Feature: More racing with Uncle Sam. 31st December: The latest in our occasional Series of Features presented in association with Lucas Oil Products is a report by UK Super Pro ET and Pro ET racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Paul Marston of his trip to the USA including an ultimately successful trip to a pair of Florida bracket races. You can find out how Paul came away $375 better off by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. APIRA, SPRC, Obsession Awards vote 5. 31st December: Avon Park International Racing Association, Santa Pod Racers Club, Obsession Motorsports and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the APIRA and SPRC Perpetual Awards and Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year, which will be presented at the joint APIRA / SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 9th February 2013. For several of the 2012 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC and APIRA Committees and Obsession Motorsports decide upon their winners. The latest voting category is the APIRA Alan Wigmore Memorial Trophy. The founder of the National Drag Racing Club, Alan Wigmore was dedicated to every aspect of the sport at home as well as in America. As Chairman of the NDRC Alan got to do just about every job there was to organise as well as run race events. This Award is presented in Alan's memory to the chosen individual who has shown the same dedication, spirit and enthusiasm for the sport which Alan showed in his years in drag racing. The APIRA Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Team Ballbreaker (Mark Coulsell), Wild Bunch Vote for Team Ballbreaker Bev Batsford, National Association of Supertwins Vote for Bev Batsford The National Sprint Association Vote for the National Sprint Association Bruno Sanderson-Brown, APIRA and Shakespeare County Raceway Vote for Bruno Sanderson-Brown Chris Schreier, APIRA and Shakespeare County Raceway Vote for Chris Schreier Angie Woods, For Ladies That Launch, APIRA and Shakespeare County Raceway Vote for Angie Woods To place your vote, either use the links above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the 2012 Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to Paula Marshall. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. The next category, which will be posted this Friday (4th), will be SPRC Most Professional Appearing Team. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. And every year we say this, but every year someone tries it on: please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. Swift snippets. 31st December: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with no words. If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. We have three birthday notices today. First up is a Happy Birthday for yesterday (Sunday) to Junior Dragster dad Pete Kellett. Hope you had a good day Pete. Next up is Happy 22nd Birthday for today to Sean Bowe, have a great day Sean, and also celebrating his birthday today is Gary Malin. Have a good day Gary. Tog, Simon, Kirstie and Ed would like to wish you all a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year and to thank you for your loyalty and support in 2012. A Final replay. 29th December: Maikel Gloudemans of our streaming service provider Doyousee.me has been on touch with details of the new replays of this year's Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcasts. "This weekend we will be launching a third channel", says M@ik. "The third channel will replay the 2012 FIA European Finals. The new channel will feature Sportsman qualifying day today (Saturday), Pro and Sportsman qualifying tomorrow, Pro qualifying and Sportsman eliminations on Monday, and the finals on Tuesday. Each day's replay will run as a loop. "These videos contain just about everything we could do with two cameras. We have replays, live timing and all, although some experiments with a hand-held low-res cameras weren't very successful... but hey, if you're afraid of failing then don't try to innovate!" Please bear in mind that we had problems with the satellite uplink on the final day of the FIA European Finals so there will be bits and pieces missing from the coverage on Tuesday. You can check out the replays at www.didyousee.me/dragrace. M@ik tells us that July's Mopar Euronats is also scheduled for replay starting today, and that he is working on editing shows from Drachten and Shakespeare County Raceway. Team STARTA season review. 29th December: Sören and Peter Svensson and Sweden's Team STARTA Racing Top Fuel Bike team say that 2012 is a season which will never be forgotten: The season started on 25th-26th May at the Spring Wheels MC when we went to Tierp Arena in Sweden to test our new set-up for the very first time at the smoothest track in Europe. We had extremely good air conditions through out the whole weekend and at lot of tests were carried out in order to find a set up for the upcoming season. We ran a new Personal Best on the eighth mile of 3.7992 sec at 332.51 kmh during the second qualifying attempt, which was very promising for the upcoming UEM Championship for 2012. Sweden Internationals, 14th-17th June, Tierp Arena, Sweden: We had a basic set up from the test runs we had made in May but the weather had changed dramatically compared to that event and we had to change the set up to cope with the cold and humid air and track and what a great weekend we had, winning at our home track after the rain stopped late on Sunday afternoon. Summary of the weekend: Qualified number 1, winner of the event, new European ET record of 5.923 seconds (backed up by 5.826) and new Personal Best speed at 329.07 kmh at the eighth mile. NitrOlympX, 10th-12th August, Hockenheim, Germany: We had really high expectations for this race and were hoping for some really good runs, and if the circumstances were right we had high hopes to improve our own track record. Unfortunately the track conditions were terrible and the race was more or less a drifting contest rather than a drag race and we qualified on the last spot as we were not able to take out enough clutch and power from the bike. Summary of the weekend: Qualified number 8, semi-final finish. Scandinavian Internationals 23rd-26th August, Tierp Arena, Sweden: The race where our dream came true! We put our set-up from May back in the bike and during the second qualifying run on Friday Peter ran an incredible 5.709 seconds at only 355.50 kmh showing that he got of the throttle after the 1000 foot mark. This is by far the quickest time ever in the world and the 3.74/342 on the eighth mile showed us what a storming run that was! Summary of the weekend: Qualified number 1, final against Rikard Gustafsson (cancelled due to rain), new World Record of 5.709 seconds, new European ET record at 5.86 (backed up by the 5.709 sec) and new Personal Best for both ET and speed of 3.74/342 on the eight mile. FIA European Finals, 6th-9th September, Santa Pod Raceway, England: The final event of the year in the UEM Championship and this was the race where almost everything went our way despite a broken spark plug in the last qualifying run on Saturday. During the third qualifying run on Saturday Peter ran a great 5.725 at only 227.01 mph showing that he got of the throttle just after the 1000 foot mark. This is by far the quickest time ever in the world on an asphalt track and the 3.77/207 mph on the eighth mile showed us that we were on a good enough track to run even quicker! Summary of the weekend: Qualified number 1, runner up at the event, finishing second in the European Championship participating in only four out of six events, running the quickest time ever in the world on an asphalt track! During the record setting 2012 season we did a lot of promising testing which will hopefully pay off even further during 2013 where we hopefully will be able to finish the season by going to the Manufacturers World Cup in Bradenton to compete with the US teams. Team STARTA Racing and other Swedish teams have high hopes that we will be able to go to Bradenton under the flag of the Swedish National Team which had its first attempt supporting the Swedish teams in 2012 and will continue their efforts even stronger during 2013. This and many other things such as the expected high-performing bikes in Top Fuel Bike will inspire us and everyone else to run quicker and faster in the upcoming season. We have the following preliminary race schedule for our team and we hope that as many of you as possible have time to come by our team in the pits for a chat during 2013: Dragracing SM Tierp Arena (test only), Sweden: May 11th-12th FIA/UEM Sweden Internationals Tierp Arena, Sweden: June 13th-16th FIA Scandinavian Internationals Tierp Arena, Sweden: August 22th-25th Southern Nostalgia & Muscle Car Bradenton (test only), USA: November 2nd-3rd* Manufacturers World Cup Bradenton, USA: November 8th-10th* *Depending on funds We would like to take the opportunity to thank all our families, team members, friends, sponsors, competitors, track staff, race organisers, our fans, UEM / FIM / SVEMO officials and the staff of Speedgroup.eu, Eurodragster.com (Thanks! You're welcome - Ed), Kingracing.com, Stripbike.com, Dragbike.com, Patrik Jacobsson, Stefan Boman, Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes and many more people for your help and support during 2012, and we wish all of you a great start to 2013! Swift snippets. 29th December: A note to those who put out word to a large number of people to vote for two of the Perpetual Award nominees early yesterday evening (Friday): we couldn't have made it any more clear, so that clicking sound you hear is the Delete button. SPRC, APIRA Obsession Awards vote 4. 28th December: Santa Pod Racers Club, Avon Park International Racing Association, Obsession Motorsports and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC and APIRA Perpetual Awards and Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year, which will be presented at the joint APIRA / SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 9th February 2013. For several of the 2012 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC and APIRA Committees and Obsession Motorsports decide upon their winners. The latest category is SPRC Best Appearing Bike. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows. You can see larger pictures on the official Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Pete Bellenie, Super Street Bike Vote for Pete Bellenie Tony Clark, Comp Bike Vote for Tony Clark Phil Crossley, Comp Bike Vote for Phil Crossley Rene van den Berg, Top Fuel Bike Vote for Rene van den Berg The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to Paula Marshall. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. The next category, which will be posted next Monday, will be the APIRA Alan Wigmore Memorial Trophy. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. And every year we say this, but every year someone tries it on: please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. Swift snippets. 28th December: Su Hood and Rhiannon Bellenie have asked us to say a big Happy 59th Birthday for today (Friday) to UK Super Street Bike racer Pete Bellenie. Our pleasure guys, have a great day Pete. All welcome to New Year at SCR. 27th December: Paul Evans writes that all are welcome to a New Year's Eve party at Shakespeare County Raceway next Monday (31st). "The party is again to be held in Kenny's Bar", says Paul. "There will be a disco and free buffet in the warm, heated clubhouse. Entry is as always free, and free overnight camping is available for your camper, caravan, tent or car. "Everyone is welcome - racers, RWYBers, track crew / staff and marshals, and all your friends and family. Just bring your drink of choice and a small amount of party food to add to the buffet. Turn up any time from midday. This party gets bigger and better every year so come and see in the New Year with your Shakey family." Swift snippets. 27th December: If you're fed-up with miserable soap operas and need something to get you through the gaps between those redeeming Morecambe and Wise specials then don't forget that our streaming service provider Doyousee.me has started to run replays of this year's Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcasts. Currently showing are Day 1 of the Autotrader Easter Thunderball and Dragstalgia. You can check out the replays at www.didyousee.me/dragrace. Wayne and Janet Schreier have asked us to say a big Happy 21st Birthday to son and APIRA marshal Christopher Schreier. Our pleasure guys, have a great day Christopher. Bartlett confirms Funny Car Challenge. 24th December: Trakbak Racing is pleased to formally announce a new European Drag Racing Series commencing in 2013. Trakbak Racing CEO Keith Bartlett, who has been putting together the European AAFC (Funny Car) Challenge Series throughout this season on behalf of TBR, made the following statement: "We have been looking to bring about a new Nitro Funny Car Series for the past two years, but several elements were not in place to be able to do this until the beginning of the 2012 season. By mid-season the series was looking good and will now commence in 2013. "At Santa Pod Raceway, we have consistently run Fuel Funny Cars to the point where over the last decade it has been the only track at which you could see these cars participate in exhibition races. Hopefully, Trakbak Racing will be able to expand both the class and the events that they run at. Already for 2013 we have tracks, teams and cars contracted to run this new series. "We are planning to start slowly and build the series over the next few years starting in 2013. This series will hopefully become a very good attraction for the track owners to promote, as we all recognise that the public love to see Nitro Funny Cars along with Top Fuel Dragsters; the Nitro Funny Cars are sure to attract a following of their own too. This will undoubtedly add strength to the already healthy spectator attendances at major international drag racing events, including some of the FIA Championship rounds. "The series will be campaigned over four rounds / events in 2013 in two separate European countries. To date we have four AAFC teams contracted, with two more expected to sign contracts (subject to licencing) on or around the time of the first round. This would see the series having six contracted Nitro Funny Cars competing in in its inaugural year. We are currently in discussions to bring a further two teams / cars into the series. However, if that should happen in 2013, it will not be until third round of the series in August. "The series will be campaigned in the same way as a Championship, with a winner crowned at the season end, along with an end of season points bonus fund down to eighth place. This will, of course, be in addition to an event prize fund at each round. "The 2013 Schedule of rounds is as follows: Round 1: Festival of Power, Santa Pod Raceway (UK) - 30th March-1st April Round 2: FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway (UK) - 24th-27th May Round 3: NitrOlympX, HockenheimRing (Germany) - 9th-11th August Round 4: FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway (UK) - 4th-8th September "The series will be replacing the old Pro Fuel Shootout at the Easter event at Santa Pod Raceway (now renamed the Festival of Power). We are also looking to open the Night Show at the HockenheimRing in Germany in August, with the last round of qualifying early on Saturday evening." Trakbak Racing have had some preliminary discussions with track promoters in other countries about the possibilities of their taking the European AAFC Challenge Series in the future. The European AAFC Challenge Series will be a new series to add to the other Championships and series which Trakbak Racing already owns, runs and promotes including the FIM European Drag Bike Championship, the MSA British Drag Racing Championship, the FIM Europa Cup (Super Street Bike), plus other Modified and Japanese car series, run in the UK. One of the key factors for the drivers is that Trakbak Racing will be taking the experienced Santa Pod track and safety crews to each round - track crews who have experience of working with Nitro Funny Cars along with the knowledge of safety procedures applying specifically to these vehicles. The Santa Pod track crews have had more experience in this area than any others across the whole of Europe. Keith Bartlett sees the new Funny Car series in much the same light as the ETFA's European Top Fuel Challenge Series which he built up in the early to mid-1990s along with Pelle Lindelöw and the Top Fuel teams and envisages the reception and response from both the tracks, promoters and the Nitro Funny Car teams themselves to be in much the same light. Furthermore, Keith says, "I do not see the European AAFC Challenge Series as competition to any of the classes within the FIA European Drag Racing Championship, in which Trakbak Racing is very involved, given that nitro Funny Car owners and drivers are a breed of their own and will always only want to drive Fuel Funny Cars. Maybe in the future we'll see a few drivers make the transition from TMFC to AAFC, but I do not see that applying to that many teams, especially the Scandinavian teams and drivers." Trakbak Racing will be making further announcements on the European AAFC Challenge Series from January 2013, including details on drivers, teams and track promoters, with interviews. More information will be also be announced regarding plans for the TV production. Time for Flynn's Gold RV Show. 24th December: Further to Keith Bartlett's announcement regarding the new European AAFC Challenge Series, Eurodragster.com sponsor and Blogger Derek Flynn is pleased to announce that, after being approached by Bob Jarrett of the UK's Showtime Fuel Funny Car team, it is planned that Derek will now be driving the Showtime Fuel FC. "We have a few final details to put together but after our meeting in the USA with Bob Jarrett, and talking with John Spuffard, I am really excited about the opportunity of driving one of the best Fuel Funny Cars in Europe in this exciting new series", says Derek. "Some of the great Gold RV Racing crew will also be joining me in the Showtime team and they are all very excited about it too. "After a year away from driving duties, I cannot wait to get behind a wheel again and to do it in a Fuel Funny Car in a professional series such as this is going to be a great challenge to which I am really looking forward. I just cannot wait for March to get here, and to smash the pedal with an additional 5,000-plus horse power to what I am used to, in a short-wheelbased car, will I am sure get the adrenaline rushing once more." "2013 can't come soon enough now that the Fuel Funny Cars have their own series to contest", says Bob Jarrett. "Without doubt this is long overdue and has only become possible due to all the hard work from Keith Bartlett. Just as monumental for 2013 is that Showtime Racing welcomes Derek Flynn to the team. Derek will drive the car in the Challenge Series beginning with the Festival of Power on 30th March - 1st April. His racing competitive spirit is second to none and, once he is familiarised with the short wheelbase and supercharger, will give us a genuine shot at winning the Series. "2012 was a learning year with the new Mustang but in the end we were satisfied with the progress we made. There will be some upgrades in the motor program for 2013, this should make the car a little easier to adapt to the changing track conditions for which Santa Pod is known. I am sure that Derek will keep everyone informed of our progress through his infamous Gold RV Racing Blog." New kid on the block. 24th December: Dutch Supertwin racer Job Heezen says that for a while it looked as if he had made his last runs at the FIA European Finals and that after twenty five years it was time to take a step back from racing. Job was OK with this for a couple of months, but then the garage started to look empty. And then... "The quickest normally-aspirated Supertwin in Europe was still for sale", says Job. "It had been without a job and waiting for a buyer for too long, so we talked to Urs Erbacher and made a deal on the bike that same day. "The bike will be back on track where it belongs, and we promise to hang on a little longer and do whatever we can to make a good show and go as fast as we can. At the same time it will help Urs to return to the track as well. Hopefully the Appenzellers will be back in the European circus too ! "We intend to compete at all UEM races next season as well as the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod. The crew is unchanged, Winnie and Eveline, but there will be another new kid on the block to help them out: Roel Koedam. "We would like to wish all Eurodragster.com readers a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2013. My E-Mail address is [email protected]." SPRC, APIRA Obsession Awards vote 3. 24th December: Santa Pod Racers Club, Avon Park International Racing Association, Obsession Motorsports and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC and APIRA Perpetual Awards and Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year, which will be presented at the joint APIRA / SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 9th February 2013. For several of the 2012 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC and APIRA Committees and Obsession Motorsports decide upon their winners. The latest category is SPRC Best Appearing Car. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows. You can see larger pictures on the official Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Rhiannon Bellenie, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster Vote for Rhiannon Bellenie The Draper brothers, Super Pro ET Vote for the Draper Brothers Nicky Frost, Super Comp Vote for Nicky Frost Martin Taylor, Outlaw Flat Four Vote for Martin Taylor Mark Todd, Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Vote for Mark Todd Jon Webster, Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Vote for Jon Webster The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to Paula Marshall. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. The next category, which will be posted on Friday, will be SPRC Best Appearing Bike. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. And every year we say this, but every year someone tries it on: please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. Swift snippets. 24th December: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Three-car team?". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. The provisional 2013 EDRS Series calendar is now available on the Series' official web site at www.speedgroup.eu/EDRS/EDRS_race_calendar_2013.htm. No news update yesterday (Sunday) so we were unable to say a big Happy Birthday to Shakespeare County Raceway's Jerry Cookson on behalf of Julie Willcox and everyone at SCR, and indeed on behalf of Eurodragster.com to which Jerry is a regular contributor. Happy Birthday for yesterday Jerry, hope you had a good day. Drag Racing Unplugged XIV. 24th December: As has become traditional on our last pre-Christmas update, we have posted a page of the best quotes from this season's Eurodragster.com Event Coverage including Tog's, Simon's, Kirstie's and Ed's personal Quotes of the Year, together with other one-liners we didn't publish at the time. In association with Event Coverage sponsor Alamo Rent A Car we are pleased to present Drag Racing Unplugged XIV, the 2012 collection. Click here to view Drag Racing Unplugged XIV, or click on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. 2012 Champions' Champions. 24th December: Honorary Eurodragster.com staff member Andy Marrs of TSI Timers and Simon have again been hard at work to compile lists of European and UK Champions' Champions. The Champions' Champions tables show the all-time highest points earners since the FIA and FIM/UEM European Championships began in 1996 and 1992 respectively, and the UK National Championships began in 1999. There were no changes in the top ten of Career FIA European Championship points. However Top Fuel Dragster racers Anita Mäkelä and Jari Halinen passed 2500 and 1000 FIA career points respectively, whilst Pro Modified racer Freddy Fagerström passed 1000 FIA career points. Risto Poutiainen made a big move in the all-time FIA Top Fuel Dragster standings, up from #13 to #8. Anita Mäkelä and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher both passed 1500 Top Fuel points whilst Risto and Stig Neergaard passed 1000 Top Fuel points. Dennis Habermann moved up from #12 to #8 and Manty Bugeja from #14 to #9 in the all-time FIA Top Methanol Dragster standings. Dennis and Manty both passed 1000 TMD points. Danny Bellio moved up from #11 to #9 in all-time FIA Top Methanol Funny Car standings. Leif Andréasson passed 4500 TMFC points whilst Danny and Jürgen Nagel passed 1000 points. No changes in the all-time FIA Pro Stock standings, although Michael Malmgren - who has headed up the FIA Career Points table since 2006 - passed 5500 Pro Stock points, Jimmy Ålund passed 3500 points, and Micke Callin passed 1000 points. Three changes in the all-time FIA Pro Modified standings as Bruno Bader moved up from #5 to #4, Marc Meihuizen from #8 to #7, and Robert Joosten from #11 to #10. Micke Gullqvist passed 2500 Pro Modified points and Bruno Bader passed 1500 points. Wayne Nicholson and Marcus Hilt both scored more FIA points this year than they did in the previous four years combined. You can check out the FIA Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. There were three changes in the top ten of Career UEM European Championship points. Top Fuel Bike racers Ian King and Peter Svensson moved up from #7 to #5 and from #13 to #9 respectively, whilst Pro Stock Bike racer Martin Bishop moved up from #9 to #8. Whoever passed scrutineering second at Kunmadaras out of Daniel Lencses Donat, Istvan Okrosi or Tamas Gal became the 450th rider to score points in UEM competetion. Ian King moved up from #3 to to #2 in the all-time UEM Top Fuel Bike standings, whilst Peter Svensson moved up from #5 to #4, Rikard Gustafsson from #9 to #8, and Kai Selkämäa from #12 to #10. Ian King passed 2000 Top Fuel Bike points whilst Peter Svensson passed 1500 points. Nils Lagerlöf became the 200th rider to score points in UEM Top Fuel Bike when he passed scrutineering at the FIA Main Event. Svein Olav Rolstad moved up from #12 to #9 in all-time UEM Supertwin points whilst Job Heezen moved up from #13 to #10. Svein Olav also passed 1000 Supertwin points. Fredrik Fredlund moved up from #6 to #4 in the all-time UEM Pro Stock Bike standings, whilst Eurodragster.com Blogger Kalle Lyrén made a huge move, up from #19 to #9. Fredrik also passed 1500 Pro Stock Bike points. You can check out the UEM Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Scoring for the UK National Championships Champions' Champions is based on an event having to be completed for a win to be registered. Race wins are ranked based on the driver or rider. Points however are scored and ranked on a team basis, as they are for Championships. For teams with multiple cars or drivers changing teams during or between seasons, the compiler's decision is final. The rain-affected season means that in most classes eliminations were only able to be completed at two races, but we have had five racers with first time Championships. In MSA Pro Modified, Roger Moore had his first Championship in the class this year and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson still holds the lead in Championships with three, event wins with twelve, and career points. In the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association, Rebel T and driver Clayton Round lead Championships won with three over and Joe Bond's two. Nick Davies' 2012 win puts Chaos on the Championship list for the first time. Eurodragster.com Bloggers Bennett Racing lead the aggregate points and have seven event wins, the same as Dennis Wratten. Congratulations to Belinda Bull for her first Championship in Super Modified in 2012. Nigel Payne leads Super Modified Championships with three over two each for Andy 'Fred' Hone, Ellis Racing and Danny Cockerill. Fred continues to lead the number of wins with a total of thirteen, and points with a 7729 point lead over Eurodragster.com sponsor Ellis Racing. In Super Pro ET, there is another first time Champion in 2012 and well done to Jack Brewster. Martyn Jones, Steve Green and Ian Tubb have two Championships each. Barry Giles leads wins with fourteen in total to Steve Green's eight. Barry Giles leads aggregate points from Steve Johnson by a (reduced) margin of 2710. Pro ET has a first time Champion in 2012 and congratulations to Paul Brown for his first Championship. Four racers have two Championships: Rick McCann, Paul Baynton, Team Heaven & Hell and Team Top Banana. Lee Huxley has won eight races over the years under review. Team Heaven & Hell continue to dominate the points with a lead of 4660 over the Huxley's Team Top Banana and, latterly, Dark Horse. At the top of Sportsman ET scores, Geoff Cowley and Team Rainy City Lightning (Al and Linda Platt) both have three Championships, Geoff Cowley and Rick Denny both have seven wins and Team Rainy City Lightning still leads the points aggregate. Well done to Craig Wright for winning his first Championship. In Super Comp, Brian Pateman leads the way with three Championships including this year's. Brian Pateman now has twelve wins putting him in the lead on that count. And Brian's points lead of 5520 over Tim Adam gives him a clear lead on all three measures. Tim Adam still leads Super Gas Championships won with four, with Brian Patemen, Jon Morton, Conrad Stanley and Frank Mason on two each. Now-retired Frank Mason continues to lead races won with twelve and points won as well. In Super Street, Leigh Morris leads in all three categories. Leigh won his fourth Championship in 2012 which puts him ahead of John Grant, Bob Lees, Mike Bentley and Team Rat Rage on two each. Leigh now has fifteen wins, and leads the points aggregate by 1790 points from Bob Lees. Steve Pateman still dominates Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator with five Championships, seventeen wins and a huge points lead over now-retired Ian Hook. In Junior Dragster, still-active Joe Kellett has moved up to equal Scott Hauser and Nick Mugridge with two Championships. Nick Mugridge continues to have the most wins with nine. Nick Mugridge has the most points but Joe Kellett is catching him with a margin of 1230. Rhiannon Bellenie enters the points standings for the first time in sixteenth position. Mick Winyard has his second consecutive 8.50 Bike Championship this year and shares two event wins with Peter Austin. Mick leads the points total with a margin of 1410 over Phil Bloomfield. In 9.50 Bike, Eurodragster.com sponsor Fred Furlong has equalled Rick Sawatzki's three Championships. Rick's eleven wins head Fred and Jake Mechaell's nine, whereas Fred leads the points with a lead of over 600 over Rick. ACU Top Fuel Bike has Steve Woollatt still leading Championships, event wins and aggregate points with totals unlikely to be equalled any time soon. Ian King won his second Championship in the ACU series this year and is now joint second on wins with Steve Carey. Ian is also second in aggregate points to Steve. Neil Midgley leads all three categories in ACU Funny Bike with Chris Hall second in Championships; Tim Blakemore is 330 points behind Neil in the aggregate points. Congratulations to Maarten Zijlstra who became a UK Champion for the first time in 2012. Eurodragster.com Blogger Dave Beck continues to lead all categories in ACU Pro Stock Bike and his eight Championships and record thirty five wins to his name in ACU competition is unlikely to be beaten any time soon. In ACU Competition Bike, Phil Leamon won the Championship for the first time since 2007 and now has three, the same number as the now-retired Ivan Birch. Ivan and Phil both have nine wins and Phil also leads the points with a margin of 10480 over Stu Crane. In ACU Super Street Bike Steve Venables won his fifth Championship and pulls ahead of Graham Dance with four. Steve has twenty two victories to G's nineteen. Steve leads Graham by 2370 points. We have added Junior Drag Bike which becomes a National Championship class next year. Points Championships have been awarded since the class was first contest in 2003 and we include all years. Scott Collier leads the way with three Championships (2006, 2007 and 2011) and eight wins to Jordon Bissell's two Championships and five wins. Louis Davies is first-time Champion in 2012. Scott also leads the points tally with a margin of 3880 over second placed Jordon. You can check out the UK Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The return of the winter webcasts. 24th December: Maikel Gloudemans of our webcam streaming service provider Doyousee.me tells us that as replays of our Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcasts have quickly become a tradition on which viewers rely - with the first enquiry made at the second event of 2012 - he will be commencing this winter's replays at 19:00 UK / 20:00 European this evening (Monday). "We will try edit the videos to pure racing as much as we can, and we will try to fill the channels with as much racing as possible both from this and previous seasons", says M@ik. "We may even throw in a few small surprises. As always we will use this time as an opportunity to test new player functionality. "2012 was a busy season for our crew of staff and volunteers. Although our home track of Drachten had to cancel some events, Eurodragster.com and Santa Pod Raceway gave us the opportunity to stream and record some large events. This put quite a load on our staff as we arranged for an even more mobile studio than we are used to using, and I prepped my van every other week. "Trackside we had all kinds of 'fun' such as routers which would stop, cameras which dropped from ten feet and survived, and stuff getting wet at one event then overheating at another. All in all we think that we have shot some nice footage and we hope that you all enjoyed and enjoy it. "We would like to thank Tog, Simon and Kirstie of Eurodragster.com for being patient with us whilst we took over half their office, to Julian of Nitro FM for the use of his satellite link and dirty tech talk, and René van den Berg's Top Fuel Bike team and the MPM Oil Funny Car team for all the fried eggs we took from them. We would also like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and may 2013 be blessed with a lot of speed." You will be able to watch the replays at www.didyousee.me/dragrace. A short sampler from Dragstalgia is playing on Channel 1 right now, and full broadcasts commence at 19:00 UK / 20:00 European tonight with day 1 of the Autotrader Easter Thunderball and Dragstalgia first up for replay. Eurodragster.com's Christmas break. 24th December: We will now be taking our Christmas break. We plan to return on Thursday (27th). Keep those news items coming to [email protected] and we will post them on Thursday. In the meantime we have compiled our usual requests to Father Christmas, together with our New Year resolutions, and you can hold us to these: Top of Kirstie's Christmas list: A shiny new camera, as I seem to be fabulous at breaking them before Top Fuel. Top of Simon's Christmas list: Dry weather, and smooth grippy race surfaces. Top of Ed's Christmas list: Sunny blue skies for all drag race meetings next season. Top of Tog's Christmas list: A device which emits a very loud alarm when someone is being nice to my face but is screwing me over behind my back. Kirstie's New Year resolution: No breakages - no broken cameras and no crashes. A year without both would be great. Simon's New Year resolution: To turn up to all appointments in the pits. Ed's New Year resolution: To attend far more race meetings than I did this year. Tog's New Year resolution: To think and to type faster in the interests of preserving Oscar's sanity. Tog, Simon, Kirstie and Ed would like to wish all Eurodragster.com readers and their families the very Happiest of Christmases, and to thank everyone who has sent us personal Christmas wishes and cards. See you on Thursday. Dare you mess with the Outfit. 22nd December: UK photo-journalist and graphic designer Mark Gredzinski has been in touch as promised with the rendition of Mickey Moore's new Topolino bodied AA/Fuel Altered. "As can be seen the car has a completely different look to his previous AA/FA which was of course the Mob T", says Mark. "The idea was to give the car a completely different period image and identity. Since I designed and applied the lettering to both The Over the Hill Mob T in Top Alcohol form in the 1990's and the Mob T in nitro guise (which I lettered in fact twice over the years), Mick entrusted me to come up with something different, but in keeping with the loosely gangster image of old. "The theme was inspired by both the 1973 Robert Duvall film The Outfit and the Chicago Outfit who in the 1920s were rivals with the the North Side Mob. The whole thing is tongue-in-cheek, of course, but it's clear to see where this is going! On the top left of the rendering is a close-up of what will be a cartoon period gangster to be painted on the nose while an authentic old Tommy gun appears on the sides. "The rolling chassis is now done with Roy Wilding undertaking most of the work to convert what was once one of the Budweiser Funny Car chassis of old into the present tagged underpinnings. The only thing missing is the engine but Mick as a privateer has to wait until he has complete funds to source a nitro burning powerplant. The engine will be a single pump 6/71 blown device with the idea to run the car conservatively and consistently.  "Mick has already asked me if the scheme would transfer to a Funny Car, which of course it would and possibly even better since the Topo is a fairly small canvas to paint on, so to speak. For now though, the car should appear in the latter half of 2013, unless a sponsor materialises to speed things up. "Mick is very keen to get back in the cockpit of a race car, so watch this space!" Swift snippets. 22nd December: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Metalflake and Hilborn". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. Not quite a spy picture but a mystery as Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher tells us that the Supertwin formerly ridden by Lorenz Stäuble has been sold. "Does anyone have an idea? The bike is still in Europe", says Urs, "but who is going to ride it?". The usual address if you know. "Thank you to all the fans, friends, sponsors and Eurodragster.com for all the good times last year", adds Urs. "We are in a new decade because the world is still here and we are ready to start again. See you all in 2013 - we are back on track!" Megalomania, billed as the UK's first altered and lovingly restored by T2v Racing and Restoration, is up for auction at Bonhams on 17th January. For more details check out Bonhams' web site at www.bonhams.com. Jerry, Sharron and Skye Collier asked us to say a big Happy 16th Birthday to UK Junior Drag Bike racer Scott Collier. "Scott will be spending the day doing his CBT on his new road bike so good luck to him for that", says Sharron. "We're so proud of him for being the great lad he is and we send him loads of love. Skye will be having a try on Scott's first ever Junior Bike soon, to see if she likes it enough to join him in Junior Drag Bike next season. Scott's last season as a Junior, and Skye's first!" APIRA, SPRC, Obsession Awards vote 2. 21st December: Avon Park International Racing Association, Santa Pod Racers Club, Obsession Motorsports and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the APIRA and SPRC Perpetual Awards and Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year, which will be presented at the joint APIRA / SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 9th February 2013. For several of the 2012 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC and APIRA Committees and Obsession Motorsports decide upon their winners. The latest voting category is the APIRA Iris Page Memorial Trophy. The Iris Page Memorial Trophy is presented to a racer, team, official, marshal or other individual who has either contributed to the sport over the last twelve months, or who has achieved their own personal goals against all the odds thrown at them. The APIRA Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Dave Cherrett, Pro ET and Super Street Vote for Dave Cherrett Simon Day, APIRA and Shakespeare County Raceway Tech Crew Vote for Simon Day Chris Hartnell, Wild Bunch Vote for Chris Hartnell Tom and Craig Larman, Team Ferrett Racing, Wild Bunch Vote for Tom and Craig Larman Tony Smith, APIRA and Wild Bunch Vote for Tony Smith To place your vote, either use the links above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the 2012 Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to Paula Marshall. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. The next category, which will be posted on Christmas Eve, will be SPRC Best-Appearing Car. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. And every year we say this, but every year someone tries it on: please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. Swift snippets. 21st December: Thanks to UK Funny Bike racer Steve French for letting us know that Speed Dreams, a two-part documentary on bikes at Bonneville Speed Week in which Steve appears, is to be screened on UK network BBC2 at 10:00 pm on Sundays 6th and 13th January. Congratulations to Team Heaven & Hell Pro ET team member and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Grace Roaf who passed her driving test first go yesterday (Thursday). Nice one Grace and you are not currently fired. The last Eurodragster.com News update before Christmas will be posted on Monday, Christmas Eve, and will include the traditional Champions' Champions and Drag Racing Unplugged XIV. We will then take a break and the plan is to return on Thursday 27th. The deadline for news items for inclusion in the Christmas Eve update is 22:00 UK / 23:00 European next Sunday (23rd). Notice: SFI 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 bellhousings. 20th December: Kate Robinson of Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars has been in touch to pass on an important update on SFI 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 bellhousings from Arnie Kuhns of the SFI Foundation: Due to starter ring gear failures both in Europe and in the USA, the SFI Foundation wants to remind racers that all SFI 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 bellhousings must have their liners flush with the flange / mounting surface of the bellhousings to meet SFI 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 specifications. All new bellhousings supplied since 15th November 2012 should meet the flush liner requirements and comply with the specification. Bellhousings purchased prior to this date must also have their liners flush with the mounting surface when they are presented for recertification. Please make sure that any modifications needed to comply with SFI specifications are carried out before you bring your bellhousing for recertification as it will not be possible to do this work on the inspection day. Trick Titanium have also informed us recently that all 6.1 bellhousings must now use a single liner and will not be eligible for recertification without. If you have any queries then please feel free to phone or E-Mail Andy Robinson Race Cars. Contact details can be found on the ARRC web site at www.robinson-race-cars.co.uk. On another and sadder subject, we recently had an E-Mail from Chris Monroe to say that his father Carl Monroe of TSR Transmissions had recently died (Our condolences - Ed). Carl quite literally wrote the book (the HP Book) on Powerglide and Torqueflite transmissions and he was very generous in sharing his wealth of knowledge. I know that he had a number of customers in Europe and I'm sure that anybody who ever dealt with him will be sorry to hear that he's no longer with us. Carl's sons Chris and Craig Monroe have worked alongside Carl for many years and will be continuing to run TSR Transmissions. Statement from SRIF. 20th December: Further to yesterday's Swift Snippet we have received the following update from Mikael Angelin of SRIF about Top Doorslammer and Pro Xtreme at Malmö Raceway: Earlier this year the Top Doorslammer Association chose to become part of the EDRS Series, and as Malmö Raceway has no intention to do this we have chosen not to run Top Doorslammer. What we will focus upon instead is an eighth-mile Advanced ET class which will be called Pro Xtreme. This class will be similar to Top Doorslammer but will only run at Malmö Raceway at five events. To back this venture we are currently working very hard to find sponsors who among other things will provide prize money for the class with 30,000 SEK to the winner and 12,000 SEK to the runner-up. There will also be an additional 8,000 SEK for the best qualifying time. This will all be on offer for at least four of the five races. Dates for Pro Xtreme at Malmö Raceway 17th-19th March 28th-30th June 19th-21st July 9th-10th August 6th-8th September (final round) For more information about the races, or if you would like to be a sponsor, feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Of course will there be other car and bike classes, but more on this in the near future as well as rules on our web site at www.malmoraceway.se and on our Facebook page. Everyone is warmly welcomed to a fantastic 2013 at Malmö Raceway. PMR School's in for 2013. 20th December: 2012 was a quiet year for the Paul Marston Racing Drag Race School, which is a direct reflection on the country's economy. However Paul Marstson says that 2013 is already shaping up to be quite a bit different for the School which is based at Santa Pod Raceway: Paul Marstons Drag Race Driving School, based at Santa Pod Raceway, England. 2012 was our quietest ever year with the infamous passenger rides and Mad Mick Howling's extremely sensitive world-class driver tuition in which, to give it a typical British flavour, he uses a shovel as part of the training. Add to that the extremely successful race car rental scheme in which the aforementioned Mick also uses that shovel, but we kind of figured that would be the case, didn't we? The phone just stopped ringing so regularly in mid-2011, so it was plain to see what 2012 was going to be like. People simply do not come to us wanting to be the next John Force starting the following week. Most people who approach us do so with a plan and a timescale, so it was on the cards that 2012 would be quiet. Also the sport has changed. A number of other teams saw the success which Paul Marston Racing achieved with its drivers in the rental race car programme part of the Drag Race School, liked what they saw, and tried to copy the idea. This to be fair is the highest form of flattery. Also we have no patent on race car rental, other teams are perfectly within their rights to do so. After all, Paul Marston Racing's race car rental programme has produced three National Champions, five Club Championships, countless National Event titles and number one qualifying positions over the past few years. The economics of running a drag race team meant that some teams have had to rethink their budgets. Some have gone down the route of a driver paying for the drive to balance their budgets. As the Williams F1 team did this year with Pastor Maldanardo, who bought a budget injection with him but along with it a rollercoaster of ups and downs. The results for drag race teams have been mixed. In 2012 I think a few teams who tried rac ecar rental have, judging on results and breakage, found it is perhaps not quite as easy as Paul Marston Racing made it look. Also the costs have in some cases been a lot higher than they initially budgeted for or realised. None of them have had comparable results podium-wise. Paul Marston Racing have always been blessed with great funding partners who more often than not bought expertise with them. Sometimes just their expertise was enough, the money was not as important. A really great crew who put their heart and soul into the team. In addition to that we have always raced within our means so we have made sure that PMR have the parts and spares back-up necessary to maintain our racecars. Paul Marston Racing have been to the Trophy Presentation every year for the past decade to collect their share of the silverware and there is a reason for that. So with multiple entries on the cards for 2013, Paul Marston Racing are very much looking forward to the début of some interesting new talent. If you are building a new race car and want to start out right, then call us to discuss the course options that we have on offer. If you are interested in becoming part of our driver lineup for 2013 then now is just the time to talk to us regarding your ambitions for the season. We still have space and have some excellent value for money packages available. Our price structures have not changed in five years now so we offer very good value for money. In addition we can offer UK Championship-winning cars and we can win on any given day. So if you are interested in being taught by the people who know, or to be part of a winning team, then contact us now by E-Mail at [email protected] or call 07831 650230 to discuss your ideas, dreams and ambitions. We are the people who make things happen and we can put you in a position to deliver results. Paul Marston Racing would like to take this opportunity to thank Santa Pod Raceway and Eurodragster.com for all their faith and support in what we try to achieve to further our great sport of drag racing (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed). Merry Christmas to you all. See Bull for LSM. 20th December: Jeff Bull is pleased to announce that Eurodragster.com sponsor Jeff Bull Race Engines has been appointed sole UK supplier of the complete range of LSM Racing Products' trackside and workshop engine tools. Jeff Bull Race Engines currently have in stock precision torque wrench and valve adjustment tools, on head valve spring pressure checkers and double ended feeler gauge holders.  These are all top quality must have tools for racers who care about their engines.  Jeff Bull Race Engines can supply any of the outstanding quality tools from the LSM range.  Check out the LSM web site www.lsmproducts.com and call Jeff for pricing on 01787 227789. Jeff Bull Race Engines is also pleased to be continuing a successful partnership with Transmission Specialties into 2013.  With over thirty years in the racing converter and transmission industry, TSI have lead the way with the first spragless converter, 1.80 first gear sets, the world's fastest 10.5” converter, 300M output shafts, one piece super stator, NASA input shafts,  9” race converters, steel stators, the list goes on.  As UK appointed stockist of Transmission Specialties racing converters, transmissions and spare parts, Jeff Bull Race Engines is able to offer complete transmission rebuilds or freshens using TSI parts,  carried out by one of the UK's top transmission builders. Visit www.transmission-specialties.com and call Jeff to discuss your requirements on 01787 227789. Details of a UK Racer Bonus Programme for racers using TSI converters and / or transmissions will be announced early in 2013. Web site updates. 20th December: In the latest instalment of his Nostalgia Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Allard Chrysler Action group Chair Brian Taylor presents a detailed report on the latest developments to restore the Allard Chrysler Dragster. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Swift snippets. 19th December: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Reliving legendary moments". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. Our good buddy Remco Scheelings writes that after two years in Junior Dragster, 17-year-old Shari Oomen is top step up to Super Pro ET next season. "At last weekend's Autosportdagen Speed & Action show the Dutch blonde proudly presented her new car and was in the spotlight for two days", says Remco. "It's the first time in at least ten years that a Dutch drag racer will race a dragster instead of a doorslammer". You can check out Remco's full piece at www.autosport.nl. Sweden's Top Doorslammer Association have announced that the class will no longer be running at Malmö Raceway. The decision by SRIF is believed to be not-unconnected to Top Doorslammer's efforts to become an EDRS class. You can find out more on the Top Doorslammer Facebook group. Meanwhile SRIF have announced the creation of a new class, Pro Xtreme, to run over the Malmö eighth in 2013. You can find out more on the Malmö Raceway Facebook page. Thanks to Patrik Jacobsson for keeping us up to date on this story. Julie Steele has produced a Little Cherub Photography photo book covering the National Sprint Association season at Westonzoyland, the best airfield track used in sprinting: Phil Steele tell us that "It really is a special place". The NSA will receive a donation from every book sold. To take a look at a preview or to order your copy of Speed in Focis, check out www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/detail/3867121. Web site updates. 19th December: Eurodragster.com sponsor Topspeed Automotive have recently re-vamped their EBay Shop and have considerably increased their inventory with a large selection of new products. You can find the new EBay shop at stores.ebay.co.uk/Topspeed-Automotive-Ltd?_trksid=p2047675.l2563. "Call direct on 07720 678147 if you can't find what you are looking for", says Bill Macdermid. "Everyone at Topspeed wishes all their customers a great Christmas and a Happy New Year and roll on next season!" SPRC, APIRA, Obsession Awards vote 1. 17th December: Santa Pod Racers Club, Avon Park International Racing Association, Obsession Motorsports and Eurodragster.com are teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the APIRA and SPRC Perpetual Awards and Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year, which will be presented at the joint APIRA / SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 9th February 2013. For several of the 2012 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC and APIRA Committees and Obsession Motorsports decide upon their winners. The first voting category is SPRC Most Promising Newcomer. Nominees for SPRC Most Promising Newcomer have impressed whilst contesting their first full season or making their on-track début in 2012. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Nick Hale, Sportsman ET Vote for Nick Hale John Przybyl, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster Vote for John Przybyl Leigh Russon, 9.50 Bike Vote for Leigh Russon Bobby Wallace, Pro ET Vote for Bobby Wallace To place your vote, either use the links above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the 2012 Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to Paula Marshall. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to [email protected] specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. The next category, which will be posted this coming Friday (21st), will be the APIRA Iris Page Memorial Trophy. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. And every year we say this, but every year someone tries it on: please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. Feature: Robinson's Pro Mod build. 17th December: The latest in our occasional Series of Features presented in association with Lucas Oil Products is a photo diary of the construction of UK Pro Modified racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson's new blown-alcohol Pro Mod Camaro. Courtesy of Bob Roberts the fifty-shot photo diary starts with the laying-down of the very first frame rails and brings us right up to date on what is pretty obviously going to be another ARRC work of art. The gallery features extensive mouse-over captions describing each stage of construction of the car. You can check out the Feature by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Swift snippets. 17th December: We would like to send love, best wishes and hugs to Paula Marshall whose birthday it is today (Monday). Have a good day Paula, we're thinking of you. VWDRC mark 25th Anniversary. 16th December: The UK's Volkswagen Drag Racing Club held its prizegiving at the Jurys Inn in Milton Keynes last weekend, writes Richard Merriman: As usual the evening before our AGM was a time to raise a glass or two, have a good catch up with friends and do a bit of bench racing! The club has been celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary this year and the Committee decided to treat the winners with some impressive trophies. It was an honour to have Brett Hawksbee, one of the founding members of the Club, come along for the presentation and award the winners and runners up: Wagenmaster - Driver of the Year awarded to Dennis Cox (collected by Sue Cox, right) VW Pro winner - James Hodson VW Pro runner-up - Paul Herbert VW Sportsman winner - Dean Clatworthy VW Sportsman runner-up - Luke Stevenson Becky Sutton Award (services to VWDRC) - Luke Stevenson Rookie of the Year - Steve Pugh RNJ Motorsport Car of the year - Wayne Allman (collected by Richard Merriman) A huge thank you to all the racers and crew for their efforts this year and getting a good number of cars to the track. Thanks to all the sponsors who have supported us: Dubz By Dan, , WRP Paint and Restoration, Reichspeed Aircooled, Vibra-technic, Ultimate Dubs, Bears Motorsport and Sub11 Motorsport. Time to get Santa a parts list for Christmas and get those cars ready for next season. Looking forward to it already. Have a great Christmas everyone and see you in the New Year. In the meantime keep in contact at www.vwdrc.com and www.facebook.com/VWDRC. Swift snippets. 16th December: The latest workshop picture of Chris Manning's slingshot The Villain, currently under construction at the Crow Lane Skunk Works of Fester Race Cars, shows the swoopy cockpit and parachute shroud. Paul Fischer has been in touch with a link to a very interesting TV show broadcast in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Serbia, in which Edo Galic talks about the difficulties of running a 632 ci Chevy Malibu race car in the region. "The language is Croatian but the film clips will be of interest as they show what things look like round these parts", says Fisch. You can check out the video at www.vimeo.com/brziizestoki/emisija2. Christine, Sandy, Collin and Megan asked us to say a big Happy Birthday to UK Super Gas racer Stuart Morrice. Our pleasure guys, have a great day Stuart. Our annual APIRA and SPRC Perpetual Awards vote will be commencing tomorrow (Monday) with SPRC Most Promising Newcomer and nominations for the SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. There will be two categories per week, usually on Monday and Friday, between tomorrow and late January. All Eurodragster.com readers in any country will be welcome to place votes. The last Eurodragster.com News update before Christmas will be posted tomorrow week, Christmas Eve, and will include the traditional Champions' Champions and Drag Racing Unplugged XIV. We will then take a break and the plan is to return on Thursday 27th. The deadline for news items for inclusion in the Christmas Eve update is 22:00 UK / 23:00 European next Sunday (23rd). '64 Dragfest 50th anniversary. 15th December: Further to Monday's news item, UK Super Gas racer and Eurodragster.com decal sponsor Paul Foote tells us that the monthy Reunion organisers have permission in principle to hold a two-day Blackbushe Reunion event in 2014 to celebrate fifty years years since the 1964 Dragfest: The event will be held on the disused section of the airstrip - there will be no racing as the runway is broken up and not safe - and will have cars from UK and USA as well as racers from the UK and the USA. There is the possibility of a couple of famous 1970s groups performing as well as trade stands, car show and much more. The initial condition for permission is to get an idea of how many people will come to the event. If you would like to come then please either E-Mail your interest to [email protected], register on the web site at www.dragfest.co.uk or go to www.dragfest.co.uk on your mobile device and a mobile version of the site will load. Don't forget that there is a Reunion event at Blackbushe on Sunday 30th December; you can find out more in Monday's news item. ACAG select chrome supplier. 15th December: The Allard Chrysler Action Group (ACAG) has selected S&T Electroplate of Yate, near Bristol to provide the chrome plating needs for the restoration of Europe's first dragster – Sydney Allard's 1961 Allard Chrysler. The link to their web site is now available via www.allardchrysler.org. Using photographs taken in the early 1960s and existing parts as a reference, items that were chromed back then included steering, suspension, transmission, braking and exhaust components. Those requiring new chrome were identified. ACAG Chairman Brian Taylor said "I received estimates from five different plating companies and selected S&T after receiving a recommendation from Mike Knapman of the Allard Owners Club and talking on the telephone to Nigel Hayward and Kim Saleh of S&T. The fact that they were fairly local to us and specialised in plating for the enthusiast and vintage restorer were also important considerations”. On inspection of the items, Kim made some suggestions. He thought that due to their condition the rear brake back plates should be silver zinc plated rather than nickel flash as we had originally planned. He also recommended that we use a nickel coat on the headers before chrome plating rather than the normal copper. This is because metals expand at different rates when heated, and using copper can result in it breaking through the chrome when the component gets too hot. S&T Electroplate was established in 1983. It is staffed by very experienced polishers and platers, the key staff having all the necessary skills to strip, polish, repair, plate and inspect the work that is undertaken. They service customers right across the UK and Ireland and even have regular clients in various parts of the European mainland. Nigel Hayward, Production Manager at S&T, said "We are proud to have been selected to carry out the plating processes required to restore such a unique and historic vehicle. The great bulk of what we do at S&T is refinishing vehicle parts dating from the early 1900s to about 1980. This inevitably means that of all the car and bike parts we receive for refinishing in nickel or chrome, a significant number will be damaged in some way and need to be repaired prior to being refinished and we can carry out that work at Yate. "But the polishing shop is the key area in the restoration of old parts. It is the work here before the main plating stage that largely determines the quality of the finished parts. The polisher is dealing with various metals in various states of decay. They are also dealing with various shapes and need to be aware of stampings and logos so as to retain the originality of items. "In our main processing shop we have the plant and solutions for Zinc, Copper, Dull Nickel, Semi-Bright Nickel, Bright Nickel and Chrome Plating. Our tanks are large enough to cope with items up to eight feet in length. There is an art to know how to 'jig up' a part prior to its journey through the chemical processes. The plater will be aware of holes on studs to be masked and of parts that have to fit together after plating. They will be aware of power and time settings to ensure that the correct amount of plating is put onto parts." Brian Taylor said "So far we have concentrated on assembling all the dragster parts and producing a working exhibit. But it will be fantastic to see the car restored back to its former glory and the chrome plating task is an important stage in completing the job. Now we have the chrome work and the painted chassis, the final assembly can begin. We might need to wear sunglasses to protect our eyes from the glare." Brian adds "The December 2012 issue of ACAG Update is now available at www.drceurope.co.uk/acag/dec2012. This issue consists of thirty two pages and details the work carried out on the dragster during October through until now. We also continue the story of the dragster's restoration looking at how the links with our many supporters across the Pond were first created. There are lots of other photos and news bits and pieces so enjoy the read and have a great Christmas/New Year Holiday. We get back to work on the car on 30th December so if you feel like joining our crew let me know. There's much to do during January and February. Many thanks to all those who have helped us with this project. You'll see and hear the result next year." SPR introduce FWD Series. 15th December: Santa Pod Raceway has unveiled an exciting new Series which will offer enthusiasts looking to graduate up to fully MSA-sanctioned competition a cost-effective first rung into fully accredited club-level motorsport. The venue's latest Front Wheel Drive Drag Series brings the best of the machinery and ethos from the likes of the Euro Sports Compact and Jap Drag Series and brings it all together under one exciting new banner. As the name suggests, the new Series is aimed at FWD cars only, but with a relaxed set of regulations making almost anything eligible, it's bound to attract a whole new generation of drag racers, campaigning all manner of four-and six-cylinder European and Japanese machinery. Run over six-well attended events throughout the year, and with plans to have the Series televised on Motors TV, the FWDDS offers a high-profile, low cost platform to all FWD drag racers, no matter what body or engine they may choose.  As the ultimate test of tuned front wheel drive cars, drivers will go head to head in drag racing competition to find the nation's top FWD racer. Entrants compete for the Championship as well as the individual event wins, trophies and prize money. This is a serious step up from Run What You Brung with all of the spoils of victory which go with it! Commenting on the launch of the Series, Santa Pod's Assistant General Manager Neale Saunders said "The FWD Drag Series is the ideal way to elevate from the fun of RWYB sessions into genuine, competitive motorsport. We know that there are many enthusiasts out there looking to make that leap, and with nineteen drivers already signed up for 2013 and a wide range of both normally aspirated, forced induction and nitrous cars making up the ranks, we should see some really varied and interesting racing. Knowing what an addictive sport this is, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see the next Andy Carter or Barry Sheavills rising out of this fantastic Series." 2013 race dates The Fast Show: 17th March Street Nationals: 11th-12th May JapShow: 30th June Retro Show: 7th July God Of The Pod: 17th August JapShow Finale: 29th September For information on the regulations, requirements and how to enter, please visit www.fwddragSeries.co.uk or call 01234 782828. Swift snippets. 14th December: UK Pro ET racer Antony Wilkins' Morris is to be the subject of a feature in the next issue of Retro Cars magazine. Butch tells us that the magazine will be out on 13th January. "Pushing the Pro ET name to the outside world", he says. Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil UK are introducing a car care range into the UK. "This is a fully comprehensive range of car care products (designed by Paninfarina) which sits beside our OEM oil and lubricant range", says Richard Stevens of MPM. "A lot of interest has been shown with this new range, as it encompasses a fully comprehensive line standing out from the current ranges which are available in what seems like every outlet", says Richard. "We are also looking for additional distributors for the new Arexons and Svitol ranges which are now available, so feel free to call if you would like some further information on the introductory offers that are available on these new lines, which are exclusive to MPM Oil in the UK". For more information (PDF Format) click here or click on the picture above right. Super Pro ET present winners. 13th December: Our good buddy Markus Münch of the der Beschleuniger web site writes that the German Super Pro ET Challenge racers held their annual prizegiving ceremony last Saturday, hosted by Andrea and Rene Kloss and Markus himself: Nine of the thirteen participating teams where there with team-mates and friends. Around forty people from Switzerland and Germany had a nice day. There was a meeting in the afternoon to discuss plans for 2013. Then in the evening we presented the trophies and prize money and had a delicious dinner at Rennhaus Brehl in Blankenburt. Racers were able to collect points from races at Bechyne, the NitrOlympX, all three Drachten races, and the Winter Nationals at Malmö. The best four results counted towards the overall points. There was tight competition all year, unfortunately the last race at Drachten was cancelled so the season ended too early and we could not see the top four drivers fighting for the title in the Netherlands. It was therefore decided at Malmö that Carlo Heym is Challenge winner in 2012, Andre Müller is runner-up, 2011 Champion Norbert Schneider ended up third and Bert Gorselitz fourth. There weere big trophies for the top four as well as prize money of €900, €500, €300 and €100. We like to thank our sponsors for the 2012 season: Schneider Holzverarbeitung Jürgen 'Schuby' Schubert Garage Ehrismann Team 74 Bruckmüller Werbetechnik Peiler Also a big Thank You to our contingency sponsors Stefan Eisenhauer and Ingo Pledtke. We are happy to announce that some old drivers will return to racing in 2013. Welcome back to Robert Gassner, and we will see who else is new in 2013. Next year's calendar will feature two fixed points races - the Bechyne Grand Nationals on 21st-23rd June and the NitrOlympX - and then the teams can decide to collect points at races at Drachten, Malmö and Santa Pod and the best two of these will count. We had a good year and the German Swiss bracket guys learned their thing; you could see how well they did at Drachten, Santa Pod and elswhere. Can't wait for 2013! Anyone interested in the Super Pro ET Challenge, whether racer or sponsor, please contact us via our web site at www.suproet.de. The web site is mostly in German but please use the contact page. Maxolen clean up. 13th December: Maxolen, the Swiss cleaning and care product company, have announced that they will be continuing to support Wild Bunch Champions Team Gridlock through the 2013 season.  "With top marque cars such as Rolls Royce and Aston Martin, and officially approved by Porsche, you know that the product is the top quality and is as environmentally sound as you would expect from the Swiss", says Dex Price of Team Gridlock. "We were very impressed with the product from the start, we used the pearl shampoo in our pressure washer on the trailer, the cleaning was amazing and didn't even need to be leathered down as the drying agent gave a superb finish with no effort. All the other products we used were equally impressive." Check out the range of care products and tools at www.maxolen.co.uk. Lucky with Lucas. 13th December: UK Pro Modified racer Wayne Nicholson has announced that Lucas Oil Products will continue to support the Lucky Devil team in 2013: "We have had genuinely great results with Lucas products", says Wayne. "It would be very easy to say that a product is good when you are using it from a company who support you. But, realistically, we couldn't afford to use anything other than a truly great product. We recently had a team gathering, and one of the questions the crew asked was "Are we still using Lucas next year?". "So I am genuineley pleased with the continued support from Lucas. I have recomended their products to others, again with great results, and it is great to know that we are known by others for using the brand and having good results with it. "Thank you to Les Downey and Lucas Oil for great products and support. It works." Swift snippets. 13th December: Many thanks to UK Super Pro ET racer Andy Raw for sending us a small gallery of shots from the recent season-ending race at Malta's Hal-Far Raceway. You can check out Andy's shots, which are presented in association with Lucas Oil Products, by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Santa Pod Raceway are now taking orders for the 2012 European Championships Review DVD. The DVD is £19.99 and can be ordered at www.santapod.co.uk/shop_detail.php?ShopItemsID=211. Our annual APIRA and SPRC Perpetual Awards vote will be commencing next Monday (17th) with SPRC Most Promising Newcomer and nominations for the SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. There will be two categories per week, usually on Monday and Friday, between next Monday and late January. All Eurodragster.com readers in any country will be welcome to place votes. More Throttle news. 13th December: To coincide with the launch of the new network at Autosport International, MoreThrottle have signed a racing team from Santa Pod Raceway: Colum Chadwick and Rob Blackshaw are the new Midlands-based Team MoreThrottle.com drivers. The guys have been part of the racing scene for a number of years with proven experience in all aspects of racing from construction and engine build to final car preparation. Team MoreThrottle will race in the Street class for piston and rotary engines. The 2013 car is now in build and will be tested at Shakespeare County Raceway in Spring 2013. MoreThrottle will report on the progress of construction and performances throughout the racing season. Colum and Rob will add to the blog to give other enthusiasts the inside track on what it's like to take part in motor sport. More Throttle is the social network for fans and enthusiasts of all types of motor racing providing members with a place to express their own interests, post news items, personal views and reviews and to create events. We are very pleased and excited to add Team MoreThrottle as another dimension to our network. It will overlap every aspect of racing from team planning and preparation to buying and assembling cars and parts. Look out for the blogs, ask questions, get advice and follow the dream. More Throttle is Free to join. We look forward to seeing you at Autosport International, stand 7340. Bowe hits Hal-Far. 11th December: UK Super Street Bike racer Garry Bowe, who contested the end-of-season event at Malta's Hal-Far Raceway, has been in touch with a review of his weekend, with especial thanks to Simon Giordmaina and Jason Camilleri for making it all happen: We had a long road trip, taking in some of European best scenic routes before arriving in Malta. I was lucky to have Brad O'Connor from BTC Motronics and Rick Stubbins from Protec Racing helping me over the weekend, which started with testing on Friday afternoon. We managed a 7.7 in testing, which didn't set the world on fire but it was a good baseline on a track new to us. We then learned that Rodney Williford of the USA was coming over to ride Simon Giordmaina's bike. By Saturday evening Rodney had run 7.53, we had run 7.76, and Thomas Granica was on a 7.6. We only got two qualifiers because of the amount of entries but we were improving with every run. Race day came on Sunday. We were entered in two classes. In Super Street Bike I took out Thomas with a 0.05 light and had a bye in the Open class. In the next round of SSB we had Rodney who had run 7.53, so we put in a 7.5 setting and were going to try to cut a light on him. But with hold-ups and oildowns the sun disappeared and the moisture was really heavy (remember it was end of November) so they decided to call the meeting there. I can honestly say that it was one of the best fortnights I have had which involved racing. The Maltese people have so much enthusiasm and they made us feel so welcome. I will definitely be going back, I think we can definitely improve on where we left off. I just hope that Rodney is back out there when we do as I would love to race the fastest guy in USA Pro Street. Tierp Arena for sale. 11th December: It's true, Sweden's Tierp Arena is for sale, but the track's PR Patrik Larsson quickly adds that we are only talking about a gingerbread replica: The Swedish tradition of making gingerbread houses has reached a new level! The gingerbread arena is being sold by a real estate agent in Tierp, and all the money for the sale is going to TIRK, the local horse riding club. This club as been struggling with sick horses and bad finances for a while, and the money from the sale will go to the club to buy a new horse. Interview: Grady Bryant. 10th December: The name of US racer Grady Bryant is well-known throughout the global drag racing community and will forever remain so courtesy of his classic book Match Race Madness, one of the best ever written about drag racing. Grady started racing in the classic 1960s match-racing era in those Stock classes which eventually evolved into Funny Car, had a brief foray into Pro Stock, and then raced a Series of alcohol floppers through to the 1990s. His career then took a unique path into the literary world. After Match Race Madness Grady went on to write a variety of works including Roswell One, The Last Contact, The Devil's Bible, The Lost Tablets, Cause of Action and Drag Race Fever, his just-published novel based on his 1960s memories of the sport. In the latest of our occasional Series of Features presented in association with Lucas Oil Products Eurodragster.com spoke to Grady about his racing career, his writing, and even his experiences in film-making. You can check out our interview with Grady by clicking here or by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Grady's latest book Drag Race Fever is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers. Cars invited to Blackbushe reunion. 10th December: UK Super Gas racer and Eurodragster.com decal sponsor Paul Foote has instituted a monthly car and chat meet at Blackbushe Airport, scene of the famous Dragfests in the 1960s and of course NDRC races. All are invited and old dragsters are particularly invited to the next meet. "We hold the meet in the Bushe Café and car park and I have music courtesy of Daddyo's rock'n'roll club", says Paul. "It has taken off really well with many people who used to race or watch drag racing at Blackbushe, as well as others, bringing cars etc. "The December meet at lunchtime on Sunday 30th December will feature a few dragsters in the car park to add to the normal atmosphere but I need a couple more, ideally old pre-Blackbushe dragsters." If you would like to take your dragster to the Dragfest Blackbushe Reunion, or if you would like to attend the meet, then you can find out all about it on www.dragfest.co.uk. The site is updated regularly. Swift snippets. 10th December: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with no words. If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. We would like to say a big Happy Birthday for today (Monday) to Maltese Top Fuel Dragster racer Duncan Micallef. Have a great day Duncan. Zeon TV DVDs review. 10th December: This year's crop of drag racing DVDs from Zeon TV again comprises seven varied titles and proprietors David Coleman and Helen Todd, who work unstintingly on capturing, editing and producing drag racing footage in a highly professsional manner, must be congratulated on raising the bar ever higher in each year's collection. The Mopar Euronats is introduced by Dave 'Rough Diamond' Gibbons who provides a fresh perspective with interviews of some of the players neatly edited in with their respective runs. The highly entertaining, and competitive Top Sportsman eliminator is presented by organiser Paul Marston, who explains the rules, including the quick 16 as well as bracket racing, and provides expert colour commentary. A feature of this event is seeing a huge variety of muscle cars in various marques. The Friday night cruise is given its due prominence along Airfield Road with even a touch of sepia, followed by drifting in slow-ish motion and a handling course, similar to the Autotests of yore and surely an event to be repeated in future years. A couple of sections are presaged by some artistic video or film distortion - do not adjust your sets! All-in-all this is a full record of a superb event. The usual features include the wheelie and burnout competitions and the show and shine, but Top Sportsman adds an extra dimension. Hardcore Street is a season review of Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator commentated by Colin Theobald. The DVD starts with a recap of 2011. Workshop visits are a regular feature of Hardcore Street over the years and a visit to Eurodragster.com sponsor Jon Webster's workshop conveys the thought going into the new build of Mark Todd's GTO and Jon's own Mercury Comet. Al Williamson's truck is also displayed. The footage of the racing is comprehensive and includes interviews with most of the racers who descibe the improvements made to the cars and racing incidents, giving the viewer a great insight to the mechanical work and complexity of getting the car to launch and go down the track. Captions and ladders are of the usual excellent quality. This DVD vividly illustrates how this class develops over time and how far the racers push the envelope in both performance and driving ability. The World's Quickest Street Car is about Eurodragster.com Blogger Andy Frost and his Series of Red Victor cars, culminating in the Pro Modified Red Victor 3. The MSA Pro Mod Championship is illustrated in detail alongside the TV documentary of Andy. The documentary starts with the Prestwold Driving Centre in Leicestershire and then switches to Penn Autos. Paul Venners and Colin Theobald supply commentary and insight into the sport and Andy himself describes the development of the car over a number of years and his visit to the US for the World Street Race in 2005. Andy's focus with his new car was to retake the record for street-legal cars. This DVD describes the engineering theories behind quick doorslammers in more detail than any other we have seen and is required viewing for anyone contemplating running a purpose-built door car in drag racing. And, yes, Andy does drive his Pro Mod on the street. There are two DVDs with full accounts of race weekends in this year's crop of Zeon TV productions. First up is the SPRC Summernationals. Qualifying and eliminations action of every class which ran is packed into the one hour fifty four minute long DVD. Each respective class is shown with qualifying and eliminations together meaning you can see all the action for one class easily, and there are also the usual indexing and menus provided. Twenty one classes are covered making for great variety and those who were there or saw Eurodragster.com's coverage will remember this was one of only a few meetings completed this year. In summary this is a video for those that like to see pure racing action. The Open Sports Nationals Plus 2012 DVD also includes qualifying and eliminations action from the Springspeed Nationals and a look at the Supercharged Outlaws for the first time in the Zeon Series of videos. Again, all classes from the two National events are shown with Paul Venners calling the action. Classes are grouped together more than the Summernationals but navigation is straightforward. The racing action is excellent and tightly edited to keep the excitement level high. The Supercharged Outlaws coverage is from the Yanks Weekend event and the runners are interviewed to describe their vehicles which have great variety. And there is even some tractor pulling action from the same event at the conclusion of this exciting disc. Dragstalgia 2012 is an account of the second annual running of this fast-growing and popular event at Santa Pod reflecting on the history of British drag racing. All classes with nostalgic elements are included with marvellous footage of the cacklefest and flame burnouts. The Dragstalgia footage is complemented by action from Supercharged Outlaws at VW Action, Outlaw Anglias at Bug Jam and the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association at the VP Racing Fuels National Finals, which are exclusive to this DVD. The Dragstalgia footage is edited class by class and the variety of classes is impressive. Outlaw Anglia is followed by the Gasser Circus and Supercharged Outlaws. Then we see the display of historic drag cars and the Wild Bunch. The NFAA put in some quick passes and then historic bikes are shown with early UK stock cars. The classes are shown from both days. This is a superb record of a great event for those with an interest in the sport's heritage. Finally, the 24th running of the NSRA Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway is a unique combination of Nostalgia racing and hot rodding. In terms of vehicles, it is one of the largest domestic gatherings of the year and Shakespeare County Raceway is a picturesque backdrop for the amazing collection of machinery on display. The three day meeting starts with a Friday for street cars with mufflers only. The Run What You Brung format is a key reason to the relaxed atmosphere at the even and the footage illustrates this perfectly. The National Sprint Association historic bikes are a particular feature on the track but the long distance shots around the pits are, as ever, atmospheric and if you were running on the strip or displaying your car you are likely to be seen on this wonderful DVD. Single DVDs are £14.95 each with some on a two for £24.95 deal, with £1.50 p+p maximum on each order for any quantity; The World's Quickest Street Car is £11.95. For more details and video clips, or to buy any of these superb productions, visit www.quartermilehigh.com. Web site updates. 10th December: In the latest instalment in his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, street-legal Pro Modified racer Andy Frost reports upon a fruitful visit to PRI. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Team Joker go to Malta. 9th December: Germany's Team Joker had a great week in Malta where Thomas and Peter Granica contested Super Street Bike at the season-ending race at Hal-Far Raceway. Peter, who asked us to say a huge Thank You to Simon Giordmaina and everyone involved in the trip, has been in touch with Thomas' report on the team's week: We arrived on Malta on the Tuesday before the race and what weather! It was nice and warm, not like in Germany where it was cold and raining. Straight to the hotel as the van with the bike was not going to arrive until Thursday. On Thursday we picked up the van from the Port of Valetta and from there straight to Hal-Far Raceway to set up our pit. As we walked the track we were surprised how sticky it was and I couldn't wait to get on the Bike. Friday was test day and we made two runs. The first was 8.1 and the second 8.0 which was OK as we had taken power out from our Santa Pod settings. The plan was to test the track and then turn it up then. The data showed that the first eighth hooked pretty good so we decided to put in the 7.5 setting from the last meeting. The first qualifier was 7.6 and I missed almost every shift point. In the second run we ran another 7.6 and it spun the tyre at the second eighth. When qualifying was over we were qualifiied number two in Super Street Bike behind Rodney Williford, and number one in the Open class. In the first round of Super Street Bike eliminations I had Garry Bowe who is always hard to race as he's very fast. But again I made a mistake as I staged crooked and got out of the groove, so I had big wheelspin and lost with an 8.5 to Garry's 8.0. In the Open class I had a bye and turned it a bit up, but a bit too much as it went skywards in second gear and I had to back it off. Then due to several oildowns we run out of time and the race was called because it was too late. It was great to be there, we met so many great people and the Maltese made us feel so welcome. I will try to go back next year. Thanks to our sponsor Ernst Transport + Logistik GmbH. Swift snippets. 9th December: We would like to say a big Happy Birthday to Track Announcer and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Christer Abrahamson. Have a great day Christer. Happy Birthday also to Top Fuel Dragster owner and tuner and Eurodragster.com photo kit sponsor Karsten Andersen. Hope you have a great day Karsten. Update on Lorna's RMD. 9th December: Following the initial news item back on 15th May, Lizz McCarthy has been in touch with an update on fund-raising for her wonderful friend Lorna Barter, former Secretary Of the National Association of SuperTwins, Webmaster extraodinaire, MS Fundraiser, profile marketer and generally good person who does so much for others and rarely asks for an awful lot in return. Lorna is now really battling with Multiple Sclerosis which she has had for many years. Back in the spring of 2012 a disparate group of friends came together for a really unique project. Kerryanne Frazier had seen news of a brand new piece of equipment, the RMD, being developed for people with disabilities and wondered if it could help Lorna whose condition is deteriotating significantly. So much has happened in the months since then! Here are a few highlights: Lorna checks the info and confirms that the RMD would do exactly what she needs, and help to halt/repair the deterioration in her condition. A Facebook group is created to bring together all the people who might help. The word goes out - friends and friends-of-friends and the drag racing family are contacted. Fund-raising starts. A proper bank account, with trustees, is set up. All sorts of fundraising events are put on in various places through the summer, including great efforts at both Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceway despite what the weather threw at us! We would like to thank both tracks for allowing us to fund-raise and to hold the auctions, and massive thanks to our auctioneers Nigel of Nitro FM and Uncle Steve Wood of Motorshack fame. The fundraising is ongoing, and we need your donations no matter how small. Research continues with Tek, the manufacturers who are based in Istanbul. Huge help arrives through another drag racing contact, Panagiotis Zarifopolous, who is based in the Mediterranean and has access to the language skills! The current situation is that it is unlikely that Tek will be developing retail networks in the UK in the forseeable future, there is no NHS funding so the market will be too small to be viable. However Pana has negotiated and they are happy to supply an RMD to him, to be collected from Istanbul. The price will be around £10,000 plus whatever it costs to get it to Lorna in Worcestershire! The fund hasn't reached that yet, but Lorna is now deteriorating through lack of basic movement. She is prepared to take out loans or whatever is necessary to get hold of her RMD. She is desperate to get started on the process of stretching and moving her locked/wasted limbs and she is determined to be back racing with us next season. How can you help? There are two ways in which you could help us to get this job done: 1. Make a donation: anything you can add will be a help at this stage. Info from Kerryanne [email protected], Lorna herself at [email protected], or myself at [email protected]. 2. Shipping: if you can offer or arrange or know of anyone who would be able to ship the RMD from Istanbul to Worcestershire then please let us know. That would solve a big problem for us. An E shot is being sent out to anyone we think may be able to help, or may know of someone who can. Working on the principle that if you don't ask then the answer is no! By the same token, if you know of anyone who may be able to help with shipping, despatch or funding, please get in touch. We want to say Thank You to everyone who has helped and been involved in all sorts of ways this year. Have a happy festive time, hope to see you at the track next season... and hope that Lorna will be standing with us! 2012 Christmas Gift Mart. 8th December: If you are looking for a Christmas gift for the drag racer or drag racing fan in your life, or indeed if you fancy treating yourself, then Eurodragster.com's sponsors and contributors have several ideas for you. In the interests of fairness we are presenting these suggestions in the order in which we received them. Zeon TV have produced seven DVDs covering just about every class and aspect of the sport. The excellent DVDs cover Dragstalgia, the NSRA Hot Rod Drags, Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator, the SPRC Summernationals, the Open Sport Nationals, the Mopar Euronationals including Top Sportsman, and a documentary about Eurodragster.com Blogger Andy Frost's street-legal Pro Mod. For more details or to order visit www.quartermilehigh.com. We will be posting a review of this year's DVDs very shortly. Santa Pod Raceway are offering Santa's Christmas Savers with massive weekly discounts on SPR merchandise. The discounted items can be found on Santa Pod Raceway's Facebook page. Chris Eyre has a bunch of great stuff for sale on his web site, ranging from calendars, mugs, canvas prints, t-shirts and books. "Between now and 13th December you can save £7 on my book", says Chris. "Simply follow the link and use the offer code SAVE7 at checkout. My calendar has returned to a fantastic price of £8 including delivery and features 52 photos and many race dates already filled in. The mugs, prints and t-shirts can have any photo from my galleries printed on, just let me know the album name and photo number and I will E-Mail you a mock up for approval. Head on over to www.eurodragpics.com/for-sale to check out the latest items and prices. I do have international shipping, orders outside the UK are subject to a higher delivery charge and slightly longer delivery time, get those orders in now!" Eurodragster.com sponsor Temair Motor Sport are offering a great Christmas gift pack for crew and mechanics, featuring gloves which have the dexterity to handle small parts, X-treme tape (any colour) to help in an emergency, wipes to keep your tools and toolbox clean, ISC Racers Tape Neon tape (any colour) to mask off or repair panels and ISC Racers Checker Tape for the pit. All essential items to help in the heat of competition. Full product descriptions on the Temair Motor Sport web site at www.temairmotorsport.com. Free delivery to UK, Ireland and Central Europe is available on this item which costs £31 or €38. Mention the colour of tape and size of glove in your order. The Allard Chrysler Action Group has a range of gifts available via the Merchandise tab at www.allardchrysler.org. All profits go towards restoring Europe's first dragster, Sydney Allard's 1961 Allard Chrysler. The products include shirts, prints, music and several unique nostalgia items so why not take a look. Drag racing artist Paul Whitehouse has a selection of A3 and A4 size prints of his paintings available. All are artist signed, mounted and ready for framing. Prices start from as little as £15.00 including P+P. The majority of prints are nostalgia-biased depicting such drag racing legends as Dennis Priddle, Allan Herridge, John Hobbs, Brian Johnson, Al O'Connor etc. Paul is also happy to accept original drag racing painting commissions, E-Mail [email protected] or call 07813 579876 to discuss your requirements. You can find Paul's web site at www.paulwhitehouseart.co.uk. Eurodragster.com Bloggers Bennett Racing are offering covers or skins for phones and laptops. "The skins are available for various devices, not just iPhones", says Luke Bennett. "Available are regular hard cases which attach to back of the device or skins which stick to the front and back of most devices, even SKY+ boxes. Every image we use is taken by us so no danger of any copyright grief!  Example prices are £24 for an iPhone4 hard case or £12 for the skin. Phone skins and hard cases are available for iPhone / BlackBerry / HTC / Samsung / LG Phone / Nokia Phone / Sony Ericsson / Motorola; laptop skins and hard cases are available for Apple / Dell / Sony / Toshiba / HP / Acer; also iPod / iPad / Touch / Kindle / Nintendo / Sony / Microsoft. For more details E-Mail Bennett Racing at [email protected]. Drift Innovation, who sponsor Wild Bunch Series Champions Team Gridlock, have débuted the Drift HD Ghost,the first-ever action camera equipped with two-way LED remote and continuous loop video, solving the age-old question: "Am I on?”. The Drift HD Ghost packs industry-leading features including wearable on/off remote control with LEDs displaying mode in use, continuous loop video recording, built-in Wi-Fi and an integrated two-inch Gorilla Glass LCD screen for instant playback and sharing. For more information check out www.driftinnovation.com. If you enjoy the bike drags, or know someone who does, then Keith Lee's book Drag Bike Racing in Britain - From the mid 60s to the mid 80s charting the characters and machines which shaped the first twenty years of the sport in Britain is a must have Christmas stocking filler. A few of those same bikes from the early days were to be seen and heard once more at Santa Pod, when they appeared at Dragstalgia in July. Shakespeare County Raceway also echoed to the sound of Triumph, Weslake and JAP power at two of the NSRA events, to much appreciation by the car-oriented crowds on their guest appearances. To learn more about these old school machines, the book is a must. It is full of information, and is packed with great pictures captured at venues around Britain. To get your copy, check out book sellers, go online, or order from publisher Veloce at www.veloce.co.uk. Steve Weston is offering Shakey Aid 2013 Gasser, Wild Bunch, Supercharged Outlaws and Outlaw Anglia calendars. The calendars are A3 and feature thirteen full-colour pages. Each calendar is £6.79 plus P+P which includes a £1 donation to Shakespeare County Raceway. Order by next Wednesday (12th) for printing on Thursday. To preview check out Steve's Flick site or to order visit steveweston.photium.com. The Mad Welshman says that if you are after a cheap, high quality, personalised gift for someone this Christmas then look no further. "All of the pictures on my Flickr site are available as prints, canvasses, calendars, posters, keyrings, mugs, placemats, coasters, cushions, stationery, fridge magnets... pretty much anything you can think of, really", says Mad. "Take a look on my Flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/the_madwelshman and if you're interested then either through Flickr, Facebook or E-Mail me at [email protected]." Editor's note: Having put out several reminders this week we have now closed the 2012 Christmas Gift Mart. Late arrivals will not be posted. Swift snippets. 8th December: Swedish Fuel FC racer Leif Helander is currently Down Under as a hired gun driving the Bailey Brothers' second Fuel FC in a four-car shootout at Adelaide International Raceway. Leif is enjoying the services of Steve Read's Top Fuel Dragster crew. You can find out more on Leif's Facebook page. We said goodbye to Pro ET crew member Big John Byrne on Thursday at possibly the most irreverent funeral service ever held. The minister, who played a blinder, commenced by imposing a £20 fine on anyone with a long face and then delivered to the packed chapel a fine tribute to John in a manner approaching stand-up, with memorable comments including "John couldn't get much of a word in at home with four sisters. Even their dog was a bitch". As can be seen above right, the funeral may also have ended with a surprise for someone when they got back to the car park. We'll never forget you John. Top Fuel Bike tuner Phil Baimbridge has dropped us an essay with his thoughts and suggestions for developing TFB. You can check out Phil's thoughts by clicking here; all responses to Phil please. Web site updates. 8th December: The final 2012 issue of the Speedgroup Newsletter is now on-line and includes features on a number of racers, the latest news of what Speedgroup are up to, race calendars and the latest Eurodragster.com Editor's Diary. Check it out at club.speedgroup.eu. Altered racers dodging trees. 6th December: Another year passes. A damp one at that, so it seemed appropriate that the UK's Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association Presentation Night was held on an evening plagued by driving rain and in a beautiful Warwickshire village scarcely accessible due to road closures caused by flooding and assorted fallen forestry blocking the passage of would-be revellers. Altered racers, never known to choose the easy path at the best of times, were barely daunted by the trials of the weather and gathered for an evening of fun and relaxation to celebrate another successful, if challenging year. With Personal Bests from each of the drivers during the year, and the welcome return of Freddy's Revenge to the ranks, the class had successes all round. Add these to other individual achievements including: the record, yet to be verified, for the highest altered body in Europe from Team Motor Psycho and the record, yet to be verified, for the UK's first 200 mph female Fuel Altered pilot in Terri-Anne White, spirits were running high (and freely). Food was excellent as ever and there was a welcome return to the mike, after a year off, of the NFAA's favourite raconteur Mr Lawrie Gatehouse who warmed the crowd up nicely. Trophies and prize money were awarded to the top three Championship finishers who could have rivalled Gwyneth Paltrow's Academy Acceptance with their emotional and heartfelt thanks. Next came what was to some, though not to many, the highlight of the evening. Anything that Chris Evans can do the NFAA consider they can do better, and in order to prove it there was the "Auction of T-Shirts which money can't buy". Incredibly generously donated by the NFAA's great friend, Richard Banks, was an assortment of American Fuel Altered t-shirts signed by their respective drivers. To say that bidding was hot would be something of an understatement. Anyone who has attended, or seen, an American tobacco auction will have some appreciation of the frenzy an auction of this type can generate. Bidding was furious and, with all proceeds going into the coffers of the NFAA, it is likely that the 2013 prize fund will be worth fighting for. Many thanks to Richard for his donation. With new cars promised for 2013, the return of some not seen for some time as well as the regular stalwarts, next year promises to be a good one. Let's hope the weather is a little kinder... Swift snippets. 6th December: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Father Christmas has come early... shiny!". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. Belinda Bull has been in touch to ask us to wish a big Happy Birthday for today (Thursday) to her husband, engine builder and Eurodragster.com sponsor Jeff Bull. Our pleasure Belinda, have a great day Jeff. Happy Birthday also to UK Super Pro ET racer Scott Hauser, have a good day Scott. Steve Dudley tells us that this Sunday's slot drags meeting at the Sturdee Club in Hoo has had to be postponed. Steve will let us know the next date as soon as possible. This is the last call for this year's Christmas Gift Mart news item which will be posted here on Eurodragster.com News on Saturday (8th). If you are offering products or services which would make good Christmas presents for Eurodragster.com readers be they racers or fans then please send a paragraph with details and, if you like, a single picture to [email protected]. Free 100E at Retro Show. 6th December: Now in its seventh year, Santa Pod Raceway's increasingly popular Retro Show probably didn't need a hook to make the thousands of enthusiasts that made it previously visit once again, but it hasn't stopped the Pod coming up with the best giveaway yet for one lucky showgoer! An extremely tidy 1959 Ford Anglia, restored, fuelled, and ready to take home. Make a date in your diary now for Sunday 7th July 2013, because that driver could be you! After last year's giveaway of a mint Austin Metro proved so popular, the team has gone all-out this year and sourced a very tidy 100E, in all of its MOT and tax-exempt glory, to giveaway at the end of the show to a random ticket holder. Although the car is already rather nice, it's going to be given a few extra little tweaks and restoration touches over the winter and the weekend of the show to make it a real bobby-dazzler. The competition will be free to enter for all ticket holders, and simply involves filling in a prize form - so make sure you get involved on the day! Proving that the very best classic and retro vehicles really do grow old disgracefully, the Retro Show is one classic event with a difference. Rather than just having rows upon rows of lovingly-cherished classics - here, owners and show-goers get to see them running and racing in anger! This is one show where tuning and modifying is admired alongside originality. If you're the kind of enthusiast who despairs at the current crop of Euroboxes or if you simply prefer machines from a gentler age when carbs ruled the roost and a radio was considered a heady option, then you'll love this show. Classics from both sides of the Atlantic are most welcome, as are motorbikes, scooters and even the current crop of neo-retro incarnations like the new Mini, Beetle and Fiat 500. This year also brings a new retro Truck and Tractor display into the proceedings, so if you're more Massey than Maserati, or you'd rather ogle a ERF than an ERA, then this is the place for you. With RWYB running all day on the strip, owners will get the chance to flex their automotive muscles in complete safety and who knows maybe settle the odd score or two at the same time. There's a diverse range of classes to allow everybody to shine somewhere! For those who prefer to watch, the Pros will be running demo passes too, so bring your earplugs! You may also want to leave them in for FireForce, the 10,000bhp jet-powered Funny Car, which will shock and amaze in equal measure, as it hits 270 mph in a shade over six seconds! Adding to the carnage will be Podzilla, 1500 BHP of car-crushing monster truck madness! The new FWD Drag Series will be battling it out on the strip, the retro drifters will be proving that sideways had always been a way of life and the mobile dyno will allow you to see whether your old stager has got what it takes to cut it against its peers. If the strip hasn't sated your racing urges, why not try the Autotest, where you can drive your own car against the clock on a tight handling course - or wander over to enjoy the packed Autoglym Show and Shine. With the main show day costing just £12 in advance, there's so much to do and see and so many ways to enjoy your car's performance – or lack of. The Retro Show is a classic-calendar essential! See you there! For full details on the event and competition please visit www.retroshow.co.uk or call 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828). Bartlett on FIM Europe. 5th December: Keith Bartlett, Commercial Rights Holder and Promoter for the FIM Europe Drag Racing Championships and Santa Pod Raceway CEO, has been in touch with an update on the European drag bike Championships for 2013 and beyond: After various meetings that have taken place over the past two months and in which we have participated, we are delighted to announce that the UEM has changed its name to 'FIM Europe'. This is something that we have been keen to see happen for some time now and it will add more credibility to the Championship having its organising body seen as part of the FIM, which it is. As the commercial rights holder for the FIM Europe Drag Racing Championship I have been campaigning for some time to have a separate Drag Racing Commission as opposed to remaining a sub commission of the Road Racing Commission (RRC) and after several years of campaigning and presentations that we made at a recent RRC meeting in Prague that has now been agreed and is going to be set up in 2013. We will now have a Drag Racing Commission with drag racing people sitting on that Commission. I would also like to add that I am delighted that that we, along with other individuals, were successful in campaigning for the re-appointment of Ap Ruitenbeek as Chairman of the Road Racing Commission. That in my opinion is a very positive appointment and we wish Ap every success in his position. The 2013 season will see a number of changes in addition to those mentioned above. One of the first things is that we (Trakbak Racing, the FIM European Championship promoter) decided to reduce the number of rounds in 2013 to four rounds. This decision was taken to give the riders and bike teams less travel and costs in 2013 and, with the impact of the last few years of recession in so many European countries, to hopefully enable them to campaign all rounds. In 2012, we allowed the riders to drop one round, but I have personally never been in favour of this approach to reducing costs, as it tends to reduce the levels of entries at some of the rounds. For next season we are planning to run the FIM European Drag Bike Championship as follows: Round 1 - Tierp Arena (Sweden), 13th-16th June Round 2 - Alastaro (Finland), 4th-7th July Round 3 - Hockenheimring (Germany), 9th-11th August Round 4 - Santa Pod Raceway (UK), 5th-8th September In addition Santa Pod Raceway will be running an FIM European Invitational Shoot-Out on 24th-27th May. This will be campaigned by the three FIM classes: Top Fuel Bike, Pro Stock Bike and Supertwin Bike. There will be eight-bike fields in all three classes, with an attractive prize fund for the top three bikes in each class and travel monies for all riders entered. More details to follow on this event in early in January 2013. Following on from its successful first season in 2012 Trakbak Racing shall also be promoting the FIM Europe European Cup for Super Street Bike. This will again comprise four rounds: Round 1 - Santa Pod Raceway (UK), 24th-27th May Round 2 - Hockenheimring (Germany), 9th-11th August Round 3 - Kunmadaras Drag Arena (Hungary), 17th-19th August Round 4 - Santa Pod Raceway (UK), 5th-8th September Also for 2013 Trabak Racing has set up a Riders' Representative Committee to represent each class that runs in the FIM European Drag Bike Championship and which will meet with TBR on a regular basis and discuss all issues regarding the running of the FIM European Drag Bike Championship. The three representatives are Ian King (top Fuel Bike), Roger Lyrén (Pro Stock Bike) and Job Heezen (Supertwin Bike).   Another key area that Trakbak Racing is looking at for 2013 is to produce different and far more appealing TV show(s) on the FIM European Drag Bike Championships in 2013. These shows will hold far more appeal to the TV broadcasters and the corporate sponsors alike, let alone the public, who watch the shows at home on their TV screens or computers. More on these proposed shows in the New Year. Trakbak Racing is intending to re-introduce a five-round FIM European Drag Bike Championship in 2014, followed by a six-round Championship in 2015. The new rounds for 2014 and 2015 would involve countries between Hungary, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Ideally TBR and I would like to see six rounds in six separate countries by 2015. Decals for Big John. 4th December: UK Pro ET racer Amanda Cox tells us that courtesy of Super Gas racer Paul Foote of Eurodragster.com sponsor Paul Foote Ink, a commemorative decal to honour the late John Byrne has been designed and will be available from Thursday: Thanks to Paul for his very generous offer in memory of John who touched so many of our lives. The stickers will be available at the gathering after John's funeral this Thursday, with a donation box for those who wish to make a small but non-obligatory contribution. All proceeds will go to the Royal Marsden Appeal to help provide the hospital with two MRI Scanning machines for future patients. Larger or private donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/Sue-Byrne1. If you would like a commemorative sticker but will not be able to attend John's funeral then please E-Mail me at [email protected]. Pro Comp returns. 4th December: Readers with long memories will remember the very popular Pro Comp class, from which Top Methanol Dragster and Top Methanol Funny Car emerged. Marcus Wålm writes from Sweden to tell us of a move to bring back Pro Comp in a similar guise to the original: Pro Comp is running, and has run, around the world since the 1970s in many different variations and combinations of vehicles and regulations. The class usually features dragsters, altereds and Funny Cars with supercharged engines. For a long time there has been a need for a common class for these cars. In autumn 2012, several riders and organisers expressed a need for a class of fast cars to complement to the many doorslammer classes. This class, Pro Comp, will bring together cars able to record times of 7.5 seconds over the quarter mile. The class will be entertaining for the audience, easy to follow, and will provide added value for organisers. The Pro Comp Association web site at www.pro-comp.se presents the class, its drivers and events, but is but also a place for drivers to find everything they need to compete in Pro Comp. Swift snippets. 2nd December: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Snap - but our tyres are better!". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. Many thanks to Malta Drag Racing Association Secretary Jason Camilleri for sending us the final results from this year's final race at Hal-Far Raceway. You can check out the MDRA's results by clicking here. Good luck and stay safe to Swedish Pro Modified racer Adam Flamholc who is contesting today's eliminations at the Snowbird Nationals at Bradententon in Florida. After successfully testing his new Top Methanol FC running as quickly as 5.7 seconds, Adam ended yesterday qualified third in Pro Modified with a 3.957/190.11 over the eighth. You can stay in touch with Adam's progress on the Flamholc / MMR Racing Facebook page. We will be running our traditional Christmas Gift Mart news item next weekend. If you are offering products or services which would make good Christmas presents for Eurodragster.com readers be they racers or fans then please send a paragraph with details and, if you like, a single picture to [email protected]. Earlier news