then please contact the track at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180). Pow! 
2nd August: UK Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Bill Macdermid of Eurodragster.com sponsor
Topspeed Automotive has been in touch to let us know about
a successful weekend in Direct Plastics Top Sportsman at the weekend's Mopar Euro Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway:
We were actually going to drive the car to the track but got let down at the last minute with a spare set of wheels. We thought we would put a set our our extr- sticky Hoosier slicks on the car and pow! 8.50 followed by a 8.28 and then a blower belt-frying 8.18/166.67. We were still on our Street Eliminator street settings with the tune-up so plenty more to come hopefully. We ran a 1.25 sixty-foot time on the back wheels and we were absolutley blown away with the ProCharger power - the car weighs over 3700 lbs race-ready. We made it to the semis but then as usual it rained. But what a great meeting it was for Top Sportsman, we will definately do it again. A big thanks for a great event to my crew, to Jeff and Belinda Bull, and to Paul Marston. Head-to-head Fuel FCs. 2nd August: Following their stop to say Thank You to the boys and girls of the armed forces, UK's MPM Oil / Marshall / Smokehead / Mapei / FGR Motorsport Funny Car team will be heading for Hockenheim to hook up with the rest of the MPM racers. Richard Stevens of Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK writes: The two Funny Cars will be running at the NitrOlympX. Not only are we looking forward to putting on a great show for the crowds, but to seeing Gordon and Jason race each other for the first time. We have to say a special Thank You to Jerry Lackey for giving us the opportunity not only to attend the event, but that in collaboration with Jerry we will be entertaining twenty USO wounded heroes from the Landstuhl Warrior Center on the Saturday. We have also arranged for a live feed from our pits courtesy of the guys from Doyousee.me which will enable the families of the recovering soldiers to see and hopefully speak with them direct from the track. Have to say a big thank you to our in-house family sponsors MPM UK Ltd, FGR Motorsport, Smokehead, Marshall, and Mapei, and our supporters Eurodragster.com, Santa Pod Raceway, Jerry Lackey and staff, Nitro FM, fellow racers and teams, all the photographers who provide us some amazing images from the events, and last but not least all the die-hard fans who support us all without fail. When we return we will post an update on how everything goes with our mini tour of Germany. Following Tuesday's news item Marty VanHeule wrote from the USA to thank the team for their efforts to support the Coalition forces' wounded warriors at Ramstein / Landstuhl. "I am a Gulf War veteran and was stationed in Kaiserslautern from 1985 to 1998", said Marty. "I have been to Hockenheim seventeen times since then and to support all the troops is a truly awesome gesture for sure! I would also like to say a big Thank You to Jerry Lackey as well. It has been a long time since I first met Jerry in 1986, at my first HARA meeting. He has done a lot for our sport over the years! Also big thanks to the USO for getting it done!" A trio of anniversaries. 
2nd August: 2013 is set to be a milestone year in so many ways for UK and European nostalgia drag racing and hot rodding. Not only will the
twentieth NSRA Nostalgia Nationals be taking place at Shakespeare County Raceway but
it will also be the twenty fifth anniversary of the Original Hot Rod Drags which took place all those years ago on 9th-10th September 1989.
With two major events the NSRA are naturally looking at celebrating in style. Furthermore you can add into the mix fortieth anniversary of the first-ever organised quarter-mile drag racing event which took place at Long Marston Airfield on 9th September 1973, another anniversary just four days before next year's Hot Rod Drags, and with the assistance of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame you can now see why it will be a very special year indeed for drag racing and hot rodding fans from all four corners of the country. 
“Already excitement is building for these important milestones in our heritage”, says SCR's Jerry Cookson. “I'm particularly proud to have been at all three history-making events.
It has been a privilege to see and be involved with the Nationals and the Drags over the years and especially the ground-breaking days of drag racing at Long Marston when the
likes of Clive Skilton and Dennis Priddle pounded the old runways in their 200+ mph Pro Fuel Dragsters.”
So book your holidays, weddings and the like with confidence. Those big dates are: 20th Annual Nostalgia Nationals: 21st-23rd June 2013 25th Annual Hot Rod Drags: 13th-15th September 2013 The track will be open on the Friday afternoons for pre '73 Street Drags for silenced cars at both the Nostalgia Nationals and Hot Rod Drags. Look out for more information about the celebration specials. Thanks to all of you for your support for so many years. See you at the track. Smart TV offer broadcast options. 2nd August: There is another chance to enjoy free live streaming in High Definition starting tomorrow as Smart TV will be broadcasting its multi-camera 1080p resolution stream from the Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen in Norway. Anders Envall writes: 
Producer Robert Karström's Smart TV broadcasts have received greetings and E-Mails from amazed viewers from all over the world
after his event broadcast from Malmö, Kjula and Sundsvall where the level of quality and information delivery has grown
each day including the introduction of name and timing data graphics. The Sundsvall broadcast also had a record number of viewers.
Robert has even had queries from a producer in the USA about HD-quality streaming over the internet. Smart TV is really
in the forefront of producing live web-TV drag racing to your computer, from anywhere.
Still on a mission to broadcast for free, Robert has a minimum of persons in his team and fixed cameras instead of cameramen. He will try to get sponsors paying the shows in the future, and/or broadcast Pay Per View. But he still wants to produce the best possible broadcast to show what can be done. He hopes that this weekend he will get as good a feed of timing data as he got in Sundsvall. When Robert tested the highest definition 1080p from Sundsvall he got a lot of cheers but also some brickbats from those who didn't have up-to-date equipment at home, which resulted in a stuttery broadcast. Robert has therefore configured his web site to allow a choice between highest and standard quality. You can read more on the web site at www.smarttv.se. Broadcast will commence at www.smarttv.se/live at approximately 11:00 European tomorrow (Friday) and at 09:00 European on Saturday and Sunday. More information about the race at www.ndrg.no. Swift snippets. 
2nd August: Thanks to Ian Caseley of Eurodragster.com sponsor
MIH Performance for letting us know that his former Roadzombie II
Jet Dragster, now known as Stay Gold and in the hands of journalist David Tremayne, will be making an attempt on the British
Land Speed Record at Elvington on 12th-13th September. David will be making test runs at Kemble on 26th-27th August.
Johnny Nilsson writes on behalf of Knut Söderqvist's family and his own to thank all of those who attended Knut's memorial service in Gothenburg last Friday. "We were overwhelmed by the large number of international racers who joined us for this celebration of the life of this well-known and much-loved good friend to us all", he says. European fans have someone to cheer on at ADRL Dragstock IX at ZMax Dragway as Swedish Pro Modified racer Adam Flamholc is contesting his sixth ADRL event of the season. Qualifying takes place tomorrow (Friday) and more qualifying and eliminations on Saturday. A webcast will be available at www.adrl.us and results will be available courtesy of our Drag Race Central colleagues at www.dragracecentral.com. Adam will be updating from the track on the Flamholc Racing Facebook page. Good luck this weekend Adam and stay safe. See Hansen for Ford Racing. 2nd August: Hansen Racing is very proud to announce a new distribution deal with Ford Racing USA for the Swedish market. The product range includes parts and accessories for classic and modern USA Fords and European Ford models including Fiesta and Focus. 
"The entire Hansen Racing team are really excited about this, we are proud to launch such a wide selection of Ford Racing products
in our home market" says William Hansen, CEO of Hansen Racing. "Ford Racing is Ford Motor Company's racing division and the
multinational name used for motorsports. The history of Ford Racing began over one hundred years ago on the simple dirt roads, today it has
become a legendary name that is recognized throughout the motorsport world. We are looking at very positive synergies with Ford Racing, which fits well into our product portfolio
which also includes Gulf Oil, as the two brands have a long and solid history together."
"To promote the co-operation with Ford Racing, we have initiated two sponsor ventures with Sweden's two most Ford-branded teams in the extreme sport of drag racing - Gulf Pro Stock Racing and Gulf Vintage Racing" says Marcus Friberg, Marketing Coordinator at Hansen Racing. "These efforts include both Gulf and Ford Racing, creating a modern version of Ford and Gulf's historic motorsport collaborations." For more information check out www.hansenkatalogen.se/fordracing or racing.ford.com. Gulf Oil Dragracing's track record. 
2nd August: British rider Ian King and his Gulf Oil Dragracing – Grand Prix Originals Top Fuel Bike team returned
to the Alastaro Motorpark in Finland following their strong showing at the previous round in Sweden intent on extending their points lead in the European Championship.
The rain showers which had affected the first two events of the year seemed to be a distant memory during the two days of qualifying, but erratic track conditions did not bode well for the more powerful nitro powered machines, and a number of surprises in qualifying and eliminations upset the form book. After a watching a number of machines cross the centre line whilst battling the low traction and infamous 'bump' in the right hand lane, it fast became apparent that the event would turn into what would pretty much be a one-lane track. That proved to be so, but the left lane was still not providing the level of traction which would bring out the best performances of Europe's finest racers. With that in mind records of any description were not anticipated by many. However, the team managed one impressive and crowd pleasing effort in qualifying, notching up a fine but early shut off 6.197/216 to head qualifying by a large margin and reset the Alastaro track record which had stood for a number of years. In the semi-finals King was paired against Sweden's Nils Lagerlöf and his NC Racing entry. Despite Lagerlöf's closeness to King in the points battle the British rider was favourite as the Swede had yet to display six-second performance in the season to date, and King's choice of the left lane put Lagerlöf in the more tricky right. 
But just as the two riders prepared to start their machines an event occurred that changed the situation completely, and left the Gulf Oil – GPO team in a quandary.
The rider in the left lane of the previous session laid down a huge strip of oil almost the length of the track which required detergent washing and rigorous attention by the track crew
for the ensuing forty five minutes. Knowing that the track was likely to be 'unreliable', even after cleaning, King would have usually opted to change to the right lane, as was his right
as the quicker rider in the previous round. But, having seen the wayward and dangerous moves made by number of cars and motorcycles in the right hand lane on previous runs King
opted to stay with the left.
That was to prove King's undoing as just after his machine left the line he lost traction completely, with the bike making a move to the right and necessitating a roll off of the throttle. And this just happened to coincide with Lagerlöf running his best run of the season and a six-second pass to boot. King's loss to Lagerlöf was very much in keeping with the pattern of upsets in the two nitro categories, but the weather front that moved in and resulted in the cancellation of the event before any further rounds could be run kept the damage to King's points lead to a minimum. The team travel next to Hockenheim, Germany at the mid point of the Championship, leading both the European and the UK Championships, for the home event of their primary co–sponsor Grand Prix Originals. For more information on the European Championship visit www.speedgroup.eu, and for more information about King Racing visit www.kingracing.com. The team is extremely proud to be supported by many leaders in their chosen markets in their challenge for the 2012 European Championship: APE - The world's most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for drag bikes Action Cameras - Europe's leading source for action sports cameras Cometic Gaskets - The premier manufacturer of racing gaskets Bell Helmets - The ultimate iconic helmet brand Gates - The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics Goodridge - The original and the best in fluid transfer systems Grand Prix Originals - The brand for drive and lifestyle, past and present Gulf Oil International - The world's most iconic brand in automotive fuels and lubricants Hyperpro - The leading producer of progressive suspension products for motor bikes JE Pistons - The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons Kent Cams - Specialists in motor sport camshaft manufacture, short runs and one-offs Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc -The highest quality valve train components on the market King Racing - The most successful Top Fuel Bike team in European drag racing history Mickey Thompson Tyres - Simply the best drag race tyres in the world MRE - Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems MTC Engineering - Manufacturer of clutches for the fastest motorcycles in the world NitroShutter - Europe's leading drag racing photo-journalists NCT Engineering - Manufacturer of the world's leading non contact torque sensors for motorsport NGK Spark Plugs UK - The world's number one spark plug manufacturer Pär Willen - Master webmeister and proprietor of HarleyDrags.com Portable Shade - The best custom branded collapsible canopies available Pro Alloy Motorsport - UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators Puma Engineering - Manufacturers of the world's most powerful motorcycle engines RSG Customize - The UK's most creative website designers and vinyl artists Vanson Leathers - The most iconic brand in motorsport leather goods Worldwide Bearings - The world's leading supplier of ceramic bearings for racing Zodiac - Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts Web site updates. 2nd August: Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog made one of his occasional outings with his camera at the Mopar Euro Nationals and you can check out his photographs at eurodragster.smugmug.com or at www.togsdragracing.com. Take a tall coffee as there are more than six hundred pictures. Earlier news |
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