DEFA Finals coverage.
31st August: Our good friends Hanski and Jouni will be posting live reports from this weekend's DEFA Finals at Alastaro, which starts today. Car coverage will be available at
www.fhra.fi/reports/defa08.html and bike coverage at www.dragrace.fi.
©Eurodragster.com
Alastaro's webcam is also on-line; although it is mainly aimed at the bike pits the strip is visible to the left of shot. You can check out the Alastaro webcam by clicking here.


Goodridge Dutch Finals webcam.
31st August: Maikel Gloudemans of The Netherlands' eXplosion Drag Racing Club has again set up his webcam at Drachten for this weekend's Goodridge Dutch Finals. Maikel says that amongst other changes there will be a camera one hundred feet downtrack looking back towards the start line, and that commentary will be injected into the audio stream.
©Eurodragster.com
You will be able to check out what is happening at Drachten at www.ziejeme.nu/eXplosion.


Pre-Finals RWYB coverage.
31st August: Eurodragster.com will be posting Coverage Lite from Santa Pod Raceway this weekend. End-day photo galleries will be posted in association with American Car Imports, and the Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam will be on-line all weekend and will be scheduled to post a picture every sixty seconds.
©Eurodragster.com
Click here to view the webcam and galleries, or click on the Event Coverage link on the left hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and select the FIA European Finals.


Carter fit after Mosten.
31st August: UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter and the Lucas Oil / Landmeco / Andersen Racing team are fit for the fight at next weekend's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway, says Jens Olaf Hersom:

At this weekend's Mosten Raceday in Jutland, Denmark, Andy was close to the track record at Mosten Dragway when he ran 3.39 seconds for the eighth mile in an exhibition race against Danish driver Rene Hersland. Another Danish driver and former European Champion, Kim Reymond, holds the track record at Mosten Dragway at 3.24 seconds. Andy's sixty foot time was quicker than those set by top drivers in the American NHRA series. Andy, who was very keen to break Kim's track record, had another run but had to shut off early after spinning the tyres shortly after the start. But the very fast sixty foot time leaves the team optimistic before the Finals and the meeting with top rivals Lex Joon and Micke Kågered.

199 teams, mostly motorcycle, participated at Mosten Raceday, where European Top Fuel Bike Champion Ian King set a new unofficial European record of 4.01 seconds for the eighth mile.
©Eurodragster.com

Peak Performance Day notes.
31st August: If you were wondering why there was no live report from yesterday's Peak Performance Day, it was because your News Editor and usual Race Reporter was strapped into Grumpy's Dodge having a day off under the peerless supervision of Mick Howling. However Roger was keeping his ear to the ground as well as taking photographs and here are some notes from yesterday's events:

"We have a few new parts in the car" was just about all Adrian Spencer of Danny Cockerill's Chevy Bel Air Pro Mod team was going to let on at the start of the day. "We're going to get a baseline to work from before Carl Spiering comes over on Wednesday from the US", he added. On the first pass the car shook big time but on the second try it all came together with a very early - 4.5 seconds into the run - click off of 6.63/169. The team were ecstatic and revealed that they had on board for the first time an eleven-inch clutch from Eurodragster.com News sponsors Leanders Brothers Performance Products. "We are trying it out, it's a well made and a wonderful bit of kit", Adrian extolled. "It is on loan to us, one of only three Leanders Pro Mod clutches currently in use, the others are being used by Freddy Fagerström and Mats Eriksson, so we're in good company. It is hoped that Carl will be impressed working with it and it could open the market to the US for the Leanders Brothers products."
©Eurodragster.com
It has been a long hard year for Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Derek Flynn and the Gold RV team with aspirations of Top Fuel being painfully dashed at the year opening, but Derek has sourced the next best thing, an A/Fuel dragster, an ex Larry Miersch machine from the US. This weekend was its début with both Larry Miersch and tuner Jim Rizzoli on hand to point the team in the right direction. The pure professionalism of the Americans came over immediately with an off the trailer early click off 6.08/181 pass. Bob Glassup was helping the team out and stated "You could see the grin on Derek's face from half a mile away". Derek was over the moon shaking everyone's hand and bear hugs for team members. The run was in the late afternoon after many hours of work and having to put up with down time due to oil-downs and a crash delaying the day's happenings. It was thought that that was it, but the track crew extended the operating hours and the Gold RV/Lucas Oil/Ceratech team made a dusk appearance and wowed the many assembled spectators with another early shut off run but a 5.83/204 to lay down the gauntlet to the other Top Methanol Dragster teams.

Eurodragster.com Swap Meet sponsor Jeff Bull was in driving mode this weekend testing a 565 cubic inch Chevy motor in the S10 truck that normally has wife Belinda in the hot seat. Plans are for the truck to enter into the Super Modified class next year. Jeff is liaising with US builder Steve Schmidt on a number of items including cam designs. Also trying for Super Modified times was Martin Curbishley in the ex Jon Hogarth Corvette, now all blue and looking and sounding good, and Simon Farmer first-footing in a similarly good-looking Mustang.

You can check out our American Car Imports-sponsored Peak Performance Day photo gallery 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.


Powering around Wellingborough.
31st August: If you've been to Santa Pod Raceway you will probably know about the nearby town of Wellingborough. Unless you're a local, you might not know about the annual Parade of Power writes Simon Hodder:

The event is rapidly becoming a major fixture on the town's summer calendar, and on Friday evening several thousand people turned up to witness a real spectacle. As the evening began to darken, more than thirty cars and bikes drove round the town centre streets, which had been closed to all other traffic, for an hour, many of them performing spectacular smoky burnouts and wheelies.

Some well-known racers were on hand to thrill the crowds. John Morris brought his along Animal Magic Pro ET Ford probe (he was later seen being pushed into a car park, so we hope no real damage was done). Mick Howling was there with Grumpy's Dodge, as was Antony Wilkins with his Ground Zero Ford Model A Pick-Up, and Jon Webster with his Street Eliminator MG SV. Jon's burnouts were probably the longest and smokiest of the whole evening.
©Eurodragster.com
Plenty of static exhibits were on hand throughout the evening too. The Fireforce 3 Jet FC and the Santa Pod liveried Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car attracted a great deal of attention from people of all ages, as did Fireforce 3 driver Martin Hill, who was literally lost in a sea of excited young fans as he handed out photos and posters.

Through this event Santa Pod put on an extremely successful promotion for the sport of drag racing. Thousands of people who perhaps have never given any thought to attending a race meeting were given a real taste of what drag racing is all about, which can only be of benefit to both the sport and to Santa Pod.

You can check out Simon's drag racing photography on his web site at www.simaxphotography.co.uk.


Web site updates.
31st August: Our good friend Jon Spoard has updated his UK Drag Racing Nostalgia site with pictures from last weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out Jon's shots at
www.ukdrn.co.uk and at the same time take in hundreds of historical pictures and video clips and discuss the history of the sport on one of the most exemplary drag racing forums on the web.
©Eurodragster.com

Baynton blames himself.
30th August: UK National Pro ET Champion Paul Baynton says that the Open Sport Nationals didn't start too well for him, as he qualified fifteenth after failing to read track and weather conditions.

"Somehow, though, we managed to get to another final and for the third time this year take home a trophy with those dreaded words 'Runner-up'!", says Paul. "I've only got myself to blame for that again. Well done to Phil Toppin, he was consistent all weekend.
©Eurodragster.com
"I just wanted to say thanks to a few people: Steve Hudson for helping Mandy push the car on Monday, Tig and Cath for the use of their tyre gauge when ours stopped reading correctly after the third round, and Dan Page for help pushing the car back through the pits when the water pump packed up after the semi-final, cheers guys. Thanks to all involved at the track for allowing the event to run to a conclusion.

"If my calculations are correct we failed to retain our APIRA Championship by a narrow margin. Oh well, still two Championships to go. See everyone at the Pod."


Swift snippets.
30th August: Nina Carbone of The Gamma Project has been in touch to let fans know that Kings of Nitro, the Reality TV series featuring Eurodragster.com News sponsor Urs Erbacher and his Fat Attack operation, is now available on DVD. The DVD box contains extended versions of the televised episodes plus a bonus unbroadcast episode. This will be of particular interest to UK fans since Nina says that it may be a while before the show is broadcast on Discovery here. You can order your DVDs from www.kingsofnitro.co.uk. You can find out more about the series on our news update of 22nd May.
©Eurodragster.com
Our very best wishes to Finnish Top Fuel Bike racer Kai Selkämaa who is to be operated on this weekend after having a fever for a long while. "The doctors haven't yet decided if Kai will be able to run at Santa Pod next week", says Kaija Kohtala. "If the operation goes well it's still possible to get their permission to go to Santa Pod."

James Forrester, Show Manager at Future Publishing, tells us that he is still seeking race cars, particularly Street Eliminator race cars, to run at Trax, a performance and modified car show at Silverstone next Sunday, 7th September. "Demos will take place on the 0-60 Sprint Test", says James. "It's an un-prepped surface so we won't be breaking any records but anyone who can put on a good show is welcome". For more information contact James at james.forrester@futurenet.co.uk.


King Racing press release.
30th August: Whilst most of the world was watching the achievements of their national sporting heroes in China, European drag racing fans had their own Olympics to enjoy, the 2008 NitrOlympX in Hockenheim, Germany.

The event is a truly unique experience staged at one of the premier motorsports centres in Europe with a dedicated standalone drag strip built into the stadium complex and a shutdown area that runs for miles and miles out into the forests of Baden-Wurttemberg. No worries here then about racing over 1320 feet and with high-spec facilities that one would expect (and Bernie Ecclestone would demand) from a Formula One track, it is an event eagerly anticipated by many of the teams.

The twenty third running of the event in front of over 50,000 of the usual noisy and enthusiastic German motorsport enthusiasts saw a group of invited Nitromethane fuelled and 1000 horsepower supercharged Top Fuel Bikes took on a group of their slightly less powerful but similarly fuelled V-Twin machines in a Cannonball-style format. Basically every rider was given four runs with their three quickest average ETs taking into account to determine a class winner in each group to run against each other in the Nitro Bike Thunder final.

Following their disappointment of the rain-curtailed Norway event the Portable Shade team were keen to test some new clutch and cam timing settings in an attempt to improve their sixty foot times. With input from clutch designer Tony Kershaw the team embarked on a remarkably consistent string of runs in qualifying and the final that saw four runs in the 6.3 second zone (with a best of 6.314) and only one that failed to meet this mark in the 6.4 second zone. In addition, King found new speed with the set-up, propelling him to a PB and track record 228.39 mph in qualifying.

The Nitro Bike Thunder Challenge race is billed as the Best in Europe and it was thus fitting that the final round saw reigning UEM champions Ian King and Lorenz Stäuble represent their classes in the head-to-head decider. The Portable Shade Puma Yamaha prevailed, charging around Stauble in the trophy run-off, getting to the line first with a 6.366/220.59 despite a momentary lapse of concentration that gave Stäuble a jump on King at the lights.

The Portable Shade Top Fuel Bike will compete at the next events in 2008:

29th-30th August, Mosten Raceday, Denmark
4th-7th September, Santa Pod, England

The team rely on only the best parts and services from leading companies in their chosen markets:

Portable Shade The world's premier awning and modular exhibition product company
JE Pistons The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons
Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc The highest quality valves and components for motorsport
Swecomposite The leading supplier of carbon fibre parts to the racing, performance and custom markets
Craft Safety Helmets The ultimate in safety and unique in design
Del West Engineering, Inc Pioneers in valve train design
Torco Oils The only oil recommended by engine manufacturers Puma Engineering.
Goedhals Precision specialist gear cutting and engineering.
Mickey Thompson Tyres The best drag race tyres in the world bar none.
Goodridge UK The original and the best in fluid transfer systems.
Gates The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics.
Vanson Leathers Thirty years producing the best quality track-tested motorcycle apparel.
Performance Machine The leader in aftermarket custom wheels, brakes and components.
Kent Cams Specialists in motorsport camshaft manufacture, short runs and one-offs.
Pro Alloy The UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators.
PsycleWorkz The UK's best custom and race fabricators and innovators.
House of Kolor Manufacturers of the world's most stunning specialist paints.
Cannon Engineering Gear cutting and precision engineering services.
Zodiac Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts.
Pixeleye Innovative graphic and website design.
MRE Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems.
Customize Premier sign makers and vinyl sign and design services.
Turboville Your one stop drag racing resource.
NitroShutter, The combined efforts of ace photojournalists Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes
Wackyshack, Creators of stunning paintwork and murals.
©Eurodragster.com

Web site updates.
30th August: Eurodragster.com Reserve Photographer Peter Donaldson has updated his Fotopic gallery with pictures from last weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out Peter's shots at peterdonaldson5305.fotopic.net.
©Eurodragster.com
The Chaos Fuel Altered web site at www.chaos-fuel-altered.com has been updated with a report of the team's eventful weekend at the Open Sport Nationals. Select Latest News from the News menu to an account written by team owner and NFAA promoter Lawrie Gatehouse. There are links on this page to a gallery of still pictures taken at the event and a video excerpt from the as yet unreleased Nitro Warriors 2008 DVD appearing by kind permission of Powerpoint Communications.


Present, but no shiny stuff.
29th August: The Netherlands'
Ton Pels tells us that his new supercharged Supertwin should be at next weekend's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. Ton says not to expect the new Godfather to be a looker to begin with.
©Eurodragster.com
"There won't be any shiny parts or shiny finish, and there won't be any paint", Ton told Eurodragster.com. "We will be happy if we have it running before the end of this week. So next week we will either be at the Pod or still picking up the pieces. Making the parts shiny and painting the the body are this winter's projects as well as modifying some of the parts that we made but are not happy with or even making new parts.

"Vincent is doing the last wiring and I am finishing the wheelie bar and some other small bits and pieces. During the last four weeks we have trained Roel (Koedam, rider - Ed) to look very aggressive, and we have tattooed "I am a Winner" on his forehead. So Vince and I are convinced that he will do the job properly. Just to put our fellow SuperTwin riders at easy, we won't be going for the 2008 Championship any more."


In at the deep end!
29th August: German Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Marco Maurischat unveiled his eagerly-awaited blown-alcohol 'Vette at the NitrolympX at Hockenheim. Marco and the team went straight in at the deep end with the new car, which wasn't the original idea.

"Our plan this year was to go to some smaller races before attending an FIA round", says Marco. "As everybody knows, thinking is easier than doing and the car was not ready before Hockenheim. Somebody told us it seems stupid to go to one of the big races first, but there was no option and what could be better than a new German race car débuting at Hockenheim?

"We started the engine for the first time at our race shop four days before we had to load the trailer and the car didn't move one metre under power before the first qualifying round on Friday. I was feeling a little bit nervous before this round, we double checked everything but who knows. The plan was to do a gentle pass to see how the car reacted - if the trans was working and so on. We had our first let down when the starter quit when I pushed the button in the pre-start area. This was absolutely stupid: you build an expensive new car, it takes almost two and a half years and then the starter doesn't work. Of course, it was a new one!
©Eurodragster.com
"So ok, back to the pits and a new starter in for the next round on Saturday. Most of the other teams around us took pistons out, ground the clutch or worked on heads, and we changed a starter. So we had our "coming out" on Saturday morning. Marc Meihuizen advised me beforehand how to do the burnout with a B&J trans, and everything worked. The burnout was not perfect but OK and the Corvette did her first ever slow run down the quarter mile.

"For the last qualifying round we were hoping to go quicker. At the end of the burnout the car made a right turn but it was no problem to get it under control. After backing up from the burnout I felt that I could not hold the clutch much longer - my first thought was "Man, go to the gym for some left leg training!". So when I staged I had to go before the Tree was activated because I could not hold the pedal down any longer. That we wouldn't qualify for this event was something we knew before the event and this was not our goal for the weekend. Like Marc told me, "It took you over two years to build it, don't crash it in two minutes!".

"We feel happy with this first weekend of racing with the new car and we are looking forward to coming to the Finals at Santa Pod. I have to say a big Thank You for the warm welcome from all the Pro Mod teams! Thanks to Andy Robinson for the help he gave us with questions some of which I think were stupid (he had much bigger problems); Marc Meihuizen and his team - Marc, hopefully you will wear our team shirt when you win the Finals! Darren of Power Race Graphics for the great paint scheme and team logo, and last but not least my crew who showed up every week in the race shop to build this car with me, and most important my wife Nadine for letting me do what I love!"


Sleep is for wimps, anyway.
29th August: UK Comp Bike racer Bob Brooks and the Yellow Metal Racing team are very pleased with the début of their new bike at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway.

"Everything seems to be working well", says Bob. "It just needs minor mods and repairs for the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend. In fact, this is the first time since around 1995 that I've taken a bike home with the engine and gearbox still intact!

"The team very much appreciate the trophies for Best Appearing Bike and Best Engineered Bike from Jacksons MOT and Drag Race Engineering respectively; you've no idea how much these awards mean to us. Sorry we didn't stay to receive them but it's a long drive home (though not as far as some) and we were working right up to the last minute before the weekend. We finished spraying the body at 6:00 on Thursday night outside on the lawn, with the flies and the rain.
©Eurodragster.com
"My thanks also to my tremendous crew and the track staff who endeavoured to make life as easy for me as possible. Towards the end of the build up of the bike I was getting a little despondent. It took just under two years at around forty hours a week, plus eight weeks' leave from work, and I was getting a bit hacked off having to miss out on the more relaxing things in life, like sleep. Getting the bike there performing better than expected made all the effort worthwhile and made me remember why I took the plunge to embark on the project, it's such bloody good fun with bloody nice people.

"Finally, thanks to my brother Stig, you're a star."


The Eagles perch at Hockenheim.
29th August: For the Top Fuel contingent of Finland's Eagle Racing team, it was a great experience to have an FIA Championship round at Hockenheim, says Harri Horto (kindly translated by Heike Schroeder - Ed):

This year we participated for the first time with our own drivers in their own cars. That meant that the whole gang was on-site. We decided to rent one of the boxes in the pit lane, also used for Formula 1 and other circuit racing, which made professional working much easier. Spacious and clean, with water taps and toilets (very useful to have in your own pit).

On Friday the weather forecast seemed to come true, and the rain on the roof of the truck told us that there was no need to wake up early. The weather however improved in the afternoon, and so it was also time to get the Top Fuellers running. Risto Poutiainen's car was new to him so he could only drive a half track, but everything worked how it should and Risto's car was prepared for the following day's qualifying. Janne Ahonen's first qualifying round was disastrous. The motor came apart and loose parts also destroyed the tyre. The dragster stopped abruptly after the finish line and drifted out of its lane towards its opponent. An in-depth inspection revealed the sad fact that the chassis was broken and could not be fixed on-site, and that curtailed Janne's chances of driving. Very frustrating, but his safety came first.

For Saturday's qualifying the weather improved a lot, there were sunny skies and we had summer temperatures. Risto ran 5.107/396.17 and took seventh place. This was also the best run for us in qualifying. Risto also showed up in the evening show, which was a great feeling, and we were reminded of former Finnish Night Shows.
©Eurodragster.com
In Sunday's eliminations Risto had to face a very strong opponent, reigning Champion Urs Erbacher of Switzerland. You could nearly feel the excitement in the air and we all crossed our fingers. Urs went up in smoke and so Risto reached the next round. What a great moment when the board showed a new personal best of 4.834/498.53 for Risto! So the quickest Finnish driver is again in our team - Tommi Haapanen's run of 4.837 in Santa Pod last year has been bettered.

Bad to the Bone's dragster was prepared again very quickly, but it took too long. We were only a few minutes short, but the dragster was not ready in time. Sweden's Micke Kågered earned a bye run and for us the Hockenheim race was over.

The Hockenheimring offers great conditions for drag racing and we hope that they will continue to be a part of the FIA Championship calendar.


Keep your foot down...
29th August: Sweden's Tricky Thörnäs Dragracing Team made their first outing with Peter Thörnäs' 1963 Corvette at Gardermoen at the weekend. Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson got in touch to let us know how well things went with the twin-turbo machine:

There were several six-second cars at the test session, which was the last chance in Scandinavia for testing. We hadn't been out on the track for eight years and we also had some new team members so we were all nervous.

The first burnout was nice and clean and in a good straight line. Peter just wanted to do a sixty foot test for the first run, but when he launched everything felt so good that he drove nearly to the eighth mile and recorded 4.785 seconds with a 1.10 second sixty foot time. We needed to reprogramme the engine software as it took way too long to build up turbo boost at the start line. During the second and last run of the day, Peter's foot slipped off the accelerator! Using his heavy foot Peter aimed for the finish line, and the carbon fibre Corvette stopped the timing system at 7.59 seconds and 278 kmh.
©Eurodragster.com
Sunday became a round of the Norwegian Clean Up Championship. We only had time for one test session, and the track wasn't as good as it was so we needed to make a gentle launch off the line, only using the half turbo boost. 1.09 at sixty feet and 7.165/311 at the stripe finished our test session and we are more than pleased with the weekend.

Thanks to all the teams who gave us practical advice, and a big Thank You to Annette Ravnberg from the Press Office who drove in to the village and purchased an electrical cable we needed.


Rough Diamond returns.
29th August: If you were tuned in to Simon's pit notes from the weekend's Open Sport Nationals you will have read in the notes from Tony Morris and John Everitt that Dave Gibbons' Rough Diamond has been located and is to be rebuilt. Dave Gibbons got in touch to tell us some more:

The car which Tony Morris raced in Germany was indeed the car I campaigned as Rough Diamond. It was originally commissioned by John Everitt and conceived by Norm Wheeldon, but neither John or Norm completed the car, which would have become Hang 'Em High, and John never raced it.

At the end of 1980 I struck a deal with John and in return got what was little more than a kit of parts for an altered (with quite a lot of bits missing!) and it was a long way from being a finished race car. Using those parts I built the car and ran it with some success from Easter 1981 until Easter 1984 after which I sold it to Tony Morris.
©Eurodragster.com
Last year the car was discovered in Austria in a very sorry state and I have bought it. In March this year my old crew chief Dick Hogben, 'Fad T hero' Maurice Takoor and drove to Vienna and brought it home. Naturally the frame doesn't meet current specs, but next week Tony Morris (who is on a visit from the USA) and I will strip the car down and begin work on whatever it takes to make the car legal. While this means it will be akin to the broom with two new heads and three new handles, the car will carry as many original parts as possible and look as it did in Easter 1984. There is a romantic notion suggesting that the car will be ready to run Easter next year, exactly twenty five years after I last drove it, but the reality is that it may be later in the season.

Some readers may know that my wife Alli and I have had links with Paul Marston Racing for eight years, both having driven for Paul at the Brighton Speed Trials and at Shakespeare and Santa Pod Raceways. Coincidentally, four years ago I drove the Alien altered now campaigned by John Everitt. I am pleased to say that this venture in returning to drag racing enjoys the support of Paul Marston Racing.

I would like to emphasise that this is not a project for winning Championships, but purely an exercise in having fun and preserving a much loved race car. I would like to extend thanks to Dick, Maurice, Tony, Paul, Andrea Kloss, and of course my wife Alli. And while Alli and I intend to return to sprint racing I may yet have a further drag racing surprise up his sleeve.

Finally, if anyone has any good close up photos of the Rough Diamond T I would very much like to see them for reference. Like nostalgia, my memory isn't what it used to be.

If you have any pictures of Rough Diamond then please forward them to us at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.


Swift snippets.
29th August: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch to remind racers that next Friday, 5th September, is the closing date for entry to the UK National Finals which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 26th-27th September. You can download the entry form from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

Paula has also forwarded us version 5 of the official entry list for the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 13th-14th September. You can view the entry list by clicking here; if you think that you should already be on the list then you can contact Paula Marshall on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or by E-Mail at paula.marshall@btconnect.com.
©Eurodragster.com
Dave Beck has been in touch to congratulate UK Comp Bike racer Ivan Birch on his win at Shakespeare County Raceway at the weekend, setting a new national speed record, and again claiming the MTC contingency money for using MTC pistons in his motor along with MTC slider clutch and Big Block purchased though Dave Beck Racing Ltd.

UK Pro ET racer Liz Malcolm says that she and husband Iain had a perfect weekend at the Open Sport Nationals. "The dragster was running great, giving us #1 qualifying position, only to go out in round one after a battle of the breakouts against John Atkinson", says Liz. "Then to be awarded Best Engineered Car was absolutely brilliant, after all the work Iain has put into the dragster over the years, what a proud moment it was. We would like to thank everyone at Shakespeare County Raceway for the award and Drag Race Engineering for sponsoring it."


Blockhead!
29th August: UK Supertwin racer Ian Turburville says that he had a nightmare weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway. "The track was difficult, crashes, lots of oil downs, and lots of down time", says Turbo.

"Strangely enough Steve Woollatt ran a new (unofficial) record there, 228 mph, despite having tyre shake, a broken belt and a broken throttle cable! Everyone seemed to struggle. Steve Carey only managed a ten-second best as his bike was all over the track, for no apparent reason. Jon Webster crashed Tim Blakemore's Kawasaki. John Wright rolled the Chaos Fuel Altered quite spectacularly, and the dodgems in the pits got louder as the weekend went on leading to sleepless nights.

"My bike also threw me violently to the left every time no matter what I did, so I think that slick has gone bad, although it only has a dozen passes on it. We tried everything else. I softened the clutch to get us down the track and qualify but that just melted the drive belt! Then the motor suddenly dropped a lot of RPMs and sounded dangerously fat at one point which we traced to a bad battery. It showed 12.6v but when you put it on load it went to 9v, so we swapped that out. It still didn't sound good though and I was not happy, it was missing and banging, very nasty! I spent the night going through everything, re-set everything back to square one, but it didn't help.

"Then, in desperation, I drained all the fuel out and checked it. It was 99%! I cut it back to 98% and double checked with a sample I made up by volume. The bike instantly went back to normal and sounded great! It nearly jumped off the stand when I cracked the throttle, fantastic. All that rough running though had shaken the motor about and, unknowingly, the base nuts on one cylinder came loose. They have never come loose before. I qualified third which was perfect as it gave me Rene van den Berg in round one and he was my best chance to get thru. I lined up very carefully, the bike was sounding great, hit the fuel switch and it sounded even better. I whacked the throttle and hung off to the right but to no avail, it went hard left again and took out all the timing blocks. When I stopped I found the rear cylinder lifted but no damage as I had got off the throttle very quickly.

"I would like to say a big thank you to Dave Bartz for jumping in as Crew Chief for the weekend at no notice whatsoever, I couldn't have wished for better help! I would also like to again wish crew member Ingrid and fellow 'wobbly' Steve Carey a vey happy birthday for that Saturday. We all had a thouroughly enjoyable meal at the New Inn to celebrate.

"I am OK, the bike is OK and I will put new slick, cylinders, rods and pistons on for the finals and do my best.The new fuel and clutch system is working great so I hope I can qualify against Europe's best. Charley Larking has pulled out so that leaves eleven in Supertwin but it will still be a very hard race as I have yet to run a six.

"I do have a total of seven timing blocks notched up so far this year, which clearly beats Scarey's measly three! I do apologise to the APIRA Tech Crew and would ask them to re-consider their proposal to replace them with concrete breeze-blocks when we run! Team Turbo Ville would like to congratulate Rene van den Berg on his well deserved first win in Top Fuel bike! That was one very happy Dutchman that left in his classic American school bus on Monday.

"Thanks to our great group of sponsors for sticking through the hard times, good times to come to be sure: Custom Chrome Europe, Red Line Oil, Gates Belts, Arias Pistons, Jims, Curbishley Automotive, Rush Racing UK, Zodiac, Sprint Dampers, RST Wheels, Fast Lane Racing (Canada), King Racing, Innovate Dataloggers, Bentec Engineering, Aasen Tuning, Exhaust Gas Technologies, Slidercovers.com, Timtime.co.uk, DACS and I&S Logistics.
©Eurodragster.com
Picture courtesy and ©Richard Stirling


Ceratech back Flynn.
29th August: Hot on the heels of announcing Lucas Oils as associate sponsors of the Gold RV A/Fueller, Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor and Blogger Derek Flynn is very pleased to welcome Computer Data Input Specialist Ceratech on board as a sponsor.

"We will be proudly displaying Ceratech's Accuratus brand on the Gold RV A/Fuel dragster", says Derek. "Like us Ceratech are based in Alton and we are looking forward to entertaining them and their guests at the European Finals. They have never attended a drag race before and we are sure that they will have a weekend to remember as our VIP guests. Geoffrey Hobbs, Managing Director of Ceratech, has always shown a keen interest in our cars and what we have been up to and has attended our workshops on several occasions. Even though Ceratech is about a half a mile away from us, Geoffrey says that he has heard some of our workshop fire-ups!"

Ceratech recently celebrated its twenty-fifth year in the computer industry, manufacturing and distributing PC input devices. This covers industrial, EPOS, gaming and retail keyboards along with a vast array of mice, magnetic swipe, and flash memory products. Ceratech's own brand Accuratus is becoming increasingly well known throughout the computer industry, and they have exclusive partners for many other international brands. These partnerships ensure that products offered are not just traded, but more significantly supported by a high degree of technical competence, matched with courteous professionalism.
©Eurodragster.com
Ceratech considers itself a 'focused' company, concentrating on key product lines. The company objectives remain the same as they were in 1981:
  • Never to compromise quality of service
  • To build the business on honesty and integrity
  • To listen, understand and respond
  • To build team spirit, motivate and inspire
  • To have the foresight to say "Yes" and the honesty to say "No"
"Gold RV Racing are very pleased they said yes to us and drag racing", adds Derek. "Please check out their web site at www.ceratech.co.uk: if you are into gaming and gadgets or in the retail or industrial industries you might find just the product you were looking for!"


Eight pipes beat forty candles.
29th August: Rachel Sturman tells us that she got the birthday present of a lifetime from her partner, UK Pro ET racer Marius Blackburn, when she reached a special age:

I wasn't too chuffed turning forty, feeling old and all that, but when I have an experience that makes me feel like a rebel teenager again - not that I ever was of course! - that makes it all worthwhile. Presented to me by my nearest and dearest was a driving experience in Grumpy's Dodge with Paul Marston's Drag Race Driving School. I had to read the document several times before it actually sunk in but the grin factor had already begun. I crew for our team and have sat in our car to warm up etc, got greasy, cleaned wheels and cooked for the crew, but now I was gonna be in the hot seat! Wow!

We booked the date and the good old British weather did its best and rained that one off. Fitting in the dates with the strip time, the weather, and my work schedule took eighteen months to come about but let me tell you it was well worth the wait. I had the ride of a lifetime!
©Eurodragster.com
There are some pictures available of my awesome smoky burnouts and my getting faster runs on the 15th August Peak Performance Day galleries on Peter Donaldson's and Ian Blackett's web sites.

I would like to thank my darling Marius for the gift of a lifetime, Paul Marston's team for all the re-arranging and finally completing the day, and Mick Howling for expert instruction and encouragement. Mick your words "Get angry with it" will stick with me forever! The thing that will stick with the Pro ET 62 team is that the bloody cook wants a car of her own now! So hear we are sourcing parts to build me a new toy - watch this space, anyone want to sponsor me? Marius you should have known better, you know what I am like with my motorbikes! I love you dearly darling. Thank you so, so much for everything we have.


What's on this weekend.
29th August: At Pite Dragway in Sweden, the Autumn Championships will be taking place on Saturday and Sunday. Organised by SHRA Luleå, the race is the TSDS North Final and features Top Doorslammer and Sportsman classes.

At Vansbro the Marie Memorial Race will also take place on Saturday and Sunday. Named in memory of Marie Samuelsson Minnesfond, the secretary of the SHRA who was murdered, the race is supported by the Fund set up by Pastor Robert Van Aarem and with approval of the local Dalarna County Administration. The race includes Top Doorslammer, and Patrik Pers will be making demonstration runs in his Nitro Funny Car. Racing will be from 10:00 to 18:00 with an 'after race' party on Saturday including Led Boots (ZZ Top tribute band). Eliminations take place from 12:30 pm on Sunday.

From today until Sunday at Alastaro in Finland the Finnish Hot Rod Association will be organising the DEFA Finals, the final NDRS points race including Super Gas, Super Comp, Stock/Super Stock, Competition Eliminator, Street Bike and Super Gas Bike. Racing will be 10:00 am to 18:00 today and tomorrow and 11:00-17:00 on Sunday. Entry will be €10 on Friday, €15 on Saturday and Sunday, €20 for the weekend, and free for under twelves.
©Eurodragster.com
Also from today to Sunday the Goodridge Dutch Finals takes place at Drachten in Holland, the third Drachten meeting of the year organised by the eXplosion Drag Racing Club. The entry list can be found at www.xs4all.nl/~viep4/D3-2008.htm. Prices are €10 on Friday and €15 on Saturday and Sunday with a €2.50 reduction for children. Gates open at 8:30 and racing starts at 10:00.

At Mosten in Denmark one of the great biker events, Mosten MC's Mosten Race Day is already underway. As well as Supertwin, Top Fuel Bike and a large variety of off-track entertainments there are appearances by Top Doorslammer and Andy Carter has told us he will be making test passes in the Lucas Oil / Landmeco / Andersen Racing Top Fueller at this event.

The Parade of Power takes place in Wellingborough Town Centre this evening. The Parade is literally that with, we understand, up to fifty race vehicles making the circuit of Wellingborough Town Centre before a static display in the Market Square. That's a lot of racers to forgive for doing laps but it's in a good cause: to promote next weekend's FIA European Finals.

This weekend's Peak Performance Day and VW Action / Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway are the penultimate chance for racers to test before next week's FIA European Finals. Some places are still available on the gate for tomorrow's Peak Performance Day, and Sunday's VW Action / Run What You Brung is of course open to all, with DVLC licence required in both cases. You can find out more at www.rwyb.com.

Eurodragster.com will be posting Coverage Lite from Santa Pod Raceway this weekend. End-day photo galleries will be posted in association with American Car Imports, and the Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam will be on-line all weekend and will be scheduled to post a picture every sixty seconds. We will post a direct Home Page link to our coverage as soon as it commenceds, but in the meantime you can view the European Finals Week event coverage index 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.


Web site updates.
29th August: Nick Pettitt tells us that he has produced no less than eleven new Time Travel DVDs from a box of Betamax tapes borrowed from Kenny Coleman. The new DVDs cover the mid 1980s to the early 1990s at York, Long Marston and Santa Pod and were filmed at the guardrail by Kenny's wife Bev. You can check out the list of DVDs at www.timetraveldvds.co.uk/page84.html.
©Eurodragster.com

Swift snippets.
28th August: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding us version 4 of the official entry list for the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 13th-14th September. You can view the entry list by
clicking here; if you think that you should already be on the list then you can contact Paula Marshall on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or by E-Mail at paula.marshall@btconnect.com.

Paula has also forwarded us the final version of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals which takes account of some late withdrawals and additions. You can check out the FIA European Finals 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.

Peter Kellett of Eurodragster.com News sponsor B&B Specialist Automotive and Leisure Services has asked us to congratulate son Joe Kellett on his #1 qualifier and event win at the Open Sport Nationals which Peter says makes him 2008 APIRA Junior Dragster Champion. "This is Joe's second event win of the year after taking the trophy at Bug Jam", says Peter. "I would like to thank all the staff at Shakespeare County Raceway who worked hard all weekend dealing with quite an eventful meeting. I also want to thank Andy Carter for sponsoring Junior Dragster, and our crew Neil and Kim."
©Eurodragster.com
Open Sport Nationals Pro ET winner Phil Toppin has been in touch to say a big Thank You to Diesel Dave, his son Billy Gane, Billy's mate ("Never got his name, sorry") and Bev for their help in getting him to the start line. "Thanks also to everyone who encouraged me, wound me up and let me go", says Phil. "Thanks to everyone for making it a good weekend's racing. PS Billy please call me."

Many thanks to Jerry Cookson for letting us know that the following Shakespeare County Raceway track records were set at the Open Sport Nationals:

Top Fuel Bike: 228.74 mph, Steve Woollatt
Competition Bike: 185.87 mph, Ivan Birch
Super Street Bike: 198.70 mph, Steve Venables
Outlaw Flat Four: 9.795 seconds, Richie Webb


You can help...
28th August: Our good friend Par Willen aka PiPPi has been in touch to let Eurodragster.com readers know of something practical they can do to help the exposure of the sport in Sweden:

The Swedish motorsports newspaper Svensk Motorsport is running a poll of which driver / rider / sport people want to read about. The single drag racer in the poll is European drag biker Rikard Gustavsson. Rikard was the 2006 European Top Fuel Bike Champion and is the points leader going into the FIA European Finals.

Please help push drag racing to the front. The poll is in Swedish but if you want to cast a vote then:

1. Go to www.svenskmotorsport.com/nyhetsarkiv/article304385.ece;

2. Look for Rikard Gustavsson in the list on the right of the page, and mark the button next to Rikard's name;

3. Scroll down and click the button Rösta to cast your vote.

The poll ends on 31st August, just three days away. The Editor-in-Chief of the tabloid has put up a straightforward challenge to see what us drag racers and fans can pull, so please cast a vote to show that we're up to the task of supporting the sport of drag racing.

We've placed our vote and we urge you to do the same.
©Eurodragster.com

Web site updates.
28th August: Dominic Romney has updated his Modern Pics web site with some great pictures from the weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can find Dominic's shots at www.modernpics.co.uk/gallery/index.php.
©Eurodragster.com
Julian Hunt has updated his photographic web site with some excellent shots from the recent NitrolympX at Hockenheim. You can check out Julian's pictures at www.julianhunt.net.


FIA European Finals banquet.
27th August: David Lloyd-Jones of Santa Pod Raceway has been in touch with details of the post-FIA European Finals banquet which takes place at Santa Pod on Sunday 7th September:

The banquet will commence at 9:00 pm, or two hours after racing finishes. The banquet will include a three course dinner, European Championship awards ceremony, and entertainment 'til late. Transport will be provided after the banquet for those wishing to return to hotels etc within a twenty mile radius.
©Eurodragster.com
Tickets can be purchased for £38 per person until 29th August, or £45 per person thereafter. Tables seat ten, although individual bookings are of course also accepted. You can download the booking form (Word format) from Santa Pod Raceway's web site at
www.santapod.co.uk/banquet_booking_form_2008.doc and it can then be posted to the office or faxed to 01234 782818 (outside the UK +44 1234 782818).

Ouch!
27th August: UK Fuel Altered pilot John Wright has been in touch to thank everyone who helped after what he describes as his Olympic gold in the Drag Racing Gymnastics category in the Chaos Fuel Altered at Shakespeare County Raceway on Monday.

"The car was on its usual drift from the start and this got extended with the front wheels still hovering in mid-air way further down track than normal", says John. "When they landed I was already too close for comfort to the centre line (and to Tony Betts). At that point the back end came round and I attempted to steer into it, but the car went into a full 360-degree slide.
©Eurodragster.com
"I remember looking at the start line and thinking "B***er!". As it went into the first roll I shut the fuel off, let go of the steering wheel and tucked myself in for the ride, which was more entertaining than anything Disney has to offer. I was fully conscious throughout and the paramedics were there in a flash. Apart from a bruised finger from shutting the fuel off and a bruised toe from hooking the throttle back I suffered no injuries at all. I felt much worse on Saturday night after the two tyre shake runs.

"When Lawrie (Gatehouse, car owner - Ed) reached the car I said "The good news is that we cured the tyre shake...sorry about the bad news". Apologies all round for the extra workload, delayed racing and the bringing-on of any unknown medical conditions.

"Special thanks to the crew Sean, Tony, Danny, H and Kevin, and to Lawrie and Judith for being more than understanding. Super special thanks and big hugs to Les for keeping it all together. We were overwhelmed by the crowd offering their photographic and video records of the run and their good wishes were also much appreciated by us and the whole crew."


Beck achieves 7.1 aim.
27th August: Having invested heavily in two brand new motors over the winter, multiple ACU UK Pro Stock Bike Champion Dave Beck headed into the Open Sport National at Shakespeare County Raceway this past weekend seeking both the event win and a record-setting 7.1-second performance. With new Rick Ward motors, new chassis parts and a host of trick kit including Racepak o2 monitoring on each cylinder, Dave and his crew of Ric Naylor and Tom Lynskey were primed to go for the record.

Two days of qualifying allowed for data gathering and fine tuning, together with the number one qualifying spot with a 7.38 at 183 mph. The track improved all weekend due to the hard work of the SCR track team, and with good weather for the three-round elimination on Monday, confidence was high. In the quarter finals Dave took the win and the first half of a new ACU ET record with a 7.199 run at 183 mph. In his semi-final bye run, the record was clinched with a 7.26 at 182 mph to back up the quarter-final run.

With another ACU Championship being the goal for the season, Dave went into the final round looking to close out strongly against Jerry Collier. Unfortunately, Jerry couldn't make the call for the final, and with the bike spinning hard on the hit, Dave eased through to a 7.44 win.

"It's been a lot of hard work to get to this point, but I think every penny spent over the winter and every hour worked has been worth it", says Dave. "The bike is in full UEM specification, so there can be no doubt that this race bike can live with the best Europe has to offer.

"I want to take the time to thank all the sponsors who help me, and also my super team of Ric, Tom and Charlotte, who make this possible. This bike will run 7.0s and once we can get the necessary sponsorship in place, I'm looking forward to taking on the European riders."

Dave Beck Racing would like to thank Rick at Ward Performance, Eric at MTC, Paul at Fast by Gast, Don at PR Factory Store, and Steve at Nimbus Motorsport for the parts, knowledge and support in making this the UK's number one Pro Stock Bike team.
©Eurodragster.com

Swift snippets.
27th August: If you fancy some last-minute testing before the FIA European Finals, or if you just fancy testing anyway, then Santa Pod Raceway are holding a Peak Performance Day this Saturday (30th) and not Friday as their calendar says. The track will be prepped to event standard and there will of course be full track crew and safety cover. For more details including how to book your place check out www.rwyb.com. For racers in all classes booked in to the FIA European Finals there is also the Pro Peak Performance Day next Wednesday, 3rd September.

The latest spy pictures to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com show what is pretty obviously Danny Bellio's Top Methanol Funny Car, accompanied by a rather pretty-looking nostalgia-bodied FC, and a Chevy which is being prepared for this weekend's Goodridge Dutch Finals at Drachten. We got very few words with these pictures so if you know any more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.


UK Supercharged Outlaw racer Alec Coe tells us that his Shy Talker slingshot will be on display this coming Saturday, 30th August, at The Vale Tavern, 69 Vale Road, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 9LS from 12:00 midday. "The car will be on display all afternoon with a couple of fire-ups planned - depending on police intervention!", says Alec. "All are welcome to drop by and say hello."
©Eurodragster.com
Many thanks to Wayne Schreier of Shakespeare County Raceway's Tech Crew for forwarding us the official timing data from the weekend's Open Sport Nationals. You can check out the Open Sport Nationals timing data by clicking here or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. We would like to thank Wayne and Simon Day, also of the Tech Crew, for yet again going above and beyond the call of duty to give us access to the timing system at the weekend.

Jamie King tells us that after a long absence from the track his Corvette is finally finished and ready to test at the Hot Rod Drags. "I would like to thank the following for their help", says Jamie. "Firstly Paul King for a beautiful paint job and for reassembling the car, secondly Jeff Bull for building the new methanol 468 ci Big Block Chevy, and Zannetec Motorsports for sorting the wiring and tinwork. Without their help the car would never have made it back out."

Eurodragster.com is looking for a volunteer to send a report and pictures from this Friday evening's Parade of Power in Wellingborough. We would require the report and pictures (from a camera rather than a camera phone) as soon as possible after the event, and we can't offer any immediate remuneration apart from your name in lights here on Eurodragster.com and of course our gratitude. If you would like to help then please drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com. If you are under 16 then please make sure that your parents know that you are volunteering. If we have more than one volunteer then we will choose the first.


Selkämaa at Hockenheim.
27th August: Finland's DB-Team Selkämaa Top Fuel Bike team had a bit of bad luck in the biggest drag racing event in Europe, at Hockenheim in Germany on 15th-17th August, writes Kaija Kohtala:

On Friday it rained so we couldn't make any practice runs and we hadn't any chance to get used to the track in advance. In the first run the clutch was slightly damaged during the burn out and the time was a poor 8.497/223 kmh, the only time that Kai recorded at the race. In the second run Kai probably would have got a better time but due to inclined track and some problems with the clutch he crossed the centre line and the time wasn't recorded. In the first run on Sunday Kai had no time due to technical problems on the starting tree: the set up for stage position was short and Kai got a red light - not his own fault. Unfortunately, this was his best run of the whole weekend but he had no time for it. However, the team decided not to ask if it would have been possible to make another run as Kai couldn't go into the final round due to those earlier problems. The second run on Sunday once again resulted in crossing the centreline.

Despite everything the NitrOlympX was a very positive experience. It was a great, well organised event and there were a lot of spectators at the race. Despite all the problems DB-Team Selkämaa wanted to offer the public a great show. Among other things, Kai made one of his longest burnouts ever and got a big round of applause from the audience.

DB-Team Selkämaa would like to thank all the sponsors for their support who made it possible for us to attend this great event: Fastems Oy, ST-Koneistus Oy, Bahco, Vuorenmaa Yhtiöt Oy, Tallink, Bike Doctor, Eastands Engineering, PME Oy, Carpino Oy, and Metallivälitys Lähdemaa & Aarnio. Special thanks go to our new sponsors who helped with our travel arrangements to Hockenheim: Bomber Magazine and Richa Nordic Oy. Thanks also to Ismo Mäenpää and Rapamäki Racing Team for lending their motor home for the trips to Mantorp, Gardemoen and Hockenheim.

Our next race will be the last UEM Championship event of the year at Santa Pod in the UK on 4th-7th September. Kai is fifth in the UEM point standings and the margins are very small. DB-Team Selkämaa is going into Santa Pod in order to keep our fifth place, and we'll try to run our first six-second time.
©Eurodragster.com

Feet found, but one burned.
27th August: Open Sport Nationals Supertwin Fuel winner Wendy Clutterbuck quickly found her feet on the new 114 ci Harley nitro twin over the weekend after working solidly for the last five weeks to rebuild and repair the bike and to perform various modifications.

"I only managed to fire up the bike last Thursday, so it was in at the deep end with no time to attend a quiet test and tune as hoped!", says Wendy. "Everything checked out OK apart from a barbecued right foot! Repositioning of the rear exhaust pipe and new pair of boots...check! I am hoping to ride it in earnest at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend, weather and feathers permitting!
©Eurodragster.com
"This brings me on to say that my very cute and reliable, and multi Championship-winning, 94 ci nitro Supertwin is, reluctantly, for sale. This is a complete turn key set-up pretty much ready to rock. Will run consistent and safe 8.70 and probably quicker - we never pushed it as the bike had become a bit of a family heirloom! Based on an iron head sportster, S&S crank (with Jim's cut above pin), custom made high grade tool steel barrels, custom made billet cam cover, Dan Baisley ported fuel heads, Hawaya S&S super B carburettor, Linewebber L7 cams, Jims tappet blocks...all the good stuff! and very shiny! Comes complete with pit and start stands, Pingel style starter trolley, servicing kit and a fair bit of spares to include brand new JE pistons - I've never hurt the original JEs which are still in the bike - spare valves, three sets of brand new S&S Supreme conrods, spare heads, two sets of rocker covers, chain, boxes of spark plugs etc. This is a great way to get into riding a nitro bike. Anyone interested please call 0117 9042216 for more details."


Web site updates.
27th August: Our good friend Alan Currans has updated his excellent Acceleration Archive with his own pictures of Saturday's action at the Open Sport Nationals. You can check out Alan's shots via the What's New page at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk.
©Eurodragster.com
Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger has updated his Nitro Exposure site with pictures from the Open Sport Nationals, which you can view at www.nitroexposure.co.uk.

Editor's note: We have a small backlog of news which we will publish on tomorrow's update. Tune back then to find out how Eurodragster.com News sponsor Marco Maurischat likes his new Pro Mod, the best birthday present you could want, a new sponsor for Gold RV Racing, and the first outing of a twin turbo Corvette, and please keep those news items coming to news@eurodragster.com.


Open Sport Nationals results.
26th August: Congratulations to the winners of the weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway:

Super Pro ET: Barry Giles (7.60) 7.631/165.95 def. John Everitt (7.96) 7.987/170.32
Pro ET: Phil Toppin (9.11) 9.136/148.84 def. Paul Baynton (11.02) 10.945/122.21
Sportsman ET: Brian Huxley (15.71) 15.961/86.72 def. Ian Jackson (14.04) 14.117/99.06
Super Comp: Dave Catton 8.907/159.06 def. Jon Morton 8.887/151.89 red light
Super Gas: Conrad Stanley 9.912/154.77 def. Mike Bentley 9.982/131.31
Super Street: Bob Lees 11.051/120.95 def. Harrison Brown 11.139/94.58
Junior Dragster: Joe Kellett (8.95) 8.976/72.12 def. Josh Saunders (8.90) 8.912/73.29
Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association: Dave Grabham 7.350/190.03 def. Nick Davies 7.346/199.84
B&H Automotive Street Eliminator: Steve Nash 12.353/93.21 def. Steve Pateman shut off
Outlaw Anglia: Paul Wright 7.907/173.24 def. Richard Colby 10.757/106.96
Wild Bunch: Phil Sweeney (9.50) 9.517/112.66 def. Dave Rowlands (9.67) 9.843/145.17
VW Pro: James Hodson (10.80) 11.282/106.02 def. Phil Norman (12.50) 12.654/106.12
VW Sportsman: Chris Bray (16.10) 16.124/85.72 def. Polly Naylor (17.60) 17.637/76.85
VW Alternate Engine: Andy Raw (9.25) 9.263/143.87 def. Scott Evison (12.15) 12.435/107.90
Outlaw Flat Four: Richie Webb 11.062/122.33 def. Anton Murrells 12.821/97.11

Top Fuel Bike: Rene van den Berg 8.002/172.06 def. Steve Carey 9.106/172.30
Funny Bike: Chris Hall 6.922/188.66 def. Tim Blakemore 7.193/186.49
Pro Stock Bike: Dave Beck 7.449/167.45 bye, Jerry Collier did not start
Comp Bike: Ivan Birch 7.364/182.59 def. Phil Leamon 8.376/158.34
Super Street Bike: Richard Stubbins 7.539/196.82 def. Steve Venables 7.629/191.28
9.50 Bike: Dave Hall 9.619/141.14 def. Fred Furlong 9.628/129.17
Supertwin Fuel: Wendy Clutterbuck 10.184/143.49 bye
Supertwin Gas: Chris Mott 8.954/144.24 def. Andy Smith 9.353/140.83
Supertwin ET: Joe Elliott (10.48) 10.519/137.66 def. John Hackney (9.77) 9.859/135.11
Junior Drag Bike: Giselle Moor (11.95) 11.997/55.76 def. Brett Cordelle (12.95) 13.026/53.89

The following records were set, subject to official ratification:

ACU Pro Stock Bike: 7.199 seconds, Dave Beck
ACU Comp Bike: 185.87 mph, Ivan Birch

The Best Appearing Awards were presented to:
  • Best Appearing Car sponsored by Newgate (Newark) Ltd: Nick Davies, Havoc Fuel Altered
  • Best Appearing Bike sponsored by Jacksons MOT: Bob Brooks, Yellow Metal Comp Bike
  • Best Engineered Car sponsored by Drag Race Engineering: Liz and Iain Malcolm Just '4' Fun Pro ET dragster
  • Best Engineered Bike sponsored by Drag Race Engineering: Bob Brooks, Yellow Metal Comp Bike
  • Best Appearing Car Crew sponsored by Scottie's Maintenance and Transportation: Thatadoo Racing, Pro ET and Super Street
  • Best Appearing Bike Crew sponsored by Shakespeare County Raceway: Dave Peters, Comp Bike
The winners of the Lucas Oil Products Quick Six qualifying awards were:
  • Jim Usher (Nostalgia Fuel Altered) 6.921 seconds
  • Steve Woollatt (Top Fuel Bike) 6.487
  • Chris Hall (Funny Bike) 7.077
  • Dave Beck (Pro Stock Bike) 7.388
  • Paul Wright (Outlaw Anglia) 7.770
  • Steve Nash (Street Eliminator) 7.977
Click here to view our American Car Imports-sponsored reports, pictures and pit notes, or click on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and select the Open Sport Nationals.

If you were tuned in yesterday morning you might have found that Eurodragster.com was out of action for four minutes at about 10:45. The site quite often slows down for a moment or two at that time of day; we can only assume that the web server is being backed up or something since it is the small hours where the server is located in the USA. Whatever the explanation we had some quite outstanding attempts at the Impatient E-Mail to Eurodragster.com record when the webcam service temporarily stopped. Please see the Eurodragster.com FAQ for more.


Racing in the wet, and no snow.
25th August: FIM/UEM European Drag Bike Championship Co-ordinator Lars Andersson has been in touch from Alahärmä where he allowed racing to take place on a wet track:

I do mean wet. The water was visible all over the track. The reason is that it was a UEM Snowmobile Cup race on grass. This was a new thing for me, and I do hope that it was not the last time. We have had two days of racing, with one race on each day. The format has been really good. We started with two rounds of qualifying and then a short break to prepare the ladders, and then eliminations.

For the UEM Cup we raced in two classes, Pro Stock and Open Fuel Unlimited. In Open Fuel
Morten Rushfeldt won the first race and was runner up today, Sunday. He was the Cup winner and also set new records. This was sure to happen because there were no records before, but anyway running 4.39 seconds and a speed of 207 kmh over 152 metres is very good on a Snowmobile with skis on the front running on grass.

In the Pro Stock class Stefan Liminka was the winner after winning both races and also going back to Sweden with records of 4.84 seconds and 176 kmh which on a Snowmobile with a two stroke engine with carburettors is very good.

The only thing that I did not like was the timing system. It was not up to the standard for a European Cup and we did not know that before the race. The organiser of the event has promised to solve the problem if there is a race next year, as I hope there will.

The whole area called Power Land is a very nice area and Jukka Lillbacka take care of everything making this to a race to remember. I do hope that we will continue this Cup next year and I will be glad to come back, even if it takes time to travel here.

I am now waiting for the race at Santa Pod in two weeks' time and hopefully nice English hot summer weather. If so then this will be a great race.


Swift snippets.
25th August: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com what appears to be a dragster on the verge of completion. We got no words at all with the picture so if you know any more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.

A big Happy Birthday to UK Wild Bunch racer Chris Hartnell, who is racing at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway today. Have a great day Chris. Happy Birthday also to Jemma Venables who is sixteen today and is also up here at SCR, have a great day Jemma.


Web site updates.
25th August: In the latest update to his exclusive Racer Blog, Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer and current FIA Championship leader Lex Joon tells the story of his weekend at Hockenheim and looks forward to the FIA European Finals in a fortnight. You can read Lex's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Markus M&uum;lnch, who supplied the photographs for our live event coverage of the NitrolympX, has now posted his own review of the event at www.raceblog.de/2008/08/22/nitrolympx-2008-review. The text is German language-only but Markus' excellent shots are of course universally comprehensible.

Another Markus who recently stood in for Eurodragster.com, Markus Ek, has updated his web site with pictures from the recent Toyo Scandinavian Dragracing Series Finals at Sundsvall. You can check out Markus' superb pictures at www.mek.nu.


Robinson out, but not down.
23rd August: Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor
Andy Robinson has confirmed that after a weekend of mechanical woes he won't be racing again this year:

We have two trashed blocks, two dead cranks and four mullered heads. We do have some good rods and pistons but nothing to put them in! The choice was between a hurried and costly rebuild, using borrowed kit, or stepping back, taking stock and preparing early for next year. If Andy had been better placed in the championships it might have been a different story, but this year has been a whole series of problems and we've never really got off the back foot. This has been particularly frustrating because we were the first car to run in the teens this year, at the Summer Nationals, so hoped to be well in the hunt for European top speeds and low ET's.

The final problem at Hockenheim looks like a rod failure and the full extent of the damage will only become clear on Monday when Andy is going to strip out the engine.


This weekend.
23rd August: As well as the Open Sport Nationals from Shakespeare County Raceway, Gardermoen Raceway in Norway hosts the Right On Street Finals. This is a TSDS South championship round and sportsman qualifying and racing takes place on Saturday and Sunday from 9am "until we get tired". After eliminations on Sunday there will be some time for test and tune and we understand a number of FIA and UEM teams will be testing.

At Hal-Far Raceway in Malta, National Drag Racing Event 4 (a Night Event) will be taking place organised by the MDRA. This commences at 6pm both Friday and Saturday.


Grandpa's Toy story.
23rd August: Nitro Supertwin racer Paul Castle will be running Grandpa's Toy at Drachten at the Dutch Finals over the weekend of 29-31 August. For Fuel bikes the event is demo runs only so it will be a good opportunity to test and tune and get some track time as Paul has yet to ride the bike. Paul will be receiving help from Dutch racer Stan Verheijen who has an ex Bill Furr nitro Harley and has kindley offered help with fuel etc. A full report of events will be forthcoming after the event.

Swift snippets.
23rd August: Xtreme Racing team member Matt Glassup has confirmed that the engine in the spy picture in Swift snippets on 14th August is that formerly run by the Southern Raider Team: "Well done to Trevor and Eve Capewell, yes it is your old engine, with it's apt name Bob, it's found a good home in the Xtreme Altered now. We are just waiting on some parts and then we can continue getting the car ready for competition but its taking shape! Thanks for the best wishes with the car, hopefully we can get some good numbers out of the engine next season. It'll be good to get out amongst the NFAA boys soon, we would like to wish all the teams luck for this coming weekend."

Curse that five-dollar part...
22nd August: Reigning FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com News sponsor
Urs Erbacher says that it took him two days to cool down after his first-round exit at Hockenheim at the weekend. As ever it was the five-dollar part which let Urs down after he and the Fat Attack team had been working hard all weekend, and it means that Urs has a job on to retain his FIA European Championship although Urs is of course going for it. Urs is also headed for the USA to contest the last two races of the NHRA season but his plans for next year are not yet set in stone.

"Our new eight stand clutch disengaged from one of the finger stops after the burnout", says Urs. "That meant that after sixty feet, when the clutch cannon came to the first fingers, the fingers didn't stop and the clutch built up too much pressure and the tyres went up in smoke. It's so bad that that happened. It was only a five-dollar part which broke and we don't know why it couldn't have broken in the Night Show or in qualifying instead of happening in the first round. But that's racing.

"We were so happy because it was a big challenge for us to switch from a nine stand clutch to the eight stand between races without a test run. But after the first qualifier we could see the new clutch worked perfectly. In the night run on Saturday we tried to go fast. The driveshaft was exactly the same as on our 4. 64 run in Gainesville this year but at around the 850 feet the track couldn't hold that set-up any longer. So that meant that he first 850 feet of the track was like NHRA's Gainesville track at the beginning this season. So that's great and the guys at Hockenheim did a great job preparing the track like the NHRA guys.

"We still have a very small chance to win the Championship. It's the same situation as last year, and won last year. So for me it is clear that we go to win the Championship again, set a new European Record, and take Low ET of the event. That's only possible with my Super Crew.

"We have decided that we will go back to the USA for the last two races at Las Vegas and Pomona. We don't have any sponsors for next year so in the USA we will again be trying to find a sponsor for our team. We are open to all enquiries. We still have sponsorship space for Las vegas and Pomona, we have a nice hospitality at the track in Vegas, so if anyone is interested to have their logo on the car for these races then please let me know.

"The plan is to build a brand new car in the States and to sell my old car. If I cannot sell the car then maybe we will run a second car next year. The driver's seat of the second car is still free because my daughter is only fourteen years old rigt now, so feel free to ask. What happens next year is totally open. We will try to run in the NHRA but we are open to running in Europe as well. Whichever company you are, we can make you big all over the world."


Lindahl brothers take control.
22nd August: FIA Pro Mod racers Team Kendall with driver Micke Lindahl and crew chief Magnus Lindahl had their most successful race to date at the NitrolympX, writes team member Krister Peterson:

After a too-early exit in the quarter-finals at Mantorp, the Kendall team was on a mission to take a better result at Hockenheim. But it didn´t start too well when the engine in our bus started to knock after only three hours from the team's base in Vargön. We took off the oil pan and saw that one rod and the crankshaft were black, so there was not much to do other than put the pan back and go to bed. At six o´clock in the morning, we started to call round and finally we found a bus just around the corner that we could borrow. Many thanks to the bus owner Johan Gustafsson and to Andreas and Tomas who helped us to unload and load in heavy rain. When we arrived at Hockenheim after 20 hours' drive it felt like a victory for us.

The qualification turned out to be a nightmare for us; coming into the last session, we were outside the field but managed to get in as number two and be the first Pro Mod car in Europe over 240mph.

One highlight in the eliminations was the semi-final race against Micke Gullqvist winning by only one hundredths of a second and setting a new speed record. Later, for more excitement, we almost missed the final when our starter failed on the warmup and, after a hectic thrash with help from other teams(thank you guys) we made it to the starting line right on the time limit and took the first win in FIA Pro Mod for Mikael Lindahl and Team Kendall.

Now we are looking forward to going to the Finals as points leader and can hopefully secure the 2008 Championship, but the Pro Modified class is tough, and Mark Meihusen who is on second place is always quick.


Showtime and Allegheny at Hockenheim.
22nd August: Nigel Hoskison of the Showtime Nitro Funny Car team as well as has Eurodragster home and news sponsor Allegheny Technologies says the NitrolympX was an enjoyable experience for Europe's quickest AA/FC:

The Showtime FC was making its 4th appearance at the Nitrolympics. This year we would be match racing with Thomas 'Batman' Nataas who would be driving the previous Showtime car for its new owner, having made the switch from Top Fuel dragster.

The Showtime FC certainly seems to have made an impression at Hockenheim. From the moment we arrived on Thursday, pictures of the car seemed to be everywhere. All the event posters around the approach roads, 4 pictures in various sections of the programme, all the official passes, souvenir cups, but best of all, 2 advertisement banners each 8 metres x 6 metres that were positioned to be in full view from both directions on the autobahn

Friday was a day of preparation for us, unfortunately for the other racers it rained all day, finally stopping around 4.30 allowing a few hours of qualifying.

Saturday was an early start with our first run scheduled for 10.15am. In the event we didn't run until close to 12.30, by which time the temperature was above 30 deg C. It looked a good strong run, 5.474 sec at 248mph, lowering the previous best by a funnycar from 5.497sec which John set last year. Bob spotted a cylinder out before half track. When the crew reached the top end John said it had kicked a rod out – not the ideal start to the weekend! We now had the rest of the day to change the motor and make ready for the legendary Nightshow.

We were pleased to welcome as our guests for the day, staff and customers from the German office of sponsor ATI Allegheny Technologies, all of whom were making their first visit to drag racing. Their reaction was summed up by one of them who had recently attended the Formula 1 race at Hockenheim – “ Forget F1, this is real motorsport”

The Night Show at Hockenheim is an experience like no other in drag racing, stunts, burnout contests, fireworks and at 9.45pm the nitro funny cars finished off in the dark – header flames lighting up the track and grandstands. John and Thomas did half passes and were together all the way, 2.679sec/2.693sec at the 330ft.

No problems back in the pits after stripping the motor, rebuilding would be finished off Sunday morning as by now it was well after midnight.

Rebuild completed and ready to run. A slight problem with the blower during the warm up, but with that fixed, John was strapped in before we left the pits and straight down to the start where Thomas had kindly held back so we could run together. John was away first and stayed ahead as Thomas hit tyre shake. Around 800ft the tyres lit up (lost traction) and John got off the throttle running through in 6.004 sec.

The second run was almost a carbon copy with the tyres lighting up a little earlier at around the 500 ft mark. The car was pulling well and was stuck down to the track then it blew the tyres away. After checking the clutch system and the computer graph we have found a fault in the clutch system which is allowing the bearing to fully retract which in turn allows the clutch to lock up to early

Checking the motor back in the pits, unfortunately the crank was just blackened on #4 main bearing. The crank would have to be replaced when we got back to the UK.

The end of another enjoyable weekend in Germany. We would like to thank Rico Anthes and his team, the Hockenheimring organisation and officials, and of course the fans. We now look forward to the Eurofinals at Santa Pod 4th – 7th September where there are scheduled to be 6 Nitro Funny cars in action.

As well as crewing on the Showtime FC, Nigel Hoskison of was kept busy over the weekend entertaining staff and customers from Allegheny Technologies German office and answering enquiries from several racers interested in the companies products.

"We are trying to grow our motorsports business in Germany along similar lines to our UK operation. Being involved with drag racing and the Showtime FC has been of great benefit in demonstrating to our existing and potential customers that the motorsports market is a key part of our business.The Nitrolympics provided a unique opportunity to take that message to the German market. It worked! I've already had 2 emails that both thanked us for the hospitality and asked for material quotations.

Whilst waiting in the line up on Saturday I was approached by both a bike and car racer wanting info on Titanium for their 2009 vehicles and fairly in depth discussions followed. Later on I was tracked down in the pits by another racer for yet more conversations about potential Titanium usage. All in all a successful weekend for both the company and the Showtime FC.


Kuno's thanks.
22nd August: Lucas Oil USA-backed Pro Mod Driver Norbert Kuno and team like to say thank you for the great support by the German fans in Hockenheim.

"It was nice to race for you and we had never been the Top Qualifier positon in an FIA race before. For us it was a great moment. We were a little bit unlucky as, in round two, the two-step rev limiter didn't work as it should and pushed the car over the staging light. That gave us a hard time, particularly because the final was so close. It was one of our dreams to go in the final in Hockenheim in front of more than 50,000 spectators. But that's racing. The car runs great so far, and we want to say thank you to all sponsors: Lucas Oil; Spengler Betontechnik; Sachs; and SSI Supercharger.

We hope to make some good runs in England as well like Hockenheim and step up in the points to be back in the Top 10 in the Pro Mod field.


Bike Weekend closing.
22nd August: ACU UK Drag Bike Championship, 9.50 Bike, National Association of Supertwin, and 8.50 Bike racers are reminded that today is the official closing date for entry to the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway on 13th-14th September, which is a Championship round for these classes with the exception of Top Fuel Bike, and a demonstration round for 8.50 Bike. Entry after today, if accepted, will be subject to a 100% late entry fee. You can download entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

You can view Version 2 of the official entry list for the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend by clicking here. If you think that you should already be on the list then you can contact Paula Marshall on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or by E-Mail at paula.marshall@btconnect.com.


APIRA Championship outcomes.
22nd August: The final round of the APIRA Drag Racing series takes place this weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway's Open Sports Nationals. Simon has been looking at the possible outcomes:

In Super Mod, Nigel Payne looks good to be champion and congratulations to him on his first championship.

TheSuper Comp title will be between Dave Catton, Frank Mason and Jon Morton and any of these three has a chance to win with less than one round in it. In Super Pro ET, Dave Ward, Nigel Turner, Barry Giles and Rick Cooke are leaders but there could be a surprise winner if any of these go out in the first round and qualify poorly.

In Super Gas, Frank Mason (who incidentally has his Corvette for sale) has a 60 pt lead over other contenders Jon Morton and Conrad Stanley who will need to go further than Frank in eliminations. Dave Cherrett has a 120 point lead over Chris Kenny and Mark Watkins in Super Street, so Chris and Mark will need to qualify better and go at least one round further than Dave to win.

The 23 car field in Pro ET is wide open with five drivers within 100 points of leader John Atkinson; Ian Brown, Lee Huxley, Dan Page and Martin Green will be slugging it out for the championship trophy. In Sportsman ET, Geoff Cowley has a 50 point lead over Ian Jackson. Third placed Ralph Young, 60 points further back, will need to go two rounds further than Ian and qualify better to win.

B&H Street Eliminator is a tight fight between Steve Nash, John Webster and Jason Weir who have a spread of only 30 points. Outlaw Anglia is between Paul Hensher and Simon Barlow, with Simon needing to go one round further and qualify at least as well as Paul to overtake him.

Wild Bunch is another close class with Peter Yates, Mark Richardson, Chris Hartnell and Darren Law all able to win the championship trophy with only 50 points covering these four. Junior Dragster sees Zak Johnson, Jayne Kay and Vicky Molden as front runners; if these three all go out in the first round, Anna Stanley or Scott Hauser could be in with the chance of an upset.

In VW Sportsman, Polly Naylor, Eurodragster.com Honorary Staff Member Spencer Tramm and Spencer's day job colleague Adrian Wigley are the contenders with only 40 points between Polly and Adrian. There is a strong entry of 15 in Outlaw Flat Four with James Wotton and Jim Smith in the lead but likely to be chased hard by Dave Dinning and Bernie Newbury.

Top Fuel Bike is once again between Steve Woollatt and Steve Carey with only 30 points in it. In Funny Bike,Chris Hall is 40 points ahead of Kev Charman. Pro Stock also has a 40 point lead, with Len Paget heading Dave Beck. Comp Bike is even closer with Phil Leamon ahead of Stuart Crane by only ten points. Super Street Bike, with many riders racing for the second weekend in a row following the NitrolympX, sees Steve Venables 60 points ahead of team mate Graham Balchin and Scott Baldwin a further ten points behind.

9.50 Bike has Team Breakout Shaun Spiers in the lead over Richard Sawatzki and Andy Haley has to win the event or go two rounds clear of the others to overtake them, with five rounds of racing in prospect.

The National Association of Supertwins' three classes are all still to be decided. Wendy Clutterbuck, Martin Wildash and Shaun Rodman could win Fuel with the event winner victorious. In the Gas division Chris Mott is 60 points ahead of Andrew Smith. In the well-supported ET division, Peter Harrison, Eurodragster.com Honorary Staff Member John Hackney and Barrie Gregory have only 20 points splitting them.

You can find the APIRA Championship standings on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

In other Open Sport Nationals news, Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association promoter Lawrie Gatehouse says that the NFAA will again be running a Cannonball-type format at the Open Sport Nationals, with the two cars with the quickest agregate ETs from the qualifying sessions facing off in the final and the third and fourth quickest also racing for places.

Eurodragster.com will be reporting live from the Open Sport Nationals in association with American Car Imports. We will be posting reguarly-updated reports on the on-track action, together with pit notes updated throughout each day and photo galleries posted at the end of each day. The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam will be on-line throughout the weekend and will be scheduled to post a picture every sixty seconds.

We are very pleased to welcome Roger back to the coverage team at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend.

We will post a direct Home Page link to our coverage as soon as it commences, but in the meantime you can view the Event Index page, which includes links to the official entry list and Saturday's provisional running order, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Open Sport Nationals.


Hall of Fame decals.
22nd August: British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Co-ordinator Stuart Bradbury says that due to huge demand for the new British Drag Racing Hall oF Fame Supporters decal, the BDRHoF have now increased the number of outlets available to distribute decals to racers and the general public.

In addition to Carter Motorsport, Shakespeare County Raceway and York Raceway, decals will now be available from Santa Pod Raceway's Merchandising outlets. However, If you are having trouble getting hold of a decal, you could always send a cheque for £1.34 inc postage to the BDRHoF office at Adelaide Cottage, 39 Hatton Park Road, Wellingborough Northants, NN8 5AT.

Alternately, if you intend visiting US Automotive, they are available over the counter at £1 each. All proceeds will be supporting those who have made significant contribution to British Drag Racing over the years.


Web site updates.
22nd August: Eurodragster.com's Reserve Photographer Peter Donaldson has updated his site with two galleries from recent Santa Pod events, Friday's Peak Performance Day and Saturday's Run What You Brung.

Alan Currans' nostalgia site The Acceleration Archive has been updated with Page 8 of Mark Gredzinski's unique collection of pictures and artwork has just been added to the site. You will find everything from Sammy Miller's rocket car to Steve Green's Cortina and much more as well. You can access Mark's new page by following the What's New link on the Site Map.


Bike Weekend entry.
21st August: ACU UK Drag Bike Championship, 9.50 Bike, National Association of Supertwin, and 8.50 Bike racers are reminded that tomorrow, Friday 22nd, is the closing date for entry to the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway on 13th-14th September, which is a Championship round for these classes with the exception of Top Fuel Bike, and a demonstration round for 8.50 Bike. Entry after tomorrow, if accepted, will be subject to a 100% late entry fee. You can download entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at
www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

You can view Version 1 of the official entry list for the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend by clicking here. If you think that you should already be on the list then you can contact Paula Marshall on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or by E-Mail at paula.marshall@btconnect.com.


Pro Mod Challenge standings.
21st August: Marco Maurischat of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Exhaust-coating.de has been in touch with the final qualifying standings in the European Exhaust-coating.de Pro Mod Challenge. The following eight racers will contest the Challenge during Pro Mod qualifying at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September:

1. Micke Lindahl 600 points
2. Urban Johansson 595 points
3. Marc Meihuizen 580 points
4. Mats Eriksson 560 points
5. Roger Johansson 545 points
6. Micke Gullquist 515 points
7. Patrik Wikström 435 points
8. Bruno Bader 415 points

The other points earners in the Challenge were:

9.Andy Robinson 410 points
10.Kristian Nyström 405 points
11. Freddy Fagerström 375 points
12. Michael Nord 360 points
13. Marko Lantto 345 points
14. Norbert Kuno 280 points
15. Terje Håkonsen 260 points
16. Robert Joosten 245 points
17. Niclas Andersson 155 points
18. Danny Cockerill 140 points
19. Rolf Ammann 105 points
20. Robert Koper 100 points
21. Torsten Kath 90 points
=22. Graham Ellis 85 points
=22. Jari Parén 85 points
=22. Jan Egil Kvalvik 85 points

The top eight drivers were determined by qualifying points earned by the top sixteen qualifiers at preceding 2008 FIA European Championship rounds. The winner will be awarded with €2000 and the runner-up €500. A decal on each side of the race car is all that is necessary to earn points and prize money. Qualifying at the FIA European Finals will also be the first qualifying round for the 2009 Challenge.
©Eurodragster.com
For more information about the European Exhaust-Coating.de Pro Mod Challenge, check out our news item of 14th May or E-Mail Marco Maurischat at info@pulver-nord.de.


Wright's plea.
21st August: UK AA/Fuel Altered racer Matthew Wright of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor CCTV Enforcement has been in touch to explain his absence from the track in recent months.

"My coach was torched", Matthew told Eurodragster.com. "The altered is OK, fortunately it was at Bill Felstead's being updated. But we lost the mag, rear wing, and wheelie bars which were all in the coach. Also all of our pistons, rings etc. are gone.

"You don't realise how expensive all this stuff is until you lose it and this has put us out of contention for the season. But we really want to run this year. I don't want to give up because I know I can run a six in the car with Bill behind me, but unless a sponsor comes forward I doubt we'll be able to race. If anyone wants to donate anything at all from pistons to fuel or oil then please contact Bill or I.

"The only good thing which has come out of it was that the engine from the coach is now with the FB Racing guys. We had an eventful weekend getting the engine out!"

On the business front, Matthew's new company Wright Guards Security can cater for all your security needs including event security and private investigation. You can contact Matthew through the company's web site.


Pistons in the Prom.
21st August: FB Racing's 8-second street legal '34 Ford was flying the flag for drag racing amongst rally cars, circuit racers and go-karts in Cheltenham town-centre on Saturday. All of the FB's are members of Cheltenham Motor Club (CMC) and driver Ian Hook was quick to accept the invitation to display the team's street rod as part of the CMC's involvement in the MSA's Motorsport Week. Titled “Pistons in the Prom” the event was a mini car show in Cheltenham's main shopping street, the Promenade.

“It was a great opportunity to get amongst the public and to promote drag racing and B & H Street Eliminator in particular. And with the next round at Shakey this coming weekend I'm hoping some people will take up my invitation to visit us in the pits.”

“The car was of course driven both to and from the town centre from my home on the outskirts (that woke the neighbours up!). The looks on the faces of the Saturday afternoon shoppers was great and I even had a shouted “How fast does it go mister?” from one kid whilst I was stopped at the lights!”

Round 6 of the seven-round 2008 B & H Automotive Street Eliminator series will take place this weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway's Open Sport Nationals.


Wild Bunch OSN Preview.
21st August: Wild Bunch Race Co-ordinator, Claire Meaddows, writes with a quick preview of the Wild Bunch round at the Open Sports Nationals event this weekend:

The Wild Bunch are really looking forward to the event this weekend as there will be ten cars competing. The event will be the club's ninth round of our contingency sponsors Real Steel series, as well as the 3rd and final Round of the 2008 Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series.

At the recent York event, Dave Rowlands quickly got a handle on the York track in his Destiny's Angel altered, and was able to greatly reduce the gap to Real Steel Series leader Darren Law's Wicked Lady , with Chris Hartnell's Backdraft improving his 3rd place position, after his second win in a row with some very low 9's and some very high wheelies. With 4th place runners Team Cunning Plan not running, 5th place holder Terry Clifford will be looking to break into the Top 4 in his golden Ratcatcher Resurrection slingshot.

Dave Rowlands is currently leading the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series by a big margin over a 3-way tie for 2nd place between Darryl Howells' Chemical Reaction slingshot, Team Cunning Plan and the Wicked Lady, so there is all to play for in that Series.

Can Darren Law stretch his lead once again, or Riot Racing stablemate Dave Rowlands overhaul him to go into first place? Can ‘Crazy' Chris capitalise on his recent return to form or will Terry improve on his 2nd place at the last event? Will Mark Richardson's Pony Express get right back on song after his recent gearbox rebuild and will Darryl's slingshot dip further into the 9's? Will Ed Yates run a PB in the Dog's RamRaider slingshot and Keith Crampton shave a second off his, in his beautifully turned out Soultown Shaker slingshot? Will Phil Sweeney run consistently in the mid 8's and take some wins with his great reactions or will newest MSA-license holder Andy Cresswell take his first win in the Living the Dream slingshot? We look forward to Saturday, Sunday, Monday to find out.


Swift snippets.
21st August: Coinciding with the eventual arrival of his injected-nitro Top Methanol Dragster, Derek Flynn of Eurodragster.com sponsor Gold RV has announced an associate sponsorship deal with Lucas Oil. "We look forward to working with Lucas Oil", says Derek. "We already sell and use their products in our workshops and know the benefits of using the high quality oils they supply and the superior lubrication that they offer". You can read more, and take a look at the new car, in Derek's latest exclusive Blog entry which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

We don't as a rule highlight individual vehicles as they go on the Jeff Bull-sponsored Swap Meet pages, but we'll make an exception for triple UEM Top Fuel Bike Champion Ian King, who is citing business commitments as his reason to sell up. Ian's bike has a massive pedigree and is being sold as a turnkey operation with spares and support.

Many thanks to FIA European Drag Racing Championship Co-ordinator Kjell Pettersson for forwarding us the post-Nitrolympx points standings in the FIA European Drag Racing Championships. You can find the latest FIA Championship standings on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.


Web site updates.
21st August: Lizz McCarthy has updated the latest news and race report for UK FUnny Bike racer Kev Charman's web site.

Simon Hodder has updated his site at www.simaxphotography.co.uk to include a number of pictures from the recent Test and Tune day at Santa Pod (August 15). He says "There have been a few changes to the site, not the least being that I've had to introduce a small charge for certain requests to cover my costs, mainly for sending CDs out, although if race teams, car builders and the like want web-resolution pictures for their web sites I'm still more than happy to oblige for free in return for a link or credit."


Open Sport Nationals Perfect Awards, running order.
20th August: This weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway is the next event in the 2008 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards scheme. £150 is on offer for perfect performance.

The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award has been increased to £75 after went unclaimed at the NitrolympX. The money will be presented to the first racer this weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available to all racers in all Championship 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 for the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway; 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 performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow, whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk.

As Shakespeare County Raceway's timing system works to six decimal places we must clarify that although the Perfect Light Award goes to three places, we will not pay out for red lights with zeroes in the first three decimals since a foul is a foul however far in the first non-zero digit may be. So a reaction time of 0.000100 will win you the money (if you're first to do it), but -0.000100 will not.

Decals are not formally required for the Perfect Light Award but of course we appreciate it: you can get Eurodragster.com decals at the track from any Eurodragster.com staff member.
©Eurodragster.com
The Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been also been increased to £75 after went unclaimed at the NitrolympX. The money will be presented to the first racer this weekend to run to the thousandth on their dial-in or index. 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), 9.50 Bike, Supertwin ET, Junior Drag Bike, the Wild Bunch, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, and VW Alternate Engine during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first first perfect run of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £100 for the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway; 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, whose web site you can find at www.goldrv.co.uk.

To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers will be required to carry Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET decals, one on each side of the vehicle whether car or bike. If you pull this weekend's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. The decals (pictured) will be available in the Signing On office; please note that, as is usual with contingency schemes, racers are responsible for requesting or picking up decals when signing on. A list of required decals per class is always on display in the Signing On office.

Many thanks to Julie Willcox for forwarding the final entry list and the provisional running order for Saturday which can be found on the event page.


Lucas Oil OSN contingency awards.
20th August: Shakespeare County Raceway is pleased to announce the continuation of the track's sponsorship scheme with Lucas Oil Products at this weekend's Open Sport Nationals, writes SCR's Jerry Cookson. “Thanks again to the support of Lucas Oil UK MD Les Downey, class winners in Nostalgia Fuel Altered, Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Street Eliminator and Outlaw Anglia will be entitled to collect a case of 20/50+ racing oil, provided that they are displaying the Lucas Oil shield stickers which will be available from the signing-on office. Lucas Oil Products will also be sponsoring four special ET/MPH trophies to classes announced on race day.

Jerry also reminds us that sponsorship is still being sought for the Best Appearing Bike award to be judged by the tracks scrutineering team. If anyone want to take this opportunity up for £30 then give me or Julie a call on the office on 01789 720180 or e-mail enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk, says Jerry. Advance tickets for the race can still be purchased up until 5.00pm Thursday 20th by calling 01789 414119, and any racers wanting additional crew tickets, these again can be purchased up until Thursday on the above contact number.


Lucas Oil JD contingency award extended.
20th August: Following the announcement that Top Fuel racer Andy Carter is sponsoring Junior Dragster at the two remaining national championship points rounds (Open Sports Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway and the National Finals at Santa Pod), Phil Evans will be coordinating the sponsorship and will be in the pits at Shakespeare County Raceway on Saturday to distribute Lucas Oil stickers to all racers who want them.

Phil says that he will additionally be providing a £50 cheque for the winner of Junior Dragster at the Euro Finals (which is a non points round for Junior), provided the winning car is carrying a Lucas Oil sticker per the requirements of the Andy Carter sponsorship.


The nominations are...
20th August: Glenn Ramsden of UK Event Safety says he is on the hunt for NFAA award nominations:

Yes, its almost that time of the year again and on the back of Lawrie Gatehouse announcing the NFAA dinner dance, once again we are searching for nominations for the 'Spirit of Fuel Altereds' Award.

As you may be aware, last year's award was presented to Lawrie in recognition for bringing the class together and providing support. We are looking for either an individual team member or full team that have entered into the spirit of the class throughout the 2008 season. Not necessarily looking for those that have turned the best times or run most consistently but that specal person that is always there, helps in the background or even pilots your car, just that certain someone that deserves recognition for working within the 'Spirit of Fuel Altereds'.

UK Event Safety will never be part of a multi national conglomerate so we can't afford a very impressive cash prize but the winner of the trophy will recieve a cheque for £100.00 to buy the crew a beer or a breakfast.

Your nomination should be sent to Glenn and Mandy at UK Event Safety.


Nuthin' Fancy back together.
20th August: Pilot of the Nuthin' Fancy methanol-burning altered Joe Bond says the car has been put back together since the team experienced problems at the Summer Nationals:

We have been chasing valvetrain and drivetrain problems all year, with a dropped valve at Springspeed, then lifter failure at the Summer Nationals. This year we stepped up with a more powerful engine, and I'm still learning to drive a fuel altered, they are mad things, you think you might have a ballpark idea of how they react, then they throw you a curve ball. It's all good fun though.

For Open Sports, we stripped the motor completely and started from scratch, and found a few bits and bobs that needed straightening out (both metaphorically and physically). The revised combination is slightly different to what we've been running so far, so we are looking forward to getting some track time with it.

There are a load of people I need to thank; first, thanks to Andy Hill for sourcing us some pistons to use, and everyone outside the team who helped us with bits, machine time and other misc bits and bobs to help us get back onto the track without breaking the bank again. We run mostly off our own backs, but a few select organisations have helped us over the last eight months; first Peter Walters at PWRD for all his design work, as well as some other stuff which is in the pipeline. If all goes well, then look out for posters and hopefully T-shirts in the not so distant future. If you need anything to do with your team designed then his work is awesome and service (and patience) is great. Go to www.pwrd.co.uk and get in touch.

Second, Dominic Romney at ModernPics for his help in photography and all manner of media in motorsport. He takes tons of photos at meetings at Shakespeare County Raceway and can be found at his site www.modernpics.co.uk. He recently launched sets of wallpapers, which all can be found at his site so get in touch.

Finally, my family and my crew have been great, keeping the car ready and when everything looked grim with the engine, they have got us ready to go racing again. This last week they have been exceptionally fantastic because while they have been slaving away getting the car ready I've been at home nursing stitches in my stomach which come out the day before the meeting! Thanks guys and girls. our website has been slightly updated with new banners and logos as a quick mid season revamp, check back for more updates over the next few weeks.

Looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend. Have a safe weekend racing.


Why Cannon fitted a Racepak.
20th August: Supertwin racer Chris Hannam says he was pleased with his run on the V-TWin at the Peak Performance Day last Friday:

We had a very successful test; the fuel tank is awesome and works well and the new rear brake does what it says on the tin which is important,

On the 7.8 first run I hit the throttle but promptley feathered it, shall we say, to 50% and shut off around 1000ft hitting 151mph at the eighth and 152mph at the quarter, but I wanted to check the brakes. At this stage I thought I'd had a reasonable run, but this is why we fitted the state-of-the-art Racepak: it monitors the amount your arse nips on the run and calls you out.

We get back to find leak down as we had melted some plugs, so the super team lead by Midgo got the head off, cleaned the seats and we we ready to rock but this time I was more settled. On this second run, we had a perfect run to the 800ft mark when I closed the throttle at 5.9 second into the run, as it was getting fast, and we ended up up with a 7.41 at 176mph. The incrementals were 1.30 to 60ft and 4.8 at 159mph to the eighth. Conservative estimations have this into the 7.2s at 190 plus if I had stayed on the throttle. I should point out that we had no damage other than cracked porcelain on the plugsand so this will be our base line from which to tune as the first eighth is where it's at and to get a big improvement, we need a 1.10 60ft, 2.7 to 330ft, 4.3 at 170 to the eighth - then we will be cooking on gas and the second eighth will follow.

As for our third and final run, we had made fuel and clutch adjustments which seemed to counter each other to 60ft and then I got out of it as we went right and I didn't want to break it, as you should never get on and of the throttle on a fuel motor, on our return to the pits we serviced the bike and were ready to make another pass as i was mad as hell with myself and my bad run so I would have made this one a full hard pass, unfortunately we found a crankshaft oil seal leaking and the decision was made to check this out before running the bike, as we don't want to destroy a £15k motor for a two quid seal and dodgy brg, so that was it for the day.

There has to be thanks to the super crew of Midgo, Al Smith and Mike Vickers for getting the bike turned round at the track in a very professional manner and also even bigger thanks to Neil for doing a great job in fitting the Racepak and getting everything to work as it should, and haul it all to the track, all ontop of a 70 hour working week, so thanks mate, you're the best and I couldn't and wouldn't do it without you.

Also big thanks to the the guys at Webster Race Engineering who at short notice did some minor fairing mods to stop the fairing vibrating due to the twin being a ditch pump. A very professional outfit and would recomend them to all, top job.

That brings me to the Pod; we were greeted with fantastic weather and a great track and all the marshals and staff ran it just like a UEM round and looked after our needs and even prepped the track just before we ran, so top job and thank you, and with photo guru Pete Donaldson there with the all important pics, once again Pete a pic tells a thousand words, top class and the shots tell me things I need to know so top job as normal and please keep up the good work.

Our next outing hopefully will be the Extreme Bike Weekend were we will make some more passes and take on the might of Super Street Bike champion Steve Venables so I'll have to be on my game and, while I'm sure we have the numbers on Steve, my reactions are crap so it's not over till the fat lady sings. I look forward to competion as this always brings the best out of me when I'm up against it and thanks again to all for your support.


Has anyone seen my trophy?
20th August: Super Street Bike racer Peter Bellenie has written to say he has in his possession from the Nitrolympx last weekend a Junior Dragster trophy:

"It's a semi finalist trophy so it should have gone to Permin Schmid. I just wondered if anyone can supply an address/email from this person to me at peter.bellenie@zen.co.uk so I can return it, or pass it on if this person is at the European finals. It was acquired by someone, known to us both (not any one of my team). I had a call to say it was found in their van and I would like to get it returned asap."


Swift snippets.
20th August: Darren Prentice has been in touch to remind car and bike racers of the opportunity to take part in the Parade of Power, the annual event in Wellingborough Town Centre to promote the FIA European Finals, which this year takes place at 7:00 pm on Friday 29th August. Vehicles should be capable of doing five 'laps' of the short course around the Town Centre and will then be parked up in the Market Square for meet and greet with spectators. Pre-entry is essential; if you are interested then please contact Darren at darren@santapod.com or on 01234 782828.

Darren Prentice is also the man to contact for any racer wishing to hire portable toilets for exclusive use in their pits at the FIA European Finals. If you wish to hire a portable toilet then again please contact Darren at darren@santapod.com or on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828).

Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association promoter Lawrie Gatehouse says that the NFAA will again be running a Cannonball-type format at the Open Sport Nationals, with the two cars with the quickest aggregate ETs from the qualifying sessions facing off in the final and the third and fourth quickest also racing for places.


Web site updates.
20th August: Markus Münch, who was our trackside photographer for the NitrolympX, has posted Friday pictures from at his site and tells us that Saturday and Sunday shots are in the pipeline.

A new forum for European Drag racing has opened. Irrespective of the flavour of your racing, the Sands Lounge (Sands standing for Street AND Strip) will become the spot for a bit of online bench racing and a bit of fun. The site has links to the main tracks and of course Eurodragster and boasts a wickedly good jukebox. There is also a store stocked full of quality US-sourced merchandise but most importantly, the membership is growing.

The site brings together all the different pockets of racers that are typically only on club forums such as Mustang Owners or MMA. Built by Pete Walters and owned by the UK club 'Street and Strip' the forum is a lot of fun and uses the best software. Membership will offer a mine of information with members representing most classes such as NSCC, Outlaw Anglia and B&H Automotive Street Eliminator. Most of the banter is around the street classes and uniquely, there is a separate forum for members to raise issues with tracks directly in a controlled and constructive manner.


Freeman on Hammond's digger.
20th August: No sooner than we pressed the 'send' key on Vic Hammond's slingshot dragster, driver Sam Freeman sent further details:

Although the car is owned by Vic Hammond, I found it in the States and mailed the details to Vic; a day later a deposit was paid and 10 days later we went out to look and then buy the car. While we were there in South Carolina, someone mentioned that there was a big nostalgia meet in Bowling Green Kentucky at the weekend. So we drove up there, arrived on Friday night, and spent two days looking round and watching the racing. So one week and 2,700 miles later, we departed from Orlando with Vic being the new owner of a blown alky front engined digger.

We had a few problems getting a decent price and availability of shipping the whole outfit (car, Spares, golf buggy and trailer) on a ro-ro to the UK. Eventually it was decided that we sell the trailer on in the States and ship it all back in a container; the process for this was much quicker.

The container was released to us on Friday 15th and we were allowed to transfer the contents into a truck. We had decided to leave it in the truck overnight and take it direct to the Pod on Saturday the 16th for a couple of shakedown passes.

A quick spanner check and some borrowed methonal (thanks Matthew Seamark - Gingerman Junior Dragster) and it was running, a minor problem with a leaking shutoff valve was soon rectified with some help from other racers. As Vic needs the throttle pedal adjusting to suit him he asked me to drive and I didn't need asking twice.

On the first run, the burnout felt good and at the hit (which is much harsher than my suspended altered) it hoisted the front wheels clear, I lost the throttle pedal, it was still where it should be but getting my foot on it was a different matter, eventually finding it and I was off again, through the top end chute out and on the brakes. Several bounces with the car over a foot off the ground I came to a stop on the track, the top end crew were there in seconds to tow me off. A 9.4 at 148mph, good enough and plenty left to come.

Second run roll through the water and hit it up on the tyre and away, I'd decided to try and drive it off the line and just squeeze the throttle open, same result as the first run, wheels up and away, once settled down I got back on it and drove it to about three quarters track and rolled through, no chute and light braking stopped it easily with only about half the previous bouncing about, at least I managed to get it off the track this time. 8.88 at 147mph. I was satisfied that everything was as it should be, we loaded it up and got it back to my new workshop where on sunday I gave it a once over with no problems.

The car details are that it is a 200 inch Tuttle FED chassis, 370 ci small block Chevy 6/71 underdriven Blower with a soft tune so theres plenty in reserve.

My personal thanks to Vic for allowing me to drive his new car, also to the following for the help at the track Paul Shaw, Chris Bishop, Lee, Cyril Hooper, Micky Moore.

Where next? the plan is for Vic to have some fun running it after some testing and adjustments, no definite plans for class or championships to be entered he just wants to enjoy running the car.


Open Sport Nationals instructions.
19th August: Many thanks to Julie Willcox for sending us the following instructions for racers attending the coming weekend's Open Sport Nationals at
Shakespeare County Raceway:

The pit gates will open at 12 midday on Friday 22nd August; if people wish to arrive early there will be access to the toilets and water in the pit area, but please do not set up until instructed to by the pit marshals. Anyone who does set up and is in the wrong area will be asked to move.

Scrutineering will start at 14.30 on Friday, and will take place in the fire up road opposite to the Signing on office.

As everyone is aware, we have been subjected yet again to heavy rain for the last couple of weeks, and there are some areas of the site that have been affected. So with that in mind, we have extended the pits further than normal to ensure that everyone has hard standing for their vehicles.

A pit plan will be available on the day, and you will be taken to your allocated space by the pit marshals.

A final entry list and running order for Saturday will be issued on Eurodragster on Wednesday. Start time on Saturday will be 9.00am, we are hoping to get 4 qualifying sessions on Saturday weather and track conditions permitting.

There will be a Drivers and Riders meeting at 8.30am on Saturday morning in the grandstand nearest to the pairing lanes. Please can everyone make the effort to attend.


Volkzone ticket offer.
19th August: VW Action 2008 is taking place on 29-31st August 2008 at Santa Pod Raceway.

Most people know that VW Action is the UK's longest running VW show, but only those that have been in the last few years will know quite to what extent it has become a totally inclusive, family event. Air-cooled or Water-cooled, old or young, VW Action caters for all. The show has a unique blend of elements which combine classic features such as the Concours Events, Trade and Autojumble, with other attractions such as VW Drag Racing, Charity Auction, Monster Truck, free Children's Area, Live Bands & Comedians, Pyjama Party 'Disco', Off-Road Track and much much more (please check the website for full details ).

There is an advance ticket offer that ends on Friday 22nd August and after this point, tickets are only available on the gate. The prices are: Advance weekend £30 (Gate weekend £35), Advance Sunday £10 (Gate Sunday £15). Tickets for Saturday are on the gate only at £15.

Please note that advance tickets will not be sent out. They are to be collected at the 'Advance Ticket Collection Point' on the gate at Santa Pod. Please bring either your PayPal or NAS Events email and one extra form of ID.

Either way, readers are encouraged to support the event and remember VZi's sponsors.


Invite to run at Silverstone.
19th August: James Forrester, Show Manager at Future Publishing and organiser of an event at Silverstone has sent an invitation for racers to run at Silverstone, a location with historical drag racing connections from the 1970s. He says:

We're looking for drag car demos (particularly B&H Street Eliminator racers) for TRAX, a performance and modified car show at Silverstone on Sunday 7th September. Demos will take place on the 0-60 Sprint Test. It's an un-prepped surface so we won't be breaking any records but anyone who can put on a good show is welcome. For more info contact james.forrester@futurenet.co.uk.


Kågered's thanks.
19th August: Top Fuel dragster pilot Micke Kågered would like to thank his crew for the Nitrolympx win in Hockenheim on Sunday.

Micke, who had to catch a flight back to Sweden sunday night, was sorry he could not attend the banquet to pick up his trophy. He says; "we have engagemants for ours sponsors Peugeot and Palfinger this coming week, so I needed to get back home quickly.. and I must admit it did not really cross my mind I could end up winning this event to be honest". Micke would like to take the opportunity to thank the organisers Hockenheim Ring for the weekend. "Well organised event, good track preparation.. we could not ask for more really.. and it is just great to have Hockenheim back in the FIA championhip again!"

Micke continues;" I did not make the usual pre-event comment before the Hockenheim on Eurodragster and the reason was I did not really know what to say or expect", reveals Micke. "The thing is we found a clutch related fault after the race at Mantorp Park. For all we know it has been there for pretty much the same period things have gone real bad for us, we have just not identified it as a possible cause before. When we finally found it, we directly realised we were on to something, but we did not want to anything before we had seen the car on track at Hockenheim. Now, I can tell that what we changed after Mantorp has made a difference", says Micke. As one of my mechanics commented "after spending two seasons in the wilderness", it feels like we are back on track again. There still remains work and evaluation to be done to get the car to improve its performance at some specific points, so we need more runs. But we are very happy with what we achieved this last couple of days, no doubt about that.

"What I really wanted to highlight with the help of Eurodragster.com" says Micke "is the the fact my crew have continued to work incredibly well together through all the failures. They (or we rather) have just continued to systematically work with the car to try and improve performance and none of us has stopped believing in us as a team. The good team spirit is what I believe have kept us going the last two years and this weekend we finally saw the turn for the better we have been hoping for."

"With the tough competition today in top fuel dragster, this win does not grant anything when we come to Santa Pod in two weeks time. However, we now have a competitive car again and the way things turned out in Hockenheim we are four drivers that still have the chance to win the FIA European Championship", states Micke. "If we have counted right, I am in 3rd place, 10 points behind Lex (who is in the lead) and 5 points behind Andy. 10 points is only half a round, so it is very tight between us to say the least. Urs still also has a good chance from his current 4th position (I think 26 points after Lex).

So what I wanted to say really is a BIG thank you to all my crew AND not least all sponsors for sticking with me through all bad times, I now feel more hopeful for the future than in a very long time.

The photo on the left shows part of Micke Kågered´s mechanics crew. From the left Edvin (clutch), Emil (tuning), Mika (diver), Max (heads) and Alan (tuning). Missing in the picture are engine mechanics Gary (Page), Terry, truck driver Kenta and team coordinator Åsa.

Photo of the final between Micke and Lex courtesy of Remco Scheelings.


Bulldog 22 (Police 0).
19th August: Team Turboville went to the 22nd Bulldog Bash at Shakespeare County Raceway just praying for good weather and good times:

What we didn't expect was to be transported into a nightmare scenerio remeniscent of Nazi Germany in 1940! It seems that Assistant Chief Constable Bill Holland of the Warwickshire Police had gotten a bug up his nose after being knocked back by Stratford Council's licensing team in no uncertain way. They over-ruled his objections to the event at every turn and praised the Hells' Angels record on safety and professionalism stating that it was probably the best run festival of any kind in Europe, the town welcomed it and the £2.5 million it brings to the local economy every year.

On arriving in the area we were met by hundreds of police officers from several counties (all on overtime of course) dozens of number plate recognition camera vans, squad cars, un-marked cars, motorcycles, riot vans, swat teams (fully armed with automatic weapons) undercover surveillance teams, snipers, the lot! They closed off all the side roads to the local villages for some unfathomable reason. They set up a big camp for themselves in adjoining fields and stole the 6" water main for their shower block. This is the main reserved for the fire brigade should there be an emergency on site! They commandeered the roundabouts and lay-bye's, coned off the main road, implemented 'stop and search' powers (only allowed to run for 24hrs but they maintained for 4 days) stopped, threatened and intimidated everyone they could, stripped vehicles and searched innocent members of the public. That after all was the sole purpose of the exercise, to intimidate people and frighten them off.

My own crew were stopped, searched, thrown into a caged Transit and taken to Leamington Spa, miles away, on false charges which were then dropped, as were my crew, miles from the track, half a day later and quite traumatised by the whole event. These are decent people, grandparents in their family saloon, on their first visit to the Bulldog Bash. Like everyone, they felt very safe and secure once on site but were scared to death to go outside.

Local residents held several meetings attended by record numbers and they all let the police know that they were not wanted under any circumstance and that they objected most vehemntly to Bill Holland's personal vendetta that had cost them over £1.4 million of local taxpayers money. This went on well into Sunday as they actually blocked off lanes of the dual carriageways out of Stratford to use them for mass stop and search operations causing traffic chaos!

The result of all this? two convictions for possession of camping tools (lethal weapons) and possesion of herbs. ACC Bill Holland proclaimed the whole operation a complete success and well worth the money. His excuse for all this? A motorcyclist got shot last year, 40 miles away on a motorway. The local licensing comittee visited the site and received a standing ovation from the crowd. The local school dropped some children off for the day to do a project and they had a great time. The local Rotary club were there all weekend and not only had a great time they got a lot of money for their charity. There were no crimes and no incidents on site and everyone was well behaved as they have been for the past 22 years. All press reports were positive in favour of the Hells Angels MC who were just brilliant all weekend.

Even the bad weather coudn't deter the 20,000+ crowd from having fun. It did however put a dent in the track time but we made the best of our one run on Friday and Mr. Spokehead lifted it's front wheel in the air and blasted the quarter mile only dropping it back to earth after I took out both of the top-end timing blocks (sorry Bruno) which meant that our new wings, new fuel timers and new clutch were working just great! I am counting the days to Bulldog 23...


Hammond returns - with a slingshot.
19th August: Sam Freeman was driving Vic Hammond's recently imported slingshot, the picture taken by Eurodragster.com's reserve photographer Peter Donaldson at the Peak Performance day on 15th August.

Peter writes: Vic Hammond last raced in 1989, but its a difficult sport to stay away from, so Saturday's RWYB at Santa Pod Raceway saw the debut of his latest ride. Imported from South Carolina, where it was raced by both Ed & Tammy Fargo (the first husband and wife to race each other in blown slingshots apparently) the Speed Demon is a beautifully crafted 200 inch WB slingshot. Power comes from a small block Chevy opened up to 370cu with a 6-71 sitting on top, and a Dave Tuttle chassis keeps the Methanol fueled car going in a straight line.

Some mods to the pedals are required for Vic to be comfortable in the car, so he asked Sam Freeman to do the initial shakedown runs on Saturday. The car ran regular 7.70's in the States and Sam's second run, an easy 8.88 @ 147 shows plenty of promise. As Vic says he and the team want to have some fun, talking of which the team includes, Mickey Moore, Cyril Hooper and Lee Kemble.So another welcome addition to the growing band of front engined dragsters in the UK and several more to come - let the good times roll. Photo courtesy of Peter Donaldson.


Swift snippets.
19th August: First up is a 21st birthday greeting. Martin Gleadow sends a very Happy Birthday to Adam Gleadow of Time Machine Racing, who turns 21 on August 19th, from Bob, Darren, Martin, Tanya, Fredde and the rest of the team.

In response to the spy picture published on, the eagle-eyed Trevor and Esta Capewell have been in touch: "I recognise that engine and dry sump tank, I believe it now belongs to Bob Glassup with Xtreme Altered. Good luck to him this engine pushed me to 6.005 at 238mph which has not been beaten by any British Methanol Funny Car since."

If Ronald Jutting of the (literally) hot VW (literally - see Sunday's Nitrolympx Gallery) is out there could he please contact Mike Kason?


Web site updates.
19th August: Graphic Designer & Photographer Dirk Behlau of Pixeleye has posted photos from last weekend's Nitrolympx at his web site.

NitrolympX results.
18th August: Congratulations to the winners at the weekend's NitrolympX at Hockenheim:

FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Micke Kågered 4.915/478.97 def. Lex Joon 6.255/235.33
FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Timo Habermann 5.542/406.39 def. Dave Wilson 10.805/135.02
Top Methanol Funny Car: Leif Andréasson 10.022/118.23 bye, Jürgen Nagel did not start
FIA Pro Modified: Micke Lindahl 6.260/387.55 def. Rolf Ammann 10.281/130.66

Comp Eliminator: Dennis Habermann (7.55) 6.812/334.96 def. Rene Meierhofer (9.52) 8.915/247.93
Super Comp: Fred Hanssen 8.917/198.84 def. Gerd Habermann 8.931/210.93
Super Gas: Jan Hardkopf 9.912/214.49 def. Bert Gorselitz 9.893/219.72
Junior Dragster: Noah Stutz (9.18) 9.217/113.03 def. Lena Romahn (8.95) 8.908/118.74
Public Race: Hans Niesner 11.919/158.90 def. Martin Wiekum 11.863/159.83
©Eurodragster.com
Nitro Bike Thunder: Ian King 6.366/355.46 def. Lorenz Stäuble 6.799/342.03
Pro Bike: Christian Jaeger 7.518/311.61 def. Len Paget 8.790/178.34
Harley V-Rod Destroyer Cup: Stefan Schnarnwiler 9.427/223.95 def. Sascha Brodbeck 9.451/223.22
Supertwin Top Gas: Frank Heitmann 8.422/249.69 def. Herman Jolink 9.156/250.56 red light
Super Street Bike: Dave Smith 7.796/304.97 bye, Steve Venables did not start

The following European records were set:

FIA Top Methanol Dragster: 425.25 kmh / 264.24 mph, Dave Wilson
FIA Pro Modified: 388.31 kmh / 241.28 mph, Micke Lindahl

Also of note were Timo Habermann's world best for a Whipple blower of 5.464 seconds in Top Methanol Dragster qualifying, and Steve Venables' 199.40 mph in Super Street Bike.

You can check out our
American Car Imports-sponsored NitrolympX coverage by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon updated his exclusive Racer Blog from the track; you can read Lex's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. In addition, Top Fuel tuner Eddie Corr was posting live updates on his new web site, which he has launched to promote his new motorsport consultancy covering both drag racing and other forms of motorsport. You can check out Eddie's pitside updates on his new site at www.eddiecorrracing.com.

Finally our good buddy Mathias Wienand posted end-day galleries from Hockenheim on his Sideview Inn site at www.sideview-inn.de.

We will update our Acknowledgements list very shortly but we must say a big Thank You to UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter and Andy's and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Lucas Oil for their help in getting us connected this weekend, and thanks to Christine and Peter Calwer, Andrea Kloss, Gittli Koller and Peter Schöfer Racing, Benni Voss, Markus Münch, Bob Brockmeyer, Rico Anthes and all of the race officials, staff and racers at Hockenheim for helping us both before and during the race.


OSN 'Best Of' Awards.
17th August: Shakespeare County Raceway is pleased to announce the following company involvement for the 'Best Of' awards ahead of next weekend's Open Sport Nationals, writes Shakespeare County Raceway's Marketing, Promotions & Track Manager Jerry Cookson. These include:

Best Appearing Car Crew: Scottie's Maintenance & Transportation;
Best Appearing Car: Newgate (Newark) Ltd;
Best Engineered Car: Drag Race Engineering;
Best Engineered Bike: Drag Race Engineering; and
Best Appearing Bike: Jacksons MOT.

However there is still room (only just) for one more opportunity to sponsor the weekend's Best Appearing Bike Crew. If you would like to take up this opportunity in sponsoring this award please get in touch with Jerry Cookson on 01789 720180 or e-mail
enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk.

Pro ET aiming to party.
17th August: Our good friend Carla Pittau is calling all Pro ET drivers, crews, friends and families to participate in the Second Annual Pro ET Xmas Bash and Award Presentation, which will be held on 29th November 2008 at The Cromwell Hotel, March, Cambridgeshire. The evening will include a buffet, a live band and disco as well as the Prize Giving Ceremony for the Pro ET 2008 Awards. All attending drivers will receive a 2008 Campaign Rosette. This year numbers will be restricted to 100 - so book now to avoid disappointment. Tickets cost £15 and they are available from Carl Burton in the Pro ET pits, or by post from the Pro ET Sponsorship Scheme. The 2008 Awards include prizes for:

Rookie of the Year;
Best Crew Chief;
Best Appearing Car;
Hard Luck Award;
Best Wheelie;
Most ****-ups;
Furthest travelled; and
Most Spectacular Crash/Fire.

Voting is only allowed to bona fide Pro ET teams, three votes maximum per team. Voters can express their preference either on line via the link in the Pro ET Forum, or click here to directly access the voting page.

A leaflet with all details of the Bash, address and telephone number for the Cromwell Hotel and pen and paper voting form can be downloaded here. Let's meet for an evening of pure unadulterated Pro ET fun.


No more stealth.
17th August: We received some photos labelled as spy pictures, but unless you've been on Mars recently you will know that you will know that they are of Graham Ellis's Superbird which made its (and Graham's) successful debut in Pro Mod at the start of the season. Click on the small picture for a larger version from a different angle. Graham's next appearance will be at the Euro Finals where he will be competing against 26 other Pro Mods for a place in the field.

Topo hanging up his hat.
17th August: Tony Deluca (Topo) has had to call it a day crewing for John "Leadfoot" Everitt. He writes:

Unfortunately due to work commitments and a new business I have had to call it a day. I have crewed for John for three years now and have learnt so much about car set up and all the rest of the things that go into making this sport what it is today.

Apart from the new business the main reason is to get my own car finished which is currently down in the workshop of a certain Mr Felstead. The car is nearing completion now so I need to concentrate on that and I just can't crew and build a car. So a very big thank you to "Leadfoot" if not for him I would never have got this far with all the knowledge i have gained from him.

John is so dedicated it is untrue, and demands 100 per cent loyalty and commitment, but I have had an excellent time with him and the rest of the crew. To all the Alien fans, John, as you know, is a great showman and ambassador to drag racing - he always tries to please the fans while still trying to win so give him and the rest of the crew big applause next time you see them run. If you read this John then a very big thank you from me without your help the new car would not be possible.

Now the crew. Chris, you're a star and it has been my pleasure to have worked with you and the knowledge you have given me. Keith, well probbaly the most laid back person I know and a good mate (look after Kim for me). Kirstie, well you all know Kirstie Tramm the most dedicated female to drag racing ever. And lastly young Billy Everitt good luck with the junior and everyone watch out for this young lad in the future he comes from a good pedigree.

To all the racers, including Rick Cooke, Nigel Turner, Ian Tubb, Ashley Bell, and all at Paul Marston Racing and anyone else I've forgotten, good luck and be safe, I will be turnning up at the odd meeting or two so see you then. I am hoping to have the new car for the Flame and Thunder Show so might even get to pair up with a certain "Leadfoot".


Split Decision breaks cover.
17th August: If you saw the spy picture on 13th August, the constructor of the Split Decision Ford 100E Paul Shaw has kindly sent some further information after finding that his son sent us the pictures of the car, which is going into Pro ET and is due to make its initial runs this weekend:

The car has been built by myself and life long friend and driver Chris Bishop. It has been a 24 month project, funded by Chris and completely home built in a small garage behind his house. It has a full tube chassis/cage, four link rear end, nine inch Ford rear end with strut front end and is powered by a 360 cu in Chrysler engine built by myself through a B&M Holeshot convertor and 727 TCI-built Torqueflite trans. Both Chris and myself would like to give a big thank you to John at Armour Engineering, Dave Eady's Autoparts, Ian Marshall at Webster Race Engineering and Rushden Graphics for all their help over the past two years. We are looking forward to now having a lot of fun in Pro ET.


Hall's return.
16th August: UK Pro Mod racer Steve Hall made a return to the track at yesterday's Peak Performance Day at Santa Pod Raceway in a Pro Mod imported from R&R Speed & Machine in Huntsville in the USA. Steve made three shakedown runs in the orange C5-Corvette bodied car.
©Eurodragster.com
Steve last raced a Nitrous Mustang in Pro Mod , but his new ride sports a 526ci blown Hemi. In the USA the car mainly in Outlaw Pro Mod on eighth mile tracks where it recorded a best ET of 4.14 seconds, which Steve reckons translates into 6.3-6.4 seconds over the quarter.

On hand to help Steve were Keith Gilkerson, Neil Fetter and Steve Large whose Large Engineering has done considerable work on the car. Future plans include a larger fuel tank, converting to a dry sump system and a different blower set-up. For the rest of this year the team will test and modify the car and the plan for 2009 is to contest the British Pro Mod Championship and maybe travel to Europe.


Swift snippets.
16th August: Libby and Nev Mottershead have asked us to say a huge Happy 21st Birthday to Leah Hinchcliffe. No sooner said than done, guys, have a great day Leah.
©Eurodragster.com
Erbacher's home from home.
14th August: FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Urs Erbacher and the
Fat Attack team are already in place at Hockenheim for this weekend's NitrolympX. Fat Attack are fielding no less than four race vehicles this weekend - in Top Fuel, Supertwin, V-Rod Destroyer Cup and Junior Dragster - and team member Andrea Wucher says that the Swiss team view the NitrolympX as their home event:

After the wet weekend at Gardermoen we are looking forward to the Hockenheim weekend. We were sorry for Siw Nystad that she couldn't race at Gardermoen due to the bad weather. For Lorenz Stäble it was a really fustrating weekend in Norway as well. To be top qualifier and then not be able to race was a shame. Let's hope that the weather is better and that we see some decent racing. The NitrolympX is an FIA round for the Top Fuel Dragster and a fun race for the Supertwin, but the goals are the same.

For Urs it will be difficult to focus on the race one hundre per cent as we have some many friends, sponsors and fans visiting us at the Hockenheim pit. So Urs will be quite busy talking to his fans, signing hero cards and talking to all the people who are so important to us.

To be in the final at Mantorp was a big relief for the team. With so many pre-season races in the USA it feels like we hadn't been in a final for a long time. Whether Hockenheim is an FIA race or a Cannonball event, there is just one goal: win! This time it is even more important. You have to get hold of every Championship point lying on the track, as the final Championship decision in England will be close again. We are still on the mission to defend our title, so it is perfect to have Hockenheim back on the FIA schedule. The more races the better.
©Eurodragster.com
For Lo the Gardermoen weekend started well but came to a sudden hold due to the rain. There is only one Championship round left at the European Finals in England, and it would be hard to stop Svein-Olaf Rolfstad. So at Hockenheim the goal is a win: it is good for our morale, the fans love Lo and his ever-smiling team and as Hockenheim is more or less our home track we want to show who is the boss in the house. It would be great if Hockenheim would be back on the UEM schedule as well.

Sascha "Breth" Brodbeck will be at the start line with the Harley Davidson Destroyer. He is only racing at Hockenheim as he had neither the time nor the budget to run the whole Championship. But I am sure that the reigning champ will play an important role again this weekend. He is hungry to go racing and show everybody that he is still the man to beat.

The truck is already at the track. The Erbacher pit is covering a good part of the start/finish line area with extra space for sponsors, friends and a special exhibition of the custom bikes built by Lo, Urs and their mechanics. There is a great atmosphere in the pits and hopefully there will be a lot of cheering and a bit of celebration on Sunday evening.


Bullseye!
14th August: This happy chappie is Jan, team member of Robert Joosten's Pro Dutch Pro Mod team who took the win and the FIA European Championship lead at the Veidec Festival. Robert tells us that although Jan is still walking around with the grin on his face and although the win will last for a long time, the team have had to crack on with some work on the blown-alcohol 'Vette to make it ready for this weekend's NitrolympX at Hockenheim.

"Andy Robinson repaired the rear axle and is also making a new one which should be ready at Hockenheim", says Robert. "We serviced the engine and transmission and looked as closely as possible at every nut and bolt to make sure that it is OK for the race. Three weeks between races is a short time because like all teams we have day jobs and have to do the wrenching in the evenings. I can tell you that the lights in the shop stay on late."
©Eurodragster.com
Robert says that he is very pleased that Hockenheim is back on the FIA Tour. "I always thought that the NitrolympX needs to be on the FIA calendar", he says. "I really hope that the German fans will show how much they like the large fields of cars battling for the Championships. I guess the place will be loaded with people. We have been to Hockenheim several times, our last race was in 2007 when we won the Pro Mod Shootout. That was very special because it was our first year in Pro Mod and with sixty VIPs in the stands it was crazy!"

Robert adds that his Championship lead has given this weekend's race a new aspect. "It feels a a little strange to walk around with a bullseye on our back", he says. "But hey, there are worse things to think of. I wish everybody a safe trip, and good racing."


Two Eagles flying in Germany.
14th August: Finland's Eagle Racing have announced that they will field two Top Fuel Dragsters for the rest of the 2008 season. "Finnish Dynamite" Janne Ahonen and Risto "Bad To The Bone" Poutiainen will contest this weekend's NitrolympX at Hockenheim and the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in September.

"This decision was made right after the Veidec Festival", says the Eagle Racing Press Office. "It's fast moves which count, and Eagle Racing was in Norway right after Mantorp. It was too bad that the event was rained out so Risto was not seen in action. But the team is now ready to race in Hockenheim.

"Risto will take the seat of Thomas Nataas' dragster from Rune Fjeld Motorsport and Bad-to-the-Bone will make sense to the public. Janne will drive his orange-coloured Finnish Dynamite dragster as planned. Eagle Racing would like to thank UVEX and all of our other sponsors for making the rest of our season.
©Eurodragster.com
"Our multinational team of Finns, Norwegians and English has some additions in Hockenheim. Ben Allum will be leading Janne Ahonen's team and Risto's former Crew Chief Hannu "Hank" Penttinen will now bein action. Hank was familiarising himself again with the racing at Mantorp and, as Risto said, "After being away from the track for thirteen years, coming back felt like home". That sums up drag racing at its best, it is your family.

"Risto is twice NitrolympX Champion, and Janne is a Hockenheim rookie - although he was there with Jari Halinen last year, just not in the dragster. Both are ready to race and we are flying to Germany on Thursday morning. A little after 8:00 in the morning and the Eagle has landed..."


Give 'em something to cheer...
14th August: The NitrolympX is the biggest race of the year for Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com Blogger Lex Joon with no less than four hundred of main sponsor MPM Oil's customers in Lex's hospitality area and sitting in the stands wearing their MPM hats. Lex is hoping that his twenty one races' experience and his track record at Hockenheim will lead to their having something to celebrate.
©Eurodragster.com
"Looking at the Championship the recipe is really simple", says Lex. "I have to stay in front of Andy Carter and Urs Erbacher for the last two races, and even Micke Kågered still has a shot at the Championship. With all this in mind we have a tall order to accomplish, but everything is still in our own hands. We can benefit from the fact we are the only team who have managed to put a 4.7 ET at the scoreboards. Also we have raced at Hockenheim for the last couple of years on an invitational basis so the data is there for us to use.

"The Saturday night session will not count as a qualifying run but nevertheless I'm really looking forward to making that pass in an atmosphere which is so special - all the people in the grandstands, the fireworks, the flames from the headers going over the rear spoiler, yes that's awesome. Let's hope that it's a good one, just like all the others!"


The Svenssons take the lot.
14th August: Peter and Sören Svensson of Sweden's Kendall Racing Top Fuel Bike team swept all before them at the Veidec Festival, qualifying number one and taking the event title and European and track records:

"We came to Mantorp Park with a new fuel system set-up and it turned out to be just about what the tricky track surface of the track could handle", say Peter and Sören. "On our first qualifying run on Friday we ran below the European record (previously held by Ian King) and we continued to improve upon both ET and Speed several times during the weekend, resulting in new European eighth-mile records of 4.06/303 kmh and a new track record of 306 kmh.

"One thing we are very satisfied with is that all of our runs during the weekend were within 0.08 seconds despite a partly new track surface. That must be some kind of record in Top Fuel Bike.

"With our new sponsor Kendall (supplied by Sollebrunns Oljeservice and more or less all of the family members of our team at Mantorp Park we had really good back up. Everyone helped our team with all the support we could possibly ask for!

"To summarise the weekend we were number one qualifier, winner of Top Fuel Bike, set new European records of 4.06/303, a new eighth mile track record of 306 kmh and we are now third in the European Championship, having participated in only one of three races in the series so far.

"Special thanks to our sponsors for supplying the very best product available:

Kendall Motor Oil Sweden who make some of the best oil products in the world

Samek Industri AB who make some of the best moulding tools in the automotive industry in Sweden

HRM/Ritline AB a technical consultancy within the automotive industry in Sweden

CemeCon A/S one of the best powder coating companies in Europe when it comes to camshaft coating etc.

Picture courtesy and ©Patrik Jacobsson


Andersson aims for sixes.
14th August: Swedish Funny Bike racer Mikael Andersson says that the 5xM Drag Bike Team have had an unbelievable season in 2008.

"We have a lot of new parts on the bike and we have already run several Personal Bests", says Mikael. "Our bests are now 1.14 seconds over sixty feet, 4.63/258 kmh over the eighth mile, and 7.26/293 over the quarter mile. We have one race left this year and that is the Winternationals, the TSDS finals at Meca Raceway.

"We are already working for next year, when we hope to run our first six-second pass, and our first pass over 300 kmh, and we think we can do it. We are also building a new bike for next season which our Crew Chief Marcus is going to run in Super Gas Bike.

"A big thank you to our sponsors Haldex, Ericssons Custom, Eurol.se, F1 Text & Dekor, Karling Fasad AB, EBOS, High Performance, GT Mekaniska, Harrys Bil & Motor, Husbilen.nu, CM-Racing.se, Addemoto, Firma Kenneth Björk, and Asmundtorps Kakel & Bygg.

"For more information about the bike, team, pictures and much more take a look at our web site at www.5xM-dragbiketeam.tk."

Pictures courtesy and ©Jan Nilsson


Swift snippets.
14th August: ACU UK Drag Bike Championship, 9.50 Bike, National Association of Supertwin, and 8.50 Bike racers are reminded that Friday of next week, 22nd August, is the closing date for entry to the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway on 13th-14th September, which is a Championship round for these classes with the exception of Top Fuel Bike, and a demonstration round for 8.50 Bike. Entry after Friday of next week, if accepted, will be subject to a 100% late entry fee. You can download entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

German Pro Mod racer, Eurodragster.com News sponsor and Exhaust-coating.de Pro Mod Challenge sponsor Marco Maurischat has confirmed that his new blown-alcohol Pro Mod is ready and that he will be attending this weekend's NitrolympX at Hockenheim.

Many thanks to Julie Willcox for forwarding us Version 2 of the official entry list for the Open Sport Nationals, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 25th-27th August. You can check out the 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 Open Sport Nationals. If you think you should be on the Open Sport Nationals entry list, or if you have any queries about entering the event, then please call Julie on 07792 919508 or 01789 720180.
©Eurodragster.com
Norwegian Top Methanol Dragster racer Paul Ingar Udtian pulled some pretty impressive Reaction Times at the Veidec Festival, and Helge Myrseth of the Islanders Dragracing team showed us this picture taken by team member Birgitte Bremnes proving that if you see the green, you've lost (click on picture for large version). "A double holeshot from the Islanders and no red!", says Helge.

Carla Pittau and Rick McCann of the UK's Team Heaven & Hell Pro ET team have been in touch to wish Brainless Raceway Park Owner, Promoter, Race Director and Organiser (and official supplier of sloppy kisses to Eurodragster.com - Ed) Tracy Morgan Doyle a very happy birthday - "Mainly as sucking up to the Promoter might bring in favours to our team at the next Slot Drags at the celebrated European Slot Raceway, the only covered race track in Europe and perhaps the world", say Carla and Rick. Here at Eurodragster.com we disagree, as most tracks in Europe are covered...covered in bloody rain. But that's a minor quibble. You have a great day Tracy.

We love it when this happens...yesterday's spy picture has spawned another. We got absolutely no information with this picture so we'll have to go on what we can see which is a blown altered sharing digs with a dragster. If you know any more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com.

Jerry Cookson of Shakespeare County Raceway would like to get in touch with Paul Manders of 1970s Time and Motion Funny Car fame. If you're reading this, Paul, or if anyone has Paul's contact details, then please get in touch with Jerry at quartermilenewsmakers@yahoo.co.uk.

Dan Welberry of Eurodragster.com News sponsor 3t Creative has asked us to say a big Thank You to everyone for their support of What is Love?, the new single by the band Audio1, in which Dan plays. Dan tells us that the launch party was a sell-out, that a video is now available at www.myspace.com/audio1music, and that the single is now on sale. More details on our news update of 4th August.


What's on this weekend.
14th August: The headline-grabber this weekend is the NitrolympX at Hockenheim in Germany which features the penultimate round of the FIA European Championshops for Top Fuel Dragster, Top Methanol Dragster, Top Methanol FC and Pro Modified as well as Fuel Funny Car, Nitro and Pro Bike shootouts, Sportsman classes, Public Race and the legendary Night Show on Saturday evening. You can find out more on the event's official web site at www.nitrolympx.de.

If you can't make the NitrolympX then Eurodragster.com will be reporting live from Hockenheim in association with American Car Imports. The plan is for the usual frequently-updated reports on the on-track action together with end-day on-track and off-track galleries; no pit notes since we are very light-handed this weekend. The on-track galleries will be kindly provided by Markus Münch as Roger is unable to attend. The the Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam will be on-line and will be scheduled to post a picture every sixty seconds. We will post a direct Home Page link to our coverage as soon as it commences tomorrow, but in the meantime you can check out the Event Index page by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Nitrolympx.

The Eurodragster.com FAQ contains the answers to all the questions you are likely to ask about our Event Coverage. If you want to know how we do it, why we do it, and what to do if you want to tell us what you think of it then you can check out the FAQ by clicking here or by clicking on the Eurodragster.com FAQ link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

We must say a big Thank You to UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter and Andy's and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Lucas Oil for their help in getting us connected this weekend, and thanks also to Christine Calwer, Gittli Koller, Rico Anthes, Benni Voss and Markus Münch for helping us with the preliminary arrangements.
©Eurodragster.com
Don't forget that Andy Carter's web site at www.andycarter.net will be updated from Hockenheim, and Oliver Moser tells us that he will be updating FIA Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Urs Erbacher's web site live from the track at the weekend; you will be able to stay in touch with Oliver's updates at www.erbacher.biz/Racing-Diary.217.0.html?&L=1.

Kunmadaras, Hungary hosts the SHOX-HONDA Extreme Weekend promoted by Kunmadaras Motorsport. This includes the Motorport Cup, AGV Streetfighter and details can be found at www.kunmadarasmotorsport.hu/jsite/index.php/events/race4.

On Sunday Santa Pod Raceway hosts Mini In The Park which includes hundreds of Club cars, a Mini-specific trade area, sprint action, and a new improved concours. Action is on Sunday with a Run What You Brung on Saturday. Don't forget that there is a Peak Performance Test and Tune Day at Santa Pod tomorrow (Friday).


NitrolympX Perfect Awards.
14th August: A grand total of €140 is up for grabs from Eurodragster.com, Speedflow and Gold RV at this weekend's NitrolympX at Hockenheim, the latest event in the Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards scheme.

This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award has been reset to €70 after it was won by Junior Dragster racer Pontus Dantanus at the Veidec Festival. The money will be presented to the first racer next weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available to all 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 £75 for the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the Open Sport Nationals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow, whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk.

Decals are not formally required for the Perfect Light Award but of course we appreciate it if racers carry Eurodragster.com decals: you can get Eurodragster.com decals at the track from any Eurodragster.com staff member.
©Eurodragster.com
This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has also been reset to €70 after it was won by Super Gas racer Johan Rehnström at the Veidec Festival. The money will be presented to the first racer next weekend to run to the thousandth on their dial-in or index. The Perfect ET Award is available this weekend in Super Comp, Super Gas, Junior Dragster (eliminations only) and Public Race during qualifying and eliminations 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 £75 for the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the Open Sport Nationals. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with RV sales and service specialists Gold RV, whose web site you can find at www.goldrv.co.uk.

To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers will be required to carry decals, one on each side of the vehicle whether car or bike. The decals are available at signing-on but please note that, as is usual with contingency schemes, racers are responsible for requesting or picking up decals when signing on. A list of required decals per class is always on display in signing-on.


Web site updates.
14th August: In the latest entry in his exclusive Racer Blog, Luke Bennett declares the Bennett Racing blown-alcohol team ready for action at the Open Sport Nationals after a successful fire-up. You can read Luke's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
©Eurodragster.com
If you were tuned in to our coverage of the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park then you will have been lucky enough to see some of Markus Ek's excellent photographs as he kindly stood in for Roger. Markus has now posted his entire photo library from the Veidec Festival on his web site at www.mek.nu.

UK photo-journalist has updated his Fotopic gallery with pictures from June's SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out Dick's shots at dickparnham.fotopic.net.


Vic Outen.
13th August: We were very sorry to hear from Brian Taylor of the death of Vic Outen, who had a big hand in the beginning of drag racing in the UK:

Many people claim to be amongst drag racing's pioneers. But I was sad to hear that one of British drag racing's real pioneers, Vic Outen, passed away recently. I first met Vic in the early 1970s when he and I served on the British Drag Racing and Hot Rod Association Committee. But his roots go back much further than that.

In 1960 he was a Barclays Bank employee, owner of a Ford V8 Pilot and a follower of stock car racing. He noticed a letter written by Brian Coole of the Highwayman Rod and Custom Club reproduced in Stock Car Racing. It asked for those interested in hot rodding and drag racing to make contact. Having discovered Hot Rod Magazine Vic was already a member of the NHRA, but Brian's letter was the first sign Vic saw of an embryo British hot rodding scene. He contacted Brian who invited him to the Highwaymen meeting in Hayes – a long way from his home in Lee Green. He travelled by Underground to Hounslow where Brian would meet him in the Earl Haig before taking him to the Club meetings. There he met other pioneers like Peter Bartlett, Allan Herridge and Maurice Davidson. When Brian and Vic were together, Brian would tell him of his plans for a national club and Vic quickly became an important player because he was the one with a typewriter. It was Vic who typed most of the replies to letters, along with copy for Kool Kams - the Club newsletter edited by Brian Coole.

September 1st 1960 is an important date because it was then that the British Hot Rod Association was initially formed. As far as I can tell, at this time it was not a true national club in the sense of a body seeking members from across the country. It was a national umbrella body to which other local hot rod clubs could become affiliated – similar to the Southern Californian Timing Association that gave birth to the NHRA. It was mainly devoted to street rodding and several local enthusiasts clubs added 'affiliated to the British Hot Rod Association' to their own headed paper.

It was via this club that people like Clive Lingard in Manchester, Mike Titterton in Romford, Ken Cooper in Sutton Coldfield and Geoff Jago all joined the gang of early pioneers. It was when John Bennett joined in 1962 that the British Hot Rod Association was formed as a truly national club affiliated to the RAC to organise drag racing. Vic remained a Committee member and was very much involved in organising the early gatherings at the Watling Street Garage on the A5 near Markyate. Later on he was responsible for keeping contact with other drag racing bodies that were emerging across the globe - something he did until he retired from the sport in the mid-1970s.

In recent years Vic's health had not been so good but he was extremely helpful with research for my book. I am only sad that I was unable to publish it before he passed away. He was a real gentleman, and it is to people like Vic that today's drag racers owe a huge debt of gratitude. Without these true pioneers we would have nothing.


Only in drag racing...
13th August: German Top Methanol Dragster team
Peter Schöfer Racing had a good weekend at the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park. The car ran consistent low 5.5s and the team were happy to take runner-up spot and retain their Championship lead. Team member Gittli Koller says that things went wrong right at the end of the weekend leaving the PSR crew with a thrash to get the car ready for this week's NitrolympX at Hockenheim. That was easier said that done since a major part had to be located first, and it was only through the help and generosity of two American friends that PSR will be racing this weekend.

"The bang everybody heard was not just the burst plate", says Gittli. "It took with it the manifold, which had been on the car since our first run with the Hemi in 2002. That was real strange for us and we had to hurry to get a new one from the USA. Unfortunately these manifolds are not just sitting on the shelf waiting for some Germans to pick up. We were told that it would take longer to get a new manifold than the time between the two rounds.

"Luckily we have some very good friends in the States, and we called round. But our friends didn't have a manifold either. Finally our friend Norm Grimes contacted a friend of his, Chelsea Clark, who didn't hesitate to send his brand new manifold to us. We never met Chelsea before and he sent us his manifold just like that. That only happens in drag racing, that's for sure. Thank you very much Chelsea.

"Now the guys are working until the middle of the night every single to get the car ready. We found some smaller issues on the car and the guys will have fixed everything for the NitrolympX.

"Of course we are very happy that Hockenheim is back on the FIA calendar. It is great to have another FIA round although it is unfortunate that there are no Pro Stocks, and it is great for us because it is in Germany. At this point we want to thank everybody who was involved to make that happen. To everyone who will be there for the first time: wait until you hear the crowd on Saturday...

"We would like to thank our sponsors who have supported us all year and especially when we needed some extra parts: Sunoco, Weindel US Parts, Mipa, JE Pistons, Normstahl, MoTec, Norfolkline, Uvex, Calwer G&D, Keyr ODM, Dirsch, HR, Zehetbauer, Schneider and The Friends of PSR."


Germany's real fastest brothers.
13th August: Germany's Team Werner Habermann Racing has had quite an impressive year so far, and there is more to come writes Mathias Wienand. The season started with a new chassis and an all-new engine combination for the team, as they got a new car from the USA. Timo Habermann took the seat in the new race car while Dennis took over Timo's old car. Timo's goal with an all-new set up was to run consistent 5.6 and maybe high 5.5s.

Testing should have taken place at the Easter Thunderball, but as we all know a Snowmobile would have been the better choice for that weekend. On the Monday the season started with a huge eye-opener for everybody in Top Methanol, not only in Europe but worldwide. In freezing cold conditions Timo set a new sixty foot world record by whipping out a 0.863. And the heat was on!

The Main Event started with a big impression on the competition as Timo qualified second off the trailer with a 5.61. Dennis ran his car in Competition Eliminator and also was second after qualifying with a 7.01. The rain washed away the team's wish to prove that this wasn't just one good run for both, as the event rained out. But there was one more trophy to take home from the FIA Main Event as Timo set a new European record for cars running a Whipple blower.

In Alastaro Timo took over the competition, qualifying in number one spot with a 5.56. Dennis, this time running his car in Top Methanol, was in eighth spot with a new Personal Best of 6.4. The brothers faced each other in round one and Timo took the win 5.6 against Dennis' 6.4. There was a bit of drag racing history in the final as Timo was up against German legend Peter Schöfer. Timo was in front until 330 feet and then the blower came off due to a spark plug and Peter storming by.

The team showed that their shot at the Championship was serious when both brothers qualified third at Mantorp Park - Timo in TMD and Dennis running a 6.77 in Comp Eliminator again leaving forty three other competitors behind. After beating Paul Ingar Udtian in round one Timo paired up against Peter Sch&oum;fer once again. And again he was only stoped by a mechanical malfunction, this time the burst panel went in the burnout.

So Timo is third in the Championship at the moment, with Hockenheim and the Finals at Santa Pod left. The point standings are as close as the Top Methanol competition this year as Timo only is twenty two points behind Rob Turner in second place and forty four points behind points leader Peter Schöfer.

Team Werner Habermann Racing is led by proud father and German drag racing pioneer Werner Habermann who is looking forward to racing at their home track in Hockenheim. Germany's fastest brothers - who were these Schumacher guys again? - grew up here and grew into the sport. Timo has been racing here for sixteen years now, younger brother Dennis for eleven years. Remember that the brothers are only nineteen and twenty four years of age!

The whole team were at last weekend's Thunder Drome, a Test and Tune Event for the NitrolympX, helping out fellow German racer Armin Schmid who bought the Habermanns' former Competition dragster. Not a bad start for Armin in his début season with this blown alcohol dragster as supported by Team Werner Habermann Racing he took giant steps running 1.11 to sixty feet and 7.44 over the quarter mile, his first seven. Impressive, with only a few passes in his young drag racing career, and you can tell how happy the Habermann boys were watching Armin's progress when they raised their fists in the air and yelled after every successful pass.

After last weekend Timo says that the track looks really good and that the goal is to put some good numbers on the board again, maybe a first 5.4. That would put Timo in a position to set a new World Record for Whipple blower cars, which is currently held by US racer Darrell Russell at 5.48. So keep an eye on Eurodragster.com's live report if you cannot be there yourself!

Friends and family will be at Hockenheim and Team Habermann hope that they will witness Timo reaching after number two spot or maybe number one in the Championship.

All this would not be possible with the great support of our sponsors and everybody in Team Habermann would like to thank UniFit, Energietechnik Boehm, Exide, Norfolkline, Pixeleye Interactive and Autokrandienst Habermann.
©Eurodragster.com

The Hockenheim rookies.
13th August: With only three weeks between the Veidec Festival and the NitrolympX, time is short to service on the race car, coach etc, arrange the travel to the next race, and also plan for the FIA European Finals writes Konrad Ree of Norway's Islanders Top Methanol Dragster team:

I would like to use this opportunity to thank everybody involved getting the car ready for racing on the Saturday of the Veidec Festival. Not only were the crew involved but we got help from everwhere. I can't remember everybody but have we have to thank Birgitte Bremnes, Anniken Augustsen, Linda Thun Tønseth, Mona Myrseth, Maja Udtian, Christer Abrahamson, Mats Eriksson, and Gunnar Olson from Arvid Grødem's team who helped us with some welding. We also want to welcome new crew member Odd Rune Olsen, who really did a great job this weekend, and the rest of the crew: Thor Larsen, Tormod Aarvik, Johnny Bremnes, Stig Udtian, Rune Myrseth, and of course Paul Ingar who showed no concern after the corn field ride, and Helge Myrseth and Øyvor Jacobsen for doing a great job with our guest from Q8 Oils Sweden.
©Eurodragster.com
The Islanders put in a good effort working after the Veidec Festival. The cracked gearbox has been welded and repaired, the coach finally has a new custom-fit awning and everything was loaded for both Hockenheim and the Finals. Paul Ingar drove the coach down to Oslo last weekend so that Thor and Konrad could take it on the ferry to Germany yesterday. This made it possible for the rest of the team to travel by air and save some time away from their jobs etc.

The Islanders are excited to visit the Hockenheim race for the first time. Thanks to the rest of our sponsors Lerøly Midnor, Eidsvaag AS, Teng Tools, Frøya Sjøservice, Frøys Varmeservice, Seashell AS, DecorCut who make this possible. I think that only two of our crew who have been there before, so we will do our very best to have some thrilling tight racing and put on a show.

To make travel to Santa Pod easier we received a nice offer from the Habermann family to store the coach at their facility in Germany between races. This really is making life easier for the Islanders as the trip to Hockenheim is 1400 km and a long ferry journey each way. At Santa Pod we are expecting visitors from our main sponsor Q8 Oils both from Sweden and United Kingdom, as well as from Sande Gård AS and other local sponsors.


Has anyone seen my family?
13th August: Sweden's Mats Eriksson and the Green Goblin Pro Modified team have been hard at work since the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park repairing the rear end housing, changing the struts and servicing the engine. Mats' wife Lena Perés says that she thinks that the Green Goblin will be very happy to go to Hockenheim.

"Time was a little bit tight to get everything done but the guys made it with hard work...actually I haven't seen them much", says Lena. "It's great to have a fifth round in the FIA Championship. We have been waiting for this for a long time. Drag racing is growing in every class right now and we have to work to get more time at the track. That will mean that we need more tracks, especially permanent tracks which are very important. Here in Sweden there are a lot of projects going on, the biggest as far as I know is Lindesberg's new track which is hopefully coming along next year or the year after.
©Eurodragster.com
"It's the first time that we have raced in Germany and at Hockenheim. Mats' old Falcon went there for a race years ago with Swedish legend Bo Redin, but you'd better ask Mats about that story!

"Mats is hoping for good traction and times as he had at Mantorp. We have heard that the track is smooth and straight, so we're expecting fast racing and good times at Hockenheim as well."

As mentioned on yesterday's news update, the team have also found time to secure Ludvig Perés' NDRS Junior Dragster Championship for 2008. "We had a thrilling weekend at the Linde Open", says Lena. "The racing is very good when these kids hit the track, and the sportsmanship is very good too. On Saturday night all the Junior racers and families had a crayfish party together."


Here come the Bad Luck Boys.
13th August: Sweden's Ulf 'Totte' Lindquist and the Bad Luck Boys Racing Team are shaping up for an assault on Comp Eliminator in 2009 with their Small Block Chevy-powered Topolino. Ulf has already tested the car and tells us that he has one test session left this season, his twentieth in drag racing:

I've been involved in racing since my début in 1988 at Mantorp Park, which was in a self-built Volvo 121 and a small two litre engine with no overcharge whatsoever. After two years I moved on to a totally restored and rebuilt 1973 Camaro with a small block and Nitrous. In the need for more speed it was sold and a 1968 Camaro RS was bought as a rolling chassis. A Chevy 454 ci was built and we raced for about five years with this. I ran a 10.91 as a low ET record and Personal Best.

In 2001 I decided to sell it all and become a mechanic in a dear friend's Outlaw Pro Modified, also known as Top Doorslammer, team in Sweden. I moved on to another team of friends after some years and for the last three seasons I've been a mechanic in the Brag Racing Team.
©Eurodragster.com
Ever since I saw my first Funny Car in the late 1970s I loved blown alky engines. Then when I grew older and saw some Topolinos on posters in some older relatives' workshops I was totally lost forever. Last summer I started to advertise for an old FC or a nice altered, but the result was not what I expected. But one day a man called me up and told me he had got an old chromoly Funny Car chassis, and let me tell you that I was surprised when he lived only some miles away! I jumped into my car and drove like I stole it, heading for that chassis. Of course I wanted it! I paid up and got it into my workshop really quick, and started to tear it down.

I wanted a blown engine of course but we're a small team, two guys and my girlfriend Jenny Ahlund, and felt that it would be too much to keep up with if we went blown-alky immediately. Therefore I bought an ex-Pro Stock engine, not the easiest way to go but they are real raw engines I think. This one was first built by Skinne in Norway then refreshed by MMR and Adam Flamholc. It's an up to date engine and not old and worn out like many old engines after year and year in a Pro Stock chassis.

Last week we did our first test event. Of course this year will be all about testing and getting friendly with the combination. We did three great runs and took it really slow and step by step. Ex-Pro Stock Champion Bo Hulten, now Roger Johansson's Pro Mod mechanic who is also my neighbour, told me to keep it under power for about three hundred feet, and if I felt OK with it, half track and no more. We stuck to half track for each of the three runs and we are all very pleased now. This resulted in a slow 1.72 at sixty feet, 6.44/180kmh half track and 10.27/193 with an idle launch, shifting at 7000 rpm and not doing anything to hurt the engine.

This weekend we went to a small event at a local track called Moholmsstrippen. It's a quarter mile track but non-prepared asphalt, but we hoped to do some nice nine-second runs and even get more prepared for the Winternationals at Meca Raceway in September. We had hoped to stall and launch at 6000 rpm and get it shift in the high eights, but unfortunately we saw rain, rain and rain.

We will take a break now and power up for the Winternationals as our last test event this year. That's the weekend after I my annual visit to the European Finals at Santa Pod.

The team is really looking forward to the year 2009, we know we are going to make some noise!

You can find out all about Ulf's Topolino, and check out some excellent on-board video footage, on the team's official web site at www.smokingtire.se.


Swift snippets.
13th August: Although we are deep into the drag racing season it's never too late for a spy picture, and this Mopar-powered Ford 100E is reportedly new addition to Pro ET in the UK, due to make its début at the Run What You Brung at Santa Pod this weekend. If you know any more then E-Mails to the usual address please.
©Eurodragster.com
Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding us the final version of the official FIA European Finals entry list, which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any queries about FIA European Finals entry, then please call Paula on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.


UK Northern Nationals review.
13th August: York Raceway hosted its biggest event of the year, the UK Northern Nationals, on 2nd-3rd August. With two rounds of American Super Stock, a round in each of the PDRC Northern Drag Racing Championships, the 31st Street Racer Championship, as well as the Wild Bunch and Super Charged Outlaws, it was certainly an action packed weekend writes Richard Smith:

Despite the poor forecast, the majority of the threatening clouds passed by in the distance with only a couple of brief showers halting proceedings, which gave a good opportunity to give PDRC's new track sweeper a whirl!

The sixth round of American Super Stock on Saturday saw some of the tightest qualifying yet, with the top fourteen within a tenth of their dial-ins and Chris Novak taking pole being only +0.0002 off! All eyes were on the top three in points: Dave Billadeau, Lee Chiles and Dan Houlston. Lee's Dakota was the first to fall when he red lit in the quarter finals, while Dave's GTX and Dan's Camaro raced through to the final. Having won the last two events thanks to a red lighting opponent, Dan was really pushing for another win. He sadly pushed that little too hard off the line, leaving a cherry and giving Dave, who ran 10.08 on a 10.04, another round win and further strengthening his points lead.

The next day, twenty six cars entered round seven with Ashley Rawson's GTX heading the qualifying list, +0.001 off his dial-in. In eliminations, round two produced a big match up - Dan Houlston v Lee Chiles. A good clean race saw Dan eliminated and Lee pressing on to reclaim his second position in the points standings, while Dave Billadeau's day ended in the quarters to number one man Ashley. Come the final it was Lee Chiles facing up against Andy Reynold's Rodzilla Chevelle, and in the first final not decided by a foul in a long time, Lee's 14.93 on a 14.92 beat Andy's 11.87 on a 11.82. With only one more round to go Dave's top spot looks pretty safe but you can be sure everyone will be racing hard till the very end! Here's how the top five looks:
  1. SS580 Dave Billadeau 8025
  2. SS1 Lee Chiles 6850
  3. SS49 Dan Houlston 6325
  4. SS240 Andy Reynolds 4450
  5. SS75 Dave Rushforth 3700
In Round 4 of the PDRC Championships, Sportsman ET saw Trevor Cadman's Camaro emerge victorious (see www.sportsman-et.co.uk for a full race report), Andy Reynolds made up for his Super Stock defeat by winning Pro ET, Air Cooled Eliminator was missing Nigel Hull again so Craig Perry took full advantage and gained another win, and in the heads up Hot Rod Challenge it was crowd favourite Charlie Stirling's Classic Capri taking the trophy.
©Eurodragster.com
Saturday evening's annual running of the Street Racer Championship was a full of drama and controversy but the field was eventually whittled down to Charlie Stirling's Capri and Chris Murty's Pulsar, with the Capri's 12.4/102 taking a comfortable win over the Pulsar's 13.8/100. To say Charlie was happy is a slight understatement, as anyone who was in, or near, the track bar that night will have heard!

Special mention must go the the Wild Bunch and the Supercharged Outlaws for a great show, with some huge wheelies from Chris Hartnell's Backdraft slingshot and the massive smoky burnouts by Mark Flavell's Funny Car and Lee Gallimore's altered! Hope to see these guys back at York next year.

Next up for York Raceway is the huge RWYB weekend for Jap tuners, GTis and Pugs and the postponed Mini v Beetle Shootout across the 24th-25th August Bank Holiday weekend. Then it's on to the UK Northern Finals on the 21st September. Be sure to check out www.york-raceway.co.uk/events.html for full details.

My photos from the UK Northern Nationals can be found at richardsmith.fotopic.net.


Quick thinking saves the day.
12th August: Dave McKenzie tells us that Saturday's demo action at the Bulldog Bash was a washout, but that a brilliant idea from his crewman Eddie saved the day at Shakespeare County Raceway:

Eddie came up with the idea of a cacklefest in front of the main grandstands. I had a quick run round the pits and thirty minutes later we were assembling a Fuel Altered, seven Supercharged Outlaws, four Outlaw Anglias and two Pro ET cars in the staging lanes. With all the cars facing the grandstands, which by then were standing room only, Tony Smith interviewed all the Supercharged Outlaw drivers one by one and then the call came over the PA "Gentlemen, start your engines" and all fourteen cars were fired up.
©Eurodragster.com
With all the cars on tick over I pointed to each car individually to blip the throttle going along the line of cars, and after doing this four times I threw both my arms in the air - this was the signal for all the cars to hit the throttle. Wow, what a crescendo of noise. The Fuel Altered which had been on tick over then finished the show with Ollie Burns blipping the throttle of The Mob quite a few times. The crowd loved it, and it made a talking point for the rest of the weekend.

Picure courtesy and ©Steve Wexler


German Super Pro ET update.
12th August: Markus Münch tells us that the German Super Pro ET Challenge has had a hard time of it in its first year:

Of the five planned races Vandel, Wittstock and Turtmann were cancelled, and even the replacement race at Luckau, "Race and Rave" in September, has been cancelled today. So we raced at Drachten 1, the Luckau Grand Nationals, and now Drachten 3. Drachten is a bit of a problem for us, because they run in a bracket up to 8.99 seconds, and we run up to 9.99, so two of our main contenders don't really have a chance to race at Drachten with their nine-second cars.
©Eurodragster.com
We are continuing to work on this year's schedule and on 2009. One thing is clear, we'll be back. Thanks to the drivers attending the rounds, you are the stars.

You can find out more on the mainly German-language series web site at
www.suproet.com.

Rotorstock 5 results.
12th August: The third round of the HKS Drag Series took place at Rotorstock 5 at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday. Congratulations to the winners:

FWD: Guy Chamberlain, Honda Civic Type R 10.289/143.82 def. Douggie Gemmell, Honda Civic Type R 12.185/116.69

Street: Johnny Mckeon, Nissan Skyline GTR R32 9.954/139.83 def. Gary Passingham, Nissan Skyline GTR R33 10.523/129.84

Pro: Steve Whittaker, Toyota Supra Mk3 8.864/132.85 def. Geoff Rance, Mazda RX8 9.611/141.10
©Eurodragster.com
Rick Cuthbert tells is that other news from the event includes Steve Whittaker's stunning 7.781/174.93 in the first round of eliminations, which makes his the first Jap-powered car in Europe to pass the seven-second mark, and Guy Chamberlain's 10.289/143.82 in the finals of eliminations. This run is the quickest ever by a front-wheel-drive car in the series.

Also of note was Leon Green's splendid new Toyota Supra (right), fresh from the garages of Webster Race Engineering and constructed from scratch to be more than capable of taking on the likes of Steve Whittaker. The car made just a few check-out passes, but looks more than capable of being the next Jap car to be writing the headlines.

You can find a full report, pictures and points standings on the event's official web site at www.japdragseries.co.uk.


Swift snippets.
12th August: Shakespeare County Raceway have a further six opportunities for individuals and companies to get involved at the Open Sport Nationals with the Best Of series of trophies. "The Best Of Awards consist of Best Appearing Car and Bike, Best Appearing Car and Bike Crew, and Best Engineered Car and Bike", says SCR's Jerry Cookson. "The Awards will be judged during qualifying days by members of the Race Control, commentary and scrutineering teams, and will be awarded before eliminations on Bank Holiday Monday". Each trophy is available to be sponsored for £30 and will be a shield with a plaque including the sponsor's name. To register your interest please give Jerry a call on 01789 720180 or E-Mail enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk.

Congratulations to Halvor Överby (Super Street), Ludvig Perés (Junior Dragster) and Jonas Sundström (Super Comp Bike) who have taken the first titles in the 2008 Nordic Drag Racing Series. You can find out more including the current points standings and remaining NDRS dates on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se.

Anders Magnusson of Leif Andréasson's Top Methanol FC team tells us that Leif's rear end-heavy FC should suit the track at this weekend's NitrolympX at Hockenheim. "We know that the Leanders Brothers are in the zone right now, but we can keep up running the same pace, and if we get the margins on our side next time we can defeat them", says Anders. "We know that they are far ahead in the points, but we are not going to give it up and the Leanders as well as the other teams must do their very best if they are going to race us."

Malta Drag Racing Association Secretary Jason Camilleri tells us that the MDRA are looking forward to welcoming the UK's Old Skool Ford racers to Hal-Far Raceway for next week's Night Event. "These guys were in Malta for our first and second event, but this time they will be racing with us - good luck guys!", says Jason. "This year we have Mark Pointer and Pete Ashworth competing with us and they have been great. We will also have the Borg Brothers Racing Team with their Top Methanol Dragster and the best Cosworth-powered Escorts in Europe and incredible ETs from our specialised four-cylinder engines. All are welcome, for more info please E-Mail me at mdra@maltanet.net.

Lucas Oil USA-backed Pro Mod driver and German record holder Norbert Kuno had a lot of problems getting the power to the ground at Mantorp Park. "The chassis had problems transferring the power and we didn't have the right set-up to go fast", says Norbert. "It was possible, because other teams did it. For Hockenheim we have worked out a new concept, working on the chassis and on the engine, and we will see if we go fast or slow."

Congratulations to Norbert's fellow German Pro Mod racer Jürgen Schomann on his first six-second pass, a 6.9/326 kmh at the Thunder Drome pre-NitrolympX event at Hockenheim at the weekend. Our good buddy Benni Voss also tells us that Funny Bike racer Chris Jaeger clocked a new PB of 7.6/290.

Theo Hürlimann adds that Swiss Pro Mod racer Rolf Ammann's testing at Hockenheim at the weekend went well. "The track was only prepared for eighty metres but it was good enough for us to find out that the car goes straight now and we had an OK sixty-foot time of 1.12", says Theo. "We are looking forward to racing in Hockenheim this weekend and especially to coming back to Santa Pod for the European Finals."

Spencer Tramm asked us to say a big Thank You to Ingo and Sabine Rolla and Norbert and Iris Kuno for their hospitality whilst in Mantorp Park. "It was an interesting weekend as I got to look at the computer traces from Norbert's car and ended up being Brolly Dolly for Ingo", says Spencer. "I am very much looking forward to working with the Pro Mod racers again at Hockenheim."
©Eurodragster.com
Santa Pod Raceway still have some places left for this Friday's (15th) Peak Performance Day. Advance booking is open at www.santapodshop.co.uk until 5:30 pm tomorrow (Wednesday). A race voucher is £50, entry on Friday is £10 and entry for Friday and Saturday's Run What You Brung is £15 although please note that you will again have to pay a track fee on Saturday.

Eurodragster.com News sponsor Nitrous Oxide Supplies have changed their logo. For details of Nitrous products and services on offer check out Nitrous Oxide Supplies' web site at www.nitrousoxidesupplies.co.uk.

UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter plans to post live updates from the Lucas Oil / Landmeco pit during this weekend's Nitrolympx at Hockenheim. You will be able to get the inside track from Carter Motorsport at www.andycarter.net.

UK blown-alcohol altered team Bennett Racing have announced sponsorship from Goodridge Hoses and Fittings for the rest of 2008 and the entire 2009 season. "Goodridge are the world's leading manufacturer of high-performance fluid transfer systems, driving the top race cars, performance road cars and motorcycles across the globe", says Luke Bennett. "Goodridge products cover all fluid transfer needs including hydraulic brake and clutch lines, and lightweight hoses for fuel, oil cooler, gearbox and water systems". More details at www.bennettracing.co.uk.

We have a couple of birthdays today. First up, Heide and Dan Page have asked us to say a big Happy Birthday to reigning UK National Super Gas Champion Jon Morton. Happy Birthday also to Jon Crawford. Have a great day guys.


King Racing press release.
12th August: Following King Racing's win on the Portable Shade Top Fuel Bike at the first stop of the so called 'Nordic Swing' at Alastaro in Finland, the team travelled to the back to back second and third stops at Mantorp Park in Sweden and Gardermoen in Norway with high hopes.

However, their optimism was short lived when they experienced the extremes of weather conditions at each event that put a large dent in their hope of retaining their Championship crown.

Although the Swedish event is one of the most eagerly awaited by racers and the 40,000 fans alike, the tricky bumpy track and eighth mile race distance leaves many a Crew Chief scratching their heads in their quest for an optimised set-up. And this year the stiflingly hot conditions turned the event into somewhat of a lottery for many and the final qualifying sheets were testament to that fact.

The team was not immune from the same problems facing the other riders and struggled to find a clutch setting to match that of the previous race. Despite that fact the team finished on the 'right' side of the ladder in fourth position at the end of final qualifying.

Their first round was a nail biting affair with Norway's Sverre Dahl making a welcome return to the series with his all new Bentec timed clutch and big sprag gearbox. King cut a good light on Dahl that proved to be decisive as he crossed the line at an achingly close 0.0071 seconds ahead . However, the semi-finals were to prove the limits of King's good reactions and less than optimal clutch settings when local hero Peter Svensson on his 'Mountain Motor' 1700cc billet machine blasted past King in the early part of the race, and the half race distance proved too short for King to make any headway.

The team's miseries were compounded when France's Eric Teboul failed to make his semi-final round against Championship leader Rikard Gustafsson of Sweden after suffering supercharger problems allowing the local rider to take a solo run into the final and build a further ten point advantage on the King Racing team. However, Gustafsson was unable to build any further points advantage on King when he failed to overcome the record breaking performance of the Kendall Oils backed Peter Svensson in the final.

With less than three days between the previous event and the race in Norway to plan their challenge to Rikard Gustafsson's Championship lead the team had little time to make large changes to their clutch set-up but were confident that two further days and five planned qualifying runs would ensure that they would be back on track.

The first day of qualifying saw the team make steady progress and ease quickly into fourth qualifying position in similar hot and sticky conditions to those experienced in Sweden. Gustafsson, however, had some problems with his mid track performance and finished the first day on the bump spot. But the second and final day of qualifying saw the weather turn to that experienced at the first round of the Championship at Santa Pod when the team failed to qualify, wet and windy and not one of the Championship machines turned a wheel in anger.

Although disappointing to the team that they were unable to make further progress in their quest for more personal bests, the resulting ladder saw King paired against rookie Kai Selkaama of Finland on the ex-Norbert Kutzera machine and Gustaffson with the unenviable task of taking on number one qualifier Eric Teboul who had run an astounding 6.2 second pass in qualifying – in second gear only! The team saw their chance to claw back further points from Gustafsson other than those from their superior qualifying position but it was not to be with the third and final day a repeat of the previous. The event was called to a halt by the Race Director without a pass having been made in the Championship. When the announcement was made the Gustafsson camp were all smiles, those in the King camp grimaced...

So, with the next two races in Germany and Denmark non-Championship events the Championship goes down to the wire in the final round at Santa Pod in England with Gustafsson a comfortable twelve points ahead of King. Can the team pull off a repeat of their stunning 'against all odds' win at the same event last year? The team and their fans wait with bated breath.

The team rely on only the best parts and services from leading companies in their chosen markets:

Portable Shade The world's premier awning and modular exhibition product company
JE Pistons The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons
Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc The highest quality valves and components for motorsport
Swecomposite The leading supplier of carbon fibre parts to the racing, performance and custom markets
Craft Safety Helmets The ultimate in safety and unique in design
Del West Engineering, Inc Pioneers in valve train design
Torco Oils The only oil recommended by engine manufacturers Puma Engineering.
Goedhals Precision specialist gear cutting and engineering.
Mickey Thompson Tyres The best drag race tyres in the world bar none.
Goodridge UK The original and the best in fluid transfer systems.
Gates The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics.
Vanson Leathers Thirty years producing the best quality track-tested motorcycle apparel.
Performance Machine The leader in aftermarket custom wheels, brakes and components.
Kent Cams Specialists in motorsport camshaft manufacture, short runs and one-offs.
Pro Alloy The UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators.
PsycleWorkz The UK's best custom and race fabricators and innovators.
House of Kolor Manufacturers of the world's most stunning specialist paints.
Cannon Engineering Gear cutting and precision engineering services.
Zodiac Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts.
Pixeleye Innovative graphic and website design.
MRE Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems.
Customize Premier sign makers and vinyl sign and design services.
Turboville Your one stop drag racing resource.
NitroShutter, The combined efforts of ace photojournalists Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes
Wackyshack, Creators of stunning paintwork and murals.
©Eurodragster.com

Changes afoot at PMR.
12th August: The UK's Paul Marston Racing are facing four consecutive weekends at the track, coming on top of changes within the PMR operation. Paul Marston explains:

Firstly Paul Marston Racing are very sorry to have parted ways with Gary Springford and Drag Race Engineering as marketing partners and business associates. Both Paul Marston Racing and Drag Race Engineering have enjoyed a fair share of success and PMR wishes DRE every success in any future projects.

Steve Bolton also has hung up his racing boots for the 2008 season, citing business pressures as the main reason. Steve's company is just so busy that he is finding it nearly impossible to justify the time off. Steve is also unlikely to return to UK National Championship drag racing under the Paul Marston Racing banner. So again everyone at Paul Marston Racing wishes Steve every success when he returns, hopefully in 2009. Steve also wants to make it clear that his decision to quit was not because the Crew Chief made him do the washing up! Steve and the Dark Destroyer Plymouth Scamp will be sorely missed in Pro ET and at the track.

The positive side of this is that it leaves space in the Paul Marston Racing team to bring on and develop some new drivers from the Drag Race Driving School into the National event team. Talking of which Paul Marston Racing's Drag Race Driving School is looking forward to a very busy month with a fair number of drivers going through the class.

Paul Marston Racing are very pleased to see the welcome return to of our American representative ex-Pat Tony Morris, who flies into Hockenheim next weekend for the NitrolympX and will be attending the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway over the August Bank Holiday before familiarising himself with Spencer Tramm's Super Pro ET Corrado which he will be racing at the European Finals. Everyone wishes Tony the very best of luck in Spencer's Corrado, having reached the final of Super Gas with the PMR Whoopass Monza at the Main Event in 2006 I would suspect that Tony would be aiming at the same kind of result - no pressure then Tony!

Meanwhile everyone in the PMR crew is looking forward to our marathon of four consecutive weekends at the track, starting this weekend. You gotta love it!
©Eurodragster.com

Web site updates.
12th August: UK street-legal racer Andy Frost has updated his Red Victor 1 Racing web site with the first instalment of his report and some pictues from World Street Race 2 at Miramichi Dragway Park in New Brunswick, Canada. You can check it out at www.redvictor1racing.co.uk. Andy adds that he has some WSR 2 T-Shirts available at £20. "Get yours soon as they are very limited and I don't have access to any more", says Frosty.
©Eurodragster.com
Never Again Racing's Fotopic gallery has been updated with a number of collections including this year's Mopar Euronationals and Nostalgia Nationals, and shots of the team's latest race car under construction. You can find the pics at neveragainracing.fotopic.net.


Hockenheim traffic warning.
10th August: Many thanks to Heike Schroeder for passing on some very important news for those going to Hockenheim for this week's NitrolympX:

The Schwetzingen/Hockenheim exit of the A6 is completely closed until 29th August. There are two diversions.
©Eurodragster.com
Diversion 1: from the North on A6 exit at Mannheim/Schwetzingen, take the L599 (parallel to A6) to B36 then follow the B36 in the direction Hockenheim, and take the Talhaus exit.

Diversion 2: from the A5, change to A6 direction Mannheim at Dreieck Walldorf. After approximately 7 km exit at Dreieck Hockenheim in the direction of the Hockenheimring.


Amman returns.
10th August: Swiss Pro Mod racer Rolf Ammann is making a return to the track in time for next weekend's NitrolympX at Hockenheim. Rolf was last seen sideswiping the guardrail at last year's FIA European Finals but Theo Hürlimann tells us that the Blown Nugget is back in one piece after a titanic effort.

"We weren't sure if we could afford to fix the car until this year", says Theo. "Rolf worked overtime like mad over winter, and did everything to do make impossible possible. We are proud to tell you that the car is ready to race again. Rolf is testing in Hockenheim right now and we hope approach the amazing results of the other teams.
©Eurodragster.com
"Rolf invested over 50,000 Swiss Francs, which is almost £20,000 to get back on the track. We really hope to see him going straight now. Andy Robinson fixed the smashed frame of the car, and he also found an old crack in the support of the four-link mount on the rear axle, which explains why the car never went straight. Hopefully it was only that."


Swift snippets.
10th August: 21:50 Congratulations to Steve Whittaker who wiped out the previous European bests for a Jap car and smashed into the sevens with a 7.781/174.93 and 7.904/173.69 with his Toyota Supra Mk3 at Rotorstock at Santa Pod today. Rick Cuthbert of Santa Pod Raceway tells us that he will post a report tomorrow.

UK Wild Bunch racer Sid Slattery's Destiny slingshot has had a makeover for 2008, and photographer Neal Reed sent us a couple of shots. Click on the picture for a picture of Destiny on its very tidy trailer.
©Eurodragster.com
Markus Münch, who will be providing the photographs for our NitrolympX coverage, and Matthias Wienand have again joined forces to produce a 2009 European Drag Racing calendar. Having selected twelve pictures from over thirty thousand shots, Markus and Matthias have entrusted the A3-sized calendar to the designer of Tätowierer magazine. Delivery commences in November and the calendar will be €19.90 plus shipping. Numbers will be limited so to to reserve your copy E-Mail your postal address to info@dragstripper.de.

In a story neatly drawing together two Eurodragster.com News sponsors, T-Shirt and apparel manufacturer tireshake.com has released two new T-Shirts. The first shirt (right) is for the Leanders Brothers Top Methanol FC team, and the other is the new tireshake.com shirt. You can find out more and check out tireshake.com's unique range of shirts and other apparel by expanding the New! link at www.tireshake.com.


K&H Racing press release.
10th August: Many thanks to Henriette Selles for sending us an English translation of Thursday's press release from Dutch Pro Mod team K&H Racing:

Marc Meihuizen has pulled off his best ever placing at Mantorp Park during the third race of the FIA Pro Modified Championship. In this very competitive field the driver of K&H Racing made it to the final and ended up as runner-up. With this outcome Meihuizen also secured second place in the Swedish Championship and took the number three spot so far in the FIA European Championship, only one point away from Mikael Lindahl. On his way to the final he beat that same Lindahl and in the meantime clocked two personal bests: a 6.180 and 369.39 km/h.

"The run against Micke was the absolute run for me, off the line next to each other towards the finish and than beating the European record holder, fantastic" says a more than content Marc Meihuizen.

Since the introduction of the FIA European Pro Modified Championship in 2005, the Scandinavians have been ruling the game with an English victory every now and then. In the lion's den Marc Meihuizen showed himself to be a real threat when he put some Swedish favourites on the trailer. And that in a field of twenty four, the best-filled class with at least ten serious contenders, and the most competitive class in the FIA European Championships.

It started during qualifying when Meihuizen clocked the fifth time with 6.283 seconds. With that the K&H driver had to take on Norbert Kuno. Despite a start that didn't go well, he put the German driver at a serious distance and the Business Coupé passed the finish line first. In the quarter finals a heavy contender was waiting: Mikael Lindahl, number four qualifier and European record holder. Meihuizen reacted with a 0.097 against a 0.119 seconds and never gave him a chance to overtake. With a time of 6.180 seconds and at 369.39 kmh Marc crossed the finish, while Lindahl clocked a 6.228. The 6.180 meant another Personal Best after the run in Finland (6.194) and shattered the previous speed record.
©Eurodragster.com
Then the number one qualifier awaited: Mats Eriksson. This was a relatively easy run, because the Swedish team had big problems while Marc was away to make it over the line to clock a 6.240/367.80. With that being done the first final was a fact.

The final was against the only other Dutch contender, Robert Joosten, which made it clear that no matter what the outcome, a first Dutch Pro Mod victory was a sure thing. They left at almost at the same time when the light went green, and both of them had tyre shake. After about 200 metres the curtain fell for Marc Meihuizen when the motor died on him and he had to see the other car going away from him.

No disappointment though: runner up, the best classification ever in a FIA European Championship, runner up in the Swedish Championship, two Personal Bests and almost the fastest driver of the weekend.

Meihuizen looks back at a great race: "The run against Lindahl was an absolute highlight for me. Right next to each other and then to win with such a small difference. Mikael was jumping up and down despite his defeat, that's how great a run like that is."

The next FIA European Championship race will be the Nitrolympx at Hockenheim on 15th-17th August. On the German Grand Prix circuit K&H Racing will try to finally get to the number one spot. Before then some work awaits the team. Crew Chief Joeri Woudenberg says "We have a nasty electronic problem. During two out of four qualifying runs the motor died at about 300 metres. At first we thought it was the ignition. MSD checked it for us and gave us a solution. Then it happened again; and concluded it must have been something else in the car. The problem presented itself again during the run against Norbret Kuno, but fortunately the head start was good enough. During the finals it happened again, leaving Marc without a chance. Very annoying indeed. Maybe it has to do with the enormous tyre shake Marc suffered at Alastaro. We will turn the car inside out and hope to get this ghost out of the machine."


A Grandstand bonus.
10th August: Amid all the excitement surrounding next month's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod, Drag Racing USA guests of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Grandstand Motor Sports will have something extra to anticipate. A Special Prize Draw will be made to determine which of them wins a day at the races with Don Schumacher Racing when they travel to NHRA's Las Vegas and Pomona events later this year. Guests who book in time will automatically be entered in the draw and a winner will be drawn for each NHRA event.

Don Schumacher Racing, the largest professional squad in NHRA Drag Racing, includes the Top Fuel teams of Tony Schumacher and Cory McClenathan, the Funny Cars of Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman and Jerry Toliver and the Pro Stock Motorcycle of Chip Ellis. At each race, the winning Grandstand guest and up to three travelling companions will be invited to sample the full sponsor's hospitality programme in DSR's private pitside enclosure, meeting drivers and crew chiefs, watching from close quarters as the crews prepare the cars, and enjoying VIP catering and refreshments. There's nothing like a nitro fire-up alongside your table to spice up your lunch!
©Eurodragster.com
Grandstand offers separate short tours to Las Vegas (29th October-5th November) and Pomona (11th-19th November), plus a bumper twenty one-night excursion covering both events. Flights, quality hotels, car hire, race tickets and the services of a tour manager are included. Grandstand can also tailor dates and arrangements to suit individual needs. There's an array of added attractions and, for guests who qualify as 'automotive business professionals', admission can be arranged to the mammoth SEMA Show.

Grandstand is delighted to welcome guests from the UK, Europe and worldwide. For more information on the Drag Racing USA programme, please telephone 0845 375 0300 (from abroad: +44 116 231 1222), visit www.grandstandmotorsports.co.uk, or simply click the Grandstand logo at right.


Web site updates.
10th August: Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson has updated the Racebilder site with pictures from the Power Street Finals at Malmö's Meca Raceway. Check it out at www.racebilder.nu.

Paul Castle has updated his Grandpa's Toy web site with the latest news from his Supertwin pit. You can stay in touch at www.freewebs.com/grandpastoyracing.

Eurodragster.com US Correspondent Ed O'Connell has posted some more pictures from the recent Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park, this time off-track and portrait shots and pictures of what Ed describes as "Strange goings-on". You can check out Ed's shots at picasaweb.google.com/surfphoto1/Mantorp02?authkey=WeqIWJ-fS4g.
©Eurodragster.com
Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger has updated his Nitroexposure web site with some shots from the Bug Jam at Santa Pod Raceway together with a couple of vintage pictures from the USA. Roger's web site can be found at www.nitroexposure.co.uk.


FIA European Finals updates.
9th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding us Version 6 of the official FIA European Finals entry list, which you can view by
clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any queries about FIA European Finals entry, then please call Paula on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.
©Eurodragster.com
Darren Prentice has been in touch to invite car and bike racers to take part in the Parade of Power, the annual event in Wellingborough Town Centre to promote the FIA European Finals, which this year takes place at 7:00 pm on Friday 29th August. Vehicles should be capable of doing five laps (Sorry for the use of circuit terminology - Ed) of the short course around the Town Centre and will then be parked up in the Market Square for meet and greet with spectators. Pre-entry is essential; if you are interested then please contact Darren at darren@santapod.com or on 01234 782828.

Darren Prentice is also the man to contact for any racer wishing to hire portable toilets for exclusive use in their pits at the FIA European Finals. If you wish to hire a portable toilet then again please contact Darren at darren@santapod.com or on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828).


Swift snippets.
9th August: Smax Smith has been in touch to say a big Happy Birthday for yesterday (Friday) to his son Aidan Heatley-Smith. "Congrats on making the big 20", says Smax. "Aidan came through the ranks with the Junior Dragster and has driven the blown alky '33 Plymouth, and now drives the blown alky '69 Mustang. He also builds and tunes the motors and is currently helping tuning the Top Fuel car. I'm so proud of him and amazed he has so much knowledge - I'm sure the NHRA Drag Racing games help!". Hope you had a great day Aidee.
©Eurodragster.com

Will's valve job.
9th August: As some Eurodragster.com readers may be aware, Herb and Kim Andrews' eldest son William was recently diagnosed as urgently needing an aortic heart valve replacement. "Seeing Will is only fifteen and showed no outward signs this came as a bit of a shock, to say the least!", say Herb and Kim.

"Last week Will underwent a nine-hour operation at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London and he's currently in their Intensive Care Unit. By the time you read this, hopefully he may be back on the ward. In all we expect he will be in hospital for fifteen days. We would have found the prospect of having such a serious operation daunting, but Will's logic was "How can I drive a Funny Car in the future if I'm not fit enough, so it needs doing". Can't argue with that!

"A number of racers and crew have asked about sending Get Well messages. Please do not contact the Brompton directly, as it takes their efforts away from far more important things. If you want to send a card, then please post it to our home address: Maple Grove, 54 West Street, Dormansland, Nr Lingfield, Surrey RH7 6QS and I will make sure he gets them as we know they will cheer him up no end.
©Eurodragster.com
"Will has set himself a target of crewing on Martin Holgate's Paranoia altered at either the FIA European Finals or the Hot Rod Drags. A bit optimistic we know but something to aim for.

"Finally, it's at times like this that you realise how precious life is, so give your children a hug tonight."

We are sure that everyone will join Kirstie, Simon, Roger and Tog in sending our very best wishes to Will. See you at the track soon, mate.


FIA European Finals entry.
8th August: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch to remind racers that today, Friday, is the closing date for entry for all classes for the FIA European Finals which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 4th-7th September.

Entry after today, if accepted, will be subject to a Late Entry Penalty of up to 100%. In addition some classes have in the past been closed on or immediately after the official entry date through sheer numbers so it is recommended that racers submit their entries as soon as possible. Entry forms can be downloaded from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at
www.eurodragster.com/sprc, the Power Racing web site at www.powerracing.eu, or the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se.
©Eurodragster.com
Paula has forwarded us Version 5 of the official FIA European Finals entry list, which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

If you have any queries about FIA European Finals entry, then please call Paula on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.


Comeback Of The Year.
8th August: Norwegian Top Methanol Dragster racer Paul Ingar Udtian and his team pulled off the comeback of the year after a parachute failure at the Veidec Festival. The Q8 Oils-sponsored dragster set a new distance record for going into the field at the end of Mantorp Park's shutdown area and suffered some damage in a double roll, but with a titanic effort by the team and the help of Paul Ingar's fellow racers the car was back on track the next day. Konrad Ree got in touch to tell us how it went from the team's point of view:

There was huge excitement before the Veidec Festival and the third round of the FIA European Championship. The team was in fourth spot in the Championship, not too bad, but we were fighting to reach our season's goal which was to be in the top three.

Friday's first qualifying round started with a nice 5.67/403 kmh, which won Paul Ingar second qualifier. But something scary happened at the end of the track. The release mechanism to the parachute failed and Paul Ingar had huge problems slowing down the car. The dragster continued off the end of the track, through the sand (which is there to slow down cars that have problems with stopping), and continued about 150 metres into the cornfield. Then the car rolled and ended upside down. Paul Ingar quickly got out of the dragster on his own, with the safety crew not far behind, checking him for possible injuries. The driver was angry, but free of injury.

Unfortunately the dragster had got a little damage, but the team quickly saw the possibility to get the dragster checked and fixed and then continue the race. Half an hour after the incident, almost twenty people were in full swing fixing the car and making it ready to race again. We needed several new parts to make the car ready again, and they were lent to us by our competitors. Thanks to Dave Wilson for lending us a rear wing, to Rob Turner who lent us front wheels, and also to Peter Schöfer who helped us with other parts, just so the Islanders could continue the race. After almost twelve hours of work, the car was ready to race. The car was checked by a chassis expert, so we were sure that it was OK before Paul Ingar was racing again.

On Saturday morning the team was ready for the third qualifying round. A lot of people were surprised to see the dragster at the start line - nobody had imagined that the team was going to get the dragster ready the same weekend. Paul Ingar seemed untouched by Friday's incident when 5.67/402 popped up on the scoreboard. The team was happy, and even the spectators, commentator and and the contestants cheered! The Islanders Dragracing Team was back in business!

The atmosphere was good when the dragster came back to the pits, and our guest from Q8 Oils seemed to be very happy - just like the driver. But our problems didn't end there: when the crew checked the dragster after the run, they found a crack in the gearbox housing, and then a new hunt for parts started. Contestant and gentleman Timo Habermann lent us his spare gearbox, and the car was again ready to race. The help and comradeship between the contestants are amazing!
©Eurodragster.com
Before the last qualifying round on Saturday, Paul was fifth on the list. Paul Ingar then made a 5.64/404 pass, and climbed up to fourth position which would give him more points in the Championship after the race. The car was checked and cleared again, and it was now ready for eliminations on Sunday.

Paul Ingar was up against Timo Habermann in the first round of eliminations. This was going to be a very exciting race, the two drivers with probably the best reaction time in the Top Methanol class. Timo got the best start, with an amazing 0.019 second against Paul's 0.048. It was a tight race, and they were side by side all the way to the finish line, where Timo took the win, only 0.098 seconds before Paul Ingar (about a car length - Ed). Timo stopped the clocks at 5.56/411 against Paul Ingar's 5.63/404.

When we looked at the ETs from the other races in this round, we could see that it was only Timo who had a good enough ET to eliminate Paul Ingar. To see that was a little sad, but the team is satisfied, considering the incident and all the problems that weekend. We counted up the working hours from we started work on the car on Wednesday until we were ready to leave Mantorp, and it added up to seventy six hours pr mechanic. It was a lot of work, but we got the car together and just lost one qualifying session.

Paul Ingar is still number four in the points standings. There are two races left, and the battle for the top three position is not over yet. Hope to see you all at Hockenheim!


Grumpy Tools up.
8th August: Current FIA European Top Methanol Dragster Champion Dave Wilson and the Silverline Tools team will be attending this Sunday's Silverline-backed Power Tool drag race at the Haynes Motor Museum near Yeovil.

"We will have the car there and we plan to fire it up a couple of times and if the conditions allow we will do a burnout", Grumpy told Eurodragster.com. "Then we will be going to Hockenheim in convoy with Andy Robinson."
©Eurodragster.com
The Silverline Tools Power Tool Drag Race attracted six thousand visitors last year. This year there are two classes for power tools, the first for vehicles fashioned from hand power tools which will run on a wooden drag strip and the other for ride-on vehicles including one machine put together by Grumpy from eight chainsaws. "I built the ride for the boss of Silverline", said Grumpy. "It has eight cylinders, but I did have to take the chains off."

This Sunday's event also features Go Karts, drifting, a P1 Powerboat (Are they expecting a lot of rain? - Ed) and Jason Plato in a Silverline Tools truck recently modified by Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars. You can find out more at www.silverlinetools.com/power_tool_drag_racing.html.


Swift snippets.
8th August: Paul Watson of Dynospeed Developments tells he is hoping for a good field of 8.50 Bikes at the new class' tryout at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway on 14th-15th September. "Our own turbo Busa has already run an 8.3 with 6 psi and just needs dialling in", says Paul. "Fosters Shaun with a new Bandit will be there and Andy Hayley on his Busa to name but a few. However if anyone is thinking about running in this class next year then please get in touch with me now at paul@dynospeed.co.uk or call me on 0208 500 5770."
©Eurodragster.com
UK NFAA team and Eurodragster.com Blogger Bennett Racing have announced a sponsorship deal with the US' Cocaine Energy Drink. Luke Bennett tells us that the drink, which doesn't actually contain any cocaine, contains 350% more caffeine than Red Bull and is huge in the USA. The manufacturers are looking to bring it to Europe and you can check out and order the three varieties for yourself at www.drinkcocaine.com or read more at www.bennettracing.co.uk.

Robert Lim was recently asked on behalf of the Lord High Chamberlain to get some TV coverage for the new race track he's had built in the grounds of his castle in Cheshire. "With the help of Mike McCormack, his head of communications, I arranged for a helicopter with a film crew aboard to race my car around the course", says Robert. "It was very satisfying to lay rubber on a brand new track! The feature was shown in prime time by Granada Television and seems to have been well received. The new venue is hosting a major new event this weekend, the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, combining Classic Motorsport with a helicopter show and powerboat racing. Next year there's even the possibility of a drag racing display featuring some Altereds from the NFAA. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Smax Smith and Cath Napier for their help and advice during this busy time."


Outlaws' double header.
8th August: The UK's Supercharged Outlaws started their mid-summer back-to-back weekends at York Raceway last weekend, sponsored by Roy Wilding Race Cars. Dave McKenzie tells us that five cars made the trip and were joined at York by Mark Flavell in his Super Pro ET Funny Car:

The Outlaws ran over the eighth mile, and big smoky burnouts were the order of the day. If there was a prize for the biggest burnout then it would have been a close call between Mark Flavell's FC and Lee Gallimore's altered. In the first runs on Sunday both cars put on a great display but I think Lee shaded it by nearly reaching the quarter mile boards. I waited for Lee to back up I was not running that far to guide him back. Lee is quoted as saying that it gets lonely all that way up the strip on your own. In one match up Roy Wilding paired up with Mark Flavell and it was a great side by side Funny Car versus slingshot duel. Mark pipped Roy to the line by a short head, Roy running 5.47 to Mark's 5.22.

Alec Coe's season does not get any better. On his second pass on Saturday the torque converter let go sidelining Alec for the rest of the weekend Steve Goode put on a steady display, learning the Wobble car and getting to grips with the monster engine. Steve told me that he toned the engine down for York but his was the most consistent car and Steve came away with the Roy Wilding Race Cars trophy for this meeting. Last but not least Tony Smith Tony has had some bad luck this season but he now seems to have turned the corner, with each of his four runs getting quicker finishing the day with a 6.9 over the eighth.

The Outlaws would like to thank all the track crew and officials for another good weekend up at York, and I hope they enjoyed the show we put on.
©Eurodragster.com
A few frantic phone calls on Sunday had Johnny Hall searching for a new converter for Alec and a thank you is in order as Johnny came up trumps. Kev Mortimer made a dash down to London on Monday with Alec's gearbox, Johnny checked it over and all was found to be OK and by Monday Night Kev was on his way to Shakespeare County Raceway with the box and converter. Yes, you read right, Alec and Kev were already pitted at Shakey for this weekend's Bulldog Bash. With only three days between York and getting set up for the Bulldog Bash it has been quite a challenge for some teams. Crew and drivers have to take holidays to be at both events. Teams like Alec's travelled three hundred miles up to York and then straight down to Shakey on Monday where they will stay until Sunday before arriving home ten days after setting out.

We are scheduled to run twice today and twice tomorrow. The Outlaws have nine cars entered for this event; with a massive crowd expected we are really up for putting on a good show for the bikers. Three slingshots, three altereds and three doorslammers intend to attack the quarter mile and we should see some close racing with low seven second passes. Steve Goode is said to be turning up the power for this one, and Lee Gallimore was servicing the Red Mist altered on Monday just to make sure every thing is A-OK. Alec and Kev were due to refit the gearbox at the track on Tuesday. Roy Wilding will be confident after his duel with Mark Flavell at York so I expect Roy to lean on the Hemi Hunter this weekend. Ian Hanson with his immaculate Corvette is capable of running in the low sevens if the track is there. Tony Smith is getting more confident with the Faster Pussycat altered and is looking forward to this one. Richard Davis will be back after missing York due to holidays and will be want to regaining his top spot with his doorslammer. Making the long journey from the Isle of Wight will be Paul Watts with the No Easy Pick-up. Paul will be hoping for some consistent runs from the truck after a lot of work over the last couple of months. Jon Best is shaking down his new nitro slingshot and wil make his début on the track running 90% nitro which should make him sit up and take notice.

The Supercharged Outlaws would like to thank the organisers of the Bulldog Bash for the invite. We are really looking forward to this great event and hope to repay them with a great show.


Web site updates.
8th August: In the latest entry in his exclusive Racer Blog, Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon tells of his dealings with an innumerate courier and looks forward to next week's NitrolympX at Hockenheim. You can read Lex's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.
©Eurodragster.com
Plans are coming together for Eurodragster.com's American Car Imports-sponsored Event Coverage of next week's NitrolympX at Hockenheim. As things stand we will be posting live reports, end-day galleries, and end-day off-track galleries, and the Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam will be broadcasting. The coverage team will be Tog and Kirstie, joined by German photographer Markus Münch who kindly offered to stand in for Roger. We must also say a big Thank You to UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter who will be giving us the use of his 3G wireless broadband.


Smax back in the hot seat.
7th August: Earlier this year ex-pat UK Fuel racer Smax Smith answered an advertisement offering a drive at the IHRA race in Rockingham, ony to discover that the event clashed with his daughter's wedding. The team retained their driver for the next event but then Smax received an E-Mail offering him the drive at the IHRA events at Grand Bend and Toronto, a chance too good to be turned down:

I needed to upgrade my IHRA Nitro Funny Car licence to Top Fuel and was told I could do this in the first qualifier on Friday. I had never seen the car nor met the team, and I was to turn up and drive a full pass to cross-licence. So no pressure there then! My boys Aidee and Ronan and Azzy and their mates and I took my motorhome and arrived on Thursday to meet Bob the dad and owner, who is seventy years old and has been driving injected nitro since 1960. I just went into the storage business so I gave the guys some parts in exchange for advertising on the car.We helped unload the car and got ready to meet the team on Friday.

I fit the car well, I believe it was Viveca Averstedt's old chassis from Florida, anyhow it's fully updated with some good stuff but no clutch or fuel management. Six primary fingers and a ton of weight so yahoo, let's ride!

We went to the line first out. Burnout etc perfect, staged the car and launched with a 0.980 sixty foot, 3.8 to eighth and a 6.0/230. A nice relaxed run and secured my licence. The fuel check revealed why we were down on power, recording a 79% mix rather than 89% which could kill 1000 hp! We may also have had a timing issue as we had set the mags before the run as normal, but next day getting ready for the second session we had the timing off and discovered the keyway in the hub had broken and moved the hub so we decided to sit out the second session and fix this and check over some stuff. We discarded the data from the first qualifier.
©Eurodragster.com
We came out for the third and final session against Mitch King and recorded a 5.5/250, only good enough for ninth spot but we had a cylinder dead as well, too much weight not allowing the motor to rev up as required. Still I was now licenced and earned the guys #9 money as well as no damage, and the best incrementals to date a 0.920 to sixty feet, 3.6 to the eighth, and best ET.

The team were happy with me and decided we would go to Martin, Michigan, less than one hour from Chicago as the Toronto race was cancelled due to their not making facility improvements. It was also great to see Dave Bryant (from Shockwave) there helping Terry Haddock to win Nitro Funny Car.

Last Friday we set off at 5.30 am to make the border at 8:00 am and drive to hook up with the team in Detroit. We drove the laborious threee and a half hours across the state and arrived at Martin around 1.30. We unloaded the car and finished the last few jobs, deciding that a few jet changes to balance motor and more blower were all we were going to do to record data for tuning from two runs.

Went out on Friday night against Luigi Novelli and nailed him on the tree with an 0.25 light and ran 5.8/230 dropping three cylinders and breaking a belt. The data revealed that we still had some jet issues, but checking the motor we had bent a couple of pushrods which hadn't dropped cylinders but we realised that this happened after the belt broke. We had gone back to a four disc clutch as the five disc needed more power that we didn't have. A long thrash and we had some issues but we waded through and got car ready for the afternoon session.

We warmed up after taking out weight, putting in more timing and blower as well as fuel. It sounded awesome then disaster - it stopped! After careful checking we realised the clutch had locked up. It didn't make sense but we had to pull out the pack. We missed the call so watched the other racing, but then there was huge oildown so we ran back to see if we could get ready and discovered the flywheel bolts were loosened and one bolt had moved out and struck the first disc - how lucky were we not too run!

We got another disc and Aidee and I put the clutch back in. With twenty minutes to go Dad decides he wants the five-disc back in, so we ripped out the four-disc and put int he five disc only to find that the pack thickness not correct. We put the four-disc back in and with a few minor jobs still to do we decided to sit out the session after all and go out and run at night with the cool air and track.

After we fired up it was smoking from #5 cylinder but we had no choice but to try to make the cut. Did a great burnout and the car sounded awesome, stopped and put the clutch in and selected reverse but nothing. The reverser was smashed so I got pushed back then the third problem, the revs were too high. Gary the Crew Chief was pushing on the blades and I highsided it to drop rpms but we got shut down - bummer! Capacity crowd too. Never mind.

We took the car back and enjoyed rest of racing and a few beers and watched a full show next day too. We serviced car, got parts for the reverser from Lenco and fixed anipped ring on #5 piston then decided to let dad see if he still had it and go for a 330 foot squirt at the end of the day. We did get him to the line and after a fine burnout he launched but it kaboomed almost immediately and pushed out both head gaskets into a spectacular fireball. He will have some stories for his pals who think bowling is the sport of kings! We suspect mechanical failure which we will be checking soon as we left the track after 10:00 pm and faced a long drive home. We haven't discounted being on the high side for too long either!

I would like to thank all the fans who E-Mailed me good luck wishes and also hello to all the teams competing so fiercely in Top Fuel in Europe - well done guys. More in future so stay tuned to my web site at www.smax.co.uk.


Swift snippets.
7th August: Many thanks to Julie Willcox for forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry list for the Open Sport Nationals, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 25th-27th August. You can check out the 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 Open Sport Nationals. If you think you should be on the Open Sport Nationals entry list, or if you have any queries about entering the event, then please call Julie on 07792 919508 or 01789 720180.

Thanks also to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding us Version 4 of the official FIA European Finals entry list, which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Entry for all classes Pro and Sportsman closes tomorow, Friday; entry forms are available on the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about FIA European Finals entry, then please call Paula on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.

Four B&H Street Eliminator race cars and four Super Street Bikes will be making demonstration runs at the FIA European Finals to promote the UK National Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod on 27th-28th September.
©Eurodragster.com
The UK's Andy Frost declared himself "gutted" not to be able to race after all of his efforts to get to Miramichi Dragway Park in Canada for World Street Race 2, which was rained out. "I just want to thank all the people involved in organising the race, the track staff at Miramichi, all the race fans, all the racers, the people of the city, all of the folks from the UK who came to the race and of course my sponsors who got me there", says Andy. "I've never felt this bad after race weekend - it was soul-destroying. I'll be posting a report shortly after I get back at the weekend."

Also gutted is Sweden's Anders Envall who tells us that he has had to cancel his traditional trip to race his Impala SS at the FIA European Finals. The engine of his Dodge RV support vehicle expired and the transmission of his race car will have to come out to be renovated. The US' Karl Ellwein has also had to cancel his FIA European Finals appearance but he is planning to return to fulfil the date in 2009. You can find out more on Bostic's web site at www.blackout.nu.

Øyvor Jacobsen and Linda Thun Tønseth have been in touch to say Thank You to the crew of the Top Fuel Dragster which Linda was supposed to drive at Gardermoen. "Even though the race was rained out we had a great weekend thanks to all the nice people we had around us", they say. "We both want to say a special Thank You to Pavi the chef for taking such good of us, making excellent food for so many people. We would also like to thank Jari Eki for bringing the Eagle Racing truck and trailer from Finland so we could enjoy the best facilities at the track. Linda is especially grateful to Crew Chief Ben Allum for being so patient and thoroughly explaining and going through all the routines, making her feel confident and secure. Thank you so much, all of you!"


Nostalgia racers sought.
7th August: With the current trend towards turning the clock back to the halcyon days when Harold Wilson was Prime Minister and dinosaurs ruled the drag strips, organisers of the 20th Annual NSRA Hot Rod Drags - scheduled for 12th-14th September at Shakespeare County Raceway, the home to nostalgia drag racing - are looking for some fun time drag cars to put on display which suit the nature of the event, writes SCR's Jerry Cookson.

"We are looking for some true classics which we know all too well are out there" says Jerry. "You only have to cast your eyes over the many threads on the UKDRN Nostalgia forum to get a feel of what actually still exists today, and what they were in a former life. Display cars can be in part repair or under restoration. It doesn't matter, as each vehicle will tell a unique story of how the sport has progressed from days gone by. Heck, it doesn't have to be a car. It could be a body shell, panels or even an engine and trans!

"So far we've contacted a few owners who have expressed an interest, but we could do with a few more to make the display something that hot rodding and drag racing fans will hopefully remember for another twenty years, and it's all under cover. It doesn't matter what state the vehicle is in, it's all part and parcel of the Nostalgia holiday weekend. So why not come and join the party?"

If you're the owner of a nostalgia drag racer, or if you know an owner, then give Jerry a call at Shakespeare County Raceway on 01789 720180 or 07901 796674, or E-Mail enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or quartermilenewsmakers@yahoo.co.uk.

The organisers of the dusk rolling Cacklefest on the Saturday of the NSRA Hot Rod Drags are also looking for vintage 1950s and 1960s pickup trucks or station wagons which can be used as tow/support vehicles. If you plan to attend the Hot Rod Drags in a period truck and would like to get involved in this history-making event, either E-Mail details about the truck directly to the Raceway at enquiries@shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or E-Mail Mark Fullard at vivnmark@sky.com.
©Eurodragster.com

FIM/UEM Northern Swing review.
7th August: FIM/UEM European Drag Bike Championship Co-ordinator Lars Andersson has been in touch with his usual post-event review, in this case a double-header of the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park and the Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen:

Mantorp Park: A very big Thank You to Kjell Pettersson and all the others on the track team who again managed to make a very good track out of nothing, and to manage to have a track that we could race on; I was almost afraid that the track not would last due to the sun. Also thank you to all other people working at Mantorp Park for all their help during the weekend.

In Pro Stock Bike there were nine qualifiers this year. We had two racers from Greece again this year and they both qualified this time. Fredrik Fredlund ended up as the number one qualifier and Ulf Ögge number two. In the eliminations on Sunday was it very exciting. In the semi it was Fredlund against Bishop, who has some problems with a carburetor and that put Fredlund in the final. In the other half it was Ögge against Stavros and with a red light for Ögge it was an easy win for Stavros. So in the final it was Fredrik Fredlund who took the win and led the Championship. I must also say something about our new lady Gabby from Sweden who made her first race. She did not qualify but that will change soon. She came in to the race as an alternate and almost took out Stavros on the start. Her new bike looks very good and will soon run some good times. But talking to all the Swedish riders who sat out this season makes me wait for next year when a lot of riders will come back.

In Supertwin there turned out to be the many explosions and problems. I must say that missed a lot of riders who had entered the race and then cancelled. Charley Karling made some photographers happy and scared us with his problems getting the new bike to run. He went home on Friday evening and rebuilt the bike, but this did not help him. He had the same problems on Saturday again. Hans Olaf Olstad also had some big problems and completely broke his engine. Some other problems for riders and we ended up with Per Bengtsson and Lorenz Stauble on one side in the semifinal with Per winning. On the other side was it Svein Olof Rolfstad and Job Heezen. And it was Rolfstad who was the quickest and took the win. I must say that I am glad to see how Job Heezen has learned to handle his bike. Of course he has good help from the Pels family but learning to ride a nitro bike so quickly ast is very good and we will surely see more from him. In the final Per's starter motor stopped working so it was a single run for Rolfstad who led the Championship before his home race in Norway.

In Top Fuel bike it was very nice to see so many Top Fuel Bikes in Sweden. I do not know if we ever had six blown nitro bikes before. Peter Svensson was the one who took the lead from the first run until the end of the race. Setting new records for both ET (4.06) and Speed (303) on the eighth at Mantorp had us waiting for the next week and Norway. Rikard Gustavsson's Funny Bike is also very good. He was in the other half in the elimination and in the final. But his very good times did not help against Peter Svensson.

The other Fuel Bikes with Ian King, Sverre Dahl, Eric Teboul, Peter Andersson Str&oml;m and Kai Selekämaa all made very good passes. It is very nice to see two Fuel bikes chasing each other down the strip. It was also nice to see some new Swedish Funny Bikes. Many of them started to work very well and the future will be very interesting when they have sorted out their problems. But I must say that we have to do something regarding this mixture in the future.

Gardermoen: Gardermoen is a very special place. It is one of the best tracks in Europe, if not the best. Many of the people working are very nice and friendly. I have known several of them for many years. Arriving on Thursday and doing the track inspection in bright sunshine was easy. They have a new toilet and shower block which looked fine. Still some problems but much better than before.

On Friday we had very good weather and had two qualifying rounds without any problem. But on Saturday it started to rain just before we should have started qualifying and then it continued until the evening. So we just had to wait, qualifying only took place on Friday and the organiser lost a lot of money due to the fact that there were almost no spectators on Saturday. The weather forecast for Sunday was not much better and it turned out to be even worse. It started to rain just before we should bike eliminations and it continued. At around three o'clock the track was almost ready for us but then it started to rain again. So there was nothing else for the Clerk of the Course to do but cancel the race. It did not even help to have UEM Vice President Ted Bartlett or the Norwegian member of the board Lene Fåvang at the site.

Some things about qualifying. In Top Fuel bike we had seven Fuel bikes, Rikard Gustavsson and the two Czechs. After Friday evening Eric Teboul was at the top with a 6.2 pass followed by Norwegian Sverre Dahl also in the 6.2s. After him was it Peter Svensson on a 6.3 pass with low top speed since he shut off early. Ian King was the fourth before Kai Selkämaa and in the last position was Rikard Gustavsson who is normally is at the top. Everyone hoped for some more qualifying rounds so they could improve their times. The situation in the championship is very exciting. Rikard just twelve ahead of Ian King leaving the Championship totally open before the last race. Peter Svensson and Eric Teboul, just 45 and 46 points behind, can also make it to the top if something happens. This shows how important it is to attend all races. If either had been in Finland then either could easily have won the Championship.

In Supertwin Lorenz Stauble was the fastest of the six people attending the race. We are missing many names this year. Hopefully more will come out next year. Number two was Job Heezen and third was Svein Olaf Rolfstad who now is leading the Championship by 34 points before the last event. If he comes to England and makes a good qualifying run will he almost certainly be the Champion. He should have met his Norwegian fellow Hans Olav Olstad in the first round. Tommy Möller was in fifth place and should had meet Job Heezen. Finally Per Bengtsson had some problems during the qualifying on Friday and was waiting very much for a new round on Saturday but to race Lorenz Stauble in the first round could have been go for the silver place in the Championship.

In Pro Stock Bike Fredrik Fredlund was once again the fastest after two qualifying rounds. If he just turns up and qualifies at Santa Pod in September he will be the Champion. He was followed by Chris Hope who is getting closer to some really good times. And once again Stavros Svrachnos was number three with nice straight passes, a little bit different from the first runs at Mantorp. Martin Bishop who was fourth this time should have met the other Greek Haralambos Bousinis in the first round. I hope that these two Greeks will make the final event in England and that we will see them more next year. Both riders and their bikes have great potential. The biggest surprise was that Ulf Ögge was last in qualifying after some problems with ignition. Gabriella Nikolovska was the first and only alternate after making her first seven-second pass. She came close to putting out Ögge in that run. Hopefully will we see more riders next year and with Keith Bartlett's promise to have a sixteen bike field if it just fulfils the regulations it can be a very interesting next year.

We also had the final round for Pro Stock Snowmobile here at Gardermoen, with just two riders turning up. I do not know what more to say than Christina Blomquist is once again the winner of the cup, since she is the only one who attended both races. We did not have any eliminations either in Sundsvall or here at Gardermoen due to rain but we have a final result. I do not know if we can continue this Cup if the interest from riders is so low. I do know that this was a middle year due to different facts, but but but...

This is my short report from Norway and Gardermoen. I do hope that the people at NDRG can find a way to organise a race next year. The track is good and the facilities have improved a lot since last year. Nobody will blame them if the infrastructure is not better next year due to the fact that they did not have a good weather this time and not so many spectators this time. The timing of the race just after Sweden is perfect and everyone loves the track. Maybe in the future they can host both the FIA and the UEM Championships.

Now my only hope is that we can have the final round at Santa Pod at the beginning of September without rain or any other problems.
©Eurodragster.com
You can check out the latest FIM/UEM European Drag Bike Championship standings on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.


K&H Racing press release.
7th August: Marc Meihuizen heeft in Mantorp Park tijdens de derde wedstrijd van het FIA Europees Kampioenschap Pro Modified in alle opzichten zijn beste klassering ooit neergezet. In het uiterst sterk bezette veld haalde de rijder van K&H Racing de finale en eindigde als runner-up. Met deze uitslag legde Meihuizen ook nog eens beslag op de tweede plaats in het Zweeds Kampioenschap en steeg naar de derde plaats in de tussenstand van het FIA Europees Kampioenschap op slechts één punt van de nummer twee Mikael Lindahl. Op weg naar de finale klopte Meihuizen diezelfde Lindahl en zette daarbij met 6,180 seconden en 369,39 km/u ook nog eens twee nieuwe persoonlijke records op de klokken. "Die run tegen Mikael was voor mij absoluut de run van het weekend, naast elkaar richting de finish en dan de Europees recordhouder kloppen, helemaal top", aldus een meer dan tevreden Meihuizen.

Sinds de introductie van het FIA Europees Pro Modified Kampioenschap in 2005 wordt de titelstrijd beheerst door vooral Scandinavische rijders terwijl een Engelse deelnemer af en toe een wedstrijdoverwinning meepakt. In het hol van de leeuw meldde Marc Meihuizen zich definitief als titelkandidaat en zorgde voor opschudding door diverse Zweedse favorieten resoluut naar huis te sturen. En dat in de met 24 deelnemers niet alleen best bezette maar met minimaal tien serieuze kanshebbers ook nog meest competitieve klasse van het FIA Europees Kampioenschap.

Het begon al in de kwalificatie toen Meihuizen in zijn '37 Chevrolet Business Coupé met 6,283 seconden de vijfde tijd op de klokken zetten. Daarmee moest de K&H-rijder het in de eerste eliminatieronde opnemen tegen Norbert Kuno. Ondanks een wat mindere start zette Meihuizen de Duitser direct op grote achterstand waarna Kuno zich gewonnen gaf en de Business Coupé als eerste de finishlijn passeerde. In de kwartfinale wachtte met Mikael Lindahl, nummer vier uit de kwalificatie en Europees recordhouder, een zware klus. Meihuizen reageerde echter met 0,097 tegen 0,119 seconden net iets eerder op de lichten en bouwde zijn voorsprong tijdens de run zelfs nog uit. In een tijd van 6,180 seconden en met 369,39 km/u passeerde Meihuizen de finish terwijl Lindahl bleef steken op 6,228 seconden. De 6,180 betekende na Finland (6,194 seconden) alweer een verbetering van het persoonlijk record terwijl de tot op heden behaalde hoogste eindsnelheid van 363 km/u met deze score helemaal verbleekte. In de halve finale wachtte vervolgens de nummer één uit de kwalificatie Mats Eriksson. Deze klus was echter snel geklaard want terwijl Meihuizen zijn Business Coupé in 6,240 seconden en 367,80 km/u over de eindstreep stuurde kampte de Zweed met grote problemen en bleef steken op 10,2 seconden. Daarmee was de eerste finale in een FIA EK-ronde voor K&H Racing een feit.

In de eindstrijd moest Meihuizen nota bene aantreden tegen de enige andere Nederlander in het veld, Robert Joosten waardoor een eerste Nederlandse Pro Mod-overwinning bij voorbaat vaststond. Nagenoeg gelijktijdig reageerde het tweetal op het verspringen van het licht en kreeg vervolgens ook nog allebei te maken met tireshake. Na een kleine 200 meter viel echter voor Meihuizen het doek toen door een elektronisch probleem de motor stilviel en hij kansloos moest toezien hoe zijn tegenstander van hem wegreed. Van teleurstelling mocht gezien het totaalresultaat echter geen sprake zijn. Een runner-up positie, de hoogste klassering in een FIA EK-wedstrijd ooit, runner-up in het Zweeds Kampioenschap (de uitslag van de wedstrijd was tevens de uitslag van deze titelstrijd), twee persoonlijke records en de op één na snelste rijder van het hele weekend. Met zijn behaalde punten steeg Meihuizen naar de derde plaats in het FIA Europees Kampioenschap op slechts één punt van Mikael Lindahl en zestien punten achter leider Joosten. Meihuizen kon dan ook tevreden terugkijken. "De run tegen Lindahl was voor mij het absolute hoogtepunt van het weekend. Naast elkaar richting de finish en dan met zo'n klein verschil winnen. Mikael stond ondanks zijn verlies ook te springen, zo gaaf vond hij het."

De volgende wedstrijd om het FIA Europees Kampioenschap Pro Modified wordt verreden van 15 tot en met 17 augustus tijdens de traditioneel drukbezochte NitrOlympx op Hockenheim. Op de Duitse Grand Prix-piste gaat K&H Racing proberen het laatste gaatje richting de nummer één positie te dichten. Tot die tijd wacht er nog voldoende werk. Crewchief Joeri Woudenberg: "We hebben een vervelend probleem met de elektronica. Bij twee van de vier kwalificatieruns viel de motor na een kleine 300 meter stil. Eerst dachten we aan de ontsteking. Een deskundige van MSD heeft gekeken en kwam met een oplossing. Daarna gebeurde het echter weer waarna hij concludeerde dat het iets anders in de auto moest zijn. Vervolgens kwam het probleem in de eerste eliminatieronde weer terug maar was de voorsprong op Kuno gelukkig groot genoeg. In de finale dook het probleem weer op waardoor Marc kansloos was voor de overwinning. Heel vervelend. Wellicht heeft het te maken met de enorme tireshake die we in Finland hebben gehad en zit er ergens een contact los. We gaan in ieder geval alles nalopen en een aantal zaken vervangen zodat het probleem daarmee definitief de wereld uit is."
©Eurodragster.com

Web site updates.
7th August: Despite ropey weather predictions Santa Pod Raceway hosted a fantastic Ultimate Street Car event last weekend, writes Rick Cuthbert. Amazing variety on the track was once again a key feature of the show, with some of the wackiest racers around including a twin-engine Mini Clubman, Fireblade powered sand buggy and a wheelie popping Reliant Robin taking part in the Run What You Brung competition. Kev Slyfield, Rob Smallworth and John Sleath put on excellent drag demos, and we also spotted this awesome Webster Race Engineering Jeep. The full report is now on-line at www.ultimatestreetcar.co.uk and there is a three-page gallery full of on- and off-track action.
©Eurodragster.com

Carters invest in the future.
6th August: UK Top Fuel Dragster racer
Andy Carter and wife Sarah are delighted to announce that they will be sponsoring the UK's Junior Dragster class at their remaining Championship rounds in 2008 and for the whole of the 2009 season. The winner of each event will receive a fantastic £50 so long as their car carries Lucas Oil decals.

"The sport of drag racing has been good to Andy and I over the years and there are some great people involved", says Sarah Carter. "We wanted to put something back and it was difficult to know who to support. After much thought, we decided Junior Dragster would be the perfect place. These drivers are the stars of the future and who knows, some of them may end up in Top Fuel!"
©Eurodragster.com
"We are delighted that Andy and Sarah Carter are to sponsor Junior Dragster", says UK Drag Racing Technical Committee Chairman Phil Evans. "This class is the entry point for young people into drag racing and to have recognition from someone who competes at the very pinnacle of the sport reinforces the importance of Junior Drag Racing to the future success and expansion of quarter mile racing. On behalf of the organising clubs and the competitors we wish to thank Andy and Sarah for their welcome support."

Lucas Oil decals are available from Andy Carter and they must be clearly displayed on the car. If no decal is displayed then the money will go to the runner-up or the next position with a visible decal.


Old Skool's out.
6th August: Jo Peters of the Old Skool Ford Club tells us that three members of the Club are headed for Malta to take part in the Malta Drag Racing Association's Night Event at Hal-Far Raceway on 22nd-23rd August.

"We run our modified but street-legal Fords more for fun than anything", says Jo. "We hold our seven rounds at both Shakespeare County Raceway and Santa Pod Raceway between April and October, with coverage of each round in the Motorsport section of Classic Ford Magazine every month. Three of us are driving out to Malta with our families in tow, leaving Dover on 16th August and travelling via Dunkerque, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy and Sicily, arriving in Malta on 20th August.

"Ian Cox's Cosworth-powered MK2 RS2000 has run a best time this year of 12.3 on road tyres but with softer springs, slicks and the five-link set up Ian is hoping to get into the elevens in Malta.

"Darren Doughty's Pinto-powered Mk1 Escort ran 11.7 last year with a 2.1 Pinto on twin 48's. This year it has just had a ladder bar set up fitted by Kev Jenkins and Phil Martin, and a stonking Maltese Pinto is currently being built by a few of the guys in Malta which will be installed as soon as we arrive on 20th ready for the night racing that weekend.

"Kev Jenkins' XE-powered Escort Mk1 just had a ladder bar set-up installed by himself and Phil Martin and is running NOS. Kev has run a mid-ten so far this year but hoping to go lower in Malta."

We're sure that everyone will join us in wishing the Old Skool Ford guys every success in Malta, and we know that they can be assured of the warmest of welcomes.

Thanks to Jerry Cookson for help with this news item.


Gullquist chasing the points.
6th August: FIA European Pro Modified Champion Micke Gullquist went to the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park with some new parts in his big Chevy, but he says that he was not worried that the NordicLAN-sponsored team were not going to sort them out.

"Because we had problems earlier this year with inconsistent clutch discs in the unit we ran last year, we decided to run a new Leanders Brothers clutch at Mantorp Park", says Micke. "The Leanders Brothers unit is an awesome piece and we are still in R&D testing mode, but from what I've seen so far it will likely be better than anything else out there as soon as we have it figured out.
©Eurodragster.com
"Because we did not have much time to go testing this year, we've had to straighten out any question marks at the Championship events and that has clearly taken a big bite from our Championship chase. We found a lot of bugs during the first events such as electrical problems, failing spark plugs and clutch problems which has all contributed to us going out in the early rounds. Even if the Championship points table looks bad for us right now, we will chase any points available at the last two events.

"I'm hoping that we now have it sorted out and I'm really looking forward to getting out on the track again at Hockenheim. I want to congratulate Robert Joosten on his win at Mantorp Park, and Mats Eriksson for his record setting performance, along with many of the other guys who have been running great this year."

Picture courtesy and ©Patrik Jacobsson


Lightning strikes again.
6th August: Regular readers of Eurodragster.com will know that Norwegian Supertwin racer Hans Olav Olstad has had more than his fair share of bad luck in the past, most recently a bad experience with bearings at the FHRA Nitro Nationals at Alastaro. But Hans Olav and his team never give up and went back to their original bearing set-up for the crank for the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park, where it unfortunately proceeded to go wrong again:

On the first qualifying run on Friday the engine didn't run well before the fuel pressure dropped to the base value. Not a good run at all. In the second run we had a serious launch of 1.11 to sixty geet but the engine dropped a cylinder half track, and we got no time to talk about this time either.

On the third qualifying run, on Saturday, we wanted a good start and a good second half. We set up the bike with the two parameters and hoped for a good time, but the engine dropped a cylinder on the start line, filled the engine with nitro, and give us the biggest disaster ever (right). Everything was gone: case, pistons, rods, heads, but we didn't know about the crank yet. The race was finish for us, and as we were outside the ladder we dropped to fourth place in the championship.

The only thing which worked was the safety gear. When it comes to safety on this bikes, it's nice to know that it works the way it is meant to. The safety band around the engine held the heads and the oilpan on. The diaper under the engine collected all the oil and we didn't spill a single drop on the track.

After we sorted out what was left of the engine, we found out that the future was dark. The crank was sent to Hans Erik Myra, mechanic on the Håkonsen Pro Mod team, who measured and approved it, yippee. Hans Erik also give us good hope for the case, which had to be welded in all four corners on its underside. Big Big thanks to Hans Erik. But the welding would take too much time to be ready before the next race at Gardermoen.

Wednesday we collected a lot of parts, and we phoned another good friend, Cato Vaale. He is building a new Supertwin bike and has a new case similar to ours. Cato said he expected a call when he heard what had happened in Mantorp. And our biggest friend in the world at that moment lent us his case, and we decided to try to put together the engine for Gardermoen.

We arrived at Gardermoen at midday on Thursday, and the team started wrenching for twenty four hours. Thanks to Cato for help with the case and new bearings, Hans Erik for checking out the crank, Günther Sohn for pistons, Job Heesen for rods, Lorenz Stäble for wrist pins and fuel parts, and Vidar for head bolts. We managed to start the bike one hour before first qualifying run. We used the old heads and one throttle body, so there was a major change in the engine set-up.

On Friday's first qualifying run, the engine stopped at the end of the burnout. Now what? It was only the shut-off switch which switched itself off. The engine was ready to go before the next pair ran, but the rules said we had to push the bike back to the pits. The second qualifying run was nice and straight, 7.02 and number four on the ladder. Sometimes I get emotional, and it was good to have few minutes to myself after this run. So much work, so many friends wanting to help, and we did it again. Thanks to all of the friends who helped.

Saturday: rain rain rain. Sunday: rain rain rain. There is nothing more to say, some parts of Europe need a roof.

We still held onto the fourth spot in the Championship, and it seems that Svein Olav Rolfstad is this year's Champion. He only has to show up and qualify fourth or better at the European Finals. The only riders who can catch up are Lorenz Stäuble and Per Bengtsson, but I don't think so. Anyway, it will be incredible if the European Championship goes to Hawgs MC Toten for the first time in history. We've got our fingers crossed.
©Eurodragster.com

Swift snippets.
6th August: Ex-pat UK racer Tony Morris will be driving Spencer Tramm's Quantum Leap VW Corrado in Super Pro ET at the FIA European Finals. Tony, who now lives and races in Florida, last raced in the UK at the 2005 FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway where he was was #1 qualifier in Pro ET and runner-up in Super Gas. Stay tuned for more as we will be talking to Tony at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway.
©Eurodragster.com
Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding us Version 3 of the official FIA European Finals entry list, which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Entry for all classes Pro and Sportsman closes this Friday, 8th August; entry forms are available on the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about FIA European Finals entry, then please call Paula on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.

UK Rocket Dragster pilot Carolynne Campbell had an encounter with Rocket royalty when she met up with Dick Keller, one of the names in rocket cars, who worked with Sammy Miller, Chuck Suba, and the Land Speed Record-holding Blue Flame team amongst others. Dick was actually in the UK to compete in a European Masters cycle race, but he made time in his busy schedule to chat to Carolynne and husband David and to be interviewed on video by the Powerpoint Communications team. You can read more on Carolynne's web site at www.laffin-gas.com.

B&H Automotive Street Eliminator racer Bill Macdermid tells us that he and his team have been working hard on his 1969 Camaro ready for a full assault on the class in 2009. You can find out more on Bill's updated web site at www.billythekidracing.co.uk.


What's on this weekend.
6th August: Germany's Hockenheimring hosts Thunderdrome on Saturday and Sunday. This is a Sportsman race and Test and Tune for competition vehicles and bikes, leading up to next week's NitrolympX (from which Eurodragster.com will be reporting live - Ed). Thunderdrome is also public Run What You Brung with the theme "Anyone can take part and everyone has a chance". Admission to the event and the paddock is €5, grandstand entry is also €5. Pay and Race Street for cars and street bikes is €7 per run frequent drivers discount of three runs for €20 and five runs for €30. Camping is €10 per person per night, including vehicle. Gates open at 08:00 both days. More information at www.thunder-drome.de.

The 25th Linde Open takes place in Lindesberg, Sweden on Saturday and Sunday. The event is organised by SHRA Lindesberg with Sportsman racing in the TSDS South Championship and Junior, Super Street, Street Bike, Super Gas Bike, and Super Comp Bike in the NDRS Championship. For more details check out www.shra.nu.

The National Drag Racing Club of Denmark holds a round of its Mekonomen Cup Championship at Thisted on Saturday and Sunday. Classes include Bracket, Real Street, True Street, and Pro Street and you can find out more at www.ndcd.dk.
©Eurodragster.com
Santa Pod Raceway hosts Rotorstock 5, a two-day event with show and go for Japanese car enthusiasts, on Saturday and Sunday. The race includes Round 3 of the HKS Drag Series, Drift What Ya Brung, and inter-club RWYB competition. Admission is £15 per day at the gate or £25 for the weekend, with RWYB fees of £20 for unlimited runs on Saturday and £15 for three runs on Sunday - don't forget your DVLC licence. Kids under thirteen go free and gates open at 8:00 am both days. More at www.rotorstock5.co.uk.

The Bulldog Bash Bikers Festival takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway from Friday to Sunday. This is one of the most popular biker events in Europe with a reported crowd of 50,000 in 2007. A wide range of (sometimes adult) entertainments is on offer including Run What You Brung for bikes, drag racing demos, bands, Custom Bike show, fairground, dance tent, wrestling, Wall of Death and a topless bike wash. The event's official web site can be found at www.bulldogbash.co.uk.


Pro Mod Challenge standings.
5th August: Marco Maurischat of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Exhaust-coating.de has been in touch with the standings in the European Exhaust-coating.de Pro Mod Challenge after the Veidec Festival:

1. Urban Johansson 485 points
2. Micke Lindahl 435 points
2. Marc Meihuizen 435 points
4. Mats Eriksson 430 points
5. Andy Robinson 410 points
6. Roger Johnsson 405 points
7. Micke Gullquist 360 points
8. Bruno Bader 330 points
9. Patrik Wikström 310 points
10. Kristian Nyström 290 points
11. Freddy Fagerström 280 points
12. Terje Håkonsen 260 points
13. Robert Joosten 245 points
14. Michael Nord 225 points
15. Niclas Andersson 155 points
16. Danny Cockerill 140 points
17. Norbert Kuno 105 points
18. Seppo Saapola 95 points
19. Graham Ellis 85 points
19. Jari Parén 85 points
19. Jan Egil Kvalvik 85 points

The Challenge will be contested during qualifying at the 2008 FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway and is open to the top eight drivers, as determined by qualifying points earned by the top sixteen qualifiers at preceding 2008 FIA European Championship rounds. The winner will be awarded with €2000 and the runner-up €500. A decal on each side of the race car is all that is necessary to earn points and prize money.
©Eurodragster.com
For more information about the European Exhaust-Coating.de Pro Mod Challenge, check out our news item of 14th May or E-Mail Marco Maurischat at info@pulver-nord.de.


Swift snippets.
5th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for forwarding us Version 2 of the official FIA European Finals entry list, which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Entry for all classes Pro and Sportsman closes this Friday, 8th August; entry forms are available on the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about FIA European Finals entry, then please call Paula on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.

On the subject of the FIA European Finals, the UK's Malcolm Motler has been in touch to let us know that his very pretty Spellbound Morris Minor pick-up will be running in Super Comp at the event, which we must be honest doesn't surprise us after Malcolm's spectacular 9.3-second breakouts into a headwind on his last competitive outing which was nominally in Super Gas. "Fingers crossed for a tailwind please", says Malcolm. You can find out more on the team's updated web site at www.spellbounddragraceteam.co.uk.

UK Super Pro ET racer Chris Orthodoxou has asked us to say a big Thank You to Eurodragster.com Site Search sponsor Geof Hauser for his time and effort on the Saturday of the Mopar Euronats at Santa Pod. "A rocker stud broke on the Viper's Hemi engine which was not repairable at the track", says Chris. "So Geof offered to take us back to his workshop late in the afternoon where we drilled and heli-coiled the carrier unit to fit a new stud. The engine was back together and running by 8.45 pm, unfortunately just as the fire-up road closed! So thank you very much for your time Geof and my apologies for messing up your early evening arrangements. I owe you one mate!"
©Eurodragster.com
We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to our good friend Libby Mottershead and also to Libby's mum Betty whose birthday also falls today. Hope you have a great day Libby and Betty, take these hugs with you.

We are very pleased to welcome photo-journalist Andy Willsheer as an Honorary Staff Member of Eurodragster.com. Honorary Staff Membership is awarded on a very occasional basis to non-sponsor individuals who have given us particularly strong practical or moral support; Andy has provided both over the years having helped us with pictures or the exchange of information and also being most entertaining company after hours.

Eurodragster.com will be posting a total of €140 in Perfect Awards at next week's NitrolympX at Hockenheim. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award and the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award will be €70 each. More details here on Eurodragster.com News next week.


NitrolympX press release.
5th August: Many thanks to Heike Schroeder for sending us an English translation of Sunday's NitrolympX press release:

It's "Welcome to Speed, Power & Action" again at the Hockenheimring when on August 15 to 17, during the 23rd NitrolympX, the undoubted kings of drag racing come together to celebrate their annual contests.

The racing highlight this year is for sure the FIA European Drag Racing Championship, which promises exciting competition in the Top Fuel, Top Methanol and Pro Mod classes.

The Pro Mod cars, formerly called "Outlaws", will especially fascinate the visitors to the NitrolympX: there are no limits to cylinder capacity, and nowhere else you will find 11.5 litres of cylinder capacity in such a cool package. In his time James Dean would definitely have been a Pro Mod driver! Among the 30 (!) listed competitors there is everything that's nice and quick - from Willys Coupe and Chevy BelAir to the most up-to-date models of the US automobile industry.

The Motodrom at the historic Baden racetrack will again quake up to the topmost rows from the roaring of the motors with up to 6,000 horsepower, which dash to the finish line reaching a breathtaking 500 km/h.

Besides the sporty "Speed & Power" the "Action" of the legendary Night Show on Saturday evening is a highlight of the NitrolympX. Two hours of entertainment and spectacle. Between Hot Rod Parade, Burnout contest and the legendary Top Fuel night runs the LaOla waves of the enthusiastic spectators roll around the Motodrom.

Detailed information about these and all other topics regarding the NitrolympX, as well as the opportunity for easy on-line ticket ordering in various price ranges, are to be found as usual via the web site at www.nitrolympx.de or via the Hockenheimring ticket hotline 06205- 950 222.
©Eurodragster.com

Web site updates.
5th August: Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson has updated the Racebilder web site with pictures from the Veidec Festival and the Sunoco Drag Challnge. You can check out Patrik's pictures at www.racebilder.nu. "I would like to thank Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen and the Speedy Rescue Team for allowing me to take pictures in the shutdown area", says Patrik.
©Eurodragster.com

Bennetts join the Blog team.
4th August: We are very pleased to welcome UK blown-alcohol altered team Bennett Racing as the latest to post an exclusive Racer Blog on Eurodragster.com. The Blog will be written by Eurodragster.com News regular Luke Bennett and will bring you the latest developments from the Relentless pit as they prepare for their first on-track appearance of 2008.
©Eurodragster.com
Luke's first Blog entry is a brief history of Bennett Racing which you can view by
clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.

What happened?
4th August: UK B & H Automotive Street Eliminator racer Ron Haslett has had problems with his gearbox this year as a result of the extra power from his new engine. With six weeks between Street Eliminator rounds leading up to Bug Jam Ron figured he had plenty of time to get a new box in place, but it didn't turn out that way:

The conversion bits arrived from Jeg's in the US in just over a week, but we didn't get the internals until the Friday before Bug Jam. The prop arrived on the Wednesday - the day before we left for Santa Pod - and, you guessed it, it was too short. A quick call to Propshaft Services, who made it, and I was told to get it back to them and they would remake it that day. I've now ordered a new tape measure. We finally left at 4:00 on Friday morning, twelve hours later than planned, with an untried gearbox.
©Eurodragster.com
My previous bests were 11.1/118 without gas and 9.7/143 with gas. Our first run on the Friday at Bug Jam was on a mostly unprepped track and with no transbrake and no gas. The first run was 10.7/124 and it kept improving with a 10.5/125. We finally turned on the gas and ran 9.4/176 - I'm not sure about the speed but I have it in black and white.

We qualified fifth which means we outqualified Ray Comer but it was very close, my 9.4 to his 9.6. I decided to hit the gas hard off the line and the rest as they say is history. At one point I though the car was going over - I was told that you could see the underside of the car.

All in all a very good weekend, six Personal Bests and we didn't have to take the box out. I'm looking for either photographs or video of our last run against Ray Comer so that we can try and see what went wrong other than the obvious.


Swift snippets.
4th August: Just when we thought it was safe to go back to the drag strip, the rain carried the day at the Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen at the weekend. The FIM/UEM classes were only able to qualify on Friday and the Sportsman classes didn't get much more of a go as the rain kicked in not long into the day both on Saturday and yesterday causing the event to be cancelled. Tezzii and the Eurodragster.com North team were at Gardermoen and you can check out their reports and pictures of what did happen at www.eurodragsternorth.com.

At time of writing (20:30 Sunday evening) World Street Race II, in which the UK's Andy Frost is competing, was also plagued with rain showers and the event could run into today which is a public holiday in Canada. If so then you will be able to tune in via the video stream at www.yourwaynetwork.com/Live1.htm
©Eurodragster.com
Tim Anderson of Racepak has been in touch to let us know that the MSD/Racepak seminar held at the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park, and MSD and Racepak's on-site support, were much appreciated by the racers. "The racers' appreciation makes the work very pleasurable", says Tim. "Leif Andréasson handled all of the logistics of our trip, from the hotel to arranging use of the building, chairs, power and overhead for the Thursday seminar along with feeding us while at the track, all of which was greatly appreciated."

Bob Roberts of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars tells us that he had a few bounced E-Mails when he sent out the latest newsletter. If you are on the ARRC mailing list and have not had your usual copy then please drop Bob a line at roberrl-1@robinson-race-cars.co.uk.

A date for your diary: the 2008 Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association Awards Evening is to be held on Saturday 18th October at St John's Hotel in Solihull. NFAA members will of course receive full details and we will publish more details soon.


Coco attracts the bugs.
4th August: The Never Again Racing team had a pleasurable weekend at the Mopar Euronats at Santa Pod Raceway, not least Dave Evans who ran bests in Coco Connection on just about every pass:

This, it seems, could have been down to Dave's methanol crank-drive fuel pump being worn, so using Vicky's pump (off the Nova) seemed to produce just the extra hit that pushed Coco on. Friday night was eventful with Ricky and Steve the first in the bar, and then the last out. Ever woken up with a man's dangly parts in your face? Ask Dave what it's like, I can well imagine it's not at all a pretty sight.
©Eurodragster.com
Saturday and Sunday were again scorchers, did anybody notice that they were permanently covered in those black insects? Coco, being yellow, is like an insect magnet anyway, maybe they were keen on the fragrant armpit odours from a sweaty Never Again Crew, but most of the time it was like being Pigpen of Peanuts fame!

The last pass of the day on Sunday was well into a new Personal Best for Dave and Coco, 9.2488/142.99. She was certainly flying. You can see pictures of our weekend, not all of Coco, at neveragainracing.fotopic.net.


A tune from our sponsor...
4th August: It seems to us that a number of UK drag racers are also gifted musicians - Fay Fischer of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Speedflow, Super Pro ET racer Chris Orthodoxou, and Malcolm and Marcie Motler of the Spellbound Super Gas team spring immediately to mind - but we certainly weren't aware until now of the musical talent of Dan Welberry, Team PR for Carter Motorsport and Eurodragster.com News sponsor through his company 3t creative. Dan tells us that his group Audio1 are releasing a single next Monday (11th August) and that Eurodragster.com readers can help to get it airtime:

The song is a cover version of the 1980s Howard Jones classic What Is Love? and is being released with the full backing of both Howard and his record label.

We'd like to invite you to join us at the ibar in Bournemouth for the official single and video launch. The evening will kick off at 7.30 and will include special guests in support. We have a significant guest list to include many industry friends, press and radio representatives. Not only will you hear the new single in its full live glory but you'll also be the first to see the new video, shot at the stunning Opera House in Boscombe. The band will also be performing an hour-long set for your enjoyment. Admission will be just £3 on the door or in advance from dave@nlightn.org.uk.

We've been delighted with the progress being made by our radio pluggers Fleming Connolly. Sean Cooney and his team have been working hard to secure spot plays on various national stations and we were delighted to hear Janice Long play the single. This gave us a good platform on which to build and we're delighted that more Radio 2 plays are due before the release date. Work is ongoing with Radio 1. You can help us to gain radio play by texting the stations on the following numbers:

Radio 1 81199
Radio 2 88291
Virgin 81215
Capital 83958

The single will be available to buy from 11th August download-only which will cost about 79p. You will be able to purchase your download from itunes.com, hmv.com tescodigital.com virginmedia.com and 7digital.com.

You can get a sneak preview of the new single on www.myspace.com/audio1music.
©Eurodragster.com

The rockingest Pro Mod!
3rd August: Veidec Festival Pro Mod winner
Robert Joosten tells us that he is still walking around with a big smile on his face after last week's victory. It was in fact Robert's second race of the week against fellow Dutchman Marc Meihuizen.

"We drove up to Mantorp with Marc again", says Robert, "and of course we were racers, not giving an inch. We didn't know it would be like that in the final as well!"

We did wonder why we didn't see too much of Robert in qualifying last weekend and it turns out that the very rapid Vette was nursing a rear axle problem. "When we towed the car to Tech Inspection at Mantorp Park we heard a noise from the rear axle which we didn't want to hear", he says. "Here we go again. We found out we had a serious problem, so we tried one qualifying run which put us in seventh place.
©Eurodragster.com
"We decided to spare the car and wait for the fight on Sunday. We needed to run fast enough to beat the guy in the lane next to us, but we couldn't afford tire shake as the problem would probably come back and finish our weekend. Not a easy task.

"We were very proud to make it to the final with close runs against the best in Pro Mod, and to be the first Dutch Pro Mod driver to take a FIA win.

"I really need to say thanks to my crew - these guys are unbelievable, without them I would be useless. My sponsors who have supported me through the years, Billy from Oddy's, and Lex Joon and Gerard Willemse for sharing their technical thoughts with us. Thanks also to Murray for giving me such a nice car. She is getting old, but heck, she still rocks!"


Selkämaa's best weekend.
3rd August: Finland's DB-Team Selkämaa Top Fuel Bike team had a great weekend at Mantorp Park last week, despite some problems before the race, writes Kaija Kohtala:

On Wednesday morning when we tried to start the engine we found that there was no oil pressure at all. However we didn't have much time to work on the bike before leaving for Mantorp. We had to catch the ferry to Stockholm and decided to handle the problem in the pit area at Mantorp next day. Later on Thursday it turned out that there was a failure on the oil pump. Luckily, we were able to repair it during Thursday evening. Thanks to Eric Teboul who helped us a lot!

On Friday in the first qualifying round the tyre went up in smoke straight from the start due to too much clutch. Our rider Kai Selkämaa performed very professionally and shut off in time and he managed to avoid any damages to the engine. That's why the engine remained undamaged which was certainly appreciated by the team's technicians. The second qualifying round went quite well but Kai shut the throttle a bit too early which was the reason for the quite a poor top speed 211.11 kmh. The time was 4.648 seconds which places Kai sixth in the elimination round.

In the first qualifying round on Saturday the bike didn't run quite straight and time wasn't as good as we expected. Kai had to turn the throttle on and off all the way. It really was a pity because the sixty-foot time of 1.060 was very promising. In the second round he got a beautiful start but the clutch slipped too much all the way which resulted in quite a modest sixty-foot time of 1.113. Despite all this Kai managed to improve his time to 4.614/232.90 and kept his position as sixth in qualifying. As a whole we were really happy with our qualifying rounds. We were pleased to be placed number six among fourteen racers in our first season in the Top Fuel Bike class.

For Sunday's elimination rounds we had a new clutch and in the first round Kai was to face reigning European Champion Rikard Gustafsson. Rikard won the run with 4.255/283.87 but Kai also made a good run and set a personal best of 4.392/274.53. Unfortunately the Racepak data logging system on our bike was out of action during the whole weekend so we couldn't gather any data of the runs. This was quite harmful for us especially concerning the last run because we really know that there would have been a lot of potential on the bike for a much better performance. Without data logging we weren't able to analyse why the time wasn't any better. We are going to fix it before the next race at Gardemoen.

At the moment Kai Selkämaa is number six in the UEM point standings but the margins are very small and he's got every possibility to be placed among the top three in the UEM series. DB-Team Selkämaa is very confident going into Gardemoen as the bike ran well without any trouble at Mantorp. In addition, Kai got very useful experience of the vehicle and had several really good runs. And now, DB-Team Selkämaa is heading to Gardemoen in order to search for their first elimination round win!

After a very nice race weekend we want to say a special thank you to Ian King, Eric Teboul and many other friends in the Top Fuel Bike class for their great help and advice with the bike at Mantorp Park. We also want to thank our sponsors for all their help and support: Fastems Oy, ST-Koneistus Oy, Bahco, Vuorenmaa Yhtiöt Oy, Tallink, Bike Doctor, Eastands Engineering, PME Oy and Metallivälitys Lähdemaa & Aarnio.
©Eurodragster.com

A good one for the Leanders, too.
3rd August: Eurodragster.com News sponsors Ulf and Jörgen Leanders took their second victory of the year in FIA Top Methanol Funny Car at last weekend's Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park, giving them a firm grip on this year's Championship. Ulf Leanders tells us that it wasn't an easy win at Mantorp Park:

The temperature was more than thirty degrees Celsius, and because of the warm weather the track was too warm and it was difficult to get the necessary grip. The track at Mantorp is difficult even when the conditions are good. It's very bumpy, but when the grip is good you can drive through the bumps. That wasn't possible this time but despite the heat, we managed to get some really good ETs in eliminations on Sunday.

In the first round on Sunday morning, we had an ET of 5.80 seconds, the best ET for the class over the weekend. We didn't have any problems eliminating first Danny Bellio then Leif Andréasson, and in the final Arvid Grødem. It went as well as we could hope. Our closest opponent Jarmo Kuutniemi lost in the first round, and we took out Leif Andréasson in the second. That means that we now have about a one hundred point lead in the FIA European Drag Racing Championship.

This weekend we ran for the Children's Cancer Foundation in Sweden and with their logo on the side of the car we hoped to raise some money for them, we also hade some guests from the cancer hospital in Linköping who were more than positive.
©Eurodragster.com

UK Junior Drag Bike latest.
3rd August: Round 3 of the 2008 Junior Drag Bike Championship was held under blue skies at the UK's Shakespeare County Raceway on 12th-13th July, writes Sharron Collier:

We had a new rider, Brett Cordelle, riding a V-twin 125cc Honda. Jordon Bissell went straight into the number one qualifying spot with an excellent 12.96 run on a 12.95 dial in, followed by Scott Collier in second with a 10.32 on a 10.30 dial, Giselle Moor 12.33 on a 12.10 dial, Joe Dear 12.78 on a 12.50 dial and new boy Brett breaking out with a 15.43 on a 16.00 dial in.

Jordon had a bye first round, and Scott was up against Brett. Scott dialled in 10.20 to Brett's 12.80, Scott caught and passed Brett but was just a fraction short on his roll off, running 10.199 and so breaking out. Brett went through with a 13.69 so well done Brett. Giselle was up against Joe who failed to show due to a broken ignition so she had a solo run through to the next round. Next round and it was Jordon against Giselle, Giselle breaking out with a 12.09 on a 12.15 and Jordon running through with another 12.96 on a 12.95 dial. Brett now had the bye run into the final, giving him another run to get used to his bike!

Into the final and Brett dialled in a 12.90 against Jordon's 12.95, and at the eighth mile flag it was Brett who took the win light with a 13.10 against Jordon's breakout time of 12.88. So a win for Brett at this first meeting, a very well done to him and his family.
©Eurodragster.com
The points are very close in the Championship now, it's all to play for at the top:
  1. Scott Collier 620
  2. Jordon Bissell 615
  3. Giselle Moor 595
  4. Brett Cordelle 410
  5. Joe Dear 360
The Junior class is getting more and more competitive and the racing is getting very close and will make nail biting watching at Round 4, the Open Sports Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway on 23rd-25th August where we are chuffed to say the class is being sponsored by Ian King of King Racing, thanks Ian.

Thanks to all riders, parents and crew and friends who came to support this little class which is gaining momentum and getting bigger and better all the time. If anyone who would like any information on Junior Drag Bike racing we would be pleased to help, ring us on 01246 570304 or E-Mail jerry@jaderacing.com . Our web site at www.juniordragbike.co.uk is being revamped and will be ready shortly.


Swift snippets.
3rd August: Oliver Moser of FIA European Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher's team tells us that he is posting on-site reports of Lorenz Stäuble's progress at Gardermoen as well as that of Siw Nystad in Urs' Top Fueller. You can stay in touch at www.erbacher.biz/Racing-Diary.217.0.html?&L=1.

Also sitting watching it rain is the UK's Andy Frost who is at Miramichi Dragway Park in Canada for World Street Race II. Andy told us late last night that it had been raining since Friday evening. Hopefully the video feed at www.yourwaynetwork.com/Live1.htm will have something better to show us today.

Many thanks to UK Fuel FC owner Nobby Hills for forwarding us an autographed review copy of his book Nobby's Quarter Mile, an account of Nobby's life which of course concentrates on his Houndog drag racing team but also features a lot of interesting biographical information. Since we have only had time for a brief flick through, a review will follow here on Eurodragster.com within a few days but if you're a Houndog fan then don't wait: just go to the team's web site at www.nhracing.com and find out how to order your copy.
©Eurodragster.com
UK blown-alcohol altered team Bennett Racing have announced a sponsorship deal with another US company, this time Klotz Synthetic Lubricants who have been supplying synthetic oils for to the automotive, motorsport, marine and other industries for more than forty five years. You can find out more on the Bennett Racing web site, and stay tuned as we will shortly be launching our next Racer Blog written by Luke Bennett.

UK Fuel Altered racer Tony Betts has asked us to say a big Thank You to Roger Sinclair, John and Mark at Speedshop UK for their help in getting Venom 2 fully fitted to run a bucketful of Nitro with their pipework and fittings. "These guys are are so conscientious and were not happy until it looked right", says Tony. "Give them a call on 01245 290808 or look them up at www.speedshopuk.co.uk for advice or prices."

We would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to UK Top Methanol Dragster racer Rob Turner. Hope you have a great, day Rob.


NitrolympX press release.
3rd August: Welcome to "Speed, Power & Action" heißt es wieder auf dem Hockenheimring, wenn sich vom 15. bis 17. August 2008 im Rahmen der 23. NitrolympX die unumstrittenen Könige der Beschleunigung zu ihrem alljährlichen Kräftemessen treffen.

Das sportliche Highlight der diesjährigen Veranstaltung ist sicher die Austragung der FIA-Drag Racing Europameisterschaft, die in den Klassen Top Fuel, Top Methanol und Pro Mod spannendste Wettkämpfe verspricht.

Speziell die Klasse der früher "Outlaws" genannten Pro Mod Cars wird die Besucher der NitrolympX faszinieren: denn Hier werden keinerlei Hubraumbegrenzungen vorgegeben, und nirgends sonst findet man bis zu Elfeinhalb Liter Hubraum in solch cooler Verpackung. James Dean wäre zu seiner Zeit sicher ein Pro Mod-Fahrer gewesen.

Vom Willy's Coupe über Chevy BelAir, bis hin zu den aktuellen Modellen der US-Automobilindustrie ist unter den 30 (!!) gelisteten Teilnehmern der diesjährigen Championship alles am Start was schön und schnell ist.

Von Freitag bis Sonntag wird das Motodrom der badischen Traditionsstrecke wieder bis in die obersten Ränge vom Brüllen der bis zu 6.000PS starken Nitro-Triebwerke erzittern, die sich mit dem atemberaubenden Tempo von knapp 500 Stundenkilometern dem Ziel entgegenstürzen.

Neben sportlicher "Speed & Power" ist die "Action" der legendären Nightshow am Samstagabend ein Highlight der NitrolympX. Zwei Stunden lang Entertainment und Show. Zwischen Hot Rod Parade, Burn Out-Contest und den legendären Top Fuel Nightruns branden die LaOlawellen der begeisterten Zuschauer durchs Motodrom.

Detaillierte Informationen zu diesen und allen weiteren Themen rund um die NitrolympX, sowie Möglichkeiten zur komfortablen Online-Ticket-Bestellung mit verschiedenen Preisbeispielen finden Sie wie immer im Internet unter www.nitrolympx.de oder über die Ticket-Hotline des Hockenheimring (06205-950 222).
©Eurodragster.com

Web site updates.
3rd August: If you were tuned in to last weekend's Event Coverage from the Veidec Festival you will know that Eurodragster.com US Correspondent Ed O'Connell joined us at Mantorp Park, and we're not entirely sure that he has yet come down from his experiences in Sweden: he was overwhelmed by the welcome and hospitality he received, even receiving a friendly wave from Top Fuel Dragster racer Risto Poutiainen not far off the start line (right). Ed has posted a number of his personal favourite shots from the Veidec Festival at picasaweb.google.com/surfphoto1/VeidecFestival02?authkey=Y9i5tx_fAc8.
©Eurodragster.com
Eurodragster.com Reserve Photographer Peter Donaldson has updated his Fotopic gallery with shots from Wednesday's private test at Santa Pod Raceway, which was arranged by Stephen Moon. You can check out Peter's pictures at peterdonaldson5305.fotopic.net.


John Powis.
1st August: Steve Young writes with great sadness that UK Sportsman racer John Powis recently passed away after a period of illness:

Sportsman racers and spectators cannot fail to remember the distinctively-liveried altereds which bore the name Henry's Revenge. The name of his cars gives a clue to John's fierce allegiance to the Blue Oval and nothing would give him greater pleasure to beat those "damn Chevys!" I was lucky to spend many pleasant evenings with John and his family during his years of racing. He was a very knowledgeable and skilled fabricator and mechanic who ran his own garage in Dorset for many years.

John will be greatly missed by many racers and friends. Our thoughts and condolences to Janet, Chris and Bonnie at this very sad time.

We are sure that everyone will join the Eurodragster.com staff in sending their sympathies to Janet, Chris and Bonnie and to all of John's family and friends.


FIA European Finals entry.
1st August:
Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch to ask us to remind racers that the official closing date for entry to September's FIA European Finals is next Friday, 8th August, and that this is the closing date for all classes Pro and Sportsman. Entry after next Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a penalty fee of up to 100%.
©Eurodragster.com
You can download FIA European Finals entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc or from the Power Racing web site at www.powerracing.eu.

Paula has forwarded us Version 1 of the official FIA European Finals entry list which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you think you should already be on the entry list, or if you have any queries about entry to the FIA European Finals, then please call Paula on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail paula.marshall@btconnect.com.


Twenty years in eight seconds!
1st August: Gill and Andy Thetford of the UK's Artful Dodger Super Pro ET team celebrated their twentieth wedding annversary in style at last week's Mopar Euronats as Chris Orthodoxou gave Gill an eight-second passenger ride in his Apocalypse Racing Dodge Viper.

"Gill was overjoyed at the opportunity to feel how a race car performs on the track and has not stopped talking about it", says Andy. "The only down side is that she now wants to race herself...if that is a down side. I would like to thank Chris and Angie plus their crew and all of the Santa Pod staff and marshals for making this anniversary a truly special one, thank you, we love you all. Here's to the next twenty years at the Pod."

"Congrats to you both from Angella and myself, wishing you many more happy years together", adds Chrissy O.

"From a racing point of view last weekend was too flaming hot!", says Andy. "We turned up on Friday with the Artful Dodger in its straight purple livery with thoughts of blitzing our PBs. Mick ran an eight-second pass out of the box, not bad since the car hasn't run since last year's Finals. Then we kept running consistent 7.9s - it just didn't matter what we changed, it never got any better. There was just no air for the motor, and that was the story for whole of the weekend, not only for us but everyone else. I never thought we would moan about so much good sunshine!
©Eurodragster.com
"But the saving factor was that we were the 2008 Mopar Euronationals Fastest Mopar with a 7.9005/174.39.

"We would like to thank Dave and Steph Milam of She Devil Racing for all their help and advice, the MMA for organising the event, and once again, as always, the staff and marshals at Santa Pod for their assistance."


All the way to the Bank.
1st August: Dennis Glanby of Sweden's Team Bankrobber Pro Street team tells us that last weekend's Veidec Festival was Rimbert Valström and the team's last appearance in A/AA in Comp Eliminator with their aircraft carrier which is disguised as a very rapid Plymouth Sedan.

"In the first round of eliminations we recorded 7.20/301 kmh", says Dennis. "The car was screaming down the track but blew a head gasket just past 1000 feet. The eighth-mile numbers weren't too shabby either, 4.64/247.9 and a 1.09 sixty foot time also hit the spot. We got the numbers even though we kind of nudged the motor a bit to close to the edge to get them.
©Eurodragster.com
"This was the last chance for us to run the car below 7.50 seconds, since we normally compete with a 7.60 (4.60 eighth) class break-out in Pro Street and we won't be running Comp A/AA any more. Last weekend's numbers plus the 7.610 we ran at Gardermoen a few weeks back really makes it the fastest car in the class, not bad for an old station wagon. We did all we went to do and a whole lot more at Mantorp Park. Getting knocked out in first round was the last thing on our minds."


Swift snippets.
1st August: UK Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell's Flavell Welding Specialists Funny Car a run out will be appearing at this weekend's UK Northern Nationals at York Raceway. "It's no secret that it's been a tough year for MFR", says Mark Flavell, "but following on from our successful tour to Drachten in Holland last month, where we were #1 qualifier and reached the finals before the heavens opened, we are hoping to continue enjoying 2008 and pound some serious pavement at York. Not to mention kick back and get out the barbie and maybe just maybe the odd beer. It's shaping up to be a great event with a high calibre entry. The Supercharged Outlaws are there and our little old hot rod will make every effort to be the upset and win the elimination."

The UK's Team Force Super Street team will be at the Stowmarket Business Park, Ernest Nunn Rd, Stowmarket with their supercharged Datsun tomorrow to support Toyo Tyres in the opening of a new franchise tyre and exhaust centre. "We will be starting the car up, as well as letting people sit inside and on top of the supercharger for photos, if that's what turns them", says driver Mark Watkins. "All photos will be uploaded to our web site and can then be downloaded."

We know that amongst our readership we have a number of Land Speed Record fans, who will be interested to hear that Team Stray Dogs are headed for Bonneville to attempt a record for a nitrous-assisted Hayabusa. Murray Griffin tells us that the team are also attempting to raise money for the Riding for the Disabled charity. You can read the team's Blog at www.fourfourzero.co.uk/lsr and you can make a donation at www.justgiving.com/murraygriffin.
©Eurodragster.com
We would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Swiss former Top Fuel Dragster racer Peter Beck. Have a great day, Peter, and it's about time we saw you again.

Aidan Heatley-Smith has been in touch to let us know that the UK's Smax Smith is contesting this weekend's Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals in Michigan although Aidan omitted to let us know in which class and the IHRA web site doesn't provide such niceties as entry lists. You will be able to keep in touch with Smax's progress on the Drag Race Central web site at www.dragracecentral.com.

Eurodragster.com's visitor count of 312,604 for July was the highest number of visitors we have ever had in one calendar month. Many thanks to all of you for keeping coming back in such numbers (although think how many more there would have been had we not turned so many away with our constant preaching - Ed), to the racers for giving us things to write about, to the promoters, Clubs and Race Officials for giving us the facilities, and to our sponsors for their backing. If it wasn't for you guys we couldn't do this.


Wild Bunch head north.
1st August: The UK's Wild Bunch Race Co-ordinator, Claire Meaddows writes with a quick preview of the Nostalgia racers' appearance at this weekend's UK Northern Nationals at York Raceway:

The Wild Bunch are really looking forward to running at York Raceway for their Summer Showdown event and hope to have seven or more cars participating. The event will be the Club's fifth round of the Wild Bunch Series and the eighth round of our contingency sponsor's Real Steel Series.

Amongst the drivers heading north will be all of the Top 3 in the Wild Bunch Series, with Tony Smith and Dave Williams of Team Cunning Plan in the lead again this year after four of six events. Tony and Dave have won the Series a record four times. Hot on their heels will be Scot Durrant's Tiki Munki Ruby-bodied altered, currently in second place and Dave Rowlands' Destiny's Angel altered currently third and appearing at York for the first time. Hoping to break into the Top 4 will be Crazy Chris Hartnells Backdraft slingshot, fresh from a win at the Mini Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway, and Terry Clifford's golden Ratcatcher Resurrection slingshot. Meanwhile young Mark Hartnell will be hoping for some good runs in his Awesome 4-Some slingshot, at the track where he ran his Personal Best! Joining the Bunch for the first time this year will be veteran rear-engined dragster campaigner Sag Southworth in his Daddy Cool rail, accompanied by Garlits and Prudhomme (they are the family's greyhounds, and quick they are too!).

With current Real Steel Series leader Darren Law's Wicked Lady absent from the proceedings, second place man Dave Rowlands will be hoping to make an impact on the lead, with Chris Hartnell following closely in third, and Team Cunning Plan hot on his trail in fourth.

All of the teams would like to thank the Pennine Drag Racing Club for their continuing warm welcome. We are really looking forward to the event. Can Tony Smith extend the Cunning Plan team's lead? Or will York first timer Dave Rowlands seize his first win of the year? Will Sag run a PB in his new colours? And will Scottie or Mark win the Battle of the Pintos? Will Crazy Chris achieve back-to-back wins, or will Terry's golden rail take its first win? Guess we'll find out on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!
©Eurodragster.com

Carter Motorsport press release.
1st August: The signs have been there all year but various circumstances have prevented qualifying form to be carried over into round wins for the Lucas Oil/Landmeco Top Fuel Dragster, driven by Andy Carter. Andy himself had said, "It's one thing be be Q1 but it counts for nothing unless you win rounds!"

The brief for the team at Mantorp Park was simple: qualify number 1, get Low ET, take the round wins and come home as event winners with maximum points. This would then really heap the pressure on our fellow title challengers.

The task was always going to be really tough in Sweden. The first hurdle to overcome was the safety measures introduced for the Top Fuel cars, with the decision to run over 1000 feet. We were all heading into to unknown territory as this was the first time in European drag racing history that the sport's big guns had battled it out over this distance.

Another obstacle to overcome was the size of the entry in the class. For the first time in European Top Fuel history, fourteen cars were entered, all battling it out for a place in the eight-car elimination ladder. This was obviously going to be a challenge for all the teams but a fantastic testament to the growth in European drag racing, and an awesome spectacle for the fans.

By Saturday evening, the non-qualifiers were on the trailer and Andy Carter was number one qualifier with a stunning 4.0591/473.33 kmh (294.11 mph), Andy's fifth #1 qualifying spot in a row in FIA Top Fuel Dragster. The bump spot was a very respectable 4.2791/425.57 proving that all the teams had really got a handle on the new distance and that Mantorp lived up to its reputation as one of the quickest tracks on the circuit. Andy's numbers were not only good enough for Q1 but also for Low ET of the weekend and a new track record at this distance going into eliminations.

As the sun rose over Mantorp on Sunday morning, the crew knew that only half the job was complete and that by sunset we'd know if all our team objectives had been fulfilled. The pressure was on!

One race we would all be watching was points leader Lex Joon v Urs Erbacher. Urs took the win and the mood in the camp was positive. Micke Kågered was to be our opponent in round one but with the Lucas Oil/ Landmeco car on such good form, 4.0492 seconds later, we found ourselves preparing for a semi-final match-up with Jöran Persåker. Our first round time was good enough to update the track record and low ET stats for the weekend!

Jöran gave a good fight in our match-up but a 4.1390 to his 4.8151 set up a fantastic final against Championship contender Urs Erbacher. We were so close to fulfilling our brief, and maximum points were there for the taking if we could get round the Swiss man mountain! At the hit, Urs was up in smoke, lots of smoke and Andy couldn't be seen at all. But as the view cleared, the scoreboard showed the win light in our lane and another good run at 4.2739.

We were delighted with this one as we knew it was there for us to take. We scored maximum points with the event honours and now move on to Germany in confident mood and as FIA Top Fuel Championship leaders.

You can view our event coverage to see more in-depth comments and thoughts on both qualifying and eliminations at www.andycarter.net/events/2008/veidec-festival-2008.php and you can view some pictures at www.andycarter.net/media.htm.

We'd like to thank all of our sponsors for their support as well as our many fans and friends who back the team with such passion. It's much appreciated: Lucas Oils, Landmeco, NGK Spark Plugs, Binamic, Pioneer Print, Crane Cams, K & N Filters, Yuasa Battery Sales (UK) Ltd, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Sigma Signs, Rainbow Conference Sets, 3t Creative Ltd, Norfolkline, RCS Cables, Teng Tools, CAAR, Jerrys, Autotel Race Radio and American Auto Club International.
©Eurodragster.com

Web site updates.
1st August: Markus Ek, who kindly stood in at the last minute to provide photographs for Eurodragster.com's Event Coverage from the Veidec Festival, has now posted his own excellent illustrated report from the Festival on his web site at www.mek.nu. This update gives us the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to Markus for his contribution last weekend which was far more than the supply of pictures. He slotted into the team effortlessly, put in some very long hours (although we think he was a bit shocked just how many hours that was - Ed), shared our warped sense of humour, and put away the Leanders Brothers' pizza in true Eurodragster.com style, i.e. inhaling it rather than wasting time chewing it. Thanks very much Markus!
©Eurodragster.com
Dominic Romney has given his Modern Pics web site a makeover with Springspeed Nationals and Nostalgia Nationals event galleries and Windows wallpaper, which you can find at www.modernpics.co.uk. Dominic says that the non-Flash version of the site will be ready next week, but that in the meantime non-Flash users can access the site at www.modernpics.co.uk/gallery/index.php.

Alan Currans has been in touch to let us know that his excellent Acceleration Archive has been updated with Blog entries from Brian Taylor for both his forthcoming book Crazy Horses and the Allard Chrysler Action Group. You can find both at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk.

Editor's note: We still have a backlog of news items with which we will catch up on tomorrow's update including the latest news from the UK's Junior Drag Bikes (which we couldn't run today because we don't have Microsoft Works here in the office), Veidec Festival Pro Mod winner Robert Joosten's other race with Marc Meihuizen last week, Kai Selkämaa's latest Top Fuel Bike outing, a new sponsor for Bennett Racing, and much more, and please keep those news items coming to news@eurodragster.com.



Earlier news