European Drag Racing News

We are the Fuel Crew.

28th February: German Drag Racing has a new team, the Fuel Crew, writes our good buddy Markus Münch of der Beschleuniger:

The Fuel Crew have nothing to do with Nitro racing: the opposite is the case. These five guys are from the Modified car scene, with a special passion for European cars and rotary engines which are also part of the game. These guys were fed up with all the party people and bad tracks at the meets with quarter-mile contests such as their former homes of VW or Opel meets. That was not enough.

Building cars according to the same rules for everybody was as difficult to achieve as finding proper tracks to drive their ten-second cars without drunken party people. They wanted to get more serious and in 2010 they started to realise their idea. They founded the Fuel Crew, an official German Club, and found a proper track in the East German Görlitz area at Rothenburg, directly by the Polish border. They also started to realise that the Sport Compact class to be included in the official German drag racing rule book. The Sanctioning Body DMSB did so and that was the next milestone at the end of 2010. Previously, their cars did not really fit into the existing rule book but these 4WD, Turbo Methanol, Front Wheel Drive cars now have their ownheads-up class.

The next step is that these guys attended seminars to become official Race Directors, scrutineers, timekeepers, commisioners in able to run their events by themselves according to the rules of the DMSB. They have their own timing equipment which they bought from the Kath Brothers, a former Pro Mod team from Berlin who have been involved in race organisation.

The main aim is to let people drive their cars whether they have street cars, or modified street cars, or even Sports Compacts. Partying is limited to some evening drinks, no party tents and no party people. Racing, that's the name of the game.

We are very excited about this project. Hopefully will be blessed with good weather at their three one-day events in 2011, on 16th April, 21st May and 1st October. We will see how the Sports Compact scene will develop in Germany, stay tuned. You can find the Fuel Crew web site at www.fuel-crew.de.

You can find a German-language version of this news item at www.derbeschleuniger.de.

NHRA Winternationals day 4.

28th February: The NHRA Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals at Pomona managed to get all the Pro categories run to crown the event winners but the Sportsman will have to wait another cold night in the pits to run off all their eliminations today, writes Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe:

This was the first event in the NHRA Full Throttle series and it was plagued with atrocious weather, with Friday suffering rain and hardly a wheel turned. Saturday was expected to be similar but the sun shone and almost two full qualifying rounds were completed in the Pros. The forecast snow was replaced with a short sharp hail storm which did coat the pits in white early on Saturday and, despite the sun, teams had to contend with extremely cold conditions.

Sunday's eliminations produced winners with Morgan Lucas in the Geico Powersports/Lucas Oil machine taking the Top Fuel trophy with a fiery top end charge of 3.83/316 over a pedalling Shawn Langdon. Funny Car saw Robert Hight return the Automobile Club of Southern California Mustang to the winners' circle with a 4.05/312 win over a quicker Matt Hagan at 4.02/310. The Pro Stock win went to Jason Line in the Summit Racing '09 GXP with a 6.52/211 to see off Greg Stanfield's 6.59/210.

Roger promises a race summary and photo gallery later in the week.

Swift snippets.
28th February: Patrik Larsson writes that Sweden's Tierp Arena is getting off the ground as the support structure for the buildings is now starting to rise (below left). You can find out more at www.tierparena.com.

Lee Child, the official UK distributor for VP Racing Fuels, has appointed Chipping Norton-based Modurstang as a network dealer for VP Racing Fuels. "Owner Mike Lacey has a excellent workshop that can cater for all types work on factory and performance cars", says Lee. "The location of Modurstang has followed the route of top motorsport teams with Modurstang's neighbour being Renault F1. With direct access from the M40 and the M5, it couldn't be any better to use the services of Modurstang where VP Racing Fuels are now in stock. Contact Mike Lacey on 01608 678818 or visit www.modurstang.co.uk. For more information on UK dealers contact [email protected].

Good luck to FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher who is headed for Yas Marina for this week's match race with Rod Fuller at the Yas Drag Festival. Urs has promised to let us know how he fares if he can, as has outgoing Eurodragster.com sponsor Martin Hill who will be giving the Yas Marina fans their first experience of Jet Funny Cars.

A day late for which apologies but a very Happy Birthday for yesterday (Sunday) to NitrOlympX Race Director Jerry Lackey. Hope you had a great day Jerry.

Apologies for the late posting of today's news update. As a long-term computer project went live in your News Editor's day job today he was already doing six things at once. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow with the update planned for lunchtime.

Web site updates.
28th February: Thanks to Finland's Asko Määttä for alerting us to a video of the first fire-up of the Baldie's Voodoo Racing Supertwin. Play it loud at www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Km3fuIeyA4.

As his book British Drag Racing: The Early Years approaches publication, author Nick Pettitt has updated his Blog with his thoughts on seeing the book in print. You can check out Nick's Author's Blog on the excellent Acceleration Archive at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk.

Not playing with the Toy.
27th February: UK Super Gas racers Steve Dunn and Jon Evans have announced that Team Tokyo Toy will be sitting out the 2011 Championship season for personal reasons.

"We have decided that after thirty one seasons for Steve and twenty six for Jon, we would like to make some time for our families and partners", they say. "Our plans at the moment are to take our 67 Camaro to the Mopar Nationals and the Hot Rod Drags to blow the cobwebs out of it and to have some fun without the throttle stop. We will be attending some of the Championship rounds as spectators and hope to catch up with our many racing pals and, of course, follow the excellent coverage on Eurodragster.com (Thanks! - Ed).

"We would like to wish all fellow racers and especially our Super Gas pals a winning and safe season."

FWDs go Outlaw.

27th February: Richard Batty writes that the first ever UK Front Wheel Drive Outlaw Shootout takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 21st August:

We already have cars confirmed from the UK, Ireland, Malta, Germany and Holland. The first prize will be in excess of £1500, but it's not all about the winner: there are plenty of other prizes which anyone can win such as Quickest Sixty Foot, Quickest Reaction Time etc. The overall prize fund is currently in excess of £3000, and that will grow as more cars enter and more sponsors come on board.

If anyone has a fast FWD car and wishes to compete please check out the web site at www.outlawshootout.co.uk. We are also looking for additional sponsors for this event, again any companies interested in sponsoring us please check out the web site.

A big thank you to our current sponsors, without thom this event wouldn't be possible: The Drive Shaft Shop, TDi North, Quaife, Wizards of NOS, EFI Parts, CPL Racing, S1 Chiropractic, TTS Performance, Garage 786, Renault Turbo Owners' Club, Aford Awards, Concept Graphix and Lou Connor.

Swift snippets.

27th February: UK Comp Bike racer Sandra Chaplain and her Buff Comp Bike are seen here with Les Downey, MD of sponsor Lucas Oil, at at the recent Motorcycle Trade Expo at the NEC in Birmingham. "There was a considerable amount of interest shown by visitors to the stand many of whom, despite being associated with the motorcycle trade, had little awareness of drag racing", says Roland Chaplain. "Sandra gave out calendars of events at Sand Pod and Shakespeare County Raceways, so hopefully we will see a few new faces at the tracks."

Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe writes from Pomona that qualifying conditions were far from ideal at yesterday's third day of the Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals."It was bitterly cold at 48 F and they stopped the third Pro Stock qualifier at 17:00 as the track temperature went down to 60 F", says Roger. "They should operate in Europe!"

Here come the Super Mods.
27th February: Easter is approaching very fast and the UK's Super Modified racers are looking forward to a fantastic 2011, writes Pete Thompson:

We potentially have fourteen teams racing this year. We have some new cars, racers who have returned after time out, and not forgetting the racers who have provided us with so much entertainment over the years.

We have developed a web site which will go live soon. It will include lots of information about the teams, specification and pictures - even photographs of drivers without crash helmets. It will also have technical information, Super Mod rules and regulations, and all the class results. I would like to ask the Super Mod racers to send the final information which was previously requested to [email protected] if you have not yet done so.

This is a very exciting heads-up class with plenty of seven-second doorslammers. If anyone is interested in joining this friendly class either to race, to help or to follow then please contact me on the above address as we would like to hear from you.

Web site updates.

27th February: Our good buddy and occasional stand-in photographer Julian Hunt has updated his web site with pictures from last season's Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway. "I had a real problem with these - a 'Way too many pictures' problem", says Julian. "I really tried to keep the numbers down but it didn't really work. From my final selection I only managed to delete 158 which leaves 431 up on the site. I tried a couple of new ideas and was really pleased with some of the shots I got - some of course have already been seen on Eurodragster.com". You can check out Julian's excellent Extreme Performance Bike Weekend shots at www.julianhunt.net.

NHRA Winternationals Day 1.
25th February: Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe has reported in from the Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals in Pomona, California where the season opener of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series opened in cool climes with two surprise top qualifiers in the Pro categories after day 1:

Erica Enders made it back into a full-time seat in the Cagnazzi Racing '10 Chevy Pro Stock, a 6.553/211.69 raised many eyebrows within the class. Also back in a Funny Car seat was Johnny Gray who ran an off-the-trailer 4.079/306.33 in the Service Central/Big O Tires Dodge Charger ahead of Cruz Pedregon and John Force on 4.088 and 4.093 respectively. It was the Don Schumacher Racing team which probably created the most upsets when their three Top Fuel team cars ran identical ETs of 3.804 to place them one, two and three led by Antron Brown in the Matco Tools/US ARMY car followed by Spencer Massey newly back in a TF seat in the FRAM/Prestone machine then came team principal Tony Schumacher in the US Army Fueller with speeds in the 319 mph zone and 'The Sarge' slowest at 316 mph.

This event is the historic sixtieth anniverary of the NHRA and the fifty-first annual Winternationals that is unfortunately at present suffering the wet stuff with forecasts which could include snow on Saturday. And there was me thinking it would be warmer in California!

Confirmed: No FIA or UEM at Mantorp.
24th February: Further to our Swift Snippet of 8th February, Lars Pettersson of the FIA Drag Racing Commission has been in touch to confirm that the Swedish Automobile Sport Federation have informed the FIA that the Veidec Festival, which takes place at Sweden's Mantorp Park on 28th-31st July, has been withdrawn from the 2011 FIA European Drag Racing Championships.

The calendar for the 2011 FIA European Drag Racing Championships is now as follows:

27th-30th May: FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, England
9th-12th June: Sweden International, Tierp Motorpark, Sweden
30th June-3rd July: FHRA Nitro Nationals, Alastaro, Finland (TF 1000 feet)
12th-14th August: NitrOlympX, Hockenheim, Germany
8th-11th September: FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, England

Keith Bartlett, the Commercial Rights holder and Promoter of the UEM Championship, and Peder Eneroth of SVEMO have both kindly been in touch with Eurodragster.com to confirm that the UEM round scheduled for the Veidec Festival has also been cancelled. The calendar for the 2011 UEM European Drag Bike Championships is now as follows:

28th April-1st May: Kunmadaras, Hungary
27th-30th May: FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, England
9th-12th June: Sweden International, Tierp Motorpark, Sweden
30th June-3rd July: FHRA Nitro Nationals, Alastaro, Finland
5th-7th August: Sunoco Drag Challenge, Gardermoen, Norway
12th-14th August: NitrOlympX, Hockenheim, Germany
8th-11th September: FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, England

UK event entry update.
24th February: The official entry forms for the Auto Trader Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway on 22nd-25th April, Big Bang at Santa Pod on 6th-8th May, and the PTM Show at Santa Pod on 15th May are now available on the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. SPRC Club Secretary Paula Marshall tells us that the remaining forms will follow shortly. If you have any queries then please contact Paula at [email protected].

Further to yesterday's Swift Snippet, entry forms for all events at Shakespeare County Raceway this season will be available on SCR's web site very shortly along with Supplementary Regulations and Final Instructions. Hard copies of the Supplementary Regulations and Final Instructions will also be sent to competitors with their tickets and racers are requested to read the hard copies in case of changes. Racers are also requested to fill in their pit space requirement on the entry forms otherwise they will be placed where there is room for them. If you have any queries then please contact Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected].

Ready to clock up the miles.
24th February: German Super Street Bike racer Thomas Granica and brother and tuner Peter say that Team Joker Racing will not be backing down in 2011. Courtesy of our good buddy Markus Münch of der Beschleuniger the popular SSB team outlined their plans for 2011:

Last year not everything turned out right. We had to fight with the set-up of the bike, had two major engine blow-ups and lots of little things which didn't go in the right direction. But by the end of the season we had achieved our main goal, which was to run in the 7.6s. That satisfied us after all the hard work.

For 2011 we have bought a new frame, swing arm and some other stuff which should help to fix the chasis problems. That also means that we will start from zero again because we have no data at all with the new stuff. But we are doing this because we have to the strong bikes, especially those from England. We have to close a gap of around three or four tenths of a second to the top teams, and we are willing to do it.

Our plan is to run at every event at Santa Pod, Kunmadaras in May, the NitrOlympX and eventually we will drive to Tierp if SSB is run there. We were very happy to read that the European Finals will also have an interesting SSB field. It's great to run before a big crowd at the FIA/UEM Events before a big crowd. This means that we have ten or eleven races in 2011, which is a very good schedule for a German-based team. That means many miles on European roads, but it is absolutely worth the travel especially to Santa Pod.

We would like to thank our sponsors Ernst Handel and Air Liquid, who help us to follow our dream to go racing. Extra thanks go to our engine builder Klaus Blatt.

We wish everyone a fast and safe season. See you all at the track.

You can find a German-language version of this news item on der Beschleuniger by clicking here.

A lie, in a good cause.

24th February: After selling his Street Eliminator and Pro ET Escort last year, the UK's Trevor Kitney swore that he wasn't going drag racing any more.

He lied.

"I've just bought a '91 Fox-bodied Mustang which I plan on running in a heads-up class", Trevor told Eurodragster.com. "The motor is 302, forged pistons, ported and flowed GT40 heads, Big Roller cam, Roller rockers, 3" pipes. It's currently an auto, but there's a Tremec TKO 'box sat in a crate waiting for the off. On order are a tubular front crossmember, coil-overs, cowl hood and plenty other shiny parts!

"Hopefully it will run elevens without a power adder. We'll be shaking down the motor at the Fast Show. It will still be an auto, and without any of the lightweight or trick suspension parts, but it'll give us an idea."

Thanks, everyone!
24th February: Jim Kelly of Eurodragster.com sponsor VP Racing Fuels was very happy with the response from UK drag racing teams at last month's Autosport show. There was also a big increase in sales of VP Racing Fuels amongst drag racers in the UK in 2010. To mark this, VP Racing Fuels are having a Racers' Appreciation Sale on their C12 for a limited time only.

"This appreciation sale is for racers and tuners who race at Santa Pod Raceway, Shakespeare County Raceway, York Raceway, North Weald Airfield, Straightliners events, Dakota Drag Strip, Crail Raceway, Bishops Court and Thorney Island" says official distributor Lee Child of Eurodragster.com sponsor LA Racing Parts. "Don't forget that all VP Racing Fuels are in stock in the UK and can be collected at the track, delivered to your door, or collected at VP dealer outlets. For more details please E-Mail [email protected]."

Still Miss-Guided.

23rd February: This beauty is the new Miss-Guided, the 2011 ride of UK Pro ET racer Deborah Laugher. The Plymouth Arrow, formerly campaigned in Super Modified by Paul Mander, should eclipse Deborah's current bests of 10.4 seconds and 131 mph set in her Camaro.

"We picked the car up from Paul at the end of last season", Deborah's husband and Crew Chief Dusty told Eurodragster.com. "We bought it less the motor but with the 'Glide. We will use the 475 ci motor from the Camaro". With Nitrous? "No. Because it's a bracket car we need consistency and Nitrous is a variable!"

Dusty said that the Arrow needed very little alteration. "Pretty much all we had to do was put the motor in", he said. "We've had to raise the hood scoop, because when we put the bonnet on it sat on the rocker covers. This motor is higher and longer than the old one. So we simply sliced the sides of the scoop and moved it outwards. Other than that all we have done is to move the pedals to give Deborah some more legroom. The car is two thirds the weight of the Camaro."

Testing plans have been stymied by the late arrival of equipment from the USA. "The Americans lost the header kit, so the plan to test at the weekend went out of the window", said Dusty. "The header kit should now arrive this week but when it does it needs four days' work, so our plan to test this Saturday won't work out either. We're now looking at 12th March."

The paint was the work of fellow Pro ET racer Nic Williams' company OCS Body Shop (01327 340424), who also sponsor the car. Andy Stroud of Hairy Designs in Buckingham airbrushed the doors. If that name sounds familiar, it is because Andy also worked on Carla Pittau's Heaven and Hell, Rick McCann's Heaven and Hell As Well, and Eurodragster.com sponsor Mike Lacey's Metamporphosis. The car is also sponsored by Dusty's company Lohrspeed Vehicle Transport and Recovery and Deborah's project management company Prodal Limited.

Deborah's crew in 2011 will be Dusty, daughter Natalie Laugher, and daughter and team photographer Tiffany Batts.

For more information about the car check out the team's Facebook page and don't miss the build thread on the Rods'n'Sods forum.

Fredlund heads for Florida.

23rd February: 2008 UEM European Pro Stock Bike Champion Fredrik Fredlund will contest the 2011 NHRA Gatornationals as a rider for the Kalifornia Katie Racing Team.

Fredrik hails from the small island of Åland located in the Baltic sea halfway between Sweden and Finland. He has successfully raced no-bar bikes in the scandinavian area for many years. He dominated the Pro Street Bike class where he held numerous ET and speed records and collected four consecutive championships. Fredrik moved on to Pro Stock Bike back in 2007 when he was placed seventh in the European Championship. He has been placed in the top three for the last three seasons including winning the Championship in 2008.

Katie Sullivan is the number one rider of the Kalifornia Katie Racing Team based in Corning, California. In 2009, fresh out of high school at eighteen years of age, Katie became the youngest female in NHRA history to qualify for NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle. Add to that a first round win over Karen Stoffer at the Route 66 Nationals the same year.

Katie and Fredrik attended the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School at the beginning of 2009 where they both qualified for a NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle licence. Contact between both teams was kept up over time and the plan is for Fredrik to ride the second Sullivan bike at 42nd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway on 10th-13th March. The team will be attending the pre-Gatornationals test at Palm Beach International Raceway.

"This is literally the opportunity of a lifetime for any motorcycle drag racer", says Fredrik. "I'm honoured, to say the least, to have the trust of Katie and Charlie and their team for riding one of their bikes in the top echelon of Pro Stock Motorcycle."

"I could not be more excited to have Fredrik on one of our bikes in Gainesville and I know that my dad feels the same", says Katie. "Fredrik is a very talented rider and I'm real pleased to have him on our team for the Gatornationals. This is going to be a great opportunity for everyone involved!"

For more information and updates visit www.kaliforniakatie.com and Katie's NHRA Blog.

Fredde joins Denmark's Stig Neergaard (Top Fuel Dragster), Sweden's Micke Gullqvist (Pro Modified), and UK ex-pat Mike Manners (Top Alcohol Dragster) in representing Europe at the Gatornationals.

Swift snippets.
23rd February: Ex-pat UK Top Alcohol Dragster racer Mike Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences says that his weekend at the IHRA Nitro Jam in Baton Rouge was not competely disappointing. "The track was crap hence 5.50s", says Mike. "We suffered a stuck BDK valve on first hit on Sunday which allowed too much nitro into motor and drowned three cylinders. We rebuilt it before the Championship round but could not calibrate it at track so we were a little weak, hence tyre shake and a 5.6. Fun was had by all and no one lost an eye."

Entry forms for the first 2011 Junior Drag Bike Championship round, scheduled for 16th-17th April at Shakespeare County Raceway, are now available via the Download link at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. If you have any problems downloading then please contact SCR's office on 01789 720180 and they will put them in the mail to you.

Steve Rawling and the guys have asked us to say a big Good Luck to former Super Modified racer Paul Mander who is headed to Afghanistan for a few months at the end of this week. Good luck Paul and take care.

SCR goes Retro.
23rd February: With this weekend's Race Retro Show at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry just days away Shakespeare County Raceway, along with venue owners Long Marston Airfield Sports and Leisure will be exhibiting three cars at this popular curtain-raiser to the historic motor sporting season, writes SCR's Jerry Cookson.

Supercharged Outlaw racer and class record holder Ian Hanson will be showing his Hanson Racing Stars and Stripes '53 Corvette. Throughout the 2010 Outlaw campaign Ian thrilled fans attending the Warwickshire venue with his wild sideways burnouts from the blown 540 ci BBC-powered Chevy. According to Ian, with added blower boost the 'Vette will be on for a few six-second runs to eclipse his current class record of 7.29 seconds set at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags.

The second car in the line-up will be an Allard dragster, the sole surviving Allard Dragon from 1964. Now under the ownership of Alan Smith, as it has been for some time, the short-wheelbase Avanti Allard Dragon is expected to make a few races this year with the Wild Bunch. Produced as a kit dragster in 1964, only two of the Allard Dragons made it to the drag strips in the UK. The "works" Dragon also visited the USA to race at the Winternationals. Alan's Dragon was the second to be built; it still has the original 002 chassis plate attached and documentation reveals that legendary NSA sprinters Alf Hagon and George Brown drove both cars at a BDRA Press Day at Silverstone to advertise the '64 Drag Fests. The dragster then cost £645 complete or £245 for the chassis!

Alan Allard and John Hume drove the "works" Dragon in 1964 and 1965 before it was offered as a magazine prize and won by the then eighteen-year-old Chris Pattison who made a comeback at last year's Hot Rod Drags driving a blown altered. Chris drove the car during 1966 before handing it over to Alan Ing who won the 1967 Drag Racing Championships clocking regular ten-second ETs at over 120 mph. Shortly after, the car disappeared from the scene believed to have been broken up.

Alan's Dragon was run by Gerry Belton and Denis 'Jenks' Jenkinson in 1964 and 1965, then Watford Motor Accessories man Pete Atkins ran it from 1966 until 1969 when US Serviceman Doug Harler took it over before selling it on to John Rotherham in 1972. In actual fact John's widow Mafie Rotherham still owns the car.

The third car on display will be the more up-to-date SCR Junior Dragster Experience Hire car. Booked out for several major race, show and League events in 2011, the Experience Dragster is going to be pretty active this year but hire places are still available.

If you're going to the show Shakespeare County Raceway's stands can be found in Hall 3, N112 and N116. So stop by and say hello, and pick up a copy of the track's new Events Guide and flyers for Springspeed, Yanks and the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals and Hot Rod Drags.

The National Sprint Association will also be exhibiting in Hall 3 at the Show. With three events confirmed at Shakespeare County and a possible fourth to be confirmed at the Warwickshire venue, the NSA along with Phil Steele and Dave Massam will have two bikes on display: Phil's Rouge et Noir drag bike along with a Moto Norton. Be sure to stop by.

The Race Retro Show opens its doors at 9:00 am this Friday, 25th February, and runs till Sunday. Also appearing at the show over the weekend will be race legends Johnny Herbert, Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read MBE, and a host of other stars. Further information can be found at www.raceretro.com.

Speedgroup Stockholm meeting.
22nd February: Thanks to Åsa Kinnemar for letting us know that the promised Speedgroup meeting in Stockholm will take place at the Scandic Upplands Väsby this coming Saturday, 26th February, between 12:30 and 16:30. Tea/coffee and a buffet will be provided.

The meeting is open to teams and officials with connection to the FIA and UEM European Drag Racing Championships. If you intend to attend this meeting then please register with Åsa at [email protected] or call her on +46 705 31 53 32.

Mead re-signs with Lucas.
Courtesy and ©Julian Hunt

22nd February: UK Super Street Bike racer Steve Mead has announced that he will continue to be sponsored by Lucas Oil Products in 2011.

"I spoke to Les Downey at Lucas Oil who said that he would like to carry on with us this year", said Steve. "I am delighted as you can imagine and would like to say Thank You to Les for his support last season and again this year.

"I will also be getting continued support and tuning from Walter Sprout this season and of course I will be using the Hays clutch again this year. I have made a few small improvements to the bike and I think it will go quicker as it is if I can get more seat time and improve my riding skills."

Swift snippets.
22nd February: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (below left) came with the words "Boys and their toys". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected].

Entry Fees for 2011 are as follow. A large part of the rise in fees will be going towards the increasing costs of pitside power and medical cover:

Class	Two-day event	Three-day event	Four-day event
MSA British Pro Modified; Top Fuel Dragster / Fuel Funny Car / Pro Fuel Shootout; Top Methanol; Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association	£145	£150	£175 NB FIA classes pay FIA fees for FIA European Championship events
ET classes; Super classes; Super Modified; Junior Dragster; Comp Eliminator; Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator; VW classes; Outlaw Flat Four; Wild Bunch; Outlaw Anglia; other Sportsman car classes	£115	£125	£140
ACU Top Fuel Bike	£150	£155	£180 NB UEM classes pay UEM fees for FIM/UEM European Championship events
ACU Funny Bike; ACU Pro Stock Bike; ACU Comp Bike; ACU Super Street Bike; 9.50 Bike; 8.50 Bike; NAST Supertwin including Supertwin Fuel; Junior Drag Bike	£120	£130	£145
Exhibition	£140	£TBA	£165

Prize money will increase by two per cent for UK National Championship classes.

Fees for pitside power supply at Santa Pod Raceway will remain as they were in 2010.

Event duration	Single phase	Three phase
1-2 days	£40	£120
4 days	£55	£135

It was stressed that eace race team should only take the one power supply for which they have paid and that pit marshals should be informed if the system is being abused.

Other matters arising:

Now that it is a UK National Championship class, 8.50 Bike will use the UK National Drag Racing Championships points structure. The prize fund for 8.50 Bike will be the same as the prize fund for 9.50 Bike.

2010 Santa Pod Racers Club Champions including Street Eliminator will again receive free entry to rounds at Santa Pod Raceway in 2011. In the case of teams with more than one driver, one team driver per event will receive the free entry. Pitside power must still be paid for. The free entry must be used during 2011. 8.50 Bike will be brought into this scheme in 2012.

All teams intending to field more than one driver for the same vehicle must send a list of the season's drivers to both APIRA and SPRC before the Auto Trader Easter Thunderball.

The rule book is to be changed for lane choice in Sportsman classes to be awarded to the higher qualifier in round one of eliminations, and then in subsequent rounds to the racer closest to index or dial-in in the previous round (proposed from the floor by Pete Creswell). Lane choice cannot be changed after pulling into the bleach box (i.e. even before the burnout) unless pushed back for oildown etc in the previous pair.

Noise reduction measures are mandatory and in the 2011 rule book for Street Eliminator, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Super Gas, Super Street, Junior Dragster, VW Pro and VW Sportsman. However during this season racers will not be ejected from a meeting for breaching limits but will be given an event's grace. If you would like your vehicle tested or if you have any queries then contact the UK Tech Crew.

A change is to be investigated to the UK National Championships points structure for 2012 to favour going rounds in eliminations over good qualifying positions (proposed from the floor by Carla Pittau).

From 2012 racers will need to be members of either APIRA or SPRC to compete in the UK National Championships.

Swift snippets.
20th February: Today is certainly a popular day to have a birthday. A very Happy Birthday to Super Gas racer Sarah Day, to Andy Wheeler of Eurodragster.com sponsor Alamo Rent A Car and dad of UK Junior Dragster racer Paige Wheeler, to Pro Modified racer in waiting Steve Rawlings, to Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Ron Haslett, to Harrison Brown, and to Finnish Fuel Bike racer Jaska Salakari. Have a great day guys.

Black Seven breaks cover.

19th February: That Germany's 2010 UEM Funny Bike Cup winners Black Seven Racing have stepped up big time to run in Supertwin this season is not news, but courtesy of our good buddy Markus Münch of der Beschleuniger we can bring you a picture of the Supertwin's new paintjob and a progress report:

The bike was runner up in the UEM European Supertwin Championship some years ago and has a best performance of 6.54 seconds. The team learned about the new bike and Nitro racing from previous builder, owner and rider Günther Sohn of southern Germany. Rider Christian Jäger says that the team is prepared to hit the track. The bike is nearly ready with only a few small things to be done. The new trailer, needed because the Supertwin operation is bigger than the Funny Bike operation, is now the team's focus.

Christian wants to ride his new horse and can't wait for his first runs. "Depending on how this new operation starts, we want to run the whole UEM Tour", he says. What happened to the Funny Bike? "It was sold to an collector in the Stuttgart area, and is retired from racing."

You can find the team's web site, which includes more pictures of the bike in its new colours, at www.black-seven-racing.de.

You can find a German-language version of this news item on der Beschleuniger by clicking here.

Swift snippets.

19th February: The Team Veidec Pro Stock Bike team and Lyrén Motorsport has agreed a partnership with Bates Leathers. "These are amongst the most professional leathers for motorcycles", says Roger Lyrén. "They have a full line of drag racing leathers, most of them fully customised. We can deliver leathers in different styles and lots of colours are available. They are made in California of the best quality leather by two girls, Dana and Dawn. We will have on-track service. If you are interested in leathers then contact us at [email protected]. Karl will be wearing the new style leathers, you can see pictures in his Blog. We are very proud to have Bates as a partner and we look forward to a long partnership."

Dutch Pro Modified racer Robert Joosten tells us that the Pro Dutch 1970½ Camaro is in his 'shop having work done to cure last year's electrical problems. "We plan to test then to run the Championship", he says. The Pro Dutch team will be holding an Open Day in March.

Eurodragster.com readers will have someone to cheer on at this weekend's IHRA Nitro Jam at Baton Rouge as ex-pat Top Alcohol Dragster racer Michael Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences will be contesting Pro Fuel. As ever you will be able to stay in touch with Mike's progress courtesy of our colleagues at Drag Race Central.

Pro ET Scheme grows.
19th February: UK Pro ET racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Mike Lacey writes that the 2011 Pro ET Sponsorship Scheme will be the best ever. "There are more sponsors, more money, and thus more for us to work and build with", says Mike.

"The following have kindly continued their support: Toxico, Penn Autos, LA Racing Parts, EDA, Power Engineering, Power Pour (Webster Race Engineering), Norbar Torque Tools, DS Racewear, Avonside Engineering and ModUrStang.

"The following are new for 2011: Drag Race Engineering (Gary Springford), Grand Prix Racewear, Sick Boyz, Topspeed Automotive, LohrSpeed (Dusty Laugher), Real Steel, and Wolfysworkshop.co.uk.

"Thank to all of our sponsors for 2011. Please support them as they support us. If you see a sponsor whose name you don't recognise, then have a look at their web site. Thanks to all of those sponsors who have helped in previous years. We hope we brought them business and recognition.

"As reported earlier this week, T-Shirts with sponsors' names on the back will be available from me at the Easter Thunderball and throughout the year. The music in the pits will be back at the SPRC Summernationals. The End of Year Bash was a great success in 2010 and will be open to anyone to come again this year, the date will be announced later.

"We believe that we run the best Sponsorship Scheme in the country. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor in future years then feel free to contact us. You'll be amazed how cheap it is to get involved, and what you get for your money."

The new recruit Jets in.
18th February: Over four years in the making, lots of ups and downs (more downs) and some near-misses with the secret being unveiled, Eurodragster.com sponsor Martin Hill's FireForce 4 Jet Funny Car will make its first appearance at Santa Pod Raceway's Stunt Fest this Saturday:

Although Fireforce 4 will not complete the quarter mile, a fire and smoke show will be performed on the start line. Luckily for the team, with Number 3 on its way to Abu Dhabi to perform at the Yas Drag Racing Festival, the Stunt Fest will prove the perfect opportunity to unveil the new addition. In a test fire-up last weekend a few small issues presented themselves, but after some tinkering and fine tuning, it's all systems go for Stunt Fest.

The graphics were the idea of Martin, who wanted something totally different from the much-photographed Number 3. Clowns were always the first option and the question was whether this idea would work, once actually on the car. With some discussions and ideas exchanged between the crew and Custom Painthouse (of Sheffield) the vision of seeing the FireForce crew become the clown characters seemed an ever-popular idea. Not that they are clowns of course! With Martin's exasperated expression on the back of the car, Rich and his dreads not to mention chunky rings, and Horace, well, just being Horace, both clinging to the car for dear life, maybe the graphics have depicted the team all too well! Our thanks to everyone at Custom Painthouse for their patience, understanding and incredible work.

After many years of seeing Number 3 and very traditional paintwork, Number 4 will no doubt get people talking and more than likely have a Marmite effect. People will either love it or hate it! Whatever people's opinions, we are now back to three Jet Funny Cars and will as ever be putting on a show and putting the Fire in FireForce.

Number 4 has a few innovative design features, most noticeably the absence of a rear wing on the Camaro-style body. Also a new style intake and redesigned chassis incorporating all the latest safety features. The engine is another J60 which has been used in FireForce 2 and 3 to make these the fastest Jet Funny Cars in the world!

With so much focus currently on preparations for our trip to Abu Dhabi, development work and the true performance of Number 4 will not be explored until our return. Then we can really concentrate on getting the most out of new recruit and hopefully build up the performance of the car.

Our thanks to everyone involved in the build and for the courtesy of those who knew about the project and respected the privacy of the team. It's been very hard work but hopefully it will all be worthwhile.

Choose the scheme.

18th February: Race fans can vote for the new design of Jürgen Nagel's Top Methanol Funny Car featuring new sponsor Mabanol. There are three designs to choose from, created by Eurodragster.com sponsor Darren West of Power Race Graphics.

You can vote for your favourite design on the Jürgen Nagel Racing web site at www.jnr-motorsport.com.

Mabanol, Germany's privately-owned oil company, has announced that it will back up its primary sponsorship with its Drag Race Pirate 50 brand of oil in Jürgen's Chevrolet Funny Car. Frank Schlemmer of JNR tells us that Mabanol Drag Race Pirate 50 Oil was jointly developed by Mabanol and JNR. "We used the oil for the whole of last season with good results, and finished the season as runner-up in the Championship", says Frank. "Timo and Dennis Habermann also used this oil with good results and were winner and runner-up in the Top Methanol Dragster Championship and runner up. Mabanol...it works!". For more information about Mabanol Drag Race Pirate 50 Oil contact [email protected].

Joining Mabanol in backing JNR will be US-SPEED Shop Hamburg, Germany's market leader for US car parts.

Swift snippets.

18th February: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Candy white - awesome!". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected].

Bob Roberts of Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars is seeking good video of the original nitrous version of Andy's Studebaker Pro Mod. "A PC file would be easiest but I can easily deal with VHS or MiniDV, others might be a problem", says Bob. "All contributions returned intact". If you can help then please drop Bob a line at [email protected].

Andrew Carpenter has been in touch to ask us to wish his dad, legendary Daimler Dragster racer Russ Carpenter, a very Happy 65th Birthday. It will be a privilege, have a great day Russ.

Santa Pod Raceway's Run What You Brung season restarts this Sunday, 20th February. £10 will get you through the gate and £25 and the production of a valid DVLC licence will buy you as many runs down the track as you can get in. More details at www.rwyb.co.uk.

UK Top Methanol FC team and Eurodragster.com Bloggers Bennett Racing are planning to produce titanium starter dogs, or jaws as some may call them. The dogs will be made from Grade 5 aerospace-spec titanium and will come in standard (45% lighter than steel), super lightened, and super-lightened with changeable titanium tips (buy once and only change the tips when worn). Prices will be based on quantity manufactured but the standard titanium version will be around £175. If you are interested then you can contact Bennett Racing at [email protected].

Ellis' thanks to NRE.
18th February: UK Pro Modified racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis and the Ellis Motorsports team would like to say a special Thank You to Jamie Noonan, Andrew Collins and Alan Mcoy at Noonan Race Engineering for arranging and testing special parts for his team's NRE-equipped turbo effort.

"NRE are a very busy company covering all sorts of motorsports in Australia and worldwide", says Graham. "The fact that they were able to schedule my testing in such a busy time for them, at short notice, using their own parts to save me the shipping of my own parts, and all at no charge, says an awful lot about NRE's commitment to their customers.

"Considering that I am on the other side of the world I could have easily been forgotten about. Thanks all at NRE for your support."

Swift snippets.

17th February: Peder Eneroth of SVEMO writes that the bi-annual UEM seminar took place at the Ibis Schiphol Hotel in Amsterdam last weekend. "The UEM Road and Drag Race Commission invited officials to update their licences for the coming three years", says Peder. "Twenty eight participants from seven countries attended the seminar which was held by Palle Lind". We hear that all of those who took the exam passed, so congratulations to all including Carole Ismail of Santa Pod Racers Club.

Johan Samuelsson says that the Norrköpings Mässhallar, sixty kilometres north of Mantorp Park on the E4 motorway (map), hosts this year's Drag Racing Swap Meet this coming Saturday (19th). The Swap Meet is organised by Åby Motorklubb and is the winter's major drag racing event in Scandinavia. "You can find parts for everything from Pro classes to street racing", says Johan. "Doors open at 09:00 and gates close at 15:00. During the day there will be meetings with some of the Swedish class associations etc". For more information about the Swap Meet contact Åby Motorklubb at www.abymotorklubb.se or call +46 11 69 833.

The Allard Chrysler Action Group have arranged a meeting at Beaulieu on 17th March to finalise the sequence of jobs required for the next stage of the restoration of the Allard Chrylser Dragster. "Those who have expressed earlier that they would like to be involved have been invited", says ACAG Chair Brian Taylor, "but if I have omitted anyone, or if anyone else out there thinks that they have skills or facilities which could be useful then please let me know at [email protected] or call 01395 579733."

Carla Pittau tells us that the 2011 Pro ET T-Shirts will shortly be available. "Produced by sponsor Toxico and sporting a new design by Tatfink (below left), the shirt features a great Ratfink-style cartoon and is tipped to be extremely popular, as will be the new season slogan, so order yours while you can!", says Carla. "The rear of the Tee will also show the names and logos of our great 2011 sponsors. The shirts are £10 and they will be available from Mike Lacey in the Pro ET pits as from the Easter Thunderball, or can be pre-ordered by E-Mailing Mike at [email protected].

A rightfully delighted Scottie Durrant and Gina Rumble of the UK's Tiki Munki Nostalgia Drag Racing Team have been in touch to advise readers to check out the March 2011 issue of Custom Car magazine. "The new Tiki Munki slingshot coupe, which will be running with the Wild Bunch this season, has the front cover (above right), centre page, and a five-page spread", they say. "Thanks again to all who helped with the build of the slingshot."

UK racers are reminded that the UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting takes place between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm this Sunday, 20th February, in the Executive Suite at the Diamonds Centre, otherwise known as Rushden and Diamonds' football stadium, in Nene Way in Irthlingborough (click here for a map). All are welcome. For more details see our news item of 4th February.

A reminder also that the annual meeting of MSA British Pro Modified Championship racers will also take place on Sunday. The meeting will take place at 2:30 pm in Pitside VIP at Santa Pod Raceway - please note that it will not be at the Diamonds Centre. An invitation is extended to all current Pro Modified racers, any racers intending to race in Pro Modified this season, or those interested in doing so. Team members are also welcome. If you plan to attend the meeting then please register with Darren Prentice at [email protected].

Paul Marston tells us that, citing reasons beyond their control, American Racing Fuels are withdrawing from UK motorsport and so will no longer be a contingency sponsor of Pro ET. "ARF would like to thank their customers for their loyalty and support of an excellent product", says Paul, "and to wish them every success in the future."

Our good friend Gittli Koller got in touch yesterday to ask us to wish a very Happy Birthday to Regula Stucki. Unfortunately there was no news update yesterday but Happy Birthday for yesterday, Regula, and we hope that you had a lovely day.

Eurodragster.com readers will have someone to cheer on at this weekend's IHRA Nitro Jam at Baton Rouge as ex-pat Top Alcohol Dragster racer Michael Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences will be contesting Pro Fuel. As ever you will be able to stay in touch with Mike's progress courtesy of our colleagues at Drag Race Central.

UK Top Sportsman update.
17th February: Paul Marston has been in touch with news of the prize fund for the UK Top Sportsman event at Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway in June. UK Sportsman prize fund.

"The prize fund posted amongst the rules and regs of UK Top Sportsman on Santa Pod's Dragstalgia page were provisional", says Paul. "Now that Jeff Bull and I have had time to rattle the tin, the fund shortly show a significant increase. Jeff and I would like to thank all of the members of the drag racing industry, and sponsors from outside this great sport of ours, who have stepped up to be part of this exciting new development in UK drag racing. Anyone who is still thinking of offering support then please call either Jeff or I and we will send you a form. With spots available for between £pound;50 and £2000 there is something for everyone's pocket!

"We can also reveal that the event will be filmed for future broadcast, which is another great plus point for sponsor exposure. Top Sportsman will enjoy major magazine coverage after the event, and thre will be updates in Motorsport News prior to the event.

"Jeff and I have been a little overwhelmed by the amount of attention which the class is currently enjoying. Let's hope it lives up to its potential."

If you have any queries about UK Top Sportsman then please contact Jeff Bull via the logo link on the Eurodragster.com Swap Meet, call Paul on 07831 650230, or E-Mail [email protected]. The UK Top Sportsman web site will be up and running within a couple of weeks.

Where drag racing leads...
17th February: British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Chair Stu Bradbury got in touch to draw our attention to MotorSport magazine's Motor Sport Hall of Fame, which had this year's glitzy ceremony at London's Roundhouse earlier this week.

"Again it's taken drag racing to show them how it's done together with slicks, burnouts, line locks and many other ideas that our sport has developed over the years", says Stu. "The circuit racing community will no doubt pronounce this idea as its own."

As it happens, MSA British Drag Racing Championship Press Officer Robin Jackson attended the Motor Sport ceremony and reports that it was "A grand and impressive occasion". This year four new HoF inductees, Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Frank Williams, Jody Scheckter and Dario Franchitti, joined the twelve existing members.

In contrast to this, and on the subject of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, Stu says that without the financial and enthusiastic support from Eurodrasgter.com sponsor US Automotive and its employees, the BDRHoF would not exist. "They suffered me being on the telephone organising and putting together the HoF when I really should have been talking to customers", he says. "Not once was anything said, and I think this should be recognised. It could not have been achieved without their help, and still after six years they are the only major company, of all those I have contacted, to put their money on the table. The Donate on the BDRHoF web site has been pressed twice since 2006. If we want it to get bigger and better then more support is needed from the drag racing community to emulate anything near the Motorsports Hall Of Fame presentation evening...unless of course we are all satisfied with the present arrangements."

NFAA Trophy Evening.

17th February: Matt Glassup writes that the UK's Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association had a very successful Dinner Dance and Trophy Evening:

Firstly, thanks to everyone who came and supported the class for the evening. There were lots of cheers, claps and other support over the course of short and sweet presentation and I think it said a lot to have such an enthusiastic group together to reflect on what had undoubtedly been a difficult year for the class. Roy Phelps was kind enough to hand out the beautiful glass awards to our winners, whilst the Championship trophies themselves were sponsored by Richard Walters and Lee Johnstone at J&W Automotive and Pete Walters of Peter Walters Race Design. Check out the NFAA web site at www.nfaa.co.uk to see the lovely keepsakes.

Bob Glassup and the Xtreme team received the third place trophy, the Wratten Brothers were runners-up but were unable to attend, and Joe Bond was presented with his well-deserved first place trophy. Congratulations to Joe and the whole Nuthin' Fancy team on their first NFAA Championship!

Xtremewheelsracing.com were kind enough to sponsor the Best Appearing Car and Best Appearing Crew trophies, which were polled on the night. Whilst the vote was extremely tight, one team managed to scoop both and boy were they chuffed: Adam Gleadow and the Motor Psycho team took the trophies home and I think it's safe to say they received a fairly healthy roar of approval when the results were in. Well done guys!

The Ettington Chase Hotel was an excellent venue and I think they did a fantastic job of meeting all our needs, while also sorting us out with an good rate for accommodation and some great on-site facilities.

As the teams work hard to get cars ready for 2011 I would like to wish everyone the best of luck with their pre season prep and we look forward to a successful meeting at Easter. Thanks to both Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceways for their continued support. I would also like to say thanks to Leah Hinchliffe who helped with the scorekeeping and class organisation in 2010 whilst I was busy working on our Xtreme altered. It was massively appreciated!

Web site updates.
17th February: In the latest instalment in his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Pro Stock Bike racer Kalle Lyrén reports upon his trip to Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School. 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.

Our good friend Alan Currans has updated his excellent Acceleration Archive with a third page of images taken by Alan Holland-Avery. "There are twenty five images in all which were taken in 1972 and which cover everything from Production to Top Fuel with a good number of bike pictures to boot", says Alan. "Of particular interest is a shot of Harold Bull's twin-engined dragster pulling a hole shot on John Whitmore's Drag'n'Fly rail". You can take a look via the What's New? link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk.

British Drag Racing: The Early Years.

15th February: We are very well-off for drag racing historians in the UK. Brian Taylor and Keith Lee have already put pen to paper with Crazy Horses and Drag Bike Racing In Britain respectively, and now Nick Pettitt has stepped up to the plate with another invaluable reference, British Drag Racing: The Early Years, to be published in March by Veloce Publishing who have themselves done drag racing proud for a second time. Nick's name will be familiar to our readers as Historical Consultant to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, regular contributor the UK Drag Racing Nostalgia Forum, and producer of the superb and fact-filled Time Travel DVDs. It will therefore come as no surprise that Nick's book is excellent and a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the sport.

British Drag Racing: The Early Years goes into fine detail on the beginnings of drag racing in the UK, covering the years 1960-1969. As Nick makes clear in his introduction, drag racing was not entirely unknown even before 1960 – page 6 of the book shows a cutting from Hot Rod magazine entitled Britain's Fastest Dragster? dated 1953 - but 1960 is the year in which things really started to happen with the formation of the British Hot Rod Association. The years 1960 to 1965, which included the legendary Drag Fests, are covered in the first chapter, and then each year between 1966 and 1969 has its own chapter – 1966 being, of course, the year in which Santa Pod Raceway opened.

Even if you thought you knew all there was to know about the history of drag racing in the UK, we can guarantee that you will still learn things from British Drag Racing: The Early Years. The amount of information which Nick has packed into each chapter is testament both to his wide-ranging knowledge and to his particular talent for research. It is also a tribute to Nick's skill as an author that his narrative is very easy-going and avoids what is the easy pitfall of becoming a dry list of facts and figures. All of the major and minor landmarks are covered together with all the big names, but there is plenty of background, kitchen detail and trivia to hold the reader's interest as well as the feats of those racers whose names will not be so familiar but who also deserve to be remembered.

The book is extensively illustrated with both colour and black and white pictures, a large number of which were taken by recently-inducted British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Brian Sparrow or taken from the archives of former Santa Pod Raceway commentator and photo-journalist Mike Collins. In a history such as this, pictures are as important as words to illustrate what is said about the sheer diversity of vehicles taking part in drag racing in those days, some obviously US-inspired and others peculiarly British, and about the various solutions formulated to all of the usual problems such as traction and weight distribution. There is also photographic evidence of drag racing taking part in the rain, with some frankly scary pictures of cars at high speed through puddles, trailed by rooster tails which wouldn't look out of place on a drag boat. The quality of the reproduction of the pictures is outstanding: some are of sufficient clarity and colour to appear to be 3D which is doubly impressive given their age.

Nick has done well by those who were involved in bringing the sport to our shores and laying down such a solid foundation on which it still stands to this day. Courtesy of British Drag Racing: The Early Years their contributions will become even more widely-known and all the more appreciated.

As well as congratulations to Nick for an excellent book, credit must be given to Veloce Publishing who have again shown faith in drag racing, and an interest in preserving its history. No small time and effort have been invested by Veloce in producing a second essential reference for race fans, and this only a few months after Keith Lee's similarly excellent book.

British Drag Racing: The Early Years will be available in March but orders are now being taken by Veloce Publishing at www.veloce.co.uk for £14.99 plus P+P. It is also available from Amazon or from any good bookshop. Its ISBN number is 978-1-845843-37-3.

Racers meet royalty.

15th February: Swedish Pro Modified racer and race car builder Mats Eriksson and his wife Lena Perés were invited to the recent Royal Club Festivities, where they were introduced to Prince Carl-Philip of Sweden.

"When Mats got the Motorprinsens Medalj last year he was also made a member of the Royal Automobil Club", says Lena. "As a member Mats was invited to this big event which is held every other year at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm. The King and Queen were invited but had to cancel at the last minute, so their son Prince Carl-Philip came to party with the six hundred guests. The US Ambassador came with his wife, and gave a speech in Swedish. As he had come straight from Washington he had greetings for us from President Obama.

"Together with Dakar Bike rider Annie Seel, Mats got to meet the Prince privately for a few minutes. That was the highlight of the evening as they were the only guests of the six hundred present who had that honour. Of course, Mats talked about drag racing and Tierp Arena, and he invited the Prince to the chassis shop in Borlänge. Hopefully we will see more of the Royal Family at the drag strip.

"It was a really nice event, and for the first time in his life Mats had to wear a coat with tails!"

Swift snippets.
15th February: Following a meeting with Lee Child of VP Racing Fuels at Autosport International, UK Pro Stock racer Conrad Stanley and the Panther Racing team are pleased to announce that VP Racing Fuels are to supply the race fuel for their Grand Am on the 2011 FIA European Championship tour. "It's great that VP Racing Fuels have chosen to work with us and to support our first season in Pro Stock", says Conrad. "We hope to announce more sponsors in the next few weeks."

Racers are reminded that the UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting takes place between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm this Sunday, 20th February, in the Executive Suite at the Diamonds Centre, otherwise known as Rushden and Diamonds' football stadium, in Nene Way in Irthlingborough (click here for a map). All are welcome. For more details see our news item of 4th February.

The title sponsorship of the Eurodragster.com Perfect Light Award is available for the 2011 season. If you would be interested in sponsoring the Perfect Light Award then please E-Mail [email protected]. If you are interested in sponsoring Eurodragster.com by way of a banner for your business then please see the news item below.

Eurodragster.com readers will have someone to cheer on at this weekend's IHRA Nitro Jam at Baton Rouge as ex-pat Top Alcohol Dragster racer Michael Manners of Eurodragster.com sponsor Cosmo Residences will be contesting Pro Fuel. As ever you will be able to stay in touch with Mike's progress courtesy of our colleagues at Drag Race Central.

A word to our sponsors.
15th February: All Eurodragster.com sponsors have now been E-Mailed invoices for renewals, which are due on 1st March. If you have not received your invoice, and if it is not in your Spam folder, then please drop us a line at [email protected] and we will resend it.

If you are interested in sponsoring Eurodragster.com then please drop an E-Mail to the above address and we will send details. You can check out our stats for visits, page views and hits on our FAQs page.

Web site updates.
15th February: UK Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson has launched a Blog at robinsonracing.tumblr.com. "The idea behind the Blog is to give supporters and sponsors quicker updates on and off the track", says Stefani Robinson. "While we will continue to maintain and update our web site with the official team race reports, our Blog will give us the chance to update everyone while we are at the track in between runs, internet access permitting. So check it out, sign up and follow us to receive regular updates on the team."

Swift snippets.
14th February: Finland's Antti Horto will be contesting a limited schedule in Top Fuel Dragster in 2011. Antti, who drives for Eagle Racing most recently in the team's Two Seat Dragster, will licence at Santa Pod early in the season before racing at Alastaro. Janne Ahonen will drive the car in Sweden and Germany. You can find out more on the Eagle Racing web site at www.eagleracing.fi.

Legendary artist Kenny Youngblood, wife Terri, Operations Director for Caroll Shelby, and daughter Michelle will be attending the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway in May. Kenny, Terri and Michelle will be the guests of MPM Oil UK and will be based in the MPM Oil UK pit area. We also understand that Belinda Bear, who famously took a passenger ride in Freddy Fagerström's Top Methanol Funny Car at Santa Pod, will be making a comeback this season courtesy of the MPM Oil operation.

We have two Pro Mod snippets for you today. The first comes courtesy of Spencer Tramm and Eurodragster.com sponsor Chris Isaacs who forwarded this picture of their Duster (below left) whose chassis is coming along well at the workshop of Chris Isaacs Race Cars. "Next up, the engine!", says Spencer. You can see more and take a look at other projects in Chris' workshop on his web site at www.chris-isaacs.com.

The second Pro Mod update comes from Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis whose picture of his twin-turbo Superbird (above right) makes a great showcase for the artistry of Rob Smallworth and Barry Grimes who are now equipped to do this sort of work with a state-of-the-art exhaust tube bender. "It can also bend stainless tube perfectly", says Graham.

Getting prepared for the 2011 is UK Junior Dragster racer Paige Wheeler whose dad Andy of Eurodragster.com sponsor Alamo Rent A Car sent us these renderings of this year's crew shirts and hero card. We're sure that Antti, Graham and Paige aren't the only racers who have 2011 settled so if you want your fans to know what you have planned then drop us a line at [email protected].

Web site updates.
14th February: In the latest instalment in his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, street-legal Pro Mod racer Andy Frost bring us up to date with post-Autosport International developments from the Red Victor 3 team including preparations for FIA competition. 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.

School Slot Club seeks support.

13th February: The Slot Car Club at Newbold Riverside Primary School in Rugby is seeking support from companies to help them to teach pupils skills which they would not normally encounter such as working as a team and enjoying competition, all in a fun environment. The project would not have got off the ground had it not been for the help of local business including Santa Pod Raceway, but there is room for more support either by sponsoring one of the twelve cars or by posting prizes.

The Club, which is supported by the Extended Services initiative, will initially take place over an eight-week period run by Peter Blay of QEH Systems who is providing his time free of charge with assistance from two sixth form pupils from Lawrence Sherriff. The club will then be sustained by the wider school community. Over the eight weeks the children will build static car kits, scenery and buildings, and motorised slot car kits and will have plenty of opportunity to race their cars. The project will end with a family and sponsors event at which the children will show off their completed cars and take part in a series of races including drag races.

As well as QEH Systems the Club is currently backed by Eibach UK, BV Commercials, RBS Motor Services, Charles Watts and HTA Precision Sheetmetal. "At a time when money is so tight for small businesses it is great that companies have been able to offer support to local children", says Peter Blay. "Thanks to their generosity we will be able to offer the club free of charge to the children and ensure that is sustainable for the long term."

You can find out more about the Club on the Community Support page at www.qehsystems.co.uk. If you would like to get your company involved by sponsoring a car or posting prizes then please contact Peter Blay at [email protected].

Swift snippets.

13th February: Photo-journalist Keith Harman is offering Norwell T-Shirts for the discerning racer and hot rodder. The shirts come in a number of different designs with the main logo on the back (example at right) and a small Norwell-equipped logo on the front. Sizes are S, M, L, XL and XXL, with XXXXL available to special order and the shirts are £17.50 including post and packing from www.keithharman.com which is also worth a visit for Keith's Blog, galleries, and of course the Drag Racing Dreams DVD.

SPR offer new VP fuel deals.
13th February: With the 2011 drag season fast approaching Santa Pod Raceway are delighted to announce a better deal on the entire range of VP Racing Fuels including C12, C14, C16, C23, Q16, Import and SV05. Power gains of up to 5% can be achieved when using VP Racing Fuels so with prices at a super competitive level buying from Santa Pod Raceway is the perfect formula.

Prices per nineteen-litre drum, including VAT, are now:

C12 Leaded 108 Octane £85
C14 Leaded 114 Octane £95
C16 Leaded 117 Octane £95
C23 Leaded 120+ Octane £125
Q16 Leaded/Oxygenated 116 Octane £95
Import Leaded/Oxygenated 120+ Octane £135
SVO5 Unleaded/Oxygenated 98 Octane £95

For more information on the VP Racing Fuels range or to buy on-line, visit www.santapod.com and click on Pod Shop or call the team on 01234 782828. Fuel can be collected from Santa Pod Raceway, delivered direct to your pit during a race weekend, or for a fee delivered to your 'shop.

Web site updates.
13th February: Fyø Islanders Drag Racing Team has launched a revamped web site at www.islandersdragracing.com. "We have been working on it for a couple of months now, as the old site wasn't that good and didn't represent us in the way we wanted", says Birgitte Bremnes. "We got some great help from Anatoly and Roman from Selvery.com. and they've done a great job with the design! We want our site to be up-to-date, and will do our best to give you frequent news about the team, both on and off the track. On the page you'll find news, information about each team member, some fun reading about the history of Islanders Drag Racing Team and of course an image gallery. We also have a contact form that everyone can use if they got any questions."

A half-term idea.
13th February: What better way to start half term off than spending an all-action afternoon at Santa Pod Raceway's Stunt Fest next Saturday, 19th February, featuring Monster Truck mayhem with Podzilla and spine-tingling stunts including a Guinness World Record attempt by the master of four wheels Terry Grant.

All new for 2011 will be caravan racing along with spectacular car crashing stunts! With Santa Pod's firm favourite Jet Funny Car FireForce putting in a special appearance and drift demos taking place and the opportunity to have a drift passenger ride too, oh and not forgetting the all-singing all-dancing Hannah Montana The Tribute! You're in for a real treat as Hannah Montana The Tribute is a dazzling, fun-filled show featuring all of Hannah's greatest hits, dance routines, amazing costumes and lots of audience participation! Hannah Montana has become increasingly popular over the past few of years. With a Hollywood movie released last year and Series 3 of the TV show on our screens, demand for the pop princess shows no sign of slowing down. Make sure you're in prime position when she takes to the stage at 3.15 pm and 5.15 pm and don't forget you can meet her after her first set for a photo or autograph. Don't miss this fab tribute to a favourite icon!

Keep an eye on the web site at www.stuntfest.co.uk as there are still yet more acts to be confirmed. It's going to be one packed day out! Tickets are priced at £15 on the gate or £9 in advance, and under-13s get in for free. VIP tickets are just £20 for children and £40 for adults. Also, Santa Pod has made all parking and grandstand seats free, making this incredible value for money for a full family. The gates will be open from 12:00 pm until 6:00 pm and the stunt performances run from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm. For more information or to book your tickets please visit www.santapod.com or call the team on 01234 782828.

Alamo partners with Santa Pod.
11th February: Leading international car rental company, Alamo Rent A Car, has been confirmed as the official 2011 Car Rental Partner for Santa Pod Raceway, the home of European drag racing and host to the televised FIA European Drag Racing Championships. This follows Alamo's successful sponsorship of twelve-year-old Paige Wheeler, Junior Dragster winner at the 2010 FIA European Finals.

Under the new agreement all visitors to the Santa Pod web site will be able to receive up to 15% off worldwide car rental from alamo.co.uk/dragster throughout the year. Alamo branding will also be featured heavily across all Santa Pod promotional activities, including trackside hoardings and on the front of the grandstand, on the Santa Pod web site at santapod.com, and in all event show guides and programmes.

"We took our first steps into the world of drag racing last year with sponsorship of Junior racer, Paige Wheeler, with tremendous results" confirmed Carmen Gomariz, Marketing Manager, Alamo Rent A Car. "The positioning of the Alamo across a number of drag racing events and activities raised awareness and increased sales and our association with Paige, who won the Junior Dragster class at the FIA European Finals, racing against drivers up to eighteen years old, was a fantastic result. This confirmed to us that the drag racing community is a great market for the Alamo offering and we are delighted to work even more closely with Santa Pod Raceway this year, the heartland for all UK drag racing fans.

"To further reinforce our support of drag racing we are offering 15% discount for drag racing aficionados, giving them great rates for car rental worldwide. So whether they're travelling to and from races or just going on holiday, they can enjoy the comfort and convenience of an Alamo car for less."

Commenting on the new partnership, Santa Pod's Marketing Manager Caroline Day comments "We are delighted to have the Alamo Rent A Car brand on board, helping us promote Santa Pod Raceway and the UK drag racing scene, which is one of the fastest growing motorsports. With Paige Wheeler being one of the future stars of drag racing, this is the perfect time for us to partner with her sponsor, Alamo Rent A Car."

With a global network providing access to more than 2,500 rental locations in over 100 countries worldwide, and over 1,680 European locations, including at every major airport, Alamo offers a wide range of vehicles and optional extras for leisure travellers.

Swift snippets.
11th February: Steve Hudson has been in touch to ask us to wish a very Happy Birthday to his wife and Crew Chief Angela Hudson. Our pleasure, Steve, have a lovely day Angela. It came too late for yesterday's update but Richard Gipp and the guys from Straightline Racing asked us to say a Happy Birthday to Cindy. Hope you had a nice day Cindy.

The kit is in place...

10th February: FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher tells us that his rig has arrived at Yas Marina ready for his match race against the US' Rod Fuller.

"We have taken our 2009 Brad Hadman car", says Urs. "This car only has seven runs on it and was the one I blww up in Houston in April 2009. I didn't race it again because after getting it fixed cheaply in the USA the car never went straight. We took the car to Hockenheim in 2010 and Mats Eriksson took it back to Sweden to have it rebuilt and weld on a new front end. The car is now better than before, straighter and stronger. We have rebuilt everything and put some more power in the engines. We have four complete engines with us to show them how fast us Europeans can run.

"My Crew Chief is Robin Grice who tuned me to my fifth FIA European Championship title, my second in Top Fuel. To help we have added Glenn Mikres who tuned me to my fourth FIA European Championship, my first in Top Fuel, in 2007. What sort of combination will that be, World Champions? The rest of my crew will be the same guys as last year: Monika Irsigler, Jndia Erbacher, Vroni Erbacher, Beat Weibel, Dario d'Urso, Andreas Winiger, Christof Nigg, Roy Haller, Martin Pauli, Lucien Abt, Ruedi Muggli, Andy Klossner, and Oyvind Dahl. Michel Mayer is usually a crew member at all of my races but he is starting a new job and can't come to Abu Dhabi. Never change a winning combination!

"I must say a special thank you to Andrea Wucher who organised all my travel, hotels etc, and to Andy Wheeler of Alamo Rent A Car who has helped with rental cars. At the moment our sponsors are Midland, SCS and HR Springs but we are working on more.

"Jens Reehl, the German Super Comp driver who made his Top Fuel licencing passes with us in the USA in 2009, has really good conacts to the Abu Dhabi guys because he was at the first race there last year. We plan to find sponsorship with Jens so that he can maybe run one or two races in 2011 or 2012. Jens put us in touch with another German guy, Dieter Onken, who lives and works in Abu Dhabi. He was our contact over the last three months and went to the race track many times to sort out contractual things for us. Thank you very much to all these guys - they helped us to make it happen.

"I feel really good. I have done some special workouts like Hot Rod but I have already weigh 240 lbs so I think I am strong enough. For the little bit over weight I need a little extra power.

"We are really proud and happy to run down there. Hopefully we can set new UAE records. We have Switzerland Television with us, and they will film the whole race."

Team West-Tec TF crew opportunity.
10th February: After Team West-Tec's recent announcement that it is to expand its racing operations to include a Top Fuel team which will compete in the 2011 FIA European Championship, one volunteer race crew position is available.

The position will involve attending all rounds of the FIA European Championship in addition to some workshop-based work at the team's premises in Corby, Northamptonshire.

Interested applicants are invited to send their CV to [email protected] for consideration. Please provide details of any drag racing experience and any complementary skills which could assist the running of the team and its infrastructure.

Rhiannon in the Purple.

10th February: Rhiannon Bellenie, the youngest member of Bellenie Racing, will be fielding a Junior Modified Advanced Dragster in 2001 says dad, Crew Chief and Super Street Bike racer Pete Bellenie:

It's a really stunning car. The former owner was Matthew Seamarks but I'll let you guess the colour of the car. It's also very fast, a lot quicker than Rhiannon's Junior Modified car, and I think that Su and I will be more nervous than Rhiannon!

The team is also very pleased to announce a new sponsor on board for this year: Royal Purple synthetic oils, a name which will be recognised at the strip and in all forms of racing.

We will be out testing before Easter, and we will be attending every round of the Championship this season. Roll on the Thunderball!

Swift snippets.
10th February: We were sorry to hear from Syd McDonald of the death in December of Adrian York, who drove the Brooklyn Heavy Pro Stock in the 1970s. Although somewhat belated we hope that Adrian's family and friends will accept our sympathies.

Thanks to Frans Steilberg for letting us know that the entry forms for the annual Test and Tune at Bechnyê in the Czech Republic are now available on the MSTO web site at www.msto.org.

Please remember that close of office hours tomorrow, Friday, is the deadline to submit items for the agenda of the 2011 UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting on Sunday week. Please send any such items either to Paula Marshall of SPRC at [email protected] or to Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected]. For more details about the Riders' and Drivers' Meeting please see our news item of 4th February.

Please accept our apologies for not posting the rest of yesterday's news as promised. Your News Editor's day job laptop failed after downloading the outstanding news. An engineer threw in the towel after seven hours trying to resurrect it. All outstanding news has been posted on this update.

Bennetts Seal a deal.

10th February: UK Top Methanol Funny Car team and Eurodragster.com Bloggers Bennett Racing are delighted to announce the addition of their latest sponsor GST Racing Seals:

GST Racing Seals design and supply high performance seals which substantially reduce parasitic power losses due to seal friction, typically by 50%-85%. This helps you to go faster! There are secondary benefits such as cooler running and reduced shaft wear particularly for high speed shafts. All of our products are custom-designed and can cover all race car applications in many levels of Motorsports from Formula 1 to Karting. We consider ourselves to be one of the better technical seal suppliers and we can offer racing advantage to our customers especially when all of the seals on the car are converted to our low friction technology. We have satisfied customers all around the world.

"Bennett Racing are very pleased to welcome GST Racing Seals and look forward to a great relationship!", says Luke Bennett.

Award thanks III.
10th February: Peter Crane, who was inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame at last weekend's APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation, asked us to publish his acceptance speech as not everyone he wanted to thank was present. We are very pleased and honoured to do so:

I am really honoured to be inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, especially as this is the first year people have been able to nominate their choice. So let me thank all those who voted for me, very much appreciated.

My biggest achievement was at the Easter meeting in 1976, which was Santa Pods tenth anniversary. The Top Fuel entry was the first all-British eight car field and I was proud to have been part of it. I raced and beat drag racing legend and reigning NHRA World Champion Don Garlits with the first five second run in the world outside North America, 5.97 which I backed up in the next round with a 6.03.

Over the years many people who were there have said how much that meeting inspired them and some went on to become competitors. I understand Mike Manners was one of these, so it means a lot to hear that. For those unfamiliar with his name he is a British ex-pat who is really doing well in his Top Alcohol Dragster in the USA.

As it is now thirty five years since that meeting we are having a reunion of those drivers who took part. It will be at the Easter Thunderball.

As well as knowing Allan Herridge, I drove Firefly and Gladiator (as Hustler), both of which were well-known as Bootsie's rides. So to receive a 'Bootsie' has an extra special meaning for me.

I would also like to thank Roy Phelps for giving me the opportunity to race in Top Fuel and Ray Edmondson (my partner and main sponsor of Stormbringer), his brother Ron Edmondson, also my team Jim Hone, Graham and Eve Warley, Mick Barrington and Norm Bristow without whom it would have been impossible to run a Fuel car.

I would like to thank Stu Bradbury, the rest of the Committee, and everyone else involved for having the foresight to found the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame as it keeps our history alive. Brian Taylor has also made a huge contribution to preserving our drag racing history with his book and the Allard Chrysler Action Group project to bring Britain's first dragster back to life. Well done Brian, Stu.I hope to see Ally at Dragstalgia in July!

UK Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield was over the moon to win the SPRC Best Appearing Car award. "Many thanks go to everyone who voted for me, and congratulations to all the other winners", he says. "I would also like to say well done to everybody who organised the Dinner and Dance, it was a great evening which we both thoroughly enjoyed. I am at present frantically trying to find funds to be able to race this year, but with engine damage and other financial commitments it is proving very difficult."

UK Pro ET racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Mike Lacey says that to be nominated for the SPRC Most Professional Appearing Team trophy was an honour, but that to win was shocking. "I feel I'm not worthy of this when I see the existing names on the shield from the last twenty years", says Mike. "To be associated with them, and to think others will see my name in future years! I've never won or even been in a final. Maybe this year I will get my chance. I've always tried hard to promote this sport and support my fellow racers. Now I run the sponsorship scheme as well. The music in the pits at the Summernationals was my idea five years ago, and seems to be a hit with everyone, so will continue. I guess most who voted for me were Pro ET racers, so that would be a little unfair to the others as our class is so big. Nevertheless, thanks to all that voted for me. Team Metamorphosis, for one, can't wait for Easter to get here."

Ingrid and Martin Chesworth have been in touch to thank Avon Park International Racing Association for the APIRA Endeavour Award. "Now that we have fully recovered from last weekend, we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone, firstly for the nomination and even more importantly thanks to everyone who voted for us", they say. "It really was a shock when we won. The trophy is in pride of place in the glass cabinet at home and we will cherish for the next year. We are now looking forward to another great year of racing. See you all soon."

Web site updates.
10th February: Nick Pettitt, who has written a book about the early years of British drag racing, has updated his Author's Blog on Alan Currans' excellent web site. In the latest instalment Nick tells about proof-reading and reveals the publication date. You can check it out at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk/nick/pettitt_blog.html.

Gullqvist attracts the birds.
9th February: Swedish Pro Modified racer Micke Gullqvist has been in touch from Palm Beach in Florida where he is testing with the R2B2 Pro Modified team.

"This is a pretty exotic race track", says Micke. "In the 'jungle' just beside our pits, there are alligators lurking and we also have some nice birds in the pits to help us out.

"On Monday we started with a checkout pass to 330 feet, and then a full pass running a 6.05. Only me and my longtime team buddy Freddy 'Turbo' Westerlind are working on the car, so we are only making a couple of hits per day. Yesterday we stepped it up a bit and started the day with a 5.94. After some further changes we ended the day with a 5.89 /246 pass. Today we go into lab mode and I don't think we will run very fast."

FIA Sweden International.

8th February: The Sweden International, to be held at the new Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June, is to be both an FIA European Championship round and a UEM European Drag Bike Championship round. A press release from Tierp Arena reads:

One of the hottest topics in the racing industry in recent months has been the question if Tierp Arena in Sweden will be approved to host one of the races in the European Drag Racing Championship in 2011? And the answer is yes!

The Swedish Automobile Sports Federation has informed the FIA that they have approved Tierp Arena to host the second of six races in the prestigious 2011 European Drag Racing Championship.

"This has been our intention from the start" says Leif Andréasson, one of the owners and driving forces behind the Tierp Arena project. "Not everyone can host a race in the European Championship, so we fully understand why this process took a while to complete."

Up until now the Championship has consisted of five races. The FIA and the representatives of drag racing have for years had additional races the top of their wish list.

"This is a important step in the development of the drag racing sport in Europe", adds Leif. "Our intention and long term goal when starting this project was to increase interest and introduce the sport to new groups of spectators. We will try to give Europe the best drag racing event ever, in every aspect."

The arena being built at Tierp is in many ways unique. First of all the race track is all-concrete, the first in Europe. The arena has also been built with a permanent grand stand for 20,000 spectators. "No track can be as smooth as one made out of concrete" says Lars-Erik Lindberg, one of the other owners and Construction Manager for work in the arena area. "Our intention from the beginning was to build the best drag racing track ever in Europe. We haven't cut any corners nor spared any expense to get a facility that will give our guests an experience that they will never forget. This is one of the most challenging projects in which I have ever been involved. But we will be done in time, well before our first races in May and June."

Representatives of Pro classes will run at the NDRS Nats at Tierp on 7th-8th May as required by FIA rules to prove the facility and the organisation. There will be a lot more to come on this, which we will of course bring you as it arrives, but in the meantime you can find the Tierp Arena web site at www.tierparena.com.

Hill heads for Yas Marina.
8th February: Further to Sunday's snippet, UK Jet Funny Car pilot Martin Hill of Eurodragster.com sponsor DJ Safety is proud to confirm that the FireForce team will be travelling to Abu Dhabi to perform demonstration runs at the Yas Drag Racing Festival on 4th-5th March.

"After many months of organisation, we are delighted to get the go-ahead to publicise this event and the official Press Release hit the UAE papers yesterday", says Martin. "We are honoured to have been invited to attend this event and are looking forward to taking FireForce 3 to our first ever performance in the Middle East. Hopefully we will prove as popular there as we feel here in the UK, and just maybe make a few more fans along the way.

"It has taken a lot of hard work, and there will be a lot more to come once we arrive in Abu Dhabi, but we are all really excited about it.

"We will keep you all updated as and when we can, but for more information visit www.yasmarinacircuit.com."

As previously mentioned here on Eurodragster.com, FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher is also to run at Yas Marina, in a match race against Rod Fuller. The official press release reads as follows:

The sound and fury of 8,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters will split the air again in the UAE when the FIA European Champion Urs Erbacher races resident NHRA star Rod Fuller at the Yas Drag Racing Festival on 4th-5th March. Other attractions for the Drag Festival will include demonstration runs by Martin Hill in the world's fastest jet-powered Funny Car and a full programme of drag racing with entries from across the GCC region.

Hot Rod Fuller became the fastest man on four wheels in the UAE at last year's inaugural Drag Racing Festival when he hit a terminal speed of 499.97 km/h in front of a capacity crowd at Yas Marina Circuit. He covered the standing-start 1,000 feet (304 metres) in 3.893 seconds in his 8,000-horsepower dragster, setting another UAE record by just 0.001 seconds. Expectations are high for cracking the magical 500 km/h barrier at this year's event.

"Fans can expect to see some very exciting Top Fuel racing" Fuller said. "Urs is the European Champion and presents a very serious challenge for me. I've stepped up my training since the beginning of the year in order to be at peak fitness for the Drag Festival. My aim is to beat the European Champion and set a new UAE record in the process."

Fuller will also be providing rides for spectators in the Yas three-seat Super Comp dragster. "That's going to be a real first" said Rashed Al Qubaisi, head of the Yas Drag Racing Centre. "Never before has the public been able to watch a Top Fuel driver pull a sub-four-second run and then get strapped into a Super Comp dragster for a similar experience with the same driver."

Al Qubaisi is excited about this year's Festival. "Last year's inaugural Drag Racing Festival at Yas was watched by a sell-out crowd, and it was clear that the spectacle of Top Fuel was a huge attraction", he said. "People were thrilled by the power, the sound and the way the very ground shook. This year, we will have the two Top Fuel cars perform solo runs on Friday and then race head to head on Saturday so that spectators can see more Top Fuel action". The inaugural two-day Yas Drag Racing Festival 2010 was named as "Motorsport Event of the Year" by CAR Middle East magazine in December.

Fuller's car will be managed by Bob Vandergriff, one of the leading NHRA team managers, who will be bringing his full US crew to Abu Dhabi for the Festival straight from the NHRA drag race at Pomona, California. Top crew chief Mike Domagala, who looked after one of the Yas Top Fuellers at last year's event, will again be back to lead the Hot Rod pit crew.

The demonstration runs by Martin Hill in his jet-powered Funny Car are also set to be a major draw. "This is the first time a jet car will have performed in the Middle East and it's sure to create just as big a stir as the Top Fuel cars", Al Qubaisi said. "The whole paddock area is open to all spectators, so they can see the teams up close and talk to the drivers. With drag racing, everyone gets a back-stage pass!"

Organisers are expecting a full field of entries from GCC drag racers across seven classes: Pro Mod, Outlaw 10.5, 4.80, Super Street 8 (SS8), Pro 6, Pro Bike and Super Street Bike. Tickets are now on sale for the Yas Drag Racing Festival for AED 50, with children 12 and under free of charge. Access to the VIP Golden Circle close to the start is available for AED 150. Tickets are available on the web site at www.yasmarinacircuit.com, by phone on 800 YAS (927) or from all branches of Virgin Megastores in the UAE.

Triple-H have designs on West-Tec.
8th February: The UK's Lucas Oils Team West-Tec Top Fuel Dragster Team have announced a new partnership with custom graphics specialists Triple-H Graphics.

Triple-H Graphics are specialists in custom graphics and design solutions - from one-off customised car graphics, exhibition and design signage to large format fleet branding. They will be supplying graphics for the new Team West-Tec / Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster to be driven by four-time FIA European Champion Andy Carter. "It is very important to me to have a great-looking operation", said Andy. "We are a professional operation and everything from the race car, truck, trailer and clothing must look professional! Our fans and sponsors expect nothing less. That is why I'm very pleased to be partnered with Triple-H Graphics; their high quality and professional service will ensure we will be the pride of the pits in 2011."

Director Steve Porter added "It's a great honour to be partnering with one of the most professional drag racing teams in Europe and I'm looking forward to showcasing our services through Andy and Lucas Oils Team West-Tec. From business cards, leaflets and brochures; hoarding boards, signage and banners; promotional items such as t-shirts, keyrings and mousemats to a total branding solution for your fleet of trucks – we can offer you a great service with fast turnaround at the most competitive prices."

For more information on Triple H-Graphics please visit www.triple-h.net, E-Mail [email protected], or call +44 (0) 1462 813 433.

Swift snippets.
8th February: More details will be made available shortly but July's Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park in Sweden will not be an FIA European Championship round this season. We understand that it is still intended to hold the UEM European Drag Bike Championship round at the Veidec Festival as well as the NDRS round. Mantorp Park will return to the FIA calendar in 2012. Stay tuned and as soon we receive a release about this we shall of course bring it to you.

In the last twenty four hours two spy pictures have arrived at the offices of Eurodragster.com. The first (below left) came with the words "No flies on my bug"...

...whilst the second came with the words "(A)nother Coupe". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected].

Award thanks II.
8th February: Roy Wilding has been in touch to thank Avon Park International Racing Association for the APIRA Alan Wigmore Trophy. "Alan holds a special place for me", says Roy. "He was the first NDRC official who encouraged me to take my custom Ford Pop, which was driven from the rear seat, and run it down the track at Avon Park approximately thirty years ago. Thank you also to all the people who voted for me, to Paul Croston of the Wild Bunch who accepted the trophy on my behalf, and to Dave and Linda Williams who delivered the trophy to me the following day. Cheers guys, this trophy holds a special place and is much appreciated."

UK Pro Mod racer Ray White says that for his tuner Adrian Spencer to be presented with the SPRC James Edgar Memorial Trophy was a great way to finish drag racing. "We managed our 6.78 and that great wheelstand as well", says Ray. "I'd like to thank everyone who voted for Adrian, and also to say well done to the other Crew Chiefs who were nominated. They all dsserve a trophy - without them we just couldn't do it. A big congratulations to the Gibbs family too. I would really like to thank all the crew who have worked so hard on the Zephyr over the years: Steve Dowler, Chris Manning, Steve Matthews, Jeff Willet, Andy "Spoons" Oliver and this year Adrian Spencer, Danny Cockerill, Danny de'Ath, Steve Mac, and of course my wife Jacky who fed everyone over the years. Good luck to all the riders and drivers for 2011, be quick and be safe."

Web site updates.
8th February: In in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we have entries in two of our exclusive Racer Blogs for you today. First up is multiple ACU UK Pro Stock Bike Champion Dave Beck who brings us up-to-date with his plans for 2011, which include the Holy Grail of Pro Stock Bike racing, the six-second pass. The second update is from Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon who tells us a little more about the introduction of MPM Oil UK and his plans for 2011. 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.

Barry Redstone.

7th February: We were sorry to hear from Dave Wilson of the death of Barry Redstone, owner of the Redstone and Gleadow Top Methanol Dragster team with whom Fay Fischer and then Dave Wilson drove in the late 1990s. Barry passed away in hospital after an operation.

Barry's funeral takes place at 10:15 this coming Friday (11th) at Colchester Crematorium, Mersea Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 8RU.

Our deepest sympathies to Barry's family and friends.

2011 York Raceway calendar.
7th February: Thanks to Alan Perkins for forwarding us details of this year's events at York Raceway:

Easter Sunday 24th April, Mini v Beetle Shootout: 16th Annual Mini v Beetle Shootout, York Raceway burnout competition, drag racers Test and Tune, Run What You've Brung sessions, Jet Car display

Easter Monday 25th April, Super Street Shootout: Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 1, Air-Cooled Eliminations Round 1, Test and Tune for High Performance and Drag Cars, RWYB sessions, Jet Car display

Sunday 1st May, 0-60 Shootout: 0-60 Challenge Round 1, Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 2, Air-Cooled Eliminators Qualifying for Round 2, HR Challenge Qualifying for Round 1, Super Cup qualifying for Round 1, Pro ET and Sportsman ET qualifying for Round 1, RWYB, Jet Car display

Bank Holiday Monday 2nd May, UK Open Nationals: Japanese Shootout, trophy for the fastest street-legal, American Super Stock Round 1, Air-Cooled Eliminators Round 2, HRSC Challenge Round 1 Eliminations, Super Cup Round 1 Eliminations, Pro ET and Sportsman ET Round 1 eliminations, plenty of track time for RWYB, Jet Car display

Sunday-Monday 29th-30th May, UK Spring Nationals: Sunday 29th Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 3, American Super Stock Round 2, Air-Cooled Eliminators qualifying Round 3, HRSC Challenge Round 2 qualifying, Super Cup Round 2 qualifying, Pro ET and Sportsman ET Round 2 qualifying, RWYB sessions, Ladies' Race, Jet Car display. Monday 30th: American Super Stock round 3, Air-Cooled Eliminators round 3, HRSC Challenge Round 2 eliminations, Super Cup Round 2 eliminations, Pro ET and Sportsman ET Round 2 eliminations, Open RWYB, Jet Car display

Sunday 10th July, Ultimate Road Car Challenge: Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 4, 0-60 Championship Round 2, American Super Stock Round 4, Air-Cooled Eliminators Round 4, HRSC Challenge Round 3, Pro ET and Sportsman ET Round 3, RWYB

Sunday 7th August, UK Northern Nationals: Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 5, American Super Stock Round 5, Air-Cooled Eliminations Round 5, HRSC Challenge Round 4, Super Cup Round 4, Pro ET and Sportsman ET Round 4, RWYB

Sunday-Monday 28th-29th August, UK Northern Finals: Sunday 28th Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 6, American Super Stock Round 6, Air-Cooled Eliminators qualifying, HR Challenge qualifying, Super Cup qualifying, Pro ET and Sportsman ET qualifying, RWYB, NSRA Hot Rod Reunion featuring the 34th Annual Street Racer Championship, Jet Car display, evening live entertainment. Monday 29th: The finals at York usually provide some cliff-hangers for those who didn't score enough points at the beginning of the season. Jap Tuners, final round of American Super Stock, final round of Air-Cooled Eliminators, final round of Northern Drag Racing Championship, final round of HRSC Challenge, RWYB, NSRA Hot Rod Reunion, Jet Car display

Sunday 18th September, Euro Hot Hatch Spectacular: Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 7, 0-60 Championship Round 3, 25th Annual Ford Shootout, Shootout for all European cars, RWYB Hot Hatches and Modifieds, special demos from Europe's fastest street legal cars, RWYB

Sunday 9th October, Ultimate RWYB: The last chance for any grudge matches, banzai runs or to catch up from any rain-offs before the season closes. Plus Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 8, Open RWYB plus outstanding finals, Jap Stock

For more information check out York Raceway's web site at www.york-raceway.org.uk.

MPM Oil comes to the UK.
7th February: With the changing climate in Sponsorship Land causing marketing strategies to be adjusted, it is time for Dutch Top Fuel Dragster team Lex Joon Racing to find other ways to secure funding to make it possible to hit the track in Europe and the USA.

Eurodragster.com Blogger Lex Joon and his partner Richard Stevens, who resides in the UK, have acquired the sole rights to import and sell MPM Oil products in the United Kingdom. Courtesy of the newly-formed company MPM Oil UK Ltd, Lex and Richard will be able to answer the frequently asked question of where MPM products can be acquired. MPM Oil UK is in the process of appointing dealers throughout the United Kingdom, this being the first step in making the brand available for all Lex Joon Racing fans and serious mechanics who only want the best products in their workshops. Lex Joon Racing and MPM have been a proven team when it comes to partnership and performance, and the product will now be available in UK stores soon.

For enquiries regarding MPM Oil UK products, Richard Stevens is available at [email protected] or you can visit the web site at www.mpmoil.co.uk.

An MPM page has been launched on Facebook at www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/MPM-Oil-UK-Ltd/131486330252711. "Please feel free to upload any relevant photos or links which shows the team in action, and feel free to share this link with your colleagues and friends", says Lex.

"We do not yet know when the MPM-sponsored Lex Joon Racing Top Fuel Dragster will be in action, but stay tuned for details as they come available on the news feed as well as regular Blogs on Eurodragster.com."

Award thanks.
7th February: Tina Gibbs, who with son Craig accepted Terry Gibbs' Hall of Fame trophy at the induction ceremony on Saturday evening, has asked us to publish her speech of thanks:

I would like to thank everyone who voted for Terry, and the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. We as a family are very proud to accept on his behalf. I would also like to congratulate all the 2011 inductees.

Terry's love for American cars and drag racing was all to apparent to those who knew and loved him. I remember his first encounter with racing was in the late 60s. We had gone to Blackbushe, we hadn't gone for the racing but to the market, Terry wanted to know what was going on nearby so we paid our couple of quid and that started a love affair which lasted more than forty years.

Terry loved his racing but ultimately I think was a born organiser. He was always striving for perfection. There were so many highlights during his life: Chairman of Camaro Club of Great Britain, Chairman of the Super Gas Drag Racing Association, the Crane Cams Super Gas Tour to Hockenheim in 1995 that was a great trip, the Super Series and Xtreme Wheels. Terry hated the word promoter and would say "I'm a racer at heart". He knew what the racers wanted and he tried to achieve that most of the time.

The Super Series was where Terry came into his own and he was a avid believer in the National Championship and worked very hard alongside Phil Evans. He was also working very closely at that time with Keith Bartlett. Terry felt that there was a place in racing for Junior Dragster and commissioned Geof Hauser to build four cars, organising Party in the Park for young kids to come along and have a go, and worked alongside Phil and the Clubs for the class to be recognised by the MSA. He secured filming and saw the Super Series televised, I think a first for Sportman racing.

The Super Series was a dream Terry had had for so long and it was only due to a chat he had with Trevor Graves and Jeff Bull at the Finals at the Pod in 1996 that we saw Super Slam in 1997. In 1998 the Super Series was born and I thank Trevor, Heather Read and Anthony Hodges for allowing Terry's dream to become a reality for five years. There where highs and lows but I think if Terry was here now he would say he hadn't any regrets.

We had a good band of people working with us. I'd like to thank Marie and Darren Herbert-White, Bruno and Sophie Sanderson-Brown and all those involved at the time because without them I don't think it would have been the success it was. I'd also like to thank the racers as well who believed in Terry and the Super Series.

The last three years of Terry's life saw Terry, myself, our good friends Bob and Cath Glassup organise Xtreme Wheels, yet another dream of his. He loved his dreams and he rose to the challenge once again and saw the show running for three years. I would also like to thank again Marie and Darren for all their invaluable help.

The weekend before Terry died we had been down to Sharon and Jon Hogarth's in Great Yarmouth to pick up yet another scoop for Obsession and Terry had made arrangements for us to look at a possible racing venue on our way home. He was full of optimism when we left and told me "We can do this love", and having complete faith in him I knew he would achieve his ultimate dream to own his own facility.

Terry was dogged by illnesses and operations over the last five years of his life but he was determined he would still carry on towards his goals, although at times we could see he was tired he was not a man to be beaten. He loved his chats on the phone about racing and they were never short, Ian and Jeff can vouch for that.

I feel good when I see the strength of the National Championship and the Juniors and smile to myself that Terry had played some small part in their ongoing growth.

Terry could be a grumpy old git when he wanted to but that aside we miss him terribly. He left us and others with such good memories what more could we ask for except that we wish he was still with us. Once again thank you.

I would like to congratulate Ian Marshall on the Obsession Award, and whatever you might say Ian it was well-deserved, well done.

APIRA Iris Page Memorial Trophy winner, Wild Bunch racer Dick Sharp, writes to say a big Thank You to everyone who voted for him: this is really a team effort as I certainly couldn't have got back out racing without them! I'd like to say thank you to my team, particularly my son Dan, for all their hard work, to Scottie, of Specialist Paintworks, for his brilliant paint job and Jemma Thompson for her outstanding signwriting. All the 'Horn team, past and present, had a lot of time for Iris Page, she was a lovely lady and the backbone of the NDRC for many years. We've known the family since the early 1970s (little Gary was a boy!) and spent a lot of time with them, so it is extra special to receive this trophy associated with them.

Dave Crunkhorn, aka Crunch, says that he was shocked when he heard that he had been awarded the SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. "I remember Alex from his days at the Pod, and I know how hard he worked and how every one appreciated what he did", says Crunch. "So I find being awarded this Trophy in his name a great honour and would like to say a big Thank You to all those involved in the nominations and my selection. Thank you all very much."

SCR Junior Dragster update.
7th February: It has been a busy few days for officials of the Shakespeare County Raceway Junior Dragster League. Hot on the heels of last Wednesday's update comes news that Alamo Rent A Car has confirmed backing for the series to be run at the Warwickshire venue in 2011.

"I am very pleased that we now have the backing of Alamo", says League organiser Daren Brett. "The Junior class has enjoyed an enormous amount of publicity generated through television and radio media as well as electronic type. I strongly believe that through Alamo's continued support of Paige Wheeler on both sides of the Atlantic this venture has certainly opened the door now for all Junior teams the incentive to go out and attain sponsorship, and let's not forget that the Juniors are a very powerful marketing tool for sponsor exposure. They are our future champions."

After a successful year offering 10% discount, Alamo have increased that discount to no less than 15% for 2011. To book your hire car for your racing trip to Europe, the USA, Australia or elsewhere check out Alamo Rent A Car.

The SCR Junior Dragster League would like to say a huge Thank You to Andy Wheeler and Alamo for their support in 2011.

The SCR Junior Dragster League would also like to welcome Tailor-Made Webs as a supporter of the series. Tailor-Made Webs is a professional internet consulting and web design company based in the West Midlands specialising in on-line marketing, web site design, Flash Multimedia and corporate identity. They are now building the League's very own web site thanks to MD Tony Provan and C&C Medical Services.

Andy Przybyl, proprietor of newly opened Przym Paintworks, has sponsored UK Tot Rod racer Callum Swinchatt to drive Shakespeare County Raceway's rental Junior Dragster at the Springspeed Nationals and Open Sport Nationals. "Andy Przybyl was responsible for the paint on my Tot Rod and has started preparing my Topolino for painting", says Callum. "In the past Andy has painted street rods to Top Fuel Dragsters! You can contact Andy on 01733 240960 or 07968 843593 for all your paint needs". Dad Chris tells us that Callum has been allowed to race his Tot Rod in the SCR Junior Dragster League, in his last season in the car as he is getting too tall.

UK Champions, Perpetual winners honoured.
6th February: The winners and runners-up in the 2010 UK National Championships, MSA British Drag Racing Championship, APIRA and Santa Pod Racers Club Championships, and British Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductees were presented with their trophies at the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation in Solihull last night (Saturday). The winners of APIRA's Perpetual Awards and SPRC's Perpetual Awards and Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year trophy, for whom Eurodragster.com readers had the chance to vote, were also presented with their trophies.

Congratulations to the Perpetual Award winners:

SPRC Most Promising Newcomer: Paul Brown (Pro ET)
SPRC Best Appearing Car: Kev Slyfield (Pro Modified)
SPRC Best Appearing Bike: Wayne Saunders (Super Street Bike)
SPRC Most Professional Appearing Team: Team Metamorphosis (Pro ET)
SPRC James Edgar Memorial Trophy: Adrian Spencer (Pro Modified and Super Modified)
SPRC Paul Giddings Memorial Trophy: Chris Hannam (Supertwin)
SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy: Dave Crunkhorn, aka Crunch

APIRA Iris Page Memorial Trophy: Dick Sharp (Wild Bunch)
APIRA Alan Wigmore Memorial Trophy: Roy Wilding
APIRA Endeavour Award: Ingrid and Martin Chesworth
SCR Award for Outstanding Achievement: Jemma Venables (9.50 Bike)
SCR Sportswoman of the Year Trophy: Gabrielle McDonald (Junior Dragster)
Anya Yates Memorial Trophy: The Collier family

Obsession Motorsports Sportsman of the Year Trophy: Ian Marshall
SMRA Crew Chief of the Year: Alan McSweeney

British Drag Racing Hall of Fame
Peter Crane
Pete Davies
Terry Gibbs (accepted by Tina and Craig Gibbs)
Brian Sparrow
Harlan Thompson

Harlan Thompson's British Drag Racing Hall of Fame trophy was accepted in his absence by Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog. Harlan is hoping to visit Santa Pod Raceway this year and he will be presented with his trophy then. Tog delivered the following speech on Harlan's behalf:

"The first that many of us knew of Harlan Thompson was when he won the sixteen-car Funny Car eliminator at the 1980 World Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. Interviewing Harlan after the final, John Price asked if it had been tiring making four Funny Car runs in one day and Harlan replied "Well, I won't be having sex tonight, that's for sure". Last week I reminded Harlan of this comment and he said "That was probably a lie, actually". Harlan asked me to say a few words to you on his behalf.

"I started Pro racing in 1968 but I had been match racing every other night since I was a teenager. I spent six to eight months a year on the road. By the time I came to Europe it was like a business and I had to concentrate on sponsors and not work on the car and I missed doing all that. But it worked out well with Knut Söderqvist and with Roy Phelps – I need to say big thanks to Roy who was a good influence.

"Budweiser were very good to me. It turned into a pretty good deal towards the end – I felt like a robber without a gun and I'm probably the only person who ever retired on racing in Europe! I felt a little bad after my last run but at that race I had made three runs and didn't really need to take the engine apart. They were good times and you couldn't get better Funny Car racing.

"Santa Pod was and always will be my home track. This is probably the biggest honour I've ever had because it was voted for by people who know drag racing. I very much appreciate what you guys have done. Thank you."

Here's hoping we never do this...

6th February: Glenn Ramsden of UK Event Safety tells us that Santa Pod Racers Club and Santa Pod Raceway staff along with the emergency and safety teams have been put through their paces at the venue's recent Major Incident Exercise. The scenario involved a start line explosion which resulted in multiple casualties around the area.

Matt Whiting of M & S Ambulance Service, medical providers for Santa Pod, explained "This type of exercise is invaluable for demonstrating the value of crews being able to work together and also illustrating to those not normally involved how such an incident would encroach upon their routine roles."

Despite the freezing conditions, the exercise was extremely well-attended and the enthusiasm shown by everyone involved was as equally as impressive.

David Lloyd Jones of Santa Pod Raceway said "I would like to pass on thanks to Mark Cook-Abbott of Marbec Training Ltd for organising the event and also to everyone who endured the testing weather conditions to make the exercise a success. Hopefully the day will never come when we need these skills but should a major incident occur at the venue it is reassuring to know that the necessary training is in place and the people at the sharp end know how to deal with it."

Punishment detail.
6th February: Mark Smith and the UK's Stunt Monkeys Punisher Crew Pro Stock Bike team are pleased to announce new sponsors for their 2011 campaign:

Our new sponsors are Shoot Me Photos and Warp Speed Racing. Our sponsors from previous years continue to support us: many thanks for support and help to Draper Tools, Green's Plumbing, Debben Performance and MDH Repair Centre.

We are well on the way to being ready for our first run out at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod. The Punisher is undergoing major work ready for the start of the season. Without going into too much detail, we will have an entirely new look for 2011 which will appear a few days before Easter at www.flickr.com/photos/greeno298 and on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thepunishercrew. If you are going to the Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC on 12th-14th April then you can see the bike on display on the Draper Tools stand which will be its first appearance in 2011.

The Stunt Monkeys crew would like to say Thank You to Stuart Crane of Warpspeed Racing for his continuous help and support through the winter months, and for all his hard work on the chassis; to Ray Debben for the extraordinary engine work he always manages to carry out to the highest standards; and last but not least a special Thank You to Steve at MDH for his time, effort, understanding and impressive workmanship on the Punisher. We look forward to showing off your skills at our first meet.

We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2011 and to beating our Personal Bests. Watch this space boys, Smithy is coming for you.

Swift snippets.

6th February: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came without any words, although it is evident that our mole has got their priorities right. If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected].

UK Jet Funny Car pilot and Eurodragster.com sponsor Martin Hill will be taking his Fireforce 3 Jet FC to Abu Dhabi to run at the Drag Racing Festival at Yas Marina on 4th-5th March. Stay tuned for more.

Straightliners are pleased to announce that Buckley Tyres are to be their tyre provider for the 2011 season. "We will have Michelin Power Ones available at all our events or for pick up from the office in Brighouse; please contact Straightliners for pricing", says Trevor Duckworth. "Straightliners would like to thank all involved at Buckley Tyres for their involvement in our 2011 season and for helping us to keep competitors' costs down."

Michelle Walker has been in touch to thank those Eurodragster.com readers who wrote to suggest names for Roy Walker's new race car. "We have decided upon Race Ventora", says Michelle.

Web site updates.
6th February: Finnish Supertwin racer Asko Määttä has been at home recovering from foot surgery and has put that time to good use learning to edit video. "I did some filming at last summer's Nitro Nationals and Finnish Finals", says Asko, "and you can see the videos on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/bld195. If any racers are interested in getting better quality raw material or ready-made DVDs from my material on YouTube then please contact me on [email protected]."

Anne-Marie Lazenby writes that the official web site of the UK's Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator has been updated with the 2011 race calendar, pictures of the class' Awards Evening, and some news snippets from class members. You can check it out at www.streeteliminator.com.

Air Sea Logistics increase support.
4th February: We are very pleased to announce that Air Sea Logistics Ltd have stepped up their support of Eurodragster.com by becoming a Main Sponsor.

Air Sea Logistics, whose head office is based at London Heathrow Airport, is a multi-modal freight forwarder providing air, ocean and road freight import and export services on a global basis. Air Sea Logistics, whose MD is Super Comp/Super Gas racer Malcolm Francis, has been providing chassis builders, parts companies, race teams and racers with import and export services from the USA and Europe since it started in 1994.

We would like to say a huge Thank You to Malcolm Francis, one of our longer-standing sponsors, for his increased support. We know that a lot of readers already use Air Sea Logistics but if you are considering import or export of vehicles, parts or indeed anything else then please check out the company's services on their web site at www.airsealogistics.com.

2011 European SFI Tour update.
4th February: Many thanks to Jennifer Faye, Program Manager of the SFI Foundation, for confirming details of the Dutch stop on this year's SFI European recertification tour. The inspection in The Netherlands will take place between 09:00 and 11:00 on Thursday 24th March at the Silverstone Indoor Go Kart Centre in Zwanenburg.

The full 2011 SFI European Inspection Tour is therefore as follows:

Thursday 24th March: Zwanenburg, The Netherlands. Silverstone Indoor Go Kart Centre. Inspections 09:00-11:30
Friday 25th March: Helsinki, Finland. US Parts, Holkkitie 10, 00880 Helsinki. Inspections 10:00-13:00
Saturday 26th March: Åkers Styckebruk, Sweden. Persåkers Speed Shop. Inspections 12:00-16:00
Monday 28th March: Santa Pod Raceway, England. Scrutineering building. Inspections 10:00-14:00

The SFI team will be able to recertify the following products:

Clutches 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
Rigid Auto Trans Shields 4.1
Bellhousings 6.1, 6.2, 6.3
Drag Wheels 15.1, 15.2, 15.3
Flexplates 29.1, 29.2
Flexplate shields 30.1

2011 UK Riders' and Drivers' meeting.
4th February: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for confirming that the 2011 UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting will be held on Sunday 20th February in the Executive Suite at the Diamonds Centre, otherwise known as Rushden and Diamonds' football stadium, in Nene Way in Irthlingborough (click here for a map). The meeting will commence at 12:00 pm and will finish by 2:00 pm. Tea and coffee will be available, for a small fee, on arrival.

Items to be discussed include the 2011 UK National Championships (ratification of dates as well as Championship matters), event entry fees and pitside electrical supply, and prize funds, as well as Any Other Business.
©Eurodragster.com
"Racers are invited to submit items for the agenda", says Paula, "but please note that your item will only be discussed if you actually attend the meeting."

If you have any items for the agenda of the 2011 Riders' and Drivers' Meeting then please send them either to Paula Marshall of SPRC at [email protected] or to Shakespeare County Raceway at [email protected] by close of office hours next Friday, 11th February.

2011 UK Pro Modified meeting.
4th February: Many thanks to Darren Prentice for letting us know that the annual meeting of MSA British Pro Modified Championship racers will also take place on Sunday 20th February.

The meeting will take place at 2:30 pm in Pitside VIP at Santa Pod Raceway - please note that it will not be at the Diamonds Centre. An invitation is extended to all current Pro Modified racers, any racers intending to race in Pro Modified this season, or those interested in doing so. Team members are also welcome.

If you plan to attend the meeting then please register with Darren Prentice at [email protected].

Swift snippets.
4th February: Our good buddies at Bangshift.com will be broadcasting the weekend's PRO Winter Warmup, the Fuel-only test session for NHRA Pro racers, live from Palm Beach in Florida. The broadcast will be on-line today (Friday) and tomorrow, coverage commences at 21:00 UK / 22:00 European. You can find out more at www.bangshift.com.

Puma acquire Pro 1.

4th February: Puma Engineering, manufacturer of the worlds most powerful motorcycle engines are proud to announce they have concluded the acquisition of the Pro 1 Suzuki business of Canada's Dawson Engineering.

Pro 1 have built an enviable reputation as the aftermarket case supplier of choice for the fastest and quickest Suzuki Funny Bike, Pro Mod, PXM and Competition Bike riders such as European Champion Rikard Gustafsson and US Champion Travis Davis.

Ian King, Commercial Director of Puma Engineering, said "Pro 1 is an ideal platform for Puma to build on its plans to offer solutions to develop the drag bike market. It is well understood that the Funny Bike, Pro Extreme and Pro Mod classes are at the cutting edge of unitary engine racing, and they are also the natural breeding ground for Top Fuel racers of the future. We are currently working on plain bearing crank designs for these classes to alleviate the well known issues of trying to leverage power from roller bearing crank engines. The Pro 1 platform gives us a trusted platform to more quickly achieve or aims. The growth in interest in the PXM class at the ADRL has provided additional motivation to help overcome some of the deficiencies of the standard cases as tuners 'push the envelope'."

Steve Dawson, owner of Dawson Engineering, commented "My burgeoning general engineering interests meant that I am unable to exploit my Pro 1 business in the way it deserves. As the undoubted leader in drag bike engine technology Puma Engineering was the ideal company to entrust my visions for the future. The synergy between the manufacturer of the quickest and fastest motorcycle engines in the world and our Pro 1 line was irresistible."

For more information contact [email protected] or telephone Ian King at +44 01763 853985.

SCR Junior Dragster update.

3rd February: A new promotional video has been produced for Shakespeare County Raceway's Junior Dragster Experience hire car by Dave and Helen of Zeon TV. The promo video, along with new flyers designed by former Junior Dragster racer Pete Walters of Peter Walters Race Design, will help publicise the hire of the dragster for both National competition and RWYBs at shows and schools. You can view the video on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkuMplH2yVM.

Shakespeare County Raceway is also pleased to announce that the hire dragster has now been booked for competition at the Springspeed Nationals and Open Sport Nationals, but there are still places remaining at all of the Warwickshire drag strip's other events. A new web site is currently in the build stages to serve both the Hire Dragster and the SCR Junior Dragster League, due to commence at the Raceway in April, courtesy of supporters C&C Medical Services.

The SCR Junior Dragster League now has decals for sale thanks to series supporters Claron Graphics. The decals, which feature the League logo in four colours, can be purchased from Claron Graphics' on-line shop for £2.50 including postage, or at the track during race days. "All profits from the sale of the stickers will be put back into the running of the League", says Claron's Simon Cardwell. JDL Sticker Spotters will also be out in force at League events and if they spot a sticker on a vehicle - apart from a Junior Dragster, of course - there'll be a nice prize waiting for you!

An Itch to return.
3rd February: UK Pro ET racer Neil Hunter says that the Seven Year Itch team will return to the track in 2011 following a year out in 2010.

"We have imported a new car from New York", says Neil. "However the new car will not be out for another season or so, funding permitting. We shall once again campaign our Capri in 2011, starting with the Easter Thunderball.

"Sponsorship once again comes from Spirrac Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and we have new graphics courtesy of The Sign Guys. We have a web site for the race cars at sevenyearitchracing.moonfruit.com and the Spirac web site at www.spirrac.co.uk has been updated.

"Here's to a great upcoming season - we cannot wait to get back into competition."

UK Top Sportsman rules posted.
3rd February: Paul Marston has been in touch to advise interested parties that the rules for UK Top Sportsman have been ratified and are now available.

"Anyone wishing to compete in the inaugural UK Top Sportsman event, which is being held at Santa Pod Raceway's Dragstalgia event, can now access the rules on the Dragstalgia page on Santa Pod Raceway's web site", says Paul. "It's mainly the safety which is most important. Jeff Bull and I have tried to make them open to as many competitors as possible to make this event the great success we hope it to be. Please read the rules carefully to ensure that you comply fully.

"The entry form and UK Top Sportsman membership form will be posted on the Top Sportsman website which should be up and running very soon. If you have any questions or queries please contact me on 07831 650230 or E-Mail [email protected].

Jeff Bull has been busy and has secured some very impressive sponsors for UK Top Sportsman which will be announced shortly. There are still some sponsorship opportunities available and we are looking for business partners to share in the success of UK Top Sportsman. If you would like more information on what we have to offer please contact either Jeff Bull via the logo on the Eurodragster.com Swap Meet link myself at the above contacts."

Sleath, Samco hook up with WG Racing.
3rd February: The UK's WG Racing are very pleased to announce a technical partnership with John Sleath Race Cars for their twin-turbo Rolls Royce.

"John is supporting us with FAST upgrades, tuning and rolling road time", says Eurodragster.com sponsor Matthew Wright. "John was attracted by the car and by the "Let's get on with it" attitude of the team.

"We are delighted with the support from John as he has the only rolling road and engine dyno capable of operating with this style of car. We will certainly be making great use of the 2400 hp four-wheel dyno and John's wealth of knowledge.

"John Sleath is the UK distributor for Fuel Air Spark Technology (FAST) electronic fuel injection which is quite simply one of the most advanced and easy to use aftermarket fully-mappable fuel and ignition control ECUs you can buy."

The team are also very pleased to announce a technical partnership with Samco Hoses. SamcoSport has been the world leader in Performance Silicone hose for over ten years, supplying Formula One, World Rally Championship and World Super Bike teams and their range of replacement hose kits, race parts and accessories is second to none. With over four hundred direct replacement kits for the tuning and modifying scene, over one hundred motorbike kits, and the world's largest range of universal parts for motorsport and race cars, SamcoSport can offer you the best quality silicones hoses, for exceptional performance, and guaranteed reliability.

More Teng Tools for the Panther.
3rd February: UK Pro Stock team Panther Racing UK are pleased to announce the continued support of Teng Tools on their 2011 FIA European Pro Stock Championship tour.

"It's really good that Teng Tools and Lucas Oil have continued to support us over the past five years", says Trevor Graves. "We really value the long term commitment we have built with both parties. For links to our sponsors' web sites please visit www.pantherracinguk.com.

"Our current plan is to test at the Easter Thunderball with a fresh engine and clutch combination, to prepare us for the FIA Main Event in May. We would like to say a big Thank You to the race fans and racers for all their good wishes and support that they have offered for our 2011 FIA Tour."

Speedgroup UK meeting reminder.
3rd February: Speedgroup is hosting an information meeting this Saturday (5th) at the St. John's Hotel, Solihull, Birmingham (APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance venue that same day - Ed). The meeting will start at 12:30 pm and will finish at approximately 4:30 pm.

"The meeting is open to team members, car drivers, bike riders and officials with an interest in and a connection with European Championship drag racing", says Speedgroup Co-ordinator Åsa Kinnemar. "Many interesting topics are on the agenda including a review of the European Drag Racing Championships in 2010 and a look forward to 2011 and beyond. Don't miss this opportunity to find out what is going on and to play your part in shaping the future of drag racing in Europe."

If you wish to attend the meeting, then please register by E-Mailing Åsa at [email protected] or by calling +46 705 31 53 32. An agenda will be E-Mailed to those who register.

Another meeting with the same agenda is planned to be held in Sweden on 26th February, location and schedule to be advised. An invitation for that meeting will be posted in the near future.

Swift snippets.

3rd February: The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Not long now!". 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 buddies at Bangshift.com will be broadcasting the weekend's PRO Winter Warmup, the Fuel-only test session for NHRA Pro racers, live from Palm Beach in Florida. The broadcast will be on-line tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, and the time difference is -5 hours UK and -6 hours European. You can find out more at www.bangshift.com.

If you are going to the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation this Saturday (5th) then please remember that presentations start at 6:00 pm, so please be in your seats for that time. It would also be appreciated if the noise could be kept down during the presentations as a courtesy both to the trophy winners and to MCs Barry Bohannon and Darryl Bradford. Please also note that the format of the raffle is to be changed. Tickets will be on sale, one per person, at £2 and will be sold at the entrance to the function room on the way in for the start of the evening at 6:00.

For the love of criminy, please no more E-Mails about CPC Training. Last week's news item contained a clearly-worded request not to contact Eurodragster.com with queries but to contact Carole Ismail. Carole's contact details were in the news item. We don't know how much more clear we could have made it and we certainly do not need people being rude to us or making accusatory comments. If you know better than someone who runs a company which provides drivers, and so would be expected to know the law, then that's fine but it's her you need to tell. Please see News FAQ 16. None of the Eurodragster.com staff want to hear anything about this on Saturday either, thank you.

Living on the Edge.

3rd February: The UK's Team Edge Pro ET team are eagerly awaiting testing and the start of the season, says team member Mel Davey:

Changes have been made to the car for 2011, including a couple of power adders. Introducing a bit of gas into the mix should enable us to get into the eights, something we missed by thousandths during testing last year.

We have also updated our web site at www.racing4multiplesclerosis.com to include Mel's Story about my diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis, drag racing, and my involvement with the set-up of the team. Grab a tissue, it's a very moving story. You can follow Mel and Team Edge on Facebook, and check out our videos on YouTube - search for racing4multiplesclerosis.

Due to personal circumstances, Martin is no longer part of the team and has been replaced by Chris who has been involved in motorsport for many years and is a valued addition to the team.

Thanks must also go to Eurodragster.com for keeping us all informed with the latest news during the Winter (Thanks Mel, you're welcome - Ed). Good luck to everyone for 2011.

Web site updates.
3rd February: In the latest instalment in his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Pro Stock Bike racer Kalle Lyrén returns from the weekend's show and prepares to leave the snow behind with another trip to Frank Hawleys Drag Racing School. 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.

Congratulations to Martin Große-Geldermann who was the winner of the Drag Racing Photo of the Year contest on the European Drag Racing Database with this fine shot. You can find out more at www.drdb.eu.

When not working on the Timewarp Nostalgia Funny Car, Chris Eyre can often be found behind the lens of his camera. He thought that it was about time that he started a new photo web site, which he has now launched at www.eurodragpics.com. "Although in the early stages of construction there is enough to look through and keep yourself entertained before the season starts proper and you get that smell of nitro!", says Chris. We've taken a look and Chris' pictures are well worth investigating.

Bob Roberts has asked us to apologise for the lack of the regular monthly newsletter from Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars. "Our ISP has just switched off the facility which we used to send out the newsletter", says Bob. "No notice, no copies of E-Mail lists, in fact nothing. We will be back on the air when we find a new provider - and you can be sure we won't be renewing with that ISP."

2011 European SFI Tour.
1st February: Many thanks to SFI Foundation President Arnie Kuhns for forwarding details of this year's SFI European recertification tour:

Thursday 24th March: Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Location TBA. Inspections 09:00-11:30
Friday 25th March: Helsinki, Finland. US Parts, Holkkitie 10, 00880 Helsinki. Inspections 10:00-13:00
Saturday 26th March: Åkers Styckebruk, Sweden. Persåkers Speed Shop. Inspections 12:00-16:00
Monday 28th March: Santa Pod Raceway, England. Scrutineering building. Inspections 10:00-14:00

Arnie tells us that the SFI team will be able to recertify the following products:

Clutches 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
Rigid Auto Trans Shields 4.1
Bellhousings 6.1, 6.2, 6.3
Drag Wheels 15.1, 15.2, 15.3
Flexplates 29.1, 29.2
Flexplate shields 30.1

We will bring you the location of the stop in The Netherlands as soon as we receive it.

British Drag Racing Hall of Fame 2011.

1st February: The British Drag Racing Hall Of Fame continues into its sixth successful year with five new members. Nominees are eligible by dint of having raced, owned, designed, built, maintained, prepared, promoted, officiated, supported or taken part in British drag racing in any capacity, having been involved for at least twenty years, or having made a significant and recognisable contribution to the sport.

The 2011 inductees to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, in alphabetical order, are:

Peter Crane: Starting his motorsport career on sprint bikes in the early 1960s, Peter then went to California and discovered drag racing at Lions Drag Strip. Returning to the UK, he entered his blown Cortina at the newly-opened Santa Pod Raceway. In 1972 he imported the Eazy Ridin' Camaro which he ran in Pro Stock for the next two years before moving up to Pro Fuel with another imported car named Stormbringer. In 1976 Peter made history when he ran the first five-second Pro Fuel pass outside the USA, shutting down the legendary Big Daddy Don Garlits in the process. Peter was also involved with Dave Lee Travis' Pro Fuel operation and ended his drag racing career in the Hustler Funny Car.

Pete Davies: A familiar name in the motorcycle world, Pete manufactured innovative parts for all of the top riders during the growth years of UK drag bike racing. Crank cases were a particular specialism - over thirty years he manufactured hundreds of Triumph crank cases, supplying Japanese speedway with three hundred sets - although the bottom ends were only a small part of Pete's output. For example he pioneered the skulling of aluminium heads with bronze hemispheres. He also built four complete Fuel bikes, the most successful of which has won six European Championships.

Terry Gibbs: Terry bought the first of several Camaros in 1977, and by the early 1980s he was racing in Street classes at Blackbushe. He later went on to set up Camaros Unlimited and imported the Obsession '69 Camaro in 1993, running in Super Gas before becoming involved in the promotional side of drag racing with his highly-successful Super Series events at Avon Park. He was instrumental in the formation of the current UK National Championships which helped the growth of Sportsman racing in the UK. In 2002 Terry moved on to new challenges, organising the Xtreme Wheels Shows at Alexandra Palace before his untimely death in March 2006. In 2010 Eurodragster.com readers had the chance to nominate candidates for the BDRHoF for the first time, and Terry topped this poll.

Brian Sparrow: A true motorsport enthusiast, Brian Sparrow is one of the unsung pioneers of drag racing. In the 1960s he simultaneously served on the committees of the British Drag Racing Association, British Hot Rod Association, and the National Sprint Association which called for great diplomacy on his part. Brian joined Allan Herridge and John Harrison to form Dragster Developments - a move which helped secure the production of Allan's first Buick dragster. His features and pictures appeared in early drag racing publications, and his photographs provide a historical reference to those early days.

Harlan Thompson (overseas member): Harlan made his first mark in British drag racing driving Knut Söderqvist's Tre Kronor Funny Car. At Santa Pod Raceway's World Finals in September 1980 he won the sixteen-car eliminator which featured the best cars from the UK, Scandinavia and America. He won again in 1981 and went on to many Funny Car victories with Budweiser sponsorship through to the 1990s. He clocked the first five-second pass by a European Funny Car 1985. In 2006 Harlan drove a Top Fuel Dragster in Bahrain and in 2009 he took the wheel of Johnny Nilsson's Tre Kronor replica.
©Eurodragster.com

Members of the Hall of Fame receive a 'Bootsie', a trophy encapsulating an image of the late Allan 'Bootsie' Herridge, a man who put so much into British drag racing, together with an exclusive commemorative pin. They join the élite list of inductees from previous years and will be listed with fuller biographies on the official British Drag Racing Hall of Fame web site which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the British Hall of Fame link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The Hall of Fame trophies will be presented at the joint APIRA/SPRC Dinner Dance this coming Saturday.

The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame is sponsored by USAutomotive, Santa Pod Raceway, Shakespeare County Raceway, Pennine Drag Racing Club/York Raceway, Avon Park International Racers Association, Santa Pod Racers Club, Power Race Graphics and Eurodragster.com.

Trophy picture courtesy and ©Ian Messenger

Nitro Junkie.
1st February: UK Funny Bike racer Kev Charman has announced that he has swapped rides for 2011. Kev was last seen on Davide Ricci's Pro Mod Bike but this year he will be straddling Rene van den Berg's six-second Top Fuel Bike.

"In 2010, Jake broke his wrist and his bike at a sprint at Silverstone, which put him out of the running for the rest of the season in Junior Drag Bike", says Kev. "In her rookie year Lizz, once the bike decided to give her a break and stop going backwards, achieved a 1.17 sixty-foot time, an eight-second pass, and obliterated a piston, spark plug and a cylinder head in the process, through no fault of her own. She has surprised me, and can ride a bike, all we have to do now is to keep the engine in one piece! I did not have the greatest of seasons. I don't expect to win every time, but to go straighter would have been good without having to rely on eighteen kilogrammes of lead on one side of the bike. The bike needs addressing, and a lot of work. But I still managed to get the runner-up spot in the SPRC Championship, which was pleasing.

"So that was last year, what about 2011? Jake is going to be practicing a lot, and entering a couple of meetings. Lizz is only going to be doing a handful of meetings this year, and a lot of testing. And I have been offered an opportunity that would never usually present itself: this year I will be riding Rene van den Berg's Top Fuel Bike!

"I was offered the opportunity of riding the bike the day after the Flame and Thunder Show. So duly we drove to Santa Pod, got an in-depth lesson from Rene and the crew then towed about, went through the pushback, and had a "nitro lesson". It's difficult to understand how a safe setting can go from 87% to just 85% - I still consider that to be immense! And then it rained. The track crew as always did a sterling job of attempting to dry the track but the rain just kept coming back, so in the end that was that, and game over. I had gone from being absolutely terrified to excited to bitterly disappointed in a day, all this emotion can be quite exhausting!

"Over the next few months a deal was made for me to ride the bike in 2011. It was a generous offer which I would have been foolish to refuse, and another adventure begins! I also think that if I do this, I have worked my way up through all the classes!

"Big thanks go to Chris Pyke and Lizz, who will be crewing full time for me. It's going to be a huge learning curve again. From last year knowing not a lot about turbos, we know even less about nitro! We also thankfully have the support of Rene and his crew, Craig and Bins.

"I am very much looking forward to this new challenge."

Swift snippets.
1st February: The ongoing UEM Funny Bike Cup saga has taken a step forward as we hear that rounds will take place this year at Kunmadaras, Alastaro and Gardermoen. We understand that Santa Pod Raceway have yet to finalise their plans. Obviously we will bring you more on this when we receive it but you can read Funny Bike racers' thoughts on the Pit Lane Gossip page of the King Racing web site at www.kingracing.com. The 2011 calendar for other UEM classes is as listed on our 2011 FIA/UEM calendar page and in the King Racing news item below.

FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher will be racing at the Yas Marina facility in Abu Dhabi on 4th-5th March. We understand that Urs will be match racing one of his own cars against Rod Fuller who will drive the remaining Yas Marina Top Fueller. More news about this event is expected to be released soon.

Trevor Duckworth of Straightliners is pleased to announce that Big CC are to sponsor the 2011 Straightliners bike race series. "This sponsorship deal will help Straightliners to keep entry costs down for the 2011 season", says Trevor. "They are also going to be the main title sponsor for our joint Straightliners/Maitland Racing Bikefest event to be held at North Weald on 14th August. Straightliners would like to thank Sean Mills and Big CC for their generosity in sponsoring our 2011 season."

It came too late to be included on yesterday's update but Wolfgang Schöfer asked us to say a big Happy Birthday for yesterday (Monday) to Top Methanol Dragster racer Peter Schöfer. Hope you had a good day Peter. Also celebrating birthdays today are Sportsman ET racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Ian Jackson, Super Pro ET racer Martyn Jones, and our good buddy Jon Spoard of the very popular UK Drag Racing Nostalgia web site. Have a great day guys.

Ready for more Chaos.

1st February: Lawrie Gatehouse has been in touch to announce the return of his Chaos Fuel Altered, which came off worst in a collision with the guardrail at last year's Auto Trader Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway.

"The collision necessitated a new chassis and repairs to the body, all ably provided by FGR Motorsport Ltd thanks to Jason and Roy Phelps, masters of their respective crafts", says Lawrie. "This year we will be running the car out of the FGR Motorsport stable, which will be providing the crew. Veteran Gary Page, with a wealth of Altered and Funny Car experience, will be handling the driving for the 2011 season and John Wright has kindly agreed to be a consultant as time permits in his busy, full-time work schedule.

"We aim to conduct some test passes prior to the Easter Thunderball, to settle down all the new parts and get some data to help us dial in at the first event. The plan is to make five or six appearances at the two tracks as part of the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association, and to perform in our usual spectacular, if somewhat wayward, fashion. It is unlikely to be boring!

"We will be back soon and hunting for some silverware to accompany the hard work and enjoyment which are part and parcel of the Fuel Altered class."

New sponsors, web for WG Racing.
1st February: WG Racing, the home of the World's fastest Rolls Royce, are pleased to technical partnerships with Fester Racecars and D3 Creative on the day that they launch their new web site at www.wgracing.co.uk.

Bill Felstead of Fester Racecars said "Best known for creating altered and slingshot dragsters, Fester Racecars were attracted by the prospect of building a very fast Rolls Royce and recognised that this project would lead to new product development in this style of car". With over thirty years' experience, Fester Racecars are specialists in designing and building bespoke chassis. FRC's web site can be found at www.festerracecars.com.

D3 Creative are a design agency based in Harlow, Essex. They have ten years' experience in helping new companies to create a brand and established companies to re-brand by providing digital printing services, graphic and web design. D3 Creative Services themselves on helping your company to establish a brand and then see that through to help you and your business to grow and to gain an advantage over your competitors. You can find their web site at www.d3design.net.

WG4 Racing's www.wg4racing.co.uk, developed with thanks to Eurodragster.com sponsor WG4 Facilities Management and Business Services features news, car details, calendar, sponsor page, team details and more.

Further sponsorship deals will be announced on Wednesday and Thursday of this week whilst a major announcement for the team will be made early next week.

More sponsors for King Racing.
1st February: Further to last Friday's announcement of Gulf as their main sponsor, UK Top Fuel Bike team King Racing are pleased to welcome new members to its world-leading team of associate sponsors for 2011:

Grand Prix Originals - The brand for drive and lifestyle, past and present
NCT Engineering - The world's leading non-contact torque sensors for motorsport
MTC Engineering - Manufacturer of clutches for the fastest motorcycles in the world
World Wide Bearings - The world's leading supplier of ceramic bearings for racing
Cometic Gaskets - The premier manufacturer of racing gaskets

King Racing have benefited from an extremely strong and loyal team of associates whilst winning their previous five European Championship titles. They are extremely proud to announce that these associates are to remain on the team in their quest for an unprecedented sixth European Championship title:

APE - The world's most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for drag bikes
Craft Helmets - The ultimate helmets for safety and uniqueness in design
Gates - The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics
Goedhals - The name in recision specialist gear cutting and engineering
Goodridge - The original and the best in fluid transfer systems
JE Pistons - The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons
Kent Cams - Specialists in motor sport camshaft manufacture, short runs and one-offs
Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc -Tthe highest quality valve train components on the market
Mickey Thompson Tyres - Simply the best drag race tyres in the world
MRE - Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems
NitroShutter - Europe's leading drag racing photo-journalists
Portable Shade - The best custom branded collapsible canopies available
Pro Alloy Motorsport - UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators
PsycleWorkz - The UK's best custom and race fabricators and innovators
Puma Engineering - Manufacturers of the world's most powerful motorcycle engines
RSG Customize - The UK's most creative website designers and vinyl artists
Vanson Leathers - The most iconic brand in motorsport leather goods
Zodiac - Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts

2011 FIM/UEM European Drag Bike Championships

28th April-1st May: Kunmadaras, Hungary
27th-30th May: FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, England
10th-12th June: Tierp Motorpark, Sweden
30th June-3rd July: FHRA Nitro Nationals, Alastaro, Finland
28th-31st July: Veidec Festival, Mantorp Park, Sweden (Top Fuel Bike, Supertwin eighth mile)
5th-7th August: Sunoco Drag Challenge, Gardermoen, Norway
12th-14th August: NitrOlympX, Hockenheim, Germany
8th-11th September: FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, England

For more information about King Racing, visit www.kingracing.com.

Web site updates.
1st February: In the latest instalment in his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Pro Stock Bike racer Kalle Lyrén reveals that the Team Veidec Pro Stock Bike team are building a new bike. 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.

Earlier news