Click here for our online catalogue
Junior Dragsters OK'd for Thunderball.
31st March: Junior Dragsters have been cleared to make exhibition runs at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend.

A week ago it seemed that the Juniors would have to wait until May for their debut, but we understand that strenuous efforts were made by the RAC-MSA drag racing representative to obtain clearance for exhibitions.

At least one Junior Dragster will be appearing at Santa Pod this weekend, that of Paul Lindley-Allen.

Easter Thunderball preview
30th March: The first race of the season in the UK, the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend, is the first round in both the UK National Drag Racing Championship and the RAC-MSA British Top Alcohol Championship. The entry list is, of course, subject to late change but here is a brief preview.

The Top Alcohol Dragsters of Peter Beck, Doug Bond, Smax Smith, Rob Turner, and the Redstone and Gleadow TAD piloted by Dave Wilson, and the TAFC of Lex Joon will be racing together in the British TA Championship (unlike the FIA Championship where TADs and TAFCs race separately).

The DJB Showtime and Shockwave Fuel FCs driven by Bill Sherratt and Gordon Smith respectively will be match racing.

The first round of the Championship in Pro Mod sees Gordon Appleton, Alan Cook (in his 1963 Corvette recently purchased from IHRA racer Tim McAmis), Nick Davies, Bert Englefield and Andy Robinson vying for the honours.

On the Sportsman side there are particularly healthy entries in Super Gas (16 cars), Pro ET (18 cars) and Sportsman ET (15 cars), with a lot of new names listed. Super Pro (5 cars), Super Comp (6 cars) and Super Street (4 cars) are less well-subscribed although again there are some new names in evidence.

The first round of the Custom Car Street Eliminator, for street-legal cars, has attracted eight entries including Colin Lazenby's nine-second Chevy. In the Volkswagen Championship, VW Modified has six entries, VW Super Street also has six entries, and VW Street has three entries.

Four Top Fuel Bikes have entered, including the new entry of ACU Championship co-ordinator and regular Eurodragster News contributor Ian King, and the TFB of Brian Johnson who puts in a rare visit to the UK before running a full season in the US.

Pro Stock Bike sees ten entries, with Paul Willis having stolen a march on the rest of the field with a 7.98 in testing at SPR on Sunday. Funny Bike has attracted eight entries, and Super Street Bike thirteen entries including the new bike of 1998 10.90 Champion Matt Nixon. Six Comp Bikes, fifteen 9.90 Bikes and six 10.90 Bikes complete the field.

Rounding off the field is Martin Hill's ever-popular Fireforce Jet Funny Car.

The Thunderball runs from Saturday to Monday of this weekend (3rd-5th April), with action commencing at 10:00 on Saturday and 9:30 on Sunday and Monday. Tickets are £13.00 for Saturday, £15.00 for Sunday, and £17.00 for Monday. A Sunday-Monday ticket is £25.00, and a three-day ticket is £35.00. Children under 16 get in free, as they will throughout the season at SPR. More details from Santa Pod Raceway on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828).

Eurodragster will be posting on-the-spot reports and pictures on each day of the race. We shall post a link to these reports at the weekend.

 The quickest Junior Dragster?
29th March: Those of you who followed the RWYB reports from Santa Pod Raceway yesterday will have seen the write-up of Paul Lindley-Allen's 9.68/65.51 run in his Junior Dragster, which we reported as the quickest JD run in Europe.

Pete Teurlings, Crew Chief for Gerd Habermann Racing in Germany, writes to correct us. He says: "Our Junior Dragster, sponsored by germany.net, and driven by Marcus Habermann, ran 108.959 kmh (66.84 mph) in Gross Dollin, Germany, on 5th September 1998, and ran 9.595 at Alteno, Germany, on 30th August 1998. Marcus has also run 9.23, but did not back it up".

Thanks to Pete for the information, and apologies to everyone at Gerd Habermann Racing for the error. Hopefully it will not be too long before we see a European Junior Dragster Championship so that Paul and Marcus can sort it out on the track!

 Reports from Santa Pod testing.
28th March: Eurodragster is experimenting with live updates today, at the Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. Click here to see the latest news.

Lex Joon launches web site
27th March: Eurodragster is proud to announce the launch of Lex Joon's web site at http://www.eurodragster.com/lexjoonracing/. Alcohol Funny Car ace Lex commissioned Eurodragster to produce him a 'special' web site and we think we've done just that. Lex will be able to personally update you on his team's successes throughout the year. We still have some work to do on the site, so one or two pages may not be available just yet.

Don't forget that drivers and riders can have their own team page on Eurodragster for just UK50 per year. Thanks to the work we've done for Lex, you too will be able to update your team news yourself using just your web browser. For more info email webmaster@eurodragster.com.

 

Magazine links.
27th March: The April edition of Streetfighters mag carries a 4-page spread on Sharron and Jerry Collier's world record-breaking Yamaha RD400E, while April's Custom Car features Smax Smith, Chris Bates and a simple(?) explanation of the chassis and safety rule changes.

En drag racing legend kommer till Sverige!
26th March: NHRAs tävlingsledar legend Steve Gibbs kommer genom Svenska Bilsportsförbundets försorg till Sverige för att hålla kurs! Kursen är öppen för deltagare från alla europeiska drag racing länder.

Drag Racing legend to hold Swedish seminar.
26th March: NHRA Race Director Steve Gibbs is to hold a seminar in Sweden. The seminar is open for contenders from all European countries.

Full details on the Svensk Dragracing web site.

Testing this weekend.
25th March: A small Super Gas contingent including Paula Marshall and Chris Bates, Pat Talbot in the Talbot Racing Super Pro ET dragster, and Paul Lindley-Allen in his Junior Dragster are expected to be testing at the Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway this Sunday, March 28th. Eurodragster will be attending and we plan to post live updates in our final experiment before the season starts.

If you fancy attending, entrance to the RWYB is £8, whilst an additional £10 enables you to make as many test runs as you like down the track with your own car or bike.

If you are a racer testing at the RWYB and want to publicise the fact then please e-mail us at news@eurodragster.com and we'll put the news here.

Juniors must wait.
23rd March: A "Very very sad" Paul Lindley-Allen writes to tell us that because the RAC/MSA licensing procedures will not be finalised in time, Junior Dragsters will not be able to run at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway.

Junior dragster fans must now wait until the Main Event at the end of May to see the cars at Santa Pod, although it is hoped that the procedures will be in place in time for the first Super Series event at Avon Park at the start of May.

Redstone and Gleadow reveal 1999 plans.
23rd March: Redstone and Gleadow Racing today officially announced their plans for the 1999 season.

They will be contesting all rounds of the RAC/MSA British and FIA European Top Alcohol Championships under the name Nemesis Top Alcohol Racing.

Fay Fischer has now departed the team and English Top Alcohol racer Dave Wilson has joined the team as driver. Joint team owner Barry Redstone said "Dave will be a real asset in our endeavours for European supremacy".

The car will be the 1998 chassis, a 285' Hanson, suitably updated to compete in the season's events and will sport the team's new colours of red, white and blue. New additions to the engine include Veney heads, Davenport fuel system, Whipple screw blower and other major internal modifications.

The team is delighted to announce that Lucas Oil Products have agreed a further seasons sponsorship. Alan Stewart of Medina Products, the sole European distributor for Lucas, said "We shall continue along with our colleagues in Caifornia to give the team all the support they need".

New sponsors for 1999 include world-wide logistics and shipping specialists Express Freight Services. Malcolm Francis, managing director of Express, said "We are a forward-thinking company and we are pleased to support a forward-thinking team".

David Higgs of premier motor sports travel specialists Allways Executive Travel, who have also given their support as sponsors this year, said "We are very much looking forward to assisting the team with their travel needs during 1999".

 Recovering Nobby Hills plans reunion.
22nd March: UK drag racing legend Nobby Hills, well on his way to recovery after his recent accident, is planning a reunion on Saturday June 5th 1999. More details on the UK Drag Racing Nostalgia web site.

"Showtime" Pontiac takes shape.
21st March: The official web site of the Showtime Racing UK Fuel FC team now features photographs of the ongoing work to fit a new Pontiac Firebird body to the ex-Hoover Funny Car. Check it out at http://members.aol.com/sruk/showtime.html. The team are still looking for sponsors, so if you fancy applying your moniker to a Fuel FC then why not contact the guys at Showtime Racing.

Trakbyte seeks material.
21st March: The web master of Trakbyte's UK Drag Race History writes to tell us that although he tries to update the site on a weekly basis, material is running short. If you have any information on important dates or events in UK Drag Racing, "firsts", or record-setting performances, or if you have any programme covers which you could scan or which you are willing to lend to Trakbyte's to scan, then please write to trakbyte@aol.com.

Hockenheim Nitro Olympics.
19th March: Details of this year's Hockenheim Nitro Olympics, which takes place on 20th-22nd August, are available at http://www.dragster.de/index2.html. The site includes a schedule and ticketing information. This year's Nitro Olympics features a Europe v USA Top Fuel match race; more details as they become available.

UK Nostalgia site updated.
18th March: The UK Drag Racing Nostalgia web site has recently been updated. The site features more than two hundred photographs of UK drag racing from its very earliest days up to the present. There are also video clips available for download, a fascinating history of the "Stardust" Funny Car, a catalogue of nostalgia videos, and much more. Check it out at http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~jspoard/.

Top Alcohol test session.
17th March: A Top Alcohol test session has been proposed at Santa Pod Raceway for Saturday 22nd May, the weekend before the Main Event. SPR need a minimum of ten to twelve teams for this to go ahead; the fee per team will be £275.

If there is not enough interest for a special test session on the Saturday then teams will still be able to test at the Run What You Brung the next day, Sunday 23rd May.

Could any teams interested in participating in the Saturday test session please e-mail Dave Alexander of the European Top Alcohol Racers' Association at dave_ale@online.rednet.co.uk.

Chassis inspection at Avon Park.
17th March: Avon Park is holding a chassis inspection day this Saturday, 20th March. Contrary to earlier reports, this chassis day is not exclusively for APIRA members: everyone is welcome. More details from Wendy Talbot on 01986 788114 after 2:00 pm.

Bikes now in Nordic Series.
16th March: The Nordic Drag Racing Series will now additionally involve four bike classes, including Pro Stock Bike and Funny Bike. More details on the Svensk Dragracing web site.

Jack Bynum dies.
16th March: Thanks to Ron Clark for this obituary for Jack Bynum, who died last weekend:

"I'm sorry to report the passing of 'Fat' Jack Bynum who died suddenly but peacefully at his home in Austin, Texas on Saturday 13th March. Jack came over here (the UK- Ed) as crew chief to Paula Murphy's STP funny car in July 1973. It was this car that made history by becoming the first American funny car to traverse the quarter in this country. The car stayed on after the return of Jack & Paula to become the first Houndog funny car. It retained the cartoon caricature of 'Fat' Jack on the bodywork, later evolving into to one of Nobby Hills, whom I'm pleased to report is recovering well from his blast injuries sustained just before Christmas.

"Jack's passing co-incided with the weekend of running of the 40th annual Bakersfield March Meet".

Eurodragster staff list.
15th March: In response to a number of requests we have now placed a staff list on Eurodragster, which you can find here.

Live news from Santa Pod.
14th March: Eurodragster is experimenting with live updates today, at the Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. Click here to see the latest news.

Testing this weekend (updated).
13th March: The Super Gas cars of Chris Bates and Spencer Tramm, the Junior Dragster of Paul Lindley-Allen, and Sportsman ET team Dead Goat Racing are expected to be testing at the Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway tomorrow, Sunday March 14th. Chris Bates has a new 468 ci methanol-burning engine, prepared by Jeff Bull, to try out in his Sierra, whilst Spencer Tramm has acquired Jon Webster's Sierra and also plans to test a new engine.

If you fancy attending, entrance to the RWYB is £8, whilst an additional £10 enables you to make as many test runs as you like down the track with your own car or bike.

Move over Travis Tritt...
13th March: Leading European country-rock star Sarah Jory will be visiting the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway on April 3rd-5th. Sarah will be a guest of the 1320 Motorsport Super Gas team. Driver Chris Bates said "We are delighted to introduce Sarah to UK Drag Racing. She will be gracing us with her presence at Easter to see what is in store for her when she jumps into the passenger seat of out Harvey Engineering/Allens Group-sponsored race car at the Main Event Press Day to be held at Santa Pod Raceway on 27th May. We would also like to see as many as Sarah's fans as possible at the Thunderball event".

L-A Racing e-mail address.
13th March: Paul Lindley-Allen of the L-A Racing Junior Dragster team writes to tell us that the team will shortly be launching a web site, but in the meantime they can be contacted by e-mail at l-aracing@junior1.freeserve.co.uk.

Shockwave Fuel FC team seek crew.
11th March: The Shockwave Fuel FC team are seeking new crew members. If you've ever fancied working on a drag racing team then why not go in at the deep end with a Fuel car! Check out the Latest News page on the Shockwave web site for more details.

More Top Fuel technology.
11th March: Lars-Åke Henriksson writes that he has updated his web site with more explanations of the technology involved in Top Fuel racing. This site is well worth a visit; Lars-Åke's easy-to-follow explanations are in both Swedish and English and are illustrated with pictures of components of Peter Lantz' Top Fueller. Check it out at http://w1.331.telia.com/~u33106502/dr-main.htm.

Turner Racing e-mail address.
11th March: UK Top Alcohol Dragster team Turner Racing recently changed their e-mail address. If you want to contact Turner Racing then please write to TurnerRacing@topalcohol.freeserve.co.uk.

Ed's "Goodbye to Drag Racing" sale.
10th March: Further to yesterday's news about the Midland Drag Racing Association reunion, Ron Clark sends the following:

"Ed's - once well known for its trackside sales - will be at the Midland Drag Racing Association Reunion this weekend offering never-to-be-repeated bargains in its final sale. Racer and nostalgia tee shirts at knock down prices, books including Big Daddy Career Pictorial parts 1 & 2, Big Daddy autobiography, plus other titles including an ex-display copy of Montgomery's Supercharged Gas Coupes. A few videos are on offer, for example Match Race Madness. Also available are pins, badges, decals and kits - some 1/16th, along with some mint Super Stocks from a few years ago.

Some of this stuff is in excellent condition - some of it not so. But either way, there are bargains for all".

 Micke Kågered launches web site.
9th March: Twice European Top Alcohol Champion Micke Kågered has launched a web site at http://www.kagered-racing.com. The site features the very latest news from Micke Kågered Racing including details of the switch to a Chevrolet Camaro body for 1999. There is also an introduction to the team, a photo gallery, links, a racing calendar, a sponsor page and much more. The site is also currently carrying a very interesting interview with Micke about his plans for the 1999 season.

Speedflow launch new adaptors.
9th March: Eurodragster sponsors Speedflow have announced an exclusive new range of 45- and 90-degree adaptors and fittings to add to their already extensive range of high-performance hoses and fittings. The new adaptors have a smooth inner bore to ensure perfect flow. Click here for more details.

Midland Drag Racing Association reunion this weekend.
9th March: Ron Clark writes:

"We're in the staging lanes and there's just 4 days to go before we fire the first pair. This Saturday, 13th March, sees the 25th Anniversary Reunion of the Midland Drag Racing Association at the club's birthplace, the Prince Of Wales, Lower Gungate, Tamworth, Staffordshire.

"Invites have been sent and definites include founder members Tony Froome, Julie Froome, Brian Howells, Gerry Cookson, Robbie Dobbie, Alan Smith, Mafe Rotherham, Steve Georgii (now with the Thrust team), Ron Clark, Paul Eastbury. Others likely to try and qualify are Tony Wynne Jones, Rick Fielding, Vic Hammond, Antony Billington (hopefully with Commuter), Nick Pettit and his old time videos, Tim Clarke, Tom Vivian, Phil Evans, Roy Farmer. The club has heard from several others who have indicated that they intend to be there.

"There are places still open to those interested and the cost is £7.50 which includes a buffet and a souvenir. Qualifying starts at 2pm. Lunch break at 4-ish and proceedings carry on whilst the pub still has some beer left.

"For more info phone secretary Robbie Dobbie on 0121 686 6253 or e-mail us at Ron@ShowAssociates.swinternet.com.uk."

Read victorious in Australia.
8th March: The UK's Steve Read won Top Fuel this past weekend at the third round of the Castrol New Year Series at Willowbank Raceway, Australia, beating Robin Kirby in the final with a 5.428/252.95 to a 5.475/190.04. Click here for full results. Thanks to Ivan Sansom for this news.

Formsvacka goes international.
7th March: Swedish Super Small Block team Formsvacka Racing have updated their web site to include a large selection of English language pages (which is useful for those of us on the Eurodragster team whose only Swedish is "Hej" and "Dragracing"). Take a look at this very nicely-designed web site at http://www.formsvacka.com.

Fat Attack!
7th March: Swiss TAFC racer Urs Erbacher writes to introduce the Fat Attack web site. This site covers Urs' TAFC team, custom bikes, and a restaurant - which covers most drag racing fans! Check it out at http://www.fatattack.ch.

SFI web site.
6th March: The SFI have recently introduced a web site. It contains much useful information including chassis and component specs, plus news and contact information. You can find the SFI web site at http://www.sfifoundation.com. Thanks to Christer Abrahamson for this news.

New German web sites.
5th March: Check out these great-looking new German sites:

Top Alcohol Dragster driver Peter Schöfer at http://www.calwer.de/pathome.htm

Bike racer Rudi Thurmayr at http://www.calwer.de/tdrhome.htm

The Bavarian Drag Racing Club at http://home.t-online.de/home/dragrace.bdrc/

Svensk Dragracing site update.
3rd March: The Svensk Dragracing web site has been updated with news of the redevelopment of Gardermoen, and details of the SFI's recent visit to Sweden. You can find Svensk Dragracing at http://www.goracing.com/svensk.

Dead Goat Racing.
3rd March: Intriguingly-entitled UK Sportsman ET team Dead Goat Racing have announced a new web site. Check it out at http://freespace.virgin.net/tim.fowler/dgr/.

TV preview tonight.
3rd March: Satellite channel Eurosport is to broadcast a preview of the 1999 FIA European Championships tonight. The FIA preview is twenty minutes in length, and makes up part of the Start Your Engines programme. It will be broadcast at the following times:

20:00 CET (19:00 UK time)
00:00 CET Thursday (23:00 tonight UK time)

Dave Beck's Gainesville progress.
2nd March: ACU UK National Pro Stock Bike Champion Dave Beck qualified eighth in a field of twenty one in Pro Mod Bike at the MRE Sunshine Nationals (Prostar season opener) in Gainesville, Florida, with a 7.059 at 189.75 mph. He then lost in the first round to Louis Grist of Minnesota who ran a 7.039/188.71 to Dave's 7.145/183.41. Thanks to Ian King (ian@dragbikes.com) for the news.

Santa Pod Racers Club AGM.
2nd March: The eighth Annual General Meeting of the Santa Pod Racers Club is to be held on Sunday 21st March at 1:00 pm, in the Victoria Suite of the Rilton Hotel, Rushden. If there are any items which you wish to be included on the agenda then please advise SPRC in writing by Friday 12th March at the following address:

SPRC
PO Box 12
Rushden
Northamptonshire
NN10 0ZU

Fax: 01933 355558

February's news


Eurodragster.com aims to bring you links to all the best European Drag Racing web sites. To add your site to Eurodragster's listings, simply email links@eurodragster.com with your URL and a little information about your site and we'll do the rest. When you update your site, drop us a line at news@eurodragster.com and we'll feature your site in our "What's New" section.

Eurodragster.com is a non-profit-making organisation run by a small group of Drag Racing enthusiasts for the sole purpose of promoting European Drag Racing. If you can help us to meet the modest cost of hosting this web site by advertising here, please email webmaster@eurodragster.com. We're sure you'll find our rates extremely competitive.