Event entry update. 29th April: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 6 of the official entry lists for Race, Rock'n'Ride, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 20th-21st May, and the FIA / FIM Main Event which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 26th-29th May. You can check out the Race, Rock'n'Ride entry list by clicking here and the FIA / FIM Main Event entry list by clicking here, or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Entry is still open for both races but, the official closing date having passed, may be subject to a penalty fee. The official entry forms can be downloaded from the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about SPRC event entry then please contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Web site updates. 29th April: Santa Pod Raceway's YouTube channel has been updated with Zeon TV's excellent coverage of Round 1 of the 2017 ACU Super Street Bike Championship which took place at the Festival of Power. Check it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnw6Lrx9nhY. The Mad Welshman has updated his Flickr gallery with pictures from the Spring Madness Public Track Day at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can take a look at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman. Street Eliminator Round 1 review. 27th April: Richard Merriman writes that after a long winter break it was great to be back at Santa Pod for the first round of the 2017 Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Championship: It was a slightly quieter event in terms of entries as we were due to have eight in total. Unfortunately we had no-shows from Andy Bond and Gordon Smith but hopefully we will see them out later in the season. With two runs scheduled for the Friday everyone was geared up ready for the first round of qualifying. First up was the return of Nick and Nigel Hale. Great to see them carrying on the tradition of big smokey burnouts to get both themselves and the crowd pumped up as well as to put some heat into the tyres. The sun was out but a stiff breeze was heading down the track which was going to hurt ETs a little. Nick off the line first with a fantastic 0.00 reaction time and a nice strong 10.25 pass. Nigel clicked off an 11.46 showing that the headwind was fighting the massive truck. Next pair was Alex McIntosh in the Ford Mustang v Stu Williams in his daily driver Mitsubishi Evo. Alex has decided to put the Ford up for sale as he is looking to go even quicker than his 7.57 PB and the car is limited to 7.50. Stu was out in the Mitsubishi as unfortunately some machining work for CarmaSupra wasn't completed in time for the event. Alex was away first and broke traction almost straight away, however a quick reaction caught the sideways step and he eased the car down the track for a twelve-second run. Stu launched but the car bogged down massively off the line however it soon came up on boost and netted a 12.87/114. Last pair up for this round was Alan Williamson and Mark Todd. A pair of strong burnouts and a nice nine-second run for Al and eight-second run for Mark. Good clean runs and no drama leaving Mark as #1 and Al as #2 after the first round. Into the second round of qualifying and the headwind was even more noticeable. First pair Stu and Alex, Alex with a nice rolling burnout across the start line laying down plenty of rubber. A storming run from Alex netting a 7.74/175. Unfortunately for Stu a bunny hop off the line and a stall sent the car into limp mode. This bagged him his worst drag racing run ever of 27 seconds at 60mph! Nick and Nigel next and another 0.0 light for Nick but no improvement on ET. Nigel improved with a 11.0 this time at almost the same speed as the previous run clearly getting off the line better on this go. Final run this session was Mark Todd who lit the tyres up straight off the line and decided to abort the rest of the run. Unfortunately a no show from Al this session. After a check of the rockers after the previous run they noticed one of the studs had pulled and rather than risk any further damage would fully check over the engine back at the workshop. Onto Saturday and another two qualifiers scheduled, thankfully a dry start to the day following a good bout of rain throughout the evening. First up were meant to be Stu and Alex however Stu was pushed back for a fluid leak, initially believed to be rainwater it later turned out it was a slight fuel weep which the eagle-eyed Santa Pod crew had spotted, an easy fix but meant he missed this session. Trouble for Alex also in this session after a strong sixty foot the car was struggling with traction and so Alex aborted the run. Nigel and Mark out in the next pair, with Nigel netting his first ten of the weekend despite a quick pedal, Mark suffering the same issue as Alex lighting the tyres up on launch. Nick Hale last of the bunch and once again on it with the lights cutting another 0.0, a brief pedal after launch but netting a 10.67. The last qualifying session of the weekend before we were due to head out on the Cruise and we saw Mark Todd blast out a storming 7.51 securing his position as number one qualifier. No improvement for Alex on this run. Nick and Nigel on the next run and again no improvement for the pair this round. Last up was Stu and definitely getting to grips with the Evo knocking out a storming 11.75 PB for him in this car. Then it was time to get ready for the Cruise giving the teams approximately an hour to make final checks. We all gathered at the top end of the track ready to cruise down the old fire-up road. Racing was paused and the class trundled down waving at the crowds and allowing the commentators to announce each car. A great privilege and good to see so many fans waving back. At the gate we were then notified by security that unfortunately the traffic was that backed up the start of the queue to get to the crossroads began at the gates! The decision was then made by the Chairman of the club that in this instance the Cruise would have to be cancelled, much to the disappointment of the racers. However it was the right decision given the circumstances. Sunday dawned and it was another slightly cloudy day but with the sun fighting though and a slight crosswind. No early alarm clocks as the first elimination round wasn't until gone midday. The first pairing was number two qualifier Alex against number five qualifier Nigel. Good light from Alex and a very strong run resulting in a best ET of the weekend at 7.63 leaving Nigel playing catch up on a losing 10.61. Next match up was meant to be Stu against Al but as Al was broken Stu was able to use the round as a test and tune and boy he was glad he did! A 1.75 sixty foot and very rapid 11.30/122 for the five- seat family car! The last pair for elimination round one was Mark Todd v Nick Hale, Nick knew he would have to pull out all the stops to have a chance against Mark but in the eagerness to cut a good light he managed to pull a -0.08 red handing the automatic win to Mark. Round two of eliminations was a match of Alex and Stu. Stu on the money with reactions nailing a 0.01 light, however the car was sluggish to sixty but as Alex had already red lit Stu was already through to the final, Alex realising what he had done trundled down to complete the run. Mark Todd benefited from a bye on this run but used it to see what the track could handle, the result was a 7.52/194 and with this in the bag we were set for the final. Final time! With a quick turnaround Mark frantically tried to fix a lever which had come adrift after the previous run. Meanwhile Stu patiently waited for Mark but just being ready put Mark under a bit of pressure. The cars lined up on the start and both were a little lazy on reactions however the brute force of Mark's car allowed him to bag an 8.20 win to Stu's 11.43. A great race and good see our very first event winner and runner up of the season. We would like to say a big thank you to our sponsors who of course help make all this happen: AW Upholstery, Insane Creations, Matt Woods Photography, Power Pour, Serck Motorsport, Topspeed Automotive, Webster Race Engineering, and Zeon TV. If you would like to keep up to date with what's going on check out our Facebook Page and our web site at www.streeteliminator.com. Swift snippets. 27th April: Good Luck and stay safe to Smax Smith (Top Fuel Dragster), Jonnie Lindberg (Fuel Funny Car), Ulf Leanders (Top Methanol FC) and Johan Lindberg (Top Methanol FC) who are contesting this weekend's NHRA Four Wide Nationals in Charlotte. Qualifying commences today (Friday) and you will be able to stay in touch with our heroes' progress on the Drag Race Central web site at www.dragracecentral.com and on Smax's and the Lidnbergs' Facebook pages. We would like to say a big Happy 21st Birthday and many more of them to UK Super Pro ET racer Brad Jackson. It scarcely seems possible but Brad's dad Wayne tells us that Brad has been racing for eight years. Have a great day Brad. The latest Feature on the Drag Racing Europe Blog covers multiple FIA European Pro Stock Champion Jimmy Ålund who will be racing in the Old 51 Pro Mod this season although his own race car will still get an outing or two. You can read more by clicking here. Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil has introduced a new premium synthetic long life motor oil especially developed for the latest generation 2.0 TFSI (140 kW) and 3.0 TDI CR (160kW) VAG engines where VW specifications 508.00 / 509.00 are prescribed. You can find out more (PDF format) by clicking here. Flash is back! 27th April: In the latest in our occasional series of drag racing retirements gone wrong, UK Fuel Funny Car racer Gordon Smith has announced that he is returning to the seat of a race car: I will be driving Mark and Jackie Hawkins' Panic Nitro Funny Car at the FIA Main Event. I am not sure at this stage if this will be for more than the one event, as I know that Gary Page is keen to get back in the seat of a Funny Car. However Gary is not available to drive at this stage so I have stepped in to get things moving for Mark and Jackie. It will be good to see the Panic name back on the strip and I am looking forward to helping the team get up to speed. As is always the case I will be doing my best to put on a good show for all the fans who have supported me over the years. I still own the Shockwave Funny Car with Dave Bryant, and I am still very involved with the car and team. New driver Steve Ashdown is looking forward to the future driving Europe's premier Nitro Funny Car, he has brought new and fresh drive to the operation. The car will be known as The Undertaker as well as keeping the Shockwave identity. I wish Steve well, it will be difficult for me owning one car and driving another but you all know me - I like to win but I will give Steve all the help and advice he needs to get up to speed. I look forward to seeing all those supporters at the Main Event. Event entry update. 26th April: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 4 of the official entry lists for Race, Rock'n'Ride, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 20th-21st May, and the FIA / FIM Main Event which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 26th-29th May. You can check out the Race, Rock'n'Ride entry list by clicking here and the FIA / FIM Main Event entry list by clicking here, or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The official closing date for both races is tomorrow, Friday. Official entry forms for both races can be downloaded from the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about SPRC event entry then please contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Springspeed Nationals racer update. 27th April: Many thanks to Jerry Cookson for passing us details of the arrangements for this weekend's APIRA Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway: Tomorrow, Friday 28th April 12:00 Shakespeare County Raceway's Gates open for the duration 17:00 Signing On office open until 20:00 17:00 Car scrutineering commences 18:00 Bike scrutineering commences   Saturday 29th April 08:00 Signing On office opens 08:00 Car scrutineering commences 08:00 Bike scrutineering commences 10:00 Track opens for qualifying   Sunday 30th April 08:00 Signing On office opens 08:00 Car scrutineering commences 08:00 Bike scrutineering commences 10:00 Track opens for qualifying Monday 1st May 08:00 Signing On office opens 08:00 Car scrutineering commences 08:00 Bike scrutineering commences 10:00 Track opens for eliminationa Racer tickets, final instructions, vehicle passes and scrutineering slips have now been sent out to every racer who submitted their entries with an SAE before close of business last Friday. Anyone who posted their entry since last Friday will be able to collect their tickets on arrival at the main gate. If any crew member arrives before their respective racer then they must notify the track before hand, or wait to gain entry when their driver or rider arrives at the track. Entry to the pits will commence at 12:00 on Friday. If racers wish to arrive on Friday morning, before the pit gate opens, then they are more than welcome to park up and wait. Please note that pit marshals will escort all racers to their designated pit, so please be patient if a queue develops on the entrance road into the pits. Anyone who pits incorrectly will be politely asked to move to their allocated pit space. Scrutineering will commence for both cars and bikes at approximately 17:00 on Friday. Scrutineering will resume at 08:00 on Saturday. Signing On will also open at these times. Version 5 of the official entry list is now available and can be checked out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Saturday's provisional running order is now available and can be checked out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Copies will be available in the Signing On office which will be open between 17:00 and 20:00 on Friday. Shakespeare County Raceway would like to remind everyone of the safety requirements in the Staging and Fire Up Lanes. No crew members under the age of seventeen may enter these areas. Under-age Junior crew members can still watch their respective teams race from the grandstands. The grandstands can be accessed from the top of the lanes by the Signing On office. We understand that this may upset some of the Junior crews, however safety is paramount and must be considered at all times. These rules obviously do not apply to under-17s who are riding or driving a race vehicle which is in the pairing lanes (for which you must be holder of an MSA / ACU licence or you are participating in observed runs). All children remain the responsibility of their parent or guardian at all times. Thank you for your co-operation. Junior racers please remember the rule about pushing vehicles back to the pits once past the Medical Centre. Please do not start engines before 09:00 or after 18:30 on any day of the event. Only race officials and SCR staff are allowed in Race Control while the race is underway. If any racer wishes to raise a matter with race officials then please go to Signing On first not Race Control and speak to Race Secretary Julie Willcox who will be based in Signing On. Colour commentators are requested to come to the Commentary side of Race Control when there class is waiting to run, and leave after their class has run. Anyone who did not collect their 2016 APIRA Championship trophies at last month's Presentation Evening can do so this weekend. Please see Marie in the Signing On office. If you have any queries about APIRA Springspeed Nationals entry then please contact Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected] or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180). Netherlands' organisations join forces. 27th April: Kees van der Meij or the Dutch Hot Rod Association writes that the two organisers of races in The Netherlands have joined forces for events at Drachten Drag Strip in 2017: In previous seasons DHRA and Quartermile have organised three events each. But this season both organisations have put their hands, knowledge and crew together to hold four well-organised events. At these events Pro cars and bikes, street-legal cars and bikes, scooters and kart classes will participate. The Pro bikes and Junior bikes will contest the Dutch Championship under the KMMV flag, and Pro race cars and Junior Dragsters will contest under the KNAF flag.  The organisation and start crew will be a combination of DHRA crew members and Quartermile crew members. 402 Automotive is responsible for promotion, marketing, communication and tickets. 402automotive is also responsible for organising the additional themed events such as All American Cars and Bugfest. Of the six events originally planned for 2017, we will now run four. The following four events will be organised under a new organisation named Fast Show, powered by DHRA and Quartermile. We invite all racers of Pro and street-legal classes to join us and to support these four rounds, as this is crucial for the survival of drag racing in The Netherlands: 12th-14th May: Fast Show Days of Thunder 2nd-4th June DHRA cancelled 14th-16th July Quartermile cancelled 28th-30th July: Fast Show The Main Event including All American Cars 25th-27th August: Fast Show Summer Edition 29th September-1st October: Fast Show Weekend of Champions including BugFest This season we will also initiate the official Dutch Street-legal Championship. All four rounds will count towards the Championship. We will soon release the new branding and planning for a European Street Legal Championship on which we are working. For the past year Quartermile and DHRA have been working behind closed doors to forge a partnership which allows us input on the future of Drachten Airfield and drag racing in The Netherlands. For event information please visit www.fastshow.nl. For each organisation's other activities you can visit the DHRA web site at www.dhra.nl and the Quartermile web site at www.quartermile.nl. SPRC warning to racers and crew. 27th April: On behalf of the Santa Pod Racers Club Committee, Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch with a very important message for racers and crew concerning start line access at Santa Pod Raceway: Riders and drivers are reminded that they are held responsible for the conduct and actions of all of their crew members. This includes ensuring that only the correct amount of signed-on crew members accompany their vehicle to the start line area. There have been instances of non signed-on crew attempting to make their way to the start line which not only causes congestion in certain areas but also puts those crew members in a very dangerous area without any kind of insurance cover. This has to stop immediately. Some of those who have been stopped by Security have been less than civil. Security are there to stop non signed-on crew, staff or anyone else deemed ineligible to be in the area. It's about keeping you safe. We cannot and will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. Future instances will be reported to the Race Director and the racer whose crew are reported will receiving an official warning in the first instance and then further action for any additional infractions. It is the racer's responsibility to ensure that the correct people are where they are supposed to be and that racer and crew maintain a civil tongue if challenged. Please make a concerted effort to keep all crew members safe. If you have any queries about the above then please contact Ian at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Swift snippets. 27th April: Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our own Simon for posting the post-Big Bang points standings in the 2017 UK National and Santa Pod Racers Club Championships. You can check out the points on our OCS Paint-sponsored Points Standings page which you can reach by clicking here or by clicking on the OCS Paint Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Further to our news item of 11th April Brian Taylor writes that two more Pit Tour Guides are sought for the Institute of the Motor Industry Students' Day on the Friday of the FIA / FIM Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway (26th May). Tours take place on the hour from 11:00 until 14:00 inclusive and take an hour each. If you can spare an hour as an ambassador for drag racing then please call Brian on 01395 579733 or E-Mail [email protected]. Please note that our Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcast from this weekend's APIRA Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway will be transmitted through a 4G dongle, so in the event of extended downtime (for example a track's length of oil) broadcast may be stopped to preserve mobile data and the live race report updated accordingly. In this event, or in the event of any other issues with the webcast, updates will be posted at the top of that day's live race report and not on Facebook. Individuals who post plaintive comments on FB having neglected to read (a) this notification and (b) the race report will receive the treatment they deserve and can play the victim as much as they like. Event entry update. 26th April: Many thanks to Jerry Cookson for passing us Version 5 of the official entry list for this weekend's APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any queries about APIRA Springspeed Nationals entry then please contact Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected] or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180). Many thanks also to Race Director Tony Smith for forwarding us the provisional Saturday running order for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Please note that as ever the running order is subject to change due to track or weather conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. Many thanks, too, to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 3 of the official entry lists for Race, Rock'n'Ride which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 20th-21st May, and the FIA / FIM Main Event which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 26th-29th May. You can check out the Race, Rock'n'Ride entry list by clicking here and the FIA / FIM Main Event entry list by clicking here, or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The official closing date for both races is this Friday, 28th April. Official entry forms for both races can be downloaded from the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about SPRC event entry then please contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Testing offered at Race, Rock'n'Ride. 26th April: Jo Haines of Santa Pod Raceway writes that car and bike racers entered for the FIA / FIM Main Event are welcome to test at Race, Rock'n'Ride at Santa Pod on the preceding weekend, 20th-21st May: FIA Main Event racers may come along and test on what will be a fully-prepped track with three timetabled run slots per day pending track and weather conditions. You will be able to leave your vehicles on-site between Race, Rock'n'Ride and the Main Event but we cannot guarantee that you will be in the same pit bay. The test slots will have limited availability. Entry is on a first-come, first-served basis and will be by advance booking only. Tickets and race vouchers are available by calling Jo Haines on 01234 782828 or by E-Mail at [email protected]. Débuting last year with great success, Race, Rock'n'Ride 2017 is all about the need for speed! A festival celebrating everything on two wheels, there's fun for all the family with action both on and off the track from ACU UK National Drag Bike Championships, Bike-only Run What You Brung, Rocket Bike, FireForce Jet Car, monster truck, stunt displays, custom show in association with Back Street Heroes magazine, evening entertainment from Limehouse Lizzy and loads more! You can find out more about www.racerockride.co.uk. Outlaw Anglias are go! 26th April: Callum Pudge and Colin Millar write that the Outlaw Anglias' season opener at Big Bang at Santa Pod was a roaring success with plenty of close and exciting racing. The class is celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary and has a lot of activity going on in both the foreground and the background including a brand new web site for the class which launched at www.outlawanglia.co.uk on the eve of the season opener. Huge thanks to Callum Pudge of Pudgey's Pictures. Take a look at the web site and let us know what you think! Outlaw Anglia has been rebranded with a new logo and some new marketing material including T-Shirts and hoodies available for purchase in the OA pits. This is your chance to get one of these collectors' items which are simply stunning. Massive thanks to Tom Pugh. A race report and gallery of photos from Big Bang have been added to the Outlaw Anglia web site and can be viewed by clicking here. We also have some exciting news coming up very soon, so please keep your eyes open. See you all at the APIRA Springspeed Nationals, run fast and run safe! Swift snippets. 26th April: Super Pro ET and Sportsman ET racer Tom Atkinson is adding a third string to his bow by entering Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator at this weekend's APIRA Springspeed Nationals in his twelve-second Caltrac- and drag radial-equipped pick-up. Tom has also revealed that last week's spy picture presaged a season sponsorship from clothing manufacturer Toxico. "Huge thanks to Toxico", says Tom. "They make some some killer gear and it's great that they support drag racing! Please check out their web site and Facebook page." Many thanks to Andy Marrs and SPRC's timing crew for forwarding the official Timing Data from Big Bang, which you can check out 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 say a big Happy Birthday to longtime Eurodragster.com supporter and occasional contributor Stephen Billings. Have a great day Stephen. Springspeed Nationals Perfect Awards. 26th April: This weekend's APIRA Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway is the third event in the 2017 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme. £100 is on offer for perfect performance. The Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Sportsman ET racer Pete Creswell at Big Bang. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer at the event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for Race, Rock'n'Ride at Santa Pod Raceway; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for Race, Rock'n'Ride. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with Bad Habit Racing (Cath and Tig Napier, Pro ET). Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect Light Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals will be available in the Signing On office or from the Eurodragster.com staff. The Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supporting Bloodwise has been reset to £50 after it was won by VW Sportsman racer Aaron Beales at Big Bang. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer at the event to run an ET to the thousandth of a second on dial-in or index. The Perfect ET Award is available during qualifying or eliminations in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations only), VW Pro, VW Sportsman, the Wild Bunch, Nostalgia Super Stock, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, ET Bike and Junior Drag Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for Race, Rock'n'Ride at Santa Pod Raceway; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for Race, Rock'n'Ride. The Perfect ET Award is presented by Derek and Fiona Flynn of Eurodragster.com sponsor Gold RV in support of Bloodwise; you can donate to Bloodwise at www.bloodwise.org.uk. To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com / Bloodwise decals, one on each side of the vehicle. If you pull an event's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. Decals will be available in the Signing On office. Web site updates. 26th April: The official Blog of the UK's Storm Funny Bike team has been updated with a report from the Festival of Power. You can check it out at www.stormdragbike.co.uk. Longtime spectator Paul Bryan, member of the Warrington Possee (sic), has posted a number of pictures from the Festival Power on his Facebook page. The shots were taken from the spectator bank, Paul's home since 1978, and Paul tells us that those racers who have seen his shots enjoyed them. You can take a look by clicking here. IOPD and Rat Trap back BDRHoF Gala. 26th April: The International Organisation of Professional Drivers will once again be supporting the 2017 British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Annual Awards Dinner, to be held on Saturday 18th November at the Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge. The BDRHoF is also pleased to announce that Ron Hope of Rat Trap Racing has confirmed that he too is renewing his sponsorship of the event. The IOPD was formed in 1990 to regulate and support the driving experience sector of recreational motorsport in the UK. It was brought about by the MSA/RAC refusal to recognise and permit Run What You Brung events and track driving activities thereby denying participants and organisers a route to legitimisation and parity with mainstream motorsports. The IOPD soon grew, facilitating events for some 70,000 to 100,000 participants each year - not only for driving experiences but for full competition and drag racing. The IOPD also permits many of the world's international motor manufactures driving experience programmes and track days. Heading up the IOPD is Steve Murty, who said "We are very happy to support the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner for a third year. It is a totally non-political impartial organisation which is dedicated to recognising and celebrating those people that have contributed so much to create the sport we can enjoy today". A visit to the IOPD web site will explain all. Steve also operates York Raceway with his son Chris, who said "The Hall of Fame embraces Nostalgia - something that has always been a part of the York Raceway culture, and in association with the Pennine Drag Racing Club we have been instrumental in developing several of the classes that have become part of today's national Nostalgia scene. But as some other drag racing and sprinting tracks in the UK, there are some tough battles ahead before we can ensure our survival. "This year is our fortieth anniversary and racers can help by supporting our meetings – particularly the August Bank Holiday 7th Annual National Hot Rod Reunion which will mark our official birthday celebrations. It will be great to see the return of those that have burnt rubber on our track during our forty years' years history. We plan a real northern welcome and it will be a party". Information about this meeting can be found on York Raceway's web site. BDRHoF Chair Stu Bradbury said "York Raceway and the Pennine Drag Racing Club have been strong supporters of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame since it was formed in 2006. They have provided a focal point for the development of drag racing in the north of England and long may it continue. UK drag racing would be a poorer place without it." Ron Hope (centre, with Bob Muravez and Tracey Hrudka) and Rat Trap Racing have supported the BDRHoF for the past two years and have announced continued commitment for 2017. This year has Ron has been on a worldwide tour with BDRHoF member Rob Loaring and driver Nick Davies joining the American arm of the Fuel Altered show, racing the blown Chrysler Donovan Hemi powered Havoc. This renews the exciting battles seen at Santa Pod's Dragstalgia Meet in 2016. Ron Hope said "I am really glad to continue my sponsorship of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Celebrating the sport's pioneers is an important task that all those in drag racing should support. The Gala Awards Dinner is an amazing event; one that I look forward to attending each year; meeting old friends and making new ones. What started as the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame has truly become an international organisation. It was an honour to have Rat Trap on display at last year's event." The BDRHoF is now taking reservations for the 2017 Gala Awards Dinner by E-Mail at [email protected] or by telephone on 01933 279102. This year the tickets are priced competitively at £65 which includes a pre-dinner reception. The event always sells out well in advance, so if you would like to join us for the occasion we suggest you make your reservation sooner rather than later. On receiving your reservation you will be given the procedure to book rooms at the negotiated room rate that includes breakfast and VAT as well as parking. On-going news about the Gala, sponsors and other events in which the BDRHoF is involved will be published on the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame web site at www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk, on Eurodragster.com, and on Facebook and Twitter. Event entry update. 25th April: Many thanks to Jerry Cookson for passing us Version 4 of the official entry list for this weekend's APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Entry is still open and you can download the official entry forms from the track's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Racers are encouraged to pay their entry fee via Bacs rather than credit card or cheques, as this cuts down on administrative charges and time; SCR's account details can be found on the entry form. If you have any queries about APIRA Springspeed Nationals entry then please contact Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected] or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180). Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 2 of the official entry lists for Race, Rock'n'Ride which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 20th-21st May, and the FIA / FIM Main Event which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 26th-29th May. You can check out the Race, Rock'n'Ride entry list by clicking here and the FIA / FIM Main Event entry list by clicking here. The official closing date for both races is this Friday, 28th April. Official entry forms for both races can be downloaded from the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about SPRC event entry then please contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Morris crosses the Pond. 25th April: Ex-pat UK Super class racer Tony Morris has announced that he will be competing in Super Gas at the FIA / FIM Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. Tony usually races in the USA where he has made his home for many years: It's almost the end of April and our NHRA Division 2 season is already past the halfway point. For those who don't know, I drive for Bruce Guertin in his 1979 Ford Fairmont and we're going into our third season. The last two years we finished eighth out of around sixty cars in Division 2 Super Street. The first race was on the last weekend in February at Orlando Speedworld. In the first round both cars went red by -0.009 and the computer said we went red first, so on to Gainesville two weeks later. In Gainesville we went out in round two when we were paired up with 2016 Division 2 SST Champion Jonathan Anderson. We both dumped together with JA taking the win by 0.0037, so on to SGMP three weeks later. Again, we lost in round two against an old friend, David Bell in his new Vega, when I missed the Tree with a 0.029 to his 0.018. In addition, we couldn't get there, dumping to a 10.94 so home we went. The next event was a first for us at Galot in North Carolina. Instead of running a quarter mile we ran a first for the NHRA, 1000 feet with a index of 9.35 for SST. For the third time in a row we were out in round two when I went -0.012 red against his 0.020 green and on we went on our twelve-hour ride home. Next up is our only National event this year, also in Super Street, at Atlanta in two weeks, then two weeks later back to Atlanta for the fifth Division 2 race. After that we have a five month break until October for race six in GA and race seveb in Rockingham NC. The Monday after Atlanta I hop on a plane for the Main Event in the UK. Last year I got to attend the European Finals and hang out with a bunch of great racers mostly from the Super classes. I was able to help out teams that needed advice on their set ups and also improve on their throttle stop set up, driving strategies, and make suggestions on how to improve overall in the way they approach the Super classes. It's always hard for me to watch racing from outside the car and I started thinking how cool it would be to race again at the Pod. While there, I spent a lot of time talking with longtime friend Paul Marston to whom I talk on a weekly basis. Back in 2005 Paul invited me over to race the Whoopass Monza in Super Gas in return for his racing my SP dragster in Florida in the winter series in late 2004. We made it all the way to an awesome final against Frank Mason at the European Finals however came up short by 0.0008 when Frank ran dead on an 8.90 and we followed through with an 8.94 after backing into him dumping, lifting and breking and giving the strip back by such a small margin. It was one of those races I will never forget in my thirty eight years of drag racing. Over the winter Paul and I have been talking about how we should go about getting me back behind the wheel in England. He wanted to test the car out first before we entered the event. We figured best to test in Super Gas over Easter to make sure that we were close enough for me to come over. Then I could jump in and together we could do the last of the fine-tuning. Besides a few minor issues over the Easter race weekend, Paul has given the go ahead and I'm all set to make it happen. I have entered the Whoopass Monza in Super Gas and Paul has entered in Super Street. It's going to be a busy month ahead but I'm very excited to be a part of the European scene. One more thing: as always if anyone is in need of help or advice, even if you're in my class, please come and ask. I'm always there to help. Habermanns announce 2017 sponsors. 25th April: Germany's Championship-winning Werner Habermann Racing Top Methanol Dragster team Werner Habermann Racing are pleased to announce sponsorship from Mitsuboshi. Werner writes: Mistuboshi are one of the leading manufacturers in the market for automotive / industrial belts and components. One of their main products is the well-known Star Racer blower belt which we have used for a while and which have helped us to win some events and an FIA European Drag Racing Championship. Werner Habermann Racing will appear in a new design for the 2017 FIA Championship season, and we will have Star Racer blower belts in different sizes for different applications in stock at races. Come and talk to us and we will convince you about this high performance product. Another new sponsor is Tommy Werbung of Germany, which is a well-known company for vinyl applications on cars, trucks etc. Tommy Werbung is responsible for the new design on the two dragsters and the race trailer. We also like to take the opportunity to thank our long lasting partners Höfler Fenster, Autokrandienst Habermann, Swagelok, Fuchs Oil and Exide Batteries for their continued support during the 2017 season. One of our dragster will be displayed on the Mitsuboshi Expo stand at the world-leading Industrial Show in Hannover next week. Read returns to Dragstalgia. 25th April: The UK's Robin Read has announced that he will be attending July's Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway with his six-second nitro-burning V8 Daimler-powered dragster. Robin says that he hopes that we will be able to add 200 mph to this list after what is a very special event for the team: The date of Dragstalgia is within two weeks of the thirtieth anniversary of the dragster's début meeting. The intention is to attempt to be the first British-engined car to run 200 mph in the quarter mile. With that goal in mind we will also be attending Race, Rock'n' Ride to do some testing (Webcam event - Ed). This is primarily to check out the changes we have made to the car, but also to make sure that we have solved the oil leak problems experienced at last year's Flame and Thunder Show. Should we be successful in our endeavour then there is every chance that we will run quicker than 6.81 which is the car's best ET, and this would also be a new record. So our whole team are very excited. It is also a tribute to my crew's dedication that this is still the original line-up from the car's debut in June 1987: Mark Evans, Bill Mears, Bertie Hopkinson and Ella Chapman. I am indebted to them for their support on and off the track. My thanks go to James Forster and his team for making the arrangements. I look forward to seeing all drag racing supporters old and new, and of course the many friends we have made within the sport. Come and cheer us on! Swift snippets. 25th April: Many congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy future to SPRC Assistant Race Director and SPRC Timekeeper Karl and Nikki Birkenshaw who were married last Thursday and are now on honeymoon. Before Nikki whisked him off Karl sent us this great picture of a very happy couple. UK Fuel Funny Car racer-in-waiting Steve Ashdown asked us to say a big Thank You to Champion for spark plugs and merchandise. "We are looking forward to meeting Michela, who is making the trip from Italy to see us race the Undertaker Funny Car", says Steve. Thank you to Michela and to Champion for all their help." Thanks to the vast majority of viewers who were patient and understanding whilst we had network problems with our Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam on Sunday. The problem appeared to lay with the supplier of the link to the outside world and thus was neither SPR's nor our fault. A big Thank You to Julian Parsons of Nitro FM who worked very hard to diagnose the problem. To those who were neither patient nor understanding and moaned and bitched, and to the couple who were downright offensive, we can only offer the advice RTFRR. Also on the subject of webcasts we would like to say a big Happy Birthday to our good friend Maikel Gloudemans of our webcast streaming provider Doyousee.me. Have a great day M@ik. Web site updates. 25th April: Chris Eyre writes that the news page on the European Nostalgia Funny Car web site has been updated with a report from the Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway. "It was great to see a couple of new cars in attendance", says Chris, "Tony Betts in Venom and Rob Elsom with Dirty Deeds. Not only is there a report but some fantastic photos by Andrew Green. Also on the same page there is a photo gallery from the March Meet at Famoso Raceway, again by Andrew. These can all be found at euronostalgiafunnycar.jimdo.com." Big Bang results. 24th April: Congratulations to the winners of the weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway: Sportsman ET: Chris Creswell (16.08) 16.1487/84.39 def. Tom Atkinson (12.70) 12.7716/104.53 Lucas Oil Junior Dragster: Billy Everitt (7.99) 8.0273/75.92 def. Holley Marshall (8.29) 8.3313/76.41 VW Pro: Phil Norman (12.60) 12.6729/103.47 def. Paul Herbert (12.10) 12.3815/108.84 VW Sportsman: Tom Herbert (13.85) 14.1009/89.23 def. Carl Goldsmith (15.25) 15.3987/91.04 Outlaw Flat Four: Clarke Hillyard 12.0791/113.76 def. Lucas Daglish 13.5570/97.72 Outlaw Anglia: Colin Millar 7.9479/169.82 bye, Jedd Guy shut off Nostalgia Super Stock: Thomas Watkins (9.50) 9.5267/136.85 def. Mike Lacey (9.34) 10.3735/96.22 DQ red Front Wheel Drive Series: Kiel Priestman 9.2103/161.90 def. Paul Atkinson 29.2864/33.70 8.50 Bike: Jake Mechaell 8.6100/156.95 def. Ian Chrichlow 8.5946/154.70 (0.0064) 9.50 Bike: Lewis Burgess 9.5452/133.63 def. Richard Sawatzki 9.7067/140.79 ET Bike: Phil Pratt (9.03) 9.1061/146.88 def. Gary Hester (10.57) 10.5674/125.44 DQ b/o Congratulations also to Sportsman ET racer Pete Creswell who won the Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award with a 0.0005 Reaction Time in Q1, and to VW Sportsman racer Aaron Beales who won the Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supporting Bloodwise with a 14.2005 on 14.20 dial-in in Q1. Both Awards have been reset to £50 for this weekend's APIRA Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored live reports and galleries by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. APIRA event entry update. 24th April: Many thanks to Jerry Cookson for passing us Version 3 of the official entry list for this weekend's APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Entry is still open and you can download the official entry forms from the track's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Racers are encouraged to pay their entry fee via Bacs rather than credit card or cheques, as this cuts down on administrative charges and time; SCR's account details can be found on the entry form. If you have any queries about APIRA Springspeed Nationals entry then please contact Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected] or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180). Swift snippets. 24th April: We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to Team Heaven and Hell and Earsplittenloudenboomer crew member and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Colin Roaf. Have a great day Colin. Event entry update. 22nd April: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry lists for Race, Rock'n'Ride which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 20th-21st May, and the FIA / FIM Main Event which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 26th-29th May. You can check out the Race, Rock'n'Ride entry list by clicking here and the FIA / FIM Main Event entry list by clicking here. The official closing date for both races is next Friday, 28th April. Official entry forms for both races can be downloaded from the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. If you have any queries about SPRC event entry then please contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Swift snippets. 22nd April: If you were tuned in to our Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam during yesterday's Peak Performance Day then your eyes didn't deceive you, that was a Top Fuel Dragster you saw. The driver was longtime fan Kevin Chapman who had never been down the track before but thought that it was about time he had a go, and he did so in one of Rune Fjeld's cars. A competent burnout and sixty foot made up yesterday's first run and Kevin is expected to make two more runs over this weekend. Red Line Oils have signed up as a contingency sponsor of the 2017 EDRS Series. You can read more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. York Raceway Easter review. 22nd April: Chris Murty has been in touch with a report of the Easter action at the UK's York Raceway: Sunday started so well. The track was in unbelievable form for an Easter meeting and when the first round of qualifying started there were many breakouts as racers were caught out. Unfortunately the rain which we hoped would be a shower sat on us for the rest of the day and racing was called off. A bonus 100 points were awarded to those who made the only qualifying session in American Super Stock, JDM-DRC, Pro FWD and Super Cup. Monday was a fresh start. The weather was great, the conditions were great, and the team got the track to an excellent standard ready for racing. In American Super Stock there were breakouts galore, the track catching most people out including the 2016 Champion who broke out in the second round. It was the perfect day for Dave Billadeau who took top qualifier and the event win, taking the maximum amount of points. In JDM-DRC, with 2016 Champion Nathan Askey retiring and two-time Champion Phil Davison yet to make his return, there was a chance for the rest of the field to gain some ground. The 2016 runner-up was too eager and red lit in the first round, CJ found himself taking the eveant thatnt win in impressive style in a car which cost him just £50. He was the slowest against the quickest in the final: poor Peter Richardson had to wait for six seconds for CJ to get near the eighth before he finally got the green light. Pro FWD had extremely close racing, unfortunately an early retirement meant that this class went straight to the final. It meant more to PFD6 as he was out the traps and gone! Peter Richardson just couldn't reel him in after that, PFD6 going on to take the win. Hot Rod was unbelievably close, the reaction times were identical and the ETs almost identical, Derek Beck's TVR just taking the win with an 11.8967 to Andy Crolla's losing 11.8968 in his red 1990s Camaro. In Sportsman ET, 2016 Champion CJ took himself out with a breakout in the semi-finals, losing to James Murry in the green Cortina Estate who broke out in the final against long-time racer George Chiles who took the win in his Chrysler Crossfire. Sadly Super Cup was plagued with breakages. Reigning champion Paul Grainger in the green Anglia wason top running 9.8 without the nitrous, however it appeared that there was an issue which put it on the trailer early. Ben Rushforth was out in another Jaguar-powered car, this time the Jaguart motor shoehorned into a Cobra body, but breakages ruled him out from racing. The car ran 9.8722 in RWYB. Unfortunately there was no final run. In NSCC, Ian Wally in the Yellow Cortina matched his PB at York running 9.8707/136 taking the win from Derek Beck in his TVR 12.1981/113. All of these race classes will return to York Raceway next weekend, 30th April-1st May. Web site updates. 22nd April: The UK's Outlaw Anglias have launched a new web site at www.outlawanglia.co.uk. The site by photographer Callum Pudge includes rules, gallery and tributes to Debbie Hancox. Callum tells us that more information will be added as the season goes on including race reports and galleries, garage builds, Championship points after this weekend's first rounds, and more. If anyone has any suggestions for additions or amendments then you can E-Mail Callum at [email protected] or contact him via Facebook. FIA Top Methanol handicap announced. 21st April: Many thanks to FIA Drag Racing Commission Vice President Lars Pettersson for letting us know that the FIA have now announced the handicap for this year's combined FIA Top Methanol Dragster / Top Methanol Funny Car Championship. TMFCs will receive a 0.26-second head start on the Tree, and qualifying times will be determined by subtracting 0.26 seconds from TMFCs' ETs. You can read full details on the FIA web site by clicking here. UK Parent / Guardian licences. 21st April: UK scrutineer Glenn Stockton has asked us to remind UK Junior Dragster teams about Parent / Guardian licences: Please read of page 341 of the MSA Blue Book, ref number S 7.1.7 "For Drag Race competitors under the age of 18 years a PG Entrants Licence is required". H 27.1.9 applies, which can be found on page 137 of the Blue Book. If you have any queries then you can contact Glenn at [email protected]. APIRA event entry update. 21st April: Many thanks to Jerry Cookson for passing us Version 2 of the official entry list for next week's APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Entry is still open and you can download the official entry forms from the track's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Racers are encouraged to pay their entry fee via Bacs rather than credit card or cheques, as this cuts down on administrative charges and time; SCR's account details can be found on the entry form. If you have any queries about APIRA Springspeed Nationals entry then please contact Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected] or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180). All aboard for VWDRC round 2. 21st April: After a most successful Festival of Power racing and weather wise the UK's Volkswagen Drag Racing Club head back to Santa Pod Raceway for Round 2 of their 30th anniversary season. Luke Stevenson writes that this weekend's round is the first for the Championships' new sponsor: We are happy to announce that Racinglines, a company which provides precision fluid transfer solutions and which specialises in catering for motorsport and fast road applications, have joined the ever growing list of VWDRC sponsors. Racinglines supply a massive range of parts for your fuel system - fuel pumps, fittings, hoses and swirl pots - as well as boost hoses and oil cooling options. Racinglines have very kindly given us a discount code for all to use on their web site at www.racinglines.com. Use promo code VWDRC17 for 20% off the advertised price. We look forward to displaying Racinglines' logo on all of our cars throughout the 2017 season. As most head to Santa Pod for today's Peak Performance Day prior to Big Bang we are very excited to welcome back José Realista with his awesome dayglo Diesel Polo. José stunned the Easter crowds with passes into the mid nines and will be looking for a new diesel FWD record this weekend before getting his competitive head on for another round of bracket racing. We also await the unveiling of Paul Jordan's brand new VW Polo race car, Sam Young's newly-competed Black Current 3 who has (adopt Street Outlaws accent) gone Big Tyre as the quest begins for an electric seven. With these, and a massive entry just shy of fifty cars, it's going to be a great weekend. A quick Get Well Soon message to racer Ross Chisholm Brown who suffered a broken leg on Monday after falling off a swing... no, seriously, he did. Keith, can we have racing back on Bank Holiday Monday? It seems safer. Tune into the VWDRC Facebook page for more updates during the weekend and to Eurodragster.com for live reports and results. ATD welcome all to Clastres. 21st April: Didier Concave writes from France to invite European racers to compete at the two rounds of the 2017 Association Trophée Dragster National Championship: ATD are organising races at Clastres in the north of France on 17th-18th June and 22nd-23rd July. The track is located on a racing complex near Clastres village, between St Quentin and Noyon (near the A1 motorway). Both races will be over the quarter mile and the track will be prepared by ATD staff. All European racers are welcome. If you are interested then you can find all of the information you need - fees, rules, entry etc - on the Association Trophée Dragster Facebook page or E-Mail [email protected]. Please don't hesitate to come and race at France's drag strip, and we wish everyone an enjoyable drag racing season. VWDRC offered Two Seater discount. 20th April: Donna Finnegan writes that Santa Pod Raceway are offering Volkswagen Drag Racing Club racers a special discount on Two Seater Dragster rides for their crew, sponsors, fans, family, friends or indeed themselves at this weekend's Big Bang: There is one slot available on Saturday and two slots on Sunday and they are only on offer to VWDRC racers entered for the event. The passenger rides are available for £200 plus VAT (usual price £399 plus VAT); this does not include admission to the event but does include a souvenir T-Shirt, certificate and time slip as well as the ride itself. Terms and Conditions apply and passengers must meet the requirements listed on the Two Seater web page at www.santapod.co.uk/dr_2seater.php. Payment must be made prior to the event; no refunds or cancellations will be available. To book, please E-Mail [email protected] by 12:00 midday tomorrow (Friday). Swift snippets. 20th April: Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our own Simon for posting the post-Festival of Power points standings in the 2017 UK National and Santa Pod Racers Club Championships. You can check out the points on our OCS Paint-sponsored Points Standings page which you can reach by clicking here or by clicking on the OCS Paint Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Good luck and stay safe to Jonnie Lindberg (Fuel Funny Car) and Fred Hanssen (Top Alcohol Dragster) who are contesting this weekend's 30th Annual NHRA Springnationals at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown. Qualifying commences tomorrow (Friday) and you will be able to stay in touch with our heroes' progress courtesy of the Drag Race Central web site at www.dragracecentral.com and don't miss the Lindberg Brothers' excellent web site at www.lindbergbros.com and their equally excellent Facebook page. Eurodragster.com sponsor VP Racing Fuels have signed up as a contingency sponsor of the 2017 EDRS Series. You can read more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. APIRA event entry update. 19th April: Entry is still open for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals, a round of the UK National Drag Racing, ACU UK Drag Bike and other Championships, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway at the end of next week, Saturday-Monday 29th April-1st May. You can download the official entry forms from the track's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Racers are encouraged to pay their entry fee via Bacs rather than credit card or cheques, as this cuts down on administrative charges and time; SCR's account details can be found on the entry form. Many thanks to Jerry Cookson for passing us Version 1 of the official entry list for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals, which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. "If you have sent in your entry but are not on the list then please wait for Version2 before panicking", says Jerry. "We can only process entries as quickly as Postman Pat delivers the mail! Furthermore, if you are intending on paying for your entry by Bacs, have marked the entry accordingly, but have not done so yet (we know who you are!) then please make sure that this part of the entry process has been completed by the end of this week." If you have any queries about APIRA Springspeed Nationals entry then please contact Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected] or call 01789 720180 (outside the UK +44 1789 720180). Havoc adds fourth US date. 19th April: With the March Meet, considered by many to be a successful first meeting for the UK's Havoc AA/Fuel Altered team, now a distant memory the team are looking forward to the next chapter of the 2017 US Tour. Nick Davies writes: In June, we will be travelling to the historic Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky for the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion where we will be part of a four-car Classic Fuel Altered shoot-out competing with and against stablemate Ron Hope's Rat Trap, Randy Bradford and his Fiat and Dave Hough's Nanook. For anyone with an interest in the Nostalgia racing movement in the US, check out YouTube footage of the facility then come and support us on 15th-17th June. A new date has been added in August, as we have been invited to be part of six-car Fuel Altered show at the US 131 Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. We wanted to arrange at least one summer meeting to allow families to travel without interrupting school term dates, and the Northern Nationals works well. Also in attendance will be an eight-car qualified field of Nostalgia Funny Cars as well as Bob Motz with his world-famous Jet Kenworth Truck. We will finish off the year at the California Hot Rod Reunion in October, as planned, after which the car will be loaded to travel home. The team would like to welcome new sponsor Goodyear Tyres, who have kindly offered to supply us with slicks and front runners for the rest of the tour and beyond. Goodyear join Beech Underwriting, Rat Trap Racing, Lawrie Gatehouse and the NFAA, US Automotive, Lucas Oil, Motorstate Distributing, ARP Fasteners and Thacker and Co as supporting partners for the entire US.2017 tour. The team would also like to thank all the fans for their incredible support prior to, at, and since the March Meet as well as Eurodragster.com for their extensive coverage, all of which helps more than you can appreciate (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed). As well as on Eurodragster.com you can follow the team's progress on their web site at www.havocfuelaltered.co.uk and on their Facebook page. Swift snippets. 19th April: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Here's a Big Bang taster". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. Finland's Petteri Liimatainen will be racing in Top Methanol Dragster in 2017. You can find out more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. The Lady finds her way again. 19th April: Suze Morris writes that UK ET Bike racer Phil Pratt was delighted to pick up the winner's at the Festival of Power, especially as it came after eighteen months during which it seemed that the team had completely lost their way: In 2016 Satan's Lady had been plagued with problems, meaning that we sat out the UK National Finals whilst former 8.50 Bike Champion Jake Mechaell took her in and refreshed and rebuilt her motor in time for us to test at the Flame and Thunder where she was to prove consistent beyond belief: five passes all in the very low 9.0s and finishing the day with a nice 8.99 on the board! The decision was made to put her away and leave her alone so, in true last-minute drag racing tradition, we loaded up and headed off for Thursday's Test Day. A few minor adjustments to the suspension resulted in Phil putting in his best ever sixty foot time during qualifying, so we were ready for race day. With runs of 9.07, 9.04, 9.04 and another 9.04 in the final with Gary Hester, where we ended our trophy drought, it definitely looks like we've got our consistency back! We have to say a massive Thank You to Jake Mechaell who worked so hard to get us back on track, and we must also send apologies to Donna, Hayden and Maria for all the time he was tucked away out of sight in the workshop! A huge Thank You to all of the teams in ET Bike for their camaraderie; they are such a great bunch and we're very proud to be a part of the varied and ever-growing class. Thanks also, as always, to the track crew who worked so hard all over the weekend but especially for getting the race surface dry so quickly after the shower of rain just before our semi-final. As we continue to fly the flag of the Mighty Eighth Air Force above our pits, we are always delighted to have visitors. Our information and displays about the 92nd Bombardment Group USAAF during their time at Podington continues to expand, with families of those who served at Station 109 (as it was during WWII) still sending photographs and stories of their loved ones, which we are honoured to display on our pit walls. If you haven't already popped by and taken a look then please do, it's fascinating stuff and is keeping me busy (and, at times, in need of a new supply of tissues). We are immensely proud to run Satan's Lady in tribute to those who served from the place we all love. The Festival of Power has given the team a real boost and we are looking forward to hopefully carrying our new momentum through to this weekend's Big Bang and the rest of the 2017 SPRC Championship. Phil really needs a new coat! Big Bang Perfect Awards. 19th April: This weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway is the second event in the 2017 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme. £125 is on offer for perfect performance. The Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Gearhead Garage UK Super Pro ET racer Laura Turburville at the Festival of Power. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer at the event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available to racers in all classes during qualifying (commences 16:00 Saturday) 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 next week's APIRA Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with Bad Habit Racing (Cath and Tig Napier, Pro ET). Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect Light Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals will be available in the Signing On office or from the Eurodragster.com staff. The Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supporting Bloodwise has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at the Festival of Power. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer at the event to run an ET to the thousandth of a second on dial-in or index. The Perfect ET Award is available during qualifying (commences 16:00 Saturday) or eliminations in VW Pro, VW Sportsman, Sportsman ET, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations only), Nostalgia Super Stock, 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike and ET Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £100 for next week's APIRA Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the APIRA Springspeed Nationals. The Perfect ET Award is presented by Derek and Fiona Flynn of Eurodragster.com sponsor Gold RV in support of Bloodwise; you can donate to Bloodwise at www.bloodwise.org.uk. To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com / Bloodwise decals, one on each side of the vehicle. If you pull an event's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. Decals are available in the Signing On office. Important messages from SPRC. 18th April: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall has been in touch with a couple of important messages for racers and SPRC members: Friday of next week (28th) is the official closing date for entry to both Race, Rock'n'Ride which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 20th-21st May and the FIA / FIM Main Event which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 26th-29th May. Official entry forms for both races can be downloaded from the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Ian has to go into hospital today (Tuesday) so he tells us that SPRC business may be slow for a short while. "Depending upon how quickly things progress I hope to be back to answering the phone on Wednesday and dealing with E-Mails on Thursday", he says. Our very best wishes to Ian for a successful hospital trip and a rapid recovery. Feature: Webster Race Engineering. 18th April: For the latest in our occasional series of Features presented in association with Lucas Oil Products Simon stepped in to the workshop of Eurodragster.com sponsor Webster Race Engineering. Simon spoke to Jon Webster about the products, services and facilities which WRE can offer, projects underway including Jon's own Pro Mod currently under out-of-hours construction, and more. You can take a look at the Feature by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Help Oscar help the Hospice. 18th April: Santa Pod Racers Club pit marshal Caroline Boncey is again undertaking a Bubble Run in aid of the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted and you can help her to raise funds for this very good cause: "I have sky-dived and walked for the Hospice of St Francis and this year it's the bubble rush again", says Caroline. "Last year I ended up looking like a Smurf and if they have green bubbles I could end up looking like oscar! My goddaughter Chloe is bubbling with me again this year. "Please help me to raise as much as I can so that the Hospice can help as many people as they can. When my nan stayed at the Hospice they gave her love and care and afterwards they helped me. Pennies and pounds add up and will allow the Hospice to carry on loving and caring." If you would like to sponsor Oscar to get frothy for this excellent cause then you can check out her JustGiving page by clicking here. Swift snippets. 18th April: UK Fuel Funny Car racer Steve Ashdown asked us to say a big Thank You to Nick Kenway at 3 Sixty Wraps in Northampton for stepping in and helping to sort out the wrap on the Undertaker FC after another company let Steve down. "Nick's a great guy", says Steve. "He has changed all of his plans for the next few weeks to fit in the Funny Car. He really knows his stuff and he is looking forward to helping us with car. I can recommend that anyone who needs a vehicle or a trailer wrapped to call Nick on 01604 645826 or look at his web site at www.3sixtywraps.co.uk." Many thanks to Andy Marrs for forwarding the official Timing Data from the Festival of Power, which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Congratulations to UK ET Bike racer Siobhan Moor who lowered her PB from 10.8050 to 10.2750 at the Festival of Power. Duncan Barron wrote to let us know that no modifications had been made to Siobhan's bike and that it was just a case of her riding it better after making only ten runs last season. Although Your News Editor's still-in-force diet precluded sampling the more calorific of it we would like to say a big Thank You to Eurodragster.com Team Nutritionist Syd McDonald, Benni Voss, the Payne family, the Wilson family, the Charman family, the Coulsell family, and all those who brought lunch and Easter treats to Commentary and the Eurodragster.com office during the Festival of Power. It was and is very much appreciated. We can only hope that people read this stuff, yet again a lot didn't before last weekend, but the current webcast schedule for this weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway is Eurodragster.com's Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam from Friday's Peak Performance Day, Box Lane Productions' stream via Santa Pod Raceway's Facebook on Saturday, and then the Eurodragster.com webcam again on Sunday. The relevant links are on our Big Bang Event Index page which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any UK or European drag racing memorabilia taking up space then drag racing fan Adam James is an avid collector and would be pleased to help you to make room. "I do not have pots of money but if you have anything which you think might be of interest then please contact me with details of item(s) and how much you would accept for them including P&P", says Adam. You can contact Adam at [email protected]. Danish Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard will be enjoying extended support from Lucas Oil Products in 2017. You can read more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. Also now showing on the Drag Racing Europe Blog is the great news that oil pump and connecting rod manufacturer Auto Verdi will again be a contingency sponsor of the EDRS in 2017 and you can read about that by clicking here. Tactless (adj): Asking Eurodragster.com for copies of pictures for use on your Facebook but never sending news items to Eurodragster.com. Rude (adj): Taking pictures or text from Eurodragster.com without asking permission and without crediting the source or sharing a link. Also see Theft. This should go without saying. Festival of Power results. 16th April: Congratulations to the winners at this weekend's Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway: MSA Pro Modified: Andy Robinson 6.0650/226.80 def. Bobby Wallace 6.2929/218.22 Gearhead Garage UK Super Pro ET: John Gerritsen (6.88) 6.8784/167.27 b/o def. Brad Jackson (7.84) 7.8164/167.88 DQ b/o Modurstang Pro ET: Mike Lacey (9.32) 9.3607/141.16 def. Paul Brown (9.27) 9.2335/136.91 DQ b/o Sportsman ET: Stephen West (17.73) 17.7149/75.16 b/o def. Gill Medley (13.13) 13.0865/109.60 DQ b/o Comp Eliminator: Kev Perkins (8.00) 7.5299/179.82 def. def. Andy Hone (8.00) 9.0947/149.04 DQ red Super Comp: Collin Morrice 8.9060/142.10 def. Conrad Stanley 8.9131/149.06 Super Gas: Stu Doignie 9.9235/155.29 def. Jon Giles 9.9636/133.66 Super Street: Leigh Morris 10.9568/119.16 def. Dave Cherrett 11.1209/98.14 Lucas Oil Junior Dragster: Billy Everitt (8.01) 8.0753/75.91 def. Aaron Fensome (8.05) 8.1088/79.93 Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator: Mark Todd 8.2076/154.21 def. Stu Williams 11.4369/121.77 Wild Bunch: Tom Hawkins (7.55) 7.5543/166.69 def. Bob Hawkins (7.00) 7.1680/185.89 VW Pro: James Gould (12.55) 13.7545/80.79 def. Jose Realista (9.62) 12.9300/134.89 VW Sportsman: Nathan Cozens (14.20) 14.4061/97.10 def. Polly Judge (15.68) 15.6489/82.86 DQ b/o Top Fuel Bike: Steve Woollatt 6.3602/215.89 def. Rene van den Berg 13.4950/71.69 Pro Stock Bike: Len Paget 7.8378/142.58 bye, Ian Burns did not start Funny Bike: Phil Crossley 7.2055/181.40 def. Allan Davies 7.1999/178.51 Super Street Bike: Pete Field 7.2519/200.77 def. Rick Stubbins 7.7937/188.13 Comp Bike: Eddy Smiley 7.9501/171.73 def. Martin Walker 10.6104/99.06 8.50 Bike: Jake Mechaell 8.5938/141.63 def. Jay Roe 8.4798/150.13 DQ b/o 9.50 Bike: Richard Sawatzki 9.5011/141.14 def. Adam Burns 9.4295/119.59 DQ b/o ET Bike: Phil Pratt (9.03) 9.0486/139.85 def. Gary Hester (10.62) 10.7273/125.56 Junior Drag Bike: Liam Holgate (9.92) 9.9816/62.02 def. Blade Dummer (9.15) 9.1487/68.03 DQ b/o Congratulations also to Gearhead Garage UK Super Pro ET racer Laura Turburville who won the Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award with a Reaction Time of 0.0004 seconds in Q3. The Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 for next weekend's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway. The Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supporting Bloodwise was not won and has been increased to £75 for Big Bang. You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Festival of Power reports, pit notes and galleries by clicking here of by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. BDRHoF Gala to fête Juniors again. 12th April: Once again the UK National Junior Dragster and Junior Drag Bike Champions will be celebrated at the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner at the Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge, Surrey on Saturday 18th November. Brian Taylor writes: As at last year's event Santa Pod Racers Club, Lucas Oil Products UK, Atlantic Fluid Tech and US Automotive will sponsor two tables of ten for the top three on four wheels and two, who will be guests along with their parents. It is an occasion to which they all look forward and we must thank our sponsors for supporting the event and the Junior Drag Racing classes in this unique way. During the evening the Juniors will be introduced to many of the drag racing legends attending and asked on stage to receive the applause of those attending the event. British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Limited Board Member Phil Evans of Santa Pod Racers Club, the FIA Drag Racing Commission and Atlantic Fluid Tech said "Last year it was such a pleasure to involve the young people entering our sport and introduce them to drag racing legends like Don Schumacher, Ron Hope and Bob Muravez at the Gala. I don't know who was more thrilled, the legends or the Juniors, and it was one of the highlights for me as well. This year we have a few more surprises for them so watch this space." The BDRHoF is now taking reservations for the 2017 Gala Awards Dinner by E-Mail at [email protected] or by telephone on 01933 279102. This year the tickets are priced competitively at £65 which includes a pre-dinner reception. The event always sells out well in advance, so if you would like to join us for the occasion we suggest you make your reservation sooner rather than later. On receiving your reservation you will be given the procedure to book rooms at the negotiated room rate that includes breakfast and VAT as well as parking. On-going news about the Gala, sponsors and other events in which the BDRHoF is involved will be published on the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame web site at www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk, on Eurodragster.com, and on Facebook and Twitter. Festival of Power racer update. 11th April: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for forwarding us details of the arrangements for this week's Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway: Thursday 13th April 08:00 Santa Pod Raceway's gates open for the duration 11:00 Signing On office opens (NB Earlier for Peak Performance Day participants) 15:00 Car scrutineering commences, no specific order 16:00 Bike scrutineering commences, no specific order Friday 14th April 07:00 Signing On office opens 07:00 Car scrutineering commences (Order and notes) 07:00 Bike scrutineering commences (Order and notes) 09:30 Track opens for qualifying Saturday 15th April 07:00 Signing On office opens 07:00 Car scrutineering commences 07:00 Bike scrutineering commences 09:30 Track opens for qualifying and eliminations Sunday 16th April 07:30 Signing On office opens 07:30 Car scrutineering commences 07:30 Bike scrutineering commences 09:30 Track opens for eliminations The provisional running orders are available and can be checked out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Please note as ever that running orders are subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. No race vehicle motors are to be fired up before 09:00 or after 20:00 on any day of the event. Before 09:00 vehicles should be pushed or towed to Scrutineering, not driven. Non-observation of curfew will result in exclusion from the event. Junior racers please remember the rule about pushing vehicles back to the pits once through the arch beside Scrutineering. Only race officials and SPR staff are allowed in Race Control whilst racing is underway. Should racers wish to raise any matter with race officials then please do not visit Race Control; please firstly see Race Secretary Kathy Taylor who is based in Signing On. Colour commentators are requested to come to Commentary only when their class is at the head of the lanes, to vacate Commentary when their class has run, and not to bring guests to Commentary with them. The Eurodragster.com office at the Bankside end of Race Control is similarly out of bounds during racing except to Eurodragster.com staff, Zeon TV crew and racers or crew collecting Perfect Award money. Big Bang racer update. 11th April: Thanks also to Ian Marshall for forwarding us details of the arrangements for next week's Big Bang at Santa Pod Raceway: Friday 21st April 09:00 Gates open 09:00 Signing On opens for Peak Performance Day participants (NB DVLC licences required) 09:30 Track opens for Peak Performance Day Saturday 22nd April 08:30 Signing On office opens (NB Competition licences required for race, DVLC licences required for RWYB) 08:30 Car scrutineering commences, no specific order (Notes) 08:30 Bike scrutineering commences, no specific order (Notes) 09:30 Track opens for Run What You Brung 15:00 Run What You Brung ends 16:00 Track opens for qualifying Sunday 23rd April 08:00 Signing On office opens 08:00 Car scrutineering commences 08:00 Bike scrutineering commences 09:30 Track opens for qualifying and eliminations The provisional running orders are available and can be checked out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Please note as ever that running orders are subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. No race vehicle motors are to be fired up before 09:00 or after 20:00 on any day of the event. Before 09:00 vehicles should be pushed or towed to Scrutineering, not driven. Non-observation of curfew will result in exclusion from the event. Junior racers please remember the rule about pushing vehicles back to the pits once through the arch beside Scrutineering. Only race officials and SPR staff are allowed in Race Control whilst racing is underway. Should racers wish to raise any matter with race officials then please do not visit Race Control; please firstly see Race Secretary Yvonne Tramm who is based in Signing On. Colour commentators are requested to come to Commentary only when their class is at the head of the lanes, to vacate Commentary when their class has run, and not to bring guests to Commentary with them. The Eurodragster.com office at the Bankside end of Race Control is similarly out of bounds during racing except to Eurodragster.com staff, Zeon TV crew and racers or crew collecting Perfect Award money. Malmgren signs Aeromotive. 11th April: Swedish Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren is pleased to announce a deal with Aeromotive to support Malmgren Racing with fuel pumps, regulators and fuel filters. "We are very happy to be able to work closely with Aeromotive's Motorsports Manager Bub Miller", says Michael Malmgren. "When it comes to fuel systems, they work with most NHRA Pro Stock teams and have the best products out there." "Michael Malmgren has been around for a long time and is very professional", says Motorsports Manager Bub Miller. "He works with many other US performance part manufacturers, so he fits in well in our group of supported motorsport teams. We are happy to have Malmgren Racing on board." Going Perfect with York Raceway. 11th April: York Raceway are delighted to announce that they will be running Perfect ET and Perfect Reaction Time awards across all PDRC Championship classes this season. The Perfect Reaction Award sponsored by Gasworks Plumbing and the Perfect ET Award sponsored by Northrace Speedshop are worth £25 each, so a fantastic £50 will be up for grabs each meeting and will roll over until it is won. To qualify racers must obtain a Perfect Award sticker from the Signing On office and display it in a visible location on the race vehicle throughout the event. Prize money will only be awarded to racers displaying the Perfect Award sticker, so don't forget to pick yours up. York Raceway would like to thank all of their sponsors and Eurodragster.com for their support (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed). Brown's Pro ET return. 11th April: The UK's Paul Brown Motorsport are looking forward to returning to Pro ET at this weekend's Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway: This will be our first time in Pro ET since 2012 when we won the UK National Championship. This will be a new challenge in a different car and using a Sportsman Tree for the first time in four years. Unfortunately the Shorty chassis was too badly damaged in the accident and the repair cost was not worth the trouble, which was a shame as the car and I were becoming a great combination. So I will be driving the dragster which I used for the final race of last season. It has been showing some consistent numbers already but it didn't quite have enough power to make the 8.90 Super Comp index. We haven't really had to do much to the car over the winter as we put in all the legwork to make it to the UK National Finals. We don't know how many events we plan on running this season as we are so busy away from the track. In addition the car is still for sale as a turn-key, so if you are interested then please come and see us in the pits this weekend or call me on 07554 626162. The car is sponsored this season by sPeedZ Simulator Experience. sPeedZ is an indoor simulator competing for fastest Reaction Time with a full-sized Pro drag racing tree, steering wheels and full working sounds of Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Harley bike for a start line experience. There are various different modes to choose from and you can run a full competition ladder. It is available for hire for parties, stag / hen do, car shows, corporate events and trade events. On 20th April the indoor simulator will be making an appearance at Oakley Sports and Social Club, Oakley, Bedford, MK43 7RU to raise money for the Air Ambulance. Everyone is welcome. There are mini moto and short wheelbased dragster outdoor versions coming soon. Please like the Facebook page for upcoming events or for full details about hiring please phone 07947 945935 or E-Mail [email protected]. This weekend I will also be crewing with Andy Harrison, who was awarded his racing licence last weekend and will be racing in Super Gas. Good luck for the season Andy. I would also like to congratulate my best mate and long-term crew member Lee Stapleton who got married to Dani on 8th April. I hope that being married means you will still come to the track to come to play Lee, see you Saturday buddy! More money for UK Top Sportsman. 11th April: UK Top Sportsman are pleased to welcome JT Construction as the headline sponsor for UK Top Sportsman 2017 which takes place at the Mopar EuroNationals at Santa Pod Raceway on 28th–30th July. Paul Marston writes: This will be the first year that John Tebenham has stepped up to take the title role and we are delighted to welcome him. JT has in past years offered a hefty cash bounty for the winner of the Heads Up race, last year weighing in with £1250 cash for the number one qualifier and winner. John said "Nowadays I am just too busy with business to race myself, but I can still support this great class. I really appreciate what Paul and his team do. They all do it for nothing, and if people like them didn't put in the time and effort then it wouldn't happen, it's as simple as that. I know how hard race teams lean on their stuff to win this race, I just put some money up to show my appreciation of Sportsman racers having been one myself. To be honest, with the exception of Kenny Coleman at EDA I am quite surprised that more of the people directly involved in the sport don't help out with a little bit of sponsorship money. After all, it's their customers who race in it." The prize fund will work as follows. The usual Top Sportsman prize money will be allocated as it usually is, that is to say that after expenses all the remaining entry money goes into the prize pot. This is shared out equally between the Fast Bracket and the Heads Up race. The size of the prize fund is dependent upon the number of entries. JT's money will be available for the Heads Up race and will be £750 win and £500 for runner-up, both in cash. JT's prize fund will not be shared out if the race is not completed, but the rest of the Top Sportsman prize fund will. In addition JT has also put up €100 travel money for the first three foreign competitors who want to race with us. It won't pay for the trip but it's another way of giving some help. There are some mean race cars expected this year. Make no mistake, this is the richest, toughest, no holds barred, no rules other than safety race on the calendar for Sportsman doorslammers. There are still some marketing partnership and sponsor spots available, please contact via Facebook at UK Top Sportsman, E-Mail [email protected], call me on 07831 650230, or pass by the PMR pit at Easter. Once again our sincere thanks to JT, Gearhead Garage, Steve Ashdown, Liam Jones, Matt Wright, Kenny Coleman at EDA, Tog and the Eurodragster.com team, Dave and Helen at Zeon TV, and all the other great people who support what we do. Last but by no means least thanks to all the PMR and SPR crew who help out to make this happen, and naturally our hosts the organising committee of the Mopar Euronationals. Swift snippets. 11th April: Jens Könnecke writes from Germany with a shot of the team preparing the race car for Super Pro ET competition at this weekend's Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway. "See you Wednesday!", says Jens. Teams planning to field more than one driver in the same vehicle in the UK National Championships this season are reminded that they have until close Thursday to inform Yvonne Tramm at [email protected]. It is not too late to book up for a final day's pre-season testing at Thursday's Pro Peak Performance Test and Tune Day at Santa Pod Raceway. The PPD features a track prepped to event standard and full safety cover. Discounted entry is available on advance bookings. For more details, or to sign up, check out www.rwyb.com. Eurodragster.com sponsor Simpson Europe has signed up with Speedgroup as a contingency partner for 2017. "In personal safety products designed to work together to create a safety cell, I would say we are market leader" says Jan Phersson, founder and owner of Simpson Europe. Simpson Europe has joined Speedgroup's contingency programme with helmets and firesuits for Pro Modified, Pro Stock, Pro Street, Top Doorslammer and Junior Dragster. You can read more on the Drag Racing Europe Blog by clicking here. Congratulations to Sweden's Adam Flamholc who took it all in VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod at the weekend's NMRA / NMCA All-Star Nationals in Atlanta. Adam qualified #1, set a new record and Personal Best, and won the event. You can read more on the NMCA web site. No news update yesterday (Monday) courtesy of Tog's incompetent local rail company so we were unable to say a big Happy Birthday with love from Kevin and Jake to Lizz Charman, to Santa Pod Raceway Track Announcer and Pro ET racer-in-waiting Colin Theobald, and to Keith Williams. Hope you had a great day guys. Christine, Sandy, Megan, Stuart and Charlotte asked us to say a big Happy Birthday for today to Super Gas racer Collin Morrice, have a great day Collin, and we would like to say Happy Birthday to Pro Modified racer Jöran Persåker, grattis Jöran. Today is the fortieth anniversary of Your News Editor's first ever visit to a drag race, and to Santa Pod Raceway. That Tog still jumps out of bed in the small hours to go racing and still gets so excited that he occasionally breaks the speed limit to get to the track speaks volumes. A big Thank You to all of the racers, officials, owners, staff and of course Eurodragster.com colleagues who made and make it so much fun, and here's to another forty. Web site updates. 11th April: Our good buddy Alan Currans has updated his excellent Acceleration Archive with shots of Sunday's action at the Public Test and Tune at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out the latest update via What's New at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. The Mad Welshman has updated his Flickr site with a gallery of shots from the pre-Fast Show Saturday Night Special at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out Mad's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman. Pit Guides sought at Main Event. 11th April: Brian Taylor writes that Pit Guides are still sought for the Institute of the Motor Industry Students' Day on day one of the FIA / FIM Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway (Friday 26th May): This year there could be seven hundred students and the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame has been asked to assemble a team of Pit Tour Guides to accompany groups around the pits and to introduce them to the technology, racers and crews. The aim is to get ten people on board. The busy period tends to be between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm, so if you are with a team and not running during those times please let me know. Or if you have been involved in drag racing and think you can pass on your knowledge and enthusiasm to students entering the motor industry then get in touch. We will be based in the Mid Track VIP unit on the pit side of the track. If you are available and would like to join the team then please let me know so that I can start to plan passes etc. Please call 01395 579733 or E-Mail [email protected]. Weekend galleries. 9th April: In association with John Woolfe Racing an advance guard of the Eurodragster.com team were at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend to cover Saturday's Run What You Brung and today's GTI Spring Festival. You can check out the weekend galleries on our Festival of Power week Event Index, which also contains a link to the final official entry list, by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Decals available this weekend. 9th April: Racers testing at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend who wish to get a head start on carrying Eurodragster.com decals please note that we will have a supply of both car and bike decals in the Eurodragster.com office at the spectator end of Race Control (over the right lane bleach box) today. Please use the spectator side stairs to reach our office. The new decals for the Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award in support of Bloodwise will be available in Signing On from Thursday morning, as will Eurodragster.com decals; visitors are not allowed in Race Control, including our office, as soon as the Festival of Power commences. Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards 2017. 7th April: We are very pleased to confirm that the Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme will continue in 2017. There is a change in arrangements for the Perfect ET Award so please read carefully and please be sure to replace the previous decals on your race vehicle. We are pleased to announce the Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supporting Bloodwise for the 2017 season, in support of the charity Bloodwise which funds research into blood cancer of all types and which is a favourite charity of the racing community in loving and appreciative memory of late SPRC Club Secretary Paula Marshall. As well as awarding at least £50 to the first racer to record a Perfect ET at supported events, the Scheme is designed to encourage everyone in the racing community to continue their generous support of Bloodwise. Derek and Fiona Flynn of longtime Eurodragster.com sponsor Gold RV have supported the Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award since 2008. Last year Derek decided to sponsor the Perfect ET Award in aid of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. "We would like to thank all racers who contributed to this campaign", he says. "Whilst most racers understood that stickers were required, and we were so pleased to see many of the Eurodragster.com / NSPCC decals on so many cars and bikes, it was not understood that we were also encouraging donations to NSPCC. Fiona and I together with Eurodragster.com have chosen to support Bloodwise this season. We would like to encourage all racers to make a donation of £1 for each race event they plan to contest. Should you wish to donate your Perfect ET winnings, or a percentage, to Bloodwise then that would be great and we can arrange that for you. "Donations can be easily made on-line at www.bloodwise.org.uk/donate or a collection box can be found with Richard Walters in the Super Pro ET pits, or at the Gold RV Racing pit when we are racing. Thank you in anticipation of your support for this great cause. "We would also like to thank Pete Walters of fellow Eurodragster.com sponsor Peter Walters Race Design for again designing the year's Perfect ET decal free of charge." The inaugural Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supporting Bloodwise of £50 will be posted at next weekend's Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer at the event to run an ET to the thousandth of a second on dial-in or index. The Perfect ET Award is available during qualifying or eliminations in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations only), 8.50 Bike, 9.50 Bike, ET Bike, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, the Wild Bunch and Junior Drag Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Run of the event. If not won at the Festival of Power then the Award will be increased to £75 for Big Bang, again at Santa Pod Raceway on the following weekend; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for Big Bang. To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com / Bloodwise decals, one on each side of the vehicle. If you pull an event's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next person to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. Decals will be available in the Signing On office from Thursday morning. Cath and Tig Napier of Bad Habit Racing are again kindly sponsoring the Eurodragster.com / Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award which also starts at £50 at the Festival of Power. The money will be paid in cash to the first racer at the event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for Big Bang; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for Big Bang. Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect Light Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals will be available in the Signing On office or from the Eurodragster.com staff. 2017 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme Festival of Power, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award Big Bang, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award APIRA Springspeed Nationals, Shakespeare County Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award Race, Rock'n'Ride, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award FIA / FIM Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award SPRC Summernationals, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award Dragstalgia, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award (All participants including RWYB) Bug Jam, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award Mopar EuroNationals, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award (MSA Pro Modified only) APIRA Open Sport Nationals, Shakespeare County Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award FIA / FIM European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award UK National Finals, Santa Pod Raceway: Perfect Light Award and Perfect ET Award Stay tuned because we are not yet finished with the Perfect Awards announcements. We will have more news for you the other side of the weekend. Nicholson set for 2017. 7th April: UK Pro Modified racer Wayne Nicholson and the Lucky Devil team are, as ever, looking forward to the coming season. Wayne writes: We hope to enter all six rounds of the MSA Pro Mod Championship. We have a few things to prove with our performance and needless to say like those of all the other teams our winter has been very busy trying to get everything together for the season and making that sure we can overcome any eventualities as we improve upon our performance. I am very proud to say that we have Lucas Oil Products UK back on board for this season. We have had the honour of being supported by Lucas for some years now and they supply genuinely great products and support. Gemini Accident Repair Centres, at whose Leeds site I am General Manager, continue to support us too and of course I thank them for that also. Kenny Coleman has always been a big support with the help and services he provides at Engine Data Analysis (EDA) in Castleford, 01977 516622. NGK Spark Plugs are back with us too, again great products and support which we have enjoyed for several years. Thank you. Unfortunately Easter will be the last time that we will be running with the EMACS logo on our car and rig. We have been very grateful for the support which EMACS have given us as principal sponsor for the last two years; this may be a relationship we see again in the future. Again thank you to everyone at EMACS. Like any team we would love to chat to any potential sponsors. You never know what we could do to advertise your business and further the exposure you receive. Please contact us via our web site at www.luckydevil777dragracing.com. Archie's eight-year wait ends. 6th April: The UK's youngest Lucas Oil Junior Dragster racer, Archie Wray, is more than excited about his first competitive outing at next week's Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway. Archie turned eight in January but has been planning his racing career since the age of four, if not before. "Archie has been coming to Santa Pod since he was two years old and absolutely loves it", said Emma Wray of Eurodragster.com sponsors CEJ Training Services Ltd and Phoenix Personnel. "His dad Kevin has been racing in various scenes for over twenty years, his older brother Jake started to race his 105e Anglia in Old Skool Ford last year and he also marshals at Santa Pod, and of course I work in Signing On at Santa Pod so Archie has been brought up around the drag racing scene. Kevin and Jake will be crewing for him this season." "Archie has been on countdown to getting into a Junior Dragster since he was four years old. Everyone knew him because he would come up to the Pod and sit in all of the Juniors' cars and tell them that he would be racing one soon. Last year he started to get so excited about his eighth birthday because that meant that he would be able to get his own car. He got his licence at the first Run What You Brung at Santa Pod in January, the week after his birthday!" Archie came up with the name The Shocker and and the design and colour scheme were all his own work. "Archie went along to 3 Sixty Wraps in Northampton with his picture of how he wanted the car to look", said Emma. "They were so impressed with him that they have now sponsored him along with One Day Web and Kejja Motorsport Ltd. The car was finished a couple of weeks ago and Archie has already tested at a couple of Run What You Brungs. "We would like to say a massive Thank You for help and support to Ian Marshall, Darren Prentice, Carole Ismail, the whole Deevey family... the list is endless! Thank You also to Andy Fensome for all of his time, help and advice: Archie says that he is taking it all on board." Archie himself said "I am buzzing and can't wait for Easter. I have been waiting for this my whole life." A Beastly Audi. 6th April: After buying a new car last Autumn and testing Run What You Brungs, second-generation UK racer Rob Creswell has been convinced to have a go in UK National Championship competition: My Audi RS4 may not be seen as much of a beast compared to a Pro Mod or Nitro Funny Car, but some people outside of drag racing have nicknamed my car The Beast. With high twelve-second quarter mile time slips and seven-minute Nurburgring lap times possible, these cars can move a bit. So far I have loved every second of driving this car and look forward to competing in Sportsman ET for the coming season. VW Sportsman is also a possibility for me as I understand Audi is an acceptable brand of car for the class (One for you, Luke - Ed). Chris Creswell will also be competing in Sportsman ET and Pete Creswell in Super Comp as well as in Sportsman ET at Big Bang and Bug Jam, which should be a lot of fun! We would like to wish everybody all the best for the 2017 season and to say a big thank you to our sponsors K&N, DemonTweeks, Goodridge, Samco Sport, Powerflex, SuperPro suspension parts, SPAL automotive, and a special thanks to EpicTech Media - please visit www.epictechmedia.co.uk. Thanks to Paul Foote Ink. 6th April: We are very grateful indeed to longtime Eurodragster.com sponsor Paul Foote Ink for supplying the latest of several seasons' worth worth of Eurodragster.com decals. Paul, whom Eurodragster.com readers will recall for his striking Super Gas pick-up, produced decals in car and bike sizes and arranged for their delivery to Rogerham Mansions in a matter of days. Paul Foote Ink, whose web site you can find at www.paulfoote.com, provide end-to-end sign management from design to production and final installation. Prestigious clients include Siemens, The Crystal London, Domino's Pizza and The Ace Café. Introduced in March 2017 were 2000mm x 800 mm roll-up banners from £29 including printing and forty eight-hour turn-round, with twenty four-hour turnround available. These would make great promotional items in a racer's pit; more details are available by clicking here. You can talk to Paul Foote Ink on 01252 371445 or via the web site. Please show your appreciation for the support of Eurodragster.com sponsors by considering their companies when shopping for goods and services. Again a big Thank You to Paul. Swift snippets. 6th April: Good luck and stay safe to multiple FIM European Top Fuel Bike Champion Ian King who will be contesting the first date of his 2017 US Tour at the Spring Cup at Valdosta (See below). You will be able to stay in touch with Ian's progress at Dragbike.com, Stripbike.com, and on Ian's Facebook page. Many thanks to Ian Marshall for sending us tweaked final versions of the official entry lists for the Festival of Power and Big Bang, which take place at Santa Pod Raceway on 14th-16th April and 21st-23rd April (racing 22nd-23rd) respectively. You can check out the entry lists by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. On the subject of the Festival of Power, 17:00 UK time tomorrow (Friday) is the deadline to order discounted Festival of Power tickets. Some great deals are also available on VIP hospitality. For more details or to order your tickets check out www.santapod.com. We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to Derek Flynn, long-standing sponsor of both Eurodragster.com and our Perfect Awards Scheme (about which more tomorrow), and to former Top Fuel Dragster racer Kim Reymond who together with tuners Per Andersen and Karsten Andersen made one of the most unforgettable runs in the history of European drag racing. Have a great day, both. King confirms USA for 2017. 6th April: Multiple FIM European Top Fuel Bike Champion Ian King and the Gulf Oil Dragracing team The Gulf Oil Dragracing team are pleased to announce that they are to compete in the 2017 USA National Drag Bike Championship. Following a collaboration proposal from California-based John and Dea Morgan Racing, alongside additional support from long time dragbike racing benefactor Joe Koenig of Trim Tex and a number of individual supporters, the team were able to commit to compete in all five rounds of the Manufacturers Cup series. 2016 was a momentous year for the Gulf Oil Drag Racing team. Another record-setting tenth FIM European Championship was won, and in doing so Team Principal and rider Ian King became the most successful rider in European drag bike racing history by accumulating more Championship points of any rider in any class over the two decades since he began competing in the Championship. At the end of the season he diversified his sporting focus by using the very same Championship-winning machine for a successful attempt to set a new FIM World Land Speed Record on a track and in conditions totally at odds with the environment in which he had been so successful over his ten European drag racing Championships. Following Ian's successful one-off race in the opening round of the 2014 USA National Championship, where he not only won the event but became the final permanent member of the prestigious MTC Top Fuel 5 Second Club, invitations from the organisers to race the entire USA National Championship and the hopes and desires of his many fans across the globe were compelling, so he and his team have been working on a programme to see if he could become the first European rider to do so since the late Brian Johnson more than three decades ago. Following the decision to ship his operation to the US Ian said "We are so much looking forward to this. We have such good friends in our class, fans across the world and awesome sponsors that we owe it to them to take part in an all-new challenge. We would like to thank Gulf Oil, John and Deanna Morgan, Joe Koenig, Dave Vantine, Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes, Mark Rendeluk, Ed Kelly, Scott Perri Roethemeier, John Stein, Frank Moya, the Maddox family, Sam Green, Neil Baskerville, Tamre Martin and Jay Regan and Dave Schnitz of MFC alongside our fantastic technical partners who have stepped up far and beyond the call of duty to make it happen." Manufacturers Cup 2017 7th-9th April: Spring Cup - Valdosta, Georgia 3rd-4th June: Memphis Internationals - Memphis, Tennessee 15th-16th July: MTC Nationals - Galot Motorsports Park, North Carolina 23rd-24th September: Rock - Rockingham Dragway, North Carolina 17th-19th November: World Finals - Valdosta, Georgia For more information on the Gulf Oil Dragracing team please visit their web site at www.gulfoildragracing.com, their Facebook page, and their YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/kingracingpuma. The Gulf Oil Dragracing team uses and endorses exclusively Gulf Oil greases and lubricants in their history making machine. The team is extremely proud to be supported by many leaders in their chosen markets in their participation in the 2017 USA National Championship: APE - The world's most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for drag bikes Bell Helmets (UK) - The most iconic name in helmets, since 1954 Cometic Gaskets - The premier manufacturer of racing gaskets Gates - The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics Goodridge - The original and the best in fluid transfer systems Grand Prix Originals - The brand for drive and lifestyle, past and present Graphite Additive Manufacturing - A leader in 3D printed technologies and rapid prototyping Gulf Oil International - The world's most iconic brand in automotive fuels and lubricants Hotrod Hangar– Home of the world renowned custom artist Knud Tiroch Hyperpro - The leading producer of progressive suspension products for motor bikes JE Pistons - The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons John and Dea Morgan Racing - The creators of the world's most advanced New Age Funny Bike Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc -The highest quality valve train components on the market Mickey Thompson Tyres - Simply the best drag race tyres in the world MRE - Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems MTC Engineering - Manufacturer of clutches for the fastest motorcycles in the world NitroShutter - Europe's leading drag racing photo-journalists NCT Engineering - Manufacturer of the world's leading non contact torque sensors for motorsport NGK Spark Plugs UK - The world's number one spark plug manufacturer Pär Willen - Master webmeister and proprietor of HarleyDrags.com Portable Shade - The best custom branded collapsible canopies available Pro Alloy Motorsport - UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators Trim-Tex - The premier manufacturer of vinyl drywall beads and accessories Tryka LED - The UK's cutting edge LED lighting manufacturer Van Es mobility - The leading manufacturer of telematic products for management of moving objects Vanson Leathers - The most iconic brand in motorsport leather goods Web Camshafts Inc - Simply the company for Top Fuel Bike camshafts Worldwide Bearings - The world's leading supplier of ceramic bearings for racing Zodiac - Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts Web site updates. 6th April: In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Gearhead Garage Paul Marston brings us up to date with the construction of his twin-turbo Cortina. You can take a look by clicking here or by clicking on the Gearhead Garage Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Are you the mystery girl? 4th April: Upon inspecting our pictures from Saturday's Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway we were impressed to see this on-track passenger staring straight down the lens of your News Editor's camera. We figure that the girl in question did so deliberately, so now we need to track her down so that we can forward her a copy of the picture. The car was a very well-turned-out red 2015 Ford Fiesta ST and ran in the right lane at 19:07 on Saturday (click on picture at right to see the car). If this is you, or if you know who it is, then please get in touch or put her in touch with us at [email protected]. The Clencher rolls away. 4th April: After many years building The Clencher 100e and then undergoing cycles of racing, crashing, repairing and racing again the UK's Duncan Scott decided that the time had come to sell the car: All of my friends tried to talk me out of it (sorry Charlie) but it had to go. Adverts were placed and a buyer was found, but he only wanted the car as a roller as he has a bigger (!) engine than the one in the car. And I thought I was nuts! So the engine is now for sale at a very reasonable price under Parts For Sale the Jeff Bull Race Engines Swap Meet. So to all you wannabe Supercharged Outlaws or any other class for that matter it's time to grab a bargain. Don't worry, I'm not giving up racing. The Clencher will be reborn into a different 100e, this time a Gasser. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who helped me with the car over the years. I could do a list but this web site has limited space! Suffice to say thanks, its been epic, you all know who you are. Kicking off the Dart era. 4th April: Nigel Taylor writes that Arthur Bonner, original builder and driver of the Detroit Spinner Prefect, is ready to make his return to the drag strip at this weekend's Public Test and Tune at Shakespeare County Raceway: The Ford Prefect is now fitted with a 555 ci Dart motor mated to the Fairbanks Clutch Turbo 400 gearbox, so the Test and Tune side of things is probably a wise move as Arthur has always run Pontiac power. This new powerplant era should liven the old gal up a little and may take a little getting used to. Arthur originally built this car in a shed at the bottom of his garden and originally raced it over forty years ago! A great engineer, welder, racer and mechanic, Arthur is now seventy five years old and more enthusiastic than ever. Thanks for all the support from everybody involved: Sophie Taylor, Elisha Taylor, Kenzie Taylor, Fletcher Taylor; Kelvin Helsdown, KH Refrigeration 01264 363646; Graham Smith, Sercks Motorsport 0208 813 7470; Andy Frost, Penn Autos 01902 344004; Peter Borrett, saunashop.com 01722 746050; Justin Horne, Joust Performance (Paint Shop) and Recovery 07767 614638; Paul Dale, PDH Carpentry 07717 583537; Dave Fulton, Allens Van Centre 01189 813623; Andover Trailers 01264 358944; Mark Gardner, Performance Products / Nitrous 07514 013240 (or contact Serck Motorsport); Shakespeare County Raceway 01789 720180 / 414119; Jeff Bull / Belinda Bull, Racing Engines 01787 227789; Jimmy Hibberd, Valley Gas Speed Shop 01264 353646; Cliff Hepton, American Motor Factors 07821 578066; Darren Pritchett Haulage / Tippers 07785 521932; Michael Hawkins, Get Plastered Plastering; Rob-co Tooling; Phil Mansbridge The Mobile Mechanic 07900 285549; Arthur Bonner; Graham True; Jeff Goddard; Bob Hancox (Runaway Prefect); Chris Cotton; Cindy Cotton; Col Law (Outlaw Anglia); Ben Waldron; Leslie Waldron; Steve Dale; Stephen Lowth; Anita Lowth; Stuart Ashton; Rob Gregory; Edward Ede;Nick Dunford; Richard Hicks; Neil Gibbs; James Gilmour; William Underhill; Mark Timson; Colin Millar (the Flyin' Fyfer team); Richy Barnett Editorial; Oscar Jack Meaton; JP Santos; Denise Moore; Danny Mitty; Mandy Darlison; Mick Patey; Pete Harrison; Kirsty Cleall; Ray Andrews; John Gale; Andy Cummins; Keith Cummins; Steve Baker (engine crane); Andrew Meaton (engineering); Les N Andrea Tubby; John Jbchevy; David and Pam Whatley; Steve Jones, Old Bones Custom Fabrications 07969 982769; Owlselbury Crankshaft Services 01962 855969. Swift snippets. 4th April: Best wishes for a rapid recovery from Tog, Simon, Kirstie and Julian to Eurodragster.com Contributing Photographer Grace Roaf who has an arm in a cast after her motorbike rudely declined to carry her any further on Sunday. It could have been a lot worse but for Grace's mechanical knowledge and presence of mind as she had realised that something was amiss and had already taken mitigating action before the bike suddenly took its leave of her. Those who know Grace will not be at all surprised to hear that she is not letting her injury beat her and that she is carrying on more or less normally. Get Fully Fixed Soon Grace, this year's first photographic job with us is fast approaching. We will be testing the Eurodragster.com Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam at this weekend's Run What You Brung (Saturday) and GTi Festival (Sunday) at Santa Pod Raceway. As the kit is on test, broadcast may stop and start without warning, the sound level may go up and down, and captions may appear at random. You can check out this season's webcast schedule by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Please be sure to read both the coverage schedule and the webcam landing page carefully, as queries already answered on either page will not be answered. Web site updates. 4th April: The Mad Welshman has updated his Flickr site with a gallery of shots from the Saturday of Shakespeare County Raceway's recent first Public Test Weekend. You can check out Mad's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman. New partners in education. 4th April: Santa Pod Raceway and Bedford College have launched a pioneering new initiative designed to benefit members of the College's special-needs community. A two-part pilot scheme finds Santa Pod providing workplace experience to selected students among the community. The pilot scheme began in February when Santa Pod displayed a Top Fuel Dragster on Bedford College's campus. The display enabled students to view and examine at close quarters the most powerful type of racing machine in world motorsport – capable of generating 10,000 brake horsepower and reaching 300 mph in just four seconds. A fortunate few were even able to squeeze into the tight confines of the car's cockpit. Part two of the pilot scheme will take place this Easter weekend when selected members of the student community attend Santa Pod's Festival of Power. The students will shadow members of the Santa Pod staff to learn for themselves the diversity of work involved in conducting a large-scale public event. Santa Pod's Commercial Manager Caroline Holden explains: "Despite our Northamptonshire postcode, Santa Pod is a Bedfordshire business, and we're always keen to pursue initiatives that will benefit our home county. We were delighted when Bedford College contacted us to explore the possibilities of such a programme and we hope that, as it develops, it will provide significant value to the College and its special-needs community. It's a rare opportunity for the students, for sure, but we think it might also offer a valuable experience to our staff members, giving them a fresh insight into the work they do." The initiative was the brainchild of Bedford College's Supported Employment Co-ordinator, Gareth Scorer, who says: "When I approached Santa Pod with an ambitious idea that combined a visit from Santa Pod and a final work experience project for several students to have an opportunity to work at the Festival Of Power, I never imagined just how successful the visit to college would be; how fascinated all the students were and just how much support has been shown by Santa Pod in making this ambitious project come alive. The students selected to work at the Festival Of Power are extremely excited and feel very privileged to be given this opportunity. I anticipate developing a range of projects that will enhance what Santa Pod already offers and support our students to gain valuable work skills." "If this pilot scheme works as well as we anticipate", says Caroline Holden, "I expect there will be further practical links we might develop with Bedford College, and we look forward to building the connection." The 'Bird hatches. 3rd April: If there has ever been a Superbird with the right to carry that name with pride, then it is the Voodoo Hemi Racing 1970 Plymouth Superbird which was unveiled on Saturday evening in Wateringen, The Netherlands. Remco Scheelings writes: When the curtain was pulled back and the smoke disappeared, a loud round of applause arose from the audience for Marck Harteveld's spectacular, 3000 bhp Pro Modified destined for the 2017 MSA British and FIA European Pro Modified Championships. "The whole team did a fantastic job to get the car ready in just a few months, and the outcome is really fantastic", said a proud Marck Harteveld about the flashy green and purple Superbird (Designed by Eurodragster.com sponsor Peter Walters Race Design - Ed). Those who are familiar with the team's projects know that these projects are always special but, once again, the audience was surprised at the first glimpse of the creation. The silver-grey Dodge Daytona which rolled into the shop in September last year was turned into a spectacular Plymouth Superbird. In addition to the outside of the Superbird, Voodoo Hemi Racing also spent many hours to rebuild and renew the inside of the ex-Pete Farber NHRA Pro Mod. The team made some adjustments to the chassis, welded some parts of it and painted it again, renewed the wiring, and all other parts were inspected, adjusted or renewed when necessary. Although the 526 cubic inch Hemi engine and driveline are from the team's 2016 Pro Mod, the engine was stripped, inspected and rebuilt as well. Last year Marck Harteveld surprised by finishing his rookie year in seventh position in the FIA European Pro Modified Championship, claiming runner-up spot in the prestigious NitrOlympX and setting stunning personal bests of 6.12 seconds and 231 mph (372 km/h). "With the same 3,000 bhp we had last year, but a much lighter and 100% Pro Modified-designed car, we will try to break the five-second barrier this season", said Marck. The new Voodoo Hemi Racing '70 Plymouth Superbird will make its track debut at the FIA / FIM Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway, round one of the 2017 FIA European Pro Modified Championship. The team plan to do three more races of the MSA British Pro Modified Championship and two more rounds of the FIA European Championship this season. "We wanted to make our first runs at Easter at Santa Pod, but as there are still some parts on their way from the States we are running out of time and don't want to take any risks with a new car" said Marck about Voodoo Hemi Racing's difficult decision. Swift snippets. 3rd April: Congratulations to UK Jet pilot Martin Hill who blasted both of his PBs with runs of 5.077 seconds (yesterday) and 306.27 mph (Saturday) in the Fireforce 5 Jet Dragster. We were fortunate enough to be testing our webcast kit at Santa Pod at Santa Pod on Saturday and happened to have our primary cameras recording so we were able to edit together a video of Martin's 306 mph run... ..as well as a video of one of Roger Goring's check-out passes in the Firestorm Jet FC. We also posted a small gallery from Saturday's Run What You Brung which is presented in association with John Woolfe Racing and which you can check out by clicking here. If you fancy crewing on a Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator car then Adrian Booth is looking for team members to join him for an assault on the class in 2018. Adrian, who is based in the Halifax area, offers the chance to be involved in the construction of the car and says that body or paintwork skills would be an advantage although not as essential as enthusiasm. More details under Drivers / Crew Required on our Jeff Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet. Not really a spy picture, more of an exclusive. With the Festival of Power fast approaching, and with memories of 2008 still as clear as if it were yesterday, UK Gearhead Garage UK Super Pro ET racer Phil Toppin has been in touch to show that he is prepared for any eventuality next week. Thanks to Ian Marshall for sending us the final version of the official entry list for Big Bang, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st-23rd April (racing 22nd-23rd). You can check it out by clicking here or by clicking on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you have any queries about Big Bang entry then you can contact Ian Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625) or E-Mail [email protected]. Our good friend Lena Perés has been in touch to let us know that she has posted a feature about the Top Doorslammer plans of Finland's Laura Saksa on the Drag Racing Europe Blog. You can check it out by clicking here. Congratulations to the single reader, namely DD of the Podington Peas, who realised that Saturday's story about Santa Pod Raceway's LED Christmas Tree contained a significant April Fool element, although not of course a filament. That SPR's Christmas Trees are all to be fitted out for LEDs is of course true, but that each LED has to be inserted by hand was complete BS as was the pay-off line about the scoreboards. Congratulations DD; you will be notified of your prize verbally (Have a guess - Ed). (Lots) more on LEDs. 1st April: Further to yesterday's news item, work is continuing apace to install the LED lighting system into Santa Pod Raceway's Christmas Tree in time for its first use at the Pro Peak Performance Test and Tune Day on 13th April and then the Festival of Power. Timekeeper David Anniwell told Eurodragster.com that it could be a close thing. "We have to install each LED by hand", said David. "That sounds easy enough but the LEDs are very small, there are eighty LEDs in each bulb, and on there are thirty bulbs on a Championship Tree. We are installing and soldering in shifts. Kieran takes over from me when I need a break and Adam and James are lined up to take their turn." When the Christmas Tree upgrade is complete the next project is to change the finish line scoreboards to LEDs. David said that the scoreboards use the same LEDs as the Christmas Tree so it will be a major undertaking. Swift snippets. 1st April: DD and all of the Podington Peas asked us to say a big Happy Birthday to Santa Pod Barn legend Charlie Chicken. We are very happy to do so, have a great day Charlie. Extra burnouts at Santa Pod. 1st April: The European Burnout Championship is set to hold its first round of 2017 at Santa Pod Raceway on the Saturday of the Festival of Power (15th April). EBC have been working with the Australian originators and organisers to bring the Championship to the shores of the UK and after the first test event at Ultimate Street Car in 2016 they are set for a smokey 2017! So how can you get involved and what are the rules? Well, it's pretty simple: Get your entry ticket via www.fueltopia.co.uk. It's just £20 to enter with a prize purse of £100 up for grabs. Each driver is able to take one attempt per session Scores will be marked out of a 300 judged total (400 if guest judge) Please look out for flags when on track 1. Red- STOP. Run deemed as dangerous and will be a DNF (fire, fluid leak, dangerous driving etc) 2. Yellow- Start your run Burnouts must last longer than one minute but no more than two minutes. Less or more results in point deductions (one per every five seconds), we will sound fog horn at one minute and two minutes Time starts at drop of flag until both tyres are burst, the driver has decided to end his/her run by either coming to a complete stop, by crossing the finish line. Start area marked with coloured cones The entry is a straight line entry and control will be awarded points Helmets and long sleeved/legged clothing must be worn Full rules are available via the European Burnout Championship Facebook page. You can check out footage from 2016 by clicking here. Earlier news