European Drag Racing News

Svensk Dragracing Drivers Information Meeting.
31st January: Svensk Dragracing are to hold a Drivers Information Meeting at Åby dragracing swap meet on February 6. More information, plus an interview with Persåkers Supergas champion Peter "Mora" Johansson, on the Svensk Dragracing web site.

Dave Beck to ride at Gainesville.
30th January: Current ACU National Pro Stock bike champion Dave Beck is to ride the six second Pro Mod bike owned by Jay Regan of MRE in Clearwater, FL, and normally campaigned by Rick Perry, at the Prostar meeting in Gainesville over the weekend of 27th and 28th February. Anyone who would like to offer their support to Dave either by attending the meeting, or financially, can contact him on +44 1948 871264.
Many thanks to Ian King (ian@dragbikes.com) for the news.

Sheavills to do full tour.
27th January: Barry Sheavills is to do the full FIA European Top Fuel Championship tour this year, contrary to previous reports that he would only attend selected rounds. In a posting in the Top Fuel debate on our "Pitside Cafe" discussion area, Bill.Williams says that thanks to the team's sponsor, Wynns, fans will be able to see Barry at all 5 rounds of the championship.

Brentwood Show pictures.
26th January: Eurodragster's report on the Brentwood International Racing Car Show now has a number of pictures. Click here to see the updated report.

SPRC SFI Day - reminder.
25th January: Just a reminder that the SPRC SFI Inspection Day is on Friday 19th February. Members who require their clutch and/or bellhousing/flywheel shield re-certified must advise Paula Marshall at the SPRC office no later than Friday, 12th February. For more details, see our Jan 12th news item below.

Pro Mod Motorcycle Association.
25th January: Ken Cooper, rider of the UK's first Pro Mod bike, would like anyone interested in running Pro Mod bike or who would like any information about the rules and regulations to contact him at ken.cooper1@virgin.net. Keen to establish Pro Mod bike in Europe, Ken is setting up the Pro Mod Motorcycle Association. He plans to take his bike to Sweden, Germany and the USA this season and asks anyone who may be able to help with travel to Sweden to contact him at the same address.

1999 UK Championships agreed.
24th January: Proposals for the 1999 UK National Drag Racing Championship and the 1999 RAC MSA British Top Alcohol Championship were accepted unanimously today at a historic joint meeting of drivers and riders from the Santa Pod Racers' Club and the Avon Park International Racers' Association.

The UK National Championship will consist of nine rounds - five at Santa Pod and four at Avon Park - and will take in Pro Mod (eight rounds only), Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, 9.90 Bike and 10.90 bike (all other bike classes are covered by the ACU Championship). The British Top Alcohol Championship will consist of four rounds; two at Santa Pod (Thunderball and Cannonball) and two at Avon Park (Super Series 1 and 4) and will once again comprise a combined dragster / funny car class.

For the first time in some years, SPRC and APIRA racers will be working to one rule book. Concern has been expressed at some of the 1999 rules, for example certain new Pro Modified rules which appear to have been introduced without proper process, but a new technical committee is to be set up to deal with just such issues (see below). The Top Alcohol Championship will be run to FIA construction rules.

Entry fees for each UK Championship event, at whichever track, will be £50. There will be bonus points for racers competing in round one at Santa Pod, and for racers competing in all rounds. The prize funds will also be harmonised between the tracks.

The Championship rounds are as follow:

3-5 April (Thunderball), Santa Pod: UK National and Top Alcohol
1-3 May (Super Series 1), Avon Park: UK National and Top Alcohol
29-31 May (FIA Main Event), Santa Pod: UK National
19-20 June (Super Series 2), Avon Park: UK National
3-4 July (Cannonball), Santa Pod: UK National and Top Alcohol
31 July-1 August (Super Series 3), Avon Park: UK National
28-30 August (Super Series 4), Avon Park: Top Alcohol finals
10-12 September (FIA Finals), Santa Pod: UK National
25-26 September (Super Series 5), Avon Park: UK National (Pro Mod finals)
9-10 October (October Meet), Santa Pod: UK National finals

Tech Committee volunteers sought.
24th January: A joint technical committee is to be set up following the harmonisation of rules between SPRC and APIRA. Volunteers are now being sought to sit on this committee, which will meet for the first time in February. There will be ten committee members. Volunteers should have the relevant technical knowledge, an understanding of the rules, and be prepared to talk informally to racers in the pits to discuss issues of concern.

Anyone who feels that they would like to sit on the new committee is asked to contact either Paula Marshall at SPRC or Wendy Talbot at APIRA.

Brentwood Show report.
23rd January: Eurodragster visited the Brentwood show this afternoon. Click here to read a brief report. Photographs will follow within a few days.

The show will also be open tomorrow, Sunday 24th, if you fancy a visit.

Milodon sponsors Nordic Series.
23rd January: From Svensk DragRacing: Svensk Dragracing and Milodon Inc. have signed a $10950 contingency agreement for the 1999 season. Included categories are Super Street, Super Gas, Super Comp, Stock/Superstock, Competition and Pro Mod.

This is Milodon's second year of involvement in Nordic Drag Racing Series. Milodon manufactures a number of professional racing accessories and it is their oil pan that the competitor must use to take advantage of this contingency program.

"We are very happy to have support from Milodon in our continuing growth in Scandinavia," says Olle M Elfqvist, VP Svensk Dragracing. "In 1999 we have events in Finland and it is a very positive thing to have Milodon by our side in this expansion."

Svensk interviews Thomas Brundin.
22nd January: Nordic Junior Drag Racing Champion Thomas Brundin is interviewed by Svensk Dragracing. You can also find out more about Thomas at his TRB Racing web site.

ETARA "For Sale" page.
22nd January: Pssst! Wanna buy a Top Alcohol dragster? Then pay a visit to the ETARA website. You'll find everything from an oil filter to a complete turnkey operation for sale there. (OK, maybe not the oil filter, but you get the idea)

Beck stays in Top Alcohol.
21st January: Swiss Top Alcohol Dragster driver Peter Beck has announced that he is to stay in Top Alcohol for the 1999 season. The team were considering a move to Top Fuel Dragster this year but have decided to stay put due to financial constraints, and they are not sure that they will make the whole season even in TAD. More details on Peter Beck's web site.

ThrustSSC back on the Net.
21st January: Of course, it never actually left, but after a year without updates, it's suddenly all go again at http://thrustssc.digital.co.uk/. There's news of the car's public appearances and a letter from Richard Noble (tip: look out for the link to the Site Updates page, as otherwise the letter can be difficult to find) and if you don't win a pen or T-shirt from Eurodragster, you can buy them at the SSC shop.

with Eurodragster.
20th January: Contribute to Eurodragster and win a ThrustSSC pen or T-shirt. We've got 10 ThrustSSC rollerball pens to give to anyone who starts a particularly interesting conversation in the Pitside Cafe (Martin Boye gets the first one) or who submits a particularly excellent web site for our Links pages. Plus we've got a ThrustSSC "Supersonic" T-shirt for the first 5 reviews we publish. You can review a book, game, video, anything of interest to European drag racers and fans. Winners will be chosen by the Eurodragster team and bribes will not be accepted unless paid into our numbered Swiss bank account.

Web site news.
20th January: Two-stroke twin World Record holder, Jerry Collier tells us that his Jade Racing web site is currently under construction and meanwhile recommends the National Association of Supertwins site, with info and pics of many of the UK supertwins.

On four wheels, Zane Llewellyn's Bootsoop Racing / Bristol Doorslammers site has been updated with news, race dates and lots of great pics.

Dragsters on display this weekend.
19th January: UK drag racing will be well-represented at this weekend's Brentwood International Racing Car Show in Brentwood, Essex. Several dragsters will be on static display including Ian and Paula Marshall's Super Gasser, Jim Seward's Super Pro ET slingshot, Terri Rogers-Vallé's Sportsman ET Ford Capri, and Jon Webster's new Super Gas Brogie Roadster. Other static entries are expected from Steve Green, Tony Betts and Frank Bennett.

In addition, Mickey Moore and Smax Smith will be performing burnouts in the demonstration area at 2:00pm on both days.

The show takes place on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th January at The Brentwood Centre which is just off the A12, and two minutes east of M25 Junction 28. Opening times are 10:00am - 5:00pm on Saturday, 10:00am - 5:30pm Sunday. Admission is £8.00 for adults and £3.50 for children, with a Family Ticket allowing admission to two adults and up to three children for £20.00. Parking is free.

A Eurodragster reporter will be visiting the show on Saturday - watch this space for a report.

Super Pro web site updates.
18th January: Fay Fischer's Speedflow Racing web site has undergone a major service and oil-change and is looking better than ever, with team news, history and lots of great new pics, plus details of the wide range of SPEEDFLOW high-performance hose and fittings.

Meanwhile, Gary Baldy has also been busy updating his Super Pro page with, as he puts it, new pics, new text and new news.

Two new web sites.
17th January: Two new sites to check out. Lindkvist Bros Racing claim to be Sweden's fastest 55 Chevy and Kalafornia Drag Racing is Johanna Hameenkorpi's Super Comp team.

Joakim Mårtenson's website moves.
17th January: Joakim Mårtenson's website has moved from it's former home at Geocities, to http://members.xoom.com/moparmania/. We've updated the link on our Drivers & Riders page. We've also had to remove a few dead links from that page, so if your web site no longer appears there, please use the Add URL form to let us know your new address.

Santa Pod BikeFest cancelled.
14th January: ACU co-ordinator Ian King informs us that the Bike Fest planned for the 17th / 18th April at Santa Pod has been cancelled, so the 1999 ACU Championship will comprise eight all points counting rounds at Santa Pod and Avon Park. For further information, contact Ian at ian@dragbikes.com.

MDRA 25th Anniversary Reunion.
14th January: The Midland Drag Racing Association is to hold a 25th Anniversary Reunion on Saturday 13th March. Click here for full details, plus info about a special 25th Anniversary Trophy.

Svensk interview Micke Nilsson.
13th January: Svensk Dragracing has published an interesting interview with Super Street champion Micke Nilsson. See it at http://www.goracing.com/svensk. Don't forget you can also find details of the Swedish SFI Inspection Day there, too.

Niclas Andersson web site.
12th January: 1998 FIA Pro Stock champion Niclas Andersson now has a web site at http://w1.650.telia.com/~u65002642/index.htm. Created by team member Lasse Bode'n, the site has info about the car and the team, results from last season, calendar for next season and lots more.

We've also come across a few German sites recently. Unfortunately, our German isn't too good so if you find that they're actually about knitting or woodwork, please let us know. http://www.dragracing.de/ is a general drag racing site, while http://www.dragracing.de/kathbros/ seems to be a Doorslammer team and http://www.topgas.com appears to be results and pics from an event at Atlas Airfield last year. Finally, http://www.dragracing.de/hpc/index.htm looks like a chassis shop in Garbsen. We'll put these URLs on our Links pages very soon.

SPRC / APIRA joint Drivers & Riders Meeting.
12th January: Santa Pod Racers Club and Avon Park International Racers Association announce a joint Drivers and Riders Meeting to be held at The Guildhall, St Giles Square, Northampton on Sunday 24th January, 1999. The main purpose of the meeting is to explain what is happening about the new chassis regulations.and the National Drag Racing Championship for 1999. The meeting commences at 1:00pm.

SPRC SFI Inspection Day.
12th January: For all racers who require their SFI clutches and bellhousings / flywheel shields re-certified, Santa Pod Racers Club and SFI Foundation Inc. have arranged for this to take place from 09:30am to 05:30pm on Friday, 19th February, 1999 at The Motor Sports Association Ltd, Motor Sports House, Riverside Park, Colnbrook, Slough, SL3 0HG (Tel: 01753 681736). This will be your only chance to have your clutch / bellhousing / flywheel shield re-certified this year without having to send them to the original manufacturer. Please advise Paula Marshall at the SPRC office how many items you need to have re-certified, no later than Friday 12th Feb. Re-certification fee will be �65 per approved item.

Showtime Racing UK web site.
10th January: A positive rash of new Fuel FC sites this week as, hot on the heels of the Shockwave Fuel FC team, the Showtime Racing UK Fuel FC team unveils its new web site at http://members.aol.com/sruk/showtime.html. The web site, which covers the DJB Showtime FC (to be driven throughout the 1999 season by Bill Sherratt) and the ex-Tom Hoover Dodge Avenger (driven by John Spuffard), contains information, a photo gallery, performance data, and a team history.

In addition, the team are promising some big news this week concerning the ex-Tom Hoover FC. This will be announced on the web site and no doubt you will also be able to find a link to the announcement here on Eurodragster once the news breaks.

Joon reveals 1999 sponsor, plans.
10th January: Dutch Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Lex Joon has revealed details of his first major sponsorship deal for 1999, and his plans for the year. He writes:

"Valvoline is on board again for the 1999 season. This is the first sponsor deal for the upcoming season. Valvoline is a well known name in our sport and we are happy that we can carry that name on our car.

"The car will be painted in the Valvoline colors again so that will be a good match against the Quaker State cars.

"One of the goals is to get the national Valvoline dealers more involved in drag racing and show them more of the in and outs of the sport. We are still looking for more sponsors, because it takes a lot of money to do all the FIA rounds.

"It looks like we will run the ordinary roots blower this coming season, but the performance level will be higher because we now have use of a computer, and we have found some errors which we can correct for the 1999 season. So watch us when we hit 5 seconds with a roots blower!

"There will be an extra crewmember, Wim Hoek, to help us with all kind of basic work. The good thing is that he can drive the truck and trailer."

Is European Top Fuel dead?
9th January: Martin Boye of Nybo Racing kickstarts our new discussion section in the Pitside Cafe with this alarming question.

'98 Championship Video review.
9th January: Eurodragster asked seasoned drag racing fan Ivan Sansom for a frank and independent review of the 1998 FIA European Drag Racing Championship video. See the result in our new Reviews section.

Fay and Redstone/Gleadow part company.
7th January: Fay Fischer and the Redstone and Gleadow Racing Top Alcohol Dragster team have announced that they are to part company. Click here for full details.

Shockwave Fuel FC web site.
6th January: The UK Shockwave Fuel FC team have launched a web site at http://www.millennium-computer.co.uk/shockwave. The site is under development but already contains a lot of interesting information about the car and the team.

Get on the Drag Racing List!
6th January: US web site The Drag Racing List is seeking information from European racers for inclusion in its huge database of racers' best-ever runs. The DRL holds information for any dragster/altered quicker than 7.50, for any doorslammer quicker than 8.50, and for any exhibition car.

Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe is the European contact for DRL, and is collating information for European racers. If you would like to be included in the Drag Racing List then please mail Andy Marrs with the following information about yourself and your car:

Driver name

Elapsed Time

Terminal Speed (mph)

Team/Car name

Engine make/model

Class

Track

Year in which the run took place

Provisional 1999 FIA Championship dates.
2nd January: The provisional dates for the 1999 FIA European Drag Racing Championships (for Top Fuel, Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car and Pro Stock) are as follows:

Round 1: Santa Pod Raceway, UK 29-31 May
Round 2: Alastaro, Finland 11-13 June
Round 3: Mantorp Park, Sweden 31 July-1 August
Round 4: Gardermoen, Norway 6-8 August
Round 5: Santa Pod Raceway, UK 10-12 September

We will of course bring you any changes as soon as we can. Stay tuned for the FIM dates, although they are highly likely to parallel the above FIA dates.

Eurodragster interviews the Talbots.
1st January: Eurodragster's latest exclusive interview is with UK Super Pro ET racers Pat and Stephen Talbot. Pat and Stephen give us an insider's view on bracket racing, and an insight into the lot of the sportsman racer. Click here to read the interview.

December '98 news

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